Page 214 of The Monster and the Masochist

It was new for me, and I was having a hard time deciding what I was going to do with all these new, bright, optimistic dreams.

One thing I did know for sure was that if I wasn’t actually as good as I thought I was and I lost this fight, there was a very real chance none of these shiny new wants and dreams would ever come to fruition.

Was that a gamble I was really willing to take?

I was about to open my mouth to ask Jerry and Cal what they thought when there was a loud, aggressive knock on the door.

I frowned.

Who the fuck was that?

“I’ve got it,” I said, squirting some water into my mouth as I made my way over to the door to let whoever it was in.

They knocked again–loudly–and a warning bell started to sound in my head.

Something was wrong…

Swinging the door open, my heart skipped a beat when I found Svetlana Petrova standing on the other side.

My mouth dropped open in surprise as I took in the six-foot wall of pure, fucking muscle that was glaring at me like I owed her a pound of flesh.

“Theo,” she said, her voice heavy and thick with her Russian accent.

“Uhm. Yeah?” I asked, unsure why my heart was trying to punch a hole in my fucking chest. The way she was staring at me was so unnerving… Why was she here?

Her hair was braided down each side of her head, and her fists were wrapped in tape, even though we were still hours away from the fight. I swallowed as I realized the tape was already stained with blood.

“You have big enemies, Theo,” Svetlana said grimly before forcing her way aggressively into the room.

Alexa Play: Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) by Loveless

Theo texted me to let me know she’d made her apologies, and she and Cal were heading to the ring to get ready for her big fight.

I took the opportunity to get in touch with Vox and let him know about all the shit I’d just found out on my end.

It didn’t take long for my phone to blow up once I sent him Father Samwell’s name.

He sent me articles outlining how the man had been forced to resign from St Andrews Elementary School several years after both Theo and Ryan had graduated. Details of why he’d suddenly stepped down had been vague, but I was willing to bet my Audi it was because one of the students had come forward with allegations.

The fact that Samwell had been able to keep something so scandalous quiet like that led me to believe that he really was as connected as he claimed to be.

I’d let Vox know about his alleged relationship with the attorney general, and left him to dig into that as I made my way back to the condo to shower and change.

It was a Saturday, so I didn’t need to head into the office, which meant I had the rare opportunity to pamper myself as I went through the steps of my self-care routine.

Theo’s suit was hanging on the edge of the hamper, and her gym bag was gone, which told me she’d stopped here first before heading to the ring to meet up with her coach for whatever it was they did to prepare for a big fight like this.

Gathering up her clothes, I hung them on the back of our bedroom door so I would remember to take them with the rest of my things when I went to the dry cleaners later that week.

I had a couple of hours to kill before Theo’s big fight, and I was hoping Vox would get back to me soon with information on how he wanted to tackle dealing with the reverend once I had her back home, safely tucked in bed.

If I had my way, Theo would win her fight tonight, and as a reward, I would deliver her abuser to her, bound and gagged.

She could kill him if she wanted to.

If she didn’t, I would do it.

Either way, that man was dying, and I was really hopeful I’d be able to get it done tonight. If not tonight, then tomorrow at the latest.