Fight (21 page)

Great. Just fucking great.

Fighting was one thing, but now I
had to trick my mind into being okay with really hurting someone.
With
killing someone.

For Winter, I reminded myself.

It was all for Winter.

“
Now
get the fuck out here!
”
the
guy yelled and pointed at me.
“
You
fucking piece of shit thug!
”

I walked forward toward the square.
The second people saw me, they went crazy. Screaming, throwing stuff at me,
cursing me out. A mix of cheers, booing, laughter. These people knew nothing of
my life. Of what I
’
d seen,
what I
’
d done.

“
This
piece of shit is fighting for a nice piece of ass,
”
the guy said.
“
He
thinks he can fucking win! Do you think he can win?
”

People kept cheering, booing,
getting lost in it all.

Like it was a game.

The guy waved his hands and got the
crowd mostly silent. He then looked at me, grinning with his rotted mouth.
“
Now, let
’
s meet the guy that
’
s
going to kill him.
”

34.

(Winter)

All I could think about was Stoney
turning left. We were supposed to go right. Toward the clubhouse. That
’
s where Stoney said Tripp was
waiting for me. He said he got Tripp to calm down. His guys were sitting with
him at the bar having a drink and things were going to be just fine.

But we turned left, down a side
road that became another turn, then another. I tugged at Stoney
’
s leather cut, wanting him to
pull over and tell me what the hell was going on. My heart was pounding in my
chest.

When he finally did pull off the
side of the road, I jumped off the motorcycle. He looked back at me, his
motorcycle still running.

“
What
the hell is going on?
”
I
yelled at him.

“
All
I can say is sorry,
”
he
screamed back at me.
“
Remember
…
Tripp wanted this
…”

Within seconds there was a black
SUV speeding toward us.

Stoney screamed
fuck
and
then dove off his motorcycle. The SUV hit his motorcycle and sent it flying
into the dirt. The motorcycle rolled, chunks of chrome flying all around.

The back doors opened and guys came
pouring out, each of them carrying weapons. One of the guys smacked Stoney in
the face, sending him to the ground.

I didn
’
t know what to think.

~ ~ ~

 
“
Meet
Kane!
”
a voice boomed.

The crowd cheered.

I stood with hands taped together
and watched a lumbering man walk across the floor toward the square. He was
tall, thick with muscle. No shirt on, revealing intricate tattoos of skulls,
fire, death, and naked women. He went to the edge of the crowd and started
grabbing people, making his own path to the square.

“
Remember,
”
the guy yelled.
“
We don
’
t stop until someone can
’
t get up.
”

This was insane. Tripp could have
just gotten Autumn and left. He had no business trying to save me.

None of it made sense yet either.
It was like Skull X knew everything. And Stoney had been acting weird. But he
’
d been attacked too.

“
Get
a good look,
”
the guy next
to me said.
“
Watch your
fighter one last time. He
’
s
fucking dead.
”

I swallowed a lump in my throat.

The guy making the announcements
left the square and the fight started.

Tripp went right in, fists up,
throwing two punches. They connected off Kane
’
s
jaw, sending him stumbling back. Kane threw a right and Tripp ducked. A quick
left from Kane and Tripp knocked it away. Tripp landed two body punches,
sending Kane
’
s hands to
protect himself. That left his face exposed and Tripp took advantage of it.

I wanted to smile. I wanted to
cheer for Tripp.

But it was no use. Even if he won
this fight, it wouldn
’
t be
over. It would never be over. Not until we were dead. That was the finale in
this mess, wasn
’
t it?

My eyes filled with tears and I
blinked them away.

Tripp landed two more punches. He
had Kane against the edge of the crowd.

“
Don
’
t get excited,
”
the guy next to me said.
“
There
’
s no rules here. Just wait for it.
”

Before I could ask what that meant,
the guy who had made the announcements called for Kane. The entire fight then
changed as the guy gave Kane a knife.

Then he gave one simple order.

“
Kill
him!
”

35.

(Tripp)

I still had a gun in my back
pocket. The gun I took from Dmitry. I just needed a chance at a clean shot to
get Kane. The worst part was that I had no problem with this guy in front of
me. He was doing his job, and that meant I had to do mine.

