When he notices me, he raises his hand to greet me as he continues to leaf through the papers. He doesn’t look up until I sit in my chair and pull Kenz into my lap. He does a double take when he sees her.
“Kenz, doll! I was wondering when I’d see you again. Feeling better?” I stiffen, hating myself for not warning her about him.
But McKenzie doesn’t flinch. She smiles broadly at him. “I am. Thank you for asking.” She leans back into me and I pat her thigh lightly so she knows I’m proud of her.
“Felix,” I say his name so McKenzie will know it and she relaxes a little when she realizes it. “Who do we have tonight?”
He leafs through his papers again like he wasn’t just looking at them. He knows all of these fighters inside and out, but he still studies their papers just in case. He’s good at his job, that’s why I hired him. “The one to beat will be Bill. Everyone is placing bets on him.”
I nod. He’ll win unless we have someone off the streets that hasn’t made a name for themselves yet. It’s happened. That’s how Bill got here. He came in one night and upset so many people because of the thousands, some millions, they lost. But since then, he’s earned them so much more.
I glance at McKenzie. I didn’t prepare her enough, but I can’t back out now. “How many girls are here?” Kenz doesn’t react, which surprises me a little. I did tell her a little about this months ago, so maybe she’s going to take this better than I’m giving her credit for.
“Twenty. Shay won’t be here, though. She sent a text saying she wasn’t feeling it tonight.” He shrugs and reaches into his pocket, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. He takes a pull before speaking again. “I think it’s time to talk to her. She hasn’tbeen here in a while. If she doesn’t want to do this anymore, maybe she can work somewhere else?”
Kenz moves and I glance up at her and she arches an eyebrow at me. She wants to know if she should know who Shay is. I give a slight nod. She pulls her lips between her teeth. She wants to say something, but she’ll wait. I rub her thigh. She’s doing so well. She just got punished, but I’m definitely going to reward her for how well she’s doing.
“I agree. When’s the last time you saw her?” I haven’t been to a fight in a few months. Not since that night I left on my motorcycle and I stared up at McKenzie in her room. Felix takes another pull from his cigarette as he thinks.
“Shit, it has to be going on three months, maybe four.” He puts the cigarette out in the ashtray next to his chair and stands. “I’m going to tell the guys to begin taking bets. We’ll be ready for the first fight in thirty minutes or so.” He gives us a small salute and walks out, closing the door behind him.
I kiss McKenzie’s neck. “You did so well, love.” She smiles at me, but I can tell she wants to say something. “Go on.” I encourage her.
“Who’s Shay?” She asks. I look away. I hate that she can’t remember, but it’s not her fault.
“Shay was one of the first girls we rescued.” McKenzie’s eyes widen slightly. She twists her lips to the side.
“We rescued her? How?” I rub my hand up and down her thigh.
“One of the reasons I forced you to marry me is because if you’re married, you can choose not to have sex with the person you buy. I forced you to marry me when I did because I was told there would be someone from Brighton being sold at the next auction, but I learned her father decided he couldn’t go through with it. It was my intention to rescue her, but I wasn’t having sex with someone that wasn’t you.”
Her mouth opens and closes several times. “Why didn’t you tell me that? Instead of forcing me?” She finally asks, her eyes narrowing. “I remembered you telling me if you’re married you don’t have to have sex with the person you buy. But I wasn’t sure if it was because you cared about me or not.” She pulls her lips between her teeth and glances away.
I shake my head and inhale sharply. Wrapping a hand around the side of her neck, I pull her down until I can rest my forehead against hers. “I was an asshole.” She snorts in agreement. I kiss her just below her ear. “You’re the only one I’ve ever wanted. If I could go back and change the way I acted those first months with you, I would.”
She smiles and kisses me. It’s short and quick, but I needed it. “We’re going to be okay.” I run my fingers through her hair and pull her to me, kissing her long and slow. She whines and pulls away. “Nix.” I chuckle and she huffs.
“I promise I’ll take care of you.” Her eyes brighten, but I push her off my lap. “Later.”
Chapter 24
McKenzie
Phoenix guides us back through the locker room. He checks in with Felix one more time, who gives him a thumbs up and continues taking bets. “How much do you make on these fights?” I ask as we weave through the crowd. There’s a ring in the middle of the room and there are already a couple of guys in it preparing for their fight. Rex and Jason are already up front waiting for us.I’m assuming there are other guys around us following us as we make our way to our seats.
Phoenix sits and pulls me into his lap. “I charge a thirty-dollar entry fee. And I get ten percent of the winnings. And people bet crazy amounts at these fights.” I’m not sure how to reply. What’s a crazy amount? Guess I’ll find out tonight. “Felix will bring me the numbers soon. We cut off betting five minutes before the first fight.” He glances at his watch. “Which starts in fifteen minutes.”
“Is everything done in cash?” I wrap my arm around his neck to get comfortable.
“Yes, the fights are illegal. So, we then take the money and put it into the businesses around the city.” Before I can ask anymore questions, Felix slides in and shows Phoenix the numbers. I don’t pay attention, not really caring about that part of all this. Instead, I look around trying to take everything in. This is a lot more organized than I was expecting. I don’t know why, everything Nix does, he does it to the best of his abilities.
At the same time, the excitement and anticipation are thick in the air, making it feel a bit chaotic. There’s shouting, laughter, people pretending to fight, and there are women weaving in and out of the crowd that have a different air about them. They’re here working, waiting for the excitement and energy to turn into desire and lust.
I think about Shay, this faceless woman Nix and I rescued. It doesn’t make sense that we would rescue her and she still wound up doing this. I guess here she gets to choose who she has sex with. The announcer gets into the ring and announces the names of the men fighting and the winning pot of the bet for the two of them.
I try my best to focus on the fight, but I can’t stop thinking about Shay. Felix said it’s been three or four months since she’s been here.Did something happen to her?
“Nix?” I talk directly into his ear so he can hear me. He tilts his head to let me know he’s paying attention. “What if something happened to Shay? Do you send guys to check on these women if they don’t show for a while?”
