Dark Horse (12 page)

I walked out of the apartment and left him there. I could finally let out my frustrations as I sat in the limo by myself on the way back to my suite. My thumb rested in betw
een my teeth. Henry was proving to be more of an enigma than I was expecting. When I got back into my suite, I ordered Octavio to make me a drink so that I could forget about what had just happened. He took a seat on the couch next to me while I did my best to ignore him.

“
Is something wrong, Ms. Zara?” he asked me.

“
It’s… It’s Henry. He’s not complying with my wishes.”

“
He no longer wants to fight for you?”

“
Not that, you idiot. I mean he doesn’t want… he doesn’t seem to have any interest in me.”

“
He’s a fool. Ms. Zara—”

“
Spare me, Octavio. I’m not in the mood.”

I gulped my drink down and tried to let the alcohol make me forget about how frustrated I was. I stood up from my sofa and paced back and forth.

“He will make you a lot of money,” Octavio said to me. “Isn’t that what’s most important?”

I stopped walking back and forth and finally regained my senses. I looked at Octavio then nodded.

“You’re right,” I said. “Henry is going to make me a lot of money, especially since he doesn’t look like a fighter any more. Yes, that’s it. I’ll get to see him fight.”

“
Will the arena be opening tonight, Ms. Zara?”

“
Yes, of course it will. The Pit will be open for business like it always is. And make sure everybody knows that Wilson is coming to fight. They need to get excited to drive the odds.”

“
As you wish, Ms. Zara.”

Octavio left me in my suite to let it be known that
I would be at The Pit tonight. It never failed to get me out of a bad mood. Watching two men use everything in their power to try and please me with their fighting prowess was the only medicine for the mood I was in.

Chapter 13 - Lanea

A night at The Pit didn’t help me like I had hoped. My thoughts continued to wander. Watching the men do everything they could to please me wasn’t enough for me to get my thoughts off of Henry. I had fighters before. But he was different. And I was going to do everything I could to get to the bottom of it.

I called Maxwell and had him come into my suite early the next morning. I was lounging on my sofa when Maxwell made his way in with Octavio. Despite recently coming into a good amount of money, Maxwell still managed
to come off like the cheap hustler I always knew him as.

“
Hey, Lanea,” he said to me. “What’s going on?”

He stood there in front of me while I did my best to look as uninterested as I could.

“I want to talk about Henry,” I said.

“
Henry? What about him? Is something wrong? Is this about his fight with Wilson? He’s in the gym right now and—”

“
This isn’t about the fight. The fight’s still on and I know that Henry will beat him.”

“
Then I don’t know what this is about…”

“
Maxwell, where exactly did you find Henry?”

“
Well, I…”

Maxwell hesitated for a moment. I turned my head and glared at him, narrowing my eyes. Maxwell sighed then shrugged his shoulders.

“I found him where I usually find these guys,” he explained. “They’re out on the street just trying to make a buck or two. He stepped up and took a fight. Fought unlike anybody I’d ever seen before.”

“
Maxwell, is there something you’re not telling me?”

“
Lanea…”

I got up from my seat and slowly started to walk forward to him. Maxwell looked at me confused.

“I don’t know what you’re asking,” he said to me.

“
So he’s just some guy on the street who just happened to be looking for a fight?”

“
That’s right.”

“
Okay. Now tell me something else, Maxwell. Why was he so reluctant to fight in the first place? Why did he suddenly change his mind?”

“
Lanea—”

“
Tell me, Maxwell.”

I stared hard at him, grinding my teeth while he continued to look confused at me.

“He’s fighting because I laid out the terms you’d set. He didn’t want to fight because he was afraid of getting hurt. But when he realized how much money he could make, he knew that he didn’t have a choice.”

“
That’s it?”

“
That’s it.”

I wasn
’t sure if Maxwell was telling me the truth but I thought it was pointless to try and get it out of him. The fact that Henry continued to turn me down let me know that he was hiding something or someone from me.

