Chapter 4 - The Champion Chooses a Side
Nox sat in Dominic’s private gym with an ice pack on his shoulder.
When Sadi entered, he pointed at her.
“You.”
She stopped.
“Me.”
“You fight dirty.”
“You outweigh me by a hundred pounds.”
“That is not excuse.”
“It’s an excellent excuse.”
Nox almost smiled.
Dominic entered behind her.
“Marco said you recognized the symbol.”
Nox’s expression darkened.
“Yes.”
“How?”
He removed the ice pack.
A faded burn scar crossed his ribs.
“They bought fighters from Eastern Europe. Young men. Poor men. Men with nobody.”
Sadi sat across from him.
“You were one of them.”
“Yes.”
“How did you get out?”
Nox looked at Dominic.
“He bought my contract.”
Sadi turned.
Dominic shrugged.
“He was useful.”
Nox snorted.
“He told them he would burn building if they did not release twelve fighters.”
Sadi raised an eyebrow.
Dominic adjusted his cuff.
“It was a very flammable building.”
Nox continued.
“Black Crown remembers.”
Dominic frowned.
“Then why wait this long?”
Nox pointed at Sadi.
“Because now they want her more.”
Sadi looked down.
Nox’s voice softened.
“You have names?”
“Yes.”
“Then you have names of men who owned me?”
“Probably.”
Nox stood.
“Show me.”
“No.”
He stepped closer.
Dominic moved between them.
“Nox.”
The fighter stopped.
Sadi stood.
“I’m not protecting them.”
“Then why no?”
“Because once I open that evidence, we don’t get to pretend this is only about revenge.”
Nox stared at her.
“I do not pretend.”
Neither did Dominic.
Sadi sighed.
“The records identify judges, police officers, shipping companies, political donors, financial executives. If we leak it carelessly, innocent people connected to those businesses could get hurt.”
Dominic nodded slowly.
“So we don’t leak it carelessly.”
She looked at him.
“What do you suggest?”
“We identify the leadership first.”
“And?”
“We hand the evidence to someone who can actually use it.”
Sadi laughed once.
“I tried that.”
“You chose one investigator.”
“He was federal.”
“He was alone.”
Dominic walked to a table and opened a laptop.
“I prefer redundancy.”
He turned the screen toward her.
Names appeared.
Three investigative journalists.
Two federal prosecutors outside the city.
A retired judge.
A nonprofit specializing in trafficking cases.
Sadi stared.
“You already prepared this?”
“I’ve hated the Black Crown longer than I’ve known you.”
“Why?”
Dominic was silent.
Nox answered.
“His sister.”
Dominic’s head snapped toward him.
Nox looked away.
Sadi’s voice softened.
“What happened?”
Dominic stared at the laptop.
“She was seventeen.”
Sadi waited.
“She ran away after an argument with our father. A recruiter promised her modeling work.”
His jaw tightened.
“We found her six months later.”
Sadi said nothing.
“She was alive,” Dominic continued. “But she was never the same.”
“Where is she?”
“California. Married. Two kids. She hasn’t spoken to me in eight years.”
“Why?”
“Because every time she saw me, she saw what our family failed to protect her from.”
Sadi’s expression changed.
Dominic closed the laptop.
“So no. I don’t want your evidence to expand my empire.”
He looked at her.
“I want to make sure theirs disappears.”
For the first time since she met him, Sadi had no sarcastic answer.
Nox broke the silence.
“I still want names.”
Sadi nodded.
“You’ll get them.”
Dominic looked at her.
“You trust us?”
“No.”
Nox laughed.
Dominic looked offended.
“After that speech?”
“I trust your motives.”
“That’s progress.”
“I trust Nox more.”
Nox grinned.
Dominic stared at him.
“You lost one fight and suddenly you’re charming?”
Sadi almost laughed.
Then Marco rushed into the gym.
“Boss.”
Dominic turned.
“What?”
“Leo wants to meet.”
“Where?”
“The Foundry.”
Sadi frowned.
“He wouldn’t go back there unless he thought he was protected.”
Marco nodded.
“He says Black Crown representatives are coming.”
Dominic’s expression hardened.
“To negotiate?”
“To demand Sadi.”
Nox stood.
“No.”
Dominic looked at Sadi.
She was already reaching for her jacket.
“You’re not going.”
She looked at him.
“They’re coming because of me.”
“They’re coming into my club.”
“And?”
Dominic stepped toward her.
“And I’m not handing you over.”
“I didn’t ask you to.”
“Then what are you planning?”
Sadi smiled faintly.
“The last time I walked into your cage, everybody thought I was trapped.”
Dominic stared at her.
She picked up the laptop.
May you like
“This time, we make sure they’re the ones inside it.”
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