REBEL: #4.5 The Beat and The Pulse

by Amity Cross

  “What are you doing?”

  I turned sharply, pressing my back against the wall. My gaze collided with the fighter from the cage, the one who seemed to have staked his claim over me like some animal. Rebel. Up close, he was even more magnificent than he was out there. His eyes were a rich chocolate brown, his muscles so defined I wasn’t entirely sure they were real. He’d attempted to clean up some after his fight, but blood was still smeared across his forehead from where his eyebrow had been split. It was a tiny cut, but it’d been a bleeder.

  When I just stood there and stared at him in awe, he grinned, looking like a lion that’d gone hunting and found his prey.

  “This area’s off limits,” he said, inching closer. “Fighters only…unless you’re with one.”

  I swallowed hard, trying to look away, but I was caught. “I—”

  “Are you with me?” he asked, running his tongue along his bottom lip.

  I knew what he implied, that he wanted to have sex with me, but could I get out of this without stooping to those levels? My nipples began to ache, hardening against my bra as I clenched my thighs together. Fuck. My body wanted to get under that, but my brain wanted to get out. Involuntarily, my gaze dropped to his lips and they curved into a satisfied smile.

  Stepping forward, Rebel pressed his body against mine, pinning me against the wall. I felt every hot, hard inch of him, and when he pressed his groin against my belly, I gasped. He was sporting an erection, and he didn’t seem to give a crap who saw us in the hallway.

  “Do you have a name?” he asked, leaning forward, his lips brushing against my ear. His breath was hot against my skin, making my arousal spike even more.

  I swallowed hard, pressing my palms against the wall behind me. “Charlotte.”

  “Charlotte,” he murmured, sending a shiver down my spine. “What are you really doing back here?”

  I couldn’t actually say I was snooping for evidence that could bring down the whole cage fighting ring, so I said, “Looking for you.” It wasn’t exactly the truth, but it wasn’t exactly a lie either.

  He narrowed his eyes like he was trying to work out if I was telling him a big fat fib. After a moment of deliberation, he raised a big hand and cupped my face, the feel of his rough skin against my flushed cheek sending everything into overdrive. Fuck, if he kissed me, it was over. I had to get away before I let my integrity circle down the drain.

  Rebel pressed his lips against the curve of my neck, the tip of his tongue lightly dancing across my skin. A moan escaped my lips, and I thrust forward, rubbing against his erection. Shit. I did not expect that to happen.

  He moved from my neck, across my cheek, and his lips brushed against mine, activating my flight mode. I pushed against his chest and he shot backward, separating our bodies. At least the guy knew the action meant no…he had that going for him.

  “I’m sorry, I can’t,” I blurted a little too quickly.

  Pushing off the wall, I strode down the hall away from Rebel, with my head down. Fleeing the viper’s den, away from the king cobra himself. Oh god, and talk about living up to the metaphor.

  At least he wouldn’t suspect what I was really looking for. All he would see was a woman who’d gotten in too far over her head and had made a run for it.

  Of all the possible scenarios that I’d run over in my mind, having a physical reaction of epic proportions was not on the agenda. It hadn’t even touched the edges of my radar.

  How was I to bust open Australia’s tightest, illegal cage fighting ring if a man like Rebel was standing in my way? A man I wanted to hand myself over to, a man who I’d let do whatever he wanted to me.

  I had no bloody idea.

  Chapter 4

  Rebel

  There was nothing worse than being left with a hard-on after an epic fight.

  Well, there was one thing that was worse. Not being interested in going someplace else after being rejected by beauty fucking personified.

  Being groped by everything with a pair of tits while doing the rounds of The Underground, had me bothered—and not in a good way. Charlotte was gone. I shoved off all the fake bitches and went out back, locked myself in a shower and beat it out of my system one-handed. First time I'd ever gone at it in the place alone.

  The next night, I dragged my sorry ass back in to fight, but there was no sign of her. I began to think she was one of those one-time girls. They thought they’d come for a little fun, try and hook up with a fighter but when it came to the crunch, realized that they were too scared or too fuckin’ good to stoop. Those girls never came back.

