Frustration climbed up his chest and curled around his throat like a cold fist. “It’s not a big deal, Sky.” Christ, he needed to get out of here.
“Gage, it is a big deal.”
“I’ve got one fight left and then I’m done.” He spared a glance at his brother. “And then we’re done.”
“I know.”
Denny’s expression was so tormented he had to look away. Lord, he couldn’t breathe all of a sudden. And his hands felt like icy blocks.
“I’ll handle Mitch, okay?” Gage muttered. “But you realize what he’s trying to do, right?”
“He wants you to keep fighting for him,” Denny said flatly.
“Not gonna happen. But as a precaution I think you should leave town for a couple weeks. Normally I’d suggest laying low here in the city, but Mitch will just send someone to find you again. He’ll try to use you against me.”
“Don’t worry, I’m actually leaving for Maine the day after tomorrow. My girlfriend’s family has a house on the coast. We’re spending the month there.”
“Girlfriend?” It was almost depressing how little knowledge he had about his own brother’s life.
“Yeah. Maggie.” Denny’s eyes softened. “We met after I got out of rehab. She’s a middle-school teacher.”
Gage just nodded.
“I’ll leave you a number where you can reach me. I don’t have my old cell anymore, and I haven’t gotten a new one yet.”
With another curt nod, Gage headed for the door. It took a second to realize Skyler hadn’t followed, and he turned to find her giving Denny a quick hug. “Be careful,” he heard her murmur. “And stay strong, okay?”
Even though it grated to see her reassure a man who didn’t deserve it, Gage couldn’t fault her for it. The woman was a goddamn saint. He’d known it from the moment he met her.
“Gage.”
His brother’s voice stopped him at the door. “What?” he mumbled, turning to face Denny.
“I really am sorry. And I meant what I said three months ago. I will make this up to you.” An awkward pause followed. “I’ll prove to you that you can trust me.”
After a beat, he stiffly turned away from Denny’s sad gray eyes. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
…
“I still feel like we should have stayed. What if those guys come back?” Biting her bottom lip, Skyler glanced at Gage in concern, but his hard gaze remained focused on the road ahead.
“They won’t. Mitch was just testing the waters, trying to get a sense of Denny’s state of mind. He probably thought he could use Denny again to extend our arrangement, but now that he knows Denny can’t be pushed off the wagon, he’ll back off.”
Despite the reassurance, Skyler’s mild concern mutated into bone-deep worry. God, she hated, hated the thought of Gage putting his own life on the line for a mistake he hadn’t even made.
“How many fights did you commit to?” she asked.
“Ten.”
The response sent a jolt of anger spiraling through her, the volatile emotion directed solely at Gage’s brother. Yes, Denny had looked and sounded repentant, but as the weight of his actions suddenly sank in, Skyler couldn’t muster up any more sympathy. “Your brother should have taken responsibility for his own mistake.”
“It’s not that simple.”
She knew she sounded callous, but the realization that Gage was in physical danger because of his brother was too damn maddening. Besides, she’d always been a big believer in facing the consequences of your own actions.
“If a drug dealer wants to hurt him, then that’s his problem. Maybe he shouldn’t have gotten involved with the drug dealer to begin with.”
“Not hurt,” Gage corrected, “Kill. O’Donnell and his crew don’t mess around, Skyler. They would’ve slit Denny’s throat and dumped his body in the river, make no mistake about it. He didn’t have the cash to pay them back, and he couldn’t have worked off the debt—a junkie drug dealer can’t be trusted. If Denny had been anyone else, Mitch would’ve killed him in a heartbeat, but Denny happens to be my brother, and Mitch has been dying to have some leverage over me.”
“So he spared your brother’s life just to get you to fight?”
“Pretty much. There’s a lot of money in MMA tournaments these days, especially if you’re good. And I’m good.”
She didn’t doubt it. Heck, she’d seen him knock a man unconscious with one punch tonight.
“Mitch and I grew up together, and he was pissed when I didn’t want to go into the drug business with him. He approached me when I first started fighting—he wanted to be my manager and hook me up with his trainer. When I turned him down, he didn’t like it one damn bit. So after Denny screwed up, Mitch had me right where he wanted me.”
It occurred to her that this was the most Gage had said to her at one time. No bare-minimum responses tonight, no attempt to hide the pain in his eyes. Seeing his brother had obviously upset him more than he’d let on.
“You’ve cleaned up a lot of Denny’s messes, haven’t you?” she said quietly.
His defeated nod brought an ache to her heart. “I’m just a regular old janitor. I can’t even remember how many times I’ve had to drag him out of the gutter. Dozens of ER visits, four ODs. I’ve cleaned up his vomit, wiped up his blood, stitched up his wounds.” Gage shook his head in visible disgust. “I tried to talk him out of going to work for Mitch, but Denny is a stubborn ass**le and wouldn’t listen. But I’m done now. I promised myself that after I paid off his debt, I would never bail him out again. He’s on his own now.”