Page 97 of Hate Game

Isaac barks at me to buckle in before he walks around and gets behind the wheel. What a grump a lump. The back doors open, and Colton and Johnny pile into the SUV.

We drive past a stewing Malice standing next to his jacked-up pickup truck. Malice flips my brother and his friends the bird with both hands. He is angry, and it’s my fault.

I shouldn’t have let Rory bait him.

Wait a minute.

Maliceshouldn’t have let Rory bait him. Malice is better than that. He can control his temper. Or, like Isaac said, save it for the cages.

“Malice has to go all the way, Rue.”

“Why? Why can’t he lose and be done with it?”

“Because the fucking McCabes are betting on him. They’re betting he’ll take down Big J. Their bet is separate from the purse money. If Malice loses, I’ll owe Sawyer McCabe a shit ton of money. If he wins, I’m twenty grand richer.”

“Why would they think a high school boy can take down a man triple his size, Isaac?” I turn and stare a hole into the side of my brother’s handsome face. “Unlessyouput the thought in their heads.”

He avoids looking at me, and that’s how I know I’m right.

“You’ll get him killed. Take back whatever you said. Tell them you overestimated Malice’s chances.”

The last guy who went against Big J was carried out of the cage on a gurney. He stayed for weeks in the hospital with bleeding in the brain and hasn’t been the same since.

“Please, Isaac.”

“No can do. The bet was placed and accepted by all parties. Once done, something cannot be undone. Not with this group of men.”

“Mobsters. You made a deal with criminals without mine or Malice’s knowledge.”

“Oh, Malice knows, Rue. He came up with the bet.”

That does not sound like Malice. One, his net worth is greater than the amount of money at stake. Two, he is not a fan of my brother. Is he setting Isaac up to fail and owe mobsters money he doesn’t have?

Why would Malice do something so underhanded and god-awful to another person? Something fishy is going on, and I will get to the bottom of it. And how do I explain his injuries to his parents? I have to find a way for him to get out of the fights and the bet, not because I’ll fail at my job, but because I love him.

Loving someone means saving them from themselves.

“I’ll talk to Sawyer McCabe myself,” I mutter.

“What the fuck did you say?” Isaac’s arm shoots out. He grips my chin in one hand and pulls the SUV onto the side of the road with the other hand on the steering column.

I free myself from his grip and scoot close to the door. “You heard me.”

“Don’t you dare, Rue. Don’t think being female will save you. They’ll kill you for interfering.”

“They wouldn’t.” Even mobsters have a code. I’ll find out what that code is and use it to my advantage. As soon as I get home, I’ll call Leigh. She has an in with Maddox Stassi, and he can give me advice.

“You want to take that chance?”

I shake my head.

Inside, I am thinking over my options. I’m reckless, but I’m not stupid. I’ve rescued myself from my own bad situations before and have helped Riley get out of her messes too, when she lived in Delridge.

Except Malice losing will hurt his pride and leave my brother owing mobsters money he doesn’t have. Plus, Isaac warned me not to step foot on the Eastside or come near the fight. Otherwise, I’ll forfeit the money I’ve been giving him for the past two years. Without the funds, I won’t be able to look for my parents.

But they’re not here. They abandoned me. Malice hasn’t. Neither has Isaac, though he is a pain in my ass.

As we near Cambridge, I come up with only one solution.

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