Page 48 of Saving Blood

I shower, dress and leave the apartment buoyed with my plan for the future. Two more days and?—

“I came to see you last night, but you weren’t home.” Hector appears in front of me, then pushes me into the alley between my building and a store selling sex toys. “I can only hope you were with Blood, stringing him along.”

I jerk my head in a nod as I try to wrestle my arm free, but his bulky body cages me against the brick wall. “What do you want?”

“Always so impatient. It’s something you should work on, but for now my only concern is the fight Saturday night.”

I shift my body, and he steps back slightly. “You have nothing to worry about. I’ve been training hard, and I’m ready. I’m the favorite to win.” That should satisfy him since money rules Hector’s life.

“Yes, I know you’re the favorite, but here’s the thing . . . I want you to lose.”

“What?”

“It’s very simple. I want you to lose tomorrow night.”

“Lose?”

“That’s right. Because I’ll be betting on your opponent.”

“But why would?—”

“Because the odds are better.”

“But I know I can win.”

“I know you can too, but that’s the beauty part. Everyone will be expecting you to win and bet on you, so when I take odds on your opponent, the payout will be huge.”

“So, you want me to lose on purpose?”

“It’s called taking a dive. Something done quite regularly in the fight game.”

I lived to fight, and after all the time I’d put into training, I didn’t want to lose.

“I plan on betting so big that, when I win, I’ll bankrupt them, putting the Royal Bastards out of the fight game.”

My brain spins with Hector’s words. The cage fighting is a huge part of the Bastard’s income, and as much as I tried to deny it, I care about Blood, and hurting him or his club this way is wrong.

“And if I don’t?”

Hector rolls his eyes toward the sky. “Maxine, I fear you’re losing sight of the prize. You winning or losing means nothing to me. What matters is the profit at the end of the night and bringing the Royal Bastards to their knees. They are the competition, and there is one reason and one reason only why you are fighting for them—to eliminate them.”

I bite my lower lip. I have no choice, and Hector reminding me of what I already know proves how desperate he’s become. I’d toughened the outside of my body, but the fragile little girl still lives within me. I’d fooled myself and tried to become someone else. To cover the hurt. To cover the pain.

I’d involved Blood, and now he and his club would be hurt because of me. I should’ve known no good ever came from feelings and hoping. Getting rid of the horrible emptiness in my gut wasn’t worth wishing for something or someone who could never be mine.

“My associates from all over Mexico will also be betting on your opponent. So, you will do as you’re told because they’re not the kind of people you want to disappoint.”

I lower my head, not wanting him to see the hate in my eyes.

“You do realize whatever he’s telling you or promising you is a lie. He’s just using you to get to me. He and his president have already come to my compound in Rosarito to warn me away from Tijuana.”

Hector always managed to invade my brain at my most vulnerable.

“He’s just using you for information and a good fuck.”

I look away from him, not strong enough to endure the words I’ve already thought many times over.

“I have a feeling you’re enjoying spying on Blood more than you should. I also have a feeling you are putting your own feelings ahead of what I’ve requested.”

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