"Why are you here?" I press, watching the other two out of the corner of my eye. I recognize them, so I know that they’re brainless zombies just waiting for Steve to give them the go to pounce on me. Something I’d like to avoid because I want to spare Sophie that sight. It’s enough that she’s had to see me like this twice.
Steve glances at his hand as if inspecting his fingernails while he answers me. "I think you knowexactlywhy. You cost me a lot of money."
I knew he wasn’t going to let me get away with that. He lost around fifteen grand when I just took off yesterday. The Desert Eagle he undoubtedly took is nowhere near enough to make up for that loss.
"Occupational hazard," I say flatly because the last thing I intend to do is give him a single cent. If you gamble money, you have to expect to lose it. It’s as simple as that.
"I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that," Steve grudgingly replies. "Tomorrow night is the next fight. Win it, and I’ll forget about your little slipup yesterday."
A mirthless laugh escapes me. "Fuck you. I don’t do three fights in six days." I return his gaze without blinking. He may be the brains of this whole fight club scene, but I don’t care. I’m not some damn wind-up monkey he can set in motion and throw into the ring whenever he feels like it.
"What’s wrong with you?" He shakes his head and looks at me as if seeing me for the first time. "Since when do you care how many fights you do?"
Jaw tightened, I return his gaze emotionlessly. "Fuck off, Steve."
"Is it that chick?" he asks, assessing me. "Ever since she showed up, you haven’t been yourself."
My hands clench into fists while I force the words out through gritted teeth. "You have no idea who I am."
Steve tilts his head. "Oh, but the slut you’ve hooked up with knows?"
His voice becomes more and more threatening, but I force myself to stay calm even though his words are making me furious.
"She’s here, isn’t she? Maybe I should go upstairs and ask her. What do you think?"
This fucker knows exactly what he’s doing, and he’s doing it on purpose. He might be an asshole, but he’s cunning, and that makes him a dangerous asshole.
"Leave her out of this," I warn him, realizing at the same moment how stupid that was and that any more words will only make things worse. But I don’t care. The fact that Steve eventhinksabout Sophie causes the blood in my veins to boil and makes me want to break every bone in his damn body.
"Why? Don’t tell me that…Aw. That’s heartwarming. Does she mean something to you? Has the great Cole Walker suddenly turned into a fucking pussy?" He places a hand over his chest like a third-rate actor, then tilts his head and furrows his brows.
"Shut your filthy mouth," I growl because, despite everything, the bastard manages to push just the right buttons on me.
Before either of us can say anything more, Steve’s gaze suddenly slides over my shoulder and becomes even more calculating when Sophie’s voice reaches my ears.
"Is everything okay?"
With tense muscles, I turn my head slightly but don’t avert my gaze from Steve. "Go back upstairs," I say sternly, at the same time knowing full well that she won’t.
"Now, now," Steve cuts in before flashing me a devilish grin. "She can come down and have a chat with us. How about you finally introduce her? You seem to be having fun with her, after all. Would be a shame if you kept her all to yourself."
"If you don’t back off right now?—"
"Then what, Walker?" he cuts me off harshly. "Aren’t we allowed to have a little fun, too? Looking at her up close, I can see why you?—"
That’s it. Every single fuse in my brain blows at once, and I swing, slamming my fist into his jaw. He should’ve known better than to provoke his best fighter.
Sophie gasps as the two Neanderthals move to lunge at me, but Steve stops them with a raised hand before rubbing it over the spot where I hit him. A few endless seconds pass in which he moves his jaw back and forth with his eyes closed before looking at me again.
"It’s okay. If Cole wants to make his point clear that way, let him." Steve spits a mouthful of blood onto the ground beside him, takes a step toward me, and fixes me with a hate-filled stare. "I’m only going to ask you this once: her or me?"
My jaw clenches so hard it hurts, my whole body trembling with rage. This isn’t a joke anymore. I know my answer will decide whether I ever get to fight again. And whether I turn Steve into an enemy.
"You have to make a decision, Walker. Now."
Even though I never once considered this moment might come, I don’t have to think about my answer.
I don’t know how I got to this point, but ever since Sophie showed up, something inside me has been rebelling. I’m not fucking reformed, but I realize I can’t have both. I can’t try to live again—to have a shot at a normal future—and at the same time beat the living shit out of others. Besides, Jules is right. I have to stop feeling sorry for myself.
