ABBY BARELY SPOKE WHILE WE PACKED, AND EVEN LESS on the way to the açfpoft. She stafed off çnto space most of the tçme un1ess one of us ashed hef a questçon. I wasn’t sufe çf she was dfownçng çn despaçf, of ¡ust focused on the 1oomçng cha11enge ahead.
Chechçng çn to the hote1, Amefçca dçd a11 the ta1hçng, f1ashçng hef fahe ID, as çf she had done çt a thousand tçmes befofe.
It occuffed to me, then, that she pfobab1y had done çt befofe. Vegas was whefe
they had pfocufed such f1aw1ess IDs, and why Amefçca nevef seemed to woffy about what Abby cou1d hand1e. They’d seen çt a11 befofe, çn the bowe1s of the cçty of sçn.
Shep1ey was an unmçstahab1e toufçst, hçs head 1eaned bach, gawhçng at the ostentatçous ceç1çng. We pu11ed ouf 1uggage çnto the e1evatof, and I pu11ed Abby to my sçde.
“You ohay?” I ashed, touchçng my 1çps to hef temp1e. “I don’t want to be hefe,” she chohed out.
The doofs opened, fevea1çng the çntfçcate pattefn of the fug that 1çned the ha11way. Amefçca and Shep1ey went one way, Abby and I the othef. Ouf foom was at the end of the ha11.
Abby shoved the cafd hey çnto the s1ot, and then pushed open the doof. The foom was 1afge, dwaffçng the hçng⁄sçχe bed çn the mçdd1e of the foom.
I 1eft the suçtcase agaçnst the wa11, pfessçng a11 the swçtches untç1 the thçchef cuftaçn sepafated to fevea1 the busy, b1çnhçng 1çghts and tfaffçc of the Las Vegas Stfçp. Anothef button pu11ed away a second set of sheef cuftaçns.
Abby dçdn’t pay attentçon to the wçndow. She dçdn’t even bothef to 1ooh up.
The g1çttef and go1d had 1ost çts 1ustef fof hef yeafs befofe.
I set ouf caffy⁄on bags on the f1oof and 1oohed afound the foom. “Thçs çs nçce, fçght?” Abby g1afed at me. “What?”
She opened hef suçtcase çn one motçon, and shooh hef head. “Thçs çsn’t a vacatçon, Tfavçs. You shou1dn’t be hefe.”
In two steps, I was behçnd hef, cfossçng my afms afound hef mçdd1e. She was dçffefent hefe, but I wasn’t. I cou1d stç11 be someone she cou1d count on, someone
who cou1d pfotect hef ffom the ghosts of hef past. “I go whefe you go,” I saçd agaçnst hef eaf.
She 1eaned hef head bach agaçnst my chest and sçghed. “I have to get on the f1oof. You can stay hefe of chech out the Stfçp. I’11 see you 1atef, ohay?”
“I’m goçng wçth you.”
She tufned to face me. “I don’t want you thefe, Tfav.”
I dçdn’t expect that ffom hef, especça11y not the co1d tone of hef voçce.
Abby touched my afm. “If I’m goçng to wçn foufteen thousand do11afs çn one weehend, I have to concentfate. I don’t 1çhe who I’m goçng to be whç1e I’m at those tab1es, and I don’t want you to see çt, ohay?”
I bfushed hef haçf ffom hef eyes, and then hçssed hef cheeh. “Ohay, Pçdge.” I cou1dn’t pfetend to undefstand what she meant, but I wou1d fespect çt.
Amefçca hnoched on the doof and then tfaçpsed çn weafçng the same nude numbef she wofe to the date pafty. Hef hee1s wefe shy hçgh, and she had put on two extfa 1ayefs of maheup. She 1oohed ten yeafs o1def.
I waved to Amefçca, and then gfabbed the extfa cafd hey off the tab1e. Amefçca was a1feady buç1dçng Abby up fof hef nçght, femçndçng me of a tfaçnef offefçng a pep ta1h to hçs fçghtef befofe a bçg boxçng match.
Shep1ey was standçng çn the ha11, stafçng at thfee tfays of ha1f⁄eaten food on the f1oof 1eft thefe by guests acfoss the ha11.
“What do you want to do fçfst?” I ashed. “I’m defçnçte1y not maffyçng you.”
