* * *

When I go into work the next morning, I expect to see everyone packing our equipment for the move back to Slim’s old shop. Instead, it’s business as usual. Christos is perched on Rose’s desk, telling her about the gig last night. Duncan is walking a client through our sample book. Slim is nowhere in sight.

“What’s going on?”

Rose smiles. “The workers found asbestos in the ceiling of Slim’s old shop. They reported it, and the regulators came in and told him he has to pay big bucks to have it properly removed. He can’t even knock down the building until the asbestos is gone. He says he can’t afford it, and he doesn’t want to start all over again. He’s talking to Torment right now.”

“We get to stay?” My heart leaps in my chest, and I have to hold myself back from dancing around the room. Only now do I realize just how much I didn’t want to go.

“Depends on what work out together, if it’s possible for them to have a civil conversation,” she says. “But they seem to be best buddies now, so I’m guessing it might just work out.”

An hour later, Rose receives a call. Torment wants to see me. She laughs about his inability to walk the fifty feet between his office and our shop, but her smile fades when he calls back ten seconds later and barks “now” into the phone so loudly I can hear him from my chair.

My mouth goes dry when I knock on Torment’s door. If he’s already offered to keep Slim and the team in his shop, why does he want to see me?

“Come.”

I enter the room and Torment gestures to the chair in front of his desk. “Sit.”

Swallowing hard, I lean against the wall and fold my arms. Then I fix him with a stare. When you challenge a predator, you have to look them in the eyes. I’ve learned a lot since coming to Redemption.

Torment raises an admonishing eyebrow, but I don’t budge. His lips quiver and he leans back in his chair. “I won’t beat around the bush,” he says, steepling his fingers. “You’ve got what it takes to run the shop. You’re highly skilled, clients like you, Slim says you are incredibly organized and efficient, and you have a good manner with people. He says you’ve wanted to run your own shop since you joined him and now, after getting your license and experience under your belt, the only thing you’re lacking is confidence. Although I’m thinking he might be wrong about the confidence part.”

“Slim said that?”

Torment gives an irritated snort. “Yes, he said that. He said many other flattering things about you, which I won’t relate because I don’t want his praise to go to your head. In my view, the best way to deal with your confidence problem is to throw you into the fray. The shop is yours to manage if you want it.”

“What about Slim?”

“He says he’s decided to go freelance and I’ve bought out the business. I’ve hired him as a consultant, and he has a chair whenever he needs one. He asked me to keep the team as a favor, although the shop is now mine to do with as I will. I asked him who he thought would be the best manager and he named you. If you want to keep Rose, Christos, and Duncan on staff, I’m fine with that. If you want to hire new people, you can do that too.”

My own shop. And not just a shop, but Torment’s incredible, state-of-the-art, beautiful shop where I could see my fighter friends every day. But what if I screw it up? What if I run it into the ground, and I don’t have the money to help my parents? The old worries still niggle, but what really holds me back is Torment. I know now what it takes to control an alpha male like him. If we do enter into a business relationship, he needs to know he doesn’t scare me, and I won’t jump every time he snaps his fingers—or barks at Rose.

“It’s an incredibly generous offer,” I say. “But I need some time to think about it.”

Torment scowls and I almost take back my words.

“Tough. But I like it. You got a month, then I hunt you down.”

I take a step toward the door, and then I turn back and give him a half smile. “How does Makayla put up with you?”

Torment doesn’t miss a beat, nor is he in any way offended. His face softens, and he leans back in his chair. “Love. It works out all the kinks.”

Chapter 24

Something scared the Predator

Priority: Confidential

Bay Area Underground Fight Club (BUFC) Fight Night

Railway Station, 51st & Main 8 p.m.

Headlining: The Predator vs. Dirty Dancer

Code Word: Swayze

After stopping at the pharmacy to pick up my pills on my way home from work, I walk into my apartment just as my phone vibrates with a text message from BUFC. Trust Ray to forget to tell me he’s fighting tonight. I text Tag, and we arrange to meet up for a quick bite at our favorite steak house before the fight. Then I text Jess. She’s already made plans to attend the fight with Blade Saw. I tell her that Tag will be there. She says she knows, but she’s decided it’s time to move on.

Anticipation ratchets through me as I rifle through my wardrobe. What to wear? What to wear? I want to look special tonight. For the first time, I’m going to stand front and center and watch the Predator fight instead of hiding at the back.

After texting pictures of at least six outfits to Jess, I eschew my usual black for a pleated red chiffon dress with a fitted bodice, spaghetti straps, and a sweetheart neckline that my mother bought for me one Christmas in an attempt to get me to wear something other than black.