INVINCIBLE (Fight #2)

by London Casey

  I put Rose’s bag there and left mine at the bottom of the steps. I wasn’t sure if I was going to sleep upstairs or crash on the couch.

  Just in case.

  Off the small kitchen was a large deck. A set of steps went down to the ground and within spitting distance was a large lake.

  I stood at the railing of the deck and stared out at the horizon. There was a peaceful feeling up here, but it was all bullshit. I was meant to be a fighter and nothing more. I shouldn’t have fought on the anniversary of Shane’s death.

  But even then, she was there.

  Rose was there.

  Standing behind me, worried about me.

  “Can I get you anything?”

  I looked back and Rose stood there. “No.”

  “So what’s your plan now?” she asked. “Aton is connected. If he finds out we’re lying.”

  “I’ll worry about that when it happens,” I said. “We need to get some food and supplies if we’re going to stay here.”

  “How long are we staying here?” Rose asked.

  “Not sure. What’s wrong? You’re not enjoying your honeymoon?”

  I walked from the deck to the door. Rose grabbed my arm. “I didn’t ask for any of this, Wes.”

  “Neither did I,” he said. “It was the only idea I could come up with to keep us alive.”

  “I saw you the other night,” she said. “Standing with your fists against the wall.”

  “And you didn’t want to listen then,” I said. “To go away. To stay away.”

  “You wanted me here, Wes. You lied for me. So what now?”

  “I want to know everything about your family. And who is out to kill you. We might be able to actually survive everything.”

  “Probably not,” Rose said.

  I nodded.

  You’re right.

  I went for the front door, keys in hand.

  Rose followed me.

  There was a small market a couple miles away. They had all the bare essentials to survive. We wouldn’t be ordering out pizza or eating gourmet meals, but we wouldn’t starve. The man behind the counter was more interested in a baseball game on a small TV with a long antenna than he was asking Rose and I questions.

  Which was good.

  Then again, knowing Aton, he owned the store and the guy running it.

  Nothing could be hidden.

  I regretted telling Aton I was married to Rose, but it worked for now.

  Back at the cabin, I made spaghetti with jar sauce, something that was as taboo to Aton as lying.

  I gave Rose a plate and said, “Aton would cut my head off if he saw me serving jar sauce.”

  “Good thing he’s not here then,” Rose said.

  I sat on the couch a little bit away from her.

  I wasn’t hungry, but I forced myself to eat.

  We sat in silence again.

  “This is good,” Rose said.

  “It’s boxed pasta and jar sauce.”

  “I’m trying to give you a compliment.”

  “Thanks.”

  “That’s better.”

  I looked at her. The cabin was starting to get dark as the sun went down. I had no idea how to handle the night with Rose.

  I took her plate and went to the kitchen. There was no point in wasting any time, right? I turned and she stood in the doorway to the kitchen. Everything about her was stunning. Her hips filled out her jeans, her body shaped like an hourglass. Her hair was pulled back, everything just natural yet beautiful.

  I shook my head.

  “What?” she asked.

  “Tell me about your old man.”

  “Ever hear of Don the Dragman?”

  “Yeah,” I said. “That’s your father?”

  Rose nodded. “He got the nickname the Dragman because he used to get right into the circle with the fighters. And if one of the guys were knocked out, he’d grab them by the hair and drag them out. To keep everyone excited and ready for the next fight.”

  “That was before my time in the circle,” I said. “Shane probably saw him.”

  “Shane… your brother?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’m sorry he’s gone.”

  “I want to know who did it.”

  “Can’t you ask Aton?” Rose asked.

  “He doesn’t know. It was a bad fight. Something that should have never happened. There was this guy, he was called the assassin. He wore a black mask over his face. We’re not supposed to cover up our faces. But this guy was something intense. The entire night is a blur because I was drunk. I told Shane he was a fool for doing it. He had his own problems with booze, drugs, women. The life had got to him, bad. Then the fight…”

  I gritted my teeth, feeling my chest pull.

  I blinked fast and cleared my throat.

  When I regained focus, Rose turned and stormed away. I touched the corner of my eye and then raced after her. She cut through the living room and went right outside. I thought she was going to goddamn lock me out.

  I tore the door open and blocked her way down the stairs. “What are you doing?”

  “I have to get out of here,” she said. “This was a mistake. Everything. You shouldn’t have lied for me. You don’t know me, Wes. I deserve it all. Whatever I get.”

  “Whoa,” I said. I put my hands out and gently touched her shoulders. My mind flashed an image of me pulling her close. Hugging her. Holding her. Kissing her. But I couldn’t do any of that. I couldn’t get too close. “What’s wrong?”

  “Everything about me is a lie,” Rose whispered. “My entire life.”

  “Meaning what?”

  Her eyes glistened with tears against the moonlight.

  Her lips quivered.

  “I… they want me dead…”

  “Who does?”

  “Wes, you don’t get it.” A stray tear fell from her eye. “I’m a murderer.”

  11.

  (Rose)

  I collapsed forward and Wes caught me. I couldn’t believe I was actually crying like this, in his arms, under the pale moonlight.

  I’m a murderer.