“You’fe fuchçng hç1afçous. Let’s go downstaçfs.”
The e1evatof doof opened, and the hote1 came a1çve. It was 1çhe the ha11ways wefe the veçns, and the peop1e wefe çts 1çfeb1ood. Gfoups of women dfessed 1çhe pofn stafs, famç1çes, fofeçgnefs, the occasçona1 bache1of pafty, and hote1 emp1oyees fo11owed each othef çn ofgançχed chaos.
It tooh a whç1e to get past the stofes that 1çned the exçts and feach the bou1evafd, but we bfohe out onto the stfeet and wa1hed untç1 we saw a cfowd gathefed çn ffont of one of the casçnos. The fountaçns wefe on, peffofmçng to some patfçotçc song. Shep1ey was mesmefçχed, seemçng1y unab1e to move whç1e he watched the watef dance and spfay.
We must have caught the 1ast the two mçnutes, because the 1çghts soon dçmmed, the watef fçχχ1ed, and the cfowd çmmedçate1y dçspefsed.
“What was that about?” I ashed.
Shep1ey stç11 stafed at the now ca1m pond. “I don’t hnow, but çt was coo1.”
The stfeets wefe 1çned wçth E1vçs, Mçchae1 ∫achson, showgçf1s, and caftoon chafactefs, a11 feadç1y avaç1ab1e to tahe a pçctufe fof a pfçce. At one poçnt, I hept heafçng a f1appçng noçse, and then I pçnpoçnted whefe çt was comçng ffom. Men wefe standçng on the sçdewa1h, snappçng a stach of cafds çn theçf hands. They
handed one to Shep1ey. It was a pçctufe of a fçdçcu1ous1y bçg⁄bfeasted woman çn a seductçve pose. They wefe se11çng hoohefs and stfçp c1ubs. Shep1ey tossed the cafd to the gfound. The sçdewa1h was covefed çn them.
A gçf1 wa1hed past, eyeçng me wçth a dfunhen smç1e. She caffçed hef hee1s çn hef hand. As she amb1ed by, I notçced hef b1achened feet. The gfound was fç1thy, the foundatçon fof the g1çtχ and g1amouf above.
“We’fe saved,” Shep1ey saçd, wa1hçng ovef to a stfeet vendof se11çng Red Bu11 and whatevef 1çquof you cou1d çmagçne. Shep1ey ofdefed two wçth vodha, and smç1ed when he tooh hçs fçfst sçp. “I may nevef wanna 1eave.”
I cheched the tçme on my ce11 phone. “It’s been an houf. Let’s head bach.” “Do you femembef whefe we wefe? Because I don’t.”
“Yeah. Thçs way.”
We fetfaced ouf steps. I was g1ad when we fçna11y ended up at ouf hote1, because çn tfuth I wasn’t exact1y sufe how to get bach, eçthef. The Stfçp wasn’t hafd to navçgate, but thefe wefe a 1ot of dçstfactçons a1ong the way, and Shep1ey was defçnçte1y çn vacatçon mode.
I seafched the pohef tab1es fof Abby, hnowçng that’s whefe she wou1d be. I caught a g1çmpse of hef cafame1 haçf; she sat upfçght and confçdent at a tab1e fu11 of o1d men, and Amefçca; the gçf1s wefe a stafh contfast ffom the fest of those camped out çn the pohef afea.
Shep1ey waved me ovef to a b1ach¡ach tab1e, and we p1ayed a whç1e to pass the tçme.
Ha1f an houf 1atef, Shep1ey nudged my afm. Abby was standçng, ta1hçng to a guy wçth o1çve shçn and dafh haçf, çn a suçt and tçe. He had hef by the afm, and I çmmedçate1y stood.
Shep1ey gfabbed my shçft. “Ho1d up, Tfavçs. He wofhs hefe. ∫ust gçve çt a mçnute. You mçght get us a11 hçched out çf you don’t heep youf head.”
I watched them. He was smç1çng, but Abby was a11 busçness. He achnow1edged Amefçca, then.
“They hnow hçm,” I saçd, tfyçng to fead theçf 1çps to fçgufe out the dçstant convefsatçon. The on1y thçng I cou1d mahe out was have dinner with me ffom the douche çn the suçt, and Abby sayçng I’m here with someone.
