“How much is it?” I asked, wondering if I really wanted to know or not. It was the mafia’s money . . . blood money.
Parker cleared his throat and stood. “Three hundred thousand.”
The breath whooshed out of my lungs and all I could do was stand there, frozen in place. Surely, I was mistaken, right? There’s no way in hell I’d been carrying around three hundred thousand dollars in my bag.
A laugh escaped my lips. “You’re kidding, aren’t you?”
Parker stared at me, his gaze more serious than I’d ever seen. “No, Wren.” He pointed at the envelope. “You need to make sure you hide that shit. If I was one of the maids here and found that . . .”
He didn’t have to finish his sentence. Now that I made my own money, I no longer have to worry about stealing. But I would’ve taken that cash and ran if this was a year ago. Reaching down, I picked up the envelope and peeked inside. Chills ran down my arms when I looked at all the dollar bills.
“I always wondered how Ripp earned so much money these past few months. Now I know.”
“I don’t want to scare you, Wren, but I think we might have a bigger problem besides the Labyrinth fights,” Parker said, his voice tight with worry.
I dropped the money back on the bed and jerked my head toward him. He was usually stoic and calm, so whatever he had discovered must be serious.
“What’s going on?”
Parker walked over to the desk and sat down in front of his laptop. He typed in his passwords, and the screen came to life. Several files popped up, three of them showing young females in their midtwenties with long, dark hair. I recognized each one instantly, and my stomach clenched with dread at seeing them.
“Are those FBI files?” I asked.
Parker’s jaw tensed as he turned to me. “They are. I’m not supposed to tell you any of this because it’s confidential information and part of the investigation on Nikolai.”
His eyes softened when they met mine before turning back to the laptop. As he scrolled through the documents, an ominous silence filled the room until I saw it; a word written in bold red letters: Deceased. Bile rose up the back of my throat and I swallowed hard.
“Dead. They’re all dead, Parker. Those are the girls I was with in Louisiana.”
With a heavy sigh, he met my gaze and nodded. “They were murdered, but it was made to look like accidents. One was found in a lake in South Carolina. Another died of an overdose, and the last was found hanging in her apartment.”
I’d met those women, fought against them even, and none of them were suicidal. The women were also loners with no families, just like I used to be. That was why they were chosen. If anything were to happen to them, they had no one to ask questions; their deaths would be inconsequential.
“What does the FBI think?” I asked.
Parker closed his laptop and shrugged, his shoulders sagging in defeat. “They’re looking for evidence against Nikolai, but the guy’s smart. He’s always a step ahead. Not to mention, his family probably has so many people in their pockets. It wouldn’t surprise me if some of the people in the FBI were on their payroll.”
If Parker was right, it meant Nikolai probably knew where I was. I’d be on that list, too, if he were trying to tie up loose ends. A few months ago, Nikolai interviewed me in a hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina. He had been searching for dark-haired women between the ages of twenty and twenty-five who could fight. He told me I was being auditioned to play the role of Gabriella Reynolds. She was the reason why I wanted to fight professionally in the first place. Being connected to her in any capacity was a dream come true. Now, she was my coach.
Unfortunately, I didn’t know then that the role was for a sick movie Martin Fairchild had created. The man was a big-time Hollywood movie producer. He had become obsessed with Gabriella almost thirty years ago after following her around and filming her. His obsession with her heightened when she gave birth to Peyton.
I later discovered that there was an underground fighting ring called the Dark Side where Gabriella had been forced to fight men to death. Nikolai’s father orchestrated this entire fiasco behind the scenes, and no one knew the mafia was involved. So, when the Dark Side got shut down, it put the Michelson family at risk of exposure. That was why Nikolai hated all my friends—their parents were involved in that takedown. They’d worked with the police to end it for good. The Michelsons had to lay low for a while to get the FBI off their backs. That didn’t bode well for their business. And now, Nikolai wanted revenge on behalf of his family. It was the reason he worked with Martin Fairchild to abduct Peyton and Ethan. Since she was Gabriella and Paxton’s daughter, it would be the perfect payback to them if she were taken. The same went for Ethan—he was Ryley Jameson’s son and Peyton’s boyfriend at the time. Nikolai could kill two birds with one stone.
Luckily, it didn’t work out that way for him. Peyton looked exactly like her mother, but the problem with using Peyton for Martin’s movie was that she wasn’t a fighter. That was why Martin wanted a selection of women who looked like Gabriella and Peyton to play the role.
I thought it was the chance of a lifetime when I was chosen. Peyton was told to coach me on how to act like her mother. I never thought I’d be in the presence of a Hollywood starlet who was famous all over the world. When she told me the truth of what was going on and that I would be fighting men to the death, I had a hard time believing her. It was too surreal and farfetched to even be believable. Sadly, it was all true. I had to fight men . . . and I killed one in the process. My lack of remorse impressed Martin Fairchild, so he offered me a job on his security team. I was to watch over Peyton and so, that’s what I did. I knew she was in trouble and needed a way out, but I didn’t know what to do at the time.
We were outnumbered on all fronts, but I promised her I’d do everything possible. Luckily, we were found, and I was able to help bring her to safety.
Parker watched me curiously and I could see in his expression there was something he wanted to say that I wouldn’t like.
“What am I supposed to do, Parker?” I asked, throwing my hands in the air. “I’m not going to hide from that cocksucker.”
Parker hung his head and huffed. “That’s what I was afraid you’d say.”
Was I scared of Nikolai? I’d be stupid to say no, but I wasn’t the type to back down from a fight. If he wanted to kill me, he was going to have a hell of a time achieving it. It was evident from the worry on Parker’s face that he was concerned for my well-being.
I sat down on the bed and blew out an exhausted breath. “Seriously, Parker. What do you think I should do?”