Kane lunged at me with the knife. I
was able to get out of the way. My focus was completely on the knife, so I
missed a left hook coming. He hit my shoulder and I spun around. I bumped into
the crowd and someone threw a drink in my face. I stumbled back and Kane threw
an arm around my chest. He squeezed like a python with prey.

I blinked fast to regain my sight
and threw an elbow, hitting Kane in the gut. I saw the knife coming around at
me and I had to drop down. The water that had been splashed in my face made it
so I was able to wiggle free and get down. Kane spun around with the knife. I
punched at the side of his knee and brought him down. He screamed. I threw a
right up at his mouth and connected, busting him open.

Kane swung with a strong backhand
and hit me. He got me real good, sending me to my ass. I kicked back and away.
Kane grabbed the knife and was back on his feet. I got up and started to reach
back for the gun, but I didn
’
t
have enough time to get it. The knife slashed at my shirt, slicing it but not
slicing me.

“
Kill
him!
”
someone yelled from
the side.
“
Fucking gut him!
”

The crowd started to get rowdy.
They started to work together to chant for my death. It was something I had
never experienced before. Then I felt people swinging at me. Grabbing at my
shirt, my hair. Throwing their legs out, wanting to trip me as I dodged and
darted away from Kane and the knife.

Someone socked me in the ribs and
the pain stole my breath. I fell forward and right into Kane
’
s free hand. He grabbed my
throat and slashed at my side. I felt the knife cut my skin with a white hot
pain. The entire room started to spin and I begged myself to keep composure.

Kane brought the knife back, ready
to go for the kill.

Kill him! Fucking kill him! Show
them blood! They paid for blood!

Kane grinned, my death already
playing through his fucking mind. I had only one chance to make a move
…
I jumped up, smashing my head
off his face. Kane instantly let me go, walking back a few steps. His nose
opened and spilled down his chin. I turned and threw a punch, hitting him in
the forearm. His bones shattered against my hit, his arm flopping in half, the
knife falling from his hand.

The people that saw the hit let out
an
ooohhh!
sound.

Kane pulled his arm to his body,
screaming in pain.

This was my chance to go for the
kill.

I hit him in the nose again, then
the stomach. He swung with his free hand but had nothing. He didn
’
t have his feet in place. He
didn
’
t have his balance. He
didn
’
t have his focus. The
pain from his broken forearm bones controlled him now. And that meant I had the
chance to end the fight. The knife was on the ground and Kane was stumbling
around.

Each time he threw a fist, I moved
out of the way and threw my own. From his ribs, to his gut, to his face, I had
him in a wide stance, his body rocking back and forth. One more good punch
would take him down. With any luck, he
’
d
smash his head on the floor and either pass out or die.

I brought my fist back and
something caught the corner of my eye.

A tattoo.

I turned my head, my fist not
gaining any steam.

I saw a guy walking through the
crowd. The tattoo on his neck was what got me though.

I stopped dead. The entire crowd
became nothing but a murmur.

The guy looked at me, grinned, and
kept walking.

I knew the guy.

It was the guy who shot Endo.

~ ~ ~

It was like stepping into a damn
time warp. The guy with the tattoo kept walking, my eyes locked on him. My mind
screamed to focus on the fight at hand. But I couldn
’
t let this guy get away from me again, could I?

I took a small step and then sensed
it coming.

I threw my shoulder up as fast as I
could, but Kane
’
s large
fist hit me. If the guy had been completely stable and not in pain, I would
have been knocked out cold. Even still, the punch worked.

I flew forward to the edge of the
crowd. People swung at me, hitting me in the face, clawing me, spitting at me,
pushing me back to Kane. I turned and Kane landed another punch. Thankfully it
was his left hand, definitely not his power hand.

He landed two more punches on me
and I dropped to one knee.

I looked up at Kane. His eyes were
glazed. There was no more excitement in his face. I thought about the guy with
the tattoo. The one that had shot Endo. Skull X. All of this put in motion
because of that guy. Because of a bigger situation I still hadn
’
t figured out yet.

Kane brought a fist back, thinking
he had a chance at me.

To my right was the knife. I grabbed
it and stood up, ramming it into his stomach. I grunted as I did, feeling his
flesh give way to the sharp blade. I walked him back and pushed him into the
crowd.

