by E. M. Moore
Well, this is going well. Perfect, actually. Couldn’t have planned it better my-fucking-self. “Guys...”
“No, fuck him,” Oscar seethes. “Selfish prick. He thinks he’s better than us because we’re trying to do what’s best for everyone. For you.” He turns back to Johnny. “You don’t think I want her to myself? I’m just not a raging asshole like you. I want what’s best for her, too, not just to get my dick wet more often.”
Johnny moves so fast, I’m not sure any of us see it coming. He punches Oscar square in the face right after giving me a quick nudge out of the way.
Oscar doesn’t take it though. Not like the last time. He lunges at him, getting in retaliatory shots.
Mag and Brawler step back, watching this play out with glee on their faces. I glare at them incredulously as Johnny and Oscar roll on the ground, trading blows and each trying to get the upper hand. Finn and Jax peek out of the back room but disappear just as quickly.
I glare at Magnum and Brawler. “Seriously?” I ask them.
Brawler grins like the fight-fueled man he is. “What? I’m enjoying it. Bat took the words right out of my mouth.”
“For fuck’s sake,” I grumble. I tear at the first shirt I can grab, which happens to be Oscar’s. I pull him back while Brawler reluctantly steps forward, yanking Johnny to his feet. Both guys square off with one another, chests rising and lowering.
I go from annoyed to mad to upset in like point two seconds, and no, I’m not on my fucking period. It’s just everything that I thought could be is chipping away in front of me. What I want seems like an insurmountable task now. Killing Big Daddy K will be easier than this.
Mag moves forward, fingers tracing along my jaw. “Hey, it’s okay.”
I squirm out of his grip and face the rest of them. “When you guys hurt each other, you hurt me.” I turn my gaze toward Johnny, and my shoulders droop. I’m pretty sure we already had this conversation. He said he wouldn’t hurt them. Unless that was just to sweet talk me. But Oscar’s not in the right here either. They can argue all they want. Get shit off their chests, I don’t care. I just don’t want them physically fighting.
Johnny growls. “Fucking fine.” He lowers his voice as he approaches me. “He just caught me off guard. I’m sorry.” Louder, and with authority, he says, “What’s happened before and what happens in the future is between Kyla and me. It’s not up for discussion.”
“Same for us,” Brawler says, voice even, taking up his fighter stance that makes him look huge and deadly—not to mention hot as fuck.
Oscar arranges his shirt back over his body. “So, how is this going to play out now that big bad gang boss is here?”
“I don’t know what you fuckers are doing, but I’m fighting for her.”
“Expect the same,” Brawler says, eyeing Johnny up and down like he could take his ass on right now, leaving him unable to walk for a week.
I’m only used to seeing him this menacing during fights. I kind of want to throw myself at him right now.
“I think Kyla should have a say,” Magnum says, speaking up for the first time. He has a hint of a shiner that I’ve just noticed because he’s standing in the direct sunlight streaming in through the windows of the gym. Johnny must not have gotten him all that good last night in his chaotic state.
“I still want what I wanted before,” I say. “All of us. A family.”
Johnny’s jaw clenches at that. “I don’t share. I have no qualms about competing with them. Three dicks against one. I’m confident in my abilities. I’m sure I’ll be able to measure up.”
God. If he brings up the five-orgasm thing again, they’re definitely going to be on the floor fighting. “Can we just train?” I plead. “Everyone knows everything now. We don’t have to dissect it all right this second.”
Well, no. Fuck, they don’t. I shoot Mag, Oscar, and Brawler a glare, hopefully telling them that obviously Johnny doesn’t know shit about the fact that I want to kill his father. That’s just another hurdle we’ll have to tumble through. At the end of all this, he might not even want to fight for me. He’ll probably curse the day I walked into his life.
Just fuck me. One step forward and two steps back.
Before I let my thoughts spiral, I yell out loud enough for Finn and Jax to hear, “I’m ready!”
