Chapter 20
20
BLOOD
I startle awake, then shift on the bed, reaching for Maxine, but she isn’t there. I rub my eyes and force myself to focus. I hear water running in the adjoining bathroom, and a few minutes later, Maxine emerges fully dressed.
I prop myself up on the pillows. “Where you goin’?”
“Home.”
“And you weren’t gonna tell me? You were just gonna sneak off.”
“You were sleeping.” She shuffles her feet. “I’m sure you’ve done the exact same thing plenty of times.”
Maxine had me there. Usually, I couldn’t get away fast enough. Nothing worse than the after-sex talk. Or, in my case, the after-sex fight. No matter how upfront I was with a woman, they always expected more than I was willing to give after we were done. If nothing got broken or thrown at my head, I considered it a win.
She heads for the door, and I jackknife off the bed, pull on my jeans, and catch up with her in the living room.
“It’s one o’clock in the morning, and your apartment’s on the other side of the city.”
“I was going to Uber.”
“Right.” I throw her a look. “In this neighborhood at one in the morning. You’d end up in some ditch, robbed and stranded, or worse.”
“You keep forgetting I can defend myself.” She flexes. “I am the top female fighter in the gym.”
“That’s not gonna help you against a gun or a knife.”
“What do you think all those self-defense moves are about?”
“Not on my watch.” I move closer, wrapping my arms around her waist. “Come back to bed.” I bury my face in her neck, and she moans.
“You don’t have to be my protector. I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time.”
“A long time?” I bark out a laugh. “What are you, twenty-two, twenty-three?”
Her mouth says one thing, but her eyes tell a different story.
“Okay, I’ll bite.” Maybe I could bait her into spilling something about herself. “How old are you?”
She stares at me for a good few minutes, then, “Old enough to know I have to go home.”
Fuck, she’s good.
MAXINE
I long to tell Blood all my truths. Finally free myself of all the demons living deep in my soul. I don’t know what it is about this gladiator of a man who makes me want to unburden myself. Who makes me want for something of my own. Want for him.
But that can’t happen. Right now, I have to celebrate my win, then collect my passport to freedom. I have to keep my deal with Blood away from Hector and even from his club brothers, who might persuade him otherwise. Main reason why I have to leave now.
“I still say we should fall back into bed.” He tilts my chin and covers his lips with mine. “You know you want to.”
Staying wrapped around Blood for the rest of the night sounds perfect under normal circumstances, but this is definitely not normal. More like an outlaw biker not quite trusting the female cage fighter conning his pants off—literally.
I push out of his hold. “It’s better this way.”
* * *
A block away from my apartment, I tell Blood to stop. “I’ll walk the rest of the way.”
“Why?”
“The less people who see us together, the better.”
His eyes narrow, but I don’t go into detail. Let him think what he wants because, with any luck, by the weekend, I’ll have a valid passport or a fake passport that looks valid.
I ease off the leather seat and Blood catches my hand in his. “Come to my office this afternoon, and we’ll work it all out for the passport.”
I envelop him in a tight hug as sheer joy spreads through my body. Real happiness, not fake or manufactured. Not a con or a trick, but true genuine joy. He’d never know how much his kindness would mean.
“Thank you.” I look deep into his eyes because of all the other lies I told tonight, those two words were sincere.
The short walk to my building has me looking over my shoulder, not able to shake the eerie sensation of being watched. When I enter the building, I heave a sigh of relief, then ignore the creaking of the stairs as I make my way to the second floor.
I unlock my door and enter the small space, relieved the night is over while, at the same time, missing Blood’s firm, protective body. I scan the dark space, then flip on the light and make my way to the bedroom. I stretch out on the bed and let my mind drift.
The wild rollercoaster ride of emotions with Blood and falling into bed with him again for multiple orgasms, then fielding his questions in a way that made sense while soliciting his help have exhausted me.
Then anxiety grabs hold of me. A certain foreboding, an irrational premonition Hector will find me no matter where I go. He’s kept me tethered to him all these years using fear and intimidation, but I have to stay strong and use all my training in the gym to boost my confidence. Remind myself how he’s become complacent, carelessly taking his power for granted. Never entertaining the idea of me breaking away after the last failed attempt.
But this time would be different. This time I have an actual plan, and with Blood’s help, it just might work—it has to work. It won’t be easy to go it alone, but I reason if I survived this long, I could easily make my way in the world.
The next morning, I wake from a sound sleep. The best sleep I’ve had in a long time. Hope and belief in my future fills my mind, exhilarating me and moving me forward. Later, I would meet Blood, and hopefully obtain a passport, then after the big fight, when everyone is either celebrating their wins or drowning their sorrows, I’d make my escape.
I sweep my hand over the sheets, and my heart thuds in my chest. Three nights ago, I lay here with Blood as he ravaged my body and brought me to a place I didn’t know existed. Someday when I’m safely in the States, I’d tell him how sorry I was for using him and lying, but for now I don’t have any other choice. Maybe in another time or place we could’ve worked, but not here and not now, no matter how painful.
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.”
When I don’t respond, he grins. “Just as I thought.” His beady reptilian eyes rake over me. “Just remember, no matter how you feel about him, you’re just a means to an end who he likes to fuck.”
I hate that Hector is right.
“Can’t say I blame him; after all, I know just how good you are, right?”
I swallow the bile threatening to rise in my throat.
He laughs again. “I’m actually looking forward to the shocked looks of those lowlife bikers when we break them.” He shrugs. “Blood will finally see you for who you are—a whore for the cartel, but don’t worry. You’ll have a spot fighting for me in our new location in Tijuana.”
I squeeze my eyes shut against his hateful words. I have to placate Hector now, get my passport from Blood, then tomorrow night, I’d follow my plan of escape. Only difference would be me losing a fight I could easily win, and ruining the only person who ever tried to help me.
Hector chokes out a low chuckle. “I just wonder what your biker would think if he knew I had you first. Many, many times.”
“Stop.”
“Why? Nothing I’m saying is untrue. I just don’t think he would want to hear it or would want anything to do with you anymore.” Hector cocks his head. “One thing I do know about outlaw bikers, although they fuck anything with a cunt, they don’t allow the same privilege for their women. Not fair, I know, but it’s fact. Frankly, I think he’d be disgusted if I told him.”
His words cut me like the sharpest knives. Thin, even slivers not meant to kill, just meant to maim.
“You have to ask yourself. Who do you think is more powerful? My backing with the cartel in my own country, or his support from a club in the States?”
“I told you I would do it.”
“Yes, I know what you said, but if you have any reservations, ask yourself another question. Who do you think is more ruthless?”
“Shut up.” The words fly out of my mouth.
Quick as a cobra, Hector wraps his hand around my throat, making my head hit the wall. “That was a mistake.”
I grapple with his wrists, but he presses harder. I shift my legs for leverage, but his body cages me in too tight. I gasp for breath as pinpoints of light flash before my eyes.
Relaxing my neck muscles, I tuck my chin, then slam my arms up and under his, spinning out of his hold, gasping in sweet air.
Hector rears away, his shock covered by a smarmy smile. “I guess you are in good fighting shape.”
Better than you, fucker. In another place and time, I could take your fat ass down without breaking a sweat.
I stumble away from him, but he grabs my arm, twists me around, and backhands me. “Just make sure you do as you’re told, because I guarantee you won’t like the consequences.”
My head spins at a dizzying speed, but I focus on his face. How I want to show him all my tricks, but that would be a death sentence.
Hector points to my cheek. “That will leave a mark, but you will blame it on a mishap while training, correct?”
I angle my head and glare at him. “I hate you.”
“I know; that’s what makes it so perfect.”