Page 99 of Hate Game

“He made it into the second round but took a hard clobber to the head.”

“What else?” I’ve been to other fights and have seen worse.

“Split lip. Black eye.”

And he hasn’t even made it to the last round, which would be with Big J.

“Where is the fight at? I stopped by two warehouses already, and they’re dark.”

“The high school.”

Of course. Isaac went big for this fight by offering food, alcohol, private places for people to hook up in, and a live DJ with a dance rave. A school with classrooms, bathrooms, and a giant gym is the perfect place to hold an illegal fight. If it’s the high school I am thinking of, it’s law enforcement’s worst nightmare too.

The school was built between two towns, and the sheriff and the police often couldn’t decide who had jurisdiction.

I doubt they’ll care about a bunch of kids partying and living it up on a Saturday night. If they do, Isaac will pay them off with the money he’ll get from charging entrance. The price went up to a few hundred for this fight after Isaac spread the word that, one, Malice Sterling would be fighting, and, two, the Bay Area McCabes were paying our small towns a visit.

The women are curious about Sawyer McCabe and his cousins, Gunner and Beckett. The men hoped to snap pictures and videos to post on their social media accounts, claiming to be in the vicinity of dangerous gangsters.

I only care about one person and one thing. Malice and his life.

“Gotcha. Thanks, Red. Please don’t tell Isaac.”

“I’m not planning on it. Not that he’s on speaking terms with me. He’s been egging me to give up the bet we made.”

“The one where I lost and jumped off the cliffside?”

“Yeah, that one.”

“I’m fine with you telling.” Isaac will understand the reason why Rory thought it was fine to approach me at the skating ring.

Red dared me to either kiss him at Galley’s party or jump off the cliff and into the lake. I chose a different guy to kiss instead when we were at Galley’s party, helping Leigh catch a cheater red-handed. Kissing Rory felt less like cheating on Malice than kissing Red, though Malice and I weren’t dating back then.

“Are you sure he won’t be more pissed off at me?”

“Not when you tell him jumping off the cliff was my idea. But maybe tell him tomorrow. He can be the biggest jerk during the fights. It’s not you. It’s him, okay? We’ll work on him warming up to you again.”

It must be stressful for my brother to compete with himself after every successful fight he puts together.

“I’m up for that. Thanks, Rue. He’s important to you, and that puts him high on my list to please.”

“More so than Malice?”

“I told you; family matters are different. He has to prove he is serious about you.”

“Isn’t us together and him holding and kissing me enough? I know you saw how handsy he was with me at Friendsgiving.”

“That’s not how it works with us Sterlings. PDAs are not a declaration of possession.”

“I won’t belong to him. He should want to belong with me.”

“Belong with rather than belong to. Nice choice of words, Rue.”

I can hear the smirk in his voice.

“Hurry your ass up. Malice has moved on to the last round with Big J. He’s resting up in the boys’ locker room.”

“Didn’t Isaac put in large blocks of time for people to dance and drink, and, you know, do other things?”

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