Don’t You Dare: A Bad Boy MMA Fighter Romance

by Claire St. Rose

  However, he could not care less. Ever since he purchased his first ride at sixteen, he had not gone a day without riding until this injury. He had ridden through broken noses, crushed hands, and bleeding body parts. Cold wet weather and coming down with the stomach flu hadn’t even kept him away. But now it had been a week since he rode—an eternity, in his book. And he vowed to himself to never let an injury, or a person, prevent him from hitting the open road. Nothing would stand in his way.

  Besides reconnecting with his first and only love, Vinny had other motivations for pushing his body through the wild ride. He needed to get to headquarters in less than twenty minutes. Getting out of his home and onto the bike had taken up far too much time, and he forced himself to drive slowly until he figured out a hand and arm position that wouldn’t have him biting down on his lip in agony.

  He was going to be late, an inexcusable offense for the Horsemen. Unless you’re dead, you showed up for every single meeting on time and dressed for the occasion. There just wasn’t a reason in the world that would fly for Benni. But Vinny had hope that he would forgive him just this once considering the beating he took in the name of the Horsemen.

  To their knowledge, Vinny had killed Carl. That should be enough, but with Benni potentially knowing too much, he was forced to play it cool. He ran over the details and his story in his head. He had to omit every detail about Gloria that may come up. He had to cover every base, every movement. There would be questions; there would be suspicions.

  It was his word against Carl’s reputation, and Carl had risen the ranks of the Horsemen for a reason. People loved his ferocity and his ability to take no shit from anyone. But that was all a rouse, a ploy that Vinny too had fallen for. But no one else except for Vinny had taken his confession in the parking lot before Gloria managed to drive a knife through his back.

  Taking one last deep breath, Vinny steadied himself as he pulled into the parking lot and stacked his bike at the far end of the rows. Glancing at the building, he could see the smoke pouring out of the bottoms of the doors and open windows as it floated magically into the night. Dim yellow lights passed through the peaks of the black curtains and Vinny could just barely make out the lines of the men’s silhouettes in the windows.

  Just inside the front entrance, Vinny knew that at least two or three men were keeping guard. More than likely, one had already spotted or heard him pulling into the parking lot. His only option was to attempt to sneak in through the back exit where they picked up the trash. It was largely unguarded or only looked over by young guns, guys who hadn’t fully earned the right to sit in on a meeting.

  Vinny was right. That night, only one young man stood against the back door. He was smoking a cigarette and checking his phone for texts. He didn’t give Vinny a second glance as he pushed past him and into the hallway. Only when he was a couple feet through the door did the boy turn to him to ask him his name. When Vinny showed his jacket, he backed down again, apparently appeased by his gesture, and went back to writing his message with his thumbs.

  Once he passed the kitchen area and past the few full garbage cans, Vinny was able to see the light of the main meeting hall. He opened the door a crack and waited in the wings for his moment to enter. But the muffled words of the concerned, irritated voices made him stop in his place.

  “—it’s a problem, man. Who knows what that bitch knows.”

  “I’ve heard of her. She’s got info on my old man. He’s been paying her for a year now to keep quiet about sleeping around. If she knows too much, she is going to use it.”

  “She’s a whore. That’s it. She slept with Jamie last month and didn’t do a damn thing afterwards. I don’t see what the big deal is.”

  “The big deal? What if she knows about the routes, the sellers? What if Vin told Gloria about his assignments? She knows more than her life is worth. I say we do something about her!”

  A shout of support rose up among the majority of the men at the words of the last speaker. Vinny cringed to himself as he realized there was a reason why there had been a lack of phone calls or no visits after he had been brought back to his apartment. They knew about Gloria and him. They knew she had found some kind of information from him.

  He opened the door a crack to see the last speaker, the man that the group was applauding. Standing near the front of the room, scanning each corner of the men for support was Quimby, a portly bearded man nicknamed the statesman of the crew. He was older and more experienced than everyone here. He had ridden with legendary groups when he was younger from the Roughriders to the Beasts. And through his associations, he was known as a true 1%er, someone who simply didn’t care about authority or law.

  Now that man was standing up in front of Vinny’s people and preaching about how he may have given into Gloria’s tactics and become another one of her victims. He should have known Vinny better. Every one of those men agreeing with him should have known better. But it was a convincing argument and a pretty big issue. Some sleazy scam artist had compromised their enforcer; who wouldn’t be worried or thrown off by that? Vinny would probably be there, front row center agreeing with Quimby if it were someone else they were talking about.

  Still, Vinny couldn’t just stand there and let the men talk it over without knowing the facts. He was about to commit near suicide, but at least it would be at the risk of his pride and good name.

  “She doesn’t know anything.” Vinny found himself shouting over the crowd as they settled in from Quimby’s speech. He slid through the doorway nonchalantly like he had all the right to be in that room. And, by his account, he still did. “All she knows is that I am a Horsemen and that Junior needed an introduction to the Devils that night.” It was a half-truth—not the complete story by any stretch of the imagination.