“
What else do you know about him?” I asked.

“
I don’t really know much. He lives by himself in some rundown apartment. He was trying to find a job when I found him. He’s not as complicated as you might think he is.”

“
And what makes you think I’m thinking that way?”

“
Because you’re asking me so many questions about him.”

I turned aro
und and headed toward the window of my suite. I looked down upon the city, still unhappy with the answers Maxwell had given me.

“
Where is he right now?” I asked.

“
He’s at the gym. I was watching him train. He’s working real hard, Lanea. He’s making some real progress.”

“
Tell him that I want to see him as soon as he’s finished.”

“
I’ll let him know—”

“
Tell him this is about business. Otherwise, he’ll get the wrong idea.”

“
It’s all about business, Lanea.”

I turned around and Maxwell nodded his head to me befor
e leaving. I sat in my suite and waited for the hours to pass until I would see Henry again. Octavio provided me little entertainment while I waited. I eventually received a phone call from Maxwell telling me that Henry was on his way. I felt a little bit of excitement building in the pit of my stomach.

I prepared for his arrival as best I could. I put on a petite black dress that showed off my figure perfectly. I had some people come in to do my hair and makeup just right. Then I stepped into a pair of hee
ls and waited for him to arrive. The door opened and Octavio stepped in with Henry just behind him.

I watched Henry
’s eyes as he glanced at my body. It was only for a second. That’s all I needed to know that there was
some
blood running through his veins. I hid the smile that was beginning to creep on my face and looked him up and down. Henry stood there in a pair of sweats and a loose t-shirt. His clothes were dark and matched his face as every inch of him was covered in sweat.

“
What’s this?” I said as I held my hand out to him.

“
What?”

“
This. I bought you a new wardrobe and you step into my suite dressed like that.”

“
I just got back from the gym and—”

“
Did you forget what the hell we were trying to do? You’re supposed to look like a pretty boy, not some guy who actually knows what he’s doing. People are going to see you and get the wrong idea.”

I raised my voice at him. I suppose it was because I had grown frustrated with our current relationship. Henry was defying most of my orders at nearly every turn.

I went through all this trouble for you and you didn’t even bother dressing up. Why am I even trying any more?

“
Well, you’re going to have to change,” I said to him. “Hurry up and clean yourself up.”

“
Where are we going?”

“
Dinner, Henry. We’re going to have dinner. There are a lot of people,
rich
people, who are going to see us together. When they do, they’ll put all of their money on Wilson. Just as we planned all along. Remember?”

“
Yeah. I—”

“
The bathroom is that way. I’ll have Octavio pick some of your clothes up. Just go.”

I didn
’t know why I was so upset at him. All of my frustrations must have finally been boiling over. Henry didn’t seem to mind. He ignored most of my displeasure and disappeared into the bathroom. I sat on my sofa and sipped on a drink while I listened to the sound of the shower. I would have answered my curiosity about what he looked like completely naked but I decided that I would play along with him. This was about business. It was always about business. I had to keep it that way.

Henry stepped out of the shower and got dressed in the outfit Octavio had picked out for him. Henry stood there in a black suit that was tailored just for his body. He looked better than he did just the other day because hi
s hair was freshly washed. I stood up from my seat and walked over to him, examining him closely.

“
Good,” I said. “Now let’s go.”

Henry and I headed in my limo to a restaurant in the city. It was one of the few spots that I knew a lot of bettors liked to f
requent. When we stepped out of the limo, a few photographers were there to take photos of us for the tabloids. I wrapped my arm around Henry’s as we walked in.

“
Remember,” I whispered into his ear. “You’re not a fighter. You’re just arm candy. So try to look good.”

Henry didn
’t say anything. He just continued to walk rigidly with me into the restaurant. As soon as we stepped in, we were greeted by a man I had seen many times before.

“
Lanea, so good to see you,” the man said to me.

