Page 217 of Blackwood

Knox leans in, “Did I hear right earlier, Bella? This a Bellavs.Rez kind of Fight Night?”

“Yeah, Knox. Tonight’s a little different than your usual brawls here at The Pit. Rez has his Hollow Kings fighters…” she turns and winks at the camera. “And I have mine.”

Laughter from the crowd. Cheers. Roars.

But all I hear ismine. She’s calling them hers.

“Now, I don’t mean my Row boys like usual,” she adds, teasing. “Tonight, I brought backup.”

My jaw tightens.

Knox raises a brow. “Wait, Bella, are you saying these aren’t Wexley football guys?”

Bella smiles like she’s the villain in every guy’s favorite movie. “Nope. And these aren’t your average campus jocks either. I brought with me some of the biggest, the baddest, the sexiest—”

“Baby.” My voice comes out rougher now. She’s playing cute, but I’m about ready to start walking out there grab her and drag her ass out of the ring caveman-style.

“—fighters from all across the world.”

Rez elbows me with a smug-ass grin. “Surprise! Your girl’s insane.”

Knox is losing it. “Holy shit, Bells.”

Bella shrugs, loving every second of this. “Let’s just say I made a few calls.”

Knox whistles. “Well damn. I think it’s time we get this show on the road. What do you say, girls? Want to dance to kick things off?”

The crowd loses it.

Music hits. Lights drop. And then they move. The Trifecta hits center ring like they’ve been training for this their whole lives, slinking, grinding, flipping their hair like sirens. It’s sexy as hell, choreographed like pure seduction. Bella’s hips roll. Her fingers trail down the curve of her thighs.

The girls are killing it, the donors are eating it up, but all I can think about is how she keeps calling those mystery fightershers. Like they matter. As if they’re not about to get wrecked the moment they step into my ring with me.

Knox’s voice booms through the arena, slick and cocky like he’s narrating a damn UFC pay-per-view. “Okay, Bella. Sinceyour boys are the visitors tonight, let’s go ahead and bring out the Hollow King for Fight One!”

I snort, watching it all unfold on the screen. “Quit fucking calling them her boys, Knox.”

Chase stands up and heads for the door, prepping for his entrance.

“Coming in hot, representing the Hollow Kings and Team Rez, we’ve got your crowd favorite, your middleweight champ, Chase Cooper!”

Chase charges out like he’s already won, throwing his hands up for the crowd and bouncing on his toes. Back here in our holding room, DeShawn claps and hollers.I stay silent. Focused. Watching.

“Alright, Bella,” Knox teases. “You want to do the honors or should I?”

She smiles like she’s five seconds away from setting the whole ring on fire. “Go ahead, Knox.”

“Okay, everyone. First up on Team Bella we’ve got one crazy-ass-cowboy straight outta Knoxville, Tennessee…”

I lean forward. “She brought a fucking cowboy?”

Knox hypes it up. “The leader of the Ashen Sons himself. Caleb Briggs!”

Briggs struts into The Pit like it’s his goddamn show—jeans, tight black shirt, boots, black Stetson. He heads straight for Bella and wraps her in a hug that lasts a full three seconds longer than it should. My jaw tightens and I’m two seconds away from throwing a chair.

Rez just laughs. “Maybe you should get a cowboy hat, cuz.”

DING.