Page 54 of Saving Blood

“That’s how I know—you’re fucked.”

“Let’s just get through tomorrow night, rake in our profits, then have a sit down with Hector.”

“Nah, I say we send one of the prospects to Hector’s place and invite him to the fight. We have him sit with us so we can keep eyes on him. That way, if he plans on starting any bullshit, we can stop it—real damn fast.”

“Sounds good, ‘cause I don’t trust the bastard either.”

Smoke always keeps his eye on the ball, heading off trouble before it starts. A good trait since the last thing we need is Hector fucking things up.

Smoke pushes out of the chair and points at me. “Make sure you show up at The Tropics tonight. I like to see my VP once in a while.” Then he holds out his fist, and I return the gesture. “Since we’re closing the club tomorrow night, we’re gonna party tonight.”

“I’ll be there.”

Smoke throws me a look that saysyou better be.

After Smoke leaves, I settle into my chair to sort shit out in my head. I pull a cig out of the pack, light up and inhale deep, but the nicotine doesn’t squelch the wonky sensation jittering through my veins. So much going on at once, I just have to hope it doesn’t all come crashing down on me or the club—or Maxine.

22

BLOOD

I walk Ricky to the office door. “Thanks for the help, man.”

“No problem. It should be ready in about twenty-four hours.”

I step out into the gym and pull the door closed. “When you get it, give it to me, not Maxine.”

Ricky’s brows knit together. “Right, Boss.”

I reenter the office, round my desk and glare at Maxine.

“Thanks for doing this for me.” She concentrates on the hem of her biker shorts.

“No problem.”

“Ricky didn’t mention a price.” Her head pops up. “I have money. I want to pay you or him something.”

“Not necessary.” I force my voice to stay neutral, but even I heard the edginess.

“But—”

I lean my palms on the desk. “Are you gonna tell me why the whole side of your face is fucked up, or are we just gonna keep ignoring it?”

Her fingers fly to her cheek. “I guess Carmella’s still pissed off I got the bigger locker. She landed a good one during practice when I wasn’t expecting it.”

“Bullshit,” I spit out the one word, my stomach churning with acid.

“No, really, she was pissed off Francesca and I have bigger lockers than her. Petty shit, but, of course, her anger is what makes her good in the cage.”

I bark out a harsh laugh. “Is everything that falls out of your mouth a fuckin’ lie?”

When she bites her lower lip, the lie is confirmed. I’d just listened to her give Ricky all kinds of info for the passport, but who knows how much of it was true.

“I mean, are you even from California?”

“Before I came to Tijuana, I lived in California, yes, right off Sunset Boulevard.”

“And is your last name really Parker, and your birthday in November?”

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