Page 17 of The Tempo of Truth (The Monsters Duet #3)

Ky

“He’s gotta work on grappling and getting better at groundwork.

Keep that kid down until he can escape.” Lev’s frustrated voice made “the kid,” who was actually a grown man several years older and four inches taller than me, squirm even more in the headlock I had him in.

He was one of Lev’s recent MMA hopefuls.

I was pretty sure the guy was juiced up on steroids because his temper was nasty, and he didn’t seem to know exactly what to do with the majority of his bulk.

He was as strong as an ox and about as coordinated as one.

If he didn’t learn some flexibility and how to fight with his head as well as his hands, he was never going to make it into a professional cage match or a title fight.

What he lacked made no difference to Lev.

The Russian had no problem throwing a rabid dog into the underground circuit to play punching bag and shift the odds for the bookies and gamblers if they couldn’t cut it on the big stage.

The guy attempted to use his legs and hips, pushing himself off the mat and attempting to flip our positions so that I was the one fighting for leverage.

I flexed the muscles in my thighs and squeezed his neck even tighter.

It felt a bit like I was attempting to crush a ripe watermelon with my legs.

“Oh. Hello there. Not often we see a pretty woman around these parts.” Lev’s voice, which was dripping with fake charm, broke my concentration.

I tilted my head back and froze when I caught sight of Winnie making her way across the gym.

The stone-faced Hispanic guy who was never very far from her side was scanning every inch of the place as if they’d just entered an active warzone.

I could tell her head of security didn’t like me.

The way he looked at me would’ve made another man cower in fear or shame.

Too bad for him; I had little of either left after my life imploded all those years ago.

It would take more than a scowl and silent warnings to intimidate me, especially on my own turf.

Winnie, on the other hand, she always scared the shit out of me and constantly made me forget myself.

As she approached where Lev was standing with an extended hand to shake, I lost control of the guy I was grappling with and ended up taking an elbow to the solar plexus and getting smacked in the nose with the back of his head.

The blow made me see stars for a second.

It was a good thing that keeping my guard up was second nature; otherwise, I would’ve ended up in a headlock, with two hundred pounds of pure muscle fiending for revenge on my back.

“Thanks for bringing Ky’s phone. I promised him I’d locate it by the time he was done training my student.

I’ve seen you in the news, Miss. I was curious about his close friend from the Halliday family.

A lot of people turned their backs on Ky when he left football behind.

But you didn’t. You even helped him out without taking any of the credit. ”

I tapped the mat and signaled that the practice was over.

It was easy to tell my opponent was irritated and wanted to keep going to redeem himself from the earlier injury to his ego, but my focus was now on Winnie, not winning in the ring.

Lev barked at the behemoth to hit the showers and continued to schmooze Winnie.

I shouldn’t have told him I left my phone at her place.

He chewed me out for not picking up his call earlier.

He couldn’t schedule a fight because he couldn’t get hold of me, which meant money was left on the table.

When I mentioned I forgot my cell when I met with Winnie and Lowe, it was hard to ignore the scheming glint in Lev’s gaze.

He hadn’t given up on the idea that I should leverage being Lowe’s father as far as humanly possible for unimaginable gains.

He refused to believe I was okay with getting to know my son without a single cent promised.

Lev practically had cartoonlike dollar signs in his eyes when he mentioned Winnie and Halliday Inc.

Lev asked me for her number, saying he would text her and ask her to drop the phone off.

I refused to give it. I didn’t want Winnie involved in this part of my life in the slightest. She already had a million-and-one reasons to keep Lowe away from me.

If she came face-to-face with just how far I’d fallen in recent years, there was a solid chance she wouldn’t recognize whatever hint of good inside of me she’d always sworn was there.

I didn’t know how or who gave Lev Winnie’s hard-to-acquire cell phone number.

He did have endless shady acquaintances and endless nefarious means at his disposal.

I wasn’t surprised he ignored me and pulled her directly into the darkness that nearly suffocated me on the daily.

