Fight for You

by Magan Vernon

  I opened my mouth to speak, but then Dominic burst through the door of the VIP room, grinning from ear-to-ear like a proud little kid. “Hey, Nicky, glad I caught you before the fight.”

  “Do you ever knock, Dominic?” Coach grumbled.

  Dominic shrugged. “Sometimes.”

  Coach stared at him. “You need something?”

  “Uh, yeah, there was a thing that Nicky asked me about and I got it for him.”

  Coach groaned, rolling his eyes. “You two are full of shit you know that?” He stood. “I gotta take a piss anyway, so just make it quick.”

  As soon as Coach closed the door, Dominic ran over to me, smiling like he had a secret. “I found out about that guy.” He lowered his voice but still had the shit-eating grin. “He’s with El Lobo. They’re like gang brothers or however that shit works. They did some time together in juvie. Nothing big, mostly amateur stuff. He’s had a couple arrests for possession, but nothing serious on his record that I could dig up. He doesn’t seem like a big threat or anyone that we’d have to worry about.” He pulled up a picture on his phone. It was definitely the Emilio that I saw first night in the alley and the one who threatened Jackie earlier.

  I nodded. “So he’s in the same gang as El Lobo?”

  Dominic put his phone in his pocket. “Yeah, that’s what I said. And you said he was threatening Jackie? That’s the new girl you’re after, right?”

  I stood, straightening out my shorts. “Yeah. That’s her. Like I said, he’s her ex. He was cheating on her. That shit’s not right to do to any woman. If you don’t love her anymore, you break it off. You don’t break her heart like that.”

  “That’s deep, Nick.”

  “I know.” I hopped on the balls of my feet. “And I’m about to go in there and fight El Lobo’s ass for her. If you see Emilio out there and he gives her any trouble, you, Phil, and Mark take care of it, capeesh?”

  Dominic nodded. “Okay, Nicky.”

  ***

  When they called my name, I was so in the zone, I barely heard it. I focused on keeping the robe over my head and walking toward that cage. I had to keep moving through the crowd. Keep my eyes down. Focus. This was just another battle and I had to win it. If I didn’t win this match, I’d be knocked to the bottom of the standings. Then I’d have nothing.

  Coach and Joey were right behind me, along with Dominic. Coach would instruct and give me my keywords, Joey patched me up and Dominic reminded me this was just another battle in the war I was fighting.

  Once I got to my corner I looked across the ring. El Lobo was smiling at me. Not a smile like we were old friends, but a sinister one like he already had the game in the bag. He kept smiling even as his corner men put his Vaseline on and Malfoy made his announcements to the crowd. El Lobo knew something I didn’t and it was getting in my head.

  Fuck.

  Coach grabbed me by the hair and forced me to face him. “I see that look in your eyes, Nicky. Don’t let him get to you like that. You’ve got this. You’ve been practicing for this. You can out fight him. You can win this. This is your fight tonight.”

  I nodded, bumping my fists together. “Yeah, Coach. I got this.”

  Malfoy called us to the center of the ring. I gave one last reassuring nod to Coach and Dominic before I bounced out to the center. El Lobo was already standing there. He wasn’t his usual, hyper self. This was a different fighter than I planned for. He wasn’t bouncing around the ring like a puppy, or bobbing and weaving. He just stood there with that same slimy smile on his face. I had to change my fight strategy and quick.

  We bumped gloves and I barely heard the ding of the bell before El Lobo grabbed me and dropped to the ground in the guard position, pulling my head down until my throat was at his shin, and cutting off my oxygen and moving into a choke hold. This wasn’t a common move and I hadn’t practiced for it. I’d expected him to dance around and not just get right to the fight.

  “Is this a move your little bitch had you in the other day? How does it feel to have one of my boy’s sloppy seconds? Probably just like it does right now when you’re going to lose to El Lobo,” he taunted, clicking his mouth guard.

  I used my body weight as leverage to push him forward, and went for an ankle lock. With El Lobo on his back, I wrapped an arm around his ankle, placing it in my armpit and locked my arm in my other arm. I placed my free hand on his shin and forced him to lean back, putting so much pressure on his Achilles tendon that it made him scream out in pain. All I needed him to do was submit and the round would be over.