  “Then why are you doing her bidding like some little dog on a leash?” Quimby again was the dissenter, though Vinny could tell he was just vocalizing what everyone else in the room was thinking.

  “That night, when I thought Junior was getting in with the Devils, Gloria figured out who I was based on some rumors from her sources. She tried blackmailing me by threatening to let the Devils know about Junior and our plans. I couldn’t risk getting Junior killed at that time and losing out on our sources. ” That was more of a lie than the first defense. Still, it was innocent enough. Her “sources” were everywhere and she could vouch for that if questioned without compromising anyone in particular.

  “So then what happened with Carl in the parking lot? Was that girl involved?” A faceless voice popped up in the room asking the million-dollar question everyone wanted to ask.

  “Fine. Since you assholes have nothing else on your mind, let’s talk.” Benni had been listening suspiciously from his place on the podium. He had watched Vinny as he entered earlier and had sat back and let the men sneer and butcher him. Now he was practically throwing him to the dogs. But first, he was going to throw his own twist in, “That night, I got a call from some source.”

  “What source? Who?” The same man who brought up the parking lot incident piped up again out of the blue. He had completely forgotten his place.

  Benni shot him a look as he continued on, “It was a woman. I’ve never heard her voice before and her number came up blank. By the sound of it, I think we can all guess it is whatever girl Vinny was banging from Jackman’s…Gloria.”

  Laughter filled the room, changing the tone unintentionally. A man standing next to Vinny pounded him on the back in a strange, out of place congratulations. The hit rattled Vinny’s chest as he struggled to remain standing despite the pain shooting through his body.

  Benni waited for the laughter to quickly die down as he spoke over the men once again. His voice lowered, forcing them to cut the chatter, “Whoever she was, she told me she knew Carl was working for the Devils selling and dealing. She gave me some evidence I thought was pretty convincing. Before she had called, I had summoned Vinny and Junior here to discuss Junior’s intel findings and Vinny’
s job getting in him to the Devils ranks. When Vinny showed early, I told him about Carl and asked him to stick around to get to the bottom of it.”

  “Benni,” a smaller man a bit older than the rest of the crew raised his hand waiting for the leader to acknowledge him. Once he was given permission to speak further, he continued with his question, “Did Vinny say anything about Carl? Did he defend him or show any signs of knowing his position with the Devils?”

  It was a great question—one that made Benni stop in his place and consider it further. “No, Pete. I don’t think he did. But if that caller was Gloria, I am guessing he knew something about it before I did.”

  All eyes turned back to where Vinny was standing. His arms were folded over his chest tightly as she tried to figure out how to explain everything. He stumbled over his words as he spit out a quick, “I didn’t know anything for certain and Gloria had just told me when I got the text from Benni to meet him here. I got here early so I could let him know. Gloria just beat me to it.”

  No one spoke for a long moment. Vinny took it as a good sign that no one questioned his actions. But Benni’s stern concentration told an entirely different story. Still, Benni continued on with his side of the story, “When Vinny left to go get Junior, I went back into my office to do some business and prepare for Carl. A couple minutes later, I heard some banging from the parking lot and I ran to see if we were under attack. From there, I saw Carl on the ground with a knife in his back. Vinny was next to him, badly injured. Junior was attacking him, but Vinny managed to fight him off and Junior ran off when Vinny collapsed. I made it outside in time to watch Junior ride off and help Vinny inside where I called the guard to help out with Carl’s disposal.”

  Vinny stood in place, stunned. Benni had obviously witnessed the fight but was leaving out key details such as Gloria being the one who killed Carl and Vinny letting Junior go free. But it wasn’t just that. Vinny was shocked at just how easily he lied to the men. It was almost graceful in its execution as if it had been practiced over and over again to perfection. He could have won an award for his convincing performance.

  A man seated next to Vinny, one of his seconds and commands, shot to his feet with a question, “Okay, so let’s say Vinny hasn’t told that woman about Carl…what are we going to do with her now? She knows too much. Someone’s gotta take care of her.”

  Benni answered quickly with a canned response, “She poses no threat to us that I can see. But for the time being, I have put her under watch. A group of ten are tailing her until we can be sure she can be trusted.”

  Vinny could handle that solution. Her being followed might be good for sanity, too. Trouble just seemed to sniff out Gloria wherever she went, and having her own detail of men may stop her from biting off more than she could chew. Vinny pulled out his phone to text her a warning, but he was stopped by the sound go Benni clearing his throat.

  When he looked up, he could see Benni staring him down with a tired, well-worn expression on his face. His husky, throaty voice continued where he left off, “If the boys sniff out anything suspicious—like she is communicating with any Devils member or talking about any Horsemen other than Vinny, she will be taken care of.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  “The fuck was that, Benni?” Vinny was raging. His blood had boiled over during that meeting, and it was not coming out in the most dangerous way—against his own leader. “You damn well know what happened out there in the parking lot.”

