The man who’d introduced himself as simply Carl the Fixer sat next to him ringside just as the bell sounded. David had seen some pretty fucked up looking dudes in this business, but this guy took the cake. Although he wore a knit cap and dark sunglasses, it didn’t completely cover the sinewy ropes of puckered scars that ran along one side of his head and neck.
Two fighters came together and began a bare-knuckle brawl while their supporters yelled and cheered. It was no holds barred in this underground fight club and David loved every minute.
“The last man standing will be included on next month’s fight card,” he explained to his guest. “Just to be on it is worth a grand, and what guy couldn’t use that kind of money regardless of whether he wins or loses?”
Viper Jones took a hard blow to the face and blood spurted everywhere, including on the white tank of the ring girl, Britney. The crowd cheered as he staggered backward. His opponent, who called himself the Kingslayer, was on him like a bad smell. Pressing Viper against the ropes, Kingslayer threw punch after punch, trying to score a knockout. Blood continued to pump from a gaping gash above Viper’s left eye. The mat would soon look like the floor of a trauma center. Somehow, Viper managed to remain on his feet at the end of the round and stumbled back to his corner when the bell sounded.
David turned to his guest, keeping his voice low. “Now if Olivia were still working for me, that bleeder would be healed. That is, if I wanted him to win or draw out the fight longer. My customers hate paying for fights that end in the first round. I want to keep them happy and coming back, so it’s in my best interest that the fights don’t end prematurely.”
The guy didn’t seem impressed, but then maybe his ruined face made it difficult to show any emotion. “And you’ve seen her do this?”
“Of course. Many times.”
“I see,” the man said, nodding. “And how long did she work for you?”
“A month or so. I’d been fucking her for a couple of weeks before I figured out she was a Healer-Talent. After that, she healed a number of fighters for me.”
His guest stared at him through his dark glasses. “Do you need to be reminded that it’s an offense to knowingly harbor an unregistered Talent? It’s punishable by ten years in prison.”
Was that a threat? David glared back. Taking a few pointers from his fighters during the stare down, he hoped to intimidate the ugly sonofabitch, but the guy’s ruined face remained impassive. “What do you thinking I’m doing now? Confessing to my priest?”
“How did you meet her?” the Fixer asked.
“She was the new girl at the front desk of the gym where I work out.”
“Any pictures?”
David shook his head. “She was camera-shy. Hated having her picture taken.”
“And you knew her as Olivia Hoffman, right?”
“Yep.”
The man handed him a folded sheet of paper. “Is this her?”
David grabbed it and opened it up. The picture was grainy and pixelated, but there was no mistake. “Where did you get this?”
“News crews took the photo at the explosion site.”
Olivia had been in New Seattle? “Sure as hell looks like her.”
Although the man remained expressionless, there was a smugness in his tone that hadn’t been there before. “I’ll need to know everything you can tell me about her. Any and all mention of family and friends, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem. Previous places of employment, schools she may have attended, cities she lived in, et cetera. Think you’re capable of doing that?”
David bristled. What a patronizing asshole. “The chick wasn’t the talkative type, you know?”
“Maybe she wasn’t into you. Is there someone else in your employ she may have opened up to?”
What the fuck? If this bastard didn’t outweigh him by fifty pounds, he’d clock him. “Try the other way around. Wasn’t good in the sack. Too vanilla. I’d have shown her the door if it hadn’t been for her ability. So you think you can find her and bring her back?”
The Fixer smiled. “Oh, I can find her, all right.”
Dark and Deadly: Eight Bad Boys of Paranormal Romance by Jennifer Ashley, Alyssa Day, Felicity Heaton, Erin Kellison, Laurie London, Erin Quinn, Bonnie Vanak and Caris Roane
CHAPTER 13
At the birthday party the next day, Ash was interacting more with the nine-year-old girls than he was helping. Olivia and Rand agreed it was like having one more kid to deal with. A big one.
He bounced in the jumpy house set up in Reckless’s parking lot as the girls shrieked with laughter. With his hood pulled up and his aviators on at a crazy angle, he chased them through the garage as Motorcycle Zombie, ignoring Rand’s plea to pour juice into the cups on the table.