by V Domino
She’s beautiful but unlike any other type of beauty I’ve seen. She has her silver locks in a pin-up style, reminiscent of an era gone by. Her body is alluring in the tight black dress that shows every bit of perfection in her curves, from her toned legs, flared hips and full breasts. She’s also got piercings and I can easily see the shine on the snake bites underneath both collarbones. Her face is absolutely heart-stopping. She has high cheekbones, full kiss-me-lips, and an arrow-straight nose with a septum piercing. But those attributes aren’t the only pieces of her that make my heart stutter, no, it’s her eyes.
Her eyes glitter with excitement and bloodlust. They hold a rage that speaks to my own. They glitter and sparkle with the hate of a thousand demons. Her eyes give you a glimpse of the damage life has caused her and it speaks to me on a level no one else ever has.
I’m not paying attention to what she’s saying until she does the most sarcastic gesture ever to the smug-looking brunette. Silver grandly sweeps her arm out giving a mocking bow as she calls for “Princess Popov.” I chuckle a little at that because sarcasm has never looked so good to me before. Silver is a bewitching woman to be sure.
“That young lady is a dangerous foe and I’ve been waiting to see her fight for an entire year.” Diego looks proud, like Silver is his flesh and blood. I wonder how close they are.
“I’ve never seen her fight but she must be good if she’s willing to put her throne on the line.”
I don’t think I’ve seen confidence displayed so well before, she’s confident but not big headed. A fine balance that she manages perfectly, if you ask me.
Silver looks like a woman who knows what she wants and takes it.
“Oh she’s good. If my own daughter wasn’t an excellent fighter too, I’d say Silver is the best.”
If she’s got Diego Blanca claiming her to be the best then I guess I believe it. I was mildly intrigued with the infamous Queen, but now, I’m eager to meet her although something tells me Silver is going to be a distraction to my plan and that’s not something I can afford right now.
With that in mind I hand Diego his nephew’s phone and settle in for the rest of our flight.
The sound of fists meeting pads surrounds me as soon as I walk into 5th Round Gym. It’s a mixed martial arts gym owned by Johnny DeLucci and it’s where I spend most of my days when I’m not at Barbarity. I’ve been here so often that I practically live here even though my new apartment is across town. Ever since I got that damn text from my mother’s nurse, my heart has been shattered and I couldn’t bear to be in the apartment we shared together so I moved out—but now, my place feels empty.
Fuck my life.
My mother went into cardiac arrest and though she was able to survive it, she never woke up from the coma she slipped into. Against the advice of doctors, I left her on life support hoping and praying she’d wake up. Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months when finally, with the DeLuccis and Jefa by my side, I let the doctor unplug her.
“She can finally rest, ragazza.” Girl. Johnny and Jefa were my strength on that awful day.
My tears were pain-filled, yes. The loss of my mother was a painful experience and one of those moments that I’ll never forget but my tears weren’t only from pain or heartbreak. They were filled with rage and hatred. Tears ripped straight from my heart and spilled to the ground like meaningless drops of water.
That cruel day, the unfairness of life created such a deep and violent rage within me that my skin felt as if it were peeling back. Since then, fury runs rampant in my veins like an unchecked virus, infecting every cell in my body. So I focused on getting ready for my fight in order to keep myself from exploding.
“Yo, Silver! You’re late and today is the fight no less. You’ve got three minutes to change or you’ll be running extra time on the tread!” Johnny’s stern voice blows away the heavy cloud of self-pity and brings me to the here and now.
I give Johnny the finger over my shoulder as I half walk half jog to the locker rooms. Normally I wouldn’t allow someone to speak to me that way but Johnny is like my big brother and he’s also my trainer so I save myself the headache by just listening.
He and Jefa have been helping me through everything from grieving my mother to preparing for tonight. All year I’ve put my aggression into my training. From the moment I wake up to the moment my head hits the pillow, I live and breathe footwork, combinations and routines.