Finn waltzes out of the back room at once. He was probably eavesdropping on all of us. Not that the guys were trying to be quiet when they were fighting. I move to the bench, and Finn follows me there to wrap my hands in royal purple wrap. “That was interesting,” he murmurs, peeking up at the other guys in the room.
The others have dispersed, keeping their distance from one another…and me. “The scary gang guy looks like he’s going to murder everyone but you.”
“It’s been an interesting twelve hours or so,” I sigh.
“Let me guess,” he says. He waits until I meet his gaze before saying, “They all want you.” I shrug because I’m coy like that, and I don’t know how much anyone else should know. “Girl,” Finn says, laughing with his best gossipy girl voice on. “I see the way they all look at you.”
I smile. I’ve never had a really good friend-friend. I started out having friends here, but then they turned into more. “Have I mentioned before that I like you?”
“Are you trying to get me killed, Princess? Fuck. Whisper that shit.”
I burst out laughing, and every single person in the room with a cock glares over at us.
He turns back to me with wide eyes. “Okay, I was joking, but now I’m fucking serious. Look like you’re not having any fun.” He finishes my right hand and starts on my left. He doesn’t talk again until the glares leave us. “Jax and I will always be here for you.”
I scoff at that. “Jax doesn’t even like me.”
Finn laughs, but he doesn’t deny it. “Don’t feel bad. Jax doesn’t like anybody. He doesn’t even like me most of the time and I’m his flesh and blood.”
I sense there’s a story there, but it’s not Finn’s to tell. It’s Jax’s. No matter how much of a distraction a good story could be, I can’t really afford to be derailed right now.
The door rings overhead, and Finn looks up. “Who’s this? Number five?”
I turn to find Jiko Cardinale striding into the gym like he owns the place. “No, that’s Rocket’s friend from Chicago.”
Finn smirks. “Jax is going to have an aneurysm with all the gang guys we have in here. This could be fun.” Without giving me a chance to respond, he stands. “Ready, Princess? We have to figure out a way to kick the ass of...one of your boyfriends?” He shakes his head. “You’re in a world of shit, girl. I don’t envy you at all.”
“Same,” I say, standing after him and heading toward the ring. “I’m not going to take it easy today. I think I have some aggression to get out.”
Seeing us get up, Jax walks toward the ring from the opposite side. “I got her.”
Like before, Brawler holds back as Jax and Finn get into the ring with me. I wish he would just come up here. He already wants to throw the fight, and it’s not happening. Fighting is his future. Regardless of the fact that we’re fighting one another in a few days, he still needs training for every fight after that. He’s going places in the fight world as long as we can get the fuck out of the Heights unscathed.
Jax starts some drills with me. Defense first, and then a punching and kicking combination while we move around the ring. I’m not taking it easy today like I did the other day. I should probably only hit at seventy-five percent, but I don’t really have the time to baby my arm into this. K needs to see a good fight, which means I’m bound to get hurt, even if I am going to let Brawler win. And really, “let” him win is just a turn of phrase. He can kick my ass.
Probably. Maybe. I don’t know. It would be a toss-up. But for the purpose of this fight, he’s beating me.
After five rounds, each one with a different challenging combination, sweat drips from my face in rivulets and hits my chest and back. I tak
e off the thin sweatshirt I’d put on over my shirt and wipe my face with it, tossing it over the side of the ring. I pause when I notice Johnny and Jiko are still standing just outside the ropes. I thought they’d be long gone, dealing with Candy shit.
Johnny’s gaze is pure hunger while Jiko’s looks appreciative, but not in the kind that makes me feel as if I’m about to get jumped. Johnny’s, however, screams that at me, sending a chill down my spine. He really did give me all those orgasms the night before, and it was fucking amazing. Not that I want there to be a competition between him and the guys, but a competition about how many orgasms they can give me sounds like the one to have if, you know, that was going to happen. We could all race to the finish line. Again. And again. And again.
“Easy, killer,” Finn whispers in my ear as he hands me a water bottle. “Your eye fuck game is on point. Jax and I are going to get sent away again.”
I elbow him in the ribs and smirk, but I shake those thoughts off anyway. “Right. I’m ready. Let’s go again.”
