by Tate James
"Nope," I replied, jerking my head to our private bartender. He gave me a nod back and set about mixing drinks for Lucas and me.
"Fair enough," Lucas murmured, pulling my phone from his pocket again. "Seph asked if she's allowed to come to the fight; she heard about it from MK."
I rolled my eyes and moved toward the balcony railing to peer down at the crowd below us. Sure enough, near the octagon I spotted a familiar, copper-haired head.
"She's already fucking here," I muttered with a sigh. "But at least she asked... sort of." I was tempted to reply and say no, just to see if she would leave. But that was petty, and I was making an effort to do better with my sister.
I checked the time, noting we had about five minutes until the scheduled start of the fight. "Tell her to come up here," I told Lucas, still watching her as she hugged Madison Kate tightly and exchanged cheek kisses with Bree. Technically, I had no issue with her being friends with MK, who was actually a good influence. But right now I was pissed as hell at MK's husband, so by extension...
I saw Seph get the message and jerk her head up toward where I stood. From the way I'd designed the area, she wouldn't actually be able to see me. Clever lighting provided privacy for when celebrities or other private people attended a fight.
She spoke to MK a moment longer, then excused herself to head my direction. I was relieved to see a teenage boy trail along beside her, his dark brows tight as his eyes darted around the room. Rex was training his kids well, that was for sure.
The security guard on the door let her in without question—they all knew my sister by now—and she gave me a tentative smile as she approached.
"I tried to tell you as soon as I knew," she said before I could launch into a lecture.
I just gave a small smile and shook my head. "It's fine, brat. I was already here." I nodded to her babysitter. "Ford, right?"
He dipped his head, folding his arms over his chest. "Yes, sir," he confirmed. From what I knew of Rex's boys, he must be almost twenty. It'd been a whole scandal when Rex's secret family was uncovered, but he'd done right by them and provided for their mother, even while he was incarcerated.
"You're keeping my sister safe, Ford?" I questioned him with an arched brow. My bartender delivered our drinks, and Seph took mine before I could pick it up. Brat.
Ford jerked a nod, his jaw tight. "Yes, sir," he repeated. "We agreed that we'd leave right after the fight and not drink." He gave Seph a sharp look at that, but my sister raised her middle finger at him and drained my entire cocktail in one go.
I needed to bite my cheek to keep from laughing, and Lucas swiped a hand over his face as he met my eyes with amusement. Oh yeah, Ford had his work cut out for him.
"Well... have fun with that." It was all I could say without totally losing my stern Hades face.
Seph grinned at Lucas and gave a pointed look at his drink on the table.
"Oh my god." Lucas chuckled under his breath. Then he nodded to her, and she snatched it up with a smirk of victory.
"Do you mind if I watch the fight from down there?" she asked me, cradling Lucas's cocktail and pointedly ignoring the way Ford glared daggers into the side of her face. "I haven't seen MK since Italy, and she’s a bit upset with me about the whole Cass-not-dead thing."
I was quietly really proud she hadn't told her friend that Cass was still alive. I'd assumed she would, but it showed a good deal of maturity that she'd recognized the need for secrecy.
"Go for it," I told her. "But clear out as soon as Cass wins, understood? I have some business to handle with your friends."
Seph grinned. "Oh, after Cass wins, huh? What makes you so confident? Arch is like... the best for a reason."
Lucas and I both laughed in response to that. Seph had missed Cass's fight against Johnny Rock.
"You'll see," Lucas replied, draping his arm behind me and letting his fingers brush my arm.
"Ew, you guys are totally about to get all PDA; I can just tell." Seph wrinkled her nose, and I leaned into Lucas a bit more. "Dare, can you come by Rex's tomorrow some time? I wanna show you something."
I nodded. "Absolutely."
My sister beamed, then gulped down Lucas's cocktail quickly. She coughed a couple of times when she was done, then wobbled a bit when she stood up.
"Love you, Dare," she told me, then headed back toward the door.
Ford hesitated a second, and I speared him with a glare.
"Get her some water," I told him. "And don't let her out of your fucking sight, or I'll hold you personally accountable."