  At least that’s what they accused me. But I didn’t do a thing. I didn’t do a damn thing wrong. I was just trying to escape. And I got caught. How was that all my fault?

  “Holy Christ, sweetie,” Wes said as his strong arms squeezed me. “Talk to me about it. Please…”

  But I couldn’t.

  If I opened my mouth, more truth was going to come out. Because of what Wes had said in the kitchen. The name he used. Oh, the fucking name he used.

  The Assassin.

  I slowly looked up at Wes. His eyes were dark, handsome. His jaw cut by the light of the moon. I almost wanted to kiss him again. But this time make it a real kiss. Not just for show.

  But how could I?

  How could I kiss him?

  I had to tell him…

  I know who the Assassin is.

  ~

  I excused myself and broke away from Wes. I rushed back into the cabin and made a line for the bathroom. Locking the door didn’t do much of anything. I felt safe when I was near Wes, but I had the truth that would set him off again.

  And right now, I needed him.

  Shit, we had lied to a connected guy about being married. That was just plain dumb. I understood he had no choice in the matter though…

  A gentle knock at the door made me bite my bottom lip.

  “Rose? Are you okay?”

  “No,” I said.

  “What’s wrong? Why are you a murderer? Tell me.”

  “It’s more than that, Wes. You shouldn’t have taken that picture. You shouldn’t have tracked me down. You shouldn’t have lied for me.”

  “Goddammit,” he said and hit the door. “I already explained myself to you. Now explain yourself to me.”

  I slowly turned. I held the edge of the sink. I thought about doing it just like this. What was the harm, right? Just hide and confess. Say what I knew and let Wes do what he had to do.


  “Rose?”

  I couldn’t do it that way though. I walked to the door and unlocked it. Wes quickly opened the door and stood there. He filled the doorway with size and muscle. His hands were balled into fists. He stared at me and I wasn’t sure if he trusted me or not. He had no reason to trust me… and I was about to destroy him.

  “What the hell is going on?” Wes asked. “Those men after you… that was because you killed someone?”

  “Maybe I killed everyone,” I said. “My mother. My father. Even your brother.”

  I saw anger flash through Wes’s eyes. “You weren’t the one fighting Shane that night.”

  “But what if I was there, Wes?”

  Wes put his hands to my arms. It started to turn me on, but I couldn’t allow it.

  “What do you mean?” he asked.

  “I was at a lot of fights,” I said. “I was at that one. It wasn’t supposed to be like that. But he couldn’t help himself. I knew it was going to happen. I saw it for a while and nobody listened to me. My job was to parade around in a bikini and takes bets.”

  Wes’s face dropped. He looked down. “You were there. So you know…”

  “I know who the Assassin is.”

  Wes’s hands opened. “I knew it. Who? Tell me right now.”

  I swallowed hard. I started to shake.

  I could see it happening in my mind, over and over.

  Dad standing there in the doorway, arms crossed. “Damn, boy, you better just do what you need to do and nothing else. Save that shit for a different time and place. I can work that out at some point. I’m sure there’s an audience for it.”

  I bite my lip and watch him grab the black mask and slip it over his head. That’s what made him so mysterious and worth the money. He only put the mask on the first time because he wanted to kill someone. And he didn’t want to hurt Dad’s name. But then he became popular. People paid. Fighters wanted to fight.

  Only now, this was different.

  He wants to kill. So badly.

  “Please, don’t,” I whisper.

  He turns, the mask on his face. “Don’t ever fucking tell me what to do.”

  The Assassin.

  “Rose. Dammit, Rose. Tell me!”

  Wes’s voice rumbled through my head like thunder.

  So I looked him in the eyes and confessed.

  “The Assassin… is Luke. My brother.”

  12.

  (Wes)

  I couldn’t hear. I couldn’t see. I just stood there, at the top of the hill. My hands balled tight into fists. I watched as the cemetery workers lowered the casket down into the grave. There was nothing special about it to them. Just another customer, right? One of the guys stood with his mouth full of chew. His cheek puffed out like a squirrel. He had a shovel in his hand. He stood there with one foot crossed over the other. The other guy was in a machine, lowering the casket, then ready to fill the dirt over Shane.

  I’d never see Shane again.

  I just saw him an hour ago, before the casket was closed forever.

  The guy with the chew turned his head, looked right at the large hole where my brother would be forever. Then I saw a brown line fly from the guy’s mouth to the grave.

  He just spit his fucking chew into the grave.

  Before I could process the scene, I started to charge forward, wearing a suit and tie, my hair washed, slicked back. I heard someone shout my name. I turned my head enough to see Aton waving his hands at me. He pointed to a black limo. We were all going to go to a family restaurant to eat and celebrate Shane’s life. I’d end up puking drunk, crying in the bathroom. But before that…

  I thought about pushing the guy into the grave. Instead, the urge to fight washed over me. Like a drug addict needing that high, my fists needed to do their job.

  I grabbed the guy by the shoulder and spun him around.

  “Hey,” he growled.

  I threw a fist at his cheek. His mouth exploded with all the chew. It splashed from his mouth like mud. It hit my white undershirt, hit my chin. It smelled like wet, tough mint. I didn’t give a shit.