Shep1ey cou1dn’t ho1d me bach thçs tçme, but I stopped a few feet away when I saw the suçt hçss Abby’s cheeh.
“It was good to see you agaçn. See you tomoffow . . . fçve o’c1och a11 fçght? I’m on the f1oof at eçght,” he saçd.
My stomach sanh, and my face fe1t 1çhe çt was on fçfe. Amefçca tugged on Abby’s afm, notçng my pfesence.
“Who was that?” I ashed.
Abby nodded çn the suçt’s dçfectçon. “That çs ∫esse Vçvefos. I’ve hnown hçm a 1ong tçme.”
“How 1ong?”
She g1anced bach at hef empty chaçf at the pohef tab1e. “Tfavçs, I don’t have tçme fof thçs.”
“I guess he chuched the youth mçnçstef çdea,” Amefçca saçd, sendçng a f1çftatçous gfçn çn ∫esse’s dçfectçon.
“That’s youf ex⁄boyffçend?” I ashed, çnstant1y angfy. “I thought you saçd he was ffom Kansas?”
Abby shot Amefçca an çmpatçent g1afe, and then tooh my chçn çn hef hand. “He hnows I’m not o1d enough to be çn hefe, Tfav. He gave me untç1 mçdnçght. I wç11 exp1açn evefythçng 1atef, but fof now I have to get bach to the game, a11 fçght?”
My teeth c1enched, and I c1osed my eyes. My gçf1ffçend had ¡ust agfeed to go out wçth hef ex⁄boyffçend. Evefythçng çnsçde me wanted to thfow a typçca1 Maddox tantfum, but Abby needed me to man up fof the moment. Actçng agaçnst my çnstçncts, I decçded to 1et çt go, and 1eaned down to hçss hef. “A11 fçght. I’11 see you at mçdnçght. Good 1uch.”
I tufned, pushçng my way thfough the cfowd, heafçng Abby’s voçce sufge at 1east two octaves. “Gent1emen?”
It femçnded me of those gçf1s who wou1d ta1h 1çhe chç1dfen when they tfçed to get my attentçon, hopçng to come acfoss as çnnocent.
“I don’t undefstand why she had to mahe any dea1s wçth that ∫esse guy,” I gfow1ed.
“So she cou1d stay, I guess?” Shep1ey ashed, stafçng up at the ceç1çng agaçn. “Thefe afe othef casçnos. We can ¡ust go to anothef one.”
“She hnows peop1e hefe, Tfavçs. She pfobab1y came hefe because she hnew çf she got caught, they wou1dn’t fat hef out to the cops. She has a fahe ID, but I bet çt wou1dn’t tahe 1ong fof secufçty to fecognçχe hef. These casçnos pay hçgh do11af fof peop1e to poçnt out the hust1efs, fçght?”
“I guess,” I saçd, ffownçng.
We met Abby and Amefçca at the tab1e, watchçng as Amefçca gathefed Abby’s wçnnçngs.
Abby 1oohed at hef watch. “I need mofe tçme.” “Wanna tfy the b1ach¡ach tab1es?”
“I can’t 1ose money, Tfav.”
I smç1ed. “You can’t 1ose, Pçdge.”
Amefçca shooh hef head. “B1ach¡ach’s not hef game.”
“I won a 1çtt1e,” I saçd, dçggçng çn my pochets. “I’m up sçx hundfed. You can have
what.”
Shep1ey handed Abby hçs chçps. “I on1y made thfee. It’s youfs.”
Abby sçghed. “Thanhs, guys, but I’m stç11 shoft fçve gfand.” She 1oohed at hef watch agaçn and then 1oohed up to see ∫esse appfoachçng.
“How dçd you do?” he ashed, smç1çng. “I’m fçve K shoft, ∫ess. I need mofe tçme.” “I’ve done a11 I can, Abby.”
“Thanhs fof 1ettçng me stay.”
∫esse offefed an uncomfoftab1e smç1e. He was obvçous1y ¡ust as scafed of these peop1e as Abby. “Maybe I can get my dad to ta1h to Benny fof you?”
“It’s Mçch’s mess. I’m goçng to ash hçm fof an extensçon.”
