“So tell me what’s up.”
She hesitated. Then, finally, she sighed. “Yesterday at the weigh-in, Cherry came up to me.”
“And?” I immediately frowned.
“She said Victoria would be excited to know I was in Vegas.”
For a second, the name meant absolutely nothing to me, and then it clicked. I remembered Lyrius mentioning Victoria when she told me about her past.
“Victoria?” My expression changed immediately, and Lyrius nodded.
“The girl I used to run with. The one that spared my life.”
“You sure?” My stomach dropped.
“Positive.”
“Those exact words?”
“Yes.”
I stared at her, trying to think fast. Everybody who was there that day I got shot was supposed to be six feet under for the rest of eternity, so I was confused.
“How would she even know Victoria?”
“That’s what I’m saying.” The room suddenly felt smaller.
“KO . . .”
“You think she’s connected?”
Lyrius shook her head. “I don’t know. I just know it felt like a threat.”
Boom. Boom. Boom.
This time, the knock was harder.
“Time to go!” Jaylen yelled through the door, and I looked at Lyrius. I mean, really looked at her. She looked uneasy, like this Victoria girl had her shaken.
“I hear you.” The words came out calm for what I was feeling right now. “We’ll deal with it after the fight,” I said, grabbing both sides of her face.
“KO!” Another knock sounded on the door.
“Stay with security. You and Dakoda.”
“We will.”
“Don’t leave security,” I repeated.
“I won’t.” I kissed her forehead and then her lips one last time. When the door opened, Jaylen was standing there waiting with Cherry beside him.
“Ready?” Jaylen checked, and I nodded.
“Que-lo is ready for your entrance. The crowd is already going crazy out there.” Cherry smiled. My eyes landed on her. The shit Lyrius had just told me had me ready to snap her damn neck. I looked back at Lyrius.Stay with security.I didn’t say it aloud this time. I didn’t have to. She nodded anyway, like she’d heard my thoughts.
“Aight,” Jaylen said. “Let’s go whup some ass.” I took one last look at Lyrius, then walked out of the locker room.
The crowd was already on their feet by the time Que-lo and I stepped onto the ramp. The cameras in front of me flashed as my walkout music thundered through the speakers. My eyes scanned the crowd and the thousands of fans screaming from every direction before landing on the ring. This was it. Everything I’d worked for had come down to this.
