Page 35 of Tico

I take his hand and shake it. “You were already forgiven, but if you or someone else pulls a stunt like that again, I won’t hold back.”

Rocket gives me a curt nod and Tico steers me to the lockers on the other side of the room.

“Tomorrow, I’ll get you and Reese your own code assigned.”

Stepping through, I eye the lockers hesitantly and he picks up on it.

“None of your things will be tampered with. All the fighters, managers, and trainers in here know better, but if for some reason something happens, it will be dealt with swiftly.” He leans down, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “Get ready, Vicious. Do what you need to do.”

Chapter 19

Tico

Steppingback,IletEmber do her thing. On my phone, I pull up the security cameras. I know Wire is already scouring over everything, looking for any indication that the Chrome Vipers are here. Still, I need to know for myself. It still surprises me how quickly Ember has gotten under my skin, but somehow, I know she’s the one for me.

I flick through the cameras. I should be overseeing that everything is running smoothly like usual—checking with thefighters, the bookies, the bartenders—but something is telling me not to leave Ember alone tonight. I’ve always trusted my gut, and it’s never failed me before, so I’m not going to ignore it now.

A scuffle outside the locker room doors has me quickly flicking over to that camera feed and what I see has my blood turning to ice.

“Stay with Ember,” I tell Daemon and Reese as I storm out of the room. I snarl when I see Taco and Shuriken restraining a woman. “Who are you and what are you doing back here? This is a restricted area,” I demand.

The woman trembles in their hands and some of my ire dissipates when I notice the bruising on her face, around her neck, and peaking out from under the arms of her shirt, but it soon surges back at the reminder that she’s obviously up to something. Whether it’s good or bad is yet to be determined.

“Please. I need to speak to my stepdaughter, it’s urgent.” the woman pleads as she looks up at me and every muscle coils tight.

I narrow my eyes at her. “What makes you think your stepdaughter is here?”

“B-Because it’s all over the c-circuits that she’s fighting but giving up her old n-name and taking a new one.”

“What’s your name?”

“R-Rochelle. R-Rochelle Foxx.”

It takes me a moment but then Wire’s report on Ember’s family comes back to me. Rochelle shakily hands me a note. I hesitate but eventually take it, opening it.

There’s no camera, just a wire. Please believe me. My husband and his President made me wear the wire, but I need to warn Ember about what they’re planning. You need to remove the wire before I talk to her. Please. Both her and Pyper are in danger.

“Search her,” I find myself saying before I realize it. Then, I turn the note around so that Taco and Shuriken can see it.

Both of their eyes harden as they read it and then Rochelle points to her chest. I nod and am about to step forward when she starts to undo the buttons of her shirt. Her hands are shaking so badly I’m surprised she can even get them undone. My anger flares when I see even more bruising on her chest, some in the shape of finger marks.

“What’s this,puta(bitch)?” Taco hisses, playing up the act as he pulls the wire off her. She winces slightly when the tape pulls her bruised skin but otherwise doesn’t react.

I mouth to Rochelle‘play along’, and she nods.

“I… I… don’t…,” she stammers shakily, and even though I know she’s playing along, I can still see her trembling in their arms.

I hold up my hand, since we aren’t going to actually hit her, and when Taco strikes it, Rochelle cries out so realistically you’d think she was actually slapped instead of just faking it.

“We’ll show you what we do to people who try to pull one over on us,” Shuriken hisses before grabbing the wire, tossing it down on the ground, and stomping on it until it’s destroyed.

Shuriken gathers up the debris and leaves to throw it away.

“Please, can I speak to Ember?” Rochelle asks quietly.

I study her for a moment, looking for the lie. Then again, she did tell us about the wire…but she could be wearing another one or even a camera… My gaze sweeps over her again and my gut twists at how she flinches when she finally meets my gaze.

“I swear, I’m not wearing any other wire or camera.”