Strike ( Book 4: Stronger Series )

51. Business

I gave Darren an incredulously disappointed look as he moved us to follow Holden down the hall, entering an office where we all piled in. Holden took a seat at his desk, while Darren once again pulled me onto his lap as he sat in the black leather chair across from Holden, Matt taking the second chair while Kayla sat on the couch against the wall, close enough to where Scott, Clive, and Owen and the remaining guards stood.

"So ... what did we think?" Holden asked. I didn't like how confident he already was.

Darren relaxed in his seat even with my weight on his legs. "I can see why she's your main attraction."

"She puts on quite a show, doesn't she?"

Darren nodded in agreement. "What I don't understand are the men you find to fight her. Even with her reputation, it still wouldn't take much for them to kill her. How do you justify the risk?"

"They aren't allowed to kill her," Holden answered. "If they can get her to submit before the bell rings, not only do they get a percentage of the bets, but they also get to fuck her."

The fire in my heart immediately ignited into something fierce, the repressed anger already spreading through my body before I could even stop my fist from closing. That poor girl was fighting to prevent the unimaginable. Un-fucking-believable.

"In the ring?" Matt asked.

Holden shrugged. "If they chose to. Or they can wait until we have her cleaned up for later."

"And she's never lost?" Matt continued.

Holden shook his head.

"How many fights has she had?" Darren asked as his hand covered my fist that was clenched so tightly my knuckles were turning white, the only warning I would get to rein in my shit.

"Six."

"So she's killed six men then. If she maintains her reputation, how do you plan to get future men to continue risking their lives to fight her?"

Holden shrugged. "Because stupid men with large egos are abundant and easy to find," he answered.

Wow, for once I agreed with him.

"Fair enough. So what is it you want from me then?" Darren asked.

"I need more fighters like her."

"And you can't find them yourself?"

Holden shook his head. "I hear you're the expert in that department," he replied as he glanced at me just long enough to make my skin crawl.

Jesus fuck, I was this close to exploding.

Holden leaned forward, all business now. "If you can bring me more girls like her, I'll give you ten percent of their earnings. You've already stumbled across two of them by accident," he said as he nodded toward me. "Imagine if you were actively searching for them."

Darren had stumbled across her first? How? I was missing some serious details here.

Holden's eyes suddenly caught mine, his gaze moving up and down with approval like I was dripping with sex and money. Fucking creep.

Darren's shoulders shifted as he relaxed. "First, they'd have to make more money than I would in one sale in a relatively short amount of time. Just because they aren't supposed to die in the ring doesn't mean they won't, not to mention you can't guarantee how long their fighting career will last. Their bodies will only handle the hardship for so long, especially if you're having them fight as often as I think you are. So ten percent likely won't cut it. Second, you're asking me to broaden my demographic, which will require more work to find qualified girls with the right stamina. Unless of course you expect some to perish for the sake of entertainment."