Inside Danger (Outside The Ropes Book 2) (2 page)

Demetri walked to the side of where we sat, ushering us to the door. I guess the deal was done.

Nick glanced at his phone one last time, then slipped it into his coat pocket and walked towards the door. “Before ya go.” He turned back to us. “I have to introduce ya to someone.”

Silas stepped to the side of me. “Who?”

“You don’t have to come.” Nick slid his eyes from Silas to me. “Someone wants to meet our newest fighter.”

“Silas is my ride.” I didn’t want him to leave. He had my gun, and I wasn’t about to go off with Nick alone.

“Then he can come too.” He walked out the door, expecting us to follow.

Demetri left us little choice since he stayed behind us and kept us moving out of the room.

We walked down the hall and it became clear what type of club this was. A stage came into view and topless girls were up working the poles.

Nick opened a door to the right, just before we reached the opening to the main club. The room was full of people. It was its own mini club; a bar along one wall, three personal stages—each with half naked girls dancing on them, and a dark blue sofa that ran along two walls.

Men spotted the sofa and some stood in clusters. In the corner was the largest group and my eyes immediately found him, as if pulled by a magnet.

I froze. Stunned.

Gage was sitting back in a chair, laughing. It was unlike any expression I’d ever seen from him, and it’s what shocked me the most. I had been going crazy this week, and there he was, beer in hand, laughing.

A man next to him clasped him on the shoulder and spoke into his ear. Gage’s eyes rose up as he listened and they landed on me. Maybe for a split second something crossed his face, or maybe that was wishful thinking. Either way, he covered it with a swig from his bottle, and then his smile was back and he was no longer looking at me.

Silas leaned into me and spoke low, “Don’t lose that poker face now. Stop staring.”

I closed my mouth and pulled my surprise back in, along with all the other mixed bag of emotions Gage pulled out of me.

The man next to Gage gestured for us to come over with a single wave of his hand. He was tall, blonde, and kind of skinny, but his suit fit well and he seemed to be the center of this room.

We walked through the maze of people until we were standing in front of him. I never let my eyes go back to Gage but he was still there in the corner of my vision, and it took all my strength not to stare and drink him in.

“This must be the new girl.” The blonde rose to his feet, and the way his hazel eyes ran over me made my skin crawl.

“Everything’s worked out. She’s your newest fighter.”

He directed his politician smile to me. “Sweetheart—”

“Regan.” The word was out before I could think.

He cocked his head slightly. “Excuse me?”

“Regan. My name is Regan,” I said it evenly, as if my heart wasn’t pounding a hole into my rib cage. I didn’t want to offend him, I could tell he held power here, but I didn’t want to continue on with him calling me sweetheart either. I needed to make that clear.

“Regan?” His lip curled in amusement. “Well, Regan, I would love to stay and talk but I have somewhere to be. I wanted to introduce myself though, I’m Anatoli Rusnak.” He stepped close and shook my hand with a firm grip, his other hand even firmer on my shoulder. “I’ve had a fortunate week. I’m the new owner of the City Center Boxing Club and we’re glad you chose to stay on.” He winked at me.

This was Rusnak. I hoped my shallow breaths didn’t give away how uncomfortable he made me.

He pulled his hands away as Gage stood up.

“You can stay,” Rusnak directed to Gage. “Demetri is coming with me.” He gestured to Demetri and they both walked out.

All eyes followed his path as he left. He may have been skinny, but strength was clear in his movements and when he had touched me.

Nick stepped next to Gage, grabbing his shoulder. “Aren’t ya gonna say hi? This is the girl ya jumped out of the ring to kiss, isn’t it?”

His words dripped with sarcasm and I knew then, he wasn’t for Gage. And the way his eyes lit up on me and his face twisted with a smirk, I also knew that I wasn’t here to meet Rusnak or even for our deal. 

They wanted me here for this moment, so Gage would see. I was a pawn they were using to get to him. I wasn’t helping him. I had only made things worse.

MAYBE I WAS BEING OVERLY SUSPICIOUS. MAYBE Nick’s comment wasn’t the bomb I thought it was.

Maybe.

If I went off of others reactions, it was nothing more than conversation, but I wasn’t willing to give any of them that benefit of the doubt.

