Page 10 of The Game

I followed where he indicated, taking in the lads. “What about them?”

“Subs,” he said simply.

Substitutes. The backup list in case of no-shows.

I understood perfectly. My hackles rose. “I might be late, but this is my position.”

He continued on as if I hadn’t spoken. “We don’t sub in the lasses. Rarely had one drop out. Seems to me if women decide to do something, particularly as lifechanging as this, they don’t take it lightly. They’ve thought it through and committed. Probably imagined it over and over again. Considered all the safety angles.”

I furrowed my brow. “How rare is rarely?”

He held my gaze. “I don’t say anything I don’t mean.”

Which told me nothing. Not if she’d signed up in the first place. Or returned his call. Then again, he was choosing his words carefully. He’d already told me he couldn’t discuss clients. I had a feeling he’d given me exactly what I needed just to get me inside.

It darkened my mood further.

I couldn’t let in the hope that I was wrong. I’d sat here and watched, and I trusted my eyes. Yet there was a sliver of a chance I was wrong… Fuck it. I had to go inside. Assuming I wouldn’t find her, I’d let some bastard KO me and take the hit to my pride.

I strode for the entrance. Shade kept up. In the basement, his crew directed me to a side room where I stripped all except my jeans. My clothes would be taken to my car, hence why Shade kept my keys. Then someone handed me a skeleton mask to tie around my face.

Through the corridor, I was taken to a door. Angry shouts came from the other side. Shade unlocked it and shoved me in with a group of furious men. I took in each with a rapid assessment. Only a couple, mid-fight already, were as big as me. The others varied in size. I could take every one of them with how pumped up I felt.

On the opposite wall, a cage door separated us from a vast and brightly lit basement. Another cage of men was visible across the floor.

“How long?” I snarled.

“A few minutes,” someone said with a sniff. “Good luck.”

I didn’t wish it in return. No way I’d be getting lucky tonight. Not unless my angel happened to fly in. If that happened, the devil take anyone who got in my way.

Chapter 6

Emmeline

“I heard a rumour there was meant to be a celebrity here,” said a lawyer. She stood in front of the mirror in the dressing room, twisting a curl of her black hair just right over her cheek.

She was stunning and clearly prided herself on her appearance. I admired her for it, but I was intimidated, too.

Between the two of us, no sane man would fight for me.

“Who?” another asked, peering out of the door. She had a pert face and blonde curls that had to be extensions from the impressive length.

“A boxer? I don’t watch sports but I’ve heard of him. Malachi Hunan. He was spotted coming in for an interview. But apparently, he didn’t show.”

My heart sank. Malachi wasn’t a boxer. His sport was MMA. But there was no point correcting them. Not that I had the will now I knew he hadn’t come.

“I know his face. What woman doesn’t? I would definitely have seen him arrive. I was watching all the men come in,” the woman at the door replied.

“You watched them? I thought we weren’t allowed.” This came from a shy woman with a pixie cut and warm tawny skin. She’d mostly hidden at the back. Her hands shook with a fear I shared.

Our fifth member, with glossy brown hair hiding an undercut, had discarded her strappy heels on the dressing room floor, checked her reflection, then sprinted off barefoot to hide.

I’d slipped my own shoes off, too. I’d come tonight in the only sexy item of clothing I owned—a little black dress with a flirty high hem—and had daringly left off underwear. My boobs were big enough to hold shape, and Shade had warned me not to bring anything I didn’t want torn or broken. He also reiterated that I’d probably end up naked, so I’d booked myself in for a full-body sculpt, hair removal, and mani-pedi.

I felt like a stranger but in a good way. Fresh and free. Ready to take on a new chapter in my life with a purely physical start to it. I could barely remember the last time I’d had sex, but I was going to daily for the next month.

Except not with Malachi.

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