The kid—who, admittedly, was older than Lucas—winced and hurried after Seph. I was well aware she wouldn't make his life easy, but she also wasn't actively resisting the protection. She understood, now, that it was necessary.
Our bartender delivered fresh drinks to Lucas and me, murmuring that he had some food on its way up too, which was a relief because I was starved.
The Anarchy fight announcer entered the octagon, strutting around with his microphone in hand and a sharp suit. He was totally the kind of guy who had Bruce Buffer posters all over his bedroom, I was sure. He did a good job, though.
The crowd went nuts as he started his spiel, rousing them even higher while Lucas pulled me closer to him.
I arched a brow, but he just shot me a wicked grin. "No one else is here," he pointed out, dipping his lips to my shoulder.
He had a point. Instead of pushing him away to maintain my professionalism if my staff saw me, I slid my hand into the back of his hair and pressed my lips to his.
He moaned lightly as he kissed me back, his tongue tracing the seam of my lips until I parted them. Lucas gave the most incredible kisses, like he was worshiping me.
"I knew I made the right choice coming up here," Zed interrupted with a teasing grin and flopped down on the couch beside me.
I pulled away from Lucas's kisses and glared. "Shouldn't you be down there coaching your fighter?"
Zed snorted . "As if Grumpy Cat would take advice from me during a fight against D'Ath. Nope, this is exactly where I'm meant to be."
The crowd roared below, their feet thumping the floor as music pounded through the speakers, and Archer strode out into the octagon. He wasn't a show-boater; he didn't do dumb, show-off flips or kicks, just gave a casual wave and headed to the side of the cage where Kody was giving him some last minute advice.
When our announcer dramatically introduced Cass, the crowd was just as loud as they had been for Archer. There was no clear favorite for my patrons, which was always good for entertainment value.
"Huh, that was nice of Seph," Zed commented, leaning forward to peer down.
I shifted to see what he was talking about and spotted Seph with her babysitter in the section reserved for Cass's team. He knew I wouldn't sit down there, not tonight when I was furious with him, but it was adorable that Seph was there to cheer him on.
Cass strode into the cage looking like Death himself come down from the heavens... or up from hell. He didn't wave to the crowd, instead looking straight up at the VIP balcony lounge. Slowly and deliberately, he touched his fingers to his lips. Like he was blowing me a fucking kiss or something.
Nah, not Cass. He must have had an itch.
With a sigh, I sank back into Lucas's embrace. The fight started out fairly slow, with the two of them circling one another over and over. Cass had maybe an inch on Archer, but D'Ath was a fraction broader in the chest. With both of them covered in ink and bearded, at a distance it looked like they were fighting mirror images of themselves—especially once they actually started trading blows. It wasn't hard to see who'd given Archer his foundations in MMA.
"You think Cass is still sharp enough to win this?" Zed asked with a teasing grin, sipping his drink. "He's a bit rusty."
As if Cass heard him, a vicious uppercut sent Archer reeling against the cage, and the whole crowd hissed with pain.
I snickered. "Yeah, I reckon he's got it."
"I dunno," Lucas murmur
ed, shifting to sit further forward. He was enraptured with the fight, so much more than Zed or me. "It might be a close one. Archer is a weapon. He's only had like two defeats in his whole career or something."
"How many has Cass had?" I asked, feeling like a bit of an asshole for not already knowing.
Lucas shot me a smirk. "One."
"Yeah, but he's also been retired for ten years," Zed pointed out.
"He hasn't exactly been sitting around eating junk food and getting fat," Lucas countered. "Meanwhile, doesn't Archer look like maybe he's gotten a bit soft now that he's all loved up and married?"
I laughed at that because, no, he did not. Still, I had total faith Cass would hand Archer his ass eventually; his ego wouldn't let his former student beat him in a public forum. Or private, for that matter.
Still, I winced as Archer's foot connected with Cass's ribs. That one had to hurt.
"My guess? They're going to keep playing with each other to drag out each round," I pondered aloud. "The last round will be the only one that counts."
