by AJ Crowe
She bit her lip and tried to ignore the pain. She decided to stop struggling. Lucas was there. It seemed like he would do whatever needed to be done to get her out of this situation.
At that realization Ivy felt a little better. Just a tiny bit.
He couldn’t lie to her after this. After this was over, they would have no huge secrets between them. And he would have proved that he was willing to go to extreme lengths to keep her safe.
He would, right?
Why had he left this whole world of underground fighting in the first place? Miguel had said “disappeared?” She wondered what had happened but really had no idea where to start imagining.
The door opened and an overwhelming stench of sweat, cigarette smoke, and something bitter filled the room. Miguel stood by the door, supported by his crutches. One of Alain’s men kneeled by her chair and cut through the binding on her wrists. He yanked her up and started to pull her toward the doorway.
“This next part is going to be a little scary,” Miguel said sympathetically. “But if Lucas does what he’s told you’ll be fine.”
She soon lost sight of Miguel as the muscled man at her side dragged her through the crowd of men. She wondered if she was the only female in the entire warehouse.
They broke through the crowd and were in the center opening. Alain’s man pushed her onto the ground in the center of the ring.
She hit the concrete hard, barely putting out her hands in time to stop herself from hitting her head on the ground. Her muscles ached after being tied in an uncomfortable sitting position. She tried to sit up but it hurt too much. She lifted her head and looked around.
Men of all ages and types were yelling and pushing at the ropes that marked off the fighting arena. Alain’s man had disappeared into the crowd
One man hopped over the rope and went to stand by Ivy. He was wearing a bright pink and red striped suit jacket over tight jeans. He had a waxed mustache and a shaved head.
“Gentlemen,” he screamed over the cacophony. His shrill voice easily pierced the noise of the crowd. “Now for the match you’ve all been waiting for… Our reigning champion, the Hammer versus a challenger!
“Now who will that challenger be?” The strange announcer stood on his tip toes and looked around the room in an exaggerated manner. “Well, back by popular demand, the scrappy young up-and-comer who became the master of the international underground fighting scene…” He paused for dramatic effect. The audience had grown mostly silent. “The Panther!”
The resulting hoots, calls, yells, and roars from the crowd made Ivy’s head hurt more than it already did. She managed to push herself up into a sitting position and thought about trying to escape, but realized that there was no way past that rope and into the crowd.
“Gentlemen,” the announcer said again. “The Hammer!”
A man with a chest like a barrel and arms and thighs as thick as young children hopped over the room. He lifted his arms and tensed his muscles, showing the girth and magnitude of his limbs. He wore nothing but loose jeans cut off at the knee.
“And, the moment you’ve all been waiting for…” The announcer dragged it out again. “Here to fight for the freedom of this fine young lady…” She felt the eyes of the crowd on her. She wondered if the audience thought it was just a ploy to make the fight more dramatic or if the situation was real.
She wondered if anyone in the audience would even care.
“The Pantherrrr!”
Lucas stepped over the rope and into the ring. The response from the audience was so loud Ivy could feel it in her bones.
He barely looked like the Lucas she knew.
He was wearing black shorts and nothing else. The panther on his chest was glistening. His gaze was fixed squarely on the Hammer. He didn’t even look at Ivy.
A cigarette hung languidly between his lips. He took one last drag and let it fall to the ground, putting it out with his bare heel.
As soon as he took a step forward, the announcer grabbed Ivy and dragged her out of the ring. “You can watch from here,” he hissed in her ear before disappearing into the crowd.
She was on the other side of the rope. She used it to support herself as she dragged herself up into a standing position. The side of her body that had hit the concrete earlier felt broken and bruised.
Men pushed in at her from all sides but she maintained her “front row” position. She watched as Lucas and the Hammer circled each other. She didn’t breathe as she watched. She didn’t think.
They spent a good thirty seconds just watching each other, barely moving. It felt like a very long time. No noise came from the crowd. Ivy imagined that she could hear Lucas’s breathing.
