Chapter 27
27
BLOOD
“I want eyes on Maxine right up until her fight,” I say to Diesel and the other trainers in my office. “Hector’s gonna have a lot of people here, people we don’t know, so I don’t want anyone getting close to her before she gets in the cage. You got me?”
“Got it, Boss.” Diesel claps me on the back. “Nobody’s gonna touch our girl.”
The hot night air crackles with energy as Diesel and I do a last check of the cage, the bleachers, and the surrounding area, making sure everything is ready. In an hour, the bleachers would be packed with locals, people coming over the border from California, Vegas and New Mexico, plus Hector and his crew.
Diesel sucks deep on a blunt, then passes it to me, but I wave it away. Too many moving parts tonight.
“You sure?” Diesel asks. “You look like you need this more than me.”
“Plenty of time for that shit later. Right now, I gotta keep my head in the game.”
Smoke falls into step with us. “You hear anything from Hector?”
“Nope. But I got Bolt and a few of the prospects looking out for when he gets here. Then we give him a front row seat right next to us so we can keep eyes on the fucker.”
“He sure ain’t gonna be happy when Maxine doesn’t take a dive.” Smoke slows his pace. “She knows the score, right?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“You told her we’re gonna handle Hector.”
“I told her.” Doesn’t mean she totally believes me. What Hector did to Maxine over the years equaled brainwashing, making it hard to come back from and even harder to trust.
MAXINE
Blood obviously told Diesel and Bolt to keep an eye on me. They tried to be discreet, but with their height and over two hundred pounds of bulk and muscle each, discretion was hard to achieve. I appreciate Blood’s concern, but of all the times in my life, I’m probably the safest right now. I have Blood and his brothers on my side, and Hector certainly wants me healthy so I can fight, even though it won’t end the way he expects, but he doesn’t know that—yet.
People are already crowding into the bleachers, and the gym ignites with the excitement of fight night. There would be six fights tonight. Three bouts with the men and three with the women. Each fighter has a separate section of the gym to meet with their trainer and go over last-minute strategy.
All the hard work was done weeks earlier, so I usually spend the last hour before a fight stretching to keep my muscles loose and my mind at peace. Although I hydrated all day, I only sip water now because I don’t want anything to weigh me down, and I hate that sloshing feeling in my stomach.
After the fight, I will need protection, but Blood arranged that too. I opposed Blood’s demanding, somewhat dominant ways at first, but after years of standing on my own, it comforts me to know someone has my back. Or in the case of the Royal Bastards, a lot of leather-wearing someones.
Except when I want five minutes to go to the bathroom alone.
Diesel falls into step with me. “Where you goin’, Maxie?”
“The ladies’ room.” I narrow my eyes, daring him to follow me. “And I’m going in alone.”
“Ahhh, yeah, I guess that’s alright.” He crosses his arms over his broad chest. “I’ll be right out here when you’re done.”
“I’m sure you will,” I say around a laugh.
The ladies’ locker room consists of two rows of metal lockers on one side, and showers, changing rooms, and toilets on the other. Apparently, the Bastards renovated the whole gym last year when they took over and just added this side a few months ago when they put women on their fight roster.
I peel off the Velcro wrist strap on my practice gloves, and a shadow falls over the floor.
“All ready for your big fight tonight?’
I startle, then check myself, giving Hector a sharp nod.
He moves closer, and the scent of his heavy cologne suffocates me. “Nothing obvious. You get in some good shots, dance around a bit, then you leave yourself open, take a few hits, falter and tap out. It’s important you make it look real.”
I squeeze the gloves in my hand. “I understand.” I keep my face expressionless while my brain screams how I would do the exact opposite.
“I know you’ve been sharing that biker’s bed, and of course it’s part of the setup, but I hope it hasn’t changed your decision in any way.”
Once again, Hector crawls into my subconscious.
“You have nothing to worry about.”
“Good.” He pinches my chin between his thumb and forefinger. “Because if this fight doesn’t go exactly as I expect, it will be very unhealthy for you.”
He removes his hand, and I rotate my neck. “I understand.”
“Your biker buddies even asked me to join them tonight in their front row seats. They seem to think keeping an eye on me is necessary, but if you have any ideas about deviating from my plan, there will be casualties.”
“I’ve conned him into thinking I’ll be the big winner. He has no idea what you have planned.” Huge lie, but I have to find out what Hector means by casualties.
“Just a little insurance on my part, to assure you don’t let any twisted feelings for Blood get in your way.”
“You want the money to take his club down, so why single him out?”
“It’s an old code of outlaws. In order for you to obey and get the job done, I’ve put a price on someone you care about to make my point.”
“But I don’t care about Blood. I’ve told you he’s just a means to an end.”
“Then it shouldn’t matter what I do to him. It will be about business. A way to send a message and prove a point.” Hector shrugs. “Same reason I had to get rid of that stupid kid.”
“What?” A cold sweat creeps around my neck.
“Killing Javi showed Blood exactly what I’m capable of doing.”
Hearing the truth flow so casually out of Hector's mouth cramps my gut.
“Another thing you might want to consider if you’re having second thoughts—Blood would never want you after he knew you were mine first.”
“I was never yours,” I whisper, my heart pounding in my throat.
