“Uh, what the hell do you think you’re doing?” Xander scolds as I pull on my jeans, well try to pull them on, it’s a little harder with only one hand. He lays back on the bed, legs crossed with one arm carelessly thrown behind his head as the dog lounges at the end of the bed, despite Xander telling him to get off a million times. Xander looks damn sexy in his dark jeans and leather jacket, but right now, his attitude has me overlooking it all.
I look at him in confusion. What the hell does he think I’m doing? “I’m getting ready,” I clarify.
“You’re not coming,” he scoffs from his position on the bed.
“Like hell I not,” I say, facing him front on and making sure he knows just how serious I am right now. Beast raises his head at the tone of my voice, clearly ready to back me up if need be.
“No,” he says, sitting up in bed. “You’re not.”
Fury takes over me in a flash. How dare he? “I didn’t just go through hell and back for this stupid fight to have my stubborn ass boyfriend tell me I can’t go, right before the big ending,” I yell.
He lets out a regretful sigh as he gets up off the bed and makes his way around to me with Beasts eyes firmly following his movements. He places his hands on my shoulders as if trying to calm me, but that only infuriates me more. I deserve to go after what I’ve been through. I want to watch him pummel the dickhead. In fact, I’m pretty sure I need to see it. “Babe,” he says, softly. “It’s too dangerous. What if he got his hands on you while I wasn’t there? I’d be worried about you the whole time rather than concentrating on the fight.”
“That’s not going to happen,” I say. “I won’t let him. I’ll stay with someone the whole time.”
“Babe,” he says with pain behind his eyes, hating telling me no. “No. I just… I can’t risk it like that.”
“Please,” I whisper.
He cups his hands around my face and gives me a gentle kiss before pulling back. “You know I would give you anything and everything I possibly could,” he says. “But this… I won’t risk your safety over a stupid fight. It’s not worth it.”
My head drops to his shoulder and I’m pretty sure I start pouting. His arms wrap around me. “I’m sorry, babe,” he murmurs as he holds me.
I give in as a plan starts forming in my sneaky brain. If he isn’t going to take me. I’ll find my own way there. I’m going to be fine and he needs to learn that he can’t treat me like a princess because of one bad situation. I need to be free and live my life and right now, living my life consists of one thing. Watching my boyfriend annihilate my attacker.
I make my way over to the bed and climb under the covers. The fight doesn’t start for another two hours so I have plenty of time. I watch as Xander goes about the room, getting ready and pumping himself up, though every time he looks at me and takes in the scars that ‘Pitt Bull’ left behind, I know he’s ready.
I have absolutely no doubt that Xander will walk out of that ring tonight as the winner.
Xander comes over to me half an hour later and gives me a kiss. “I better get going. I want to get a proper warm up in before the match,” he tells me.
“Ok,” I sigh, still not happy that he isn’t willing to take me with him, but I know my plan will work. “Good luck,” I say. “Maybe bring me back an eyeball or something,” I tease.
“That’s so foul on so many levels,” he says, slightly shaking his head in disgust.
I shrug my shoulders, “Eh, you still love me,” I grin.
“That, I do,” he says.
“Kick his ass, ok,” I say, though this time he knows it’s more of an order rather than a simple request.
“Babe, I promise you, I will not leave that ring until I’ve thoroughly fucked him up.”
“I really like the sound of that,” I grin.
“I know you do,” he says, getting to his feet. “Be safe, ok. I’ve programmed the boy's numbers into your new phone so if anything happens and you can’t get a hold of me, you call them, okay?”
“Ok,” I say, hating the thought of being alone for even the smallest moment, but I know it won’t be for long.
“I hate leaving you,” he tells me.
“I’ll be okay,” I say, snuggling deeper into my bed. “Please don’t mess up that face of yours, I’m quite fond of it,” I grin.
I finally get him out the door and the second I hear the lock click into place, the covers come flying off. I grab my phone as I dash around the room searching for the clothes I had earlier. I press a few buttons on my phone and hold it up to my ear as I try to pull a shirt over my head.
