The Battlefield Series 6: The Ties That Bind Us (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Dixie Lynn Dwyer

“Go see Marco. He’s by the room we were going to work out in. Guys are warming up in there.”

  Lori asked Antonia if her bag was safe under the table, and Antonia nodded, then began to help the people who were registering. As Lori caught sight of Marco by the door talking to three men and looking at his watch, she heard her name.

  “Lori?” She turned to see Leif standing there in uniform.

  “Hi, this is crazy around here,” she said.

  He looked her over and smiled. “You’re not competing, are you?”

  “No, definitely not. I was supposed to work out with Antonia and Damon. She said your brothers needed help.”

  “They need it big-time. Thanks so much,” he said and then whistled toward Marco. Marco immediately turned around at the sound of Leif’s whistle like he recognized the distinct sound that mimicked some kind of bird. He gave a wave and excused himself.

  “What’s up? Hey, Lori.”

  “Hi.”

  “Lori is here to help. Antonia volunteered her. What should she do?” Leif asked.

  Marco gave her a smile and gazed over her outfit. She had dressed to work out.

  “Are you sure?” he asked.

  “I’m here, and it looks like you could use the help. I’ll train later,” she said, and he nodded.

  “Okay, come with me.”

  Lori followed Marco and couldn’t help but check out the man’s body. He had an incredible one. Big, wide shoulders, lots of muscles, and despite the baggy karate pants, she could tell he had a great ass. She had to admit that Repose did have a large number of attractive people living there. It was hard to remain focused on her promise to stay clear of certain types of men. Just then she spotted the two guys from last night. The blond saw her and smirked, gave a nudge to his friend, who looked over, and waved. She gave a nod, and Marco placed his hand on her waist and blocked their view of her.

  “Don’t be intimidated by them. They’re such idiots.”

  “You don’t need to tell me. I hope they don’t start anything here. They probably won’t.”

  “I don’t know. I don’t like them, and the sooner this event is over, the faster they can head home where they came from,” he said, and she couldn’t help but to agree.

  As he led her toward a table, she saw Jaret, one of Amber’s men. He said hello, and then Jaret told Marco about losing the person who was supposed to mark in the contestants as they got to the mat to make sure they were next.

  “Shit, I should look for someone who knows how to do that,” Marco said and started looking around.

  “I can do it if you want,” Lori said to them.

  “It’s kind of complicated, and you have to talk to the guys as they come up here and make sure everything is set, mark them in the right box, and monitor the scoring. You need to know a bit about martial arts,” Marco told her.

  “I can do it, no problem.” She wasn’t about to tell them how she’d worked at Bragan’s uncle’s martial arts studio when there were similar events there. That place was huge with three stories plus an indoor pool in the basement with saunas, too.

  “You can?” Jaret asked.

  “Definitely. You take care of whatever you need to do. Jaret and I have this covered,” she told him and then took a seat and started gathering the log book and what she needed.

  “Kyran has everything set up on the computer. Are you good with Apple computers?” Jaret asked.

  “Oh, that’s great. It makes it a lot easier. Does he have a way of connecting it right to the main judges’ tables so we know who moves on to their next matches?” she asked, and Jaret showed her the program, which she knew well.

  “I’m impressed, Lori. I had no idea you knew about this stuff. Have you worked in a competition like this before?” Jaret asked.

  “Something like that,” she said and then watched the current matches taking place. There were six mats across the large room, and all had separate tables for timekeepers, judges, and a person who did what she did.

  When she felt the hand on her shoulder and the large presence behind her, she panicked a moment. She turned and looked up to see Mateo.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked and then looked at what she was wearing. She was glad she coordinated, but her shorts were spandex and short, and her top didn’t cover much of the sports bra. Usually, when she trained she wore light things because she sweated so much as they were such hard workouts.

