The women’s locker room was on the other side of the ring. He made his way through and he saw her there, standing against the wall with a bouncer about five feet from her.
They locked eyes, and for that moment, everything else fell away. Relief coursed through his body because she was there and standing, not taken away someplace. That was pure luck on his side, that motherfucking guardian-angel thing again, and for maybe the first time ever, he was grateful as hell for it.
* * *
Grier didn’t tear her eyes from Reid as he came toward her, sliding easily through the crowd and somehow remaining unnoticed. If she hadn’t concentrated hard on him, she would’ve easily lost sight of him among all those people.
But he was there, right next to her but not acknowledging her. He had to see the knife she was holding on the bouncer, though. He pushed off the wall and walked past her and the knife remained in place but the bouncer was on the ground. Reid stood in front of his unconscious body.
“Put the goddamned knife down,” he told her without looking at her.
She tucked it into her palm because she wanted it close. And then Benji came into the ring and the crowd went wild. This was the fight they’d been waiting to see. Torn between Reid and Benji and her instincts, she remained in place for a long moment. And then she moved back into the crowd slowly as the melee continued. She wanted them to swallow her up. She knew going to Benji was a bad idea, that getting out and calling for help was the best thing to do.
But even so, she couldn’t move. Not when Benji’s opponent came out and he wasn’t an eighteen-year-old. No, he was at least thirty and he looked like he was out for blood. She swore she noted a fleeting expression of panic on Benji’s face, and she recalled the doctor explaining Benji’s head injuries to her.
All it will take is another well-placed blow to paralyze him, leave him brain damaged or kill him instantly.
“God, Benji, get down. Walk away. I’ll get you out of here,” she murmured to herself. She almost took steps toward the stage but a hand on her shoulder stopped her. She assumed it was the man with the rings and she fought off the hold, turned to face him.
It was Reid. “You faked going down.”
“That’s the first thing you say to me?” he asked. “You were hit harder than I thought. Let’s go.”
“I can’t.”
“Grier, now.”
“He’s going to die. You don’t understand.”
“I’ve seen his records. Talked to Jack. But he’s made his choice.”
“And I’ve made mine.”
“And I’m taking it away from you.”
Chapter Seven
Reid had known it would be impossible to get Grier to leave as soon as they announced Benji’s name, but that couldn’t be helped. Still, he tried. He took her hand in his, moved her behind him so she’d be out of view of the men at the door.
Where they thought she was, he had no idea. Maybe there was a miscommunication, but sooner than later, they were going to look for her. He pushed a little to get her to back up, and surprisingly, she did. They both let the crowd fold around them, most people too enthralled in the fight to notice them moving among them.
Over the speaker system, they heard the ref’s whistle, and for a few moments, it was quiet enough to hear the sound of fist hitting flesh. Benji stumbled back, arms up over his face. When he moved them down to his sides, he seemed disoriented, blinked rapidly for a few seconds and then began the familiar bounce step.
Reid knew he’d probably gotten another concussion from that first blow and this couldn’t end well. The crowd surged forward and Reid pushed Grier back until they were right near the exit. Even the guards were away from their posts, cheering the fight. This one was the moneymaker, the final fight in this area, he’d bet.
“How much money’s riding on this?” he asked.
“A million,” she told him, never taking her eyes from the ring. She paused, and no matter how hard Reid tugged at her, she wouldn’t move. Short of picking her up and carrying her, which would no doubt cause them to be noticed, he couldn’t do anything as she watched the final show.
At first, Benji gave as good as he got. But Reid had little doubt that the man he was up against was taking steroids, giving him an unfair advantage. That, coupled with the bigger size and more experience, meant Benji was no match for his opponent. And since the owners probably had money on Benji losing the fight, this wasn’t a fair setup at all.
After taking the brunt of a roundhouse kick to the side of his head, Benji wobbled unsteadily. Blood dripped from his nose. His eyes looked unfocused, even from the distance Reid was from him. And Reid used the key to unlock the exit door and shoved Grier outside. She tried to open the door but it was locked. She peered through the grimy window and looked over her shoulder.
“Stop him—you have to stop him,” she told Reid. “Unlock the door and go get him.”
He glanced around the alley. “It’s too late. They’ll kill you, Grier. I can’t take that risk.”
“Benji’s going to die.”
“And that’s a risk he took on himself.”
She knew that—but if she could’ve broken free from him, she would’ve been in the ring herself, stopping the fight.
“Even if you’d stop it, it won’t matter. He was dead before he stepped in the ring. I saw the CAT scans. It wouldn’t have even taken a punch, necessarily. And he knew it.”
“He felt like
