Lee had fathered two children of his own, what they called beef babies, with a couple of different women, when he’d gone to the mattresses, Corleone-style, all because of some violent conflicts he’d got himself in. He had no contact with those kids at all. He had no idea where they stayed at and didn’t want to know.

But hanging with Rico, it was like he was a father to the boy, in a way. Rico was devoted to him, as any son would be. Too devoted, sometimes. Once in a while, when someone would look at Lee the wrong way, Rico was all too ready to step in, take it to the next level. When that happened, Lee had to hold him back. Wasn’t no reason to hurt someone, you didn’t have to. That was something you learned with age. Nice to know that the boy was ready, though. No-fear motherfucker like Rico, it was good to have him on your side.

“You goin’ with that brown girl?” said Miller. He meant the brown pit with the white face, being led by her handler to her corner of the ring.

“She gonna change my luck,” said Lee. He had picked her over her opponent because her name was Sheila. For a while, he was fucking this redbone who had the same name. Lee had already lost the two fights he’d bet.

The man controlling the box stopped the music. Both dogs got settled in their corners. The referee ordered the cornermen out of the pit.

A kid came into the clearing, went directly to the ring, and yelled, “Hold up!” The referee put his hand up, signaling the cornermen to pause while he found out what this was about. The kid, who Lee recognized as the boy guarding the cars, was short of breath. He said something to the referee that was hard to make out but that put a reaction on the man’s face.

“All right, everybody,” said the ref, loudly so that all could hear. “We got to clear out. Dog men are here, and the police are on their way. Move!”

Lee turned around and looked up at the rise. He saw a white boy in a blue uniform, standing beside a tree. The sun flashed for a moment off something in the white boy’s hand. Wasn’t no chrome, ’cause the dog men weren’t allowed to carry weapons. Had to be a camera or binoculars, something like that.