Not a moment of rest. No days off.
I finish changing and grab my water bottle on my way back out to the floor. Johnny is set up in the back within the boxing ring. This is my last sparring session before Barbarity Night begins so we’ll just be keeping my body loose.
Climbing through the ropes, I ask Johnny, “Did you hear the news?”
“What news?” he tosses me the headgear and begins pulling on his own as I answer him.
“There’s an additional middleweight fight tonight. Blanca called Jefa last night and asked her to find the next best fighter of that category for his new guy.” Johnny and I do some stretches as I wait for him to reply. Johnny has always been slow to speak and though I love that quality about him, it drives me nuts when I’m excited about something and he lacks my enthusiasm. Like now, he looks contemplative as he pulls his arm straight across his chest then does the same to the other arm.
Just as I’m about to continue my story, which I should have done to begin with, he finally asks, “What happened to that cocky asshole who was fighting for him?”
“Jefa said Martin got his arm broken in an arm bar during his last fight in California. Blanca wanted to see how true the rumors were of that guy, Twitch, so before coming here yesterday he made a stop at Mesa Ring and checked him out. Turns out the rumors are to be believed and now Twitch is a Blanca fighter.”
Johnny lets out a low whistle before he suddenly comes at me throwing punches. He always tries to catch me off guard. I’m surprised he even let me finish the story because most of the time he’ll attack while I’m focused on telling him some tea. Never works though. I was raised in a home that required all my senses to be at one hundred percent everyday, all day, so I’m never caught slipping.
I block a few punches before I duck right and throw some of my own combinations at him. He backs off and shakes his arms out. “Good job but you're getting sloppy on the hook. Let’s work on that a bit more then move onto your kicks.”
Sloppy? I call bullshit. I know he’s just trying to make sure I’m battle ready but I am not sloppy on the hook. It’s one of my favorite punches.
I learned to fight when I was fourteen years old. Johnny, who went by the nickname Bones, had his own fight club with his friends. It wasn’t anything special really, just a bunch of neighborhood kids doing three minute fights behind the school. I used to follow them around, sticking to the shadows and watching them fight. Johnny was good, even then. His dad, Alessandro DeLucci put him in boxing at an early age so it was always him who dominated the school kids.
He never knew I followed them around until one day Johnny had just won a fight against this punk ass kid who didn’t like losing. While Johnny's back was turned the guy pulled some brass knuckles out of his pocket and slipped them on.
I didn’t think, I just reacted. I jumped out from my hiding spot behind the sport’s equipment storage room and ran toward the punk. I jumped onto his back, just as he was gearing up for a sucker punch, and took him down. He rolled over onto his back but I was faster. I straddled his chest and began laying down punches to his face. By the time Johnny pulled me off, my hands were bleeding and one of my knuckles was dislocated.
Since then we’ve been best friends and he started teaching me what he was learning.
Johnny’s voice interrupts my thoughts. “Alright, that’s enough for today. We have a few hours until tonight’s events so make sure you eat those protein bars before seven. And for the love of God, stay away from that nasty ass food you like so much.”
“Pizza is not nasty, Johnny. It’s Italian food, fool!” I don’t understand this guy sometimes.
“It’s not Italian when you put fish on it! That’s just nasty, Silver, and you know it too you just do it so you can watch me gag.” He walks away shaking his head.
It’s true too. Johnny gaging is the funniest thing ever.
“Not my fault your gag reflexes are crap.” I laugh when he throws his finger at me. I swear, when he and I are together, we’re kids again.
My phone rings as soon as I get into the locker rooms. Looking at the screen, I see it’s Mr. Blanca.
“Hey, Diego. How are you?” I’ve never called him any term like boss, don or jefe but he respects that and because of that, among other reasons, he has my respect. I may not know Hangman Renzetti personally but he’s my Don and is the only one I’ll call boss.
