Again, members of the crowd clapped and hollered. A few of them slapped money to the palms of guys with grins on their faces.
As soon as Eli stood up, I rushed over to him, my right hand holding onto Lena.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I demanded, pushing him out of the circle.
“The hell?” he asked, looking disoriented.
I wasn’t in the mood for him to play catch up. “Do you know what this shit could do to you?” I pushed at his chest again. “You just got signed.”
“Get your hands off of me,” he insisted, pushing at air since he missed my hand.
“Why the fuck are you down here?”
Eli didn’t get a chance to answer my question when a short, Joe Pesci looking motherfucker approached us.
“That was great, Eli,” he said, punching Eli’s shoulder. “Now, you do it again, and you’ll come out the big winner for the night.”
“What the hell do you mean again?” I asked, breaking up the lovefest.
The guy turned to me, and his eyes widened. “Grey Wolf?”
Fuck.
This guy recognized me, but I didn’t know shit about him. Not an enviable position.
“We’re leaving,” I said, grabbing Eli with my free hand and pulling him toward the exit.
“Whoa, whoa,” Joe Pesci wannabe said. “Leaving? This guy owes me another fight.”
“Like hell he does,” I snapped.
“I can’t leave,” Eli protested.
I didn’t listen to either one of them. “We’re getting the fuck out of here.” I pushed Eli forward, and holding Lena tightly to my side, I started for the door.
“Sorry. We can’t let you do that,” Joe Pesci Impersonator said, getting in my way.
I tensed with the desire to stomp this little shit into the concrete flooring. “Move.”
He shook his head. “Your guy owes me another fight.”
“He’s right,” Eli said. “And I didn’t get paid yet.”
“You won’t get paid if you walk out that door,” Pesci said, stopping firmly in front of us. Out of nowhere, two of the guys I spotted earlier approached. One pushed the side of his jacket back to reveal the butt of his gun in his waistband.
“Matter of fact, if you don’t fight in the next fight, you won’t make it out of the door at all.”
My stomach rumbled, and I gritted my teeth. What the hell had Eli gotten himself involved in?
“Any of you,” Pesci said, eyeing me before his gaze moved over to Lena, who remained silent.
I tugged her hand, pulling her behind me.
“We’re leaving,” I said firmly.
He shook his head. “Not until I get what your guy promised.”
I glared at Eli. “What did he promise?”
