The Ballerina & The Fighter (Book 1) (11 page)

It was after noon by the time
we got off the ferry and caught a cab. I didn’t want to take her home and told
her so.

She shook her head. “I don’t
want to go back home. I thought we were spending the day together.”

I smiled, glad she wanted to
be with me as much as I wanted to be with her. “Yeah, yeah we are. Where would
you like to go next?”

“Mmm…even though I’ve lived
here for the last four years do you know I’ve never been to the Empire State
Building?”

I laughed. “Me either so it
works. The Empire State Building it is.”

We spent the day doing all
the things tourists would do, really that’s what we were. I don’t think I’d had
a more stress free day in the last few years. We paid our respects at Ground
Zero. Ivy was easy to be with; she made everything interesting and fun. For a
while she made me forget my reality and the things that waited for me the day
after tomorrow. That’s when I began to train again. Today though was for her,
us. It might be all we had and I aimed to make the most of it.

“I’m getting hungry, let’s go
to Chinatown. We can eat there or get takeout and go back to my condo.”

Her request had me
stiffening. We’d been all over the city, but Chinatown had been the one place I
tried to avoid. The risk was too high I’d run into someone who recognized me
there. I already knew I had a watcher. Although I was pretty sure none had been
able to follow me today. I’d spotted the one parked on the street in front of
the house where Joe and I stayed in Brooklyn. It was easy to hit the alley and
evade them. But going into Chinatown was risky.

“How about little Italy, and
we can get something to go?” I figured Italian would be a good compromise and I
liked the thought of going back to her place. I’d take her home with me but Joe
would be there along with whoever was watching me. Plus I wanted that roommate
of hers to see me with her. If I was very, very lucky walking out of her room
in the morning.

The cab couldn’t pull down
one of the side streets to take us into Little Italy the streets were blocked
off; some kind of block party or something seemed to be going on. People walked
in the middle of the street and there was a lot of music playing and the scent
of Italian spices permeated the air. We got out of the car and Ivy took my hand.

“Come on,” she said and
tugging me behind her while she laughed as she led us farther into the crowd.

I laughed and followed behind
her making sure not to let go of her hand as we made our way to the center of
the action, navigating through people as we moved. A carnival atmosphere
surrounded us; the restaurants seemed to have booths set up on the sidewalks
and in a central plaza selling their wares. A giant block party. We made our
way over to a live band, the source of the music. Ivy spun into my arms and
wrapped her arms around my waist, I grabbed on to her hips and pulled her close
and we swayed to the music. I lowered my head until I touched her forehead with
mine.

“Thank you for today. I don’t
remember the last time I had so much fun,” I said to her and I meant every
word.

She pulled away a little to
look up at me. “I loved spending the day with you, too. Thank you.”

I lowered my head and
captured her lips. Her hands moved from my waist to around my neck, and I
opened my mouth to inhale her and she licked my lips. I moaned just as her
tongue entered my mouth and she took control of the kiss. I pulled her closer
until the only space between us was the material that covered our bodies.
Someone behind me bumped in to me forcing me to push against her and breaking
our kiss.

“Come on,” she said, “Let’s
get some food.”

I grinned, took her hand and
tried to wind our way toward a booth selling pizza we’d passed earlier. I
glanced around to get my bearings to find it; instead I saw something else that
had my heart hammering against my rib cage in a bid for freedom.
Damn.
I knew I shouldn’t have come to
this side of town. This place tonight was nothing but an open party, the kind
that would draw a crowd of all kinds. I recognized two of the guys from the gym
where I’d been training in New York, they were Triad members and I couldn’t let
them see me. Luckily I didn’t think they spotted us, I saw the booth we sought
and quickly grabbed a pizza to go. I tried to keep an eye on the two men but it
was hard to in the crowd. I’d lost them and hoped that meant they wouldn’t see
me either with Ivy. I kept a hold of her hand and had her hold the pizza and
walk in front of me while I touched her waist to guide her down the busy
street. I also kept her in front so I could keep looking around. I saw no sign
of the dudes I recognized behind us so I turned around just in time to see
someone I did know. Fuck, like cockroaches, these bastards were everywhere. I
got up beside Ivy to take the lead then, we couldn’t go back. I didn’t know
where the other two were. I took us around a cluster of people on the sidewalk
and slipped away down an alley. Anything to get away from there.

We’d only walked about a yard
into the alley when Ivy tugged on my hand. “Why are we going through the alley?”

She didn’t stop, neither did
I. I just kept walking taking her with me, but I looked over my shoulder at her
and said, “Shortcut.”

She didn’t say anything else,
just kept walking. The alley split off, to the right was just a dead end but to
the left was the street. There were a couple of Asian guys I didn’t recognize
on the sidewalk at the alley entrance; one had his ear to a phone. I didn’t
want to chance it so turned to go back toward the crowd, we made it to the T in
the alley so were out of sight of the men on the side street but it was too
late.

I hardened my features. No
fear. These bastards could smell it. I’d been found.

I remembered his name, Jai,
an errant boy for the Chinatown Triad, and two of his side kicks stood in the
middle of the alley blocking the way. Jai had been the one who’d been following
me the other night with Ivy and when I was at the club. I moved us toward the
alley wall, I wanted Ivy behind me. I squeezed her hand before releasing it. I
would need both hands free to do whatever I had to do.

