“Who am I fighting?”
“Gerald.”
“Fuck.”
“Yeah, fuck. That motherfucker is huge,” he says, not making me feel any better.
“The money’s good. That’s all I need to know,” I tell him. He nods his head as I pack up my bag. When River comes back out of the bathroom, she wipes her eyes once more.
“You stay by my side. If I walk, you walk. Get it?” Jeremy snaps at her. She nods her head as the three of us leave the warehouse and head for town.
It doesn’t take us long to get where we need to be. The fight isn’t for a few hours, but I like to see the setup and shit first. Plus, we have some business to discuss with the man who runs the fights, Gary.
Jeremy walks off to talk to Gary while River stays right next to me.
“What is this place?”
“We call it The Pit.”
“What do you do here?” she asks.
“Fight.”
“What do you mean? What kind of fights?”
“You’ve heard of underground fighting, right?” I ask her. She turns her head to look up at me now and nods. “That’s what this is.”
“It’s illegal.”
“It is, but it also makes money. Money I need.”
“Couldn’t you get a job?” she asks. I chuckle.
“And make this kind of money? No.”
“Do you fight a lot?”
“Twice on the weekends,” I tell her as she watches me intently.
“Isn’t that … I don’t know, bad for you? Don’t you get hurt?”
“I’ll live. I’ve made it this far, right?” She looks as if she wants to say more, but she doesn’t. She looks away from me and glances around the room.
“Are those blood stains?” she asks almost hesitantly.
“What else would it be?” Now her head jerks around, and she looks back up at me.
“That’s …”
“What happens here. Don’t make a big deal of it. Others will notice,” I warn her. She nods her head and glances around alittle more. I know this must seem crazy to her, but that’s the least of my worries right now.
This fight, however …
Chapter 8
River
I’ve learned their names, if that’s even their real names. Jeremy is the money man. He’s the one who gets things going, getting people betting, and Royal is the fighter.
