“What the hell took you so long, man?” Ace asked as soon as I backed my bike up next to his and killed the engine. I stopped off at the Underground, the club’s bar, and had a few shots after my run-in with Riley. I was surprised I’d made it to Linc’s fight at all.
I couldn’t stand here and say I was shocked I ran into her because I’d gone to her place of business, after all, but what I didn’t expect was the amount of hostility she shot my way, even after all these years. The way she looked at me, like she hated the very sight of me, tore at me, and for as much as I wanted to play off her anger as unjustified, I deserved every fucking bit of it.
I’d dived headfirst into the MC as soon as I got my diploma, the one requirement my dad had for me. My mom wanted me to go to college and get a degree, in what I couldn’t fathom, but I wanted to follow my dad into the club. The life called to me at a young age, the brotherhood among the men something I wanted to be a part of. I was an only child, and while I had plenty of friends, there was something different about belonging to the Knights.
Because I’d been so wrapped up in the club, I didn’t have much time for Riley and our secret relationship, an aspect that drove a wedge further between us as time went on because not only could we not tell anyone about us for fear of what Stone would do, but I didn’t have a single soul to talk to whenever I needed advice.
The distance started slowly, me canceling our plans, then going days without any form of communication because I was either handling club business or I was trying to unwind with some of the guys only to end up getting drunk and then crashing at the clubhouse.
At some point, Riley had had enough and stopped taking my calls altogether, avoiding me at all costs. Occasionally, I’d see her at a club get-together or at someone’s house for a party, but she’d leave soon afterward. Then as the years passed, it became easier to stay away.
Until recently.
A dream I had recently rattled me, pushing me toward mending my relationship with Riley. I needed to get her back into my life in some capacity, even if it was just as friends. She used to be my best friend at one point.
I never did end up answering Ace, brushing past him and yanking open the door to the abandoned building where the bout was being held. Each fight Linc had was at a different location because it was too risky to hold them in the same place for fear of police finding out and shutting shit down. Illegal gambling was the main reason, but any raid on these places and half of those attending would be arrested for either drunk and disorderly or drug possession.
Which led me to the question as to why Ace wanted to invite Chelsea tonight. I understood he had a thing for her, but I sure as shit wouldn’t want Riley at one of these fights. Plainly put, it wasn’t safe. So, when she declined to join us earlier, I was happy I didn’t have to worry about her being here.
“Wait up,” Ace shouted from behind me, no doubt lagging because he waited for Chelsea to catch up in those ridiculous heels of hers. Who wears shit like that to an underground fight?
Again, I didn’t respond, pushing my way through the throngs of overly excited and drunk bastards littering the wide-open space. Making my way toward the back hallway, I descended the stairs before opening every door searching for Linc. On my fourth try, I found him standing in the middle of the room, shadow boxing and doing some sort of fancy-ass footwork. He didn’t see me enter until Ace and Chelsea filed in behind me.
“Hey,” Linc greeted, zoning in on Chelsea. “Is my sister here?” The hope in his voice quickly deflated when she shook her head.
“I tried to convince her to come but she wouldn’t budge.”
“Ah, well. Maybe next one.” He tried to play off Riley’s absence as no big deal, but he had to know she didn’t like coming to see this shit. “Can one of you help me with my wraps?” He strode across the room and hopped on the table, waiting for either me or Ace to accept. But he didn’t have to wait long, Ace beating me to it.
“Where’s Jagger?” I asked, curious as to why he wasn’t here tonight. He attended every one of the fights, coaching Linc the entire time from the corner of the ring. Jagger had been the man to beat way back when, and when he finally retired, he pushed all his knowledge and expertise onto Linc, who readily accepted.
Now, Linc was the fucker to beat.
“Kena and the boys are sick, so he had to skip this one.”
“He’d probably rather be here.”
“Probably,” Linc agreed, holding out his hand for Ace to start wrapping.
No one said anything else, all of us listening to the sound of the crowd cheering for the current bout. The fluorescent lights jiggled from the stomps overhead, pieces of plaster from the ceiling falling all around us as the shouts got louder. The fight was nearing the end and whoever was winning seemed to be amping the crowd into a frenzy.
Chelsea pushed closer to Ace once he was done helping Linc, the previous excitement that resided on her face being changed to one of worry. Couldn’t say I blamed her. Shit, if I was a chick, I would’ve stayed as far away from these places as I could. We wouldn’t let anything happen to her, but I understood her fear all the same.
Ten minutes after we arrived, the door swung open and hit the wall behind it, the force making Chelsea jump in surprise. Ace swung his arm over her shoulder, leaned down and whispered something into her ear. Whatever he said made her relax, that was until two large guys in suits entered, looking shady as all hell.
“Crosswell, you’re up,” one of them grunted before they both disappeared. Why they both had to be present for the announcement confused me, but there was no time to contemplate before we rushed out of the room, down the dimly lit hallway, and up a narrow stairwell.
Standing at the back of the room, I took in the view before glancing over at Linc. He appeared the picture of calm, but if I was in his shoes, I’d be shittin’ myself. I never backed down in a fight, even got enjoyment out of some of them, but I couldn’t willingly go up against some of these crazy bastards who chose to fight for a living. Some of them had been training for years, but then again, so had Linc. Which was exactly why he was the fighter of the club and not me, a portion of his prize money being funneled back into the MC.
We all had different roles, and sometimes they switched up over the years, but so far, my contribution was that of one of the resident mechanics.
Patting Linc on the back, I asked, “You ready, brother?”
“Yup.”
The roar of the crowd was the only music Linc needed to hype himself up before entering the cage. The three of us followed him down the walkway, Chelsea sandwiched between me and Ace. As soon as the referee announced Linc as being the final fighter, the mob of people went ballistic, chanting his name over and over. He was clearly a fan favorite.
Linc was up against a burly bastard, whose name I didn’t catch. The prize was ten grand, and I had no doubt that Linc would be waltzing out of here with the purse. He was undefeated, after all.
The moment Linc stepped into the ring, I pulled out my phone and hit the stopwatch app. Earlier today, Ace and I made a bet as to how long the fight would last. Neither of us knew anything about who he would be fighting, but we knew our brother well enough that who his opponent was made no difference. My guess was under eight minutes. Ace placed his betting time at ten minutes.
With Chelsea tucked into Ace’s side for protection, we all watched, along with the throngs of spectators to see how this fight would unfold.
Linc had some impressive moves, most of which I’d seen either during his training sessions or at one of his other fights. The guy was talented, and even though his opponent was larger than he was, he simply was no match for Linc’s skill and speed. With a few quick and precise jabs to the guy’s head and ribs, it was the choke hold Linc surprised the guy with that sealed the deal.
The entire fight took four minutes and eighteen seconds, putting my winnings at a cool hundred.
The explosion of noise from the crowd was our cue to leave. We surrounded Linc as he stepped out of the ring, eager to celebrate his victory back at the clubhouse.