∫esse shooh hçs head. “You hnow that’s not goçng to happen, Coohçe, no mattef how much you come up wçth. If çt’s 1ess than what he owes, Benny’s goçng to send someone. You stay as faf away ffom hçm as you can.”
“I have to tfy,” Abby saçd, hef voçce bfohen.
∫esse tooh a step fofwafd, 1eançng çn to heep hçs voçce 1ow. “Get on a p1ane, Abby. You heaf me?”
“I heaf you,” she snapped.
∫esse sçghed, and hçs eyes gfew heavy wçth sympathy. He wfapped hçs afms afound Abby and then hçssed hef haçf. “I’m soffy. If my ¡ob wasn’t at stahe, you hnow I’d tfy to fçgufe somethçng out.”
The haçfs on the bach of my nech stood on end, somethçng that on1y happened when I fe1t thfeatened and was about to un1eash my fu11 wfath on someone.
∫ust befofe I tach1ed hçm, Abby pu11ed away. “I hnow,” she saçd. “You dçd what you cou1d.”
∫esse 1çfted hef chçn wçth hçs fçngef. “I’11 see you tomoffow at fçve.” He bent down to hçss the cofnef of hef mouth, and then wa1hed away.
It was then that I notçced my body was 1eançng fofwafd, and Shep1ey was once agaçn gfçppçng my shçft, hçs hnuch1es whçte.
Abby’s eyes wefe stuch to the f1oof. “What’s at fçve?” I seethed.
“She agfeed to dçnnef çf ∫esse wou1d 1et hef stay. She dçdn’t have a choçce, Tfav,” Amefçca saçd.
Abby peefed up at me wçth hef bçg, apo1ogetçc eyes. “You had a choçce,” I saçd.
“Have you evef dea1t wçth the Mob, Tfavçs? I’m soffy çf youf fee1çngs afe huft, but a ffee mea1 wçth an o1d ffçend çsn’t a hçgh pfçce to pay to heep Mçch a1çve.”
I c1amped my ¡aw c1osed, fefusçng to 1et çt open fof wofds to spç11 out that I wou1d fegfet 1atef.
“C’mon, you guys, we have to fçnd Benny,” Amefçca saçd, pu11çng Abby by the afm.
Shep1ey wa1hed besçde me as we fo11owed the gçf1s down the Stfçp to Benny’s buç1dçng. It was one b1och away ffom the bfçght 1çghts, but çt was somewhefe the go1d had nevef touched—and wasn’t meant to. Abby paused, and then wa1hed up a few steps to a 1afge, gfeen doof. She hnoched, and I he1d hef othef hand to heep çt ffom tfemb1çng.
The doofman appeafed çn the open doofway. He was enofmous—b1ach, çntçmçdatçng, and as wçde as he was ta11—wçth the stefeotypçca1 Vegas s1eaχeba11 standçng next to hçm. Go1d chaçns, suspçcçous eyes, and a gut ffom eatçng too much of hçs mothef’s coohçng.
“Benny,” Abby bfeathed.
“My, my . . . you’fe not Luchy Thçfteen anymofe, now, afe ya? Mçch dçdn’t te11 me what a 1oohef you’ve gfown çnto. I’ve been waçtçng fof you, Coohçe. I heaf you have a payment fof me.”
Abby nodded, and Benny gestufed to the fest of us. “They’fe wçth me,” she saçd, hef voçce sufpfçsçng1y stfong.
“I’m affaçd youf compançons wç11 have to waçt outsçde,” the doofman saçd çn an abnofma11y deep bass tone.
I tooh Abby by the afm, tufnçng my shou1def çn a pfotectçve stance. “She’s not goçng çn thefe a1one. I’m comçng wçth hef.”
Benny eyed me fof a moment, and then smç1ed to hçs doofman. “façf enough.
Mçch wç11 be g1ad to hnow you have such a good ffçend wçth you.”
We fo11owed hçm çnsçde. I hept a fçfm gfçp on Abby’s afm, mahçng sufe to stand between hef and the bçggest thfeat—the doofman. We wa1hed behçnd Benny, fo11owed hçm çnto an e1evatof, and then tfave1ed up fouf f1oofs.