Jiko jumps onto the ring, leaning over the ropes before we can start the next round. “I’ll hold pads for her.”
I eye him warily.
Below us, Johnny chuckles. “Just can’t stay away, can you, Jik?”
Jax and Finn look to Johnny and when Johnny shrugs, Jax hands the pads over with a deep smirk on his face. I hope that means he thinks I’m going to take his ass down. I’d hate it to mean something else since he is my coach, after all.
Jiko enters through the ropes and shrugs his suit coat off. He rolls the sleeves of his white button-down up and kicks his shoes off. He grabs the thai pads, shoving his hands through and getting into position like he’s done this before.
Okay...
“Cross, cross, cross, uppercut,” he orders.
Finn rings the ring-side bell, and we start. I don’t hold back, and Jiko doesn’t either. He gives me just enough pressure back with the pads that I know he’s done this before, and he’s quite good at it too.
When the round is up, Jiko straightens, and several droplets of sweat form in his hairline. “You’re good, Kyla. I’ll give you that.”
“You don’t have to give me anything,” I throw back.
He holds his hands up in surrender, the black thai pads still surrounding them. “Just a figure of speech.” He hands the pads to Jax and walks past me to pick up his discarded stuff. He walks backward toward the ropes. “Can’t wait to catch your fight on Friday.”
His gaze lingers on me, and I stop to watch him leave the ring, wondering what the hell that was all about until Jax calls out, “Heads up.” I look up in time to find a water bottle careening toward my face. I catch it with my gloves on and then have to re-catch it as it slips through, but eventually, I tear my gloves off and am able to suck down some refreshing cold water.
When I peek back, Jiko and Johnny are gone. Unease crawls over me. I still don’t like this Jiko guy. Since Johnny seems to trust him, I hope I’m wrong.
27
Clearly, training doesn’t erase the feelings I have about Jiko Cardinale because as soon as we get in the car, I grumble, “I don’t like that guy.”
“Finn?” Magnum asks, brows pulling together.
“No,” I tell him. It’s not surprising where his mind went, considering Jiko and Johnny have been gone for a couple of hours, but I haven’t been able to let it go. There’s just something about him that rubs me the wrong way. “Jiko.”
He nods slowly. “I hear he’s into their crew’s underground fights as well. It was odd he wanted to hold pads for you though.”
I shrug. “Johnny told me we can trust him, but I just get a weird vibe off him. I don’t know.”
Magnum reaches over, threading his fingers through mine. Instantly, my mind swirls with better thoughts. No more trying to figure Jiko out when I can sit back and think about the heat engulfing my body from Magnum’s touch.
“So, um, did that go as bad as I thought it did?” I start, worrying my lip over the scene from earlier today. Johnny and Oscar fighting. Brawler speaking his mind.
Mag’s lips thin. “It could’ve gone better, but I don’t know what I expected. Honestly, what happened is true to Johnny. He’s not used to losing, and he’s used to always getting his own way. The only person he ever loses to is his father.”
I like that I have Mag to talk to about Johnny. Brawler and Oscar will only tolerate him right now. Well, maybe not even tolerate him, but they’re trying, and I have to give them credit for that. But Mag also wants the best for Johnny. He knew him before Johnny was practically second in command of the most powerful gang in town.
“What was Johnny like in high school?”
Mag runs his hand through his copper hair as he turns out of the gym. “Kind of the same. Intense. Quiet, but mouthy if he needed to stick up for himself. His dad wasn’t top of the Crew yet, so there’s a bit of a difference there. Everyone pretty much figured K would take over though, so that made Johnny heir to the throne. Much like now, girls swarmed him, though that was pretty much par for the course for any Crew guy when we were in school. I’m sure it’s the same for Oscar. He could probably pick any girl he wanted.” He shoots a quick apologetic glance over to me. “Not that he would.”
“So, it was the same for you in school?” I ask, trying to be all nonchalant about it, but I know the least about Magnum’s past compared to the others. Surely, he’s not as black and white as he grew up, his father died, he initiated into the Crew, and then worked as a bodyguard ever since. “You had girls crawling all over you?”
