I gaped. “You can’t be serious.”
He nodded. “I know it’s not ideal.”
“Will, you’re on parole. What if it gets busted?”
“That’s unlikely. They move locations pretty frequently. I did it for years without us ever getting raided.”
My stomach gave a sick twist, and I set the plate aside. “What if you get hurt?”
He hesitated.
“Well?” I pushed.
“I can’t make any promises,” he said quietly. “That might happen.”
I sucked in a breath, heart lurching. “You can’t do it. You can’t risk it. There’s got to be another way.”
He leaned over and kissed me gently. “Baby, I know it’s scary. But I stand a better chance against one guy in the ring than the whole biker club. It’s a way out, free and clear. I’ve got to take it.”
My eyes burned, and my chest grew tight. “There’s no other way?”
“Not unless you have 50k lying around. That’s what the Serpents plan to make by betting on me in the fight.”
“Shit.” I breathed out. “Are you really that good?”
He laughed. “Let’s hope so. It’s not like boxing. It’s about digging deep and doing whatever it takes to win. I used to do it for bragging rights. To prove myself to the other guys. Prove I was manly enough. Toxic shit. I’ve got something more powerful this time. I’ll be fighting to get my life back.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “You could leave. Just go where they can never find you and start over.” Knight was shaking his head, but this wasmadness. “It’s got to be better than risking your life!”
“I can’t start over again. I’ve got people I care about.” His gaze met mine.
But he couldn’t be staying for me. I wasn’t here permanently, anyway.
I opened my mouth to say that, but then I thought of the way he’d gone to Hayworth for Tex. The way he’d dropped everything to go pick up Joyride when he got in trouble with the sheriff. The way all the guys came by for beers, how Knight was the glue that held them together.
“Please don’t ask me to run, Angel,” he rasped. “I don’t have it in me. There’s no guarantees they wouldn’t track me down, even if I did. If I go now, I’m costing them 50k. They won’t just let that go.”
That 50k wasn’t theirs. It was Knight’s body on the line. His health and safety. I didn’t like it. Not one bit. But I knew he wouldn’t change his mind. It wasn’t who he was.
I couldn’t protect him the way Flynn had protected me. I couldn’t fix it for him. I started to shake. What if it wasn’t just bruises this time? What if it was head trauma or internalinjuries? A broken rib could puncture his lung. He could drown in his blood. What if?—
“Hey, hey.” Knight’s arms came around me and he held me tight. “I’m good at this, Angel. I promise. I can fight. I’ve done it before. Many times. This is the best option to get my life back, okay?”
I sank into his warmth, let the strength of his body reassure me. “You’ll be careful.”
“Of course. As careful as I can be.”
I nodded, taking a breath. My thoughts were spinning worst-case scenarios, presenting medical emergencies that could steal this man who’d come to mean so much to me. I wasn’t a fighter, not like him. I wasn’t big and tough.
But I was a doctor.
I pulled back. “I should be there.”
“No, Aid?—”
“Yes.If you’re going to fight and possibly get hurt, then I want to be there to give you medical treatment.”
“If things go wrong, it could be dangerous. You don’t belong in a place like that.”
