Page 3 of Crash
“Scary?”
I glanced up at my brother and nodded. “Dr. Ormond thinks it might be a good idea if I start looking for a job.”
His face contorted into thought. “A job, huh?”
“I finished my course last week,” I said. “I should get my final mark back by Friday.”
“I could use some help with the admin at Pulse,” he said. “Pens and paper aren’t my style.”
Ash’d earned his fortune at The Underground, an illegal cage fighting ring that was held in an abandoned warehouse in Abbotsford, an inner suburb of Melbourne, not too far from where he opened Pulse. He didn’t want to go back to pro or stay long-term in underground fighting—he didn’t want that kind of spotlight anymore—so he used his winnings to open up his own fighter gym. He said he wanted to help screw-ups like him.
At the thought of going back to that world, I felt my throat constrict. I’d been Ash’s biggest cheerleader before everything fell apart. When he made pro, I was so happy for him. I went to all his qualifiers, talked him up all over the Internet and I even went to Sydney for some of his matches. When Mum and Dad letme, thatwas. It was another time and all the things I’d loved about it now gave me nightmares.Hetook that away from me, and I was yet to get it back. I wasn’t sure I wanted it.
“They’re good blokes there, Vee,” he said, noticing that I’d begun to shut down. “I wouldn’t make the offer if I didn’t trust the fuckers with my little sister.”
I swallowed hard. “I know.”
“You can stay in the office and do your shit. You don’t need to come down into the gym. Not until you’re ready.”
I let the idea roll around in my brain for a moment. I couldn’t see myself going out to job interviews. Prospective employers would take one look at scared, little, Violet Fuller and consider her a flight risk.
“You can start on Monday,” he said, watching me think. “No pressure. Take the weekend to think about it.”
“Really?” I asked,beginning to think it might be a good idea since he was my brother and all. Working for someone I knew and trustedwasa good idea…
“Fuckin’ really,” he said with a chuckle. “Ren could use the help. She’s not much for office work.”
I smiled, beginning to get used to the idea. “No, she isn’t.”
My brother’s girlfriend was a fighter through and through. The thought of the lean, muscled cage fighter sitting at a computer typing out budget reports was almost comical.
“I do have one condition.”
I groaned, already knowing where this was headed. “What?”
“You have to come to the opening party Friday night.”
“Ash.” Parties equaled dresses, eyes,people…cameras. I felt like hyperventilating at the thought. Who knew what would happen once I was actually there.
“Please, Violet,” he said. “It’d mean a lot to me. You know how much work I put into the gym. I want you to be there. You can even cut the bloody ribbon.”
I drew my knees up to my chest. “Can I think about it?” I didn’t want to disappoint him if my anxiety got too much for me to handle.
He leaned against me, throwing a big arm around my shoulders. “Sure thing. Like I said, no pressure.”
Letting my head fall against his shoulder, I sighed. “Thanks.”
“You know I won’t let it slide for long,” he murmured. “Remember that time you went to face Ren at Beat? You stared down an angry as fuck Spitfire to get her to come see me.”
I smiled, knowing it was past time that he had brought it up. When he was stuck here on house arrest, he’d spiraled into depression, and I’d known the only thing that would get him out was Ren, so I’d sucked it up and ventured to Beat in Brunswick and sought her out. She’d been pissedalright. Ash had hurt her by trying to do the right thing, and she was as wild as anything. If I could face a broken-hearted cage fighter, maybe I could do this.
I pushed away from him, and his arm dropped. “I…I just need to think about it a little. Get used to the idea is all.”
Ash frowned and peered at me for a moment before he pushed to his feet. “Sure thing, squirt.”
“Fucking puke,” I retorted.
He laughed before shoving a hand through his hair. “I’m going to hit the gym for a while.”