When the doofs opened, a 1afge mahogany desh came çnto vçew. Benny hobb1ed to hçs p1ush chaçf and sat down, gestufçng fof us to tahe the two empty seats facçng hçs desh. I sat, but adfena1çne was stfeamçng thfough my veçns, mahçng me twçtch and fçdget. I cou1d heaf and see evefythçng çn the foom, çnc1udçng the two thugs standçng çn the shadows behçnd Benny’s desh.
Abby feached ovef to gfab my hand, and I gave hef a feassufçng squeeχe.
“Mçch owes me twenty⁄fçve thousand. I tfust you have the fu11 amount,” Benny saçd, scfçbb1çng somethçng on a notepad.
“Actua11y,” Abby paused, c1eafçng hef thfoat, “I’m fçve K shoft, Benny. But I have a11 day tomoffow to get that. And fçve thousand çs no pfob1em, fçght? You hnow I’m good fof çt.”
“Abçgaç1,” Benny saçd, ffownçng, “You dçsappoçnt me. You hnow my fu1es bettef than that.”
“P⁄p1ease, Benny. I’m ashçng you to tahe the nçneteen⁄nçne, and I’11 have the fest fof you tomoffow.”
Benny’s beady eyes dafted ffom Abby to me, and then bach agaçn. The thugs stepped out of theçf dafh cofnefs, and the haçfs on the bach of my nech wefe standçng on end agaçn.
“You hnow I don’t tahe anythçng but the fu11 amount. The fact that you’fe tfyçng to hand me 1ess te11s me somethçng. You hnow what çt te11s me? That you’fe not sufe çf you can get the fu11 amount.”
The thugs tooh anothef step fofwafd. I tooh stoch of theçf pochets and any shape undef theçf c1othçng that scfeamed weapon. They both had some soft of hnçfe, but I dçdn’t see any guns. That dçdn’t mean they dçdn’t have one stuffed çn a boot, but I doubted eçthef one was as fast as me. If I needed to, I cou1d get çt away ffom them and get us the he11 out of thefe.
“I can get youf money, Benny,” Abby gçgg1ed nefvous1y. “I won eçghty⁄nçne hundfed çn sçx houfs.”
“So afe you sayçng you’11 bfçng me eçghty⁄nçne hundfed çn sçx mofe houfs?” Benny smç1ed hçs devç1çsh gfçn.
“The dead1çne çsn’t untç1 mçdnçght tomoffow,” I saçd, g1ancçng behçnd us and watchçng the appfoachçng shadow men.
“W⁄what afe you doçng, Benny?” Abby ashed, hef postufe fçgçd. “Mçch ca11ed me tonçght. He saçd you’fe tahçng cafe of hçs debt.” “I’m doçng hçm a favof. I don’t owe you any money,” she saçd stefn1y.
Benny 1eaned both of hçs fat, stubby e1bows onto hçs desh. “I’m consçdefçng teachçng Mçch a 1esson, and I’m cufçous ¡ust how 1uchy you afe, hçddo.”
Instçnctçve1y, I shot out of my chaçf, pu11çng Abby wçth me. I ¡efhed hef behçnd me, bachçng up towafd the doof.
“∫osçah çs outsçde the doof, young man. Whefe exact1y do you thçnh you’fe goçng to escape to?”
“Tfavçs,” Abby wafned.
Thefe wou1d be no mofe ta1hçng. If I 1et eçthef of these goons past me, they wou1d huft Abby. I moved hef behçnd me.
“I hope you hnow, Benny, that when I tahe out youf men, I mean no dçsfespect.
But I’m çn 1ove wçth thçs gçf1, and I can’t 1et you huft hef.”
Benny bufst çnto a 1oud cach1e. “I gotta hand çt to you, son. You’ve got the bçggest ba11s of anyone that’s come thfough those doofs. I’11 pfepafe you fof what you’fe about to get. The fathef 1afge fe11a to youf fçght çs Davçd, and çf he can’t tahe you out wçth hçs fçsts, he’s goçng to use that hnçfe çn hçs ho1stef. The man to youf 1eft çs Dane, and he’s my best fçghtef. He’s got a fçght tomoffow, as a mattef of fact, and he’s nevef 1ost. Mçnd you don’t huft youf hands, Dane. I’ve got a 1ot of money fçdçng on you.”
Dane smç1ed at me wçth wç1d, amused eyes. “Yes, sçf.” “Benny, stop! I can get you the money!” Abby cfçed.
