Shadow's Dilemma (Wild Kings MC: Dander Falls Book 4)

by Erin Osborne

  “Now that the trash is gone, let’s continue,” I say, turning my attention back to the remaining men in front of me. “I’m goin’ to split you up in teams. One of you will be surrounding the Wild Kings and the girls with them. The rest of you will be placed sporadically throughout the gym. Your job is to look out for anyone harrasin’ the girls and tryin’ to get past the men with them. Does anyone have any questions?”

  One guy speaks up, his actions letting me know that he’s going to be with Renee. “What if they have to go to the bathroom? And if something does happen, who do we take it to if you’re in the ring?” he asks, standing up tall and straight giving a hint of a military background.

  “First of all, what’s your name? Those are good questions. If they leave the seats for any reason, follow them. The guys can take care of themselves. If anythin’ happens, I want you to find your way immediately to the Wild Kings. Find anyone in a cut and let them know what’s goin’ on. Is that understood?” I ask, wanting to know if anyone has any more questions.

  “My name is Killian,” he responds, finally relaxing his stance.

  “Killian, you’re goin’ to be the head of the team surroundin’ the girls. Whoever I put with him is to take their lead from him,” I respond, starting to pace as the nerves and adrenaline start to kick in.

  I spend the next half hour going over everything with the security team. We point out all the exits, I show them where Renee and the girls will be sitting, and that she will be in the locker room with me before the fight. Killian and Josh will be stationed outside the doors with the rest of the small team fanning out in the surrounding area. They’ll stay in contact through ear pieces that Tech sent with me. Then I show the other team where I want them throughout the night. They’ll stay in place while we’re in the building and afterwards. Colin and I agree that we need to keep security upped with the new guys coming in for fights.

  “Shadow, you need to start getting ready,” Colin says, walking over to me from his office.

  “I know. You can finish?” I ask, handing him the papers before I grab my bag off the floor.

  “Yeah. It’s not a lot more and I know what we talked about. We’re good. You go focus on your fight,” he answers, watching me walk away so he can turn his attention back to the guys in front of him.

  As I walk into the locker room, I pull my phone out to see if Renee tried to get a hold of me. Seeing no missed calls or notifications for messages, I debate calling her. But Colin is right and I need to get my focus on tonight. The rumor is I’m facing another one of Andrews guys. They can throw as many at me as they want. I’m not going to cave and give into them. I refuse to throw a fight or anything else. They can kiss my ass if that’s what they want to hear from me. it’s just a matter of time before I see another guy telling me what they want to happen. Hopefully they make an appearance before Renee gets here. She always comes in here to check on me and I know that tonight will be no different.

  Turning my attention to the fight, I get changed so that I can go out and warm up. I’ll go through a short set of workouts so that I know I’m loose and ready for whatever is thrown my way. Colin won’t spar with me in the ring, but I can still get a short workout in with the hours I have to wait. Just as I’m about to hit the mats, I see a few guys enter the gym and know that I was right. There here to tell me to throw the fight so that their guy can win. Honestly, if they’re going to send a few thugs in here to warn me, what does that say about their faith in the guy going in the ring? They should be confident that their fighter will take on every challenge and destroy the competition. Not act like a bunch of pussies and send a few guys in to rough me up, threaten me, or whatever else they’re going to do.

  “You’re wastin’ your time guys,” I say as they make their way over to me. “I’m not throwin’ the fight so that your guy can win in a cheap, unsatisfyin’ way. You want to win, train your guys.”

  “Who says we’re here for that?” one of the guys ask as I see Killian making his way toward me in case, I need help.

  “That’s what the last group wanted, and I’m sure it’s the same for you too. So, quit wastin’ everyone’s time and go back where you came from. I’m not doin’ what your boss wants,” I say, turning to face them as I watch Killian come up behind them and stand there without a single one of them paying attention to him.

  “Oh, you’ll do what we want. Or your little girlfriend will pay for your sins,” the guy closest to me threatens.