His grip on my hand tightens. “Yeah, but I don’t know. I never took too much stock into that sow your wild oats mantra. I’m not perfect by any means, but I’m not a manwhore either.” His cheeks glow a pretty color red, flushing his skin and highlighting his hair. God, he’s sexy. “I don’t mind being alone. I like my space. I like my own thoughts. In fact, I haven’t thought about women in a long time. Not until I met you.”
I swallow down the anticipation that sticks in my throat. I place my other hand over our entwined fingers. “I’m sorry Johnny punched you.”
“I deserved it.”
I shake my head. “We all deserve to be happy, Magnum, and we can be happy in whatever way we want. None of us went about this in the right way.” The truth is, there was no right way. By all odds, none of us should’ve ended up together, but here we are.
“What are you going to do if Johnny won’t...I don’t know? Get involved? What if he gives you an ultimatum in the end?”
My heart skitters, the fast pumps of the beating muscle go off with a flurry inside my chest. “Johnny has to make his own decisions,” I say around a messy ball of emotion. “But I’ve made mine already.”
I can’t force Johnny into what the rest of us have. Do I hope he sees it our way? Fuck yes. My feelings for Johnny run deep. But am I willing to give up Brawler, Magnum, and Oscar for him and only him? No.
Maybe Johnny’s right. Maybe it would have been different if he’d not been a dick in the first place. Maybe I would’ve been all about him and no one else. If he’d treated me like he treats me now, I would’ve gotten lost in him, but I wouldn’t take any of it back. No way.
However, Johnny had a disadvantage the others didn’t from the very beginning. He’s the son of the asshole who ruined my life. He may not have ever had a chance to sweep me off my feet.
Mag pulls over to the side of the road. I hadn’t been paying attention to where we were going, so I look up at the house we’re parked in front of now. “Where are we?”
He places his fingers under my chin and moves my face to look at him. “I’m happy to hear you say that, Kyla.” He moves to kiss me, and I let him. He takes control, sliding his mouth over mine in a determined coax until my toes curl in my sneakers. I’m sweaty from training, but I don’t think about that when Magnum deepens the kiss, threading his fingers through the hair on either side of my face.
I moan into him, and he pulls away wi
th a small smile. “I love those little noises you make.”
My face flushes with desire. “You should keep going to see what else comes out of my mouth.”
His gaze flares with interest, but he shuts it right down as stoic as ever. He’s a master of his own emotions. I envy him that. Mag stares past me toward the building rising up after the curb. “This is the house I grew up in.”
I turn, breaking his hold on me and stare up at the two-story building. The shutters are crooked and falling and the white paint is peeling, revealing weathered wood underneath. “Where are we?” I ask, looking up and down the street to get my bearings.
“Just on the outskirts of the main city. Believe it or not, this house used to be really nice, then my dad died.”
I reach for his hand on the seat and squeeze. I love that he brought me here. That he wants to share a bit of him with me. If I could, I’d take them to the house I grew up in. Hell, if my parents were still alive, I’d be introducing these guys to them by now. One of these days, when it’s absolutely safe, I’ll introduce them to my aunt and uncle. When we’re out of the Heights, and we don’t have to worry about bringing our fight to them.
“Does your mom still live here?”
He shakes his head. “She moved as soon as I graduated.”
A flash of pain clouds his hazel-green eyes. He said he doesn’t talk to her anymore because of the Crew. “Is that a relationship you’d like to get back?”
“Eventually,” he says, smiling softly at me. “I want everything to go back to the way it should have been. Eventually.”
“Do you still own the house?” I ask, turning back to the structure and inspecting it for signs of life. It doesn’t look like anyone has been in it recently, but most of the buildings in the Heights look the same way. Forgotten.
“We do,” he says.
“But you don’t ever go in it?”
He shakes his head. “No. I haven’t been inside in years. I’d have to face a lot of demons to step back into that house.”
I squeeze his hand. “You let me know when you’re ready, and I’ll be right here.”
