Chapter Three

D erek could have winced at Gina’s choice of words, his body reacting with a jolt of awareness that had nothing to do with brawling and everything to do with clothes-ripping, no-holds-barred sex.

“You gonna stand there all day with that shit-eating grin on your face, or are we going to dance?” she asked, an amused smile on her face.

Dance. Yeah, he’d like to dance with her, all right.

He turned to them and said, “First we run. The length of the island and back. Then after I wear you out, we’ll see what you’ve got left. What I want everyone to do is run side by side with the team member I assigned you to. Don’t run any faster than your partner. If they slow, then you slow. If your partner speeds up, then you’d better keep pace. The idea is to keep up with your partners, but don’t exhaust them if you’re a little faster. You don’t want to run your team member into the ground, but you don’t want to cut them too much slack, either. Play off each other’s strengths but be mindful of weaknesses. Compensate for each other. You have ten minutes to warm up. Then line up at the starting point over there.” He pointed.

He almost laughed at the way they scrambled to the ground to stretch. When he turned to look at Gina, she had a wide smile on her face as she assessed his body.

“What?” he asked.

“Well, I know I’m in shape. But judging from the cigars you like to suck on and the way you inhaled those beers on the boat, I’d say you’ll have a pretty tough time keeping up. And you look like you carry about two-twenty, two-twenty-five on six foot three or so, which means I can’t pick you up or drag you.”

The woman was ballsy, he gave her that. “You think I can’t keep up with you?”

“Yeah.”

He laughed. “Try me.”

“I intend to.”

She was a smart-ass. He really liked smart-ass women. “Bet?”

“How much?”

“Baby, it’s a guarantee I can’t put up the money you can. I’m not a movie star. So it’ll have to be something else.”

She rested her hands on her hips and thrust her breasts out. She damn well did that on purpose! It worked, too. His dick twitched.

Down, boy.

“Name it,” she said.

He couldn’t help but think about exactly what he’d want for a prize. Gina underneath him, naked, their bodies entwined, their mouths meeting and tongues meshing in a hot tangle. Instead, he said, “How about winner calls?”

“Fine,” she said. “If I win, you toss those smelly cigars in the nearest trash.” To emphasize her point, she jammed her finger in his chest and punctuated her statement. “Every single one of them.”

Damn. Then again, he had no intention of losing. “You got it. And if I win, you start out the game fifty points behind.”

She shrugged. “Since I don’t intend to come in second, that’s almost too easy. You’ve got yourself a bet. Prepare to kiss your stogies good-bye.” She held out her hand and he slapped his hand in hers.

Good girl. She hadn’t even flinched. But she was still going to lose. “Prepare to start the game with points in the hole, Miss Bliss.” Easiest bet he ever made. He had stamina and plenty of it, enough to hold his own.

Her eyes sparkled like sunlit sapphires. “In an hour I’ll be dragging your sorry ass across the finish line.”

While she stretched, he made sure everyone else was ready, then they set up at the marker Louis had prepared. Lou shook his head. “Do you really have time for these childish games?”

“Just a way to stay in shape.”

“If you say so.”

They lined up into position and Lou fired the gun to set them off. Derek set the pace, though it seemed even in this Gina wanted to compete with him, running a bit ahead. Let her exhaust herself. He’d already marked the length of the island and knew how long it was. No way was he going to blow his wad on the front end. Besides, she had to stay in line with him and it pissed her off they were running behind the others.

She needed to learn patience in this game.

Olivia, Shay, and Trace had the lead. Jake and Ryder were in second place, with him and Gina in last. And she was steaming mad. He grinned and slowed the pace even further, figuring he knew exactly what the other groups were capable of.

“Would you kindly move your ass before I get behind you and kick it?”

He could almost hear her grinding her teeth. “I’m moving said ass as fast as I can,” he said, not even slightly winded yet. “But you know, those cigars make it kind of hard to breathe.”

“I swear to God if we lose this race I will sneak into your cabana while you’re sleeping and slice your balls off.”

“A little competitive, are we?” He liked that about her. And she hated to lose—that would help with what they were going to face in the future. If she stayed around that long.

But he did have to start moving his ass. The others were pulling ahead, even Jake. And Olivia was a runner, so they had to start putting some spark into this, and now. He stepped it up a notch, hoping Gina would soon have a little trouble keeping up when he started pushing it.

