Free Fighting for Control (Against the Cage Book 3) by Melynda Price

intend to cooperate, it would only be under his terms. Which meant if she wanted to do her job and have any chance of going over his psych eval before his appointment tomorrow morning, she was going to have to concede another battle and go to Carboni’s to get those papers.
    At the thought of seeing Nikko tonight, little butterflies woke in the pit of her stomach. She quickly netted those traitorous little rascals by telling herself this was a business meeting only—a get-in-and-get-out mission. It wasn’t a date, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to dress up for him. Although those new skinny jeans she just bought did make her ass look pretty incredible, and if she wore them, then she had to wear her black boots with those pirate buckles. Damn, those butterflies were back, and this time there was no containing them.
    If she were smart, she would send Pen to get those papers. It’d serve him right for trying to manipulate her. But then the thought of Pen and Nikko having dinner together made her want to throw up. She may not be able to have Nikko herself, but that didn’t mean she was willing to hand him over to her friend. Nor did she think she could sit home all night, wondering what they were talking about, what they were doing—and how many different ways they might be doing it. She loved Pen, she really did, but her friend wasn’t selfish with her lady bits, and if she actually thought Nikko was fair game, then the gloves would come off and that guy wouldn’t know what hit him.
    Vi didn’t know Nikko well enough to gamble that he wouldn’t take Pen up on an offer, especially if he were angry at Vi for standing him up. But, on the other hand, nothing good could come from Vi seeing him out of the office. At least behind a desk she was the one calling the shots, the one in control. Then again, she was starting to wonder if, when it came to Nikko Del Toro, maybe that control was nothing but an illusion.
    It was already pushing six. Her session with Bob had run late—again. Unfortunately, she hadn’t been able to get him to disclose the identity of his love interest. Getting him to leave was always a chore when he knew she didn’t have other patients waiting. She suspected he was purposely slotting himself into the last appointment of the day so he could keep her late. She would have to tell Pen not to let him have that opening anymore. Maybe she’d ask Nikko if he could start filling that spot. She could use a Bob buffer for the next month.
    In a way, Pen was right. Nikko wasn’t like her other patients. None of the MMA fighters were. For the most part, she was a hoop they needed to jump through in order to get their contracts signed. And as hard as she was trying to do the right thing here, as much as she wanted to toe the line of ethics, it didn’t change the fact that she knew Nikko in another capacity, and it was really hard for her to start seeing him in any other way. No matter how many times she reminded her self otherwise, or tried to convince herself this was wrong, there was something about that man that intrigued her, drawing her in like a moth to a flame. She just hoped she didn’t end up getting burned.
    “Ugh . . . Bob is finally gone,” Pen sighed dramatically from the doorway. “I didn’t think that guy was ever going to leave. You about ready to go?”
    “Yeah.” Vi shut down her computer and grabbed her purse from the bottom drawer of her desk. “I didn’t realize you were still here. I thought you’d left.”
    “Of course I’m still here. You didn’t think I’d leave you here alone with Bonkers Bob, did you?”
    “Pen . . .” she scolded. “Don’t call him that.”
    “Why not? It’s true, and I’m officially off the clock, so I can tell you that guy gives me the ever-loving creeps. He’s Looney Tunes, straight up Elmer Fudd style.”
    The truth of Pen’s words unnerved her a bit. She didn’t have many patients that sent her hackles up, but Bob Miller was one of