“Silver. It’s good to hear your voice, niña. I haven’t spoken to you in too long.” His deep voice is familiar and soothing. He talks to me like a father would his daughter, the way he talks to Jefa.
Don’t let it fool you though. This is the same man that cut off one of his soldier’s fingers for touching Jefa in a way he thought was too familiar. He made Jefa watch it happen too, not that it bothered her much. Jefa is just as wacked out as her pops.
“It’s good to hear you too, old man. I heard you got into town this morning but you didn’t stop by with sweet bread like you normally do.” I put enough pout into my voice that his rumbling laugh comes through. It’s true though. Normally when he comes into town he’ll drop by and bring me some amazing home cooked bread called conchas. His personal chef makes them with powdered sugar on top and I savor them because you can’t find any made as authentic as the ones he brings.
“Yes, I had plans to but I have a new fighter and he was jet lagged so I gave them to him. I need him healthy for tonight.”
I gasp loudly, not even faking the hurt.
“How could you betray me, Diego? This guy better be worth it because if he loses you’ll owe me two deliveries.” Even though he can’t see me, I still give him a stern look while shaking my finger at the phone.
He laughs loudly at my threat. “Calma, Silver. Calm down. I still have a batch for you.”
“Oh! Okay then, never mind.” I chuckle a little at my silliness.
“What did you need? Can’t get a hold of Jefa again?”
“No, that’s not why I called. I just wanted to check in on you and make sure you were good for tonight. You need to find a man to take care of you. You’re too good to be all alone.”
He’s sweet but so old school.
“Pops, I don’t need a man right now. I don’t want to be held back by some testosterone filled man thinking he can bring me to heel and take over my business because, let’s face it, in this world of ours, it’s men who run the show. But I’ll be damned if any man or woman takes my throne.”
I’ve worked very hard to build what I have and I will not let anyone take it from me. I may have put my throne up as a bet for this fight but I have it in the bag. I’m not worried in the least. I know Princess Popov’s weaknesses and I’ll exploit the hell out of them tonight.
“Somehow, Silver, I have a feeling you won't settle until you’ve found your match. Someone with equal strength in mind and body. I’ll celebrate that day because that man, whoever he will be, will know your strengths and add his own alongside yours.”
We talk for a few more minutes, nothing too important aside from needing a trainer for his fighter and a request for special seating around the cage. When we hang up, I quickly jump into the shower, I need to get things set up tonight. Even though I have a crew of people working for me now that I’ve been busy preparing for the fight, I still like to oversee certain aspects of Barbarity.
The Princess thinks she’ll dethrone the Queen but she’s wildly wrong. It’s time I show her and the world who runs this show by dominating my foes.
Starting with Mila Fucking Popov.
Diego set me up in a nice hotel room when we landed and I took advantage of the bed for a few hours. I had plans to go check out the city and get a feel for the land but I haven't been on a plane since I was seven years old so I was exhausted by the time I checked in. Now though, I’m wide awake and feeling better aside from the normal tics I get before a fight.
It’s only five in the afternoon right now which means I only have a couple of hours before the fight. With that in mind, I grab my backpack and head out of my room. Hopefully I’ll find a coffee shop nearby.
As I get to the lobby, the concierge stops me. “Sir, are you Mr. DeLuca?”
I look him up and down before answering. He looks like he wants to run to the back room and lock the door.
“Yeah, that’s me. Che cosa? What’s up?” I look around the room checking everyone out—an unfortunate trait I picked up in juvie. The guy hands me a box with a picture of a smartphone on it.
“Mr. Blanca left this for you. It’s encrypted and ready for use. I took the liberty of adding vital contacts for you including his daughter’s number.” I raise my eyebrows at that.
“I—uh, I have all the contacts for the Blanca crew. I'm Jefe's personal concierge when he’s in town. I was informed that you are also new to the city so if there’s anything you need just give me a call.” I give him a nod while tucking the box into my bag and continue on my way out. I’m always indifferent to people but without coffee, I’m known to be a savage. At least that’s what Lopez always said.
