Page 11 of Unraveling an Enigma
Smiling at him, I continued walking to Cormack’s car, not bothering to answer his question. I’d already had severalmanagersapproach me the past few months, but I was never interested in what they were offering, so I just kept walking. I knew our days were numbered as I had fought at nearly every college I could. Our con was being caught onto fairly quickly, but I already gave a share of my profits to Cormack, so I wasn’t prepared to part with more of my money.
“I can guarantee you five grand a fight,” Dimitri yelled.
I stopped walking and pivoted around to face him. His face was void of any emotion. He only stood there smirking at me like he had the whole world at his feet. It was only his eyes that gave away his deceit. They were empty and soulless.
“Come and fight for my father, and he will pay you five thousand dollars a fight,” he offered.
I turned my curious gaze to Cormack, whose eyes were flicking between Dimitri and me. Once his gaze settled on mine, he hunched his shoulder to indicate he was leaving the decision up to me, since it was my life on the line.
“Where are the fights located?”
“Hopeton,” Dimitri interrupted. “Just near your hometown,” he continued, making me realize he had done his research on me.
Apparently, our clever ruse had already gained some attention, and it was going to end a little sooner than I’d initially perceived.
“How often are the fights?” I questioned, wanting to make sure it would be worth my time. Five thousand dollars a fight was impressive, but not if you only fight once a month.
Dimitri pursed his lips as his shoulders lifted into a condescending shrug. He didn’t attempt to answer my question.
“Not interested,” I replied before I continued back to Cormack’s car.
“I’ll guarantee you five thousand a week even if you don’t fight,” he yelled, halting my hasty retreat.
I stood still, not bothering to turn around. In silence, I contemplated his request. Five thousand dollars a week would assist with my future goals and aspirations. Cormack’s gaze sought mine. He nodded his head, encouraging me to accept his agreement.
“Five thousand dollars a week and my father becomes your owner,” Dimitri informed me. His brash statement forced me to turn around.
“My owner?” I questioned with my brow cocked high into the air.
Dimitri smiled and nodded his head like he thought the idea of me being owned would impress me.It didn’t.
My teeth clenched. “Nobody owns me,” I growled viciously.
“Everyone is owned,” Dimitri whispered, his voice haunted and shallow.
I stepped closer to him, so close the fear in his eyes was visible.“Nobody owns me,” I said again, staring into his dark eyes.
I heard car doors opening in the distance before Cormack coughed. When my eyes turned to him, he nudged his head to the parking lot. Two large men clad in suits were stepping out of a black Escalade. One of the men, whose eyes were firmly planted on me, pulled back his suit jacket to show he was carrying a semi-automatic weapon.
“Everyone is owned,” Dimitri said again before he began strolling to the car the men in suits had just exited.
“I’ll be in contact,” he promised, sliding into the back seat of the Escalade.
My eyes turned to Cormack the instant the black Escalade left the parking lot.
“Who the fuck was that?” Cormack questioned, his voice quivering.
I shrugged. Because back then, I didn’t have a clue who I was dealing with.
Isabelle
Pressing my palms on the vanity sink, I raise my eyes to the large mirror in front of me. Disheveled. That is the one word I can adequately use to describe myself. Black circles plague my eyes from my lack of sleep. My hair is oily and unkept since I haven’t bothered to wash or brush it for two days. And my skin is pale, amplifying the dark rings under my eyes even more. I look horrific, and rightfully so. I spent the majority of my weekend wrapped up in my bedsheets. My sheets are the closest thing to Isaac I have, so I never let them out of my sight.
The only good thing that has come from two days of no sleep is I cleared up some of the confusion muddled in my mind. Obviously, Alex didn’t unearth anything incriminating in the invasive search of Isaac’s private residence, or he would not have let Isaac walk out of the police department during questioning.
Knowing Alex didn’t have enough evidence to issue an arrest warrant on Isaac gave me a small moment of reprieve, but I still wondered why Alex went in gung ho to arrest Isaac so fiercely. He must have had something up his sleeve to get a Judge to agree to an arrest warrant. Even with Isaac indicating he wants nothing to do with me, I’ll still defend him. I’ll fight for his justice right alongside him. Even if he can’t stand the sight of me.
Once I have a long shower and spend a good thirty minutes in front of the mirror striving to remove the disheveled look from my face, I walk out of my apartment into the crisp but dreary morning air. It poured rain a majority of the weekend, which has brought in a refreshing change of temperature. Thankfully, I was smart enough to grab my wool jacket from the closet before leaving my apartment.
