Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 78725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Troy Godwin: I hope you’re having a good night because I certainly am. Are you ready to get on your knees and beg yet?
I gripped my phone so hard I thought it might break.
I already knew Troy was fucking with us and keeping good people off our team. I had an inkling he was behind the Fritz’s sudden law troubles. His text all but confirmed that. That bastard was everywhere. Like a shadow. Or more fitting, like herpes that kept popping up at the worst times. I didn’t respond. There were more important matters than assuaging Troy’s big-ass ego.
Everyone except for Pinstripe was already standing in the gym when I pulled up. The second the door closed behind me, Ari rushed forward to lock it.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
I looked around the group. With the way they all stared at me, they already knew, but I dealt the KO blow.
“Lucien’s out. We’re down our sponsor. His dad’s booked for embezzlement and money laundering.”
“Fuck,” Bones breathed. He ran his hand down his face before scratching at the back of his damp hair. He had been spending long nights at Smiley’s trying to rehab his hand and get back in the Circuit. His emotional state was fragile but steadily improving the more he got to use his hand. This was just another blow to his recovery.
“Is our money dirty? Are we as fucked as him?” River looked extraordinarily pissed and equally as fine. Instead of his normal casual style, he was wearing a crisp suit, his long black hair tied back into a styled bun.
“Lucien said no. All our funds were clean.” I ran my eyes down his body. “Did his bullshit interrupt something, River?”
River waved me off. “Forget it.”
“What about the other sponsors?” Teo asked. “There’s three, right?”
“Yeah, but…” Ari chewed on the side of her mouth. “They aren’t the best.”
“I mean, anything’s better than dropping out of the Circuit, yeah?”
“What’s wrong with them?” Frankie was still sweaty from his earlier training with Bones.
I ran a hand along my forehead. “They’re all pretty small. One’s a mom-and-pop shop. Which means someone is backing them with big bucks.”
“A sponsor of a sponsor?” River snorted. “Did we step into Inception or something?”
“You could put it that way. It’s extra funding from external supporters. So, Ari and I looked into the supporters and—” I glanced at Ari. This was probably better said coming from her.
She sighed and plopped down onto the metal stairs of the ring. “One of them is sponsored by an adult toy company.”
“I have no problem with that.” Teo cackled.
“Their logo is a strap-on and they posted on Craigslist last week that they’re looking for models to advertise their newest products, including erectile dysfunction tablets. They posted it again yesterday, so I’m guessing they didn’t get many hits.”
“So you’re saying we’d become the models?” Frankie blanched.
“It’s, um, more than likely?”
“Pass.” River grunted. “I know I said legit money, but I don’t want to have to explain what a strap-on is to my nephews.”
“Or my kid.” Teo grimaced. “She’s starting elementary school now. What if I get called for show and tell?”
“I’m sure the principal would love to hear why you brought a dildo to show minors.”
“Man, fuck you! I’m not trying to be on any watchlists!”
“I’m sure you’re already on some.” Bones snorted and gestured to me. “The other two?”
“One is Green’s Auto Mechanics. Right down the road. Run by—”
“Scotty Green.” Frankie said a few expletives under his breath. “How the fuck did that guy get through? He’s banned from the underground, for fuck’s sake. He’s got a rap sheet longer than my medical history.”
“It helps to be backed by an automotive insurance company.” I shrugged. “Money talks.”
“Well, it’s better than dildos, I guess,” River added. “The third?”
“Sport n’ Beauty. It’s a cosmetics company from Portland that sells products to recover from muscle fatigue and pain. Shit like that.”
“But we couldn’t find anything on their funder.” Ari leaned forward with her elbows on her knees. “They’re small. The smallest of the sponsors. So, someone has to be backing them, but we don’t know who.”
“They’re the best choice out of all three. I don’t want to tie myself to another shady asshole or some knockoff Viagra tablets,” Frankie argued.
“Yeah, you clearly don’t need the latter.” River’s smile stretched across his entire face.
“Keep your damn mouth shut.”
River held up his hands, but his smile didn’t waver.
“We could always sponsor ourselves.” Bones crossed his arms. “There’s nothing in the Contract against it. Is there?”
I shook my head. “Not from what I remembered. I’d have to look again.”
“You got the money, Bones?” Teo punched him in the arm. “’Cause I sure don’t. Child support is kicking my ass.”
“Didn’t you win at Heathens Hollow?”
“I paid off some debts, man! What can I say?”
Ari shook her head. “I could pitch in but…”