  “Helping out. Are you up next?” she asked and had to turn away from him a moment, and when she thought he wasn’t looking, she turned back to check him out. Mateo looked sexy and ready. He had on a tight, black T-shirt, his white martial arts pants, and a black belt on his waist. She could see part of the tattoo he had peeking from the collar of his shirt on his neck. The sight made her cringe thinking of the pain.

  She looked down as he nodded. When she looked up his gaze landed somewhere to the right. She saw Mateo’s name and then marked him in.

  “Well, what’s the chances of getting to see my favorite bartender so quickly and not in the bar? How are you, gorgeous?” the blond asked her. He leaned over the table and looked right at her breasts.

  “Name?” she asked, all efficient-like.

  “Champion,” he said and then chuckled.

  She looked at him and made a face like she was bored.

  “Canin Boroughs. Bracco Dojo,” he said, and she was shocked. She knew that dojo. It was Bragan’s family dojo, and Pylo worked there. One of the owners was part of the same loan shark business Pylo was into. These guys probably got hired to do what Pylo did and rough people up.

  She typed on the keyboard. “You’re all set,” she said, and he gave her a wink.

  “I’ll look for you later, honey.”

  “No you won’t,” Mateo said.

  The two men stepped toward one another, and Jaret got between them, and then two other men came over.

  “Mateo, problem?” he asked.

  “No. I’ll be taking care of it momentarily,” Mateo said and eased back, but not before he pulled Lori by her hip, indicating for her to step out.

  “Hey, I’ll find you later,” the blond, Canin, said to her.

  “Don’t bother,” she said.

  Canin chuckled and then started warming up. She turned toward Mateo, Kyran, and Jaret.

  “Are you okay?” Kyran asked her.

  She rolled her eyes and then locked gazes with Mateo. “Just do me a favor and kick his ass,” she said, and Jaret laughed.

  Mateo held her gaze. “I plan on it.”

  She sat back down and now felt nervous about this match. Mateo seemed fine, but Canin seemed like a nutcase.

  She was worrying her bottom lip when she felt the hand on her shoulder. She looked up as the bell rang for the match to start.

  “Don’t worry, he’s really good,” Kyran said, and she couldn’t believe how attracted she felt to the man. Hell, to Mateo and even Marco and Leif. Maybe she should have said she couldn’t help and left?

  As she heard the roars and then the cheers, she looked at Mateo and Canin, countering one another’s moves. Then Canin did a cheap shot and then another. He lost points for it, and Mateo’s side seemed to be hurting. She was getting angry, but the judges were doing the right thing and calling negative points. Suddenly, Mateo got pissed and started coming back with a vengeance. She watched and blinked, tightening up with every hit, and then she saw Kyran walking away from her table and to another one nearby. His grappling match was next.

  The crowd got louder, and then there was Mateo pinning Canin to the mat and winning the event. The referee raised Mateo’s arm, and everyone cheered and clapped, including her.

  When she heard the gasp and then the sound of a body slamming down onto the mat, she was shocked to see Kyran on top. He literally lifted the guy and body-slammed him. The fighter with the brown hair—Rocco he said his name was, even though Canin called him Luke in the bar last night—came back at Kyran fiercely. When they took the match to the floor, s
he could tell that Kyran was a super-efficient grappler. Ground grappling was an obvious, comfortable position for fighting, and Rocco knew he was going to lose as he tapped out.

  She couldn’t believe her sweaty palms, or the feelings of desire and appreciation for their wins, but she wouldn’t show it. She had to keep her distance from them. It was safest that way for her heart and her sanity.

  She was way past the lustful, idolizing teenage girl who had a crush on an older, physically fit fighter. Bragan had been a superstar. He still maintained his winning abilities, but his greed and need for power, money, and violence ruled his world. Throw in excessive drinking, experimenting with drugs, and working with a loan shark like Pylo, and being a cheating scumbag came with the territory.

  As she watched her friends congratulate both men, and absorbed the sight of the crowds of people watching, more matches continued and more determined faces came into view. She missed this part of competition. Although Bragan had kept her on a short leash and she hated to admit that he controlled her, she loved the excitement in the air and the expressions on the competitors’ faces. No one liked to lose. No one wanted to end up tapping out.

