Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 76365 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76365 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
“How bad?” Bones asked.
“Jace pulled a Mike Tyson.” I snapped my jaw like I was taking a bite of something, and Bones winced. “Out cold.”
“At least it was his ear and not his dick.”
“You think Misty would look good with half an ear?” Ari asked with a nervous smile. She messed with the tape around her wrists and cocked her head. “Would I?”
“Don’t even joke about that.” I frowned.
Ari merely chuckled and turned to face me. Ari, looking like a fallen angel even in her fighting attire. Her sports bra and boxing shorts were pure white, and her light blond hair was tied up in a tight bun on the top of her head. Her eyelids shimmered with gold, and her plump lips grinned blood red.
“So I have to win?”
Her question hung in the air. Bones and I shared a knowing look before I nodded stiffly. The world roared one more time when the door pushed open; Lotto stepped inside and closed the door with his back. He crossed his arms over his chest and let out a long, heavy exhalation.
“Otto told me something funny.”
I lifted a brow. “The guy who takes bets?”
He nodded. “Teo’s rich as hell now.” Lotto’s sharp glare danced between the three of us. “He bet against himself.”
“Wait.” Ari held up a hand. “Are you saying Teo threw the match on purpose?”
I ground my teeth. If that was true, I was going to take Troy up on his offer to bury some skeletons here.
Lotto shook his head. “Not unless he was trying to look like Van Gogh. He dropped money on Ari and Bones, too.”
Ari exhaled slowly. “So… he knew he was going to lose?”
“Looks like it.”
“Goddamnit.” Bones threw a punch at one of the lockers. It dented under his strength, but he didn’t even look fazed. If anything, his chiseled face grew even angrier. “That means we—”
“Have to win.” Ari stopped playing with the tape around her wrists but clung to herself, staring at the wall. “I have to win.”
I stalked forward, placed my hands on her shoulders, and turned her toward me. She snapped back to reality when I shook her slightly.
“Look at me.” I squeezed her shoulders. “Do whatever it takes to win.”
“But…”
“No buts, Ari. Teo will be lucky to avoid brain damage.”
“And missing some ear piercings when he comes to.” Lotto pushed off the door to come closer. With a strong hand over mine, he nodded to Ari. “You’ve been practicing. You can do this.”
“For boxing,” Ari frowned. “What if Misty, I don’t know, bites my jugular? Or kicks me in the vag?”
“Then you punch her in the tits.” Bones placed his hand over my other one. “Wherever will take her ass down.”
“You’re ready,” I said. “You might just need to bend the rules a little.”
“Think about what Bones would do. Not what your dad would do.”
“Is that supposed to be a compliment, Lotto?” Bones asked. “Not would do, anyway. Will do. I’m going to kick River’s ass and give us a reason to celebrate.”
Ari sucked in a breath. A small bit of color rose to her cheeks. When she took in all of us, I could tell what she was thinking. ‘Celebrate’ wouldn’t just be our 10% cut or our winnings from Otto and his betting table. The true celebration was a few stories below this locker room, the sweat and sin of the sex club calling our names.
Ari sucked in a slow breath through her nose before nodding. “I’m ready.”
“And going to win,” Bones added.
“Oh, I’m going to do more than win. I’m going to fuck up Misty so bad that she can’t cry to her followers later because her eyes will be swollen shut.”
Lotto chuckled. “Sounds like a plan.”
“I’ll bring a tooth as a trophy.”
“Hope it’s Misty’s and not yours.” I smacked Ari’s shoulders a few times, Bones and Lotto’s hands still over mine. “Let’s fucking go.”
Ari began jumping up and down, stretching out her neck and arms as the three of us massaged her muscles. A sharp knock came at the door, and a kid way too young to be here gestured us forward. It was now or never. Ari’s jaw tightened but she walked from the locker room with her head held high.
Bones, Lotto, and I pushed through the raging crowd to get a good spot near the cage itself. Misty was already in there looking like an angry pit bull.
The announcer’s voice boomed from his microphone and echoed in Heathens Hollow.
“In this corner, we have owner and former Gold medal champion, Misty Perk!”
As soon as the announcer called her name, she threw up her hands, beckoning the crowd to start chanting her name. We stayed silent. Our focus was elsewhere. Ari spoke with the announcer for a brief moment before she turned toward the cage door.
The squeal of mic feedback made me wince.