She didn’t.

Dammit.

In fact, she acted as if she’d like him to put a lot more effort into it.

Okay, he was getting winded when they reached the end of the island and made the turn. Not bad, but it was hot outside and he was really cranking it to keep this pace.

She was sweating as much as he was, her clothing completely drenched.

But she was smiling.

And didn’t look one bit uncomfortable.

She probably did those aerobics classes every day, perspiring happily to music at the gym.

But he could keep up just fine. He’d handled much worse than this, and by God he was setting this pace, not her, so he slowed it down a little. They were far enough ahead of the others by now they could afford to relax a bit.

“Getting tired?” she asked, arching a brow as she jogged circles around him.

“No, I’m fine. Just don’t want to demoralize the other teams on the first day so I’m cutting back a little.”

“Uh-huh.”

Okay, so she was in better shape than he gave her credit for. That didn’t mean she could hold her own in the game. No comparison.

He sped up when they reached the halfway point on the way back.

“Ready to sprint?” she asked. “There is the bet.”

He was so ready to subtract those points next to her name. “You’re on.”

Sucking in air, he forced his lungs to work, making his feet pound the sand and dig for each step as they made their way down the path until each breath burned like fire in his chest, each step resulting in a knifelike stab of pain in his shins.

Concentrate. Almost there. Can’t give up. He’d never let her win. As soon as he was sure he was ahead, he’d catch her out of the corner of his eye, her braid slapping against her breast as she pulled forward. Maybe just by inches, but still she’d get in front of him.

Sonofabitch, the woman was inhuman!

Finally, the finish line became visible. Sweat poured into his eyes like a waterfall over his head. He brushed it away with the back of his hand, the grit from the dirt on his hands blinding him. He pulled his shirt up to swipe it away which only made it worse. He blinked once, twice, and despite his blurry vision knew he had a clear shot at winning, but then he bumped something and his feet got tangled. What the hell? Was it a vine or was it Gina’s foot?

Shit! The world suddenly spun as he lost his balance, skidded, tripped, and fell flat on his face, eating a mouthful of the island in the process.

“Get up, goddammit!”

His mouth full of sand and his eyes burning like hell, he felt hands at the back of his shirt, helping to pull him up with a sense of urgency and surprising strength. Blinded, he let her lead him as she literally dragged him by the scruff of the neck the last few feet and threw him over the finish line and back onto the ground. He landed like a beached whale, once again face first into sand and dirt.

He spit and choked his way into a half sitting position, feeling like half the island had settled in his lungs as he wheezed and coughed it out, trying to breathe.

“Well, that certainly wasn’t one of your more stellar moments.”

The sound of Lou’s amused voice didn’t help. “Bite me. I tripped.”

Thank God he was still blinded by the sand in his eyes. He sat back and reached for the hem of his shirt, trying to wipe his face.

“See if this will help.”

He sputtered as ice cold water fell onto his head, though it didn’t feel all that bad considering his body was nearly melting. When he could see again, he wished for the nirvana of temporary blindness. He looked up to see Gina standing over him, looking smug and victorious with an empty pitcher in her hand. Surrounding her were the rest of the contestants and Lou, with an I-told-you-so look on his face.

Derek would never, ever live this down. Sonofabitch!

Gina squatted down to his level, her face even with his. “I think you owe me some cigars.”

“You tripped me.”

“Whiner.”

“I’m not whining. You cheated.” Okay, he did sound like a sore loser. But hell, he’d been blinded by sweat, otherwise he’d never have lost that race to her.

“Don’t we have a competition to prepare for?”

He almost hated her right now. And at the same time admired her guts and determination. She’d kicked his ass! Not many people could say that.

Score one for Gina.

 

Okay, maybe Gina had gotten in front of him a little during their race the first day while the sweat had been dripping down his face. Maybe their feet had gotten tangled and he’d fallen facedown in the sand, allowing her to drag him the last few inches across the finish line. Wasn’t her fault he was so damn sweaty.

And he had promised to give up the cigars. Who knew he’d be so grumpy about it? Twenty-four hours later she was battered, bruised, and damn near bone-crushingly exhausted from the paces he’d put them all through. And the rest of the competitors looked at her like it was all her fault they’d been worked so hard, sweat dripping down their faces as they ended yet another skirmish, this time hand-to-hand combat with bamboo poles. Hell, she thought it had been fun, even though right now her biceps were screaming in agony.

