“Come on, the neck rubbing? You can’t seriously expect me to fall for that.”
“You know her?” Haze raises his eyebrows, apparently finding this moment very amusing.
Kendrick sighs. “She’s my cousin.”
“Is she now?” Haze says. “Bring her over.”
He motions to the gigantic man holding me against my will. Donkey Kong obeys. Of course the gorilla-sized guy couldn’t be on Kendrick’s side.
“Haze, please, don’t hurt her.” Kendrick raises his voice. “God, she’s just… so freaking stubborn.”
“Believe me, I know.” Haze smirks, obviously referring to our charming meeting in the hall. “She looked me in the eyes and called me a… what was it?” He pauses, looking up as if he’s trying to remember. “A jackass.”
Kendrick gasps. “Tell me you didn’t.”
Here we go again.
“Oh, for God’s sake. Yes, I did. I looked him in the eyes.” I can’t stop myself. “What’s the big deal? Do they throw lasers?”
Then, against all expectations, Haze tries to suppress a laugh, biting his lower lip roughly to keep a straight face.
“Now what? Are you going to hurt her?”
“Hurt her?” Haze scoffs, taking in every single bit of my features. “Of course not. She entertains me.”
What am I? A freaking amusement park?
“Well, it sucks to be you, then, because I’m not going to let you anywhere near her.” Kendrick takes a step forward, his eyes darkening by the second.
Haze doesn’t answer, examining me like he’s never seen a girl before. I can’t possibly tell what he’s thinking.
“I’ll make a deal with you.” His words sound more like an order than a proposition. “You want the next fight to be memorable. Let’s make sure it is,” he says. “If you win the fight, I’ll stay away from her. But if you lose…” He pauses for what seems to be an eternity. “The girl is mine for a month.”
Time stops.
“What? No, you can’t do that,” I blurt.
“Let’s make something clear, gorgeous.” He steps closer until his face is so close to mine my breath gets lodged in my throat. Kendrick clenches his fists.
Bringing me back to the day we met, the proximity between us sends shivers down my spine. Then he finally speaks.
“You have no idea what I can do.”
“And if I refuse?” Kendrick dares.
Haze brings his attention back to my very angry cousin.
“Can you imagine if word got out that you have someone to protect? Kendrick, the powerful fighter of the East Side, weakened by love? How awful would that be? I mean, we wouldn’t want anything to happen to her, would we?” He glances at the other fighters behind him. They nod in agreement.
My cousin doesn’t say a word, his eyes shifting back and forth between Haze and me. The hesitant look on his face says it all. He is actually considering this. He can’t be serious.
“Then, what? You let her go? She’s free. Just like that? I don’t buy it,” Kendrick says with scorn lacing his tone.
“Trust me. When I’m done with her…” A cocky smile takes residency on Haze’s face as he observes me intently. “She won’t want to come back.”
This can’t be happening.
Kendrick frowns. “How do I know you’ll keep your word?”