He was only about fifteen feet away from her. She wanted to call out to him, get him to acknowledge her presence, but she couldn’t. She simply couldn’t speak.
Without any warning Ivy could detect, the Hammer roared and lunged toward Lucas. Lucas ducked, dodging the Hammer’s huge fists. Before straightening he landed a quick punch to the Hammer’s gut.
The huge man didn’t seem to feel it, but took a step backward as if he needed to catch his breath. Or maybe he just wanted to make Lucas think he needed to. By then Lucas was a few feet away, out of the Hammer’s reach.
They circled each other again for a few moments.
Again, the Hammer lunged forward. When Lucas went to duck, the huge man took a swift step toward the direction Lucas had dipped his head. The Hammer smashed his fist into the side of Lucas’s head.
Instead of stumbling back, Lucas shook his head as if shaking off the pain and responded with a punch of his own.
Soon the men were moving too quickly for Ivy to fully comprehend their moves. They seemed to fight in bursts. They were exchange blows, then move back and circle each other, and then exchange blows again.
It seemed to be going nowhere. She noticed that Lucas was breathing a little harder than the Hammer.
He hadn’t done this for a long time. He kept in shape –he was always working out when she woke up in his bed –but this intense, sustained bout of fighting had to be different than running on a treadmill or lifting weights.
The Hammer landed a solid punch on Lucas’s shoulder. It seemed he had been aiming for his face but Lucas had barely managed to avoid that dangerous injury. However, his performance seemed to go down as the Hammer landed more and more punches.
Soon Lucas just barely managed to avoid him, dancing just out of the reach of his huge fists.
“Scream for him,” a low voice with a subtle accent said in her ear. She turned from the fight and saw Alain standing next to him. He sounded pissed off. “He’s losing. Remind him why he’s here.”
Alain melted back into the crowd.
“Lucas,” she tried to say, but the word caught in her throat. She took a deep breath. “Lucas,” she cried, as loud as she could manage.
He didn’t take his eyes off his opponent, but Ivy swore she saw a little smile play at his lips.
He had had heard her.
A new determination seemed to fill him.
He lunged at the Hammer, expertly aiming his fists at places the Hammer seemed not to want fists to hit him. Lucas spun down low to the concrete floor and extended a leg, striking the Hammer in the shin with a kick.
The huge man stumbled. Lucas took advantage.
He pushed the Hammer to the ground and straddled him, his fists crashing into the man’s skull until he stopped struggling. Someone dragged the Hammer out of the ring and into the crowd. Lucas stood, looking slightly dazed. His knuckles were bloody.
The brightly clothed announcer ducked into the ring amid the cheering.
“Gentlemen,” he shrieked. “We have a winner!” He took Lucas’s arm and raised it high. “Five hundred thousand dollars, gentlemen! The Panther has just won five hundred thousand dollars!”
Lucas tugged his arm away and moved toward Ivy. He took her face in his hands, the rope still between them. He rested his forehead agains
t hers. She could feel the heat radiating from his body. His deep, ragged breaths showed how much of a toll the fight had taken on him.
“Ivy,” he said with some difficulty. “I’m so, so sorry.” He walked back into the middle of the ring and raised a hand. The crowd fell silent.
“Alain,” he called, turning and addressing each section of the crowd. “I did what you fucking asked. What now?”
The announcer frowned. “All right, gentlemen, looks like tonight’s fun is over. See you back next month at the Blood Coast fighting arena! Keep an eye out for next month’s location.”
The crowd of men began to push out of huge metal doors at the far end of the warehouse. Within a few minutes, it was empty again except for a few men lingering in corners, Lucas, Ivy, and the announcer. Miguel walked out of the office.
Alain and five men –Ivy couldn’t pick Igor and Vinnie out of the group to save her life –walked out of the shadows toward Ivy and Lucas in the center of the warehouse. Lucas took a swig from a water bottle that was sitting next to the ring before stepping over the rope. His hair was drenched in sweat and sticking to his neck and forehead. He took Ivy’s hand.