How could it be her fault? She was just as tired as they were, had worked just as hard as they all had. And Derek was putting himself through the same grueling punishments. He worked them from sunup to sundown, abusing just about every conceivable one of their muscle groups until they crawled into their bungalows at night and collapsed. Then that infernal bell rang at daybreak, signaling another day of torture.

“If he pulls one more competition today, I’m going to find a way to kill him while he sleeps,” Shay growled, scrunching her shoulders and tilting her head from side to side. “My personal trainer never worked me this hard.”

Gina nodded. “I always had punishing workouts before a shoot. But never this bad.” Though she’d never admit that within earshot of Derek. And she really did enjoy this. Seemed like Derek did, too.

“You having fun?” Trace said, pushing wet blond hair out of his eyes.

“Yeah, I am, actually. How about you?”

He shrugged. “Just another day of sweat and work. I could be at home doing this.”

She laughed. “Oh, but it’s tropical. Think of it as a vacation.”

He snorted and grabbed a bottle of water, unscrewing the lid and downing the contents in a few loud gulps before tossing the plastic carcass in a nearby trash can. “I could be on a lake fishing with a six-pack of beers and a couple sheilas to keep me company. Honey, this is no vacation.”

She rolled her eyes at him and looked at Shay. “Okay, so maybe not everyone is having a good time.”

 

Relocating to another island later that afternoon came as a huge surprise, but once they did, it all made sense. Where once they’d occupied a crackerbox, now they anchored offshore a gigantic spread of absolute paradise.

Gina had wondered how they were supposed to hide and flush out demons on the first island when they’d occupied such a narrow strip of land with sparse trees, barely any camouflage, and no hills to speak of. They might as well have painted a target sign on their chests and waited for the demons to come after them.

This new island was breathtaking, and she suddenly wanted a vacation. Time to hike the impossible hills peppered with tall, dense trees, explore the weathered mountain ranges they sailed by, and dive off the ship and delve into the secret sea caves located on the map Derek showed them.

Green valleys were carved along the sides of the mountains, thick emerald grass just waiting to be explored.

She’d never wanted to see the sights before, just take time to explore an island leisurely. Now she did.

And now she couldn’t.

But damn, this was an island!

“You’ll get your chance,” Derek said in answer to her unspoken thoughts. “I can see you’re itching to get off this boat and investigate.”

“Maybe,” she said, mentally drooling over the scenery.

“You don’t strike me as the vacation sort.”

She turned to him. “What does that mean?”

He shrugged. “Just that you’re not the type to lay around and do nothing but soak up the sun. Bet you’re an explorer. You crave adventure.”

“You’re right.” She looked out over the island. “I’d love to backpack into those hills. Look how the clouds dip down over the peaks. The view from up there must be incredible.”

“Maybe you’ll get a chance to do some hiking.”

“Really?” Excitement filled her. “Will the games take us that far out?”

“Can’t say,” he replied with a wink.

Dammit. He was good at keeping secrets.

As soon as they dropped anchor, they climbed aboard the Zodiac power boat and zoomed onto the white sand beach, where they were shown to their private bungalows, well within the depths of the island.

Even the cabanas here were more opulent than the ones on the first island. This place really was a paradise. A strange combination of rustic and lavish with a true tropical feel. The cabanas were luxurious, with crisp white sheets and bamboo walls, fans made out of palm-shaped wicker casting a balmy breeze over her flushed skin as she unpacked. She scanned the room, wishing she could strip naked and roll out on the sheets.

A flare of desire struck her at the thought of another body joining her on that bed. Not just any body, either, but Derek. His strong hands skimming her naked flesh, learning the secrets to her body, slipping between her legs and massaging the aching throb that had been present there since she’d met him.

How long had it been since a man had touched her, since she’d experienced the sweet release she so desperately craved? How long since she’d zeroed in on one specific man to cater to her desires?

Never, actually. No man had ever struck her so profoundly as Derek, had ever awakened her fantasies in such a fast and furious way. She shuddered at the visual of sweat-soaked sheets and writhing bodies undulating in this tropical paradise, sliding her hand between her breasts to feel the humidity moistening there. She closed her eyes, imagining Derek behind her, slowly stripping the clothes from her body, his lips touching every place her hands touched now. She palmed the back of her neck and lifted the heavy tendrils of her hair, shivering at the imagined feel of warm, masculine lips licking the back of her neck.

