“Nope.” Came a disembodied voice from beneath the engine.
Evan laughed and headed for the toolbox. They worked at the car a while with nothing but the radio playing in the background, before Jake finally spoke up.
“I was thinking about something,” he said in a quiet and casual tone.
“Yeah?” Evan asked as he focused on his work. “What’s that?”
Jake appreciated that they weren’t looking at each other, but were instead looking at two different parts of the same engine. He drew in a breath. “Well, I was thinking that I do alright with the shop, you know. The bills are paid. All the ends are meeting… and I’m renting a decent house.” He paused, unsure how to say what he was thinking. Everything Muldoon had said to him had lodged itself in his mind and even more so in his heart, and it wasn’t going anywhere.
“I was thinking that I could be doing better than this, though. You know? Kind of like… I’m in a mediocre rut… like, there could be more out there for me if I go for it, instead of just settling for this. This isn’t so bad, but I have been thinking that maybe there could be more for me out there, you know – maybe a better life than this.” His heart began to beat a little faster and he glanced in Evan’s direction.
Evan’s tone was calm. “I think you’re probably right. I think there could be more for you out there, but it wouldn’t be your mechanic shop that gets you there. It would be your fighting. Your martial arts. You got something nobody else has, Jake. You do. It’s why no one can beat you and everyone keeps trying. People want what they don’t have, Jake. You got what they don’t have. You got what no one has.
I think you’re on to something. There could be more for you out there, but if you keep working in this shop every day and fighting on the streets a few times a week, you’re not going to find it. If you want to make a change, you’re going to have to get out and go after it. It’s not going to fall in your lap.”
Jake sighed and pursed his full lips. Evan was right. It wasn’t going to find him. He was going to have to go after it and make it happen. He had no idea how to do it, but he knew he wanted to find a way. They worked on the car until it was finished and Jake called the owner, telling him to come and get it in the morning. After cleaning up, they headed to the bar down the road. It was a bigger bar, and Evan preferred it because it was at a sort of crossroads between neighborhoods, which made it not only a neutral place, but also a bar where the patronage changed somewhat. There were the regulars, like Jake and Evan and a few other people, but there were new people a few nights a week, and that kept it interesting, and it kept the flow of new girls fairly fresh.
The two of them hadn’t even sat down before Evan nudged Jake. “There’s a couple of chicks at the bar watching us.” He grinned at Jake and then looked back over at them and gave them a nod and a wink. Jake laughed at him and looked at the women for a long moment, letting his eyes drift slowly down their bodies before bringing his beer bottle to his lips and taking a lazy sip.
One of the girls, a girl with sandy brown hair and hazel eyes, waved her hand at him and he nodded for her to join them. She slid off her seat and sashayed over to them with her friend in tow. Her friend, a redhead, sat down near Evan, but when she moved to sit in the chair beside Jake, he shook his head and lifted his foot to rest it on the seat of the empty chair.
“Oh no… baby, that seat’s taken. This one isn’t, though.” He reached for her hand and pulled her toward his lap. Her eyes grew wide and she giggled as he lifted one of her jean-clad legs over his and positioned her on his crotch facing him. “Now that…” he said with a chuckle, “is the best seat in the house.”
She giggled again and rested her forearm on his shoulder as she faced him, drawing near to him. “I have no doubt about that,” she answered.
When the morning light blazed in through the blinds of his bedroom, Jake opened his eyes and cringed at the headache that pounded all over his head. He knew better than to mix drinks. He regretted mixing as many as he had, and he mentally blamed it all on the girl who had attached herself to him all night.
Groaning, he pushed himself from the bed and stumbled into the shower, hoping that the hot water would alleviate his hangover. It helped, but it took two cups of coffee and a few aspirin before he began to feel at all normal again.
Jake walked out of his house, letting the old screen door slam behind him, and he headed to the gym.
