by Laura Day
Maple heard another bell go off, and she knew it was about to begin. She crossed her fingers despite the fact that she did not believe the gesture held any power. She said a silent prayer even though she didn’t really believe in God. She heard the referee say something, and all of a sudden, the fight had started and Conor and Jax had collided together in the middle of the ring, with their heads bent and their bodies contorted in fiery effort.
The referee stood on the precipice of their fight, his seedy eyes watching carefully. Maple could see Evan in his corner, his body was rigid with tension, and he seemed never to blink. Maple cast her attention over the panel of judges. Samson and Yves had their eyes on the fight, but Yves seemed disconnected and disinterested. His eyes roved over the young women in the crowd far more than they landed on the two men locked together in the middle of the ring.
Maple felt a sting run through her mouth, and she realized that she was biting her lip. She started twisting her hands together—just so that she had something to focus on—as she turned her attention back to the fight. Jax was taller, leaner, and his muscles hinted at a powerful strength, but Maple could see that Conor was holding his own. He was shielding his body well from Jax’s attacks, and his punches seemed to be as powerful and as fast as Jax’s were.
It was only when she had been staring at them for a significant period of time that Maple started to realize that Conor seemed to be on a different level entirely. He didn’t seem to slow down at any point; he never showed any sign of getting tired. It was as though he had an unlimited supply of energy stored up somewhere, and he wasn’t letting off at any point.
Maple frowned as she started to pay more attention to Conor than Jax. At one point, Maple caught the expression on Conor’s face. His eyes seemed almost red, and his features were strangely animated. Nothing about him seemed natural. The more Maple watched him, the more she started to realize that Conor’s movements were a little too rapid, a little too out of control.
“Steroids,” Maple whispered the word, but it was drowned out in the din the crowd was making around her.
She prayed that Jax would be able to handle the hyped-up state that Conor was in. As soon as she had sent out her silent prayer, Jax made the mistake of lowering his arms slightly, leaving his face open. Conor sent a powerful punch right at his face. Jax ducked at the last possible minute, but Conor’s fist still made contact with his left cheek, sending him spinning against the ring.
The bell went off, marking the end of the first round. Conor seemed to want to disregard the bells entirely, but his coach stepped into the ring and pulled him to one corner of it, forcing him onto the little bench that they had set up for the fighters. Maple watched, as Evan also entered the ring and sank to his knees in front of Jax. She could see that he was talking fast and low in words that only Jax would hear.
Maple felt the weight on her heart grow heavier as she realized how tired Jax looked. He was already bleeding slowly from the last punch that Conor had sent at him. Maple looked towards the judges, waiting expectantly for their scores. The scores for Jax went up first; he got a ten from Samson and eights from Carney and Yves. Maple held her breath as Conor’s scores went up. It was tens across the board and Maple felt her heart sink a little.
Sooner than she had expected, the second bell went off and the second leg of the fight began. Conor was like a tornado in the ring. He came at Jax without fear or hesitation, but Maple could recognize a difference in Jax immediately. He looked more determined and more furious than he had before. His eyes were focused and filled with purpose, and he moved faster than Maple had ever seen him move before.
Ten minutes later and both fighters had gotten in some good hits, but Maple could see that Conor was starting to get frustrated with the lack of progress he seemed to be making. Maple could tell that he had expected to have Jax on his knees by now. She could see his desperation amp up, and she was beginning to grow more and more nervous about the vindictive anger in Conor’s small eyes.
They danced around each other, like two wild animals trapped together in a cage. Maple sensed what was about to happen before it actually happened. One moment Conor was shielding his face from an onslaught of punches that Jax was sending his way, and the next thing Maple knew, he dove away, turned, and sent a powerful kick straight to Jax’s groin. Luckily, Jax sidestepped the kick easily, using his impressive speed to his advantage, but Maple knew the fight was going to get dirty now. She saw the look in Conor’s eyes, and she knew that he was past caring.
The moment Conor attempted the foul, the crowd roared in outrage, and Maple stared at the referee. She thought for a moment he was going to call the foul, but instead, he did nothing and the fight continued uninterrupted. She risked a quick glance at the judging panel and Samson alone seemed to be outraged by what had just happened. The second bell went off, and both Conor and Jax had to be pulled back into their respective corners.
She saw Evan talking quietly, but she recognized the rage on his face. Jax’s supporters were chanting his name, but Jax seemed as though he were blocking out everything but Evan’s words. Maple felt the need to go up to him, but she forced herself to stay where she was. The position she had in the gym gave her a perfect vantage point of the judges’ scores. Jax’s scores went up with Samson’s first. He had given Jax a nine. Then it was Carney with a six and Yves with a four. Maple stared in outrage at the scores, and then it hit her. They had been bought. It was so obvious now; she kicked herself for not seeing it before. Carney and Yves had been bought, just as the referee had been.
The bell went off and Maple prepared herself for the third and final round, but she was distracted by her own outrage. Everything else fell out of focus when Jax and Conor collided together again. Maple could see the anger on both sides. She knew Jax would be furious about the foul that had been ignored, and Conor would be furious because he had expected things to go a little easier for him in that ring. Even on steroids, Jax was putting up a good fight against him.
