“Nothing. Just that, if I didn’t know better, I’d say you did care about them. Hell, you’ve been back here for five minutes, and how many times have you brought them up?”
I chuckled. “I tell you this messy story about my life as a competitive fighter and some organized criminals I’m trying to escape, and that’s the part of it that you hear?”
Lilith tapped her fingers on the counter, suddenly distracted by something. “The fight is this weekend? Friday, you said? Where’s it at?”
I grabbed my wallet from my back pocket, rummaging around for the card I had been given. “Nowhere I’ve been before,” I said, pulling it out and slapping it on the counter. “I was going to cruise by and scout the place later, but here’s the address.”
Lilith glanced at it, then cursed under her breath. “I might have some bad news for you, Brick.”
Judging by the look in her eyes, I braced myself. “You know that location?”
“Not exactly. But I did have some guys in here a couple of days ago, talking about a big fight this weekend.” She tapped the card with one finger. “In this part of town, too.”
“What’s so bad about that?”
“The drunker they got, the more they kept laughing about it. According to them, it’s going to be a bloodbath, with the most lethal fighter they know coming back to the fighting pit after a long absence.”
I grinned, rubbing my hand across my stubble. “I wouldn’t call myself lethal, but I’m glad to know my reputation precedes me, even in this part of the country.”
Lilith shook her head. “No, Brick, you’re not listening. According to them, it’s this legendary fighter versus a washed-up street brawler from Philadelphia.”
“What?” I nearly choked on my beer as I heard her. “I’m not fucking washed up!”
“Odds are ten-to-one against you, buddy. I don’t know anything more than that. Maybe they were just some drunk men, spinning stories to pass the evening away, but it sounded pretty bleak.”
I groaned, grabbing the card and shoving it back in my wallet. “Just my fucking luck.”
Lilith reached out, taking my hand, but I flinched away from her touch. My head was spinning and that whooshing sound was filling my ears again. Even though I knew Lilith was on my team, I still had a strong impulse to push her away.
“You okay, Brick?”
My fists started aching right there, and memories of past fights were firing in the back of my brain. I remembered what Irving had been saying about me having flashbacks from all the punches I’d taken over the years. I still didn’t want to think of myself that way, but considering how much I wanted to throw the stool against the wall, it was hard to totally ignore the idea.
I took a deep breath, then another swig of beer. “I’m fine.”
Lilith shook her head. “You sure you want to go through with this? There’s got to be another option. Maybe I could help you out? Give you somewhere to lay low?”
There were a lot of reasons that should sound appealing. Hiding out and avoiding the whole thing would be a fuck of a lot easier than going into the fighting pit with some man who had a lethal reputation. But laying low wasn’t a solution to a problem.
I knew the cost of hiding out. It meant I wouldn’t be hanging out with Lilith again, and it meant another cruel goodbye to Ezra and Irving. My stomach twisted when I thought about leaving them. And then what? Another city, maybe another couple of friends if I got lucky, and then hitting the road again.
I could run for the rest of my life, no doubt about that. But sitting in the Steel Rose, my fingers twitching by my side, I realized something else.
If I went to that fight, I wouldn’t be fighting for money or to shake off the thugs that were tracking me. I was going to be fighting so that I could stay.
I was going to be fighting for me.
“You want to help?” I asked, leaning up on the counter. “Meet up with me tomorrow morning. I need a partner to help me get back into fighting condition, and time is running out.”