  “You won’t touch one hair on her head. You think you’re so tough, sign up for the fights and show me what you’re worth,” I answer, as Killian goes for the guy closest to him when the rest of them come for me.

  I’ve never wanted to fight and damage the one place that means so much to me. Colin’s gym became a place of peace for me when Renee wouldn’t talk to me. But I’m not going to let these guys put their hands on me either. So, I’ll beat their asses with Killian’s help, and kick them the fuck out of here. They won’t be allowed in for tonight’s fight either.

  Just as I go to stand after dropping the first guy, I feel another guy attack me from behind. He wraps his muscled arms around my throat, cutting off my air supply. I don’t panic or try to squirm my way out of the hold. Instead, I let him think he’s got the upper hand before forcing his feet backwards. As soon as I know we’re close to the wall, I ram my body back into his, pushing him into the wall repeatedly until his hold loosens and I can break his grip. He falls like a ton of bricks with his head bouncing off the wall. I shake my head to clear it before looking up to see that Killian, Colin, and one other security guard has the rest of the men down.

  “They’re banned tonight. Don’t let them in the building no matter what happens or what they threaten to do. You got me?” I ask the second security guard. “Take their pictures and pass them around to the rest of the guards. If I see one of them in here, you’ll have to face me.”

  “You got it. Go get cleaned up and I’ll see you in a little while,” Colin says, turning to give the two men instructions about what to do with the men.

  I’ve warmed up, helped the guys out to make sure that everything is set up for tonight, and now I’m back in the locker room waiting for Renee to get here. Mike messaged me a little while ago to say they were on their way. She’s riding with Darcy and Riley while the guys keep them surrounded. So, I’m sitting on the bench as guys around me warm up and prepare for their own fights. We have six on the card and after my match Colin will open it up for anyone else that wants to get in the ring. Maybe one of the guys from the club will get in there.

  “Shadow, where are you?” I hear Renee’s voice ask through all the other murmurs of the men in here already.

  “Everyone out!” I shout, knowing that Renee doesn’t need to see anyone else running around almost naked.

  The guys almost run out of the locker room in their attempt to get away from me. They can sense the mood I’m in and know that what I say goes. Colin has pretty much given me free reign of the gym and told everyone that what I say goes. It’s almost as if I’m a silent partner or some shit. In reality, I haven’t done anything special. I come in to train, talk to Colin, and I’ve helped him out a time or two when he needed it. When things were looking bleak and Colin was thinking about closing the gym, I brought up the idea of fights. He looked into it and then asked me to help him set it up. We’ve been going strong since and he gave up thinking about closing his doors.

  “Baby, are you okay?” Renee asks, looking at the few marks I got from the fight earlier.

  “I’m good. Are you okay? Nothin’ else happened to you?” I ask, looking her over for myself to make sure that nothing happened.

  “I’m fine. I don’t know what the note said, but I saw it on the SUV when we walked outside. When is this going to be over?” she asks, sitting down on the bench in front of me.

  “I don’t know. We should know more soon and then take it from there. How was work?” I ask, needing to distract her so that sh
e lights up the way I know she can when talking about something she loves to do.

  “It was busy. I swear people know I have the next few days off and were trying to make sure they got in while I was there,” she answers, laughing a little at her description. “How was your day?”

  “It was okay. It’s goin’ to stay busy for a while longer. Then, we’re takin’ a vacation or somethin’,” I answer, kneeling down in front of her. “I’m ready for the fights to be over with so we can head to the clubhouse.”

  “Me too,” she says, leaning forward to kiss me like we haven’t seen one another in months.

  I suppose that it feels that way with me coming in late at night, falling into bed, and passing out. If I’m not working, I’ve been doing work on the houses the club owns and then working on a surprise. Renee is back to work and has been called in a few times. So, if we do see one another, it’s in bed when she’s about passed out and I pass out almost as soon as my head hits the pillow. We need some time to ourselves once all of this crazy shit is over with.

  Renee leans her head against my chest and I can tell that something is off with her. But, there’s no time to push it right now. So, I hold her in my arms and just have this moment with her. We need it. Before too long, there’s a pounding on the door that signals it’s almost time for the fight. Renee knows this is her cue to head out to the gym and get in her seat.

