Together, Zoe and I descended into the sweltering madness that was the underground fighting ring. “Does this place have a name?” I asked, eyeing the cracked, grey walls and faded paint dubiously.

“The Dog House,” Zoe said, not looking at me.

“Wonderful.” I grinned full force. “Does that make me your dog?”

She didn't respond, reaching out to stop me when we were halfway down the steps.

I pulled back, watching her while she scanned the crowd. “What's up?”

Those pretty pink lips scrunched together, copying her eyebrows. Finally, she let her hand fall away. “It's nothing. I was just looking for someone.”

Gently, I asked, “Was it Nehro?”

Taking me by the wrist, she pulled me towards the whiteboard across the room. “Yes and no. I always look for him, but right now I'm watching for Reese—my ex.” She added the last part as an uncomfortable afterthought. Tension ruled her eyes. “I don't know if he'll be here tonight. I'm hoping he won't.”

Battery acid filled my mouth. Even now, the shit-bag who had cheated on her was making her fret. I was burning with disgust.

Scanning the board, the sourness on my tongue grew sharper. Reaching out, I tapped my finger next to Reese's name. “Looks like he already fought. Half an hour ago, if this is right.”

“Whatever,” she grumbled. “Good. Fine. Guess he decided he was going to get back in the ring, just not for me. He can keep all the money for himself. I don't care what he does anymore. I don't need him.”

Gingerly, I set my hand on her shoulder. Zoe was shaking, the tremors making her eyelashes twitch. “You're right,” I said flatly. “You don't need him anymore. I'm here.”

I could see myself in her blue eyes, that was how wide they grew. “You're really sure that twenty bucks is fine?”

“It's more than enough.” Though, I admit, I was curious what she meant about Reese taking all the money now. “When he fought for you, he really got paid nothing? None of your payment to Nehro?”

Zoe sighed and said, “It was his idea. I wanted to give him some of it, he told me he was willing to make the sacrifice. I was grateful, really... it let me pay Nehro off faster.”

So many questions bubbled. “You've got me curious. How much are you making per fight, and how much do you owe that Nehro guy?”

Pointedly, she slid my hand off of her. “I don't want to tell you about my debt. It's personal stuff.”

Shrugging, I allowed myself to smile, even if it was forced. “All these secrets. You do know I'm here because I want to help you, right?”

I expected her to tighten up, to get flustered or bite at me with her words. In front of me, Zoe hung her head. I could never predict this fucking girl. “A thousand dollars,” she whispered.

“What?”

“That's how much Nehro takes off my debt after each fight.” Digging her toe into the ground, she watched me from under the fringe of her lashes. “Now you know. I suppose you'll want some of it after all, right? I can tell Nehro. He'll probably—”

My hand went up, silencing her. “No. Keep it. Twenty bucks, like I said.” If Zoe was chunking her debt down a thousand at a time, how much could she possibly owe this man?

And what was it for?

I didn't have the heart or the time to push her. Especially not when she was gracing me with a full on, lip-spread grin. Zoe was gorgeous, but when she was happy, she practically glowed.

“Thank you, Huxton. I really mean it.”

There was no denying it. Zoe was grateful for my help.

Grateful for me.

Blinking, I looked back at the board. “Does the other guy's name being scratched out mean Reese won?”

Zoe stood tall, grabbing a marker and scribbling my name on the shiny surface. I was across from some guy who went by 'Magnus.' “A name being scratched out means the other guy won, yeah.” She re-capped the marker violently. “Let's forget about Reese. The fighter you're up against is a small guy, I think you can take him.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” I chuckled.

Her lips tilted up at an angle. “I'm pretty confident in you, Huck.”

“Only 'pretty' confident?”

“If you looked more like a fighter, I'd be very confident.” Brushing her hair back, she motioned over my outfit, my clear lack of gear.

Gripping my jacket zipper, I ground it downwards, handing the leather piece to Zoe. She took it, and unless I was wrong, she hugged it tight—gorged on the air around it. “Shirtless and jeans worked fine last night, didn't it?”

She rolled her eyes, went to speak... then trailed off. Her luminescent skin became old milk, even her lips faded in color.

Peering over my shoulder, I watched as two men approached. One of them I knew; Nehro was easy to recognize. I'd never met such an angular man before. He was lanky, but under the long, black latex trench-coat and mesh shirt, I could see the practiced ripple of lean muscle.

Nehro wasn't a weak man.

But the other guy, the one with the biggest, shit-eating grin I'd ever seen... he was huge. Toe to toe, I thought he'd have a fraction over me. Not much, but I was used to being the tallest man in the room.

I didn't know who he was. Zoe clearly did.

Glancing back to her, I noticed her digging her nails into my jacket. She didn't like this guy, and my intuition buzzed to life.

“Reese,” she said, confirming my suspicion.

This was her ex. Wonderful.

Tugging at his shirt, Reese eyed me up and down. “You must be Huxton, Zoe's new dog.”

I emulated how Reese had looked me over, exaggerating the motion; I'd already sized him up seconds ago. “Guess that makes you the one that ran with its tail between its legs, then.”

Black fury stretched over Reese's face. I reveled in it.

“Easy now,” Nehro said, stepping between us. His oily squint shifted from me to Reese, then to Zoe. “I see you convinced our friend here to come back for round two.”

I cleared my throat. “I insisted. I just had so much fun last night.” Smiling ear to ear, I winked at Zoe.

Amazingly, she smiled back at me. I loved when she did that. “Yeah. Huxton wanted to come back. I couldn't say no to him.”

Oh, how I wished that part was true. Zoe kept saying 'no' to me at every turn. Well, her voice did, the rest of her... Stay focused, I reminded myself.

Tilting his head, Reese snorted. “So you like to fight?”

“Sure do.”

Shrugging, he spoke while turning away. “Every newbie does, at the start. See how you feel after a few rounds of this.”

“Thanks for the advice, Pops,” I chirped. “Any more tips?”

With his jaw tighter than a lock and key, Reese glared from me to Zoe. “Yeah. Here's one more. Consider how much your time is worth.”

Next to me, Zoe hissed under her breath. Acid ruled her stare, she watched Reese all the way until he slipped out of view in the crowd. Giving in to my desire, I brushed my hand over hers. Then, I stared warily at Nehro. “Why are you still here, need something?”

Impervious to my scathing tone, he just chuckled. “I do. From you, as a matter of fact.” Motioning with his head to his office, he started walking. “You want to fight here, fine. Let's get the basics out of the way. Come with me.”

Peeking back at Zoe, I waited for her to nod. That time... her smile didn't reach her eyes. “It's nothing bad,” she assured me. “Nehro runs the Dog House, go listen to him. It's just rules and junk.”

I nodded and said, “Alright. I'll be back.”

Nehro led us to his door, and I saw that the nicest thing about this basement was his name on the glass. In long, jagged strokes, the letters stood out crisply, like they would on a movie star's door. Or a lawyer's, I thought, remembering Zoe's contract.

Was I about to sign one, too? The idea made me grit my molars.

“I won't keep you long,” he said, shuffling in the bottom drawer of a small, metal desk. “Your fight starts in five minutes. I'll go quick.”