Again, it happened out of nowhere. Maple gasped as Conor sent a powerful head-butt in Jax’s direction. Taken off guard by the illegal move, Jax was knocked off his feet. Conor jumped on top of him immediately and grabbed a hold of him in a tight headlock.
“Foul!” the crowd screamed in anger, but no one who mattered seemed to care.
The referee held up his hands, declaring the match over, and Conor had to be pulled off Jax. Maple wanted to scream, but she was equally aware of the uneasiness that was spreading through the crowd. Anger and crowds didn’t mix well, and Maple tried to move away from the throng. She lost sight of Jax for a little, but she was confident that Evan would be with him.
Then the judges’ scores went up with Jax’s first, but Maple already knew what the outcome would be. Samson was the only one who gave Jax an eight. He received twos from Carney and Yves. Maple didn’t even bother to look at Conor’s scores; she already knew he had won. He had won before he had ever stepped foot in that ring; he had made sure of it.
“Coward,” Maple huffed under her breath, as she tried to move towards the backrooms where she assumed Jax and Evan would have retreated to until the crowd ebbed.
Already, there were several small fights starting up around her. Maple tried to side step them as she moved to the back of the gym and slipped into the area that contained the lockers. There were a large group of people there, and they all surrounded Jax. Maple fought her way to the center.
“Jax,” she called, but her voice was lost in the noise. It didn’t matter because Jax appeared to hear her. He looked up. “Jax,” Maple said again.
“That fucking bastard,” Evan said loudly, as he paced a few feet away from them. “He had the whole thing fixed. It was never a real fight. It was never going to be a fair fight.”
Maple stared at Jax’s face. He smelt of blood and sweat. “We need to get you looked at,” she whispered to him, but Jax shook his head.
“I need to get out of here,” Jax said.
Maple nodded and looked up at Evan.
“Ok,” Evan nodded. “Let’s get him out of here.”
He nodded to a small group of men who were standing directly behind Maple. She didn’t bother to turn and look at them; all she wanted to do was get out of the claustrophobia of the underground gym and its throng of people. She linked her hand with Jax’s and helped pull him to his feet. His eyes were hooded, but Maple didn’t have time to try and decipher what lay beneath them. Her first and only concern at the moment was getting Jax into a quiet and calm space so that she could tend to him.
They moved back into the central area of the gym where the ring was set up. A bunch of men walked in front of them, and Maple knew that there were a few more at their backs. Evan was on the opposite side of Jax, watching everything with vigilance. As people caught sight of Jax, some cheered loudly and others hissed audibly. For the most part, Jax ignored them all.
“You’re a fucking cheater,” someone cried from the crowd, and Maple’s head turned to the left where she caught sight of Conor standing amidst his crew. His eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn’t look in the least bit bothered by it. Maple could tell that the crowd was growing restless however, and she knew what that would lead to next.
“You can call me whatever you want,” Conor said, raising his voice above the din to make sure Jax could hear him. “But the better man won today.”
Instantly, Maple felt Jax’s muscles tighten in response, and when she glanced up at his face, she saw murder written across it—plain as day.
Evan seemed to notice the same thing because he grabbed Jax immediately. “Don’t,” he said urgently. “Don’t do it, Jax; it’s not worth it.”
“Listen to Evan,” Maple pleaded. “Let’s just get out of here.”
Conor was staring at them with a sly smile playing across his face. “I told you I was better than you, Jax,” Conor continued. “I always have been. That’s why I can get away... with so many things.”
“Grab him,” Evan yelled, and several men took a hold of Jax to keep him from tearing over to Conor to beat the life out of him.
Maple was forced to step aside as Jax was forced out of the gym. She followed the small group, but not before she noticed Conor’s face lit up with unadulterated joy. He caught sight of Maple at the last minute, and his grin widened. He winked at her pointedly and licked his lips. Maple turned from him in disgust and left the gym.
The night was conspicuously quiet after the deafening chaos of the gym and the fight. She caught sight of Evan a few feet down from the club. He was standing in front of Jax who was leaning against the brick wall that just connected to the alleyway. His head was tilted up as though he were searching for something he couldn’t see. Maple walked over to them.
“I think you should get Jax home,” Evan suggested, as he caught sight of her. “Some rest will help.”
“Someone should look at those wounds,” Maple said. “Let’s stop by the hospital first.”
“No,” Jax said gruffly. It felt like the first time he was speaking in days. “Forget the hospital.”
Maple knew it would be pointless to argue with him, so she conceded without a fight. “Ok,” she nodded. “Let’s just go home then. I’ll take care of your cuts.”
“Here,” Evan said, handing Maple his car keys. “Take my car.”
“No, Evan...”
“Take it, Maple,” Evan insisted, pushing the keys into her hand.
Maple accepted them gratefully. “Thanks.”
She drove them to Jax’s apartment in less than ten minutes. The climb to his apartment was spent in silence. When they walked into the apartment, Maple left the lights off, knowing that Jax preferred the quiet calm of the distant city lights. He stood in the middle of the apartment and said nothing. Maple watched him for a moment, feeling the intensity of his disappointment. Then she walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around him. After a moment, Jax reached up with his hands and rested them on top of Maple’s.