Thinking of Lopez I pull my phone out of my pocket and dial the number to her room at the home.
“Luca, mi maravilloso hijo! My wonderful son! How are you?”
She sounds good, like she’s thriving rather than slowly fading like I feared she would. I’m glad my fears were unfounded.
I spot a coffee shop on the corner and head that way as I reply. “I’m good, vecchia, I just wanted to see how you were doing. You’re not hitting on the old men, are you?”
One of the first few times I called her I heard an old man in the background asking for a kiss. Lopez said it was the novella she was watching but I heard her shushing the man even though she covered the phone. I let it go that day because I could hear her embarrassment but every time I call now, I tease her about her “promiscuous ways” as she calls it.
A loud exaggerated scoff comes through the line. “As if these viejos could handle me. They don’t have enough viagra in the world to help these poor men.”
“Gah! I don’t want to hear about that.” I could have gone my whole life happily without that tidbit of information.
I wait until she’s done laughing at my expense and then I tell her I've moved.
“You what? You moved! You didn’t come say goodbye.” She sounds so heartbroken that I have to rub my chest. This lady is the only family I have and I didn’t stop to see her before I left.
Asshole.
“Vecchia, I had no choice but to leave so quickly but I’ll come visit you soon. I’ll be fighting the biggest fight of the year tonight so I had to leave right away.”
I tell her about last night’s fight and Diego but I make it seem as though he’s my manager now. I’m not completely lying to her but it’s not like I can tell her he’s a cartel boss over the phone either. After talking for a few more minutes we hang up so I can order my coffee. As I’m waiting for my coffee to be made my bag starts ringing. I forgot my new phone is in there. Digging the box out and opening it I see a missed call from someone named Johnny. I don’t know him but obviously Diego does. Shrugging it off, I put the phone away. I’ll call him later, right now I need to get back to the hotel and get warmed up for tonight.
Taking my coffee I leave the shop and make my way back to the hotel. There’s not much to see on the walk aside from small retail shops that look expensive as hell so I make a mental note to ask the concierge to help me find a decent apartment to rent.
My new phone begins to ring again
so this time I answer it.
“Yeah?”
“Twitch, this is Johnny. I’m a trainer and was asked by Blanca to help you get ready for tonight. We don’t have a lot of time so if you can get to 5th Round Gym within the hour we can have you warmed up.”
A trainer? I’ve never needed a trainer nor do I want one but I’m fighting in Barbarity so that means I’ll be fighting against someone who has been trained for this. I won’t turn this down.
“Alright I’ll be there.” I hang up without waiting for a reply. The guy sounds like he’s not one for small talk either.
I jog the rest of the way to the hotel and spot a Land Rover parked out front with a guy in a suit standing by the passenger door. When he sees me he pushes off the car and opens the door.
“Twitch, I’m here to take you to 5th Round. And I’ll be your personal guard from here on out. Anything you need, you let me know and I’ll take care of it for you.” I already like this guy. He talks like the cholos I use to kick it with in Cali. He’s a big dude with tattoos peeking out from the collar of his suit. We’re total opposites in clothing choice but once we’re in the SUV the speakers blast RUN DMC Down With The King and the guy doesn’t bother turning it down… Yeah, he’s my kind of people. We both head bob until we’re pulling into the parking lot of a gym.
The guy turns to me and says, “I’ll be out here when you’re done. Name’s Gabe by the way, my number is in your phone.”
I nod my head and take his offered hand which turns into the handshake I’m used to; a clap that slides into a finger’s grip with the thumbs out then a fist bump. He’s got to be from Cali. As I’m climbing out of the car Gabe reaches into the back seat and hands me a Nike gym bag.
“Forgot. This is yours. It’s all new stuff.” He tries handing it to me but I shake my head.
“Nah man, I’ve got my own shit. I know I’m fighting for Blanca but I’m not used to all this fucking generosity, it makes my skin crawl.”
