“Is that your Puerto Rican sidekick? He got the same alibi as you?”
“Yeah, that’s Q. And it’s his family’s house we’re standing in right now.”
Johnson huffs. “Let me talk to the prick.”
I hand the phone over, even though I don’t really want to.
“What the fuck happened?” Q asks him after he taps the speaker icon on my screen. “And drop your accusations for a hot fucking second so we can discuss this like adults.”
“Bodhi was leaving practice. Someone came out of the alley and went after his knee with a pipe like he was Nancy fucking Kerrigan. I saw the whole thing. Big dude. Black hoodie. Face covered. Could’ve been either of you.”
Q rolls his dark eyes and takes a deep breath before he flies off the handle too soon. “It wasn’t. We were both here.”
“Then someone you paid.”
“You know damn well that isn’t like me, and it doesn’t make any sense,” I say before Q can speak. “You know I always bet on myself. That’s exactly what I’m doing here. I need this payday, Johnson. Taking Bodhi out doesn’t do shit for me. I need him in the cage where I can beat him and cash in on the odds.”
Johnson goes quiet for a few seconds. Joanie shuffles her feet beside me, and I have to wonder if she’s holding her breath.
“If it wasn’t you, then who?”
“Someone who doesn’t want the fight to happen,” I say quietly.
“Yeah, and who the fuck would that be?”
Q and I lock eyes.
“Rolo. Rolo’s got nothing to lose, and he doesn’t want this fight happening. Not legit, anyway.”
Johnson’s growl comes over the line. “If that piece-of-shit motherfucker went after my fighter because of some beef he’s got with you, then this is still on your head, Legend. You fucking fix this, or I’ll tell everyone it was you.”
Scarlett squeezes my arm.
“What do you want me to do?” I ask.
“Cover Bodhi’s expenses at the hospital. They’re letting him out soon. His knee is gonna be fine, just so you know. And we’re not letting this stop us. He’s going to beat you. You know he would’ve last time. You just got lucky.”
Hearing that out of my old coach’s mouth is like a dull knife to the back.
“We’ll cover his medical costs. But only because I’m a decent guy. This isn’t my fault. If this was Rolo, then he’ll answer for it, but I’m not taking the blame. You start that rumor, then we’re going to have some real problems, and that’s on top of the fact that you bailed on me and went straight to the enemy. I never did get a straight answer on why that was. You care to fill me in here, Johnson?”
He goes quiet for a minute. “I got bills to pay, and he offered me a piece of the purse.”
I tighten my hold on Scarlett. “Good to know your loyalty has a price tag. Tell Bodhi to heal up quick. I’m not winning because he’s injured. I’m winning because I’m a better fucking fighter than him.”
“We’ll see about that,” Johnson says before ending the call and leaving the four of us standing in the kitchen, staring at one another.
“Do we need to call a lawyer?” Joanie asks, lines bracketing her mouth.
“No.” I meet Q’s nearly black eyes. “But we gotta go find Rolo and figure out what the fuck is going on here.”
Thirty-Five
Legend
I leftScarlett in Jersey with a kiss and a promise to be careful. Then Q, Hal, and I headed out to track down Rolo.
The first two gyms we hit were a bust. No one had a fucking clue where he was. The third, the gym near my club in the city, turned up a little information, but not much.