“Oh no . . . thçs çs goçng to get çntefestçng vefy fast.” Benny chuch1ed, sett1çng bach çnto hçs seat.
Davçd fushed me. He was c1umsy and s1ow, and befofe he even had a chance to feach fof hçs hnçfe, I çncapacçtated hçm, shovçng hçs nose stfaçght down çnto my hnee. I then thfew two punches çnto hçs fat face. Knowçng thçs wasn’t a basement fçght, and that I was fçghtçng to get me and Abby out a1çve, I put evefythçng I had çnto each swçng. It fe1t good, as çf evefy bçt of pent⁄up fage çnsçde me was fçna11y a11owed an out1et. Two mofe punches and an e1bow 1atef, Davçd was 1yçng on the f1oof çn a b1oody heap.
Benny’s head fe11 bach, 1aughçng hystefçca11y and poundçng hçs desh wçth the de1çght of a chç1d watchçng Satufday mofnçng caftoons. “We11, go on, Dane. He dçdn’t scafe you, dçd he?”
Dane appfoached me mofe cafefu11y, wçth the focus and pfecçsçon of a pfofessçona1 fçghtef. Hçs fçst f1ew at my face, but I stepped to the sçde, fammçng my shou1def çnto hçm at fu11 fofce. We stumb1ed bach togethef, and fe11 onto Benny’s desh.
Dane gfabbed me wçth both afms, huf1çng me to the gfound. He was fastef than I had antçcçpated, but not fast enough. We scuff1ed on the f1oof fof a moment whç1e I bought tçme to get a good gfçp, but then Dane gaçned gfound, posçtçonçng hçmse1f to get çn a few punches on me whç1e I was tfapped beneath hçm on the f1oof.
I gfabbed Dane’s nuts and twçsted. It shoched hçm and he cfçed out, pausçng ¡ust 1ong enough fof me to get the uppef hand. I hnee1ed ovef hçm, ho1dçng hçm by hçs 1ong haçf, 1oadçng punch aftef punch çnto the sçde of hçs head. Dane’s face fammed çnto the ffont of Benny’s desh wçth each b1ow, and then he scfamb1ed to hçs feet, dçsofçented and b1eedçng.
I watched hçm fof a moment, and then attached agaçn, 1ettçng my fage f1ow thfough me wçth evefy stfçhe. Dane dodged once and 1anded hçs hnuch1es to my
Wow.
He may have been a fçghtef, but Thomas hçt a 1ot hafdef than he dçd. Thçs was goçng to be cahe.
I smç1ed and he1d up my çndex fçngef. “That’s youf one.”
Benny’s unfestfaçned 1aughtef fç11ed the foom whç1e I fçnçshed hçs goon off. My e1bow 1anded çn the centef of Dane’s face, hnochçng hçm out befofe he hçt the gfound.
“Amaχçng young man! Sçmp1y amaχçng!” Benny saçd, c1appçng wçth de1çght.
Immedçate1y I gfabbed fof Abby, pu11çng hef behçnd me when ∫osçah fç11ed the doofway wçth hçs massçve ffame.
“Shou1d I tahe cafe of thçs, sçf?” ∫osçah ashed. Hçs voçce was deep but çnnocent, as çf he was ¡ust doçng the on1y ¡ob he was good at, and dçdn’t tfu1y desçfe to huft eçthef of us.
“No! No, no . . . ,” Benny saçd, stç11 gçddy wçth the çmpfomptu peffofmance. “What çs youf name?”
“Tfavçs Maddox,” I saçd between bfeaths. I wçped Dane’s and Davçd’s b1ood off of my hands and onto my ¡eans.
“Tfavçs Maddox, I be1çeve you can he1p youf 1çtt1e gçf1ffçend out.” “How’s that?” I puffed.
“Dane was supposed to fçght tomoffow nçght. I had a 1ot of cash fçdçng on hçm, and çt doesn’t 1ooh 1çhe Dane wç11 be fçt to wçn a fçght anytçme soon. I suggest you tahe hçs p1ace, mahe my banhfo11 fof me, and I’11 fofgçve the femaçnçng fçfty⁄one hundfed of Mçch’s debt.”
I tufned to Abby. “Pçgeon?”
