Page 66

CARTER
The time had come. Friday was here.
Emma and I stayed at my house all day, and I used the time to get my body and mind prepped for the fight. We’d barely spoken to each other, my mind preoccupied with all the thoughts running through it. I didn’t know the location of the fight, but I assumed it’d be at another vacant warehouse like the last one—what a shit place to die in.
“Do you want anything to eat?” Emma asked, her voice soft.
The thought of food didn’t appeal to me. I peered over my shoulder at her, loving how beautiful she was in her pink tank top and jeans with her long dark hair in loose waves down her back. I could see the worry in her eyes as she leaned against the doorframe of our bedroom. It wasn’t just mine anymore; it was ours. “No,” I answered, shoving a change of clothes into my bag. It was getting late, and I knew Nikolai would be calling any moment.
Emma sighed and walked in. “I can’t eat either.”
My phone buzzed on the bed, and I looked over at Emma. “I think it’s time.” When I picked up the phone, Nikolai’s name was on the screen. “Yeah,” I growled.
“Come to the house. The fight starts at ten.”
“On my way.”
I didn’t wait for him to say anything else; I just hung up and tossed my phone in my bag. Emma came up behind me and wrapped her arms around my waist. “When this is all over, we’re going to my family’s cabin in the mountains.”
Taking her arms, I pulled them apart and brought her around to face me. “I look forward to it.” I kissed her slowly and rested my forehead on hers. “I’ll be back.”
Tears welled up in Emma’s eyes. “Promise?”
I held her tight. “Promise.”
Once my bag was zipped, I slung it over my shoulders, and Emma followed me into the garage. I got in my car and looked at her one last time before backing out of the driveway. I hoped I could keep my promise to her.
It took about forty-five minutes to get to the mansion because of the traffic, and when I arrived, the driveway was full of cars. I slid into a space between two Jaguars and made my way to the front door where Antonio stood guard.
Grinning smugly, he opened the door. “Good luck tonight.”
I didn’t waste my breath with a response. Instead, I walked into the house and straight down to the basement. Things weren’t the same when I turned the corner. The basement looked like a completely different place altogether. The exercise equipment was replaced with multiple bars set up around the room with rows of shot glasses and hundreds of liquor bottles. And right in the middle of it all was the fighting ring with seats all around it.
Nikolai’s voice rang out behind me. “I thought I’d liven the place up a bit.”
Clutching my bag, I turned to face him. He was playing the part tonight dressed in his fancy suit and neatly coifed hair. He fit in perfectly with the rest of the mafia cunts who got off on watching people die.
“Why are we here?” I asked. “Isn’t this Scar’s place?”
Nikolai tipped his head back and laughed. “Fuck no.” He waved a hand about the room. “This is all mine, has been from the beginning. I just made Scar think otherwise.”
“Why?”
His eyes gleamed. “To get to Emma and the others. You were an unexpected inconvenience.”
“Glad I could help,” I snapped.
Nikolai shrugged. “Yeah, well, it was all for nothing. Tonight is your last fight.”
“What makes you say that?”
He walked past me, his focus shifting to the ring. “Because I know who you’re fighting.” Nikolai glanced at me over his shoulder, his lips curled. “And he has something to fight for.”
“Who is he?” I asked. Not that I gave a flying fuck, but I had to know his endgame.
With amusement in his eyes, Nikolai walked around me. “He’s my family’s hitman, as you would call it. You see, he withheld money from my father. So, he has to prove himself to get back in my dad’s good graces.” He stopped in front of me. “And to do that, he has to fight you. It was my idea,” he boasted, his grin spreading wide. “If he loses, he pays the price with his life. If he wins, we forgive him.”
I scoffed in disgust. “Couldn’t do it yourself, huh? Fucking pussy.”
Nikolai glowered and stepped up to me, but I refused to back down. “Oh, you’re going to die, Reynolds. But, if you survive tonight, it won’t be for long. I’ll have my way with you.”
“Not if I end you first.” Fisting my hands, I was ready to take the first swing, but Nikolai’s phone rang, and he moved back.
“Goodbye, Reynolds.”
He walked away and I didn’t take my eyes off him until he was out of the room. I had no fucking clue what was going to happen, and the only person I could think of was Emma. Pulling out my phone, I sent her a text, hoping like hell it wasn’t my last one.
Me: I love you, Emma.