“Six!”
Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. Her body was being shoved about by the chanting angry men around her, but she didn’t even notice.
“Seven! Eight!”
She stood there, as if time had stopped, waiting to see if Nathan would get up. It seemed like the end and, as much as she hoped he would be healthy afterward, she didn’t know if it mattered. Moretti was ready to kill Nathan himself if the fight was lost.
“Nine!”
Just as the referee was about to slam his hand down on the canvas of the ring and call Tiger the winner, Nathan pushed his body up with trouble. The crowd went absolutely insane and Tiger looked like a cross between completely shocked and captivated to continue fighting someone with Nathan’s spirit. Nathan gave the referee a reassuring nod as he wiped a bit of blood and sweat away from his eye.
Moretti immediately focused his attention on the fight and that was when Emma saw Nick standing clear across her, on the other side of the fighting ring. He was watching the fight calmly, but she knew he was keeping an eye out for what he wanted. Nick glanced across the ring at her. That’s when she saw the realization in his eyes. He was starting to piece together what was happening. If Nathan didn’t stay down at that point in the fight, he wasn’t going to stay down at all.
It was during the third round that Nathan put his fists up and looked Tiger dead in the eye. Despite how beat up he was he didn’t back down one bit. He made a movement as if to throw a punch toward Tiger’s face, but switched it up last second and caught him in the stomach with a punishing blow.
Tiger stumbled back into the ropes. Emma could hear him wheeze and pant with pain. Immediately, he lunged forward to get to Nathan, but he dodged out of the way at the very last second, sending the Tiger flying forward into the ropes on the other side. As soon as he turned around, Nathan delivered a lightning fast punch square in the middle of Tiger’s face.
He looked completely disoriented and Nathan took full advantage of it. His swollen eyes, the blood still running out from his mouth, none of it could stop him. He swung his arm up and caught Tiger right under the chin before finishing him off with another punch across the jaw.
Tiger crumpled down to the floor. A wet slap echoed against the walls and over the loud cheering of the crowd when his body hit the canvas. The referee immediately ran over and started counting.
He didn’t get back up.
Chapter six
After Nathan won, Emma didn’t have much relief. She watched as Moretti cheered, but across the ring from her, Nick was glaring at Nathan before turning his gaze toward her. She could see the fury in his eyes. And even if nobody there knew it except those involved, his pride had been hurt even further by it having happened publicly.
That was when she saw Nick motion for his men to grab Nathan as he was scrambling to get out of the ring. Emma felt like she was about to be sick, not knowing what to do or how to save him, but Nathan scrambled away from Nick’s side without noticing to climb through the ropes and out of the ring past Moretti. Emma immediately took off to follow him into the locker room, not noticing that two of Nick’s men went after her.
All she heard over the cheers of the crowd was Laura creaming. “Hey! Where the hell are you going? We have to pay out the bets!”
Emma wasn’t going to stop for the bets or for anything else. She had to escape with Nathan immediately.
Emma saw him fighting his way through a crowd of happy men who were congratulating him with slaps on the back. A handful even tried to take photos but Nathan was pushing past them. He had to get out of there and he had to do it fast. It was just as Emma successfully fought her way through the crowd to get closer to Nathan that she saw one of Nick’s men grab hold of him.
Her heart stopped. She stopped walking. They were so close to being free…
This couldn’t be happening. Once again, she saw no escape from the situation. She knew Nick was capable of having Nathan killed right then and there if it really came down to it. All that mattered was Nick getting his way in the end.
Much to her surprise she saw Nathan swing around and punch the man who had taken hold of him. That one punch alone was enough to lay the man out on the floor cold. The crowd around them cheered and laughed at what had just happened, making Emma happy to be surrounded by so many people for the first time ever. Nathan pumped his fist in the air to play the part, grinning and cheering right along with them.
She hated the way his swollen eye looked, but not as much as she hated the idea of how much pain he was in. She even wondered how much he could see by that point. Emma continued to push through the crowd toward Nathan. She looked back over her shoulder to see Nick glaring at them as they seemingly managed to escape.
When Emma finally reached Nathan, he immediately grabbed her hand and tugged her close to him. They stormed straight past the locker room and slammed open a door that lead into a little hallway, out of sight from the crowd. Nathan took a quick glance around to make sure nobody was tailing them and then kicked open a door that lead out to an alley instead of turning back around and heading into the locker room. Emma hoped the sound of the alley door banging open hadn’t attracted anybody, especially not one of Nick’s men.
