In the drama of the past few days, I'd forgotten that I’d been offered a real job from Los Cuervos as part of my agreement to stay in Sagebrush.I was so excited to have my first legit job and earn money of my own, that I decided not to remind Cricket that mayhem and I were so well acquainted, maybethatshould be my middle name. Gotta impress my new brother-boss, after all, considering that Cricket ran Crow’s Landing, where I’d be a bartender. Slapping Sheila’s keys into his hand, I relented.
“Fine, but if I’m your family now, so is Sheila, so you will drive her like she’s alady. Do you understand? No new scratches or dents. Go easy on the pedals, and for fuck’s sake, keep your hands at ten and two on the wheel because she’s—”
“A lady. Yes, love. I swear, I’ll be gentle.” Cricket held Sheila’s keys over his heart before he tucked them into his pocket. I stiffly nodded, satisfied that he took his responsibility with my best bitch Sheila seriously, before I turned and linked arms with Lennon, who led me across the gravel lot that was quickly filling up with cars.
Savage Delights was in a run-down industrial area on the outskirts of the city. Local law enforcement easily overlooked whatever brutal shenanigans occurred there, for a price I’m sure. On the outside, Savage Delights was a derelict warehouse riddled with rust and boasted cracked and blacked-out windows. Inside, it looked exactly like what it was.
“FIGHT CLUB!” I squealed and bounced in place, clapping my hands. Once the door bitch let us through the entrance, I eagerly swiveled my head around, trying to take it all in. A huge, raised fighting ring was in the middle of the cavernous interior. A steel cage was winched up to the ceiling over the ring so it could be lowered to trap fighters if they wanted a cage match. Surrounding the ring, where two sweat-drenched men currently beat each other bloody, people viewed the fight with rabid energy.
Men yelled advice and abuse at the two fighters, some made out with their dates, and others stood chatting like they were at a normal post-work mixer. Stands encircled the room, rising up and away from the ring like seats in an amphitheater, giving everyone a perfect view of the vicious opponents pummeling the shit out of each other.I slowly rotated in a circle as I took in the space, noting that stairs leading from the amphitheater to a second level Bones had told me housed Bear’s office.
Cricket led me along as I gazed around with wide eyes, taking in the crowd and the fierce energy that saturated the air whenever violence was used as entertainment. Passing the ring, Cricket pointed out a hallway that led to the fighter’s locker room and a second that led to restrooms. Having completed the tour, we rejoined Bones and Lennon on the first tier of the amphitheater seating, which gave us an excellent view of the fight. Settling into our seats, Bones and Cricket scanned the crowd while Lennon and I analyzed the fight.
As we watched, the two men grappled until they both hit the mats. In a flash, one of the men got his legs around the other’s shoulders and started choking his opponent out with his thighs. The one currently fighting for air swung his fists wildly, trying in vain to land a hit somewhere, anywhere, that might release his opponent's hold. If he’d been a little more flexible, he might have been able to kick his legs up and smash his feet into the face of the guy choking him out, but he was so heavily muscled that I doubt he’d land the blow. A lot of men focused on strength and building muscle mass and didn’t realize that they also had to work on flexibility if they didn’t want to limit their range of motion.Sometimes bigger isn’t better.
After a few minutes of struggle, the man currently being smothered by some dude’s thighs eventually went limp, and the referee called the fight. The winner stood and pumped his fists in victory before leaving the ring and heading into the locker room area. Two guys from the crowd climbed into the ring to check on the fallen fighter, smacking him lightly on the face and checking his pulse. He regained consciousness and was heaved up under his arms and led to a separate locker room to clean up and cool off. A girl, probably younger than I was, slid between the ropes and began to clean the mats in preparation for the next fight.
Bear strode through the crowd and climbed on the ropes, leaning into one of the ring’s posts. With a loudspeaker pressed to his lips, he announced that the next fight would start in ten minutes before he dropped back down and out of view. I bounced in my seat, excited to see what happened next.
“How does Bear find fighters?” I asked, eagerly people watching from my seat. “Like, can anyone sign up?”
“Chica loca, that gleam in your eye is going to lead to trouble,” Bones warned.
“To answer your question,” Lennon responded with eyes narrowed at Bones, “members can fight or sponsor a fighter. Why, you interested?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe? I love training with you, but I can’t lie; I miss being able to cut loose and really go bug nuts on someone, you know?”