“Come and sit down,” Maple said gently. “I’m going to look after you now.”
Chapter 3
Jax
“I’m going to look after you now.”
Jax heard her words and a blanket of warmth encapsulated him until he could barely feel the sting coming off of the wounds that riddled his body. He allowed Maple to lead him to the table where he sat down and watched as she moved around his apartment gathering supplies like a doctor with a purpose.
Jax pushed aside the chaos of emotion that he was feeling and concentrated on Maple. She was wearing dark jeans and a white t-shirt and her brown hair hung loose around her shoulders. Her beauty was highlighted by the simplicity of what she wore and the unadorned freshness of her face. She wore an expression of concentration, as she gathered together Jax’s first aid kit, but he could tell how concerned she was for him. He could sense the worry emanating from her.
Once she had got everything gathered together on the table beside him, Maple turned to Jax and gently pulled off the bloodied shirt he wore. It struck Jax suddenly, that he couldn’t even remember putting one on after the fight. He guessed that Evan might have been the one who saw that he was dressed afterwards. He felt a sharp pain as he raised his arms to allow Maple to pull the t-shirt over his head. He put his hands back down, wincing slightly from the pain.
“Are you ok?” Maple asked immediately.
“Fine,” Jax nodded. “Nothing I can’t handle.”
Maple looked like she wanted to say something, but she closed her mouth at the last second and began tending to his wounds. “I’m going to have to clean some of these out first,” she said in a calm tone. “It might sting a little.”
Jax nodded as she got to work. It did sting a lot, and some of the larger lacerations were significantly painful, but Maple was a methodical and gentle worker. She used only the lightest of pressures, and she made sure to clean out his wounds with the least amount of pain. As she worked, she would explain to him what she was doing, almost as though to reassure him that she had enough knowledge to do the job right.
Finally, she began to bandage him up. Jax watched her face as she bent her head over his arm. There was concentration there, but there was a certain level of calm and confidence, too. Her hands were gentle, but they were sure, and by the time she was finished, Jax wasn’t in pain anymore.
“Thank you,” he said softly.
The distant lights from the city were streaming in through the window behind him, painting Maple in silver lights that seemed to form a silver ring around her head. It looked as though she were some fallen angel who had made her way into Jax’s apartment in his hour of need. Their eyes met, and suddenly Jax felt as though he could talk about the last few hours without the crushing disappointment and anger that he had felt only moments ago.
“You watched the whole thing?” he asked, breaking the hypnotic silence that filled the apartment.
“Yes,” Maple nodded. “You lost the moment that Conor challenged you to the fight, Jax. He had it fixed from the beginning.”
“I know,” Jax nodded. “It was ridiculous of me not to have known that.”
“No, it’s not,” Maple said, shaking her head as she took his hand. “You’re a good man, and you think the way a good man does. You wouldn’t have gone there, which is why you couldn’t see that Conor would.”
“But I know Conor,” Jax said without feeling. “I should have seen it.”
“And what difference would that have made?” Maple asked. “Even if you had known the fight was fixed from the beginning... would you have turned him down?”
Jax thought about it and realized with a start that what Maple was getting at was true. “No,” he said. “I would have still wanted to fight him.”
“Because you would have wanted to prove that you could beat him anyway,” Maple explained. “Even with his games and whatever other measures he had taken to ensure he would win, you would have wanted to say that you were the better fighter and the better man.�
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Jax stared at her for a second and then gave her a small, sad smile. “You may just know me better than I know myself.”
“Jax,” Maple said softly. “I know you felt like this fight would have... changed something somehow. Like it could have given you and Jodie some closure... or maybe it was about revenge, I don’t know for sure. But I do know that... even if you had won tonight, it wouldn’t have changed anything. Beating Conor won’t change the fact that you spent two years in prison because of him. Beating Conor won’t change the fact that Jodie spent weeks in hospital recovering from his abuse. Beating Conor won’t change the fact that he drugged and raped me.”
Jax cringed at her last words, but Maple squeezed his hand a little harder and continued, “Those things will always be a part of us now. And no matter what happens to him or to us in the coming years... that won’t change.”
Jax shook his head. “I wanted to kill him in that ring tonight,” he admitted quietly, after a moment’s silence.
“I know.”
“No,” Jax said, shaking his head, knowing that Maple had not taken his words literally. “I mean, I went into that fight with the intention of killing Conor in that ring. He is a monster, and he needs to be punished. It isn’t right that he gets to walk free to cause more damage to more people. I felt I had to do it... I had to end his life before he tried to ruin anyone else’s.”
Maple stared at him in shock. “You were really going to kill him?”
“I was going to try my hardest to make it look like an accident,” Jax replied. “But bottom line, I wanted him dead.”
“Jax...,” Maple whispered in disbelief.
“He’s a monster, Maple—”
“I know,” Maple interrupted passionately. “And I don’t dispute that. But killing him is not the answer, Jax.”
“What is the alternative?” Jax demanded. “Letting him get away with everything?”
