When the second round of fights began immediately, without any rest period, she went into her room and obsessively cleaned the small space. Twenty minutes later, Lance and another man burst through the door, holding a man between them. Blood caked one side of his face. The sight of his listless body clicked her into doctor mode.
“Get him up on the gurney,” she instructed.
She recognized the fighter from the first round. Rodney Pattison. Though he’d won his match, he’d taken a blow to the head that had left one eye severely swollen. She’d advised the man to stop and not move on to the next round. Clearly, he hadn’t listened.
Ella grabbed her penlight, pried open the enflamed skin to flick the light across his eye and was relieved when the pupil constricted. Switching to the other one, which was as swollen as the other now, she did the same thing and her stomach sank at the overly large pupil. Flicking the light across it did not get a response. Shit. Blown and fixed.
“Someone go get Gabe or Mitch.” When no one moved, she barked, “Now!”
Lanced rushed out of the room.
She stared down at the man, hating every second that passed. If she was at the hospital, she would rush him for an immediate CT scan, but she didn’t have that luxury here.
“What?” Mitch asked, as he hurried into the room.
“This man needs a hospital. I can’t do anything for him here.”
Wide eyes turned to the fighter and then to her. “A-are you sure?”
“Of course I’m fucking sure.”
“Okay. Okay.” He backed out of the room to only return a moment later with two other guys. “You know what to do,” he said to them.
They helped the man to his feet and moved toward the door. Fear for the man had Ella stepping in their way with her hands raised. “I can’t let you leave with him without knowing he’s going to get the treatment he needs.”
They tried to move around her, but she shuffled to continue blocking the door.
“Where are you taking him?” she demanded.
Mitch motioned to someone behind her. Large arms wrapped around her waist and dragged her back. Bellowing, Lance charged toward her, fury etched on his face. Without a second of hesitation, Ella drove her elbow into the gut of the man behind her. A loud grunt sounded, and his grip loosened. Turning to the side, she threw her body into his torso, wove an arm underneath his, then tossed him over her shoulder and onto the floor with a loud thud.
The gorilla of a man lay stunned on the ground, wheezing. All Ella could do was gawk at what she had done. That had been the second time she’d been threatened and instinct had taken control. The knowledge was there. The instinct was there. She just couldn’t prepare for it. Preparing made her overthink.
Lifting wide eyes, she stared at Lance, who was gaping at her with the same shock she felt.
“Holy shit, Kelsey,” Lance muttered, awe coloring his words.
Holy shit was right, but she didn’t have time to celebrate her revelation. She needed to find out about Rodney.
She rushed past Lance and out into the warehouse. Glancing around, she saw them carrying the guy through a back door. She hurried after them, but was intercepted by Mitch. “You need to get back to your room.”
“How about fuck you. I want to know what’s going to happen to that man.”
“That’s for us to take care of. Not you.”
“This is bullshit.” She yanked out her phone, which was immediately plucked from her hand.
“What do you think you’re doing, Kelsey?”
“You can’t have the entire damn city bought. If I call 911, someone is going to be sent out.”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t do that. You won’t be causing problems for just me and Gabe.” Mitch handed her back her phone then motioned to someone behind her. “I think you need to meet someone.”
A few moments later, she was face-to-face with the Chief of Police.
“Kelsey, this is Andrew Smith”—there was a long deliberate pause—“the Chief of Police.” He clapped the chief on the shoulder. “Andrew, Kelsey isn’t too happy about this event. She’s new in town. Why don’t you let her know how things go around here?”
The man studied her. “We enjoy the entertainment the McNealys provide, but most of all, we appreciate the donations they give our city. We don’t need an outsider messing with that. Is that clear enough?”
Ella opened her mouth then closed it. There really wasn’t anything to say. They were untouchable. Fine. Whatever. She didn’t have to be a part of it.
She spun around and stormed back to her room to find Lance still standing inside.
“You know them. What’re they going to do with that fighter?”
He hesitated. Finally, he said, “It’s Mitch and Gabe. It’s anyone’s guess.”
That was not the answer she wanted, but she used this moment to drive her point home. “That could’ve easily been you. Do you get that?”
The only response she received was a tightening of his jaw. God, the man was fucking bullheaded. He wouldn’t stop until he was physically forced.
“Lance. Please. Rethink this. Regulated fighting is one thing. This free-for-all, anything-goes fighting is dangerous and irresponsible. Your next fight could do irreparable damage.”