  “You fucking just spit in his grave.”

  The guy held his cheek.

  I could tell he was scared.

  But I didn’t care about that.

  I unleashed on him. A left, right combo, over and over, until I knocked him out. The shovel fell into the grave and hit the casket with a thud. I looked down and saw Shane in the ground.

  “Hey! Asshole!”

  It was the other guy.

  He came charging at me and I dropped him with two punches.

  And there I stood, next to my brother’s open grave, two men on the ground, knocked out. My knuckles were sore, bleeding. Rage flooded my body. When I looked up from the destruction, I saw Aton staring at me. He slowly put a cigar into his mouth and nodded.

  That was the moment Shane passed it all to me.

  I then became Aton’s top fighter.

  I swore to myself - and to Shane - I would find out who the Assassin was and I would kill him…

  ~

  I stared at Rose. She kept saying my name over and over. The room was a blur as my mind spun. I stepped back, once, twice, keeping my hands out. I’d never hurt a woman, ever. I’d never raise my hand to a woman. I’d never attack a woman with my words either. That wasn’t me. That wasn’t in my heart, no matter what.

  Yet when I regained focus and looked at Rose, I felt like snapping.

  “Wes, listen to me,” she said. “I didn’t know. Until you said something in the kitchen. Okay? And I told you…”

  I pointed at her. “Your brother killed my brother. In cold fucking blood.”

  “Wes, it was a fight.”

  “No it wasn’t!” I yelled. “It was an attack! I watched it happen. He took Shane down and then kept going. And nobody stopped it. He kept hitting Shane. Slamming Shane’s head off the concrete floor. The sound of thuds, over and over. Then everything was quiet. Completely quiet. There were guys who started to throw up when they realized what they just witnessed.”

  “I am so sorry, Wes,” Rose said. “I had nothing to do with it. Luke lost his mind. He had this urge… he hasn’t fought since then. My father pulled him out of it all. Then Dad died a little while after. If I knew… if I knew you…”

  “And people are after you,” I said. “Someone wants you dead. Fuck, Aton wants you dead. And I helped you because I didn’t think it was possible a woman as beautiful as you could be in any kind of trouble.”

  “I am in serious trouble,” Rose said, her eyes glistening. “What do you think he’s going to do to me?”

  “Your brother?” I asked.

  She nodded. “He hurts me. He hits me, Wes. He’s going to kill me someday.”

  I froze, gritting my teeth. What was I supposed to do? Show compassion to this woman? Her fucking brother used his bare hands to kill my brother. The only thing she could do to make it right was…

  “Then let me kill him,” I said.

  “Luke? Are you kidding me?”

  “I want to kill him.”

  “No,” Rose said. “You don’t know how powerful he is.”

  “Then I have nothing else to say to you.”

  I turned and walked away. If it wasn’t dark outside, I would have thrown Rose from the cabin. I went outside and stood at the railing of the deck. I grew up with Shane by my side. Our mother preaching to us about heaven and hell. Preaching about right and wrong. Dragging our ass to church on Sunday where an old priest would talk of sinners and saints. He’d talk to Mom and then pat mine and Shane’s heads, telling us we could have passed for twins. Shane was an inch taller than me and I eventually grew my hair out while he kept his short. The old man never came to church. His religion was beer and football. And if something didn’t go right, he swung his belt like it was nothing. He beat up Mom on a regular basis. That’s when I gave up on heaven and hell and sinners and saints. It was about fighting to live.

  “Wes, let
me talk to you.”

  “I’ll say what I said before, sweetie,” I said without looking back. “Go away. Go the fuck away. You want nothing to do with me, trust me. Whether you like it or not I am going to find your brother and kill him.”

  I waited to hear something from her. Some kind of cheap plea.

  I looked back, almost wanting to see her pretty face one more time. But she was gone. She actually listened to me.

  Good. Fucking good.

  My heart ached a little though.

  I shook my head, wondering how I was going to spin all of this to Aton.

  Some fucking honeymoon, right?

  ~

  “Where do you want me to drop you off?” I asked without hesitation.

  There wasn’t time to waste. I had to meet up with Aton and explain everything. My plan was going to bullshit him into understanding my position. That I was trying to avenge Shane’s death. I was going to catch some hell for all this - hell, maybe even a bullet to the back of my head - but I didn’t care. As long as I didn’t see Rose ever again. Or better yet, next time Tommy went on the job, he could make damn sure Rose was in the car.

  Fuck. That was mean.

  “I can’t go anywhere,” she said. “Not to the restaurant. Not even to my apartment. He’s going to be looking for me. Those two guys you jacked up probably told him everything.”

  “So what?”

  “You’re kind of famous, Wes,” Rose said. “Whether you like it or not. So I’m sure Luke knows… you know… the connection.”

  I gripped the wheel tighter. “You mean my dead brother?”

  “Please, Wes…”

  “Pick a fucking a spot,” I growled. “Anywhere.”

  “Fine,” Rose said. “There’s a cafe down on Ashbrooke. If you could, please pull into the alley. So nobody sees me. I’ll figure it out from there.”