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“I don’t know anything about Gunner’s issues, but I’m the woman who will be running Los Muertos’s end of our partnership.”

Pres smirked and nodded his head in appreciation of her answer before his tone turned serious. “Speaking of the partnership, our MC has a set of bylaws we follow to the letter. One of those bylaws states that any newcomers, those patching in or not, have to prove their loyalty and commitment.” He made eye contact with me over Ryan’s shoulder before continuing. He wanted me to take in her response when he told her she would be fighting. I moved to Pres’s side to watch her beautiful face. I wasn’t looking forward to seeing the look of horror flash across it when Pres dropped the bomb on her.

Ryan nodded in understanding. “And what will I be required to do to prove myself?” She was still calm. I had this nagging feeling that maybe she was too calm. But I didn’t know her well enough to know if that was because she was clueless or acting.

“Well, it’s proven with blood. You either spill yours or your opponent’s. Unfortunately, when this was all set up, we were under the impression that you were a man, so…you’re going to be fighting Torque,” Pres said.

My head whipped to the side to look at Pres. I knew she would have to fight, but I never imagined Pres would put her up against a patched member. We had plenty of club bunnies who fought on fight nights. But I couldn’t say anything to protest this now. That would appear that I was disrespecting my president. Dex chimed up from behind Ryan.

“Pres…”

Pres raised his hand to silence Dex from continuing. “Rules are rules, boys.”

My fists tightened, and my jaw hurt from how tightly I was clenching my teeth. This was worse than I thought it was going to be. Ryan was going to be a bloody mess on the floor after this. That image made me feel like I was teetering on going into a murderous rage. I didn’t know how I would keep myself from jumping into that ring once Torque started throwing punches. For his sake, he better pull his fucking hits and wrap the fight up quickly once he saw he was fighting a woman. One who clearly shouldn’t be in the ring.

I looked over at Ryan’s face, expecting to see horror or tears. But all I was met with was the sight of her biting her bottom lip. The woman was so out of her element that she didn’t even realize how scared she should be right now. Maybe that was a good thing.

“It’s okay, Dexy. This should be fun,” she commented.

I let out a scoff at her flippant response to the pile of shit just dropped at her feet. I couldn’t help but voice my opinion about how naive she was.

“You think getting your ass handed to you will be fun? You’re not going to like what it feels like to do actual work, Brujita.” I crossed my arms over my chest, the fabric of my shirt straining against my arms.

I expected angry words, or maybe she would finally realize how bad this was and cry, but instead, Ryan just winked at me.

“Gunner, you and Dex go bring her to the cage. Get her set up. Wrap her hands,” Pres ordered. I grunted before I walked forward and gripped the upper part of Ryan’s arm, pulling her toward the ring.

“Hey, Neanderthal, quick dragging me around. I’m capable of following you on my own just fine.”

I ignored her protests and continued to pull her over toward her corner of the outdoor arena. When we got there, I pushed her down onto the folding chair and grabbed her hand to start wrapping it.

“Listen, I knew you would have to fight, but I had no clue it would be against Torque. I’ll teach you how to protect yourself as best you can. Your goal is to take the least amount of damage as possible. Do you know how to throw a punch?” When she didn’t answer right away, I looked up from my task. Her head had a slight tilt, and she looked at me with an expression I couldn’t quite place. I softened my tone, thinking the reality might be setting in.

“Ryan, I need answers, babe. Can you throw a punch? I don’t need you breaking your hand in there too.” My thumb rubbed across the top of her knuckles. She wouldn’t even get the opportunity to land a punch on Torque, but I didn’t want to tell her that.

“Gunner, I think I’ll be okay.”

Her voice was soft, and it felt like she was trying to console me. God, she had no clue how bad this was about to be. Shaking my head, I pulled out the tequila I’d bought for her from under the chair and pushed it into her hands.

“Take a swig. It will help with the nerves. And watch what I do with my hands when Dex tries to punch me. Okay?”

Dex and I demonstrated some basic blocking. We both knew that it was more for moral support than anything else. The girl was fucking screwed, and my stomach was in knots over it. Before I was ready, I heard Pres get into the ring and begin announcing the main event.

“Are you ready for fight fucking night? We have a very special fight for you tonight. A Los Muertos member thinks that she is worthy of riding alongside a Skeleton!”

The roar from the crowd was deafening, causing me to wince. Just what she needed, more intimidation.

“So…do I get a walk-out song or some shit?” she asked.

“Ryan, fucking focus,” I barked. “You need to be thinking about staying alive, not what T-Swift song you’ll play.”

She smirked at my answer, not even remotely fazed. “T-Swift, Gunner? Someone is a fan if that’s what you call her.”

I threw my arms up in exasperation.

This girl is fucking clueless, and this is going to be a bloodbath.

My attention was drawn to the cage. Torque walked in, hyping the crowd up for the fight. He was our newest patched member, but he had been around the club since he was a kid. He wasn’t as big as Dex and me, but at six feet and two hundred pounds, he was massive compared to Ryan. The woman looked like she wasn’t much bigger than five-two and a buck thirty.