  I didn’t think Charlotte was one of them, not entirely. The way her body reacted to mine…we’d been like magnets. I’d pressed into her and she’d mewled like a fucking kitten in heat. It was little shit like that that got my blood running. I was all about the physical.

  Being the kinda guy I was, which was bad news, and being in a place like this, meant I was the man of the moment. I fought and won, I made people very rich, and I didn’t want for much. I had cash and women lining up to please me. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the life I wanted. The Underground was a means to an end.

  My entire life was about keeping my head from being dragged under. Keeping myself on the straight and narrow, keeping myself from prison, and keeping myself from getting deader than dead. I’d come from poor roots, had always been poor, resorting to stealing to keep myself from ending up on the streets. Unfortunately, that had led to a lot of arrests and community service…and a couple of short stints in juvenile detention as a teenager. Long story short, I was a dreg of society. A bottom dweller.

  The only way out of this life, the only way that I saw, was to do what I was good at. Fighting with my fists. At The Underground, I got paid for winning. I’m talking about thousands of dollars. More money than I’d ever seen in my entire life. Winning a Championship in this place was worth millions. The last guy had taken one point five million, opened his own gym, and he’d been just like me. He’d done a four year stint in prison, gotten out, fought, and had taken his life back.

  I wanted that. I wanted it so much I could hardly breathe thinking about it.

  Up until tonight, it was the only thing that entered my mind when I walked into The Underground. Now another piece had added itself to the puzzle.

  Charlotte.

  First place to ask was the security guards that minded the entrance to the fighter’s only area. My guess was she’d snuck past them, because they wouldn’t let just any crazy bitch back there. She might’ve slipped them a fifty—she was dressed nice so she obviously wasn’t hard up for the cash—but from her reaction, I wasn’t so sure.

  “Hey,” I barked at the guards who I knew had been there last night.

  “Hey, Rebel,” he said, giving me shifty eyes. He knew I wanted something because I never bothered talking to them unless there was something in it for me.

  “Do you know a bird by the name of Charlotte?” I asked. “Tall, blonde, lips that look like they can suck for days?”

  His brow furrowed in confusion. “Who?”

  “Blondie,” I said. “Snuck back here last night.”

  The dude frowned. I guess that meant he’d been distracted, and she’d gotten by without anyone seeing her.

  “You’re real fuckin’ good at your job, mate,” I snarled. “Letting random chicks sneak where they’re not allowed.”

  He began to pale. The dude knew he was in trouble. “D-don’t tell Max,” he stammered.

  Max was one of the head honchos of The Underground and the head referee. What he said carried a lot of weight around here, but so did the shit the king of the cage rattled off. And who was the king? Motherfuckin’ me.

  I jabbed a finger at him, poking him hard in the chest. “You owe me,” I said. “When I want something, you deliver.” I stared him down, and the guy had sense enough to look like he was about to piss himself.

  He swallowed hard. “Anytime.”

  Turning, I slammed my shoulder agai
nst his, making him stumble. Striding through the arena, the crowd parted as I made straight for the bar. If anyone knew the gossip in this place, it was the bartenders. Next on the information superhighway were the bookies.

  People instantly moved to the side when they saw me, and I leaned against the bar. I always got a kick outta it, considering that outside of these walls, I was looked at like I was scum. In here, I could pretend that I mattered more than the cash cow I was for these people.

  A woman stopped in front of me, tapping her hand against the top of the bar. “What can I get ya, fighter?” she asked. She didn’t try to flirt, she didn’t even shove her tits in my face. She had this punk rock look about her, black hair, fingernails painted black…she even wore a tight little Ramones T-shirt. She was straight up, no bullshit, and I liked her instantly.

  “No drink. I’m lookin’ for information,” I replied.

  She smiled. “Well, you’ve come to the right place.” She turned and yelled at the guy serving next to her. “I’m going out for five.”

  The guy looked at me and narrowed his eyes.