He hit her hot buttons, no doubt about it. Infuriated her, definitely. But did he ever light her up and turn her on.

The man would be an animal in bed. He’d be the kind to take what he wanted, not like some of the men she’d been with who’d been too afraid to even touch her.

Derek would touch her. He’d demand, ravage. She could already imagine what he’d be like. Hungry to get his hands on her breasts, to slide his cock between her legs and take possession of her.

She slid her hand down, desperate to quell the throbbing ache between her thighs.

“You ready? It’s time to go.”

Her eyes shot open and she jerked her hand away, turning to see Derek leaning against the open doorway. Her mind was drenched in thoughts of him, her body awash in the sensation of his imagined touch. It was as if he’d stepped right out of her fantasies, appearing there to make her dreams come true. Dressed all in black as usual, he wore a sleeveless shirt that showed off all his muscled areas. She fought to form words, her head still in a daze over this idiotic fantasy or vision or whatever the hell it was she couldn’t seem to shake off.

“Gina.”

“Huh?”

“I asked if you were ready.”

“Uh, yeah.” God, was she ever ready. But what she wanted wasn’t going to happen. Sucking in a mind-clearing breath, she headed toward the door, but he blocked her.

“Something wrong?”

“No. Let’s go.”

Instead, she found herself staring into a brick wall of broad chest. She forced herself to keep her hands at her sides, but what she really wanted was to explore his body, to touch her lips to his neck and lick his skin. Would he be salty or sweet?

What the hell was the matter with her?

“Something’s spooked you. Your face is flushed. What is it?”

“Nothing.” Everything. Go away. She hated feeling.

“Look at me.”

Though it was stupid, she didn’t want to look at him. It was difficult enough grappling with her emotions and her libido right now, let alone having to make eye contact with her current sex fantasy.

Mind over matter, Gina. She tilted her head back and stared into curious gray eyes. God, she could get lost in smoky eyes like that. Such depth and mystery in them. His face was a never-ending source of interest to her. She wanted to trace his crooked nose and the chiseled planes of his cheeks and jaw, then slide her fingertips around his full mouth.

All while he rocked inside her and whispered wicked, naughty things to her.

Jeeeeesus! She shook her head and stepped back.

“Hello! Didn’t you say we needed to go?” Maybe if she pushed him he’d want to argue and quit giving her that look like he was concerned. She liked him wanting to beat the crap out of her a lot more than looking concerned about her.

“You’re acting strange.”

“So are you. Now let’s go.” Before she really did jump him.

“You’re a pain in the ass sometimes, Bliss.”

“So are you, Marks.”

“And what’s up with that name?”

“What’s wrong with it?”

“Is it your real name?”

She wasn’t about to tell him her real name. “So what if it is?”

“Bliss?” He moved aside and let her pass, then stepped beside her as they moved out onto the path and headed into the jungle. “It sounds like a porn star’s name.”

“Bite me.” The spell was broken and she felt normal again, that weird heated moment gone. Thank God. For a second there she might have actually considered acting on her fantasies.

They finally arrived at a clearing where Louis awaited them. Derek added his torch to the others that outlined the circle in which they stood.

Once everyone was assembled and seated, Louis stepped in the center of their circle, the camera crew hit the lights, and film began to roll. Gina watched the competitors squint and turn away, but to her, lights and cameras were second nature. She ignored them and focused on Louis.

“It’s time for the game to begin. I know you think this is going to be fun, but there is danger about. There are demons on this island, hiding, lurking, and prepared to at tack. If you are ‘killed,’ you will be asked to leave this is land and you will forfeit your prize. For every skirmish you win, you will be given points. Points will be amassed on the board over there.”

Derek stepped up. “Game rules. Pay attention.”

Mercifully, they had all passed the torturous conditioning tests and it was finally time to get to the rules of the game. Gina would have whooped for joy if she had any strength left. She’d worked with some of the best trainers Hollywood had to offer, had even done a conditioning stint with the Army Rangers to prep for one of her movies. And she had to admit, she’d never gone through a more punishing workout than what she’d endured under Derek.

He was good. Damn good. Her body ached in places she didn’t even know she had. Poor Jake was limping, Shay and Olivia weren’t in much better shape than she was, and Trace and Ryder had spent most of the day groaning. The others were mostly mute but they had continuously shot Derek some evil glares. It’s almost as if they took his conditioning drills like a personal affront.