  “No,” Benni said nonchalantly, not even bothering to look up from his desk to acknowledge Vinny’s tantrum. “I only know what I saw, friend. But please, enlighten me. Tell me what really happened that night.” He stared down at his notebook, scrolling through his own handwriting.

  Vinny knew he could not take this further. Benni was refusing to recognize Gloria’s part in the murder. At least, he was not saying anything out loud to Vinny or the rest of his public. Benni could have sealed her fate and Vinny’s had he come out and said that Gloria had done the deed. No doubt that not only would the Horsemen rally against Vinny, word would get out to the Devils, as well, putting them in harm’s way from both sides. For now, Vinny had to play along, to play dumb if he was going to protect Gloria. He would have to hang back and earn Benni’s trust again. Luckily for Vinny, he was just about to get that chance.

  Benni opened a new page of his notebook and wrote out a name. Ripping the page, he handed it to Vinny. “I need you to track down a man named Calvin Smith.”

  The name was setting off alarm bells in Vinny’s head, but he just couldn’t put the name with a face. He interrupted to ask, “Who is he?”

  But Benni failed to register his question. He continued on, “When you find out where he lives, head to his place immediately. You are not to hold back. You take it to the end if you have to. Do you understand?” He looked up waiting for Vinny to nod his head in understanding. “If he fails to give you information, you are under my order to take him out and his wife, if she is home. Burn the evidence.”

  “Okay…” Vinny felt he had every right to be reluctant. He had yet to hear Benni give him an order to actually murder a man. He’s beaten the crap out of his fair share of guys. But most of those times have been in club headquarters or off-sites. Doing such a deed in a man’s own home was stepping over some blurred lines for Vinny.

  “The man’s Junior’s father. He’s either harboring Junior, or he knows where he is. No doubt about it. He doesn’t give him up, he tries to run, he attempts to hide the son of a bitch—you do what you have to do.” Benni was so calm and cool about it. It was easy to give bloody orders when it wasn’t your own hands getting dirty.

  Vinny swallowed hard and headed out the door. He was stopped by Benni continuing, “Do you really think I trust that you’re going to get this shit done? We know far too well that you went easy on Junior last time. You’re the reason he’s out there spilling secrets to the enemy. No, you’re not going out there alone. You’re taking Quimby with you.”

  “What? I work alone—and you damn well know that!” Vinny had never had a partner joining him on an assignment since he was first proving himself as an enforcer and runner.

  Benni shut his book quickly and pounded his free hand on to the wood desk as he turned to Vinny, “You take Quimby and get the job done, or Gloria’s watch turns into something far worse for both of you.”

  Vinny opened his mouth to respond, but he found his place. He was not about to let this end here in the office. He was going to have to put all of his few morals aside and just go with this.

  But Benni wasn’t finished with Vinny. He gave a final word of warning, “And, Vinny, if you let the man slide or escape, I’ll find out about it. I’ve got eyes and ears all over this town. There is nowhere on this earth you could run from me.”

  “I ain’t goin’ nowhere, Benni. The job will get done.” Vinny stormed out of the room, running face to face with Quimby himself. He had been sitting outside the door the whole time, just waiting for Benni to finish with Vinny.

  Quimby broke the icy silence first, “When we doing this, man?”

  “Tonight. Three A.M. They won’t be awake to get Junior out in time if he’s stayin’ at their house. If the Devils are protecting him or the family, they won’t be too alert at that time to stop us. Meet me at my place, and we’ll ride there together.” Vinny’s mind raced. He had much to do beforehand.

  “How you plannin’ on findin’ his address without me? I was told to stay with you at all times.” Quimby was already eyeing his companion suspiciously. Vinny going off on his own for hours was certainly not in the plan.

  “I got my sources. I can find out where he is. I just need a couple hours to get the information.”

  “You know I can’t let you do that. I either go with you or you back out of this job and wait to see if Benni forgives you again.”

  “Do you think I give a shit about what Benni does to me at this point?”

  “No, but I think you sure care an awful lot
about that whore bar singer you’re protecting. I don’t know what she did to earn it, but I’m guessing it wasn’t just giving you head. And if I was a betting man, which I am, I am going to say you’re heading out to her place to get Calvin’s address. After all, she knows things, am I right?”

  “I don’t know where she is.”

  “Cut the shit. You think we’re stupid, but we all fucking know she’s been staying with you since that night. How’s domestic life with a new mommy to care for you?”

  “Shut the fuck up, Quimby!” Vinny grabbed the man by the collar of his dirty gray t-shirt and pushed him hard against the wall. This man had always annoyed him before, but now he was purposefully pushing at buttons. “You meet me at my place at three, or I don’t do this. It seems like I’m the only one who knows how to find where Junior’s at. So if you wanna get this job, you let me do it my fucking way!”

  Quimby threw up his hands as Vinny released him. The man slumped to the ground and sat there for a moment before saying out of the corner of his mouth, “Three A.M. Your place. You run late, I’ll be calling Benni.”