I was less shocked that she showed up in a place I never expected to see her.

Winnie excelled at appearing in places she wasn’t supposed to be.

She treated taking me off guard like a super-fun game we were playing. One she was for sure winning.

Winnie pulled my phone out of the pocket of the oversized hoodie she was wearing.

She was dressed like she’d just rolled out of bed.

The glamorous socialite was nowhere to be found.

The woman in front of me reminded me of the teenage girl who liked to hang out in the park and watch my soccer games.

She had on loose sweatpants, high-top sneakers, and the large, hooded sweatshirt that I was almost certain was mine from when I was younger.

Winnie’s face was bare except for a pair of small, gold-rimmed glasses that made her hazel eyes look wider.

Her hair was twisted into a messy braid that sat on her shoulder and flicked in different directions when she moved.

She looked like a high schooler. Definitely not like the mother of a five-year-old or the CEO of a major corporation.

I could practically see the wheels turning in Lev’s head as he gazed at her with barely concealed greed.

She looked much softer and more approachable like this than she actually was.

Lev was going to find out the hard way just how difficult it was to deal with a Halliday, even if Winnie was his favorite one.

I rubbed my face with my sweaty forearm and frowned. “Set it down over by my bag. You didn’t have to bring it down here yourself.” I narrowed my eyes slightly in warning when Lev reached out to pat her shoulder in an overly familiar manner. “No need to leave Lowe alone for something like this.”

Winnie smiled softly and moved closer to the ring.

She found the corner where I dropped my gym bag and set the phone down.

She tilted her head back to meet my gaze and reminded me, “My family lives next door. One of the main reasons I came back to the city was to have help close by whenever I needed it. On top of having around-the-clock security, Uncle Win was at my place within two minutes to wait, just in case Lowe wakes up while I’m gone.

I’ve been a single mother for five years, Ky.

One with better resources and more support than most. I think I know what I’m doing. ”

Properly chastised, I begrudgingly muttered, “Well, thank you for taking the time to bring me the phone. I know you’re busy.

” I wanted to tell her that she could call me if she needed help with Lowe since he was also my responsibility, but I knew I hadn’t come close to reaching that level of trust yet.

Winnie grabbed the bottom rope that encircled the ring and stared up at me. Her braid slithered across her shoulder and fell behind her. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the subtle movement. It had no business being as alluring as it was.

“You’re her security guard?” Winnie and I both looked over where Lev was practically circling around Helio.

“You look like you’re in good shape. Where did you get your training?

The military?” The dark-haired man narrowed his eyes and ignored the persistent Russian.

“Do you think you could take my boy in a fight?” Lev’s eyes sparkled.

“Wanna bet on it? I got a hundred bucks on Ky. What he lacks in discipline, he makes up for in experience. The kid’s been fighting for his life since he came into this world. ”

I threw my mouthguard at the older man’s head. “He’s working. Not everyone wants to fight for your entertainment, old man.”

Helio, wearing a sharp suit and looking very out of place in the old-school gym, snorted like the suggestion was an insult. “What fight? Kent wouldn’t stand a chance against me.”

I shook my head, sending a drop of sweat flying. I was well past the age and mentality where someone could taunt me into action.

“Good. That makes me feel like Lowe is in good hands. There’s going to be an endless line of people trying to get close to him and use him for their own means throughout his life.

If you can beat me, then you for sure should be able to kick the shit out of them when needed.

” My gaze drifted over Winnie’s face. Her gently rounded cheeks and plush lips really made her appear softer and sweeter than she actually was.

It was easy to forget how cunning and conniving she could be.

“It would’ve been better if someone like you was around to keep someone like me away from anyone named Halliday from the start. ”

With that admission, I slid between the ropes, grabbed my phone, and walked toward the locker room.

I needed some breathing space, justifying leaving Winnie with Lev by telling myself she could use the practice when it came to dealing with a skilled con artist who was after all of her money.

If she let the slick Russian take advantage of her, she wasn’t going to last long as the big boss of Halliday Inc.