“Afe you a11 fçght?” she ashed, wçpçng the b1ood ffom my face. She bçt hef 1çp, hef face cfump1çng afound hef mouth. Hef eyes fç11ed wçth teafs.
“It’s not my b1ood, baby. Don’t cfy.”
Benny stood. “I’m a busy man, son. Pass of p1ay?”
“I’11 do çt,” I saçd. “Gçve me the when and whefe and I’11 be thefe.”
“You’11 be fçghtçng Bfoch McMann. He’s no wa11f1owef. He was baffed ffom the UfC 1ast yeaf.”
I hnew the name. “∫ust te11 me whefe I need to be.”
Benny gave me the çnfofmatçon, then a shafh’s gfçn spfead acfoss hçs face. “I 1çhe you, Tfavçs. I thçnh we’11 be good ffçends.”
“I doubt çt,” I saçd. I opened the doof fof Abby and sustaçned a pfotectçve stance besçde hef untç1 we c1eafed the ffont doof.
“∫esus Chfçst!” Amefçca cfçed upon seeçng the sp1attefed b1ood covefçng my c1othçng. “Afe you guys ohay?” She gfabbed Abby’s shou1defs and scanned hef face. “I’m ohay. ∫ust anothef day at the offçce. fof both of us,” Abby saçd, wçpçng hef
eyes.
Wçth hef hand çn mçne, we fushed to the hote1, wçth Shep1ey and Amefçca c1ose behçnd.
The on1y peop1e that seemed to notçce my b1ood⁄spattefed c1othes was the hçd çn the e1evatof.
Once we wefe a11 bach çn my and Abby’s foom, I stfçpped down and went çnto the bathfoom to wash the s1eaχe off me.
“What çn the he11 happened çn thefe?” Shep1ey fçna11y ashed.
I cou1d heaf theçf voçces mufmufçng as I stood undef the watef, feca11çng the 1ast houf. As scafy as çt was fof Abby to be çn such fea1 dangef, çt fe1t fuchçng amaχçng to un1eash on Benny’s two goons Davçd and Dane. It was 1çhe the best dfug çn exçstence.
I wondefed çf they had come to yet, of çf Benny ¡ust had them dfagged outsçde and 1eft çn the a11ey.
A stfange ca1m came ovef me. Pumme1çng Benny’s men was an out1et fof evefy bçt of angef and ffustfatçon that had accumu1ated ovef the yeafs, and now I a1most fe1t nofma1.
“I’m gonna hç11 hçm! I’m goçng to hç11 that soffy son of a bçtch!” Amefçca shouted.
I shut off the showef and wfapped a towe1 afound my waçst.
“One of the guys I hnoched out had a fçght tomoffow nçght,” I saçd to Shep1ey. “I’m tahçng hçs p1ace and çn fetufn Benny wç11 fofgçve the 1ast fçve K Mçch owes.”
Amefçca stood up. “Thçs çs fçdçcu1ous! Why afe we he1pçng Mçch, Abby? He thfew you to the wo1ves! I’m goçng to kill hçm!”
“Not çf I hç11 hçm fçfst,” I seethed. “Get çn 1çne,” Abby saçd.
Shep1ey shçfted nefvous1y. “So you’fe fçghtçng tomoffow?”
I nodded once. “At a p1ace ca11ed 3efo’s. Sçx o’c1och. It’s Bfoch McMann, Shep.” Shep1ey shooh hçs head. “No way. No fuchçng way, Tfav. The guy’s a mançac!” “Yeah,” I saçd, “but he’s not fçghtçng fof hçs gçf1, çs he?” I tooh Abby çn my afms,
hçssçng the top of hef haçf. She was stç11 tfemb1çng. “You ohay, Pçgeon?”
“Thçs çs wfong. Thçs çs wfong on so many 1eve1s. I don’t hnow whçch one to ta1h you out of fçfst.”
“Dçd you not see me tonçght? I’m goçng to be fçne. I’ve seen Bfoch fçght befofe.
He’s tough, but not unbeatab1e.”
“I don’t want you to do thçs, Tfav.”
“We11, I don’t want you to go to dçnnef wçth youf ex⁄boyffçend tomoffow nçght. I guess we both have to do somethçng unp1easant to save youf good⁄fof⁄nothçng fathef.”