It was out there in the alley that she saw there was an escape motorcycle waiting for them. She had no clue whose idea it was or how it had gotten there, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that it was their way out of here to get to the moving truck and finally be in the clear. The two of them had taken just one step toward it when a man came out of nowhere and grabbed Nathan by the arm.
Emma quickly ducked for cover behind a dumpster, cursing when she nearly knocked over a broken 2x4 that would have instantly given away where she was. She was unsure if there were more men around them at that moment or if the one man had seen her duck behind the dumpster, but she knew it was best to keep a low profile as Nathan struggled against the man.
But when another man ran past the dumpster behind which she was hiding and pointed a gun point-blank at Nathan, she knew she had to do something to help or risk losing him forever. In an instant she grabbed the 2x4 and, without a second thought, swung it around with all the power she could muster. The wood smashed over the man’s head, forcing him to hit the ground unconscious.
The man holding Nathan was so shocked by her sudden attack that he didn’t notice when Nathan clocked him across the face. Nathan looked up at Emma with a shocked smile. He stood up and reached out for her hand, pulling her into a tight embrace. They both knew they didn’t really have much time, but couldn’t resist a quick moment together. The ordeal had been risky and frightening.
He let her go and they both immediately jumped onto the motorcycle. Nathan wasted no time turning it on and driving off, the tires burning rubber and the motorcycle screeching into the night.
Whether or not they were being followed by Nick’s men at that point, she didn’t know. She figured it would be a while before Nick’s other men found out the two of them had escaped and alerted their boss. By that time, the two of them would be out of the city in a vehicle that wasn’t being searched for.
Emma clutched tightly onto Nathan as she looked back in the direction of the warehouse; home to The Ring. The entire building was disappearing in the distance. For the first time in as long as she could remember, Emma felt a great sense of relief wash over her. The more physical distance they put between themselves and The Ring, the further away they got from that lifestyle. It was finally happening; she was finally leaving it behind.
She tightened her grip on Nathan even more. He was still with her. She hadn’t had to leave him behind along with the underground fighting life. She had been able to pull him out of that mess right along with her– only it seemed more like he had pulled her out by that point. Not once had he stopped protecting her or assuring everything would be okay.
As she rested her head against his shoulder and the two of them drove toward their moving truck, she realized
that maybe it was finally true. Maybe everything really would be okay now, if not better. It seemed they had successfully escaped Nick thanks to a deal with none other than Alex Moretti.
They had more than enough money to live comfortably for quite some time and they had everything they needed with them– most importantly each other. It was like a dream come true, only her dream would have never had the fight component to begin with.
But, then again, who would Nathan be if not a fighter at heart? She shut her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of the cool night air whipping at her face.
It made her think of California and its ocean breeze.
Sooner rather than later she’d be enjoying it with the man she loved.
The End
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Chapter One
Kurt walked into the house he once called home and looked around. Not much had changed. It had been over a year since he even set foot in it and now he had two weeks to spend there. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other as the uncertainty of spending that amount of time in his parents’ house hit him. After looking around one more time he heaved the bag of his belongings over his shoulder and headed upstairs to his old bedroom.
It had been a long time since he’d visited his parents’ house; longer since he had stayed there, and even longer since he lived there. At 27 years old his last memories as a 17-year-old still living with mom and dad in that house were already starting to grow a bit fuzzy. He had moved out shortly before his eighteenth birthday with a buddy of his before finally branching out two years later and moving away from town. He wouldn’t return until almost four years later after earning his degree in Political Science.
It wasn’t until about his 24th birthday that he decided to join the army. He had visited his parents for all of three days when he already felt a pull to get going. It wasn’t that he had a bad experience living there. He got along with his parents just fine. It was just that he always had more of a spirit of independence and he couldn’t stand the feeling of being cooped up. That was why he broke free from the nest at the first opportunity he had. His mother, with watery eyes, had hugged him tight and wished him the best of luck.
Now in his 27th year of life and a successful Corporal in the Army, he had taken his first big leave to visit his parents. His mother was overjoyed by the news and his father, a man of few words, offered a very short statement of happiness at seeing his son after many years. Kurt understood his father, John. John had never hurt Kurt or made him feel like his childhood or life lacked a father in any way.
John just wasn’t exactly an emotionally charged man with much to say. Kurt had observed it from a young age and developed an admiration for his father that was quite unique. His mother, on the other hand, was quite vocal and obvious when it came to her feelings. Kurt had always found it funny how his mom and dad ended up together. They were the perfect example that opposites did indeed attract but, at their core, they shared important values and found harmony that way.