I then spun, drawing my gun.

That
’
s
when the crowd broke up.

Kane collapsed and it seemed the
entire event had become too damn real. Which worked to my benefit. I was able
to see Winter, able to see Dmitry, able to see the guy with the tattoo. He was
talking to Dmitry.

As the crowd cleared out of the
warehouse, I ran toward the guy.

“
Ray!
”
Dmitry yelled.

The guy -
Ray
- turned.
Dmitry then shoved Ray forward, right into my range. I wasted no time in
pulling the trigger. The gun went off and Ray spun and fell. I pointed the gun
at Dmitry. He put his hands up. His bodyguards pulled out their weapons, but he
called them off. He even kicked them out of the warehouse, leaving just me,
him, and Winter. And Ray, on the floor, bleeding out.

I tossed the gun aside and ran to
Winter. I tore at the tape at her hands, freeing her. Her face was in shock.
She touched my face, her soft touch hurting like fire over my wounds, but it
was the greatest pain I'd ever felt.

“
Holy
shit,
”
she whispered.
“
Tripp
…”

“
Fuck,
darling,
”
I said. I kissed
her.

My instincts told me to watch
Dmitry.

I turned, putting Winter behind me.
Dmitry stood with his hands out, like he wasn
’
t
sure what to do next.

Ray put his head up and looked
right at me.

“
Aldo
…
he
…”

Aldo?

I stepped toward Ray. I looked at
him. It took all my nerve not to crush his face with my foot.

“
Aldo
…
,
“
he said again.

“
What?
”
I asked.

“
He
paid me
…
fuck
…
he
…
paid
…”

He paid me?

I crouched down and grabbed Ray
’
s shirt.
“
What the fuck are you talking about?
”

“
He
…”

Ray groaned and his head fell back
and hit the ground.

He was dead.

I had killed him.

I killed the guy that killed Endo.

At least that was done.

And I had saved Winter.

The entire warehouse was empty now,
everyone scattered and gone. Which meant all I had to do was face Dmitry and
get Autumn. Then it would be all over. Done.

I turned my head and Dmitry stood
behind me. There was a gun to my head. Another gun was in his other hand,
pointed at Winter.

“
Game
over,
”
he said.
“
Game fucking over.
”

36.

(Winter)

I saw Dmitry take out guns. It was
so fast. He seemed confused, right up until Tripp went to check on the guy he
shot. Dmitry pulled out two guns. One at Tripp
’
s
head. One pointed at me.

“
Who
goes first?
”
Dmitry asked.
“
I
’
ll
give you that much.
”

“
Thought
we had a deal?
”
Tripp
asked.
“
If I win the fight,
I get Winter back. You got paid for it, right?
”

“
It
was okay,
”
Dmitry said.
“
But you took away my after party
fun. That
’
s where the real
money is. Fuck with me, fuck with my crew, you eat a bullet.
”

Slowly, Tripp started to stand. He
showed his hands. He had no weapon. Neither did I. I thought about diving at
him, taking the gunshot myself. If I distracted Dmitry, even for a second, it
could be enough for Tripp to punch him and take him out.

“
Winter,
don
’
t move,
”
Tripp said.

“
Get
back on your knees,
”
Dmitry
said to me.
“
You look
better that way.
”

“
Take
the gun off her,
”
Tripp
said.
“
Let her go. She has
nothing to do with this. This is you and me. I came to you.
”

“
Yeah,
”
Dmitry said.
“
And how did she get here?
”

I watched Tripp grit his teeth.
Everything had been happening so fast, he hadn
’
t
a chance to process my presence there.

Tripp looked at me.
“
What happened?
”

“
I
don
’
t know,
”
I whispered.
“
I
…”

“
Never
challenge Skull X,
”
Dmitry
said.
“
You don
’
t know our power and our
purpose. We control everything.
”

“
Just
let him go,
”
I said.
“
He did what you wanted.
”

“
Shut
up,
”
Dmitry said.
“
The deal was easy with Endo. And
now it
’
s gone. That means
…”

“
Don
’
t say it,
”
Tripp said.

“
Say
what?
”
I asked.

