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CHAPTER1
REAGAN
My alarm clock blared in my ear over an hour ago, but I didn’t have anywhere I had to be. It was nice. That was what I loved about the off-season. I was given a break from the mandatory workouts and sparring sessions. Then again, I earned the time off. But still, I had to keep in shape, which was why I was getting ready to head to the gym. Standing in my closet, I slid my long, ruby-colored bridesmaid gown to the side and grabbed a pink tank top to wear and a T-shirt to put in my gym bag. I stepped back and stared at the dress, loving how beautiful it was. In two months, my sister was getting married, a small ceremony in Oak Island, North Carolina. I, of course, was the maid of honor.
After putting on my tank top and shorts, I grabbed my gym bag and hurried out into the hall. My phone started to ring, so I rummaged around in my bag until I found it. I smiled when I saw who it was.
“Hey, girl. How’s Charleston?”
Peyton sighed. “I’m enjoying every minute of it. South Carolina is growing on me.”
Peyton Emerson is my best friend and roommate. She’s twenty-three years old, two years younger than me, and a Hollywood starlet. She was currently in Charleston, filming a romantic comedy that I knew would be a box office hit when it was released.
“When will you be done there?” I asked.
“In another month or so. I’ll definitely be home in time for Carter and Emma’s wedding.”
Carrying my gym bag into the living room, I tossed it on the couch and sat down, resting my feet on the coffee table. “How is it working with the other actors and actresses? Is it much better than your last movie?”
In her last film, she had to work with a few A-list celebrities who were horrible to be around. Very diva-ish. When Peyton decided to become an actress, I had hoped she wouldn’t change. So far, she was still the same down-to-earth girl who loved her succulent plants.
Peyton huffed out a laugh. “Um, this one is amazing.”
“Have you had to do any hot and heavy scenes?”
She giggled. “Oh yeah. No nudity, though. Lots of kissing.” She blew out a sigh. “And let me tell you, Josh is a mighty fine kisser. I’m jealous of his boyfriend.”
“Oh wow,” I laughed, “you never told me your costar was gay.”
“I didn’t know at first, not until Aaron visited the set. He came on one of the days Josh and I had to do a bedroom scene.”
I burst out laughing. “Yikes. How did that go?”
“Very good,” she informed me. “It was so good that Josh got a little too happy. He said he envisioned Aaron. Still, even if he was picturing his boyfriend, I enjoyed it. The director thought it was hot.”
“You are so bad.”
We both laughed, and I leaned my head on the back of the couch, trying to picture it all in my head. I couldn’t wait to see the film. Once the laughing settled down, Peyton’s voice turned serious.
“Have you and the guys had any issues since Emma and Carter?” she wondered.
“No. Have you?”
“No, thank God,” she replied.
Luckily, Peyton was already in Charleston when everything went to shit. My sister had received a threatening letter a couple of months back from Scar, a man who hated both my family and Peyton’s. The note said that the sins of our family had gone unanswered for far too long. Scar wanted his revenge, and Emma was his first target.
Many years ago, my father, uncle, and several of their fighter friends had worked together with the FBI to shut down Scar’s underground fighting ring, which was then called the Dark Side. If it weren’t for my dad and his friends, Scar wouldn’t have gone to prison and would be a multimillionaire. But, unfortunately, it wasn’t just Scar that was affected. There were more players in the game—influential players. Scar was in deep with several mafia families, mainly the Michelsons.
They lost out on a lot of money when Scar got busted, and there was one man who wanted to bring back what the Dark Side offered. Nikolai Michelson used Scar’s association with my family to lure us into his dangerous game of illegal fights—fights where people fought to the death. He put his hooks into my sister and threatened my parents’ lives if she didn’t comply with his demands. It turned out that Nikolai wanted to use Emma to ensnare our brother, Ethan, our cousin, Ripp, along with Peyton’s brother, Braden, and two of our friends from Vegas, Kase and Hunter, to fight for his family. In the end, Nikolai got what he wanted. Ethan, Ripp, Braden, Kase, and Hunter all bore the dragon tattoo of the Michelson family on their backs. It was their contract saying they’d fight for him. None of us knew what that entailed. The only person who had fought so far was Carter, and that was a whole other story.
What Nikolai didn’t expect was for his brother, Seth, to step in and save the day. Seth used to date my sister, and when he found out what Nikolai had done to her, it almost brought about a war. After Seth stepped in and thwarted Nikolai’s plans, the guys ended up having to fight for him instead.
I put the phone on speaker and set it down on the coffee table so I could put on my sneakers. “I just hope things don’t get crazy like they did for Carter and Emma.”
Peyton sighed. “Did this Nikolai guy ever mention me or was it just my brother?”
Thinking back, I couldn’t recall anyone ever saying her name. “I think just Braden,” I guessed. “Granted, I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting the douche. Hopefully, you and I never will, but I doubt we’ll be that lucky. Nikolai’s last words to the group were that he was coming for every one of us. It doesn’t exactly give me warm and fuzzy feelings.”