Sure enough, they traded blows evenly for the bulk of the fight. They weren't pulling punches and blood was definitely flying, but neither pressed any advantages. They wanted it to go the distance. Hell, I was fairly certain they were just thoroughly enjoying themselves down there. Fucking alpha-male asshole behavior.
By the time the fifth round began, I had a nice, light haze of alcohol warming my body, and I was paying more attention. Lucas, Zed, and I had been keeping our own score, appointing two wins to each of the fighters so far. As predicted, round five would be the decider.
They started out cautiously again, then Cass must have said something incendiary because Archer flew at him in a frenzied rage. Sloppy. Meanwhile, Kody and Steele were at the cage hopping up and down and shrieking at Archer. We were too far away and the crowd was too loud to make out their words. But it wasn't hard to assume it was some variety of "calm the fuck down, you idiot."
Sure enough, when the fighters spun around, a grim smirk danced across Cass's lips, and within thirty seconds he had Archer down on the mat all locked up in a rear naked choke. Blood smeared across both fighters as Archer thrashed around trying to free himself, but Cass just tightened his lock under Archer's chin.
The crowd was going ballistic and Archer's camp screamed at him, but the stubborn fool refused to tap out. Of course. Even when his face turned dark red from restricted blood flow, he still fought back, slamming his elbow inefficiently into Cass's ribs while the older fighter just waited him out.
A few moments later, Archer passed the fuck out, and the spectators lost their damn minds.
Cass pushed the unconscious weight of his opponent off him, then tilted his chin as he looked up at our balcony again. This time, there was no mistaking his smirk—or the deliberately blown kiss. Sarcastic fuck.
34
Cass didn't hang around for all the pomp and ceremony of being declared the winner, he just slapped Archer awake, then gave him a hand back to his feet. They left the octagon together, and Cass accepted a manly bro-hug-back-slap thing from Kody and Steele. There was a lot of respect there, and against my better judgment it softened my ire toward Archer and co.
Seph bounced up to Cass as he made his way toward the locker rooms and wrapped him in a tight hug, not seeming to give a damn that he was sweaty and bloody. I watched him stiffen and glance up at me, but it wasn't Seph being a flirt. She just genuinely cared for him as family.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Zed exclaimed, rising to his feet with his eyes locked on someone in the crowd below. "What the fuck does she want?"
"Who?" I asked, searching for who he was scowling at. When I spotted her, there was no doubt in my mind. "Is that—"
"My mother," Zed snarled. "Wait here; I'll deal with her."
He started to leave, but I launched to my feet and grabbed his hand before he could make it more than two steps away. "Sit your ass back down, Zayden De Rosa. We will deal with her together."
His eyes blazed with defiance for a moment, but it was quickly replaced by relief. He didn't have to deal with her alone, and now that I knew everything she'd done, I had a few words I'd like to offer her myself. What kind of woman, what kind of human, could walk away from her own son that easily? Then to emotionally manipulate him into doing her dirty work? Veronica De Rosa—or whatever the fuck her real name was—deserved a bullet in the head. Or at very least, a broken nose.
It really depended if she was in my venue officially or not. I crossed my fingers for not.
"Sit down," I repeated to Zed. "I'll have her brought up." Not waiting for him to agree, I made my way over to our security guard at the door and gave him terse instructions.
While we waited, I checked my phone and found a message from Seph assuring me that she and Ford were safely on their way home. Good. One less worry on my mind, just in case the night got violent.
"Any idea what she's here for?" Lucas asked, giving Zed a curious look. We'd filled him and Cass in on the rough details of Zed's involvement with the FBI a few days ago.
Zed scowled, his hands balled into fists at his sides. "I can hazard a guess. My mother doesn't take kindly to being told no." Swiping a hand over his face, he gave a frustrated sigh. "I'm actually surprised it's taken her this long. Count on her having some kind of blackmail up her sleeve."
I scoffed. "I have no intention of letting her get that far. Do you?"
Zed met my eyes, a slow smile curving his lips. "You're such a badass, Dare. I'm with you, however you want to handle her shit. She's not my mother; she's just another easily corrupted law enforcement agent."