  “Killian is goin’ to be with you. Listen to him and if you need to leave suddenly, stay by his side,” I tell her, letting her know that he knows what’s going on and will be by her for the entire fight.

  “Okay James. Good luck!” she says, placing one more kiss on my lips before she heads out to the floor.

  I tape up my hands as Tank and Pops come in. They weren’t supposed to be here and the shock is evident when they look at me. Pops tells me that they wanted to make sure that no one was going to fuck around and make a move while we were here. And, Tank might get in the ring tonight. There’s more of the assholes out there than who I’m getting in the ring with and he wants to get his hands dirty. Especially once I tell them what happened earlier.

  Finally, I’m all taped up and ready to get in the ring. We make our way out and I see that it’s a packed house again. I shouldn’t be surprised, but it still amazes me every time I walk through the doors and see the crowd. Looking around, I easily spot Renee and Killian is right next to her. He gives me a nod to let me know that he knows his job and will stay on top of it.

  Stepping in the ring, I feel the familiar adrenaline spike as I look at the guy across the ring from me. It’s that motherfucker that the girls saw when they left the salon and Renee ran into him. My anger begins to take over and I know that I have to tamp it down before it gets the best of me and I fuck up. I see the smirk on his face as he realizes that he’s getting in my head already and we haven’t even started yet. But it’s going to make him cocky and he’ll be the asshole that finds himself on the mat a beaten mess.

  The bell rings and I immediately snap to attention. We begin circling one another, trying to size the other one up. I’m not going to wait for him to make a move though. He’s going to get his ass handed to him for scaring my girl. Before we can make another circuit around the ring, I inch in closer and land my first hit with an uppercut to his chin. His head pops back before he looks at me with anger flaring in his dead eyes.

  “You’re dead motherfucker! And then I’m going to destroy your bitch since no one will be there to watch over her!” he yells out, lunging at me as I side-step him.

  The man crashes into the cage surrounding the ring. I could attack him with his back turned, but that’s not my style. So, I patiently wait for him to turn back around. When he does, there a hammer in his hand. He can come at me with whatever he wants. He’s fighting with anger fueling him and I’m trying to be smart about this. Bouncing from one foot to the other, I watch as he launches his attack at me. At the last second, I dodge the blow he’s attempting to land with the hammer in his hand. He runs into the other side of the fence and I can see his anger ratcheting up in his body language. While I want to laugh, I know that I have to attack as soon as he turns around.

  The guy turns suddenly and comes at me again. Instead of dodging him this time, I kick out and land a solid hit to his gut. He stumbles back, and I attack. I begin throwing lefts and rights anywhere that I can reach until I watch the hammer fly from his hands, so he can try to protect himself. Soon, we’re on the mat and I put him in a chokehold. The guy starts panicking and trying to get out of the hold. If he were thinking, I’ve left myself wide open for an elbow to land a solid hit to my ribs. But he’s struggling, and I’ll use that to my advantage if I can.

  “You will never get your hands on my girl you sick fuck!” I tell him in his ear as I feel the life draining out of him. I won’t kill him, but he’ll go to sleep for a while and that’s fine by me.

  Suddenly he twists one last time and I feel something jab into my side. Immediately I release him as I feel intense pain radiate through my side. This motherfucker just stabbed me with something. Letting go of him, I put my hand where the pain started and look down to see blood flowing steadily from the wound he just made.

  “I might not, but Trenton will. He’s just waiting for the right time to take his family back,” he taunts as I roll away from him before trying to stand.

  I know that I have to forget the pain in my side and end this fucker. Looking over I see the paleness of Renee’s face before seeing Tank and Pops right up to the cage. Just like before, Tank reaches in and holds out a pair of brass knuckles. I concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other until I make to him.

  “End this fucker. Now!” he yells into me as I slide them in place before nodding and turning around.

