10. Bones
Chapter 10
Bones
I should have known as soon as my opponent pulled out of our match for being “sick.” Or maybe when the organizers weren’t scrambling to find a replacement. Or even when I saw a flash of Lotto’s pissed-off face in the crowd as soon as I stepped into the cage.
Tonight the spectators weren’t yelling my name.
They were yelling River’s.
Because he stepped into the cage after me with a smirk on his face and murder in his blue eyes.
All of Lotto’s bitching yesterday about how I wasn’t ready for River didn’t matter.
’Cause River was ready for me.
Someone had to have set this up. The Perks? Did they have that kind of pull here? Maybe the organizers themselves? Tonight’s fight was one of the most well-known in the area. Many big names placed big bets and watched as newbies made names for themselves or made for the hospital.
But we weren’t newbies. We were stars of the underground. The big match. What everyone was waiting for. The crowd around us roared to life like a tsunami, and the noise crashed down on me heavier than an anvil.
Fuck, I was in trouble.
I didn’t want to admit it, but Lotto was right. I was nowhere near a hundred percent. River leapt at me like a lion pouncing on its prey, and I was barely able to get away. My body was slower than I was used to. River easily dodged the return punch I threw. His hook grazed my already painful side and made me jerk out of the way. I wasn’t able to dodge his second punch and took a jab right to the cheek.
Pain seared through my face. Fuck. I knew River was strong but this was on a different level. Determination burned in his blue eyes.
He’d come tonight to hurt me.
River had something to prove.
Which meant I needed to prove myself.
Punch after punch. Jab after jab. We traded blows, blocking, tackling, and grappling. Sweat slicked his toned body and made it hard for me to grab. River went for my already injured areas like he knew they would be there. Too bad for him, Frankie had been drilling me to cover my ass, and he couldn’t get a hand on me.
We danced around the ring to a chorus of screams and cries. The boom of hard bass music drilled into my skull harder than one of River’s jabs. This was a show. Not just a show—a preview. A little taste of a big, main event waiting for us.
Clarity came with a kick to my right hip.
I knew exactly who had set up this fucking thing.
And I knew exactly what he wanted.
My body and lungs burned with the effort to keep up with River. Shit. If I didn’t find an opening, he was going to wear me down and get me on the ropes. I didn’t want something that Perk’s could hold over Smiley’s. I needed to concentrate and do this for us. I juked away from River’s punch and threw an uppercut, connecting with his jaw with a loud crack. River stumbled away long enough that I could shake out my arms and get ready for round two.
The grin on River’s face grew as he opened his jaw a few times. This was fun for him. I wanted to wipe that stupid smirk off his damn face.
I took two steps forward and threw my leg out to sweep his when?—
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
I wasn’t able to stop my leg in time; River, frozen from the alarm, went crumpling down to the mat.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
It had been so long since I’d heard that alarm that I almost forgot what it meant. The crowd did, too, because a long, tense moment played out before panic broke out.
“ Cops !” someone yelled. “ Assholes are on the loose !”
It was mayhem everywhere, and in the chaos to get out, people were thrown against the cage and trampled over each other. If we were caught here, it was game over for a lot of us. No one wanted a rap sheet for having fun or trying to survive. I glanced down at River, who rubbed the side of his head with a frown. We stared at each other for a moment before I held out my hand and helped him to his feet.
We shared a knowing nod before we both melted into the crowd and booked it the fuck out of there.
The crowd slammed into me as we flowed like fish on the run from sharks. I scanned the people for familiar faces but didn’t see anyone. Where the fuck was Lotto? Frankie, Ari? Had they made it out? They better have. We didn’t need any legal trouble on top of everything going on.
Eventually, the crowd dispersed enough that I was able to break free and make for a side hallway. I’d passed through here plenty of times to get to the fights but had never run out of it. After a few twists and turns, I threw open the back door and emerged at the fenced-off garbage disposal area. I scaled the fence easily and dropped onto the pavement, hurrying for where we’d left the car. Hopefully, the rest of the group was there. I didn’t want to walk home from this shitty abandoned factory without my phone, shoes, or a fucking shirt.
I didn’t even make it more than one block before a black Mercedes pulled up in front of me.
The rear tinted window rolled down and Troy Godwin smiled at me from the backseat.
I fucking knew it. That prick.
“Great fight tonight, Bones,” he complimented. “How’s your cheek?”
“What are you doing here?” I flexed my hands by my sides. Adrenaline still flowed through my veins as hot as lava. My fight with River wasn’t finished. Maybe Troy could take his damn place.
“Enjoying the show.”
“The one you set up?” I cocked an eyebrow. It was a hunch, but based on Troy’s grin, a correct one.
