Page 18 of Unlucky You

FIVE

Grand.

I slipped into the front passenger seat of my cousin’s Jeep and winced. My body ached as the bruises settled beneath my skin. I would be sore tomorrow. Tonight I’d pushed things a little too far but it paid off with five grand.

It was dark, inching toward midnight. I hated being the last fight because it meant hanging around here longer than I wanted but this setup was far better than I expected. When I visited the abandoned warehouse a few days prior, there wasn’t a damn thing there that looked appealing. Tonight, however, the place had been transformed into something top notch.

Rix ran a high-end organization. The men who paid good money to see guys like me beat the shit out of guys like Levittexerted a certain level of refinement. Rix made sure to meet their expectations but the guy could afford it based on the crowd in attendance. The type of money that exchanged hands, or rather bank accounts, from this place was insane and sickening.

I understood though. Everyone had their vices and the people who paid memberships for underground fighting had a penchant for savagery. I didn’t care about either. I was here to make money as fast as I could then decide what was next. The physical pain was simply a bonus. Not that the two compared, but it was close enough and I needed the reminder to feel alive. To feel something, any fucking thing.

“Here.” Tali tossed a black envelope in my lap before he began navigating out of the parking lot. Rix didn’t like the idea of me bringing Tali, but when he realized it was nonnegotiable, he agreed. That was mostly about not wanting to lose money. If I was good, he would make a lot. I won, which meant he was happy and no longer cared about the Tali thing.

Tali parked in the back corner of the lot to avoid running into anyone. I didn’t want to talk or entertain offers or promises that I could make something out of my talent. Or to be propositioned by women. It didn’t take a genius to know both would happen if I gave anyone the opportunity.

These fucks were always looking for a way to monopolize on others. They would start with the money, throwing tempting amounts my way, and when I didn’t bite, they would move on to the exposure. Neither appealed to me. The money would come and what they were offering would be attached to commitments and being owned. The last thing I wanted was to be shoved under a spotlight. Giving people a reason to dig into my past, the things I had done, was not an option.

“It’s short.”

I grimaced, leaning forward to drop the envelope in my duffle. When I didn’t respond about the fact that Rix cut my pay for the fight, Tali kept going.

“He fined you for not fighting back. You’re gonna have to at least pretend to be engaged or he’s gonna keep throwing you in the ring with guys whose sole mission is to take you down. He’s seen what you can do and is going to exploit that.”

“Everyone who enters that ring wants to take down their opponent.”

Tali cut his eyes my way. “Yeah but winning and pushing for a kill are two completely different things.”

I grunted. “I can handle myself.”

“Yeah, you can but you’re new. He has control because you need the opportunity and the money.”

I shot him a warning look. This wasn’t a conversation I wanted to have. I understood his concern for me taking a beating in the ring but didn’t give a damn about it either. My life, my rules.

Tali exhaled a sigh and changed the subject, thankfully. “This chick was here tonight. Asking questions about you.”

I frowned, giving him my full attention. Why the hell would anybody be asking about me. I was fresh out of prison and no one here knew me. “Who?”

He shook his head. “A photographer. Pretty, nosy as fuck, and determined.”

Photographer.

My mind slipped to thoughts of the woman I saw tonight. She damn sure looked out of place and not just because of the camera she was carrying. Her entire vibe made her stand out. She wasn’t a regular, based on how she moved like she didn’t have a clue about what was going on. Not that I paid much attention to the other people who showed up tonight. For me, it was simply a sea of faces that blended into each other. But her…

She wasn’t like the women who accompanied the men who paid big money to watch these fights. Her clothes weren’t skimpy or expensive. Jeans, T-shirt, Doc Martens. She wasn’t eye candy or a partner to the wealthy men who attended the matches. It was rare that women were allowed in alone, unless they were serving the attendees.

She was alone.

“What kind of questions?”

“Wanted to know why you didn’t fight back.”

“I knocked the guy out.” I frowned.

“Yeah, in the third round, minutes before the fight was about to end. She noticed and wanted to know why because clearly you didn’t have to take the type of beating you did.” He cut his eyes at me and I grunted.

“That all she want to know?”

For some reason I was curious, torn between wanting to find out who she was and wanting to shove the memory of her into the dark spaces that held things I wouldn’t allow myself to feel. She’d managed to distract me. When I stepped into the ring, I was focused and blocked out everything around me. But tonight, she managed to gain my attention. I couldn’t afford to be distracted, no matter how intriguing she seemed to be.

---