A cop was a cop no matter what you dressed her up as.

I found myself daydreaming all day at work, my alertness off-kilter to my usual performance. I’d been stuck on an armed robbery out in the suburbs. It was an old case that had yet to be closed and I was sure Hunter had put me onto it to punish me for my unsanctioned snooping around The Underground. Man, if only he knew. I’d spent the whole afternoon canvassing witnesses that had already been canvassed weeks ago, or at least I’d tried to. I did end up getting some solid leads that I thought were worth looking into, so it’d suck to be Hunter when I cracked it.

When my shift came to an end, I hightailed it home to get changed and made it to The Underground with minutes to spare until Rebel went in for his fight.

I found him waiting by the cage entrance, shaking out his muscles, looking every inch the pure specimen he was. When he caught sight of me, his lips curved into a shit-eating grin. He stepped into me, and I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. Hard.

“Hey,” he murmured against my lips.

“Hey.”

“You miss me or somethin’?”

Smiling, I replied, “I can still feel you.”

Rebel’s eyes widened slightly, his hands tightening around my waist. “Fuckin’ good.”

“I expect you to win, you know.”

“It’s a sure thing, Sweet Lips.”

“We’ll celebrate later.” I wiggled my eyebrows up and down.

Like a typical man, Rebel’s eyes widened at the suggestion of sex.

“Against the wall, in the shower, on my knees—”

He placed a hand over my mouth and laughed. “Stop it, Charlie, or I’ll skip the fight all together and have you right here. Do you want an audience? Because I sure as fuck don’t want to share you with anyone.”

Wrapping my hand around his wrist, I tugged, freeing my lips. “Then you better win good.”

“Record time.”

Letting me go, he backed away as his name was called. The cage door closed, and he blew me a cheeky kiss. I could feel the jealous eyes on me, but I didn’t give a shit. It was just me and him, and I didn’t like to admit it, but I was in so deep I wasn’t sure I was getting out. If this fucked up, I would never be the same again. What man could compete with Kane ‘Rebel’ Sturgess? None.

Fuck, we were like one of those annoying loved up couples. It was all new and fresh, and we couldn’t keep our hands off one another. I’d used to look at people like that and throw up. Yeah, I’d been jealous, but I got it now. The rest of the world ceased to exist when you felt like that.

The crowd jostled around me as the fight began, and I was pushed backward. Turning, I threaded my way out of the throng and rounded the back of the bleachers. I’d never sat up there before, but it would afford me an uninterrupted view of the fight. Glancing toward the fighter only area, I stilled.

The entry was unattended, and suddenly, my cop sense flared into life.

Looking around, I noticed nobody was watching, all eyes were plastered on the cage. This was my chance if I was willing to take it. Everyone was otherwise occupied watching the fight and wouldn’t notice if I slipped into the office. I’d have to be quick about it.

Not wanting to draw any unwanted attention to myself, I wandered forward. Stepping into the hall, I began walking fast, my boots thudding against the concrete floor.

“Hey!”

I froze, my heart skipping a beat or ten, and I turned slowly, plastering a fake smile on my face.

“Hey,” I said, waving to the security guard.

“You’re Rebel’s new girl?” he asked, looking me up and down.

“Charlie,” I said, fluttering my eyelashes at him.

“What are you doing out here?”

“What do you think?” Imply sexy thoughts.

His eyes widened slightly, and after a moment, a sly smile appeared on his lips. “Okay, go straight back and wait in the change rooms.”

I flashed him my best smile and backed away. “You got it.” Idiot.

Disappearing into the empty change room, I waited a moment before peering back around the corner. The security guard was walking back to his post after having waited to make sure I did as I was told. He moved through the door and back to his post.

The hallway was empty, and I had a chance to get into the office. Pacing back down the hall toward the security guard, I knew I might not get another chance. It was now or never.

An image of Rebel flashed in my mind, and I shook my head. I had to keep my eye on the prize.

Trying the door to the office, I found it unlocked, and I slipped inside, closing it softly behind me. I was alone, the room dark, and I took out my phone to light the way. There was a desk in the middle of the room, the surface littered with papers, and toward the back, there was a huge safe and a filing cabinet. It was pretty bare other than those things, and I wondered if this was it, the entirety of their operation, but experience told me it wasn’t. Not by a long shot.

There was no hope of me cracking the combination to the safe, so I decided to have a flip through the filing cabinet to see what I could find. Any evidence I collected would be useless, but not if I handed it in anonymously. Opening the top drawer, I began thumbing through the files. How was I going to take credit for it, though? Hand it into myself? I’d have to be careful how I went about that and cover my tracks.

The sound of the door opening behind me made me still, and instantly, I knew I’d been made. Fuck. I’d been stupid. So fucking stupid.

The light flicked on, and the sound of a low growl echoed from behind. Closing the filing cabinet, I turned on my heel, my hands in the air. My gaze collided with a man I’d never seen before. A hard looking guy, stocky with a shaved head and an air of danger that was all too familiar.

His face twisted into a scowl and he asked, “Who the fuck are you?”

I should’ve listened to my conscience on this one because I was in the shit. How the fuck was I going to worm my way out of this without revealing who I was? I’d promised Rebel I’d play the game, and when he found out… Shit, we’d be over.

I opened and closed my mouth, trying to think of a plausible story for poking around in a filing cabinet at an illegal cage fighting operation, but nothing came out. I had no excuse.

The man strode forward and grabbed me around the arm. I twisted, trying to break free, but he pulled me tight against his chest.

“I won’t ask again, pretty girl. Who the fuck are you?”

Yeah, I was in it big time.

Chapter 13

Rebel

It was an easy fight.

Torment went down without too much trouble—the guy was way too green for this place. He was the same age as me but inexperienced. He held back on his blows like he was afraid of hurting me, but it was his weakness. If he could get over the fact that it took blood to win, he’d be pretty fucking formidable. He’d be a contender for the top prize. As he was now? He was cannon fodder.

I took the win out in record time and left the cage, looking for Charlie. Even to me it was strange how much I wanted to be with her. I’d always been solitary, a fuckin’ loner content to have my fun and be done with it, but with her… I wanted to be with her all the time.

I did a round of the arena, clutching my hoodie in my hand and not giving a stuff that I was wandering around with my shirt off, sweat dripping down my back. The women were loving it, but I couldn’t seem to find the one that I was looking for.

Where was Charlie?

Stopping by the bar, Lori hadn’t seen her. The bookies hadn’t noticed her, and she hadn’t placed any bets. On my way out back, I asked the fuckwits on security, but she hadn’t passed for a while. Charlie was nowhere to be found. Usually, I’d just dismiss it and move on, but now that I knew who she was and what she did—something didn’t feel right. Both times she’d seen me fight she’d waited for me right after. I assumed she’d do the same tonight.