“Did you enjoy my schedule change?” He leaned out the window. In his hand, he held wads of cash, mostly hundreds with a few fifties thrown in there. “I certainly did. You and River put on quite a show.”
“And the show didn’t finish. Don’t know how you won a thing.”
“That’s where you’re mistaken.” He laughed and threw a few hundreds at my feet. Humiliation burned at my sore cheeks. Did he think I was some kind of dog begging for scraps? I didn’t need his fucking money. “I bet that neither of you would win.”
I blinked a few times in surprise. “You knew the cops would come?”
“Take a look around, Bones.” Troy gestured to the empty lot around him. “Do you see any cops around?”
I hadn’t exactly been paying attention. I was too busy running for it. Now that he mentioned it, the night was tranquil. No sirens, no screams. No blaring alarm or warning from inside. Which meant there weren’t any cops here in the first place.
“You set this whole thing up?” I demanded. When he nodded, I clenched my hands so tightly, the skull tattoos on them stretched like skeleton balloons. “What the fuck? Why?”
“I needed to check if my investments would be used correctly.”
I took a deep breath. Investments. He was talking about Smiley’s. There was nothing more I wanted than to deck this guy across the face and make him go crying back to mommy. But I needed to focus. Troy still hadn’t gotten back to Ari or Frankie about an offer, and if I blew it for them, I’d never forgive myself.
“And? Did you pick wisely?”
“I did.” Troy tossed the wads of cash he held into the backseat like it was chump change. “You and River will be perfect.”
Goddamnit. With the Perks’ constant bullshit and the visit to Smiley’s, I had a feeling this was coming. With Lotto’s insistence that I take a break and watch my back, I think he knew, too. But hearing it out loud made my stomach turn. River and I were about to become Troy’s favorite playthings if he got his way, and assholes like him always did. Especially when he cornered people in need and fuck me if Smiley’s wasn’t in need.
“Is that your proposal?” I demanded. “A fight between me and River?”
Troy glanced at the watch on his wrist and settled back into his seat. “Tomorrow, my office, ten AM. You, Ari, Frankie, and Lotto. Wear your best. We’re going to have a lot to discuss.”
Troy didn’t wait for my answer. He rolled up his window and disappeared into the shadows of the night like the ghoul he was. Now that I was alone, I drew a deep breath to calm my shaking. Too bad it did fuck-all. Troy, that fucking asshole. It made me sick to be at his beck and call, but what other choice did we have?
And if I was honest with myself, I wasn’t ready for River. Not after tonight.
“Fuck!” I yelled. The word echoed in the empty parking lot.
I turned back to the fence and slammed my fist into it. The sting of the steel bars felt good on my taped up hands. I did it again and again, throwing punch after punch into the fence until my knuckles were raw with blood and my flesh stung. When I pulled away, my body felt heavy as lead. All my adrenaline was gone, replaced by the weight of Troy’s offer.
I dreaded telling the others. As I walked the empty asphalt back to where we parked the car, I thought about what I could tell them. But I was a shit liar, especially when it came to Lotto. He always knew how I felt and what I needed to make it better. But even the thought of Lotto’s cock giving me familiar comfort didn’t feel like enough. This sinking feeling wasn’t going away any time soon.
As soon as I made it near Frankie’s car, I caught sight of the three of them. Ari, Frankie, and Lotto, all looking around for me with clear worry etched on their faces. At least Lotto had my shit in his hands.
When Ari saw me, the tension in her body physically deflated. “There you are! We’ve been looking for you everywhere. Do you know?—”
She stomped toward me like a raging bull but stopped short when she saw the blood on my knuckles. Her anger was replaced by a gasp of worry. “Bones, what happened?”
Frankie was right behind her, checking my wounds. “We should get out of here before we’re caught.”
“There’s no cops. It was a setup.” I shared a knowing look with Lotto, who swore under his breath.
“By who?” Ari asked. I only blinked at her. The crease in her styled eyebrows loosened as realization washed over her face. “Troy?”
“The whole thing?” Frankie demanded. “Fuck. Even the fight with River?”
I nodded. “We have a meeting with him tomorrow morning at ten. All of us.”
“You saw him?” Ari let out an annoyed ‘ugh’ when I confirmed Troy’s bullshit conversation from earlier. “Prick. Of course he wouldn’t contact me about it first.”
“Or me.” Frankie ran a hand through his hair and set it on Ari’s shoulder. “This was targeted. At Bones. That’s who Troy wants.”
“And River. He wants us to go head to head.”
All three of them stared at me silently. The words tasted like ash on my tongue. I didn’t want to admit it out loud, but it needed to be said. Tonight had proved it.
“Which means we have a fucking problem,” I ground out through clenched teeth, “because I don’t think I can win.”