  He slammed his hand on the mat. I let go of his calf, rolling onto my side and finally getting into a standing position. Coach and Dominic ran to my side, helping me get to my stool in the corner. As soon as I was sitting, Joey began kneading my shoulders.

  “What the hell was that out there, Nick? He almost had you submitting in the first second of the game?” Coach was in my face while Dominic handed me a Gatorade. I turned away from Coach and chugged, handing the empty bottle back to Dominic.

  I shook my head. “I don’t know. I didn’t plan for him to change his game.”

  Joey cracked my neck and then I shook it out. We were about to get back out. Round two and I needed to get my act together. My head wasn’t in the game, especially when El Lobo kept bringing up Jackie. He and Emilio were in the same gang, which meant he was connected to her and he knew I was with her. He knew how to hit me exactly where it hurt and there was nothing I could do about it. I couldn’t even pretend it didn’t bother me. I just had to hope I could get him completely knocked out before he could do the same to me.

  When the bell went off for round two I was ready.

  “Whatcha think you’re doing, El Principe? Think you’re going to wear me down?” He mocked, throwing a jab, but I ducked, bouncing around him. If El Lobo was going to play it slow, I was going to jump around the cage like he usually did. Play his own game back at him.

  “Just winning a fight here, El Lobo.” I grinned, making a show of it for the crowd. I knew what they wanted. I wasn’t exactly a fan favorite, but I was hoping at least a few people wanted to see El Lobo get his ass handed to him. And hopefully one of those people was Jackie.

  “The fight against me? Or do you just want to get out of here so you can get some pussy?” He grinned, nailing his fist in my lip.

  Fuck. I tasted blood and immediately put my hand up before he could get another hit in.

  “What I do after I win this fight doesn’t concern your dirty ass.” I landed a foot in his shin.

  He recovered, laughing like a hyena as he bounced around the ring. He was back to his old puppy style of playing. He kept laughing, bobbing, weaving, and throwing random punches and kicks. I didn’t know why all of a sudden he decided to change it back up. Time was ticking on the clock. Round two was almost up and nothing had happened.

  He moved closer. I put my arms up to go in for a punch, but he blocked it and ducked in by my ear and whispered, “Look out into the crowd and you’ll see your hot little tottie Jackie, and my boy Emilio. No matter what you think you have, El Principe, you don’t. You don’t own shit. We run this town. Not you. Not the famiglia.”

  I turned slightly toward the crowd and I saw her. Jackie’s green eyes were looking into the cage and I couldn’t miss the fear in them. They were wide and looked like they were screaming, yelling for me to help her as that fucker Emilio stood next to her, smiling like he owned the world.

  It was in that second that El Lobo’s fist came in contact with the side of my head. In that brief instant Jackie mouthed “no” before everything went black.

  Chapter 9

  It was only a few seconds before I came to and Coach and Dominic were pulling me to my feet, but it felt like a lifetime later. El Lobo was prancing around the cage¸ his fists in the air as he was declared the winner.

  He won. I let him win because I let my guard down for Jackie.

  When I finally got to my feet I looked back out into the crowd at th
e spot I’d seen her, but she was gone. My heart sped up. How long was I out? Where the hell did she go? Where the fuck did the bastard take her?

  “Nicky, what are you doing?” Coach snapped.

  I ignored him and looked directly at Dominic. “Find out where Emilio is. Now,” I growled.

  “O-o-okay, Nick. I can do that.” He skittered out of the cage.

  Coach and I followed soon after. A crowd of people started to gather around us, but I just wanted to get dressed. I needed to get the hell out of there and find Emilio. Even more important: I had to find Jackie.

  “Nick? Nick?” Coach yelled, but I didn’t answer. I kept my eyes trained ahead, looking at the door that led to the VIP room.

  He finally pulled my head down and forced me to look at him. “Nick, where is your head right now? Because I know it sure as shit wasn’t in that fight.”

  “There’s some business I have to take care of ...” I trailed off.

