Free Fix You: Bash and Olivia, Book 3 by Christine Bell

from there."
    His nearness always derailed me. The closer he was, the more I just wanted to lean into him. Smell his skin, hear his heartbeat when I lay my head on his chest. And fuck that. I wanted to be mad. I deserved to be mad. Mad would shield me from what I really felt, which was utterly heartbroken.
    His jaw tensed but he stopped and sat on the end of the bed. "Mickey did call me the day after the fight. I didn’t lie about that. And he wasn't going to pay me the rest of the money, but he wasn’t willing to wait another month and a half without the interest compounding.”
    More Mickey Flynn. My hands went icy cold and I flexed them into fists. "Go on."
    "He said the crowd liked me, and now that I’m a known commodity, he could pay me more. Enough to cover the rest that Matty owes plus another ten if I lose."
    "Wait, why would he pay you to lose?"
    “I’m an odds-on favorite now. He feels like people are going to put a lot of money on me. If I throw the fight, he stands to make way more than just what Matty owed him. Tens of thousands, if he does it right."
    "Does Matty know?" I already suspected the answer to that question.
    "No."
    Of course he didn't. Because he never would have let Bash go through with it if he knew.
    "You said this Spada fight was your big chance. You told me yourself that it was everything. Your ticket out of Boston. If you’re too injured to fight him, or at least, fight him well, what happens to that ticket?"
    He swallowed hard, his strong throat working furiously, and I wondered dully if he knew he was about to lie to me again, or if he was lying to both of us so well at this point that he didn't even realize what he was about to do.
    "I won’t get hurt. I’m going to be really careful, and take the dive in the second round. I won’t miss the fight. And even if I can’t beat Spada, I could still come back from one loss. It's been done many times before. I'm young. I'm hungry. If anyone can do it, it's me.”
    I bent down and snatched my hoodie off the floor and pulled it over my head. Thankfully, my anger had skyrocketed at this last round of bullshit and the heat of it burned the rest of my sadness away. "If this is such a great fucking plan, why not let Matty and Reid in on it? Why hide it from your brothers too?"
    I sat on the edge of the bed and jammed my sneakers onto my feet. I couldn't stay here and listen to any more of his platitudes.
    "Because they'll try to stop me. Look, I know you don't want to hear it right now, but I had no choice."
    "You always say that. I’m sick to death of it. You have a choice, Bash. You could have chosen to talk to me and your brothers and maybe we could have worked something out together. The way people who love each other and have each other's backs do. I’ll be getting my bail money back now that the case has been dismissed. That right there is nearly enough to cover what Matty owes. Did you ever think of that?”
    The stubborn set of his jaw told me that he had.
    “What? My money isn’t good enough for you?”
    “Your money is your fucking money, Liv. That bail money plus the extra I get from Saturday’s fight will be enough to cover your tuition for next semester. Then, once I get the Spada purse, win or lose, we’ll have enough for the last semester and you can graduate from Crestville.”
    I flew to my feet and jabbed my finger into his chest. “My money is my money, but you get to bleed for me? Again? We could have all worked this out together, but instead you decide to play the goddamned superhero while we all get to sit back and watch while you crash and burn. Did you ever think that maybe what you’re doing is selfish? Did you ever wonder if you're hurting more than helping?"
    "How so?" He took a step back and pinned his gaze at a spot over my head, the frustration etched all over his face. I could already feel him checking out. "By making sure that my brother doesn't wind up getting kneecapped by some psycho with Napoleon