Behind Derek was a covered tabletop. He yanked off the canvas covering, revealing some interesting-looking rifles and pistols.

“These are laser tag weapons, only a lot more sophisticated. The demons you’re going to be hunting will wear targets, which will react when hit with the laser beam at various designated kill points on their bodies.”

Gina’s gaze shot to Jake, who was grinning like a little kid let loose at Toys “R” Us. Lasers. Figured. So much for her theory he didn’t belong. Hell, he was going to kick their butts.

“Kill zones are their heads and upper torso. Hit a kill zone and you score a hundred points. A hit to the lower torso will score fifty points. Hitting arms or legs will score twenty-five points. Ten points for a hit on any other part of the body.

“High-scoring individual of the day gets double ammo the next day. Low score will have one more chance, but with only one-half ammo.”

Okay, this sounded like fun. She felt the adrenaline rush pumping through her system.

“You’ll start off in two teams of six. You’ll be given headsets and you’ll hunt and kill with your team. How ever, elimination and scoring will still be individual.

“Keep in mind you will also be scored on whether or not the demons can touch you. You will be given white shirts to wear, and all demons will be equipped with red markers. If a demon gets close enough to mark you, you’re automatically eliminated from the game. One of the prime objectives is to stay alert, your eyes and ears open at all times. You don’t ever want a demon to get close enough to touch you.”

Yikes! The game had just gotten tougher. “So not only do we have to hunt and track the demons in order to make a kill, we also have to be on the lookout for them springing up on us?”

“Yeah,” Derek said, a gleam in his eyes that she didn’t like one bit.

“Dayum,” Shay said. “This is going to be hard.”

“Of course it’s hard. If it was easy, what would be the point?” Derek challenged. “Lou and I will track your progress on a computer here at base camp. Each of your guns will be registered to your name and will record your weapons fire and your kills. We’ll also be in communication with you at all times via your headsets, so listen for instructions. The demons will be equipped with headsets and will call out the numbers written on your shirts if they get close enough to mark you for a kill. If you’re killed you’re to report back to base camp immediately.”

“That’s not gonna happen,” Ryder said, leaning back in his chair. “Not to me, anyway.”

“Me, either,” Trace said.

Of course then everyone said the same thing. Gina grinned. She imagined a lot of them felt that way right now. But someone was going to be eliminated. And it wasn’t going to be her.

“We’ll see, won’t we?” Derek said. “Anyone have any questions?”

One of the men, Gina thought it might be Dalton, spoke up. “We all going to be hunting in the same place?”

“No,” Derek replied. “Team A will hunt on the west side of the island, Team B on the east side. Your designated hunting zone will be well marked so you don’t get lost. It’s a pretty big jungle out there, so we’ve roped it off and marked it clearly to limit your hunting area. The demons must stay within the same bounds so there won’t be any surprises.”

What was the fun in that? “Why don’t you just give us GPS systems and let us find our way around?” Gina asked.

Derek arched a brow. “I don’t think you’re ready for that quite yet.”

“Try me.”

“Later. Let’s just stick to our game plan for the time being.”

Whatever. Roped-off area. How limiting.

“Anything else?” When no one came up with a question, he said, “Everyone get your gear on. First day is a practice run. No points will be scored and no one will be eliminated. You have thirty minutes to get ready.”

“Now?” Shay asked. “It’s getting dark.”

“We’ll run all the skirmishes in the dark,” Derek said. “Everyone will be given night-vision goggles. You’ll be able to see just fine once you adjust to them, but you’ll still have to learn to hunt in the dark. Got a problem with that?”

She held up her hands. “Not me. You’re the boss.” She walked away and whispered to Shay, “Is it just me, or does he seem unusually tense tonight?”

“It’s not you.” Gina had noticed it, too, and wondered why. Maybe it was just getting the game organized that ratcheted up his stress level. Couldn’t be easy coordinating all this, and in front of cameras, too. While it was second nature for her to be filmed, some people got jittery. She didn’t really know Derek’s background, but she’d bet it wasn’t in filmmaking. Maybe he was shy.

Right. The man didn’t have a shy bone in his body. He was brash, forward, in your face, and not at all hesitant. She’d just bet he was the kind of man to take charge everywhere and in everything he did.