Chapter2
Lisa drove slowly down the street, eyeing the old building with curiosity. She wasn’t sure if it was the gym until she saw a sign on the wall outside of it. ‘Riddick’s Gym’ it read in old faded letters that looked to be a few decades old. She turned her head to find a parking spot on the street and was glad to see one not far from the door.
“Where are you?” a young woman’s voice came through the Bluetooth speaker phone as Lisa pulled into the parking spot.
“I’m making a stop for work. It’s an ancient place in Brooklyn,” she answered casually.
“Always working,” laughed the other woman. “Anything exciting today?” she asked with a smile that could be heard through the phone.
“Nothing exciting or new, just the same as usual, and I’m not always working, but I am always keeping an eye open. That’s not work, Bonnie, that’s just attentiveness.” She hesitated and laughed a little, “Today though, it is work.” Lisa put the car in park and leaned back in her seat, picking up her travel mug of tea, taking a sip from it.
“Like I said… always working, and arguing semantics. So, you know I worry about you and your life,” Bonnie said with a hint of something bigger on her mind.
Lisa heard it and sighed with a smile of hesitation. “Bonnie… what are you up to?” she asked with a tone of suspicion.
Bonnie chuckled innocently. “What? I can’t worry about my friend? Why do you think I’m up to anything?”
“Because you’re my best friend and I know you so much better than you would like to admit that I do.” Lisa laughed and then sipped her tea again, eyeing the gym.
“Well, I was thinking that you could come over for dinner next week,” Bonnie said with a light note. Lisa narrowed her eyes and smirked.
“Dinner hmm? Just you and Paul and I?” she asked directly, knowing that her best friend was up to something.
Bonnie hummed a moment. “Sure… us and you… and… well, there is a new guy at my office who I wanted to welcome to the area, and I was thinking he might enjoy some company as well. You know, as a group.”
Lisa closed her eyes and shook her head with a sigh. “Bonnie… don’t you try to set me up with anyone. You know I don’t really like it when anyone does that.”
“I know…” Bonnie’s voice was still the very sound of innocence. “I’m not trying to set you up. It’s just a couple of friends having dinner all at the same time… in the same place. It’s nothing… romantic… it’s just… dinner. That’s all.”
“Right.” Lisa rolled her eyes and tapped her manicured fingers on the leather steering wheel, knowing that she should be in the gym just then.
“Okay, so it would be nice if you met him and you liked him. He’s a nice guy!” Bonnie said hopefully.
“They’re all nice when you first meet them,” Lisa retorted, setting her travel mug back into the cup holder and opening the door to get out of her car. “Then you get to know them and they show you who they really are. I have a good career, and I don’t need a guy messing it up. I’m fine, just like I am.” She locked her car and looked both ways before heading across the street.
“It’s just been so long… Lisa… I don’t like seeing you alone so much. You’re an amazing person, and you should have someone amazing with you; that’s all.” Bonnie’s hopeful tone had gone full tilt pout.
“I know how long it’s been, and I can see it going a lot longer. I’m fine, Bonnie, really. I appreciate you thinking of me and wanting to facilitate a wonderful situation for me and a happy ending, but I’m not unhappy. Things in my li
fe are really good. I’m lucky. I’m doing well. I’m happy; I promise. Trust me, okay? No more set ups. No more sneaky meetings. No blind dates or arranged dinners or anything else. I’m good just like this.
I promise. I’ll keep you, with a side of Paul, and that’s perfect for me.” Lisa stopped just outside of the door of the gym. “Listen, I do appreciate that you’re trying to be a good friend, and that means a lot to me, but my life is good. It doesn’t need to be fixed. I’m sorry, Bonnie, I have to go, but I’ll talk to you soon, okay?”
Bonnie relented. “Oh alright. If I have to. I just worry about you. I know you’re happy, but I want more for you, that’s all. I’ll check in with you later. Love you.”
