He wasn’t a good man or a decent man, but the lessons I learned—good and bad—shaped me into the woman I was today. Currently, that woman was surveillance stalking the too-plain couple. I watched them walk hand in hand down to one of the hotel restaurants where they each enjoyed one glass of wine with dinner, steak for him and chicken for her, before retiring to their room for the night. They’d been in the hotel for two days and hadn’t made any phone calls, no charges to the room, not even a mini bar water. There was nothing to comment on and no real reason to keep watching them. Except that it was the Mueller suites which were suspect enough, even when they were empty.
I kept an eye on the couple, but I had too much work to do to keep playing private dick on the almost certain perverts sent by Mueller, or the Church. Fight Night was just around the corner, and I still had to make sure that everything went off without a hitch, even though it wasn’t my job.
Jasper had too much shit on his plate with the escape of Savannah Rhymer and the possible return of her shithead brother. It was a big deal that Jasper had even lowered himself to admit that he needed help. So, when he called a meeting with me, I couldn’t refuse.
He said, “Kat, I need you to stand in for me at the gym. Be my surrogate, Handle all the shit for fight night.”
Once I realized my ears were working properly and I wasn’t hearing things, I jumped in with both feet, determined to do a damn good job.
And yeah, maybe showing my big brother that he wasn’t the only one who could do the job and do it well, played a small part. I liked my temporary title, Head of Operations, House of Ashby. Yes, that suited me just fine.
I got back to my own work, thankful to be the buzz of activity at Emerald Isle after what happened yesterday. There was more security here than at Black Stallion. The Stallion crowd was younger and hipper and a lot less affluent than our clientele. The gym had cameras everywhere. Anyone who meant to harm me or anyone else might succeed, but they would regret it immediately.
Most of all, there was no Terry Manning here, ruining my equilibrium and my ability to think clearly. I spent half the day yesterday thinking about how good it felt to be pressed up against his hard chest and the strong muscles in his arms. And the way he smelled, like man and sex and heaven all wrapped up in one delicious package.
He was, to me, a nice bottle of red and a big fat hooter at the end of a long day, but he was also off limits. Way off limits. For entirely too many reasons, which is why I was determined to get my mind off Terry and back on the men and women involved in Fight Night.
I had a shit ton of press to do, for trainers like Emmett, but also for the headlining fighters, especially the ones out of House of Ashby. Hotel rooms were booked and double checked for special diets and other needs. It was my job to make sure everyone else did what they needed to do so that everyone got paid.
Especially the Ashbys.
A knock sounded on the door, startling me out of my thoughts. I looked up, prepared to see my assistant, not my brother.
“Jas, what are you doing here?” I half expected Terry to come in behind him but he was, thankfully, alone.
“We need to talk. About Fight Night.” His expression was somber and when he stepped in and closed the door, I knew he had something serious on his mind. Jasper wasn’t one to beat around the bush, so I leaned back in my chair and watched him closely as he took the seat in front of me and crossed his legs.
“What about it?”
He sighed and leaned forward on his elbows, fingertips steepled together as his gaze met mine.
“We have three belt fights, all Ashby fighters. We can only have two wins.”
I nodded at what he was saying. I understood clearly; it was just the way things were done sometimes and I accepted that. There was just one thing I didn’t get.
“Why are you telling me?”
“Because I need you to inform Ravager without Emmett finding out.”
Shit. Of course, that was what he wanted. Emmett was a stand-up guy, a former Navy man with a distinct sense of honor and fairness. He would never agree to fix a fight. Especially when he refused as a fighter even knowing it could’ve cost him his fighting career. In the end, it hadn’t cost him anything because Ma had respected him for taking a stand. She was strange that way.
“Why me?” Rob had a crazy as look in his eyes, and I kept my distance whenever I could. “He wants to fuck me, which means he won’t listen to a damn thing I have to say, even with my last name.” It was the shittiest part of being a woman on either side of the business. Sexism was a motherfucker. “Plus, this is only his sixth pro fight, a belt fight at that. You really think he’s gonna take a fall?”
“For fuck’s sake Kat, he doesn’t need to take a fall. What the hell kind of movies have you been watching?” Jasper looked at me like he thought I was crazy. I just smiled. “Rob is undefeated and the bets reflect that, which is why he’s gotta do it. If he wants to fuck you, use that to get him to agree to this. We need it to look good. Make it close.”
I shook my head in disgust. “I’m not flirting with that maniac for