“It wouldn’t matter. I can be very descriptive, and I’ll make sure Blood knows every gory detail before I put a bullet in his brain. Not only would he know you betrayed him, but he’d die also knowing you were my whore—I think I’ve made your decision very easy, don’t you?”
My stomach rolls and twists as a deep pain settles between my ribs.
Hector turns on his heel and weaves his way to the back door of the locker room.
I grip the metal lockers and swallow hard, willing myself to settle, but it’s no use. I dash to the bathroom, yank open the stall door, fall to my knees, and wretch until my chest aches. When there’s nothing left but empty sorrow, I struggle to stand, flush the toilet, stagger to the sink, and rinse my mouth out with shaky hands. A gaunt face with wide, hollow eyes full of fear stares back at me, my reflection frighteningly pale.
I’d fought so hard all these years, but I couldn’t selfishly involve Blood. We’d foolishly made each other believe in something better, something just for us, but it wouldn’t work no matter how much I wanted it.
I draw in a deep breath, straighten my spine, pull on my gloves, and leave the bathroom.
“Are you all right?” Diesel scrunches up his hard face. “You look like shit.”
“I’m fine.” I walk past him and head for the speed bag.
“You sure, ‘cause you?—”
I ignore him as I pummel the bag at lightning speed.
Diesel stands next to me. “You shouldn’t be using up all your energy this close to fight time.”
“I said I’m fine,” I throw over my shoulder, but Diesel stays close.
I hit the bag harder, faster, but it doesn’t help. Hector using Javi as a pawn, threatening Blood. If he could so easily admit to killing an innocent child, taking out Blood, an enemy, would be nothing.
I have to rethink and regroup. Sure, pride drove my desire to win this fight, but at what cost? If I take the dive, Hector would win huge, take over the Royal Bastards’ fight club, and Blood would never forgive me. If I don’t, Hector would kill Blood and still try to take down the Bastards. Easy choice—I’d rather have Blood alive and hating me than dead.
Decision made. I would get the passport from Blood before the fight, take the dive, then disappear. It’s the only way.
I turn to Diesel. “Find Blood, and tell him I need to talk to him.”
BLOOD
“The place is fuckin’ packed already.” Bolt has his head on a swivel, taking it all in and smiling. “I can just hear Manny’s cash machine flipping all that paper.”
People turn when we enter the arena. Some gawk, some blatantly stare, and others make-believe they aren’t looking when they are. Nothing we haven’t seen before. When five guys six-feet or better swagger in draped in faded denim, worn leather cuts covered in patches, and scuffed engineer boots with ink scrolled over their skin, people sit up and take notice. The only one missing is Diesel. He usually babysits the fighters, calms their nerves and pumps them up, but tonight his main focus should be keeping eyes on Maxine until her fight.
We head for the bleachers, and Juan falls into step with me.
“What the fuck do you want?”
“I gotta talk to you.”
“Forget it, I’m busy.” I widen my stride. The last thing I need tonight is this fucker whining about his debts.
He grabs me around my biceps. “No, man, this is important.”
I glare at his hand on my arm, then up at him.
“It’s about Maxine.”
I slow my pace, and Bolt cuts me a look.
“I’ll meet you at the bleachers,” I tell Bolt.
He nods, walks off with the other brothers, and I turn my gaze to Juan. “This better be good.”
“It is.” Juan jerks a look over his shoulder, then back to me. “I heard Maxine talking to Hector in the ladies’ locker room.”
“The ladies’ locker room? What the fuck were you doin’ in there?”
Juan licks his thin lips. “I like to sneak in and watch the girls change and shower. There’s an alcove where I can stand and?—”
I grab Juan around the back of the neck and wheel him off to the side of the lot. “You are a fuckin’ perv.”
Juan smirks. “Yeah, but if I wasn’t in there, I wouldn’t have heard Maxine and Hector.”
“I want you to tell me exactly what they said. Nothing added, nothing left out.”
Juan squares his shoulders. “Hector was giving her shit, telling her she better come through for him and throw the fight, and she told him she’d do what he wanted. She said it more than once.”
Juan jerks his head over his shoulder again, then leans in. “He threatened her, telling her she belongs to him, and no matter what she thought, you would never want her.”
“Fuckin’ bastard.” Hector knew exactly how to work her insecurities. “What else?”
“She said he had nothing to worry about, and she would do exactly what he wanted. She didn’t fight back with him or nothing.”
“Anything else?”
“Yeah, he said all kinds of shit about you and admitted to killing Javi.”
My brain ricochets inside my skull. I already suspected Hector killed Javi, but hearing it drives the knife deeper. Then using me as leverage is just another way Hector manipulated Maxine. He preyed on her vulnerable childhood history of repression and punishment—both mental and physical. A hard chain to break, especially when the torment started so young. I know only too well.
I have to connect with her before her fight. I have to see where her head is at, make sure Hector hasn’t gotten her twisted, and make sure she still trusts me.
I push my hand in the pocket of my jeans and feel the passport Ricky gave me earlier. I planned on holding it until after the fight as insurance she wouldn’t get spooked and run, but I’ll give it to her now to prove I trust her, prove to her what she means to me.
“Good info, right?” Juan rolls on the balls of his feet.
“Consider your debt paid.” I get in his face. “And stay the fuck outta the ladies’ locker room.”