  “Get fucked, Tony,” she said. “He’s got no chance in hell.” Rolling her eyes, she gestured for me to follow her and slipped out from behind the bar.

  She led me through a service entry behind the bar, and we emerged outside by one of those big wheelie bins and a stack of used kegs. The air was cool, almost too cold to be standing there in nothing but a pair of shorts and a hoodie. I had thirty until it was time to fight.

  “Rebel, right?” she asked, leaning against the wall, and I nodded. She pointed to herself and declared, “Lori. I like to be referred to as my actual name, not babe, chick, or bitch. Got it?”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Manners will get me everywhere?”

  She snapped her fingers. “Bingo.”

  I grinned. “Then you’ll get your pleases and thank yous, Lori.”

  “What do you want to know?” she asked, returning my smile. I reckon she’d decided that she liked me, too. I was good with that.

  “There was a woman here last night. Yea tall,” I held my hand up to chin height, “almost white blonde hair, slight curl to it, pale skin, pink lips.”

  Lori held up a hand, tossing her black hair back over her shoulder. “You pretty much just described a woman’s vagina,” she said with a laugh.

  I groaned. “I’m lookin’ for her. Name’s Charlotte.”

  “You know there’s a fuck load of women that come in here thinking they want a walk on the wild side,” Lori said, rolling her eyes. “Very few can handle it.”

  “I know,” I replied with a grunt.

  She laughed at my reaction, shaking her head. “You fighters and your women. You like to try them all, but when you find one that you want to keep…”

  “What about you?” I asked. She seemed so anti-fighter, it made me wonder why that was.

  She smirked, pushing off the wall. “I haven’t seen your Charlotte,” she said and pointed back to the door we came through. “Now scram. I’m sure you’ve got a fight lined up.”

  Letting out a laugh, I began to walk backward. “Keep an eye out, will ya?”

  “What’s in it for me?”

  I smirked. “Satisfaction when you see this asshole fighter find the woman who sticks.”

  She cocked her head to the side, her dark eyes flashing. “Trying to restore my faith in your kind?”

  “Thanks for your help, Lori.”

  Melting back into the fray that was The Underground, I didn’t have a fucking clue how life worked anymore. How was it that I wasn't attracted to a rad chick like Lori and was instantly hard for a woman I’d only spoken a handful of words to? How did that work? On the surface, it didn’t, but below…below, it was fucking hot.

  One thing was for fucking sure. I couldn’t get the mysterious Charlotte outta my head.

  I just had to hope she’d have the guts to come back.

  Chapter 5

  Charlotte

  I was coming at this from the wrong angle.

  I needed hard evidence to bring to a judge, not hearsay. Not something I snuck into an office and stole. Anything I would’ve found, had I actually got into that office, would be thrown out of court immediately. Truthfully? Rebel had gotten into my head. Rebel and that whole place.

  My mind drifted to him in the cage, his fists pounding against his opponent, the ease with which he knocked the guy down. Crowbar wasn’t a small guy, not by a long shot. Rebel had clobbered him as easily as a human swatted a fly. It was almost like he’d let Crowbar hit him for added effect. Theatrics.

  Closing my eyes, I could feel the ghost of him pressing against my body, caging me against that brick wall like a hungry lion. What would his lips taste like? I wondered if he could kiss as well as he fought. A guy like him would’ve had a lot of practice—he was as handsome as he was deadly.

  If there was one thing I took from my meeting the guy, it was that he was full of his own self-importance. He thought he could point a finger at me and that would be it? I’d strip naked and spread wide for him on the spot? What a dick.

  Maybe one of those cage bitches would do it in the center of that ring for a live audience, but I had more respect for myself than that. I wasn’t easy. I was also a cop and if they found out I wasn’t going to be bought? Fuck, I couldn’t beat it into my head enough. I was walking a fine line between life and death.

  If I was going to have any chance at busting this thing, I had to get inside. Rebel could get me in. I’d be using the guy, but he’d be using me. What was a little sex? Could I let it get that far? He didn’t seem like the kind of man who’d put up with teasing. Eventually he’d just take.