“Were you running off? We got
business, Maze.” Jai smirked, then leaned sideways a little to look behind me.
He stared at Ivy and smiled. Ivy moved up closer beside me, but reminded a
little at my back. She’d grabbed my arm.

“Who’s your friend?” Jai
asked.

“None of your business. And
we don’t have any business until the day after tomorrow.”

“Well see that’s not quite
true. It won’t take long, shall we take this across Canal Street into
Chinatown?”

I didn’t blink. “Let me put
my friend in a cab first.”

“Nah. She comes with you.”

“I don’t think so.” Under no
circumstances did I want Ivy anywhere near these fuckers. I wanted her to have
no part of this. Too late I realized how wrong I was to seek her out, how wrong
I was to be with her. She did not belong in my world and I no longer belonged
in hers. I had no more time for regret.

I couldn’t turn around and
look at Ivy. I knew she must have been scared, but I would let nothing happen
to her. I felt her at my back and that was enough.

“We can do this easy or
hard.” He opened up his jacket and flashed his gun at me. I heard Ivy gasp
behind me.

“You and I both know Jai,
you’re not going to use that gun on me. I’m too valuable.” I said it because I
knew it to be true and also to try and alleviate some of Ivy’s fear.

“Bullshit. You’re just
another white fighter. But you’re right. No guns. We don’t need them to fuck
you over.” Instead he and the other two with him pulled out knives. I bent
down, pulled up my jean legs and drew out my own pair. I never left home
without them.

I heard Ivy’s exclamation
behind me. “What the fuck?” And then I heard her on the phone, “Hello,
yes…help. We’re being mugged.”

After that, I couldn’t focus
on what she said I’d stepped forward to meet the immediate threat in front of
us. I automatically went to my zone. The calm within the storm, that place
where everything seemed to happen around me in slow motion, time stood still
within my bubble, while the rest of the world moved on by outside it.

From the way the one on the
right had the weight pressed forward on his foot I knew he’d come at me first,
so the minute he raised his arm, poised to strike, I met his blade with my own.
I turned my wrist and flicked the knife out of his hand, punching him in the
chest with my foot. I placed the booted foot down and raised the other one,
kicking out in a side kick to catch the other bastard at the side of his head.
Both men went down leaving only the real threat, Jai.

“Run,” I said to Ivy not
turning to look at her but knowing I could at least keep Jai occupied while she
escaped. All I really wanted to do was get her away from this. Jai stepped
forward and our blades engaged; the sound of steel upon steel echoed through
the alley. “Run, back to the road.”

“No. I called the police. I’m
not leaving you!” she yelled.

Any other time I’d admire her
courage, but not when I put her in danger. I could hear the sirens in the
distance. Jai was skilled, but I could beat him, to do so I might have to kill
him. I heard footsteps coming behind us and I knew who it probably was, the two
I’d spotted on the sidewalk by the alley entrance.

“Run. Please.” I charged full
out at Jai when he looked in her direction. I wanted his entire focus on me.
Our blades danced under the watered down light in the alley way just as I noted
Ivy race past us toward the crowd and safety.

I breathed a sigh of relief.
“We can continue this here or in the arena, I really don’t care. But the cops
are here.” I stepped back and lowered my blades, so did Jai.

He stared at me for a moment,
nodded at whoever stood behind me. They moved forward to help the two men on
the ground who just began to stir. “Let’s go. Someone wants to talk to you,”
Jai said.

Jai turned and walked in the
opposite direction from where Ivy had gone. Not having much choice in the
matter, I followed him. His helpers bringing up the rear. I didn’t look back. I
knew Ivy was safe and I’d damn well make sure she stayed that way by staying
the hell away from her. My brain knew it was the right thing to do, my heart,
however, hurt like a bitch.

Chapter Twelve

Ivy

I had no idea what the hell
was going on, all of a sudden, Maze acted so strange. He kept looking around;
his body had tensed up on me and not in a good way. When we broke out of the
crowd and he led me down an alley I knew something was up. I didn’t understand,
one minute we’re going through the alley, I could see the street up ahead when
Maze stopped, turned us around and we walked back the way we’d just come. But
when those three guys appeared blocking our way out, other than the night of
Shelly’s death, I’d never been so scared in my life. Who the hell were these
guys, they knew Maze.
What the fuck?
Big ass knives, they pulled out big ass knives and holy shit, Maze pulled a
pair of wicked-looking blades, too. What the hell was going on, because they
began to fight like something from a martial arts movie. And Maze could fight.
I remembered that night at the beach so long ago. What was it about this man
that everywhere he went violence followed? Granted it was not of his doing but
trouble seemed to find him. But why was I always with him?

I pulled out my phone and
called 911 but no one seemed to care. Instead, Maze told me to run. Like hell!
I didn’t know what to do but I was not leaving him here on his own. But I knew
it wasn’t safe there and if he had to worry about me, well, I would not
distract him. I heard the sirens and ran toward the crowd. I glanced to my left
where the sound came from. I saw people moving, trying to get out of the way of
the car with the flashing lights. But it could only go so far. The food booths
were in the way. I ran toward help. I saw uniformed men running in my
direction. I began to scream, “Help, please help him!” Two cops got to me
first. I couldn’t believe I still held the damn pizza in my hand. I think I was
glued to it, my fingers were so numb. I wasn’t sure I could release it on my
own.