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“I’m coming too,” Jade declares, coming up next to me and taking my hand. “I’m not about to be left out of what’s going on.”
“Might as well get Noelle as well,” Cyprus mutters, none too pleased.
Silently, I follow behind him, Jade holding my hand the whole way.
Once in the office and the door closes behind us, Viper moves behind his desk, taking Jade with him. He settles in the chair and sets her on his lap. “Have a seat, Rosie,” he commands. Holding his gaze, I stare at him as I do so. I need to know what’s going on, no matter the feeling I’m getting that it’s going to be worse than I expected.
The others take a seat, and I’m left with Aries standing behind me.
“The club met this morning and came up with a plan for how to deal with Dominic and the bullshit he’s trying to pull. He’s claiming you’re his property, Rosie, and threatening to kill others to get you back,” Viper announces. “Claims you have fourteen more fights that you have to win in order to get your freedom.”
This is true, or at least what I’d been told.
“During church, it was decided that each of us was going to do a match. Dominic agreed to the terms Kevlar gave him under the stipulations of two things. One of them being, Kevlar is to stay at the fight club until the night of the fight.”
My heart threatens to beat its way out of my chest at the news. “And the second?”
“The second being you are to be in attendance the night of the fight. You’re to watch each fight take place.”
My heart stops altogether as I cock my head slightly to stare over my shoulder up at Aries to see him looking near murderous. The accusing tone in his voice makes me feel all the smaller and belittled. It’s all my fault, all of this.
Slowly, I get to my feet, dropping my gaze, suddenly feeling like I’m going to throw up or pass out. Maybe both. More than that, I need to get away from everyone. “Excuse me.” I don’t wait around and give anyone a chance to say another word. Right now, I don’t think I could handle hearing more.
Kevlar agreed to stay behind. They all decided to fight for me. It’s too much. None of them should be involved. They should’ve just left me. I would have finished the fights. Fought them all and handled it all myself. Now they’re all going to go in the ring, and to win, they’ll have to take a life.
I barely make it to the door before Aries snags my arm.
“Don’t think you’re gonna do something stupid,” he snaps.
Sucking in a breath, I lift my gaze to his. “I’m not going to do anything stupid. I’m not an idiot. I know what’s at stake here. Kevlar’s in the lion’s den, and I can only imagine the hell he’s going to go through because of me. I don’t need you snapping at me.”
“Aries, brother, back off,” Cyprus grunts his command. “We’ve got more to talk about.”
“What more is there?” Noelle asks. “You guys just informed us all that you’re going to be fighting in death matches.”
I can all but taste her fury. Noelle is not one for anger, but right now, I know it’s directed in my direction. She doesn’t have to look at me for this to be confirmed, it’s in her voice.
“We’re going to fight and win,” Cyprus declares, his tone holding a note in it that tells me he believes exactly what he’s saying.
“You don’t know that,” I whisper, shaking my head. “None of you know what you’re up against with this.”
“Rosie, babe, we know exactly what we’re up against. We’ve done the research into it. We’re fighters, and we’ll do what we’ve got to in order free you and end the fucker for thinking he could threaten us and get away with it,” Viper states sternly. “Kevlar knew what he was doing and what he was agreeing to. So, you’re gonna stay safe, and on the night of fights, you’re gonna go. When our brother sees you there, you’ll be his strength no matter the bullshit. He’ll deal with what’s gonna happen. You get me?”
I nod, fear threatening to choke me.
“Good,” he says and looks to Jade. “I know what’s happenin’ ain’t ideal. It’s not something any of us want to do, but it’s got to be done. We’re new to the area, and we can’t let the motherfucker get away with what he’s doing. We do, and we might as well pack our shit and move. This is our territory now, and we’re not about to let the bastard make us run scared.”
“I get it,” Jade utters, moisture shimmering in her eyes, but the tears don’t fall. “If you don’t make a stand now, someone else can think they can strike against you.”
“Exactly, so don’t blame this shit on Rosie. She’s your family,” Viper grunts.
“Goes for you too, Noelle,” Cyprus states. “This has to happen.”
“One other thing,” Aries grunts, finally letting my arm go. “Zain will be here this afternoon. He’s friends with Alec Mahoney and had given us a message from the guy. Joshua is safe. Alec is aware of the situation, and his family is taking a little vacation.”
The fact that Alec knows this isn’t surprising, but a part of me wishes he didn’t.
With Zain coming, that’s just icing on the cake. My man’s brother is coming, and he’s not here. He’ll blame me for it, I’m sure of it. I’ll have to make sure to stay out of his sight until after this is all over. I don’t think I could handle the shame of him knowing what’s going on and that I’m to blame.