“Hey, Slutbag,” Zara yells into the phone over the sound of what I am assuming is either a house party or Micky’s, though, from the loud dance music I’m going to go with the first option. Micky says he has no time for shit music like that, despite all the objections
“Hey, whore,” I grin. “What are you doing?”
“Hold on,” she yells. I wait patiently as the background noise slowly fades to a dull buzz. “K, what did you say?”
“What are you doing?”
“Oh, we’re at this frat party. The Dragon’s just won their game so everyone is pretty pumped up, though this party stinks,” she informs me.
“We’re you guys going to Xander’s fight tonight?” I ask with my fingers and toes crossed.
“Hell yeah, we’re going. No way am I going to miss that fight,” she says. “Hang on, shouldn’t you already be there?”
“That’s my problem. Xander is refusing to let me go. He says ‘it’s too dangerous’,” I say mimicking his voice.
“Ugh, that blows,” she sighs.
“What do you mean that blows? I’m still going whether he likes it or not,” I tell her.
“Oh dear, this isn’t going to go down well,” she murmurs, though I hear the smile in her voice. “Tell me,” she says. “How do you assume you’re going to get there?”
“You’re going to get that hot boyfriend of yours to pick me up on the way, of course.”
She lets out a sigh. “There’s no way he’s going to go against Xander’s wishes.”
“Oh please, unbutton your top, push your tits up, grind against him and that man will be putty in your hands,” I tell her, “Besides, you guys are still in that stage where he’s trying to impress you, you’ve got nothing to worry about, now hurry up. I don’t want to miss anything.”
“Fine,” she laughs, “We’ll be there in twenty.”
She hangs up the phone and I use the time to get myself ready, but doing pretty much everything one handed is extremely hard.
A knock sounds at the door twenty minutes later and I rush downstairs with Beast by my side before subtly peeping through the window to confirm its Zara and Aaron. When I’m certain I’m not about to be kidnapped again, I fling the door open and have Zara crashing into my arms.
“How are you feeling?” she questions straight away. “Are you sure you should be going out tonight?”
“I’m fine,” I groan. “Now, help me do up my pants. The button is too hard with one hand.”
She smirks at me then does as she’s told, only then does she give into the dog who’s begging for her attention. I grab my bag off the front table and lock up the house before climbing into the back of Aaron’s truck. “Thanks, Aaron,” I grin as he turns in his seat and gives me a cranky look.
“You girls are going to get me in so much trouble,” he murmurs. “Does the dog really have to come?” he asks before backing out of the driveway.
“Don’t stress, by the time I’m through with Xander, he won’t even remember what he’s pissed about,” I inform him. “And yes, consider Beast my guard dog. Where I go, he goes.”
I watch with a grin as Aaron shakes his head and murmurs to himself. “Yeah, I’m fucked.”
Chapter 24
Xander
The place is packed as I make my way out to the ring with Cole heavy on my heels. He has just finished putting me through the warm up of my life wh
ile Luke sputters out every detail about ‘Pitt Bull’ he could think of, though, I think it’s pretty damn clear that we know his fighting style by now.
I have never been more pumped for a fight. The adrenaline pumps through my veins, making me desperate to get in the ring and feel my fist pounding into his flesh. Though, for the first time in my life, I’m not fighting for myself. This is all for Charli and defending her honor, well, nailing this fucker in the face again is a little bit for me too.
I stand at the entrance of the ring and there’s still no sight of ‘Pitt Bull’, he wasn’t in the Fighter’s room out back warming up, but I know with every ounce of my being that he isn’t missing this match, especially after everything he’s done, this fucker will want to go out with a bang and I bet he’s hoping the rush you get from the audience is what will help him over the line.
But I’ve got a scorned girlfriend on my side and just like I said to Charli, I will not come out of this ring without getting payback.
“You ready for this, Kid?” Cole asks from behind me as the announcer starts his spiel about me.