  She signed the next set of competitors in for the following match. Despite getting ready to spar, both men flirted with her. She ignored them like she ignored most men. She didn’t see herself as beautiful or standout attractive. In fact, one of the reasons why she worked out so hard was that deep down she still believed if she had been more beautiful, had trained harder, and had the body she had today that maybe Bragan wouldn’t have cheated on her, hurt her the way he did, and struck her.

  She felt her gut clench and her heart slightly ache. Three years. Three goddamn years and she still had the stupid thought that she could have made a difference if she were better. She shook the negativity from her head. She wasn’t that dumb twenty-year-old trying to prove how much of a woman she was and how cool she was because her boyfriend was a champion ultimate fighter. Older, talented, wealthy, and super fit. Those were the qualities the public saw in him, that their friends saw. She saw the other side of him. The violent, controlling, manipulative side that nearly killed her that night in the bathroom when he was so out of it.

  “Lori?” She heard her name and gasped, then looked up to see Kyran standing there. His expression seemed concerned as he stroked her shoulder, and she realized she had her hand against her throat in a protective manner. Her thoughts were so far gone she hadn’t realized she was doing that. She forced a smile.

  “Great match, Kyran,” she said and then looked away at the match that was already in the third period. He bent down next to her.

  “Thanks for helping us out today. It was crazy this morning.”

  She looked at the laptop and saw there were three more matches for this mat. Then she could leave, get the heck out of here, and maybe go for a run or something.

  “Not a problem.”

  Two guys came up to the table.

  “Hey, beautiful. The name is Walters,” one said, and she felt Kyran’s hand move back to her shoulder. Walters looked at him and then where his hand was. She turned so his hand moved and she smiled at Walters, who stood in front of her.

  “You’re all set, Walters. Good luck.”

  He winked at her, looked over her breasts, and said thank you. He then turned around and started bouncing up and down, warming up for the match.

  She turned to look at Kyran, who was staring at her with such an intense expression it affected her. She nearly shivered, her breasts swelled, and she felt this stupid, giddy feeling in her belly because Kyran, a sexy, hot, older martial artist was looking at her with interest.

  “Did you need something else from me, Kyran?” she asked, hoping he would leave or at least not stand so close.

  “No, we’ll talk later,” he said, and she felt his fingers glide along her back and shoulder before he turned and walked away.

  She was starting to think it was a bad idea to even say yes to helping out. Then Antonia came over.

  “Thank you so much for staying, Lori. It’s finally starting to wind down. No more people to register, another hour and they’ll be finished.”

  “Great. I’ll still have time to go for a run then at least before work tonight.”

  “Damon feels badly for not being able to do the session with you.”

  “Not a big deal. I have some exercises and things I can do at home after I jog.”

  “I bet you do. You look incredible. I wish I had arms like yours. They’re so toned and defined.”

  “Hey, you’ll get there. You look fantastic and if you want to get more toned just increase the weight exercises, too. You don’t need heavy weights, you know, just increase the reps.”

  Antonia smiled.

  “You seem to know a lot about working out and even all this martial arts stuff. What gives?”

  Lori didn’t want to share anything about her past or about Bragan, never mind that she had a sister. She shrugged.

  “I read a lot, and always had an interest. As a kid, I took some classes in karate. No big deal, and I wasn’t very good,” she lied. She was good. So good that when she was older and met Bragan and he wanted her to learn some things, she wound up showing him that she knew a lot more than she let on. Instead of being impressed, he was angry and felt she lied to him. It was one of the first signs of what type of man, of boyfriend, he was going to be, but she kept seeing him, and that possessive, controlling attitude led to a road of pain and heartache she wouldn’t soon forget, and she wouldn’t repeat. No matter how hot the prospects were.

