What the hell could they need her help with?
Crazy mob-related scenarios like them needing her to make a death look natural, or tell them how to get rid of a body flew through her head. God, she’d watched too much Sopranos and Breaking Bad. But the elusive McNealys freaked her out. All she could think about was how much they knew about her and how fast they’d found it out.
It’d taken her a while to figure out where they’d gotten their lead. She had a fake ID, fake name, and she’d left all identifying material back in Maine—except her car. She had to assume they’d followed her at some point over the last few days and taken down her tag number. A huge oversight on her part. It’d been so long since she’d been pulled over or even had a fender bender, her tag being traceable had never crossed her mind. It should have though, because that presented a slew of new problems she hadn’t figured in—like what would she do if she were pulled over?
She couldn’t worry about that. One thing at a time. Right now, whatever the hell mess she was in required her entire focus.
Taking a left onto a dirt road, she swallowed. Off in the far distance was an aura of light, brightening the horizon. She could only assume that was her destination. As she drove closer, a large square structure took shape—a warehouse maybe?
Nerves twisted her stomach hard, and she took a deep breath, trying to calm the tingles that were spreading from her gut to the tips of her fingers.
Though no one was in front of her, she silently repeated her mantra. Never show weakness. Never allow intimidation. Always exude confidence. Unlike when she was face-to-face with someone who set her panic off, her chant didn’t help because this time her enemy was bodiless.
Once she reached the warehouse, she noticed at least fifty cars parked outside the building. Lights from inside poured out of open bay doors. The bass from the music slightly vibrated her car. People milled about outside—both men and women. Ordinary looking people in ordinary, everyday clothes. Some of her tension eased. There was no way some insane mob murder plot would take place with this many witnesses.
After she parked her car, she walked across the gravel lot toward a bay door. The pulsating music pounded through her skull. Why would the McNealys need a doctor for a dance party?
As she entered the bay doors, everything made sense. This wasn’t a dance party. It was way worse. Violent and dangerous. People lining up willingly to allow another person to abuse them.
She stared at the large, octagon-shaped cage set up in the middle of the room and swallowed hard. This may be her undoing.
While she’d trained her ass off learning everything these fighters knew, she stayed clear of the actual sport. And her issue really wasn’t with the sport, or even the injuries. It was the fists slamming into faces. The sound of the impact from a powerful punch. The domination of one over the other until a referee intervened. The sight of a man knocked out on his feet then thudding to the canvas unconscious. It didn’t matter that it was two willing people. It was too close to home. Too much of a reminder. Too fucking hard to watch.
In this large building, she was alone in her thinking. At least a hundred people were in attendance. Some were sitting on bleachers that had been erected against the walls. Others sat on the metal chairs positioned around the cage. Excited chatter buzzed beneath the thumping music.
Every fiber of her being rebelled against this, encouraged her to race back to her car and damn the consequences. She was so close to caving, but she refused the impulse. This was her fear taking hold again. The mind fuck that Randy had beat into her. Here was her chance to get past another hurdle she’d been forced to live with since that night.
A huge fuck-you to Randy. She would face this, and she would persevere.
Feeling more confident, she stood a little straighter and walked farther into the building. She wasn’t sure who she was looking for, or even where she was supposed to go. As she weaved through the crowd, someone blew smoke right in her face. A pungent, earthy odor assaulted her nose, and she waved her hand in front of her to clear the air. She hoped pot was the only drug under this roof.