My heart pounded in my ears as the exit drew closer. I was mere feet from it when someone grabbed my shoulder. I whirled with a lethal scowl and found Nate, Shelton’s lapdog.

“Boss wants to talk to you,” he said, pointing toward the back of the barn. “He’s upstairs.”

Damn it. Swallowing a frustrated sigh, I gestured at Nate to lead the way, figuring Shelton wanted to needle me about my last minute decision to quit fighting after tonight. I followed Nate through the haze of tobacco toward the back of the barn and climbed the stairs to the loft. Shelton stood ramrod straight, his tatted arms crossed as he watched the mayhem from above everyone else.

We’d known each other back in the day when life was simpler. When I’d had a fucking future. Connecting with him again after all these years had been a fluke, yet it couldn’t have happened at a better time. I’d come to the area a broken man, a shell of who I used to be, so I could be near my son. Will’s grandparents were raising him now, and though I wasn’t about to disrupt his life with my toxic presence, I’d needed to see how he was coping after Nikki’s death.

I hadn’t planned on sticking around long, but then Shelton drew me into his world of underground fighting, and the allure of stepping back into the cage proved too powerful.

But I had no intention of dragging Alex into this scene. It was time to move on, especially now that Zach was free.

“You wanted to see me?” I asked.

Shelton didn’t acknowledge my presence until I was practically breathing down his thick neck. His mouth thinned into a line, and his fetch boy must have taken that as a cue to leave because the little shit was already halfway to the staircase. Shelton’s shrewd gaze lingered on the people huddled in drunken groups around the cage.

He scratched his nose for a moment. “Still set on leaving all this?”

“I’ve got other priorities.”

“I’m gonna wager Zachariah De Luca has something to do with these sudden priorities.”

“You know something I don’t?” I asked, wearing my best neutral expression.

“My guys found him sneaking onto the property during the fight. That’s what I know.”

It was amazing how a single sentence had the power to ice my blood. I spun on my heel, ready to bolt down the stairs, but Shelton grabbed my shoulder.

I shrugged him off. “Alex is alone—”

“She’s fine, right where you left her. My guys made sure of it.” He stepped back and let out a breath.

I stared at him, slack-jawed. I didn’t want to know how he knew that, but he seemed intent on telling me anyway.