“Exactly what you needed to hear to decide you didn’t give a fuck about what I wanted. How much more determined were you to win, Gabe? You think I don’t remember you? Think we don’t share the same Mississippi mud in our veins? You think I didn’t listen when Jorie talked about you? By the way, not to speak ill of the dead, but you’ve really upgraded here. This one’s a prize. Besides, I ain’t into killin’ women anymore either. Haven’t been in fifteen years. Only reason I ordered Jorie taken out was because I thought she told you about the truck.I thought that bitch played me so you could rob me. I was wrong about that, obviously. And I do have regrets.”
My jaw drops. There’s too much information coming at once.
Moses bet on me.
He wanted me to win.
He killed Jorie because he thought she told me about the truck.
He lied to me and manipulated me.
Holy fuck.
“You motherfucker!” I roar, but he jerks the gun to Scarlett’s head again.
“Don’t fuck up now, Gabe. That Jorie shit is old and cold. Dead and buried. You got a lot to live for now, and so does your little princess here.”
Scarlett’s lips move. She finds her voice, and surprisingly, it’s steady. “Please let him go, Gabe. I believe he won’t come back. He saved me from Rolo.”
Moses shifts the gun away from her temple an inch. “See, she’s a smart one. I don’t need to come back. I got what I came for. You just bankrolled me a new life,Legend. Now it’s time for me to go claim the woman I’ve been wanting all these years. She’s gonna be expensive, which is why I needed you to win this fight.”
My gaze moves from Moses to Scarlett and back again.
He played me. Jesus Christ. What in the actual fuck is going on right now?
I take a breath, staring at Moses’s face for any hint of a lie. I can’t trust him, but I can’t let him take Scarlett out of the building either.
“Scarlett’s not leaving with you. You open that door, you’re not taking her with you.”
Moses’s chest shakes as he laughs. “I don’t need your woman. Boy, didn’t you just hear me? I’m going to get my own. And just so you know, before you decide you’re gonna hunt me down and kill me dead for this, know something else. Without me, you wouldn’t have even gotten this opportunity.”
My head jerks back. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“That other club that was supposed to host the fights. Who do you think made sure it got raided?” There’s pride in his hellish eyes.
“Holy shit.” This comes from Q, who stands to my right. “No fucking way.”
“Y’all been playing checkers while I’ve been playing chess,” Moses says, his Creole accent growing thicker. “Long game, Gabe. It’s all about the long game.”
And suddenly, he shoves Scarlett toward me. I move before I even have a chance to think about it, catching her in my arms.
There’s a whoosh of air behind us as Moses slips out the door. Security is yelling around us, running toward the exit, but I sink to my knees with Scarlett in my arms.
Someone bangs on the door. “He’s locked it from the outside. Fuck.”
I block out their voices as I cup the sides of Scarlett’s head in my hands. Physical pain shreds my lungs as I stare into her eyes.
“I’m so sorry. So fucking sorry. I promised you that he’d never touch you. That none of this would ever touch you. I failed you.”
She reaches up with a trembling hand to stroke my cheek as she shakes her head. “It wasn’t your fault. Lucy grabbed me. She’s the one who started it all. That didn’t have a damn thing to do with you, Gabe. You can’t take the blame for that.”
“She hated you because of me,” I say, ready to take every bit of guilt and bury myself with it.
“No,” Scarlett says with force in her voice. “Apparently, Lucy hated me for years. She was the troll. My stalker. Rolo killed her.”
I stare into Scarlett’s soft gray eyes while I try to make sense of what she’s saying. “Wait. Lucy grabbed you, Rolo shot her ... Rolo tried to take you ...”
She nods. “And Moses saved me from Rolo. So, basically ... he’s the reason I’m here right now, instead of God knows where with either of them.”