“Come on, let’s get the fuck out of here.” He started to lead her toward the exit.
Alain and his men blocked their way. “Not so fast, Panther,” he said, smiling a smile that made Ivy want to hide behind Lucas.
“I got you your half a million.”
“I want more than that.”
“An apology? I’m sorry I fucking disappeared. I just didn’t exactly feel like turning in my two week’s notice.”
Alain’s smile widened. “More than that.”
Lucas pushed Ivy behind him. “No, Alain. You leave Ivy alone. She has absolutely nothing to do with this.”
Alain nodded, slowly. “I don’t plan on laying a finger on her,” he said seriously, yet his tone suggested there was something as equally upsetting that he was planning on.
Lucas started to back away. Ivy’s heart beat painfully. She was absolutely terrified. Her fingers dug into Lucas’s slick shoulders.
Two of Alain’s men –oh, there were Igor and Vinnie –walked forward with purpose. They grabbed Lucas from Ivy’s hands and threw him to the ground.
“No,” she said, quietly at first. “No, please, please don’t do this.”
Alain walked leisurely over to Ivy and pulled her away from the scene. He turned her toward him. “Look at me,” he said in a disgustingly sweet voice. “You don’t want to see this.”
For some reason she couldn’t quite understand, Ivy obeyed. She stared at Alain’s blank expression, his pale skin, his thin lips. The man’s expression didn’t change as Lucas cried out behind them.
Exhausted from the fight he had just won, it seemed that Lucas had no chance against the five, well-rested men. Ivy could barely see each cowardly blow reflected in Alain’s ice blue eyes.
“No,” she said, not believing what was happening. She let out a soft cry at each hit. Her cheeks were wet with hot tears.
Alain looked away as she began to literally sob, falling to the floor. Lucas had stopped moaning with pain. Now each dull thud elicited no response from him.
The tall, suited man stopped his men with a motion from his hand. “That’s enough,” he said. He looked down on Ivy. “When he wakes up,” he said dryly. “Let him know our debt is settled.”
The footsteps of the men echoed through the dark, empty warehouse.
Chapter Twenty
When she was sure they were alone, Ivy ran over to Lucas’s still body. She felt his pulse. A strong throb was present. He was alive, definitely, but breathing very softly. He didn’t respond when she talked to him.
“Lucas, it’s me. Alain and his men are gone. I’m going to bring you to a hospital,” she said, stroking his hair out of his eyes.
His eyes flickered open. He moaned. Blood and dirt stained almost every bit of his exposed skin. “No hospital,” he managed. “Nothing’s broken.”
“How could you possibly know?” Ivy asked as she helped him stand. She had to support almost all of his weight.
“Trust me,” he said. “I know what a broken bone feels like. I’m just sprained and bruised. I might have a minor concussion.”
“Don’t fall asleep,” Ivy said, sharing the one bit of medical knowledge she had on the subject.
“Yeah,” Lucas said, nearly falling over. She steadied him.
“Where’s your car?”
“On the main road. I didn’t park it near here.” That made sense.
Together they moved very slowly. Ivy pushed open the metal doors of the warehouse and then supported Lucas as they made their way down the dirt road toward the sounds and lights of cars and businesses.
The sky was filled with stars. They weren’t near a big city.
When they got to the main street, Lucas’s car was right there. There was no mistaking the retro red muscle car.
There were no passersby around to see Lucas, something of which Ivy was glad. She didn’t want any questions being asked.
“It’s unlocked,” he said. “I was in a hurry and I didn’t want to bring keys to a fight.”
Ivy opened the passenger door and helped him sit down. He winced in pain as he assumed a sitting position. He took the keys from the glove compartment and handed them to Ivy.
