Page 93 of Dare to Dance
I tried to jerk out of Kody’s hands, but my brother was strong. “You have the nerve to show up here?” I asked with venom gushing out of me.
Trent held up his hands as a small amount of blood oozed out of his nose. “I was invited.”
I tossed a look over my shoulder at Jay. If he so much as let this bastard in here, then he and I were finished.
Jay pushed through the crowd. “I don’t have time to hear what’s going on. Kross, get your ass in the ring. Now,” he said through clenched teeth.
“I want to know who let him in here.” I wasn’t getting in any ring until I knew. Even then, I wasn’t sure I would fight.
Trent nodded his head at the ring.
I glanced over my shoulder. “Reggie did?” I shouldn’t have been surprised. Reggie was friends with Kade’s enemy, Greg Sullivan, who reminded me a lot of Trent, dirty and sleazy.
Trent held out his invitation. “No trouble. I’m here to protect my investment.” He flashed Reggie a smile.
I couldn’t tell if what he meant by his investment was Reggie or our deal.
Gail joined us. “Is there a problem?” Her voice was light but firm. “I don’t have all night.”
Jay pinned a glare on me. I knew I was ruining my shot at a boxing career, but I couldn’t ruin his. He had connections in the industry and was well-liked and respected. He’d jumped through hoops to get an audience with Gail. Not only that, if Reggie was in cahoots with Trent, then this fight would be all the more interesting. I knew where to punch to make sure the blow would hurt without knocking him out.
“I’m cool,” I lied.
“What?” Ruby all but shouted.
“Jay and Gail, one minute, please.” I softened my expression the best I could.
“All right, everyone.” Jay corralled the group around us. “Back to your seats.”
I stepped closer to Trent with Kody close by me, ready to intervene. “Where is my daughter?”
He glanced around before he answered. “You stick to the deal.” Then he casually sauntered off to find a seat next to Reggie’s friends.
A primal instinct to beat the man until he couldn’t breathe warred with the need to stick to the plan for Raven’s sake. I briefly shut my eyes before I turned to face Ruby. I thought about having her call Detective Rayburn to tell him Trent was there, but he’d said the cops were keeping an eye on Trent.
She wriggled, trying to get out of Kade’s hold. “Well, what did he say? Does he have Raven?”
“He isn’t going to tell me.” But the smug look he’d given me before striding off led me to believe he was responsible for Raven’s disappearance.
Ruby stopped trying to get away from Kade as I ran into the ring.
29
Ruby
Ishould have been marvelingat the man I loved, whose ripped abs and bulging biceps were a huge turn-on. Yet I couldn’t concentrate on anything except wondering where in the world my daughter was. She had to be scared out of her mind. I couldn’t believe that Trent had the nerve to show up here. Maybe it was good that he was at the fight. That way, when the fight ended, I could tie him down until he told us the truth. I whipped out Kross’s phone and held it in one of my hands as though it was my lifeline. Detective Rayburn had advised Kross to go through with the fight. I couldn’t have said I disagreed. I was reminded of all those cop shows I’d watched, where the bad guys held someone for ransom, and the cops always recommended that the parents follow the kidnapper’s orders. None of that made me feel any better, though.
Kade and Kody flanked me on each side as I bounced my knee faster than a car moving at a hundred miles per hour.
Kade gently placed his large hand on my knee. “Ruby, I know this is hard. I feel your frustration, pain, and every other emotion that is gripping the fuck out of you. But I promise you, Trent will get what’s coming to him.”
I peered up at Kade. Empathy and sympathy swam in his copper eyes. He’d been through something similar with his girlfriend, and for that, I felt connected to him. I covered my hand over his warm and strong one. He adjusted his so that he was holding mine.
I hoped his girlfriend would be okay with him holding my hand. I needed something to keep me from acting on my motherly instinct to hurt Trent Baker. “Please don’t let go,” I said to Kade.
He squeezed my hand. “I never let go of family.”
I held back a burst of tears. The Maxwells were too real to be true.
