Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 70955 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70955 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
“That’s an excellent question,” Drew said as we all moved to stand next to Saint.
Knox’s eyes were narrowed, and his hard stare was focused on the ring girl. Drew and I let him take the lead as this was his area of expertise and the reason Drew had hired him. “I’m Knox Dawson, head of security for the Lennox,” he said before jerking his chin at Drew and me. “This is Drew Lennox, owner of the Lennox, and Zack Parker, co-owner of The Artemis. Both of whom own this arena. As the hosts of the match, we have too much on the line to tolerate security breaches of any kind.”
We obviously intimidated her, and she took a tiny step back, crossing her arms over her chest. I felt a little guilty that we were ganging up on her, but we needed to know how she’d learned about the substitution before it was announced. If there was a leak in our organization, it needed to be dealt with as soon as possible. A deep growl rumbled up Saint’s chest, and he stalked to her side, wrapping his arm around her waist to pull her close. “Knock it off. You’re scaring her,” he growled, giving each of us a glare that promised pain if we didn’t do what he demanded.
Well now, that was interesting. It seemed Saint had fallen victim to the same spell that had taken each of us down. I almost grinned, wondering if the tradition of kidnapping would continue. If it ain't broke, don’t fix it.
“Relax, Saint. I don’t think she’s the breach. I meant some Joe Blow on the payroll who’s running his mouth when he shouldn’t,” Knox explained. “Sometimes, guys get dumb around pretty girls and say shit they know they should keep quiet because they’re hoping to impress them.”
Saint’s arm tightened around her as she groaned, “Eww! That’s not what happened at all.”
“How’d you find out about the switch, angel eyes?” Saint asked.
“My brother told me,” she admitted softly, turning her head to search behind her, looking a little frightened. Was she afraid of her brother?
Saint shifted his hold on her so she was looking at him instead of Knox, Drew, and myself. She relaxed a little as I stared up at him, and I made a note to start a bet with Knox and Drew on how long it would take Saint to get a ring on this girl’s finger.
“Who’s your brother?” he asked.
“Vince.”
Her one-word reply dropped like a bomb into the silence surrounding us, and Saint’s eyes filled with rage. His nostrils flared as he looked over her shoulder at us, seeing a similar expression on our faces. Then he took a few deep breaths before his gaze dropped back to her face, and most of the anger drained from his eyes. “Is your brother the one who got you the job as a ring girl?”
“Yeah,” she confirmed, her tone heavy with resignation.
Saint shifted his focus to Drew. “Pull one of the showgirls and have her take over as the ring girl for the match.”
“Hey, wait!” she cried. “You can’t do that. My brother got me the job, and I really need the money.”
“No way in hell are you going out there. Not when I’m about to kick your brother’s ass for getting you a job that has you walking around practically naked,” Saint growled. “Between what I’m being paid just to be here, sponsorship money, fight bonuses, and pay-per-view points, money isn’t something you’ll ever have to worry about again.”
Her brow wrinkled in confusion, and she looked at each of us, who simply nodded in confirmation. The expression on Saint’s face had been the same one Drew, Knox, and I knew all too well. That girl belonged to him. She just didn’t know it yet.
Drew pulled out his phone, fired off a message, and said, “They’ll have a new ring girl before the end of the first round.”
“Perfect,” Saint responded, lifting his chin in gratitude. Then he dropped a kiss on the top of the girl’s head before pointing at Knox. “Take care of her while I’m up there.”
“Will do, man,” he promised. We watched Saint stride away, then Knox gently gripped her elbow to lead her closer to the ring, with Drew and I following close behind. The aisles were packed with people making their way to their seats, but everyone moved quickly out of our path. Most of them knew who we were, and those who didn’t took their cues from the ones who did. It didn’t take long for us to reach the front row, and Knox gestured to four seats with reserved signs. “This is us,” he explained to the girl who still looked a little shell-shocked. He removed the signs and pointed at a chair on his right.
She immediately dropped into it without protest, then scrubbed her hands over her face. “I don’t understand what’s happening here,” she sighed.