There are moments where ignoring our pride would serve us best. This was probably one of them. I should have agreed with my ex, bowed my head, and gone on with my night. Instead, I locked my eyes on Reese's. “I don't owe you shit.”

Laughing, he threw his hands in the air. “Yeah? You think so? Fine. Enjoy your evening.” Twirling, his broad back was all he showed me. Long legs took him halfway up the stairs in a blink.

“Where the hell are you going?” I asked, following in his wake. My panic was rising. “You have a match, Reese!” Oh god, it's happening. He's really abandoning me.

Pausing, he tossed me a smile so bitter that I could taste it. “No. You have a match. I've been doing this for you, remember?”

“You promised me that you'd help me with this! You're supposed to fight in each match until I've paid off the fucking loan!”

“Guess I just feel like I don't owe you shit, Zoe.” His teeth were dark grey in the stairwell shadows. “Have a good night. Say hi to Nehro for me.” I heard him even after he vanished, heavy steps—the metallic crunch of the building door.

Fuck. I should have bit my damn tongue.

Roughing up my hair, I tugged at the roots. What was I supposed to do now? I had a god damn contract to fulfill. With my ex gone, who would fight in the pit? Nehro was going to kill me. No, I thought, my lungs going tight. Worse. Way worse. My debt ran deep. I knew what was facing me.

Without a fighter, I was breaking the agreement. Reese... he'd been to every match since the start. I should have foreseen that the breakup would have made him less willing to help, but... I never thought he'd bail. I should have seen this coming.

Fucking hell, I was so tired of this crap. I blamed myself for the mess, I'd made too many wrong choices. I wasn't going to let Reese walk all over me, though. Fuck him for thinking he could betray me and then just get back in my pants. Use me because without him...

Without him I was screwed.

Biting my thumbnail, I looked around the room. There was a match about to start, how long did I have until mine? If Nehro found out I'd come up empty, I was done. I knew what he had planned for me.

Like I'd summoned him, I saw the tall, long haired man coming my way. Nehro dressed like a Gothic vampire, all latex and boots and spikes. It was funny, though he was anything but.

When I'd first met him, I'd thought he was a joke. Then he'd handed me the money I needed, and I'd decided he was someone to take seriously.

I ached for the days before I knew what he had planned. I'd been ignorant. Ignorance was nice, sometimes.

“Zoe,” he purred, his hands deep in his jacket pockets. “I saw Reese leave. Do tell me he's coming back.”

Shivering, I swallowed my bile down. “No. He's not.”

Arching a thin brow, Nehro sighed sympathetically. “Oh dear. That's awful—for you, I mean.” Looking around, he eyed the place as if he could see my future among the rabble. “What are we going to do about that?”

Sweat ran down my ribs. “It's fine, really. I'll find someone to fill Reese's spot.” The lie spilled free, my courage fake and hollow.

The dubious stare Nehro shot me didn't help my confidence. “Who could you find at this hour to stand in?”

“I've got someone in mind. Just give me thirty minutes, okay?” I didn't have a clue who I'd find. He couldn't know that, though. I had to figure something out.

Like a spider, he inched towards me and set long fingers on my shoulder. Nehro rolled a strand of my hair, tugged it with false affection. “Thirty minutes. You find a replacement, or we move to the default section of your contract.” Dipping so that his lips tickled my earlobe, Nehro chuckled—a grizzly sound. “I look forward to your failure. Working off your debt with your body won't be so bad. Trust me.”

Keeping my urge to vomit down, I stood there as he walked away. I had no parting comment, no response. Nehro was a monster. I didn't want to test how far he'd push that fucking contract. It's true that he couldn't legally force me into prostitution.

Legality doesn't matter when the life of a loved one is on the line.

Wiping my palms on my dress, I started to dig for a tissue. I wanted so badly to scrub at where he'd touched me. Shuffling in my purse, my fingers brushed something flat. The sharp corner pricked me. What the hell?

Into the light, I held the business card high. I'd like to pretend that angels sang and bells twinkled. Here was my answer, and just having an answer should have been uplifting. But calling in favors was the thing I hated most—it's what had gotten me where I was. I didn't want help. I just... needed it.

Turning the card, I read the scrawling crimson letters against their dark purple background. Huxton Blake. Muscle for hire. Isn't that what I'm looking for?

Scrunching my eyes shut, I yanked out my phone and climbed the stairs. I felt Nehro's intense stare the whole time. He probably thought I was trying to bail. I would have, if that was possible.

Breathing deep, I held my lungs at full capacity. When I went dizzy, and still no other solutions came to mind, I let the air rush out. This was it. I had to fucking do it.

Seeing Huck again wasn't ideal. The guy threw me for a loop the way every tough acting, confident bad boy type did. I hated that, so the easiest path was to step back and avoid him... and everyone like him.

Reese had been the final straw. I was soured on assholes. They seemed strong and acted like they were into you, but they always bailed when they couldn't get you to spread your legs. They thought with their damn dicks.

I knew better. Even if Huck had made me swoon with his rock-hard body and cocky attitude, I fucking knew better. I would get out of this whole mess. Except to do that...

I had to beg him for help.

This would be the last time. God, let it be the last time.

Lifting my phone, I eyed the card and tapped the numbers in. The ringing was a gong in my skull. Part of me didn't want him to answer. My gut knew he was my only option.

The ringing was cut off. “Hello?” Huck's smooth voice, it had my blood tingling. Even when he wasn't close to me, he was getting under my skin. “Who is this?”

Pacing through the gym, I clutched the phone. It was astounding that my tongue was working. “Huxton? This is Zoe.” I paused, debating how to explain. “From the birthday, earlier.”

“I remember.” Was he smiling? It sure sounded like it. “Honestly, I didn't think you'd call so fast.”

Standing straight, I didn't dwell on his implication that I would have called him at all. “I have... sort of an emergency.” Lifting the card, I read it again, giving myself strength. “When you said you could be hired for muscle, did you mean it?”

Maybe the frantic, breathy quality to my words gave him the hint that I was nervous. His voice dropped, fierce and without question. “What's wrong. Tell me.”

His bluntness cut right to the point. I appreciated that. “Can you get to the cross-street of Hollywood and Oak in thirty minutes?”

Something jingled in the background. His keys? Was he already moving? “Yes, but you need to tell me why.”

“I know. I'm pretty sure you won't like the reason.”

“Let me be the judge of that.”

Picturing how Huxton had shoved Kit out the door, I steeled myself. “Huck, have you ever been in a fight? A real fight?”

On the end of the line, there was a moment of quiet. Cold ice rolled down my back, my brain quick to imagine him hanging up and leaving me without a solution. What was I thinking? I didn't know this guy, he'd been a stranger who'd rubbed up on me at my party. There was no way he'd want to show up somewhere in the middle of the night just because I rang his damn number.