“Shelby,” she answers with a demure smile as he takes her hand, kissing her knuckles gently.

“She was just leaving,” I mutter, turning Shelby toward the door.

She pulls away from me, and I swear I’m about to toss her over my shoulder and throw her in a cab.

Vic grins at me, and it’s grating on my nerves. “Now, now...the fun is just getting started,” he laughs.

“I just came to see the fights,” Shelby says, and the subtle slur to her words proves my theory correct. She’s been drinking.

“Rafe invited you?”

“No,” she says like that would be so terrible. “I was at a bar in town and someone mentioned the fights, so I wanted to see it for myself.”

“Oh really?” Vic asks with a smile. “So, how do you know Rafe?”

She glances up at me as if she’s looking for help in answering that question. “He’s my neighbor,” she answers coolly.

“I’ll walk you to your car,” I say, trying to push her toward the exit again.

“I want to stay,” she growls at me, and Vic steps in, taking her arm with his.

“You don’t want her to miss the best part,” he croons as he guides her toward the back door that leads to the parking lot brawls. My shoulders start to tense, and my molars couldn’t possibly grind together any more.

I have half the mind to just bail at that point. I couldn’t give two shits what happens to her if she stays, but with the way Vic was eye-fucking her, she would have a hard time getting out of here alone. She’s not my goddamn responsibility anyway, and she brought herself here, so she can get herself out of here.

The exit is calling me, and the only reason I don’t walk through that door is because now I want to punch something—or someone, really fucking hard.

Shelby

The vodka is wearing off, but Vic’s attention on me is my new form of intoxication. He’s downright the sexiest fucking man I’ve ever met—tall, dark, and handsome, as they say. He towers above me, and all of the darkness is in his eyes and demeanor. Vic looks like the kind of guy who people bow down to...for different reasons, of course.

With his jet black hair slicked back he smiles down at me, and for a man like Vic, getting a smile feels special. His hand rests on my lower back as he guides me back to a raised deck behind the gym. There are already a group of men sitting around the table with paper and pencils, and it sounds like they’re discussing the lineup.

“So, Shelby, tell me what you do for a living,” he says. His voice is deep and sexy, and I’m so lost in those cool, dark eyes that I can barely remember my name, let alone my occupation.

“I’m a hospice nurse,” I say with a shake in my voice.

He gives me an expression that seems like he’s impressed. He pulls out a seat for me, and it’s nothing more than a patio chair, but Vic has a presence about him. He may not be some big mob king, but around here, he’s treated like royalty.