Dmitry smiled again.
“
Oh, this is just too fucking
fun.
”
He looked at me.
“
That bitch Andrea, dead. That little
kid with her, dead.
”

“
Autumn?
”

“
No
more,
”
Dmitry said.
“
It was worth my time when Endo
was alive. I asked for money, I got it. I asked for a hit, I got it. I asked
for control, I got it. Hell, who do you think helped me to set up my own
fights? His old man wasn
’
t
taking care of him so he wandered. And he spent money. So I have to take a hit
on my business. I don
’
t
like that.
”

“
Don
’
t kill them!
”
I cried out.
“
Kill me instead. Let them go.
”

“
Too
late,
”
Dmitry said.
“
And if it matters, you
’
re going to die too.
”

There were literally two seconds of
silence. In that time, I somehow managed to look around the warehouse and
assess everything. Tripp on his knees, hands out. Being in a position he would
have never accepted before meeting me. But because he wanted to protect me,
like he was meant to do, he was on his knees. Dmitry stood with too much power.
And he was going to kill my daughter
…
if she wasn't already dead
…

That
’
s
when I snapped. I knew there was a gun pointed at me but I ran at Dmitry
anyway. He looked surprised. I swung my hands like I knew what I was doing. But
I didn
’
t. I was just trying
to help Tripp.

Dmitry was smart and strong though.
Maybe someone else would have stumbled back or panicked, but not him. He pulled
the trigger of one of the guns
…

The one pointed at Tripp.

~ ~ ~

Tripp was on his back. I cut to the
right and a gun went off again. That bullet was probably meant for me, but my
quick move saved my life. In reality, I was now going after Tripp. I collapsed
before him, watching him touch his shoulder. There was blood seeping through
his shirt already.

“
You
’
re not dead,
”
I whispered.

“
Fuck,
no,
”
Tripp groaned.

“
Not
yet,
”
Dmitry said.

“
Tripp,
I love you,
”
I said.
“
I
’
m
sorry this all happened. Stoney called me. He said you tried hurting everyone
there. He came to get me
…”

That
’
s
when everything hit me.

Terror ran through my body. I
leaned forward and kissed Tripp. Then I stood. Tripp called for me and was
already fighting back to his feet.

I looked at Dmitry. He was
sweating. He may have been smart, but he was out of his normal element for
sure. He wanted to kill us, but he just couldn
’
t
pull the trigger yet.

“
That
’
s why Rocky
’
s dead,
”
I whispered.
“
He
found out.
”

“
And
if you figured it out, then you
’
re
going to join him,
”
Dmitry
said.
“
I
’
ll give you one chance to shut
your eyes and turn around. Then you can take the bullet just like your daughter
did.
”

“
Winter!
”
Tripp yelled.

I was lunging at Dmitry again.
There was no stopping me. My mind replayed every damn moment with Endo. His money,
greed, manipulation. The way he made me feel, the things he did to me.

Dmitry could have shot me. Instead,
he swung the gun and smacked me in the mouth. Hot pain shot through my jaw and
I left my feet for a second. I came down, my knees bent and twisted, and I was
on the ground. I pushed with my hands and turned, on my ass, looking up at
Dmitry.

Now he had the power again with a
gun on each of us. Tripp
’
s
shoulder bled. He lifted his hands and balled them into fists. He was going to
fight a man with a gun? He had already beat a man with a knife, so why not?

Endo and Stoney were tied together
in this, with Skull X. With Dmitry. That meant the President of the Red Aces
was a two faced guy. Working for two crews at once. Which meant Stoney set up
Rocky to be killed. While I didn
’
t
love Rocky, it wasn
’
t
right. He sent Rocky right into the dark shadow of death.

“
Now,
”
Dmitry said,
“
let
’
s get back to our business here. Tripp, nice
meeting you. Great fight. You
’
ve
got solid feet and solid fists. Winter, I wish we could have met under
different terms. I would have loved to fuck your brains out. But sometimes fate
just dictates
…
eh, who the
fuck cares? I take what I want, when I want. And I
’
ll never stop. Know that as the last words you
hear. Nothing will ever stop me.
”

I braced myself to actually die. I
looked at Tripp, wanting him to be my last sight.

I heard a gunshot boom through the
warehouse.

Tripp wasn
’
t dead though.

I wasn
’
t dead either.

I slowly turned my head and
realized
…
Dmitry
’
s face was missing.