  Coach looked at me hard. “I know you’re a fighter, Nick. You can try and tell me something different, but I know you. I know this performance wasn’t you. Go clean up and I’ll see you at the gym tomorrow.” He let go of my head and pushed me back. Coach was always a hard-ass, but I’d never seen him pissed off at me.

  Yeah, I’d fucked up the fight, but some things were bigger than the cage. All my life that’s where I thought I’d wanted to be. Just the fighter in the cage, and now for the first time I was ready to take that fight outside.

  ***

  Dominic was waiting outside the VIP room as soon as I was dressed. He was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, but jumped up and to attention as soon as he saw me.

  “Hey, Nick, you ready?”

  I nodded, unsure what I was supposed to be ready for, but if it involved taking Emilio or El Lobo down, then hell yes I was.

  I followed Dominic down a short hallway where two girls were standing in nothing but a pair of white lace panties each. The girls weren’t paying any attention to us, just staring at their cell phones. As we approached, their eyes flitted to us and they put their phones down.

  “Hey, you’re Nicky Ragusa, right?” The shorter one asked in a baby doll voice.

  “Yeah. Yeah, I am,” I replied, clenching and unclenching my fists. I didn’t have time to chat or get groped by some random strippers.

  “You trying to get a free show? Or just looking for a little something else for you and your friend?” She batted her eyelashes and her friend sidled up to her side, licking her lips and puffing out her chest. “We’ll take you both for a few G’s. No questions asked. We don’t do anal, but everything else is fair game.”

  I looked to my side to see Dominic’s eyes were so wide they were practically bugging out of their sockets. I shook my head and smiled politely. “Thanks for the offer ladies, but we’ve got some business to attend to.”

  “Oh poo,” the baby doll-voiced girl said. “Maybe next time, Nicky.”

  “Yeah, sure, whatever.” I waved and grabbed onto Dominic’s shirt, pulling him with me down the hallway and out toward the back exit.

  “Don’t get messed up in that shit,” I growled as Dominic protested. ” Just focus on the task at hand and tell me where we’re going.”

  Dominic nodded toward a building across the alleyway. The last few letters of an old video rental place hung off the sign. Old boards crossed the windows, sprayed with graffiti. I looked both ways, making sure no one was around, but the place was empty. People cleared out pretty quick after the fight and anyone still at the strip club was already inside.

  I followed Dominic around to the back of the old video store where a paneled door was held open with a brick at the bottom. Dominic lifted the brick and slid in. As soon as I was in behind him, I very carefully closed the door behind us.

  My shoes squeaked on the blue linoleum floor and I stepped more softly, following Dominic through the dark room. He held his cell phone up, which only gave a little bit of light to lead the way. He turned a sharp corner and opened a door to an even smaller room. A tiny window let in a hint of moonlight, but only enough to get a glimpse of what was going on inside. It may have been an office at one time with its dropped ceiling and the same blue linoleum floors, but now it was being used for more sinister purposes.

  My cousins Phil and Mark stood like bookends, each holding one arm of Emilio, a strip of duct tape over his mouth and his feet bound together by rope. Once his eyes met mine his muffled cursing became more apparent. I took a step closer, making sure he heard each step of my shoes. No need to be soft-footed now. He needed to hear that I was coming for him.

  I stopped when I was right in front of him. He quit trying to talk, so I ripped off the duct tape.

  “Ah! Fuck!” he yelled and put his head down.

  I grabbed his chin, forcing him to look me in the eye. “You do not look away from me when I demand your attention.”

  He stared at me, the air thick between us.

  Finally he smiled. “Nicky Ragusa. The man fucking my ex-girlfriend. I knew I’d get to make your acquaintance one of these days. I just didn’t know it would be after one of my brothers kicked your ass.”

  I squeezed his jaw, locking my grip onto it. I could have broken it with my bare hands if I wanted to.

  “You should learn some respect, Emilio,” I snarled.

  “Respect?” he laughed, though it was strained. I let go of his mouth and he coughed, sputtering into my face. I waited for him to continue. “You don’t deserve my respect.”

