Lou growled. “This is my life, and I don’t have to marry who they tell me to.”
“Mom and Dad are going to pick you out a husband.”
“Mom and Dad can go and screw themselves, or their respective mistresses and lovers. I don’t give a shit. This is my life, and I’m not ending up like them.” Their parents hated each other, but they’d been arranged to be married when they were younger. Lou was determined never to end up like them, and she was going to marry a man she loved, respected, and who was not part of the underground fighting lifestyle.
She stared at her brother’s beaten face, and she felt so damn angry.
“No one would fight Landon. This is good for our family.” It would be the only good thing. Everything to do with the Moores was tainted.
“That’s because Landon is a loose cannon.” She’d heard about the youngest brother of the Denton clan, and she wasn’t impressed. When thinking about the ultimate empire family, she didn’t like them. They were violent thugs.
“Regardless, I’m now known for standing up against one of the worst Dentons since Jacob.”
Lou paused. “Seriously? This is what this is about? Some kind of title? A reputation?”
“No one else has it.”
“Ugh, I hate men. You don’t care about anything but your stupid titles, and names, and ugh.” She threw the towel at him and stormed away.
“This is all it has ever been about, Lou.”
She turned back to face him to see him holding a towel against his face. This she hated to see. The bruises on her brother’s face, the blood, the pain. It was all a mark of violence that her family was a part of. Years ago when she was a little girl, she’d been oblivious to her parents’ dislike of each other. She hadn’t known about the fighting or their connection to one of the biggest crime families the States had ever seen. The Dentons were vicious, and yet even despite their viciousness, they were all reported to have a sweet side. Rumor had it that only one woman could snag a Denton, and he would go out of his way to make sure she was loved and protected. She figured it was a bunch of bullshit.
Lou never listened to rumors. She hadn’t even met a Denton yet. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. She’d not seen a Denton in over fifteen years, and that had been Abel, the second in line to the throne.
“What are you going to do when they smash your face in one too many times?” she asked.
Riley didn’t say anything, just like she knew he wouldn’t. Most of the time she stayed out of the family business, and the only reason she was here tonight was because it beat being at her apartment, worried sick over him. She had been at the gym owned by her parents when she heard that her brother was fighting tonight. To everyone’s amusement, she’d been trying to slim down from her size eighteen curves, but it seemed no matter what she did, she couldn’t shed the weight.
She’d hoped with exercise she’d be able to eat as much fried chicken and chocolate as she wanted, but that was not the case. Sure, she could work out, and eat, but she would have to work out every single hour of every single day to even lose a pound. She hated food. No, that was an entire pack of lies. She loved food, but her body hated it.
Pushing her own thoughts aside, she stared at her brother.
“This is all part of the business.”
“I know what it is or isn’t, Riley. I’m not asking you to tell me what you’re doing isn’t wrong. I want to know what you’re going to do when this goes too far. That ring is not governed by law. It’s got its own set of rules.”
Riley reached out, holding her hand. “I’m not going to fight any time soon.”
Tears filled her eyes. “People die from fighting.”
“I’m a tough old fucker, Lou. Nothing is going to kill me.”
She shook her head, reaching out to take his face, gently. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
“I’m not going to, but I am going to the after party hosted at the Dentons’ house. It’s why Mom and Dad couldn’t be here. They’re making sure they are there before anyone can throw them out.”
“You mean in case you had won the fight and the baby hadn’t?” Lou asked.
Riley sighed. “You just don’t get it, but maybe one day you will.”
“If you’re thinking when my kids are old enough to do this shit, you better think again. I’m not letting my kids do anything like this.”
Her brother laughed. “Go and wait in the car. I’ll be out in a minute. Don’t want to miss an opportunity to rub it into every fucker’s fa
ce that they were too damn scared to take on the sixteen year old boy.”
“You do know how that sounds, right?”