Page 125 of Clinch'd

His mouth curls into a frown and I rush to say, “I know this is, well, a lot but if you do this, I’ll make sure you get something in return.”

“Like what?” His eyes drill into mine and I muster a smile.

“You ever dabbled in MMA? I’ve got two fighters who will do whatever you want for one year.”

“The two clowns over there?” he asks.

When I nod, he says, “Five years.”

“Two.”

He steeples his hands together. “Why do I want them?”

“Well, Castinetti seems to have his hands in MMA…”

I don’t know jack about it but if the mafia is already involved, Hate can leverage the guys for the currency he’s always seeking—information.

“And the other favor?” he asks. My heart thumps but I know better than to demand an answer.

Instead, I look at my fingers and say, “I need a new identity.”

“Minnie?” he says with a frown. “You’re in that kind of trouble?”

When I nod, he taps the table. “Is it those two?”

“No.” It’s only a partial lie. With Lorri married to that dick, I’ll always be looking over my shoulder.

“Fine. I’ll get you a map to the grounds and vulnerable points.”

“Five years and you send a crew too,” I whisper.

Maybe it’s foolish to sign away Cooper and Beast’s lives but it has to be worth it. I pray it’s fucking worth it.

Sweat trickles down my back while he assesses me before he turns to Cooper and barks, “You better deliver when the time is right.”

Chapter 47

Cooper

From the seat beside me, Beast frowns and I shrug. We’re going into this blind, trusting assholes we’ve never met before, but I admit, this Hate guy knows what he’s talking about.

He’s already rallied a crew and we’re on our way to the estate.

Why he would help Minnie is a question for another day and so far, the only thing we’ve disagreed on is whether she comes along.

I don’t trust her, and I got my way when I insisted. Now she’s sitting in the back of this fucker’s SUV with a weird look on her face.

Hate ponied up twelve of his guys who range from almost children to dude’s I wouldn’t want to fuck with, even as a retired MMA fighter.

With every pass of the tires, my heart beats a little faster. Finally, we’re going to get my brother out of there and I pray for the first time in for fucking ever that he’s alive when we get there.

Except, Hate takes a left away from where we’re supposed to be heading and when I lean forward from the second row, he says, “Relax. We’re picking up two more.”

“Fucker,” I mutter, crossing my arms. I know we need the numbers but I’m itchy to move and I don’t like going into this not knowing who’s truly got my back.

I guess it speaks to my level of trust with Minnie though because I may protest but I’m sitting in a car full of strangers at her urging.

When I glance back, I find her rubbing her belly. Is she gonna puke again? Fuck me.

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