38. Ethan
38
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I hated leaving Skyler upstairs, but Pres texted for everyone to meet in the conference room on the second floor for church. Declan sent Wyatt and Liam, two of his men from Garrison Security to stand watch over Skyler and Violet, then we both left to find Pres.
Skyler was excited to talk Violet into coming with her. We were all shocked Violet accepted the invitation since she avoids the training floor for the fighters at the gym, and well, she doesn’t get out. Ever. Aside from the night she and Skyler went to O’Malley’s for their girl’s night, I’ve never seen or heard of Violet going anywhere without her son other than work. So, when she told Sky she would come on the trip with us, Skyler made a big deal out of telling her how happy and excited we all were for her to be joining us.
Declan wasn’t too, happy about it. He started complaining about having to focus on Skyler and the threat to her and not needing the added distraction. If the scowl Violet was sporting after riding the whole way down with Declan in his SUV was any indication, he didn’t stop bitchin’ the whole way down. She’s been giving him the cold shoulder since. Only responding with curt, one word answers and nothing more. Me and Sky took bets to see how long it’ll be before Violet finally finds her voice and tells him to fuck off.
“All right, fuckers. Where are we with everything? Mack?” Pres is all business no bullshit at the head of the table.
Mack flew in from Baron’s Edge two days ago. “Wyatt and Liam are upstairs with Skyler and Violet until we’re finished here, then Declan and Jake will resume watch and Wyatt and Liam will head up to the hotel room and keep watch over the security feeds.”
“I have a team of eight dressed in plain clothes mingling among the crowd. Eli should be here within the hour with his men, excluding Cash. He stayed in Oak Ridge to help Ghost get the mess at Glitz and Tass cleaned up.”
“Do we have any answers on who blew up the bathroom?” Gus is not trying to be funny; it’s a legit question.
Hawk is the one to answer. “The security feed shows someone in a black hoodie going in and out of the bathroom minutes before the explosion, but we can’t see his face. None of the staff remembers seeing him or know who he is.”
“I’m wondering why a pipe bomb. Why only fuck up the strip club and on the slowest night of the week? Why wouldn’t he do it on the weekend when the house is packed?” Jake asks the room.
“It was a distraction.” It’s Declan who answers. “My guess is he figured we would leave more men behind to fix the mess and patrol the area keeping watch over our other businesses. We have reason to believe he expected Skyler to stay in Oak Ridge since Ethan’s fight was canceled. His plan backfired in the respect we only left those two and the prospects behind. Now Skyler’s here, and he has the support of his club here in Devil’s Canyon, it stands to reason he plans to make a grab for her tonight.”
Two nights ago, someone set off a pipe bomb in the men’s restroom at the strip club. Ghost had to shut down shop. Thankfully, no one was injured in the explosion, but the cops wrote it off as a prank.
Jameson sent in a construction team to start cleaning shit up and Cash stayed behind to help. Since Ghost is Skyler’s only remaining blood relative, we all agreed it wasn’t a coincidence his place was hit, and he shouldn’t be left without someone to watch his back.
“All right. Mack, I want you and Jameson keeping watch over Ethan, Kieran, and their fighters. Hawk, watch the house cameras, scan the area for anything suspicious or anyone who doesn’t belong. We’ll send Xander up to help you when they arrive. Pop, you, and Gus, stick together. Eli, Walker, and myself, will all stick together as well. No one goes anywhere alone. Be on alert. We’re in the Devil’s territory and we still don’t know who or how many they are.”
“If shit goes sideways, Declan, you and Jake’s primary concern is to get the women out of here. The rest of us will help wherever we may be needed. Matteo has his men running security for the venue tonight and Vincenzo will also have some of his men milling about among, rubbing elbows with the crowd. Everyone grab your comms from Mack, and then I want you all to take a leisurely stroll through your designated areas and get a feel for the place. Remember no colors. No heroics. No bullshit. Everybody got me?”
The room sounds off with a loud round of “yes sir” and “Got you, Pres.”
It’s almost time for the even to start when our SUVs up to the back entrance of the arena. It’s not a far walk from the hotel, but the SUV seemed like the better choice than braving the crowd.
We enter the backdoors and are immediately bombarded by photographers and media. It’s the same group as last night at the weigh in. They’ve all been working hard to get photos, wanting the names of everyone they don’t know walking into the building.