Lennon looked slightly confused. “I’m not sure I do know, but I’ll take your word for it. Talk to Bear sometime and see if you can get a spot. He can sponsor you.” I put a little mental Post-it note on the front part of my brain to do just that.
The energy in the club started buzzing as Bear used his loudspeaker to announce the next two fighters. I allowed the frenetic energy to wash over me, wishing I could be one of the people in the ring tonight. Man, I needed tohitsomething. Suddenly, my neck prickled in awareness, and I felt eyes on me. I scanned the crowd slowly before I came upon the reason my meerkat instincts switched on. Eerily familiar green eyes stared intently into mine from across the room, causing me to shiver.
Riordan Petrov and his night walking companion, Spike, sat in the stands across the club but instead of watching the fight, Riordan’s eyes were fixed on me. Spike leaned back casually, elbows spread and arms draped over the level behind him. He was taking man-spreading to the next level, seriously. Riordan had his elbows on his knees, hands clasped in front of his lips as he watched us. I must have straightened in my seat or given off a vibe that my friends picked up on because the next thing I knew, they were all focused on the two Russians across from us instead of the fight in the ring.
“The fuck are they staring at?” Bones grumbled. Lennon waved at Spike, who blew her a kiss from across the room. Bones looked like he was about to launch himself over the ring to Hulk-smash Spike’s face in. Lennon shot a furtive glance at Bones from under her lashes, seeming to enjoy the effect the interaction was having on him.
“Christ,” Cricket muttered under his breath. “Just ignore them. Hey, Indi, want to make a wager? If the tall bloke wins, I get to drive us to work tomorrow?” He looked so damn hopeful, it almost made me agree with him. Almost.
“Sheila is too important to me to be a wager in a bet. For shame, sir. I told you, she’s alady.” Glancing across the room again, I saw that Riordan’s eyes were still firmly fixed on me.
I sighed and rolled my eyes at him. Lifting a sassy eyebrow, I crooked my finger at him, beckoning him over. A self-satisfied grin spread across his face as he pointed at himself and mouthed, “Who, me?”Riordan leaned in to talk in Spike’s ear and then they both rose and sauntered over to where we were sitting. Maybe I’d get to hit something tonight after all.
Chapter 19
Bones
“You know,” Indigo said as she looked up from her seat at the two mobsters approaching us, “if you’d like to stare, you’d have a much better view over here. Spike looked like he was squinting a bit. Maybe it’s time for corrective lenses? Do they sell bifocals in Sunnydale, Spike?” Spike, or Ivan, whatever his fucking name was glared at Indi, which just made him squint even more, causing her to throw her head back in laughter. Riordan smothered a smirk and adjusted the links in the cuffs of his crisp white button-down shirt. The Russians were wearing sleek, black Tom Ford suits and expensive-looking shoes. I’d say they were overdressed for a night at the fights, but Savage Delights catered to a diverse clientele. The Russians before us weren’t the only men in fancy suits, just like Cricket and I weren’t the only bikers in steel-toed boots. Usually, I enjoyed the variety of people that violence for sport attracted, but tonight I had to admit I wanted to kick these fuckers right out the door.
“The name is Ivan, not Spike. I’m not even fuckin’ British!” Lennon and Indigo snickered together as Ivan continued to glare.
Indi tilted her head to the side and patted the seat next to her. “You two might as well have a seat. I noticed you were having a tough time watching the fight from where you were.”
“And what makes you say that,lisichka?” Riordan asked casually as he sat down beside Indigo. Ivan sat on the other side of Lennon, while Cricket and I remained in our seats directly behind the girls. Ivan leaned into Lennon’s side and tried to draw her into conversation, making her giggle at whatever stupid shit he said. I decided right then and there I hated thatcabrón.
Indigo replied to Riordan, though her eyes were firmly on the fight playing out before her. “Oh, I dunno. Maybe it’s because you two were staring at us instead of the match.” Indigo seemed to be the only one of us still watching the fight. She chuckled when the rest of the crowd let out a howl over whatever antics the fighters were getting into, her green eyes bright with excitement over the brutality playing out before her. “Sweep the leg!” she yelled into her cupped hands. “What doeslisichkamean, anyway? It better not be something gross.”
Riordan regarded her with a level of interest that made the little hairs on the back of my neck stand up. “It’s a term of endearment, meaninglittle fox. And if you noticed us watching you, you must have been watching us too.”
Indi scoffed, “Yeah well, I’m a woman. I’m better at multitasking than you are. Duh. And I don’t know how I earned anendearmentso soon, but I guess I’ll allow it.”