  “Do you know who the fuck you’re talking to?” Dominic jumped in behind me, his fist in the air.

  I put my hand out, stopping Dominic. “Let me handle this, cuz.”

  Dominic nodded and took a step back.

  Emilio laughed. “Of course I do. Nicholas Ragusa. Son of Vince Ragusa. The Don of Chicago. El Principe, they call you.” He gargled and spit a wet ball of mucus right in the center of my forehead. “You’re no fucking prince. You’re a peasant. If you want some white trash sloppy seconds, you can have her. I don’t want her anyway.”

  Mark and Phil’s eyebrows were raised, waiting for my response. I let out a silent laugh through my nose and wiped the spit wad off of my forehead with the back of my hand. The adrenaline running through me was so thick I could have killed him right there. I’d never wanted to destroy something so much in my life. This was personal, not because of Jackie anymore. He had it out for me and my family. I couldn’t let him get away that easily.

  I nodded at Phil. “Hey Philly, light ‘im up.”

  “Whatever you say, boss,” Phil replied.

  Emilio’s eyes widened. He didn’t beg for his life or try to apologize. He just stared. I patted his cheek and smiled. Then I turned away and shut the door, drowning out the sounds of the gunshot behind me.

  Chapter 10

  I never slept in. I was always up early, training before work and ready to face the day. Since today was a Sunday, I should have met my family for Mass and breakfast. Instead I woke up to my phone buzzing on my nightstand. I would have ignored it, but the number was Jackie’s.

  I grabbed it and slid it up to my ear. “Hey.”

  “Hey. Oh god, I’m sorry, did I wake you up?”

  “No. Not at all.” She had, but I wasn’t going to tell her that. I didn’t want her to think I was some sort of low life that slept in half the day. I turned over onto my back and glanced at the clock. It was already noon.

  “Sorry about last night. Some shit happened with my ex and I had to get out of there. I hope you understand, but, um, are you free today? Can we maybe hang out?” She hesitated with each word. She was nervous. I imagined her biting her lip and I instantly wanted to see her and nibble on that lip.

  “Yeah. That’d be great. Do you want to come here? I can give your name to my doorman and he’ll let you up.” I sat straight up in bed. I had a bad case of morning wood and it was even worse since I was thinking about her lips.

  “I would, but I don
’t know if I’d have a ride. I can maybe see if Haley can drop me off ...”

  Now I was definitely at attention. I slid out of bed and walked toward my window. “What do you mean you don’t have a ride? What happened to your bike?”

  “That was part of the problem with my ex. One of his gang brothers heard that you gave it to me, so they took it and crashed it.” She sighed, choking on her words. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get you involved in my fucked up life. I shouldn’t have even called you. I-I-I just really wanted to see you again and I didn’t know what else to do and—”

  “Don’t worry about it.” I cut her off. “Give me your address and I’ll pick you up. We can figure out the bike and douche bag ex-boyfriend thing later, okay?”

  She sniffled. “Are you sure? You don’t have to do any of this.”

  I clenched my free hand into a fist, glad as hell I took care of Emilio the night before. “There’s nothing more that I want today than to see you.”

  “Really?”

  “Of course. I didn’t get to see you at all after the fight last night. I’ll pick you up, make you lunch, or whatever.”

  “Wait,” she interrupted. “You cook?”

  “Yeah, what good Italian boy doesn’t know how to cook?”

  “Okay, this I have to see. You can definitely pick me up if you’re going to cook for me.”

  I took down her address. I wasn’t expecting her to live out in the suburbs when I offered to come get her, but I’d make the drive. Some time behind the wheel before seeing her to clear my head couldn’t hurt. “All right. It may be awhile since you live out in butt fuck, is that okay?”

  “Yeah, that’s fine. Just call or text when you get here and I’ll come out.”

  “All right. See you soon.”

  “Bye, Nick.”

  “Bye, Jackie.”

  ***

  The suburb Jackie lived in wasn’t one of the nicer ones. Most of the shops were boarded up or replaced with places where people traded their car title in for cash. It was almost a worse neighborhood than my gym was in. Almost.