God damn, that made my heart ache. He had idolized his mother when we were kids. She'd been the epitome of motherly kindness. I couldn't even imagine how badly it'd hurt when he’d realized it was all an act.
Decided, I gave him a short nod, then strode across the bar to intercept Veronica as she arrived. Her arm was firmly gripped by my security guard and her face flushed. She definitely hadn't wanted to be manhandled up here like that.
"What is the meaning of this?" she demanded, shaking him off as I indicated he could release her. "I'm an FBI Agent here on official business, and this is assault."
I snorted. "Bullshit. My security guard acted fully within his rights in delivering a disruptive patron to management. As for official business, Veronica—"
"Rebecca," she corrected me with a twist of disgust in her face. "Special Agent Rebecca Laurence."
I sneered. "How unremarkable. I bet your mission undercover as Veronica De Rosa was the pinnacle of your career, huh? Now you're forever scrabbling to prove you're not all washed up."
I felt Zed and Lucas behind me; Zed's hand came to rest on the small of my back as he leaned in to kiss my hair. I didn't need to look up at him to know he was glaring at his mother with an expression that could kill.
"Zayden," she snapped. "I'd hoped to speak with you privately."
"I'd hoped you might have died in your sleep," he drawled back. "I guess we're both disappointed."
Oh, ouch. The cold hatred in his tone made me shiver a little.
Agent Laurence's eyes narrowed, and her lips took a cruel twist like she was preparing to launch her ammunition. But I sure as fuck wasn't interested in hearing it, and Zed had dealt with enough of her shit to last him a lifetime.
Stepping forward, I gave her a saccharine smile. "I think we're overdue for a little chat, don't you?"
Her lip curled. "Certainly not."
My smile chilled. "I wasn't asking." Quick as a whip, I grabbed a handful of her hair, yanking her head back to an uncomfortable angle. She immediately reached for her piece at her waistband, but the clicks of multiple guns aimed in her direction made her freeze.
"Oh, I'd think twice about that, Rebecca." Zed's warning was glacial, and his mother's eyes widened. She carefully moved her hand away from her gun, though, and I used my grip on her hair to march her back toward the exit.
"Whatev
er leverage you think you have," I murmured softly in her ear as we walked, "forget it. The only reason you'll walk out of here breathing will be as a courtesy to the life you brought into this world. You created one of the most amazing men on this planet, and for that I'll let you live today. But mark my words, Agent Laurence, I see you sniffing around Zed again, and I'll ensure no one finds your remains. Not even your sick little friend Chase Lockhart. Clear?"
In response, she gave a low chuckle, like I was the idiot here.
Before she could get too smug with herself, I reached inside her shirt and ripped the recording device right out of her bra. I dropped it to the ground and stomped on it firmly, feeling the satisfying crunch of breaking electronics.
"You really don't understand who you're messing with, do you?" I commented, giving her a curious look.
Then, before she could retort, I spun her around and slammed her face into the wall beside the stairs. Blood sprayed and she shrieked in pain, but I just gave her a shove into my waiting security guard’s grip.
"Oh dear, Agent Laurence. You really should watch where you're walking." I shot her a smirk. "I'd hate for you to trip and fall down these stairs on your way out."
My security smirked back at me, receiving the message loud and clear. Make sure Rebecca Laurence hit every bump on the way down.
"You can't do this," she spat back. "I'm FBI; you can't just—"
"I can," I cut her off, "and I will do worse if you don't heed my warning. I survived Chase Lockhart; I can promise you, Rebecca, I will crush you like a bug under my heel if you cross me again. Stay the fuck away from Zed. Move states. I never want to see your face in my territory again."
I nodded to my security guard and turned my back on the woman who'd created a man I loved with my whole heart.
Zed gave me a soft look as I returned to him and Lucas. "I could have handled her myself, you know."
"I know," I agreed. "But you shouldn't have to. And I owed her for that setup."
Lucas grinned. "Besides," he added, "Hayden’s hot as hell when she gets violent."
