Page 2 of Saving Stella
Taking another deep breath, he closed his eyes, clearing his mind as he mentally prepped for the fight. He was in the middle of visualizing Alvarez’s moves he’d memorized from watching his previous fights when the creaking sound from the door opening broke his concentration.
“What the fuck—Madelyn?”
His fiancée stumbled into the dressing room, her usually perfect blonde hair disheveled and the left strap of her dress torn, tears running down her cheeks. Rage surged in Cliff as he shot to his feet, but before he could rush to her, three men hurried inside, one of them quickly grabbing Madelyn by the waist.
“Freeze,” one of them ordered, “or she gets it.”
Even without his enhanced hearing, Cliff didn’t miss the sound of the cocking of a gun. The one who held Madelyn had the weapon pointed at her temple.
Cliff froze, fear gripping him like a vice. “Let her go. What do you want? Money?”
One of them—a short, older man chomping on a cigar—stepped forward and smirked at him. “Now you’re talking our language.”
Why does he look familiar? Cliff searched his mind, trying to recall where he had seen him before. “I don’t have any on me right now. But I can call the bank and?—”
“Oh no, Cliff,” the man tsked. “We want cash, but not whatever measly balance you have in your bank account.”
He swallowed, his gaze darting over to Madelyn, her face was filled with fear. “Whatever you want. I’ll find a way to come up with the money. I’ll do anything, please. Just let her go.” For a moment, he considered calling his wolf back, but that would take too much time. He wouldn’t be able to shift before the man holding Madelyn pulled the trigger.
The man’s mouth spread into a smile as he took the cigar out of his mouth. “Oh, you’ll be doing what I want, all right.” He snapped his fingers at Cliff. “And what I want is for you to lose tonight..”
Lose—“No.” He’d worked too damned hard for this. “I’ll do anything but that.”
The man chomped on his cigar again then nodded his head at the man who held Madelyn, who tightened his grip on her.
“Cliff!” she cried.
“Bastard!” Cliff made a motion to lunge forward, but was blocked by the third man—a hulking behemoth who was as tall and wide as Cliff.
“Nuh-uh.” Cigar Man waggled a finger at Cliff. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
Cliff curled his hands into his fists. “I swear if you hurt her, I’ll make you pay?—”
“You don’t know who I am, do you?” Cigar Man stepped forward and pointed up at Cliff. “I own this town. You can’t do anything to me.”
Cliff blinked. Now he remembered who this man was. During his first year in Vegas, his manager had pointed him out from across the room at one of the casino restaurants where they were having dinner. Cliff had been awed because the restaurant had been fully booked, but the staff came and set up a table for him and his companions. “That’s Joe Bonetti,” his manager had whispered. “You don’t want to cross that guy.”
No, he did not because Guisseppe “Joe” Bonetti was Vegas’s biggest crime boss.
It made sense now.
Millions of dollars exchanged hands during these fights. With the odds in Cliff’s favor, if he lost, anyone who bet against him would come out a big winner tonight.
“Smart one, aren’t ya?” Bonetti laughed. “Though if you really are smart, you’ll do what I tell ya. Or your pretty girl won’t be so pretty anymore.”
Madelyn let out another pained cry as the man holding her pushed the gun against her temple harder.
“Stop it!” His stomach roiled. “I … just don’t hurt her.”
Bonetti sat down on the bench and motioned to the TV screen mounted in the corner of the room which broadcasted the fight. “We’re all gonna sit here and watch and make sure you do what you’re supposed to do. But give ’em a show and wait until the last round before you go down. Do that and when you come back here, we’ll be gone and your pretty girl will be safe and sound.”
Cliff could only stare into Madelyn’s frightened face, his decision made.
But what choice did he have?
* * *
“What the fuck was that, Forrest?”