I couldn’t help but study Gage as he responded. He inclined his head to me with a slight nod of greeting before giving his uncle a questioning side look. “That was a fun night, but why is she here?”

He typically stood tall, confident, with his shoulders back, but not now. His shoulders were slightly rounded, a barely there change, but my heart dropped at what it could mean. Was he intentionally making himself less or had they beat out his confidence? This close, his bruises were visible. His bottom lip was swollen and cut, and a shadow of a bruise was on his cheek; those weren’t from his fight last week.

I slid my hands into my back pockets to keep from reaching for him. They tingled with the need to touch him, to more than see that he was okay, I needed to feel it.

Nick laughed, ignoring his question. “What’s the matter, ya don’t want her here? I thought you’d like seeing your girl again. Never seen you put in so much work for one before.”

Gage picked up his beer bottle, eyes on me as he took a sip. But there was nothing in them and that was holding me together. His guard was up and I didn’t know when I had gotten so close that I could read the little signs. Or maybe it was my imagination again, but either way, I would follow his lead.

His gaze dropped over me, looking me up and down with a blank face, and then he shrugged and turned to Nick. “She was fun, but not worth the trouble.” He sat back down on the sofa and nodded towards me. “I don’t care if she’s here though; I see her all the time at the gym. Just wondered why?”

Heat burned under my skin. As much as I tried to keep cool and distant, I couldn’t control the reaction, even when I tried to remind myself he wasn’t being honest. This was all an act, it had to be.

Nick sat beside him and cocked his head, appraising me. “I could see that, she’s got a little too much anger.” He turned back to Gage with a grin. “I’ve always liked the sweet ones though. But, that anger could be good for us, since she’s going to keep boxing.”

Gage took a sip and raised his eyebrow at Silas. “So what is this? A fuckin’ company picnic? Any others coming?”

Silas took the seat next to Gage. “Just had a meeting with Nick to work out her contract, that’s all. Have a seat Rea, now that work’s done we can relax some.”

I knew I should go. My muscles ached with the desire to flee, but something more intense, deep in my core, told me to stay. I didn’t want to leave Gage just yet. So against my better judgment, I took the seat next to Silas, he was my ride home anyways.

“Cindy, get over here. I need a drink,” Nick called over the chatter and music in the room.

A topless girl, with melon-sized boobs, slinked over. She sat on Nick’s lap and pulled on a chain around her neck, revealing several charms on the end. One of them was a bottle opener and she used it to crack the lid on the beer in her other hand, then passed it to him.

“Can I get anyone else anything?” she questioned us with a sultry voice.

Gage lifted his beer bottle and wiggled it, signaling for another.

“Bourbon for me,” Silas said.

“What about you, doll?” she asked, seemingly oblivious to Nick’s face in her chest.

I shook my head and turned to Silas. “I need to go soon.”

I felt pulled; I wanted to talk to Gage, but I knew it wouldn’t happen tonight. Not here. And the more I sat, the deeper my unease grew, a nagging feeling in my stomach that I shouldn’t be here.

Silas didn’t pull his eyes off the server walking away as he responded, “Soon.”

I slumped back in the seat and tried to put my mind anywhere else. Some girls were up dancing and some were rubbing on other men; some were naked, some wore underwear, but none were in clothes. I shouldn’t be here.

The big-boobed brunette returned, leaning suggestively into each man as she handed off his drink. Nick hooked his arm around her, pulling her back onto his lap before she could walk away.

“Have ya sampled the new goods?” he asked Gage and Silas, maybe I was included, but I doubted it. He lifted the necklace from her cleavage and flicked through the charms dangling from the end. “The star, right?” He asked her and she nodded.

As Nick unscrewed the charm, she lifted her hand flat and he poured white powder onto the back of it, between her thumb and pointer finger. She brought it up to his nose and he inhaled sharply.

Gage was leaned back on the sofa, turned away from me, watching his uncle snort more off the girl’s chest.

Nick sat up. “It’s got to be the finest shit we’ve ever copped.” He ran his hand up and down the girl’s waist, then patted her hip and pointed to Silas. “Go give ‘em some.”

