Page 37 of The Fighter

I led Tav over to a rusted metal folding chair along the back wall of the room and eased him down until he sat slumped on it. His body pitched forward as he was unable to hold himself up, and I caught him just before he faceplanted. In order to keep him upright, I stood between his legs with his face pressed against my hip. I turned to take in the older man who stood near the table with a tight jaw and his pale lips pressed together in a thin line. “Thanks a lot for helping with Husk,” he said. “Crowd was fucking crazy. You can leave now. I got this.”

Leave? Absolutely fucking not. Never again. I was done waiting for Tav to divulge his secrets, to sneak out of my apartment to get pummeled in some dirty ring. But I had to play this right. I couldn’t seem too eager, or everything would be ruined.

The doors opened, and I braced myself for whoever came through the door. Fortunately, it was Ben, who took in the scene with a cool nod before posting himself at the door, arms crossed over his chest. I focused back on the older man. “I think it’s best if I stay while that crowd is still outside.”

The older man looked confused for a second, before anger clouded his features. “They’ll calm down and leave. We’ve been doing this for years. Don’t know who you think you are, but we don’t need you.”

I opened my mouth, but the door burst open, clanging against the wall. Tav jolted beneath me at the sound, and I gripped the back of his neck. I reached into my pocket and pressed a button on my phone which would alert Nik to where I was.

Ben shifted, keeping me in his sights while also assessing the new threat. I didn’t miss the way he let his coat open to revealthe bulge of his gun. Mine rested heavy on my ribs, kept in my place by my holster.

A short man strode inside, two large bodyguards at his back. He was Asian and wore a cheap suit. His expression didn’t show much except disinterest and boredom. As he lit a cigarette, he finally seemed to register more people in the room than he had expected and raised his brows. “Where’s Husk, Lary?”

Despite Tav’s size, I mostly blocked him from view with my body and large coat. The older man, Lary, gestured toward me with his chin. “Over there.”

With my hand still firmly on the back of Tav’s head, I forced myself to remain cool and calm as the man’s eyes roamed me from head to toe. Then he peered around me at Tav slumped in the chair. “Shit, not sure I’ve ever seen Husk this bad. Knew Shock was gonna be tough, but our boy won. Told he would, didn’t I, Lary?”

The old man’s face was blank. “You did, Chen.”

Chen then, this man was Chen.

I wasn’t interested in anything this man had to say. I didn’t want to chit chat. I wanted to get Tav the hell out of here. But there was no other door. The only way out was through the doors at Chen’s back.

I motioned to Ben. “You take his one side, and I’ll take the other. My driver will meet us outside.”

Ben didn’t even hesitate as he strode to my side.

“I’m sorry,” Chen said, without a single ounce of sorry in his tone. “Who the fuck are you?”

I met his gaze. “I’m taking him with me.”

Chen barked out a laugh before his smile immediately dropped. His bodyguards went still at his back as they sensed the chill in the air. “No you’re not.”

“His time isn’t his own? He’s not free to do what he wants?”

Chen narrowed his eyes. “Not after a fight when he’s in that kind of shape. I don’t know who the fuck you are.” He took a step forward, a sneer to his lips made dread seize my spine. “He belongs to me, and that means he belongs to Devlin Walsh.”

My blood ran cold. I hadn’t realized I’d tightened my grip on Husk until he whimpered and shifted in the chair. When I saw Tav in the ring, I had known there would be an affiliation to Devlin somehow, but a direct claim was still enough to take my breath away. My lives were converging into one clusterfuck. I wanted Devlin brought down, and I wanted Tav safe, and I didn’t know how the hell I would do either of those things at the same time. I took a deep breath, working hard to gather my thoughts.

I chanced a glance at Lary, and hoped I read him right, or this was all going to go tits up. “I’ll be giving him treatment which he needs if you want him to fight again.”

Lary’s mouth twitched, like he wanted to argue, but something in my gaze made him hesitate.

Chen frowned. “Lary usually handles that.” He angled his body to the older man. “Don’t you have a guy?”

Lary held my gaze. I held his. His chest heaved a moment before he spoke to Chen. “My guy’s not available tonight, and Husk is in bad shape.”

Chen studied him then me. Ben remained quiet and nearly invisible for one in his life. Finally Chen threw up his hands. “What the fuck ever. Remind Husk he has a check-in tomorrow, and he better answer. Devlin doesn’t like his property going off grid. Husk has already managed to go MIA a few times recently, and Devlin is unhappy.”

Devlin would also probably be unhappy if he knew Chen was flapping his mouth so much. Admitting that he’d lost control of one of his fighters was a sign of weakness. “Wouldn’t want to make Devlin unhappy.”

Chen stiffened at the sarcasm. “Watch how you talk about him.”

Right, I had to play this game for Tav’s sake. “Apologies. I’m just focused on getting Husk fixed up.”

Chen swallowed, swore under his breath. “Reminder. Check in tomorrow.”

“Done.”Maybe.