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He stared back at me through the rearview mirror. “A couple. Why?” I looked over at Braden, who stared curiously at me. “There’s something I never told you,” I confessed. “Trey Miller and Parks Bradshaw fight for him.”
Braden’s eyes widened in shock. “What the hell? Parks I could see, but not Trey.”
“I know who you’re talking about,” Seth claimed. “They’re great fighters.”
With a heavy sigh, I leaned my head against the seat. “They are. I just hate that they got mixed up with the wrong people.” Seth and Benny exchanged a look at each other, and it unsettled my stomach. “What was that?” I asked. “Do you know something about them?”
Seth stopped at the hotel’s private parking garage entrance and peered back at me. “Trey’s scheduled to fight this Saturday night. And it’s not going to be here at the hotel.”
My chest tightened as the breath left my lungs; I knew what that meant. The fights that weren’t at the hotel were for the death matches. They were always in secluded places where it’d take days for the police to find the bodies. It made me sick to think about it.
“Are you going to be there?” I wondered.
Seth shook his head. “No. I’m sorry.”
“Trey decided to do this, Reagan,” Braden said, squeezing my hand. “If he gets hurt, it’s on him.” He was right, but it didn’t make it easier to accept. Anyone could be seduced by money, and it was clear Trey was one of those people. I saw it firsthand when he rolled up in a brand-new sports car at Finn’s house.
Seth parked, and I breathed a sigh of relief when I didn’t see anyone else in the parking garage. I wasn’t ready to see Annika or Finn yet. Braden let my hand go, and we both got out of Seth’s car.
“Braden, I want you to head in with Benny,” Seth announced, shutting his car door. “He’ll show you to your dressing room so you can get ready. I’ll walk inside with Reagan.”
Braden approached me and gently took my face in his hands, kissing me. “As soon as my fight’s over, we’re getting the hell out.”
“Sounds good,” I breathed.
He kissed me once more and took off with Benny. Once they were past the guard and through the doors, I reached into my purse and handed Seth the envelope of money Finn gave me, along with the keys to the Bentley Bacalar.
Seth’s eyes narrowed. “What’s all of this?”
“Finn won’t accept it from me. It’s five hundred thousand dollars and the keys to the car his father gave me. I don’t want any of it, and I know he’ll take it from you.”
He huffed. “He’ll take it, but he’ll also be pissed. Men like him don’t do well with rejection. Hell, none of us do.”
“Not every woman wants this lifestyle, Seth. I make a lot of money doing what I do, but I don’t need to flaunt it; I don’t want to. I’m perfectly happy driving around in my Mini Cooper convertible.”
Seth smiled. “I think that’s why I enjoyed being with your sister. She was the only woman in my life who felt the same way as you do.”
“Well, maybe you’ll find someone else like that one day. I can tell you it won’t be here.”
“I know,” he agreed, nodding. “But when you come from a family like mine, there are standards.” He winked. “It’s good I make my own rules, right?” He held out his arm, and I took it. “Ready?”
Shaking my head, I clutched him tight. “No, but I want to get this over with.”
We walked to the door, and the man standing guard opened it for us. As before, there were guards standing at every door and my heart thudded in my chest as we made it through the second door to the third.
“What are people going to say when they see me with you? I’m pretty sure everyone thinks I’m with Finn.”
Seth glanced over at me. “It’ll be tense. Finn will want to speak to you. It might’ve been best for you not to be here.”
“Couldn’t do that,” I said adamantly. “Not with Braden here.”
Chuckling under his breath, Seth shook his head. “You’re stubborn, just like your sister.”
That I was. I’d do anything for the people I cared about. The guard opened the third and final door that led into the underground lair. It was the same as last time; everything was blood red, and the people were all dressed in fancy clothes and jewelry. I scanned the crowd for Finn, but he was nowhere to be seen. With Annika fighting sometime tonight, he was probably in one of the dressing rooms with her.
“Does anyone know Braden’s fighting tonight?” I asked.
Seth guided me over to where he sat the night I fought. “I’m sure some do now if they saw Braden walk in.”