Lisa grinned, grateful to have such a good friend, but relieved that she had uncovered Bonnie’s wicked plot to set her up on a blind date. “Love you, too.” She ended the call with a shake of her head as she slid her cell phone into her bag, shouldering it as she pulled the gym door open and walked inside.
It took a few moments for her eyes to acclimate to the dim light in the room. There was an office off to the side of the front door. The office had a wide window that looked out over the gym, and a smaller window that stood open, facing the front door.
There was an old man in the office, sitting in a chair facing a desk. Piles of papers and no end of random office supplies covered every inch of the desk. He looked up from the newspaper in his hands and caught Lisa’s eye.
“Can I help you?” he asked, looking at her in slight surprise. He seemed like the sort of man who was rarely surprised.
“I’m just here to take a look around,” she said with a polite smile. Simple was best, she firmly believed.
He gave her a nod and looked back down at his newspaper. She turned away from the window and walked into the room. It looked like many other older gyms that she’d been in. The equipment wasn’t new, the people working out weren’t young for the most part, and the place had a look of being worn out by not much more than time and use. Smooth and dull around the edges.
She walked through the machines and came to the other side of the room where there was a mat. Two young men were facing each other on it, sparring with one another. One was thick and stocky, while the other was built solid with muscle, while still keeping a slender form.
Lisa stood back, watching them from where she had stopped, not wanting to be obvious about her observance, her black eyes taking in everything going on in front of her.
The men were using some basic martial arts techniques in their fight, and they were both concentrating carefully on each other. They shot their arms and legs out at one another, striking and blocking, moving silently and carefully, each of them making a concerted effort to take the other down.
She watched as the stocky one lunged suddenly for the muscular one, and the second man turned swiftly on the spot, making the first man miss him as he grabbed the man and turned him away, pushing him face first down on the mat, landing on his back, knee planted in his spine.
The muscular man jumped to his feet and they sparred again and again, and each time he would bring his opponent down without being touched. Lisa began to smile a little to herself, wondering if she had actually found a diamond in the rough. She knew that it would take a little time to determine that.
When they were finished with their faux fighting, the men shook hands and the stocky one wandered off, heaving and out of breath, while the muscular one turned where he was on the mat, and stared straight into Lisa’s eyes. His steel blue eyes told her that he knew she had been watching the entire time, though he’d never looked at her.
His mouth curved into a wide smile and he sauntered toward her, letting his gaze wander slowly over her body, all the way down to her feet before drifting back up, taking his time on her curves, until he met her eyes again, and reached her, standing in front of her.
Jake loved the way she looked. She couldn’t have been more out of place; standing there in the shadowy light of the old gym in her high heels and silken stockings, the form fitting skirt that stopped just above her knees and clung to her fit slender body and her generous curves. She had long straight black hair that hung to her waist, milk chocolate colored skin, and a beautiful face.
Her eyes were so dark that they were black. Her cheeks were high and rounded, and her jaw was squared, coming to a gently rounded curve where her chin was beneath her full lips. He definitely loved the way she looked, and more than that, he loved that she had been watching him for the better part of half an hour.
“I hope you’re not lost,” he said coolly, holding her gaze with his as he smiled and spoke in a low voice, “but if you are, I’ll be glad to help you find your way.”
Lisa knew right off that he was a cocky flirt. She had seen his type so many times, especially in her line of work, and his show of testosterone driven bravado was completely unimpressive to her. “Hi, I’m Lisa. May I ask your name?”
He tilted his head, regarding her for a moment. He felt that her tough exterior wasn’t there for show. Nodding, he extended his hand to her, partly to be polite, and partly because he wanted to touch her and discover what her skin felt like to his fingertips.
She shook his hand and he answered her, his smile broadening. “I’m Jake.” Her hand was soft; as soft as satin, and he found himself wondering if she felt that soft everywhere. “Did you like what you saw today?” he asked, grinning confidently. She hadn’t stood there for so long watching him because she didn’t like it.