“
It’s nice to see you, too, Lucas.”

Lucas was an old man who
’d made his fortune by buying up smaller companies before they outgrew his own. I didn’t even know what he did at this point. I only knew that he had several business involved in different sectors that resulted in millions of dollars in his bank accounts. But he was in the fight game for the same reason I was: It was just another high.

He had a lot of energy for a man his age. His male pattern baldness had taken away most of the white hairs still on his head but he still m
anaged to smile like nothing was wrong. I suppose he had every reason to smile. He wasn’t the most handsome man in the world but dressing in a suit and having a lot of money in his pocket was enough to draw female interest. A lot of women in this social circle tend to overlook things like wrinkles and liver spots.

“
And who is this strapping young lad?” he said as he looked Henry up and down.

“
Lucas, I’d like you to meet Henry,” I said to him. “He’s a new friend of mine.”

“
New friend? Well, it’s not often you make a new friend, Lanea. You do look somewhat familiar though, Henry.”

Lucas narrowed his eyes and looked closely at Henry
’s face. I did the same and noticed that some of the bruises on his face hadn’t completely healed. There were some things soap couldn’t wash away.

“
I was in the arena a few nights ago,” Henry said. “Just one fight.”

“
Ah, yes!” Lucas said, nodding his head. “That’s it. A dubious performance but you got the win. Some might say you were playing possum and just toying with the poor kid. A hustle, the young kids would call it.”

“
Now, Lucas,” I interrupted him. “You know that I would never fix any of my fights. You always see the better fighter win.”

“
Of course, Ms. Zara. What was I thinking?”

I chuckled along with Lucas before
I excused myself. I tugged on Henry’s arm and we headed toward our table in the corner of the restaurant, secluded from everyone else. Henry sat across from me, his posture rigid and formal as it always was.

“
Relax,” I said to him.

“
What?”

“
You’re as stiff as a board.”

“
What does that matter, Lanea?”

“
Listen, Henry. I don’t care what you do in the gym or the ring. But when you’re with me, you can’t act like some kind of machine. When they see you fight, you want them to think that you’re going to lose. You’re not a robot for goodness sake.”

“
Fine.”

He exhaled a sharp breath and drooped lower in his seat. Despite his best efforts, he still manag
ed to look like he was sitting up straight. It must have been because of his broad shoulders and the way his suit fit on his body. For some reason, the sight was comical to me and I started to laugh.

“
What’s so funny?” he asked me.

“
Nothing,” I said while I did my best to contain my amusement. “I guess you can’t help it…”

“
Help what?”

“
You still look like a robot.”

“
I don’t know what else you want from me, Lanea.”

“
I… I’m sorry. It’s just odd.”

Did I just apologize to him? What are you doing, Lanea? You can
’t talk to him like that.

I shook my head and tried to ignore everything I just said to him. The waiter arrived and I instructed him to bring something appropriate for a man who had just finished a hard workout. When he left, we were once again alone with
one another. Henry looked down at the table, unmoving. I was about to sigh at the sight of him but stopped myself.

“
So, tell me something, Henry.”

“
What?”

“
Tell me something about yourself.”

“
Why do you need to know that?”

“
I’m only curious, Henry. Is that all right with you?”

“
Why does that matter? What does it have to do with our business relationship?”

I couldn
’t help but smirk at his response. I had never met someone who was so defiant with me. Of course, I’d never admit that. I kept everything I could away from Henry. After all, he was right. This
was
a business relationship.

“
Is there any harm in me knowing a little bit more about you?” I asked. “What if I wanted to get to know you better? Have you considered that possibility?”

“
There’s no need for us to be friends, Lanea.”

“
You’re right. But that doesn’t mean we can’t be. Come on, Henry.”

“
Fine. You want to know something about me then you tell me something about yourself.”

“
Ha! That’s a laugh. Everything you could possibly know about me is in the newspapers.”