“What’s up, Shady?” I said, keeping my eyes on Donna. Her arms were wrapped around my neck, her tight little body still flush with mine. I hadn’t missed the little flash of excitement in her eyes at Shady’s suggestion to watch us. I was pretty open-minded, but I knew they’d slept together on more than one occasion, and I wasn’t sure I could control my own jealousy. Not yet. I wanted her all to myself for a while.
“Shit.” Some of the teasing tone left Shady’s voice as he looked between us. “This is the real deal then? You two are a thing? Didn’t see that one coming.” Then he grinned. “Nah, I’m fuckin’ with ya. Saw this coming a mile away!” He threw his head back and laughed.
Donna finally dropped her arms. I put some distance between us but kept one arm propped on the wall next to her head.
“Stop messing around.” Now Donna had gone serious. “What are you doing here?”
“I gotta talk to your man about a dog,” he said.
“You can talk in front of Donna. She—”
“No, it’s OK.” She looked over my shoulder; people were coming out of the gym. “I should go anyway. Call me later.”
She gave me a quick peck on the lips and pushed off the wall.
Shady leaned forward and puckered his lips, raising his eyebrows expectantly, but she just flipped him off and sauntered away. I smirked as we both watched her disappear around the corner.
Once she was gone and the people from the gym were in their cars, Shady turned a dead serious expression on me. “What the fuck you doin’, man? We both know you have no interest in those fights.”
“I told you. I have a score to settle. I’ll only come if your people can guarantee Will Frydenberg will be in the ring with me.”
“Not my people.” He crossed his arms and tipped his head back, watching me for a few moments.
I stared him down, not faltering.
“OK.” He gave a disappointed shake of his head, as if he wanted to say more, and turned to leave.
“Shady.” He stopped. “Do you go to the fights?”
“Sometimes.”
I glanced around the darkening parking lot one more time. He’d looked out for me in his own way, and he’d made it clear he wasn’t on board with this fight club bullshit. “If you happen to have other plans for this particular fight . . . that might not be a bad thing.”
I raised my eyebrows, hoping he got my gist.
But guys like Shady operated in gray areas, were fluent in ambiguity. He cocked his head to the side, then slowly nodded. “All right.”
Without another word, he walked away.
The next day, around lunchtime, I got a text message from an unknown number. It contained an address, the word tonight, and nothing more.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Hendrix
The address was for an abandoned factory in an industrial district about an hour out of town. It was massive, and the adjoining properties were far enough away that no one would hear any noise coming from the squat but sprawling building I’d just pulled up to.
I’d asked Donna to check if Drew had gotten the same message, not daring to piss off the younger Mead sister by contacting him myself. Donna and I had been texting each other freely—it fit with what the Frydenbergs suspected of our relationship anyway—but we dared not discuss the fight or our plan. Donna’s text to Drew had been masked as her asking him for the address because I was being stubborn and wouldn’t tell her. He was home sick that day, but Donna confirmed he’d received the text too.
As soon as I got word to the others, Harlow sent all the evidence from Joseph’s computer in anonymously—directly to a cop Donna knew from the legal center where she used to volunteer, knew wasn’t dirty. Harlow had been corresponding with him, though she’d refused to come in and make a statement, and had told him to be ready near the factory that evening.
I got out of the car and walked slowly toward the building. Half the windows were smashed, and weeds grew between the cracks in the concrete. Not a single light was on, either outside or shining from within, but even without light, it was clear there were no other cars parked near me and no other people hanging around. Maybe everyone was already inside. Maybe they were instructed to park at the back.
Still, as I neared the building and looked for a way in, my steps slowed. It was too quiet. Was it possible the fight was set up in some underground area, away from prying eyes and ears? I wasn’t sure, but something didn’t feel right.
“Right on time, my man!” Shady emerged from the shadows near a side door set deep into the wall. He was in one of his tracksuits, the cocky grin firmly in place.
“Hey, dude.” I slapped his hand and thumped his back, looking around. No one—not a single other person—was in sight. “I thought you had other plans.”
He shrugged. “They fell through. Couldn’t miss your debut in the ring!” He laughed, then turned for the door and gestured for me to follow him. “Everyone parks in the back or down the street. I figured you wouldn’t know where to go since it’s your first time.”
The heavy metal door creaked as he pulled it open, but when we stepped inside the warehouse, I grabbed his shoulder. “Thanks, man, I appreciate it.” Then I lowered my voice. “You can go now.”
He dropped the bravado to give me a rare serious look. “Nah, I think I’ll stay.”
Stupid petty criminal. I sighed, but he was already walking away before I could say more. I was trying to save him from getting arrested, and he was sticking by my side out of some misguided sense of loyalty? Fine, his problem. I had to stay focused.
I texted Donna, knowing my phone would probably be taken at any moment.
Heading in now.
Shady led me past rows of dilapidated, rusting machinery and sagging conveyor belts. The rest of the space was bare, covered in dust and grime. Broken windows high above our heads let in beams of weak light as rats scurried in the shadows.
We rounded a corner, and several floodlights set on high stands flared to life. I pulled up short and squinted, my eyes adjusting to the sudden brightness.
Two figures stood in the middle of the starkly lit area. Two men, and no one else.
My whole body tensed, hands curling into fists at my sides. Something had gone very wrong.
The space did indeed look as though it was set up for a fight. A rough circle had been painted on the dirty concrete floor, plenty of space around it, and there was a balcony overhead on one side with what looked like empty offices behind the railing. But clearly, I was the only one who’d come here expecting to see an illegal fight ring.
“Hendrix Hawthorn.” The man standing next to Will had the same brown hair, the same build, the same sneering mouth. They even stood in the same pose. Will’s dad had his hands in the pockets of his long coat, worn over a suit and tie, while Will’s were in the pockets of his Fulton Academy varsity jacket. “I’ve been told you want to settle a score with my son.” A pause, a cold grin. “Have at it.”
Will rolled his neck, his full focus on me.
I gritted my teeth and threw a murderous look at Shady.
He just flashed me that stupid grin. “You’re a cool dude, but business is business.”