She gave him a half shrug. “It was alright. What kind of fighting do you normally do?”
Jake blinked. What did she mean, it was alright? Granted, it wasn’t as tough as he could get, and she hadn’t seen him at his best, but it should be more than just alright. “I street fight,” he answered, subconsciously flexing his shoulders, arms, and chest.
Her mouth twitched slightly as if she was a little disappointed. “There’s no money in that,” she replied seriously. She could see that Jake had some talent, and if street fighting was all that he was doing, then he was wasting his time and talent on nothing but a way to get himself hurt.
He frowned. He’d never talked to a girl who hadn’t been thoroughly impressed with his tales of street fighting, and in fact, most of the girls he had talked to had known about him by reputation and were impressed with him before he even opened his mouth to speak to them. She was off-putting, the beautiful, strong woman standing before him, and for the first time in his life, he felt some uncertainty about what to say and how to be with a lady.
“There is money in it…” he answered, his tone lowering somewhat. “In the betting. Pretty decent money, actually,” he said evenly, trying not to be defensive with her.
She leveled her gaze at him. “My fighters are champions. They make bank every time they win, not to mention titles and fame. I represent one of the biggest and best dojos in the country, and I’m looking for new fighters to train and compete. I came here today to see if there were any men who might be good additions to the dojo, and to our team. I like your style and form, and I think you’d do well there.”
Jake looked at her in surprise. He’d never have guessed it. She didn’t look like the kind of person who did what she had just told him that she did.
“If that sounds like something you’d be interested in checking out, I’d be glad to take you there now and let you look around. If you like it, and you think you want to be on the team, you can try out.”
Lisa paused a moment to let what she had said to him sink in before she continued. “There’s a real future for our fighters. Many of them end up traveling the world and fighting in international competitions all over, in different countries. Most of them retire before they’re fifty because they have made enough money to do whatever they want, and several of them have opened their own dojos to teach what they’ve learned.
Some get commercial contracts and wind up being spokesman or doing movies, some of them just retire and relax. All of our champions have
done well, and are renowned in the world of martial arts and fighting. I think you have what it takes to get started in that, and I could see the possibility of a future in it for you, if you decided to get into it. I can help you do that.” She paused once more. “If you want to.”
That was it. She cast the offer out and waited. There was nothing more that she could say that would change anything about his thoughts or decision. He knew what he needed to know. She watched his eyes and saw him thinking carefully about it.
Jake stood there before her, staring at her, soaking in every word she had said. Muldoon’s words came back to him, and he knew that the old man had been right. There could be more out there for him. He wasn’t ever going to get anywhere street fighting. He wasn’t ever going to get anywhere working on cars and sparring at the old gym. He realized as gazed back at Lisa, that what she was offering him might very well be his one and only shot at a real future; a future outside of and away from every part of his life that he knew.
A shot at a real life, and not only a real life, but a life where he could be paid big money to fight, rather than hoping there was a good sized crowd on the sidewalk who wanted to bet on him and give Evan a few dollars in hopes that Jake would win.
He nodded, and his tone became somewhat serious. “Yeah, I am interested. So…” he hesitated and tipped his head a little. “Should we go now to go see the dojo?” he asked uncertainly.
She smiled a little for the first time and all of his attention shifted to her full rounded lips. “Yes, we should go right now. I’m leaving. Are you coming with me?” He felt a shot of adrenaline and something like hot desire blaze through him as his eyes moved over her face and he looked into her black eyes again.
“Yeah. I’m definitely coming with you.” At that moment, he would have followed her to the ends of the earth if she had had the notion.
She turned on the spot and headed toward the door, and he grabbed his bag and followed after her, taking in every inch of her body as she walked away from him. He let out a long slow breath and shook his head. If she was going to be around the dojo at all, he was going to make her a prime target. Just one look at her told him he could spend days running his hands all over her body and not get enough of her.
Brooklyn's Baddest: A Bad Boy Fighter Romance Page 3
