Page 73 of Saving Blood

I jam my .35 into Hector’s ribs to assure his cooperation. The crowd’s out-of-control cheers for Maxine in the center ring provide the perfect diversion.

“Get Maxine,” I bark at Diesel. “Don’t leave her for a minute.” Diesel heads for the cage stairs.

I want to jump in the cage, congratulate her and hold her close, but dealing with Hector has to come first.

“Take your hands off me.” Hector unsuccessfully tries to break free of the vise hold we have on him as we hustle him away from the bleachers. “That bitch cost me thousands—hundreds of thousands.”

I dig my gun deeper into Hector’s ribs, and he grunts. “Call her that again, and I’ll end you right here, and no one would even notice or care.”

Not far from the truth with the chaos going on around us.

The crush of the crowd makes it easy for us to frog-march Hector into the alley between the gym and the garage unnoticed, while Bolt, Manny and Ricky drag the bodyguards around the other side of the building.

We stop at the Ram truck parked at the end of the alley.

“You’ll never get away with cheating me out of my money,” Hector threatens.

“Says the fucker who tried to fix the fight.”

Hector’s glance shifts between me and Smoke.

“That’s right, we know all about it,” Smoke says.

“She will regret going against me.”

“Some people never learn.” I grab Hector’s shirt collar and twist until he chokes for air, then I shove him against the truck’s cab. “The only one with regrets is gonna be you.”

Hector glares at me with hate in his eyes. “You wouldn’t be defending that bitch if you knew everything about her. About the things she’s done, about how low she’s sunk.”

“She told me how you kidnapped her, abducted her to Mexico. I know all about the shit you put her through.”

“All of it? Are you sure?”

MAXINE

Diesel hustles me away from the cage. The dense crowd makes it impossible for me to get close to Blood or even see him. I try to twist out of Diesel’s grasp, but he has me in a vise grip.

“Stop fighting me, Maxie,” Diesel says. “Blood’s got it all under control. Hector’s being dealt with, and all we have to do is wait it out in his office.”

Was Diesel kidding? Sit and wait? No fucking way. I want to know what they have planned for Hector, and I want to be a part of it. The bastard destroyed my life, and I need to know his life is over. I need to see it with my own eyes and confirm he can never hurt me or anyone else again.

Diesel jostles me into the gym, then stops for a minute to check in with Bolt standing outside the office door. After a cryptic exchange I don’t understand, Diesel guides me into the office with Bolt standing sentry outside the door.

This is going to be way harder than I expected unless I utilize a tactic used by women for centuries.

Diesel makes a beeline for Blood’s desk and pulls open the bottom drawer. He places two shot glasses on the desk, then holds up a bottle of Jack Daniels.

“I think we should celebrate your win.” He pours the smoky liquid into the glasses and holds one out to me.

I grimace, placing my palm on my lower abdomen. “I need to use the restroom first.”

“Now?” Diesel’s brows furrow. “Can’t you have a shot first?”

I scrunch my face up. “Not really.”

“All right, but this time Bolt’s going in with you, and he’s gonna wait right outside the stall. Hector’s got his people swarming all over this place, and there’s no way I’m answering to Blood if something happens to you.”

“Okay, but I might be a while.” I pause for effect, and Diesel cocks his head. “I have really bad cramps and . . .”

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