Maze (The Ballerina Series #2) by Ursula Sinclair Read Free Book Online Page A

didn’t
hold back.”
    A
thought occurred to me. “Wait. Is that why they changed fighters for the second
part? After the first guy got hurt I didn’t understand why the fight wasn’t
called then.”
    He
nodded. “Normally it would have been but it wasn’t a normal fight. So they put
in a replacement.”
    “Yeah,
one who had your uncle furious? I looked at Mr. Tsang’s face when they made the
announcement.”
    “Yes.
Even though there aren’t many rules in the arena, that particular fighter who
challenged me pays attention to none of them. He’s been banned from most of the
underground groups, because of the way he fights. To kill or maim. But when I
faced him I couldn’t focus on any of that because I wasn’t going to lose. Not
with you sitting in the audience.”
    “Don’t
say that.”
    “Why?
It’s true.”
    I
hugged him to me. “I don’t care. I never want you to fight again.”
    “I’m
not. I told you that was my last fight. Uncle Tsang and Joe have seen to that.”
    “So
what happens now? Since you didn’t throw the fight. Is that why we have the
bodyguards? Are you in trouble?”
    He
shook his head. “That’s just Uncle Tsang being extra careful. They’re there as
more of a statement. Uncle Tsang is part of the group that regulates these
fights. It’s his way of letting them know that he supports me, and my decision
to fight clean. Besides, the fact my gym will be open to all will ensure they
leave me alone.”
    Now
it was my turn to shake my head. “Wow. This is just not a world I really
understand.”
    He
kissed my forehead. “No worries, babe. You shouldn’t, and you won’t have to.
It’s all good now.”
    On
the one hand, I understood Maze withheld information from me in order to
protect me. But on the other hand… “I’m not a child, Maze. I get it, okay? And
I understand that you can’t go into details with me about what you were
involved in. Or even your uncle’s involvement. I get that he might operate in a
way requiring bodyguards. But I want us to be a normal couple with a normal
life. Well, as normal as a dancer who might not dance again and an ex-MMA
fighter can be.”
    I
reached up to him and placed both hands on the sides of his perfectly chiseled
face. “That means no more secrets. I believe you when you say you’re out. But
we need to be honest with each other. Otherwise what we have isn’t real. We
can’t rely on each other if we don’t have faith in one another.” At my words
his body tensed against mine. “Are you in danger because you didn’t do what
these people wanted? And don’t you dare repeat what you just said. Tell me the
truth.”

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
    Chapter Six
    Maze

    God
I loved her. I raised my hands and placed them over hers. Twining our fingers
together, I placed our joined hands in her lap. How did I answer her so she
didn’t run away from me? I couldn’t lose her. Without her beside me, I would
only be taking up space. She gave my life meaning. But at the same time I still
had to protect her. Even if it was from myself.
    I
took a deep breath. “I’m not sure. And that’s the truth. It’s also true that
Uncle Tsang is trying to handle this in a way that I’ll be left alone. I don’t
know the details nor do I want to know. Nor do you.”
    She
leaned forward and kissed me then pulled back. “Thank you. And no more running
away and trying to shelter me. Whatever is going on just let me know. We are in
this together, okay? That’s what loving someone is about. Going through the
good and the bad. When…when Shelly died you tried to be there for me and I
withdrew. Closed in on myself.”
    I
froze. The fact she brought up Shel after all these years like this was huge
for us. I always felt one reason she pulled away from me was because she blamed
me somewhat for what happened. And I stayed away from her because I knew the
harshness of the life I was getting involved in. I didn’t try hard enough to
reach across the miles