She got in the driver’s seat and turned on the car. “I have no idea where we are,” she said. “You’ll have to give me directions. Just keep thinking ‘I have to give Ivy directions, so I can’t fall asleep,’ all right?”
“All right. Go straight here and follow the signs to the freeway.”
They drove for a few hours. Lucas’s eyes fluttered shut several times but Ivy was able to keep him awake by talking to him.
“Are you sure I can’t take you to the hospital?” she asked as they left the freeway and entered Paisley. It was three in the morning.
“No,” he said.
“Can I call the police?” she asked, already knowing the answer.
“Fuck no,” he said, looking out the window at the sky.
“I’ll bring you home,” she said finally.
“Sounds good.” He seemed reserved, almost upset with her. However, Ivy was pretty sure she knew what was going on.
His past that he kept securely locked away had been ripped open and thrust before someone that he didn’t associate with that life at all.
She didn’t know the full story of his time as an underground fighter, and honestly she didn’t want to. She didn’t want anything like that to happen to her or him ever again. She vowed to never, ever, ask any questions about what had happened that day.
She pulled into his driveway and saw her car there. She flashbacked to earlier when she had come to check on him. That reminded her that he must have had a killer hangover when he came to save her.
Smiling as she helped him to the door and inside the house, she decided to ask about the night before.
“Remember coming over to Jess’s last night?”
“Yeah,” he said, smiling sheepishly. “Did I do anything terribly embarrassing?”
“No,” she said. “You were perfect. You were more truthful with me than you have been since we met.”
He looked alarmed. “Oh no, what did I tell you?”
Ivy smiled mischievously as she helped him to his bed. She made her way to the kitchen, leaving him propped up on pillows in his bed. “Nothing bad,” she said. “I’m serious. You mentioned that you weren’t a good person, and that your father had died on that day.”
He didn’t respond.
She came back into his room with a damp cloth. She pulled over a chair to his bedside and started to wipe the blood from his forehead, cheeks, collarbone, chest, waist, and, well, most of his body. She had to go and rinse out the cloth many times.
“Thanks,” he said as she came back into his room after searching for bandages and disinfectant. “Thanks so much.”
This time she didn’t an
swer.
As she dressed each of his wounds and rubbed ointment onto each of his bruises, her heart felt fuller and warmer. She realized that with this one huge barrier lifted between them –the secret of his past –she was able to feel the full depth of her emotions for him.
Following an instinct deep within her, Ivy unbuttoned her jeans. She let them fall to the floor. She lifted her t shirt off and unhooked her bra. Both were left in a pile by his bed.
Lucas watched her, his lips parted. “Ivy,” he said, saying many things just by saying her name. She knew he wanted her, she knew he was trying to say that it would hurt too much for him to move very much, he was saying he was thankful…
She took off his loose fighting shorts and boxers. She gently cleaned a bruised, scratched area on his hip. She could see his desire for her but didn’t act upon it until the wound had been disinfected.
When she was satisfied that he wouldn’t contract a terrible infection of the blood overnight, she straddled him. Softly, slowly, she moved her hips over his hardness. She could feel him through the dampness of her panties.
He moaned, but not in pain.
She leaned down and kissed him. He put one hand in her hair and another on her back, but any other movement caused him to wince. They kissed for a long time. Ivy tried to convey that the events of the day hadn’t changed the way she felt about him in the sweetness of her kiss.
She pulled away, her face flushed. Lucas’s hands had settled on her hips.
Throwing her panties onto the floor, she pressed herself against him, sliding her moist self over his hardness. She wanted him more badly than she ever had before.
She took him in her hand and guided him inside of her. Her body trembled at the sensation. He gripped her hips with as much strength as he had. She began to move her hips slowly, feeling the girth of him within her, pushing him deeper inside of her.
He moved against her subtly, trying to feel as much of her as he could but if he tried to anything else, she held him down. This was for him as much as it was for her. She wanted to show him how she felt. She didn’t want him to do a single thing for her that would hurt him.
