Page 115 of Let the Game Begin

Just then, the dawn of another goddamned day was filtering through my bedroom window where, for more than an hour already, I had been hitting my punching bag with just my black wraps wound around my hands. Working out every morning was a good way to vent some of my anger, especially when the nightmares seized my brain. Boxing kept me from succumbing to the wrong temptations and gave me an outlet for my anxieties—other than sex.

I threw punch after punch, alternating hooks with uppercuts and uppercuts with jabs. I controlled my breathing, bounced in place and then struck again.

Hook, hook, uppercut, jab.

Now, however, another even more dangerous problem had been added to my long list of them: the girl from Detroit. I smiled as I thought about her.

I was a bundle of contradictions: I wanted Selene all to myself, but at thesame time, I didn’t want her to get attached to me, because I knew I could never give her the things she really deserved. Knowing that made me feel increasingly uncomfortable, so I rolled my shoulders and hit the bag again with a powerful strike, making it swing wildly from side to side.

I shouldn’t have let myself get distracted.

Overthinking could have ruined the last ten minutes of my training, but that happened anyway because of my phone. I searched for it, following the sound, and found it on the dresser next to the bed. A bead of sweat rolled down my temple, and I stopped it with the back of my hand before I answered.

“What the fuck do you want?” I spit out breathlessly, hearing a sardonic laugh on the other end of the line. I was tired and sweaty, my black tank top was sticking to me along with my sweatpants. I wanted to take a shower; until I could, my anxiety wasn’t going to lessen.

“Good morning to you too, dickhead. Don’t tell me you’re fucking right now?” Xavier ribbed me, and I sighed.

“What do you want?” I asked again. He snorted, and I heard a female voice near him, a sign that he was probably with Alexia or possibly someone else.

“Hold on, kitten, give me a break. I’m on the phone,” he chided the girl, and I rolled my eyes. It wasn’t Alexia, then, because she hated being called kitten.

“Spit it out,” I ordered impatiently, earning myself a curse from him.

“I heard that Carter Nelson woke up from his coma and that he’s planning to turn you in.” He dropped the bomb all in one breath, and I went still.

Shit.

By then, I had completely forgotten about the kid’s existence. I had been hoping I could simply wash my hands of him, but now he was back just to fuck up my day.

“How do you know this?” I scrubbed a hand over my sweaty face and repositioned the phone in my hand.

“Reliable sources have informed me,” he answered, vague but confident.

“Fuck,” I swore. Now this was a real shitshow. I needed to find some way to stop Carter from bringing up my name, or I would be immediatelyarrested.

“You got something in mind?” Xavier knew me well.

“I’ll see you tonight at Blanco,” I answered, telling him nothing.

Then I hung up and got in the shower. I had a short amount of time to come up with a plan I could execute immediately that would resolve the whole sticky situation.

***

I didn’t go home after my classes to avoid running into Babygirl or making my brother suspicious. Instead, I went straight to Blanco.

The LED sign illuminated the packed parking lot adjacent to the club. As usual, the place was full, packed with men and women of all ages, intent on entertaining themselves in the worst possible ways.

I stepped out of my Maserati and leaned on the hood, lighting a cigarette. My leather jacket pulled against my biceps with every movement, and my imposing presence attracted a number of stares, especially from women.

One girl in particular, wearing a short, slutty dress, stared at me insistently, making it very clear to me that she wouldn’t mind at all if I were to plow her in any corner of the lot. A glance at her hair—the color of wheat—made me momentarily consider wasting half an hour with her. My body, however, seemed numb to the concept and didn’t give me any arousal signals. My heart did not pound the way it had the night before.

I inhaled the smoke and looked away from the blond to the entrance where two women were walking right toward me.

Alexia swung her hips, propped up on a pair of tall leather boots that enhanced her soft curves. She had small breasts but her ass was first-rate. Jennifer, in her braids, had a more hard-edged and provocative style. She had a shapely body, and her plump lips could work magic when they were wrapped around my cock. Though, after what had gone down with Selene, I had stopped paying any attention to her.

“Where are the others?” I asked immediately, without saying hello and addressing myself only to Alexia.

“Inside,” she answered with a shrug. She reached out to me with her fingers in a V shape, wordlessly requesting that I pass her the cigarette. Afterone final drag, I obliged her.