  Her gaze landed on Mateo, and damn how she wished things were different, but they weren’t. Evilly was the perfect example with Pylo. Every man they met who was into martial arts used their abilities and strength against women. It must be some sort of need for control. A means to constantly feel powerful and in charge. She really needed to get out of here.

  “They are so good-looking. I heard Kyran and his brothers had to come to your rescue at the bar last night. That those two guys Kyran and Mateo beat today were being rough, and one grabbed your wrist,” Antonia said.

  “It was no big deal,” Lori said and looked back at the computer screen, but her gaze moved upward, catching a glimpse of Marco across the mat, talking to one of the refs. He was an attractive man, muscles bulging from the T-shirt he wore and in his forearms. His arms were crossed in front of his chest, and she could see the cords of muscle from where she sat.

  “They like you,” Antonia whispered.

  Lori looked at her and didn’t know what to say.

  “I can tell you like them, too.” She shook her head.

  “I don’t,” she stated.

  Antonia looked disappointed.

  “Seriously? They’re so attractive, and they have that whole mysterious thing going. Especially Kyran and Mateo. They have a lot of connections and still do some jobs for the military. At least that’s what I hear. Around here, you never know who has connections to what. I mean look at Nevin. Holy shit, what he did, and how he helped save Carina was crazy.”

  Lori got that ache in her belly. Connections? Kyran and his brothers were all retired from the military and had assisted with various situations recently that indicated they too were powerful men. Men who knew bad people more than likely.

  “Hey, you going to do the classes with me Tuesday?”

  She didn’t want to lie, but she had to set some boundaries here. She couldn’t take a chance of letting her libido lead her to more trouble.

  “I have plans.”

  “In town?”

  “No, I’m heading out Wednesday morning, but I need to be back for work Wednesday night.”

  “So it’s true? You’re seeing someone out of Repose?” Antonia asked and seemed disappointed. Was her friend trying to play matchmaker or ask questions for Kyran and his brothers to find out if she were single? Lori felt bad as she started to lie a little, but it had to be done. She wasn’t going to let history repeat itself.<
br />
  “It’s nothing really. Just a friendly visit,” she said and kept her gaze away from Antonia’s so Antonia couldn’t see her.

  “Oh, well I guess it isn’t meant to be for now. When are you working again?” she asked.

  “Tuesday night and then Wednesday night.”

  “Cool. So have fun visiting your friend.”

  Antonia looked away, and something told her Antonia didn’t believe her anyway. Lori didn’t lie. She hated liars, but in order to avoid a potential problem she had to. Now that shitty feeling would stay with Lori for quite some time, thanks once again to Bragan and the wounds he left her with that made her scared to take a chance on any man ever again.

  * * * *

  “So Antonia said she is seeing someone?” Leif asked Damon while they stood by the doorway in the office, watching Lori and Antonia talking.

  “It seems that way. Lori is heading out on Wednesday but will be back in time for work Wednesday night,” Damon said.

  Leif mumbled. He couldn’t help the disappointed feeling he had. He and his brothers were attracted to her, but if she was seeing someone, then they couldn’t pursue.

  “So you guys going to ask her out?” Damon asked.

  “You just told me she’s seeing someone.”

  “I didn’t say that, and Antonia didn’t say Lori confirmed that. She called it a friendly visit.”

  Leif kept his gaze on Lori and how in perfect physical condition she was. Her long, dirty-blonde hair was in a ponytail. She had thick, long eyelashes he could see from here as she smiled and talked with Fox and Jack, who stopped in on their shift, too. He couldn’t stop the thought or the jealous feeling that Lori was going out of town to meet some guy she may or may not be seeing or even having sex with. Fuck, the thought of her in bed with another man was upsetting. He couldn’t believe his reaction.

  He felt the nudge to his arm.

  “Stop looking at her like you’re pissed off. That’s no way to win the woman’s heart.”

  “What?” he asked and looked at Damon.

  “Dude, what were you just thinking about when you were staring at her?”

  “Nothing.”