Kurt opened up his old bedroom door and was met with a shock. It was completely transformed. It was no longer the room from his teenage years. It didn’t have all his old posters on the wall or clothes lingering in the closet. None of his old trinkets were sitting atop the shelves. Even the carpet and color of the walls were different. He dropped the heavy bag to the floor and looked around. It was transformed into quite a lovely guest room. Just as he took his first step inside to look more closely, he heard the front door of the house open downstairs.
“Kurt, honey?” It was his mother calling out to him, wondering if he had already arrived. He listened intently, but there were no sounds to indicate his father was with her. He stepped out of the bedroom and walked to the top of the stairs. His mother’s eyes shined with pure joy and she immediately bounded up the stairs to pull him into a tight hug.
“Oh, Kurt,” she mumbled into his shoulder. He chuckled as he wrapped his arms around his small mother. She was very short and had a small frame which made Kurt look gigantic beside her.
“I’ve miss you so much,” she said as she pulled away from the hug. She reached up and cupped his cheeks. He could almost hear the cooing noise she wanted to make, but it never came. She finally let go and asked, “Did you see the bedroom yet?”
“What is going on in there?” He asked in surprise.
It was obvious it had been completely remodeled, but he wanted all the details. He could only assume it had been his mother’s idea to update his old bedroom. She led him over to it and confirmed it was her idea. She said she wanted a more grown-up place for her son to stay now that he would be in her house for the first time in years. She had tried to do it with what he would like in mind.
“Although,” she said rather quietly, “I can’t say I’m entirely sure I know what this son likes.”
“What do you mean by this son, mom?” Kurt draped his arm over his mother’s frail shoulders and squeezed as his eyes looked over every detail of the room.
“You’re a mature young man now, Kurt. You’ve been gone for so long, too. I don’t know how your tastes have changed.”
Something about what his mother said broke his heart. He knew she supported his every move and was happy to see him living his own life, but he rarely stopped to think about what that really entailed. It wasn’t as simple as being away from his old home and his parents; he was so far removed that they were also missing out on how he was changing over time. There were little things they didn’t know about him and he knew that made his mother sad.
“I love it, mom.” His voice was soft in the way he only ever spoke to her. Nobody else got to hear him speak like that. It was only his mother who moved him enough to speak so softly.
Once Kurt was settled into his room and everything was unpacked he headed downstairs to find his mom had already made a delicious vegetable stew and some dinner rolls. She asked all about his life on the Army base and if he had made good friends out there. She, of course, asked if he had a girlfriend. He knew she meant no harm. She just wanted to know all about her son’s life.
Once they were done eating he insisted on cleaning up the kitchen while she relaxed on the couch in the living room and watched television. It was right around the time he finished cleaning up that his father got home and greeted him. They all went to the living room and watched a short movie together before his dad went to bed.
That was when his mother turned to look at him with a look in her eye that meant something new was headed his way. It didn’t look like anything bad so he wasn’t nervous.
“Kurt, honey,” she started off before scooting closer to him on the couch. “I prepared a little something for your arrival tomorrow night. Just a little party. Oh, honey, it’s just been so long since you’ve been here!”
Chapter Two
Kurt ran his thumbs on the underside of the sport coat’s collar and looked at his reflection in the mirror. This was definitely not how he was used to dressing, but he saw nothing wrong in giving his mother the small joy of seeing her only son in the coat she had so kindly bought for him with the party in mind. After all, she was the only person in the world who would put so much thought and effort into welcoming him home.
Kurt sighed. Maybe it was time to think about visiting her more often. He had his independence, but maybe it was too much to pull away from his mother so much.
After opting to keep the sports coat open, he walked out of the bedroom and went downstairs to find his mom. She was busy in the
kitchen making sure everything was ready before setting it out on the long table with a solid hunter green table cloth. It was in the formal dining room; soon to be covered in finger foods and drinks. She turned to see Kurt leaning against the archway that led from the hall to the kitchen and she smiled, eyes shining.
“Oh, Kurt honey,” she said softly as she took a step forward to survey him closer, “You look so handsome.” She looked at him with a lot of pride before turning to look at all the food and then instructed him to help her set it out. By the time they were done, the first couple of guests had arrived.
They were two old friends from high school, Jason and Tim, who had apparently remained best friends even until now. Jason filled Kurt in on how he had been the first of the two to marry.
“But, you know, Tim with his competitive spirit didn’t take that lying down.” Then he chuckled and added, with a wink, “Or, rather he did and that’s why his wife got pregnant before mine!” The two men burst into laughter. Kurt felt rather like an oaf forcefully chuckling along to such an elementary and crude joke, but he didn’t want to be rude. Just then, the front door opened and a family piled in.
Hard Love: A Bad Boy Fighter Romance Page 5