  “Croft’s daydreaming about a boy.”

  I glanced up with a scowl as three male detectives burst out laughing and made kissy faces at me. Sires, Howard, and Frommer. I should’ve known. They made it their life’s mission to give me a hard time, the chauvinistic assholes.

  “Piss off,” I snapped, turning back to my computer.

  “Boyfriend got you all worked up?” Former taunted.

  “Na, she doesn’t have a boyfriend,” Howard added.

  Rolling my eyes, I tried to tune them out. They’d be sorry when I wiped the entire floor with what was left of The Underground.

  “Do you think she’s into chicks?” Sires asked.

  Spinning in my chair, I scowled at the lot of them. “Why do you give a fuck? Want a front row seat?”

  They stared at me, taken aback for a moment and then burst out into laughter. Awkward laughter, which covered the fact that I’d thrown them for a moment. Just a single second, but I’d gotten to them. They didn’t think they’d actually get a bite, the bloody cowards. Power trippers.

  “Maybe if you put as much effort into your case work as you did demeaning me, then maybe one of you assholes would actually be Senior Sargent by now.”

  Howard slapped Sires in the chest. “Oooh, burn.”

  Turning back around to my computer, where I had a screen open with a map of Abbotsford, I shook my head. It was like getting through to a bunch of three year olds. How they made it to detective in the first place was beyond me. Actually, I could take a stab at it. Boot licking and ass kissing.

  The sound of a door slamming open didn’t catch my attention until I heard my name being barked across the office. Oh, shit.

  Glancing over my shoulder, I caught sight of Hunter, the take-no-prisoners boss of this whole operation.

  “Croft.” The Boss wiggled his finger at me, a signal to come hither. “A word.”

  “Oooh, Croft’s in trouble,” Sires taunted from his desk.

  As I strode across the office, I gave the three idiots the finger.

  ‘The Boss’ was really called Thomas Hunter, and he’d been in charge around here for at least as long as I’d been a cop. He was tough, street hardened and drew a tough line. At fifty years of age, he’d seen a lot of action, and the lines on his face and the grey hairs were more like bad
ges of honor than signs of age. I was partially afraid of him for a reason, and right now, I knew I’d done something.

  “Have a seat,” he said, nodding to the chair at his desk as he sat opposite.

  Perching on the edge, I knew it had everything to do with the files I’d accessed that morning. Computer usage was monitored and files had logs as to who had requested them. I should’ve used Sires’ login. I bet his password was giantdick99.

  “I assume you know why you’re here,” Hunter said, watching me. “People usually do.”

  I nodded. “Yes, Sir.”

  “The case against The Underground is off limits,” he said simply.

  “Why?”

  “Because I say so.”

  I rolled my eyes. At least he didn’t say ‘because it was classified’, that would’ve been a right pisser. “The only reason that place exists is because they’re paying everyone off.”

  “We’ve investigated The Underground thoroughly, Croft,” Hunter said. “We’ve found no evidence that suggests widespread bribery.”

  “That’s a lie,” I declared.

  “Excuse me?” he asked, his eyes widening.

  Talking back to a superior wasn’t exactly the thing I was known for. In fact, I’d never ever done it.

  “I think that’s a lie, Sir, and you know it.”

  “Croft—”

  “You and I both know that place runs because they line everyone’s pockets. Cops, judges, politicians—”

  Hunter held up a hand to stop me, his expression hard. “I’d stop right there if I were you, Croft. This is dangerous ground you’re treading on. We’re well aware of The Underground and the players. You need to back off. Your investigation is unsanctioned.”

  I rose to my feet, thoroughly pissed off. “But—”

  “If you think you can single-handedly take down an operation of that size, you’ve got another thing coming. You’re a good cop, Croft, I’d hate to see you out because of something stupid like disobeying a direct order. This is your first and last warning,” he barked, his eyes cold. “Drop the case or you’re suspended.”