I usher Skyler under my arm, her head tucked down, keeping her as close to me as possible. Since this is a televised event in Devil’s Canyon, everyone is on edge.
Jake ushers Violet in behind us.
We make it past the barrage of cameras and into the dressing room. Turning Skyler to face me, I go over the rules one last time before I leave her with Declan.
“Remember, you stay with Declan and Jake. Do not go anywhere without one of them. If you see anyone who looks familiar or makes you feel uncomfortable, you tell Declan immediately and he will get you girls out of here. Got me?”
Skyler’s hands cradle my face. “We’ll be fine. Go help Cillian and Ronan, and when it’s all over, we can go back to the room and celebrate properly.” She kisses my lips softly. I kiss her again, this time licking into her mouth, opening her to my assault, wanting to take her taste with me.
Her little moan pulls me back to the present, and I remember we’re not alone.
“Take them to their seats. Do not leave them alone.” I know I don’t have to tell Declan how to do his job, but I can’t shake this feeling something is about to go tits up and I don’t like it.
Cillian is up first tonight. I put on the warm-up pads and coach him through the paces as we circle each other around the room. He’s razor focused, punches hitting the mark. He’s ready to go.
There are photographers and a couple media people milling about recording, talking to Kieran about the strategy for Cillian’s fight as he’s wrapping Ronan’s hands for his fight.
“How did Ethan take the news about his fight with Vargas was postponed?” the brunette reporter asks.
“Lass, I know you have two beautiful eyes to see the man you’re asking about sparring with Cillian behind me. Why don’t you ask the lad yourself? Better yet, how about we focus on the two men who are fighting tonight and let Ethan focus on them as well, aye?”
My head pops up at the mention of my name, but I quickly return my focus to Cillian after Kieran cuts me a look meaning he doesn’t want me to say anything. I give a curt nod. When the reporter approaches asking me the same question, my response is short but sweet.
“We were disappointed to have to postpone, but shit happen. We’ve all had points in our careers where we’ve been injured and needed to take time to recover. Now, if you don’t mind, my man here needs to keep warm.”
“Was there any talk of compensation or a new deal being made for the next fight?”
She’s not about to be dismissed and keeps firing off her questions. Unfortunately, I can’t be a dick like I want to. Tonight isn’t about me anyway, it’s about Cillian and Ronan. I’m not about to step into the limelight that’s meant for them.
“No. As far as I know nothing has changed except the date.” And two of my newer fighters got bumped up the undercard wait list, but the press doesn’t need to know about it. Deals like this are made all the time to keep everyone happy and the cards full.
Kieran comes over, moving to stand behind me. Cillian pulls his hands back but keeps hopping around and punching the air by himself. Kieran leans in, cupping his hand to his mouth, whispering, “There’s a lad standing off to the side of the camera guy. The one with the black ball cap on. He has a Devil’s Order tattoo on his neck. I’m going to get rid of the reporters and cameras, you let the lads know, yeah?”
I nod.
Kieran announces to the room, “That’s all we have time for, ladies and gentlemen. My fighters need to focus and clear their heads. They’ll answer your questions after the fight in the postgame interview. Thank you for your time. Now please, get the fuck out!”
I waste no time letting Mack know who Kieran saw and he immediately gets on the comms and orders Hawk to search the security feeds.
We usher Cillian down the hall into the arena. He bounces around as his song plays through the house speakers. We follow closely behind, stopping when we reach the cage entrance where the referees await.
While the check over Cillian’s body, his hands, mouthpiece, ears, I scan the crowd for Skyler. I find her sitting in the third-row seats, smiling, and chatting with Violet. Violet appears to be nervous, but I chalk it up to the fact this is a lot more people and noise than she’s used to.
Cillian hugs each of us one by one before making his way into the cage. Me and Kieran move around to our spot in the corner, Scotty, our cut man following closely behind.
Cillian’s opponent enters the arena with his entourage, making a spectacle of himself as he does. This isn’t a title fight, it’s the undercard. But some fighters feel like they need to make a spectacle of themselves to be remembered, when truthfully the only thing people remember at these things is who got knocked the fuck out and how fast did it happen.
The announcer takes his place in the center of the cage and begins rattling off his spiel to introduce each fighter.
Moments later, the bell rings and the fight is on.
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