The Devil You Know - K.B. Winters Page 0,22
multi-colored circles all around the fifteen thousand seat arena. Corporate sponsors had done an incredible job of making sure their logos were plastered everywhere since they’d paid a handsome fee for the privilege.
We estimated this night would reach upwards of fifty million people.
And billions of dollars.
Everything was perfect.
Just fucking perfect.
Except the strange feeling I had that I was being watched. All night I’d had this annoying sensation that I’d chalked up to nerves but here inside the ring, I felt vulnerable. Trapped. Hunted.
It made sense to feel watched since every ticket had sold out and all the comps had been claimed at will call. That meant fifteen-thousand fight fans and another thousand or so workers, vendors and suits milling about. It’s just nerves, I tried to convince myself, shaking said nerves loose through my hands. The presence of the TV crew was throwing me off. The pay-per-view deal meant more money than we’d ever got for one night, and that had to be what was getting to me.
It had to be that because I didn’t have the time or the patience for it to be anything else.
“Thank you, Ms. Ashby.” Another assistant or producer in a headset explained the pacing for the three headlining fights but I barely heard a word. “We’ll get a commercial or two in between rounds,” he said and I nodded as if I was paying attention.
I wasn’t, because directly in my line of sight but probably a few hundred feet away, was Terry Manning. Decked out in a black suit that made his blond hair blonder and his pale skin paler, he looked hot as hell. Way too hot for my already scattered, restless brain. In his usual getup of jeans and a blazer, Terry was irresistible. In that suit, I felt the edges of my lace panties start to smolder.
“Fuck.”
“Excuse me?”
“I said fuck,” I blurted out to the producer and turned away from that knowing, teasing smirk, and back to the person talking. “Just thinking out loud. Anything else I need to know?”
“Uh, no.”
“Great. Thanks.” The first fight would start soon and I needed to check on a few more things. Taking my time on the steps, I didn’t see Travis Stone until it was too late.
“Kat, you’re looking beautiful and harried this evening.”
I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face because Travis really was a likable guy. “Thank you, Travis, that was almost a full compliment.”
He shrugged. “I’m sure you get plenty as it is. May I escort you to your seat?”
I shook my head and took his arm. “I’ll escort you, but I still have a few more things to do before fists start to fly.”
His laugh was deep and full bodied, like a man who laughed a lot. “The most incredible part of watching a fight this close up. Barbaric and invigorating.”
I tilted my head up at him and laughed. “You are a strange man, Travis.”
“From you, I’ll take that as a compliment.” To the outside observer we looked like two attractive people flirting, but Travis really was just a fun guy to be around. “I know you have to rush off,” he said, “but I have an idea for a fight app that I would love to run by you, when the time is right.”
“Yeah? You have all my contact info and even if you didn’t, I’m sure you could get it, Spy King.”
At my words, Travis threw his head back and laughed, drawing stares from all around us. “I look forward to it, Kat.”
“Enjoy the fight. Maisie is just over there if you have any questions, or strange needs.” I gave a little wave and then rushed off to make sure the doors were unlocked for the big splashy entrance of the final six fighters of the night.
Time continued to fly and I couldn’t shake the feeling I was being watched, which was ridiculous because I was surrounded by tens of thousands of people. Some of them were bound to be staring, but no matter how hard I tried to convince myself of that, I didn’t believe it. But each time I turned to spot someone, there was no one there. At least no one who stood out.
“You’re doing too much, Princess.” Terry’s out of the blue appearance actually startled me. Okay, he scared me enough that my heart raced with an all too familiar sensation. Fear.
“Whoa, you all right?” he said when he saw my reaction.
The hot singe of his hands on my shoulders settled me