AEDAN
I needed someplace quiet to talk to Sylvie, so I sprang for a cab to take us to The Pit. In the back seat, I held her hand and pep-talked her.
“It’s not a fight,” I said. “Not really. More of a preview. You’ll go a round or two, but no one wants anyone to get badly hurt.
It’s just a chance for the crowd to see who’s coming up in two weeks, so they can start placing bets.
” The last two words made me sick to my stomach.
Rich suits, throwing fistfuls of hundred dollar bills at the unlicensed bookies, betting on who would walk away. Betting on my angel.
She’d never looked more beautiful. The sunset was streaming through the windows of the cab, bathing everything in fire.
She looked so small and fragile, sitting there in her tank top and sweatpants.
She’d been so nervous, I’d had to remind her to bring something to put on over the top, because it would get cold once the sun went down.
Now she clutched the hooded top in her hands, scrunching the fabric between them.
“It’s normal,” I told her. “Rick does it whenever it’s a brand new fighter.” So why hadn’t I seen it coming? I felt like an idiot. I was meant to be preparing her for all this and I’d completely missed it. I’d been too busy laying her down on the damn rooftop.
Our whole relationship had just seismically shifted and, thanks to Rick, we didn’t even have time to talk about it. Maybe that was for the best. I never was much good at talking.
I quit beating myself up long enough to think about tactics. Should we pretend she hadn’t been training? Lull them into a false sense of security? Rick knew me. If he saw me, would he guess I’d been training her?
Should I stay away, so that Rick didn’t suspect? Part of me thought I should. Another part wondered if that was just an excuse, and I just couldn’t bear to see her get hurt.
No. No way. I couldn’t leave her alone now. I was going to be there, every step of the way.
And there was another reason to be there. I’d come up with a plan, something that might just get Sylvie out of the fight altogether. It was the last thing I wanted to do, but if it saved her from fighting...
I squeezed her hand and she smiled at me, hiding her fear.
I smiled back, doing the same.