“Cheney’s nice.”
It was a cute little town. With Wichita only thirty miles away, she was still able to go into the city but could keep to the seclusion she was looking for.
“What did you do?” Amber asked.
“Do?”
“You know…for money?”
The Q and A was making her uncomfortable. God, this had been a bad idea. “I worked in a doctor’s office.”
No reason to elaborate that the doctor’s office was actually a hospital, and she was a surgeon.
“Oh, cool. Are you looking to go back into that line of work?”
She’d love to, but then she’d have to give her real name, and that left her exposed. Until she was positive she was ready to be found, she wasn’t doing that.
“One day maybe, but not right now.”
First she had to get over the fear that her ex was coming after her the moment he was released from prison. Because if he did, she couldn’t freeze. She had to react. Know how to defend herself. Protect herself.
And that was where Lance came in.
…
An hour later, Lance exited the facility. Mac had asked him to train with one of the up-and-coming light-heavyweights. It meant a lot to him that Mac thought so highly of his skills inside the cage, even though he’d never made it into the professional circuit. Life just had other plans for him. Some good. Some bad. Some downright terrifying. All in all, though, things were going pretty damn good right now.
“Hey, Black.”
Except for them. Lance tensed, briefly closed his eyes, and muttered, “Fuck.”
He didn’t have the patience for these three assholes again today. He slowly faced them, and Ralph motioned for him to follow them around the side of the building. As he rounded the corner, he said, “What?”
Ralph scowled at him “Watch your tone, Black.”
God, these three got off on their job. They walked around town like they owned it. In a way, he guessed they did—or more like their bosses did. “I don’t have all damn day. Say what you got to say or fucking leave me alone.”
The scowl deepened. “You’re starting to piss me off, Black.”
“Yeah? Same here. How about we get this over with so we can go on with our days.”
“I’ve got some bad news for you.”
“I’d already gathered that. What is it?”
“The McNealys have decided to alter the terms of your arrangement.”
Shock exploded through him, and he jerked back. “They can’t do that. We have a contract.”
Ralph laughed. “Yes, you do…a McNealy contract, which can be changed whenever the McNealys want.”
Motherfucker. He should’ve known something like this would eventually come to a head. Though he hadn’t been in the frame of mind to think about future consequences when he’d gone to the cousins for the money in the first place. Not that it mattered what mindset he’d been in. Even if he hadn’t been desperate, he would’ve still signed that contract without thought.
His daughter was now in remission because of the treatment the insurance and banks had refused her. So in essence the McNealys, dirty businessmen that they were, had saved his daughter’s life.
“What’s changed?”
“The life of the loan has been decreased.”
That wasn’t good. His loan payment was already just shy of two grand a month. He was making that, plus his other bills, but he was working himself into the ground doing it. An increase could do him in. Shit. “Really. By how much?”
“Two years and six months.”
Lance ground his molars. That was exactly how long he had left on the loan. The McNealys would only be doing this for one reason. “What the fuck do they want?”
“You’re a smart man, Black.”
“I’ve had enough dealings with these two to know how they work.”
“All they want is your talent, Black, and we all know it’s not gambling.” The two guys behind him laughed.
Lance curled his hands into fists, wanting to punch the smug look off the other man’s face. Ralph had been a part of the McNealys’ gambling ring since the beginning. He’d been a witness to Lance’s multiple losses—which led to the demise of his marriage and Piper taking Skylar from him for a short time. “And my talent is?”
“Fighting.”
That word was so unexpected that his mind went blank as it tried to process this new development. “What’re you getting at?”
“They’re organizing a special gambling venture for the members in the Wichita club. One that will benefit you and them. They’re opening a fight club.”
“That’s fucking ridiculous. I can’t fight untrained men.”
“Don’t get your panties in a wad. The fighting will be between trained fighters. We’re just going underground and charging a shit ton of money to get into the door to watch, not to mention the gambling opportunities they’re going to offer.”
Lance swallowed. “When you say underground, you mean unregulated.”
“Anything goes.”
“No.” Lance shook his head sharply once. “Absolutely not.”