Page 10 of Before

Three

SOMETHING WAS up.

Lev knew it the second he stepped inside the ring to fight. Not because he recognized the name of his opponent or even saw the guy before he was in the ring himself. No, he knew something was up because Nickie, who always stuck to the shadows during the fights, made his way to Lev’s side as he neared the ring.

Just long enough to lean in and say, “Andino wanted me to let you know he’d make it worth your while to end it in a knockout within three minutes.”

Then, his boss was gone.

Just like that, Nickie slipped back into the crowd while Lev was left searching for the back of his boss’s head or any other sign of the man. He found none as he slipped under the ropes. His gaze scanned the front tables and soon he landed on the man who had apparently sent the message to him in the first place.

Andino.

The mafia Capo sat cool and unbothered in his leather chair; his guest beside him wore a grin as he tried to gain his companion’s attention. Andino simply sipped on a glass of whiskey Lev had poured for him twenty minutes earlier. He shook his head at whatever his companion said to his right, but those cold, dark eyes of his nailed straight into Lev.

Rarely did the man speak to him.

Not when he served his drinks.

Not when he tipped.

Never.

Right then, however, Andino tipped his glass in Lev’s direction and then nodded subtly. Just as fast, his attention finally swung to the man at his side, and he rejoined a conversation that he clearly had no interest in entertaining in the first place.

Yeah.

Something was definitely up.

“Fight starts in two minutes!”

Thing was, Lev didn’t have time to consider it.

The rules were always clear—fighters undressed and readied in front of the crowd to prevent any underhanded business happening. Like someone trying to bring a weapon into the ring. It wasn’t always the perfect fail-safe, but it certainly helped to keep the fights cleaner.

If there was such a thing in underground fights.

Since Lev typically just walked right into the ring off the floor, without someone in his corner, it was unusual for him to find a pair of big green eyes staring at him from the outside of the ropes. Gigi, that was.

Seemed the woman was going to stick around. She didn’t look sure if that was a good idea or not. Settling on keeping his worn jeans on, Lev ignored the calls from the crowd when he pulled his shirt off and tossed it into the corner where the rest of his items lay forgotten in a pile. Shoes, socks; even his wallet.

Over the ropes, Gigi leaned closer to him with her pink lips pursed as a nervous smile started to flit over her mouth. He suddenly had the strangest regret—that he hadn’t tried to get a kiss from her when he approached her at the bar. He didn’t really know why he went up to her in the first place when he was only supposed to be worried about making sure Andino Marcello’s—and his guest’s—glass never emptied.

That was a lie.

He did know.

Her face.

She was the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen in his life and by no conscious choice of his own, he found himself standing in front of her with the lamest line right on the tip of his tongue. He’d not been able to appreciate her height, or the way her legs looked in heels and how her romper stretched over the curves and dips of her body until they walked up to the ring and damn ... it was a shame. But shit, if all went well, maybe later he would get a little more time to properly appreciate the woman. Those vibrant green eyes of hers made the freckles stand out even more on the bridge of her nose and across her cheeks. When she smiled, dark lashes fanned over her cheeks and her imperfect smile made her look heaven-sent.

How could he not approach?

Take a shot?

“Do you do this often?” she asked him over the loud crowd.

By the sounds of it, his opponent had finally stepped into the ring behind him. Lev didn’t even bother checking over his shoulder. Instead, he put all his attention on the gorgeous face of a woman who was clearly trying to hide her worry.