Like in bed.

Her body heated up at the thought.

Stop that. Now was not the time. It would never be the right time, actually. She was here to do her job, and she made it a point to never get involved with fellow actors.

Not that Derek was a costar or anything, but he might as well be as far as this game was concerned. And that made him off-limits.

Face it, Gina. Every man is off-limits to you. Any man who makes you feel anything is off-limits. And God knows, in a couple days Derek Marks has sure as hell made you feel something.

She got in line for her gear, ignoring her body and her argumentative mind. So what if he was hot and she was horny? So what if she wanted him? There was no time for sex and relationships on this island or during this adventure, so she might as well get those thoughts out of her head.

She was safe from entanglements, from having to think.

From having to feel.

 

Derek stood by the table and handed out gear while Lou entered gun numbers of the participants in the computer.

It was damn hard to stand by and just watch when what he really wanted to do was participate. Even if this was just a game, it was at least practice, a way to keep his skills sharp.

Ah, hell, what he really wanted to do was burn off some excess energy, douse the fire Gina stoked inside him. When he’d come to her bungalow earlier, she’d been seemingly lost in thought, her hand absently trailing over her body. Watching a woman touch herself was the hottest goddamn thing he’d ever seen. And even though he shouldn’t have been watching, the hounds of Hell themselves couldn’t have torn him from that spot.

Her eyes closed, her lips parted, she’d been lost in some kind of fantasy, her fingertips trailing between her breasts on their way down her ribs and belly.

What had she been thinking about? He really wanted to know what she’d been thinking at that moment. And like an idiot, he’d had to stop her, just when her hand had been about to hit the sweet spot.

Dumbass.

But when he’d caught her attention and she’d cast her gaze his way, the look she’d given him had rocked him back on his heels.

Her eyes had been filled with heat, lust, and longing. He knew that feeling of hunger, and in that moment he’d felt it zing across the room like a strike of lightning between them. He wanted to grab her and pull her into his arms.

Somehow he doubted she would have objected.

So what had stopped him? The game? That he knew he shouldn’t mingle with the participants? Maybe it was the fear that he really didn’t know if he took that step exactly what he’d be stepping into.

Or quite possibly, if he touched her he wouldn’t be able to stop with just a touch. If he kissed her, he wouldn’t be satisfied with just one kiss.

He wanted inside her in the worst way.

She was beautiful, no doubt. Gorgeous, in fact. Spunky and challenging and strong and capable. But there was also a vulnerability about her that intrigued him, that made him want to sit down and talk with her, find out more than what was in her bio. Dig beyond the surface of Gina Bliss and find out how what happened to her all those years ago had shaped her.

And Derek wasn’t the kind of guy who wanted to spend time talking to women he was attracted to. But dammit, they all had demons in their past. He did, she did, they all did. Would be nice to just once sit down with someone and talk about it. Though there were other people around him who’d been through it. Why not talk to them? What made Gina so special?

Right. Like you’re a big fucking talker. You want to strip her naked and lick her all over, not talk to her.

“I want a big one.”

And suddenly, there she was, the last one in line and standing in front of him at the table. Yeah, he had a big one for her. A big one that was twitching in discomfort right now. He handed her a rifle. She arched a brow.

“I said a big one.”

At her dubious stare, he added, “Every weapon is alike as far as number of rounds and max distance, Gina. No one will start this game at a disadvantage. Trust me.”

“Why should I?”

She tilted her head, making him want to dive across the table and bury his lips against the smooth column of her throat. “Because I haven’t given you a reason not to.”

“I’ve heard that one before.” She took the weapon and the rest of her gear and strolled away without a word, joining the other competitors.

He wondered what she meant by that comment. Another Gina mystery. He didn’t want mysterious people on his team, which meant he was going to have to dig in and find out more about her—beyond just the file Lou had on her.

Oh, sure, he knew her background. He knew all their backgrounds. Hell, he knew more about these people than they knew about themselves. But it wasn’t his job to psychoanalyze what happened to them in the past and how they ended up at this place. It wasn’t his job to give them the “big revelation.” That was Lou’s deal.

His job was to make fighters out of them.

Of course Gina was right—he was lying to her, to all of them. So she really did have a good reason not to trust him, at least on the surface.

In fact, he’d bet some of these people were going to be pissed as hell when they discovered what this game was really about.

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