She sat on Silas’s lap and I scooted myself away, snakes coiling in my stomach, knotting into a venomous ball of disgust. It wasn’t even her I was disgusted with, the distance in her gaze made it clear she was just doing her job. This place and these people disgusted me.

Silas spread out the coke on her cleavage and buried his face as he inhaled. Nick nodded to Gage and she moved to him, straddling his lap, and I nearly threw up.

I didn’t want to see this; I never wanted to think of Gage like this because, no matter what the excuse, this image would forever be burned into my brain. And I couldn’t un-see it or forget it.

She braced her hands on either of his shoulders as she cooed, “How do you want it?”

His eyes connected with hers as he took the charm from Silas and grabbed one of her hands, tipping some out onto the space between her thumb and finger. She moved her hand to his nose and he breathed in, long and deep.

The knots in my stomach were unbearably tight, but they tore painfully as he moved her hand to his mouth and sucked off the residue.

She trailed her hand down his neck and rested it low on his stomach as he let his head fall back, closing his eyes as the high took over.

She turned to Nick, but inclined her head to me. “What about her?”

“No.” I didn’t give him the chance to answer. “I don’t do that.” I couldn’t hide the contempt in my voice. I wanted to shout at Gage, see how easily I said no. Everything in me was boiling and burning.

Nick’s gaze glazed over as he looked at me. “Fine.” He turned to Gage, who still had the girl on his lap, and nudged his shoulder. “I thought ya said she was fun?” He asked with a low rumble of a laugh that reminded me of Gages.

I couldn’t see his face as he responded since he was turned away from me, but his voice sounded light, teasing. “I also said she wasn’t worth the trouble. She takes a lot of work.” His hands slid around the girl’s waist in front of him.

A part of me was still hoping that he was acting, that this was all a cover for him. But either way, I couldn’t sit here and listen. And really, no matter what we meant to each other, I wouldn’t let a person say that stuff about me.

I stood and faced Nick. “Whatever, I’m not here to make friends or have fun. We worked out what I came for. I’m leaving now.”

Nick’s slick smile was almost a sneer as he said, “Bye.” He saluted me with two fingers to his forehead.

I glanced over the others, but Gage didn’t even bother pulling his eyes off the boobs in front of him. Silas stood up and followed me.

He stopped at the door and pointed to the main club. “Go out the front, they can get you a cab. Here.” He handed me a couple of twenties. “I’ll see you Sunday morning, we’ll talk and start training. Stay low till then.” He turned away, going back to Nick and Gage.

As I climbed into the cab, I scanned the perimeter of the club, half expecting Gage to walk out, to talk to me. But he didn’t. That shouldn’t have surprised me or hurt me. But it did. I was realizing now, I couldn’t bet on him, he never comes through.

I returned to my hotel, a hotel in the suburbs, outside of the city. I moved out of the house with the girls when I made the decision to stick with Silas and fall in with Rusnak, I didn’t want to drag anyone else down with me. But sitting in the room, alone, I hit an all new level of desolation. I had still held onto the hope that I had Gage, that I wasn’t completely alone, but I knew now, I was.

While that realization hurt, a part of me was relieved to let him go. I felt weightless, untethered. I had nothing left to lose, and that made taking risks that much easier. And I knew there were risks I needed to take, there was no way I was getting out of this with my hands clean.

I make everything worse.

It’s what Nan had said. It’s what I knew.

Each choice I made snowballed into a worse one. And now, I was buried under them. Even the choices that didn’t seem too bad at the time turned into the ones I regretted the most.

As I stared at the text I just received, I regretted ever moving into the house with the girls.

An unknown number sent a picture of Leona and Aliya walking into the house. The picture itself wasn’t bad, they seemed oblivious to the car that must be parked at the curb. The clock on the dash was visible at the bottom of the screen, 6:38, letting me know whoever it was, was there right fucking now.

The shock to my heart jumpstarted me into action. I hit the contact button, searching for Leona’s number, but before I found it my screen lit up with an incoming call.

Same unknown number.

“Where you?” an accented voice asked.

“What do you want? ‘Cause I’m not there, you can leave.” I stood up from the bed, unable to keep still with the jolts of fear shooting through my muscles.

“Where you? I leave then.” His flat, level voice sounded familiar, but I wasn’t sure. “Who is this?”