  The arrogant prick thinks I’m down for the count and is over talking with whoever came with him tonight. Just as I stumble over to him, he turns around with a sadistic smile on his face, almost daring me to do anything else to him. He wasn’t paying attention when I went over to the other side of the cage and now, he’ll pay for that mistake. I lift my hand, so he gets a good look at the brass knuckles before starting my assault. Landing hit after hit, I pummel his face. The fucker doesn’t even have time to protect himself as my fury unleashes. Finally, he drops to the mat and I follow him down. It’s like I black out with the rage and pain filling my body. Tank and Pops rush in and pull me off of the guy’s body. He’s lying in a crumpled heap, almost in a fetal position now. There’s no movement from him as I try to break free from the hold of the two men standing next to me.

  “Leave it for now. Let’s get out of here,” Pops tells me, pulling me toward the door. “Gage already gathered your shit out of the locker room, so we can leave.”

  “Thought Tank was fightin’,” I say, dropping my head as the pain begins to take over my body.

  “Nope. Gotta get you outta here. He’ll get his hands dirty another time. You’re in the SUV with the girls. Not takin’ any chances with that stab wound,” he says, half dragging me along with them.

  Renee rushes to my side with Killian hot on her heels. She doesn’t try to stop our forward movement, just gets in line beside Tank. I look up at her intending to smile until I see her face. She’s looking straight ahead like she’s seen a ghost. Following her line of sight, I see a man standing in the middle of the crowd. He’s wearing a demented smile on his face that’s partially hidden by a hat. The longer I look at him, the more I realize that this is Dylan’s dad. He’s got the same eyes and darker colored hair as the young boy I look at as my own son.

  “Doc, you okay?” I ask, gritting my teeth through the pain.

  She doesn’t answer. I turn to look at her and see that she’s still looking at the same spot even though the guy took off as soon as our eyes connected. He’s a fucking coward, but he’s in her head now. I’m not sure what it’s gonna take to get her to come back to me, but once we’re in the SUV I have to try something.

  We rush outsid
e, and I relish the cool air hitting my sweat coated skin. The guys lead us to the SUV that’s parked close to the doors and I’m the last one to climb in the backseat next to Renee. I tell Pops to have Killian ride my bike back to the clubhouse before the door is slammed shut. Renee starts fussing over me as she pulls a bag off the floor. It’s her medical bag and has all sorts of bandages and other shit in it. I watch as she takes out wipes to clean the wound so she can inspect it as Riley pulls out of the parking lot surrounded by my brothers.

  For a few minutes, I let Renee do her thing. It seems to be something she needs to do right now. Once she’s cleaned me up and checked the wound, I watch as she carefully places a bandage over the wound that’s already stopped bleeding. He must not have gotten all he wanted with the angle I had his body. It was enough to bleed good for a few minutes and sting like a bitch, but I think I’ll be good now as long as I take care of it.

  “Doc, I need you to look at me,” I tell her, waiting until she looks up at me. Seeing the unshed tears in her eyes kills me. “That guy was Dylan’s dad?”

  “Yeah. I don’t know how he would know about the fights or why he’d even be there,” she answers with her bottom lip quivering.

  “We’ll figure it out. Dylan’s safe at the clubhouse and no one is goin’ to get to him. I got you,” I tell her, pulling her into my arms, neither one of us caring about the sweat covering my body. In this moment we need to feel one another.

  That’s how we stay until I see the clubhouse come into view. The guys park the bikes in their spot while I watch Killian park mine at the end of the line since he doesn’t know where I park. Riley pulls up close to the doors before shutting the engine off and getting out. Renee grabs her bag in case we need it in the room before opening her door. Walking inside, I watch as she goes to check on our son. She’s shaken up and I know that we’re gonna have to step up the level of protection so she has peace of mind about the situation. That can wait until tomorrow though. All I want right now is to grab a hot shower and climb into bed with my girl. So, I make my way to our room and strip down while she’s checking on Dylan. By the time I make it in the room, she’s lying in bed with our son cuddled in her arms. I climb in bed and wrap my arms around the two people that mean the world to me. Sleep claims us all as we stayed locked together.