I turn to face him and look him in the eye. “Yeah, I’m ready,” I tell him.
“Alright,” he says. “Remember, he would have regrouped after the other night. He will try anything to win this. You need to be prepared for whatever he throws at you.”
I nod my head, acknowledging what he’s saying. I don’t need to respond as he has already told me this twenty times over the past few days. I’ve got this.
My name is called and I slip through the ropes of the ring and strut into the centre. The crowd is wild tonight, there isn’t even standing room anymore. I raise my hands as I make it into the centre, acknowledging the crowd who are squished into the room.
I begin disrobing when I feel that familiar piercing stare right before a deep bark is echoed over the crowd.
No. She wouldn’t.
My eyes snap up into the audience, searching for those familiar baby blues. It doesn’t take long to point her out, after all, she’s standing amongst the rowdiest bunch in the whole place with a dog right beside her. My eyes narrow on her and she instantly understands the meaning. She is in deep shit.
She cringes and bites down on her lip before smirking at me and shrugging her shoulders. She’s in deep shit and she doesn’t care. I should have known she would pull something like this. My eyes instantly flick towards Aaron, knowing he was the pussy whipped boyfriend who allowed my girl to pull this off.
“Sorry man,” he mouths, but I realize that even without Aarons help, she would have found another way to get here.
The announcer starts calling out the stats for ‘Pit Bull’ when I finally put faces on the rowdy people surrounding my girl. The whole fucking hockey team has shown up again and seeing as though after tonight’s game, they still remain undefeated, it’s no wonder they’re so rowdy.
Knowing they’re here and looking out for Charli makes me feel a little better about her being here, but don’t get me wrong, we’re still having words tonight.
The announcer finally calls ‘Pitt Bull’ to the ring and I look over to the opposite side of the ring, where the opposition would usually come from, only he doesn’t appear from there. My eyes snap to a commotion in the crowd and notice ‘Pit Bull’ literally pushing his way through the crowd to get to the ring.
I suddenly feel sorry for the pricks in his way as judging by the look on his face, he wouldn’t be pushing them gently. He’s here to inflict as much harm as possible. Though, I hope he enjoys this little show he’s putting on because it’s the only harm he will be inflicting tonight.
My eyes quickly flick up to Charli, making sure she’s ok after seeing him again, but all I see is that angry little line between her eyebrows giving her away. Her eyes move from ‘Pitt Bull’ to me and that line smooths out. ‘I love you’ she murmurs.
I nod my head. I don’t say it back, but she sees it in my eyes, hell, everyone who witnessed the exchange would see it in my eyes.
‘Pit Bull’ makes it to the centre of the ring and faces me with an ugly scowl and a face full of cuts and bruises. I can’t help but smirk at the fuck wit, knowing those marks are a sign of what he did to my girl. Those marks stand as a reminder for me which unlucky for him, only spurs me on. A growl is heard over the crowd and has me smirking at the bastard.
“Thought you were too ‘chicken shit’ to show,” I say, using the exact phrase Charli had used on him to get a reaction.
His eyes narrow, “You better fucking watch it,” he growls before cracking his knuckles, in some sort of show of testosterone.
“I better watch it?” I question. “You took my girl off the street and beat her. You’ll be fucking lucky if I let you out of this ring alive.”
I’m usually the silent, broody type before a match, but I know the more and more I frustrate him, the deeper inside his head I become and the easier his takedown will be. And right now, by the way his eyes are shooting daggers at me, I’m right there, right inside his head. I smirk at the bastard once more just to piss him off.
The ref calls a start to the match before he has a chance to reply. I jump straight into action, moving as fast as lightning, but the fucker is too wound up in his own anger he doesn’t see me coming. My fist comes down hard on his temple, right where I got him the other night.
The hit knocks him off balance but not enough to do any damage. The crowd roars, but he quickly shakes it off and comes right for me. He throws his arm around my body, attempting to hold me while his other arm comes around in a quick short arc straight to my ribs. The blow is devastating, but not enough to take me down. He forces me back into the ropes of the ring to try and keep me contained.
