I walk through the doorway, prepared to see my worst nightmare.
And there Scarlett is, standing in front of Moses like a human shield, with his gun to her head.
“Jesus Christ, Moses. She’s got nothing to do with this. Nothing to do with what I owe you.”
“Congrats on winning the fight, Gabe,” he says with a lift of his chin. “But you seem to have disobeyed your orders, boy.”
My stomach drops to my feet as I realize what I’ve done. The same fucking thing I did to the first woman I loved—put her in grave danger.
But I’m not letting Scarlett take a bullet like Jorie.
“I have your money. All of it. Just let her go.”
He taps the barrel against Scarlett’s temple. “Tempting. But, no. You see ... I suspected you’d never take that dive, no matter what was on the line. Turns out, I was right.”
“Moses—”
He interrupts me before I can say another word. “Tell all your little friends to put their guns down, or you’re not gonna like what happens next.”
Running on instinct here, I make the call. “Guns down.”
Moses tilts his head to the right like he’s waiting.
I glance around and see that they’re all still trained on him. “Everyone, put your fucking guns down. He will shoot her.”
Moses smiles, and every muscle in my body tenses when I see her shiver and a tear roll down her cheek.
Don’t cry, ladybug. He’ll have to kill me first.
“You’re learning, Gabe.”
A few seconds later, metal scrapes against the concrete as guns touch the floor behind me.
“They’re down. Let her go, Moses. For fuck’s sake, don’t you dare fucking hurt her.”
He studies me. “How much you win tonight?”
“I don’t know. A lot more than I owe you.”
“And you’ll give it all to me if I let her walk away right now?” he asks.
“Every fucking cent. I don’t give a shit about the money, Moses. All I want is her.”
His smile widens. “You really do love her, don’t you?”
“Yes, I fucking love her, and I will beg you on my goddamned knees if I have to. Don’t fucking hurt her.”
“I saved her, Gabe. Why the fuck would I kill her now? I could’ve just let Rolo do that, but instead I capped his ass. Of course, it was self-defense. Wasn’t it, princess? You can thank me anytime for doing you a favor.”
My gaze cuts to Scarlett’s pale face and back to Moses’s disturbing smile. “What the fuck kind of game are you playing here?”
“As far as I’m concerned, the game’s long over. Now, I’m gonna walk out of here, untouched. That’s the only way nothing happens to her. You hear me? I came to watch the fight. I wanted to see just how right I was about you, in person. It’s just not the same if you don’t see it yourself.” He jostles my whole world in his arms. “One hell of a fight, boy. You really delivered.”
“What?” Confusion ricochets through my brain like a stray bullet. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“You won me a lot of money tonight, Gabe. Seems we’re finally even. That is, if you back the fuck off and let me open that door to the alley. I’ll be gone in under a minute. You’ll never see me again.”
Nothing he’s saying makes sense. “Youwontonight? I thought you wanted me to lose. You were betting on Bodhi to win. You told me—”