We scramble around as he attempts to land a blow while I try to reclaim the upper hand. I manage to duck under his arm and lean back into the ropes. I quickly push myself back before letting myself fly forward with the momentum of the ropes. I come at him with fist flying and a kick combination.
His boxing skills can hardly keep up and it doesn’t take long until he’s fumbling around, looking like a damn fool. Blood drips from his lip while the rest of his body is covered in red marks. My knuckles are bleeding, but most of it is held back by the tape Cole had applied.
My fist comes up and I nail him in the jaw. The crowd roars while the sound of Beast’s bark is heard over the top as ‘Pit Bull’s’ head is thrown backward. He quickly shuffles back giving himself a moment to right himself and spits a mouthful of blood to the concrete floor.
He lets out a growl as he rushes me and tries to get me to the ground, but the move is predictable. It’s the same one he has used in each and every match he has been in. He overpowers his opponent, gets them to the ground and beats them senseless.
But I’m ready for him. I watch his movements closely and duck out of the way while grabbing his left wrist and giving it a twist, landing myself directly behind him with his wrist firmly in my grasp, but come to think of it, it’s the same wrist he crushed of Charli’s…
He howls out in pain and I pull on my hold tighter. I push him forward into the ropes and hold him there while I take a leaf from his book and nail him in the back of the ribs before getting a good kick to the back of his knees. I push him to the side at the same time and he goes down to the ground with the weight of my body coming down on top of him.
He struggles beneath me, but now that he’s down, I want this shit over. Charli’s voice carries over the top of the crowd or maybe I’m just listening out for it. “Finish him,” she screams.
There’s one thing I know for sure. What my woman wants, she gets.
I release his wrist and grab him by the scuff of his hair. I raise him up off the ground before slamming his head back into the concrete ground, hating the feeling of being so brutal, but in the end, he touched Charli. He slammed her head into the side of a van, twice. Consider it karma.
He manages to shuffle himself underneath me, but all that does is put him on his back. Bad m
ove, dickhead. He puts his hand down on the ground, trying to find purchase on the concrete to buck me off. I consider how easily I could get up and shatter his wrist, the same way he had done to Charli, but I just don’t have that nature within me, no matter how badly I want to do it.
Instead, I finish it.
Before he has a chance to get me off him, my fists come down to his ribs and chest in rapid movements. My knuckles protest in pain, but I will them to hold on for one second more.
As his hands move down to protect his ribs from my blows, I shift myself forward and deliver my final blow. With everything I’ve got, I let the fucker have it. I nail him in the temple and this time, it’s lights out.
The crowd cheers and an announcement is called over the speakers as some guy comes into the ring and holds my aching hand up into the sky. “Winner by KO, “The Widow Maker.”
The crowd continues roaring but I only have eyes for Charli.
I hate that she has witnessed how I nearly just lost myself during that fight, but in the end, I know she will find some sort of peace with seeing him go down.
The guy has hardly let go of my hand before Cole and Luke are busting into the ring and tackling me to the ground. Jace and Caden come in close behind them and land right on top of the pile of muscle. “Two hundred fucking grand,” Cole shouts in excitement.
“Hell yeah, mother fucker,” Jace exclaims.
In all the time since Charli’s attack the money never once entered my mind, but now it’s over, I can’t help the grin that comes tearing over my face.
“Get off me, fuckers,” I demand. “I have a girl to see.”
“Fuck, you’re pussy whipped,” Cole murmurs.
“You would be too if you had a girl like Charli to go home to every night, except all you have is your hand and a stack of old porno’s,” I say as the boys start getting off me. Luke holds out his hand and helps me to my feet before we start making our way out of the ring.
“Get stuffed,” Cole laughs as he knocks my shoulder.
“Dude, he’s fucking right,” Jace scoffs, making the rest of us crack into laughter.
Kings of Denver - COMPLETE BOX SET 1-4 Page 59
