15. Frankie
Chapter 15
Frankie
I swung my hand at the punching bag again and again, the bag bouncing back with each forceful hit.
But it wasn’t fucking enough.
No matter how many times I smacked it, no matter whose face I imagined, no matter how long I worked out, my anger lingered like a festering wound.
How could Ari accept such a shitty deal? Did she even know what she was getting into? Of course, she did. She’d seen enough of my and Bones’ fights to know the underground wasn’t some walk in the park.
Everything I’d worked for over the past few years, from my time in the ring, to working with Ari to bring Smiley’s back to glory, to training Bones to be the best, felt like it was all for nothing. I was doing everything in my power to get us out for Ari and Smiley’s sake. And here she was, dragging us back in without even consulting us first. What the fuck was her problem?
My body ached from the intense workout, but I kept pounding the bags. It was the only thing I knew how to do. At least I was alone in Smiley’s, probably the last time this broken building would get used before the remodeling. Ari was off signing contracts with contractors, Bones was off with Teo purchasing equipment, and I had given the rest of our trainees time off. Lotto… I didn’t know, and I didn’t fucking care. He’d sided with Ari and showed where his loyalties lay.
In the money and fame and not the family.
I was so wrapped up in my workout I didn’t hear anyone come in. Only when a hand grabbed onto the punching bag to stop it from swinging did I realize I wasn’t alone.
Speak of the devil.
Lotto stared at me. “You’re a tough man to get a hold of.”
“On purpose,” I ground out and shook out my wrists. “Didn’t I make it clear last time? Fuck off, Lotto.”
“Still not finished with your temper tantrum?”
My glare grew ice cold. “Watch your fucking mouth.”
“How else would you describe it?” Lotto pushed the bag my way. It bounced off the side of my arm. “Ignoring everyone’s calls, being an unapproachable prick, and thinking the world revolves around you. What do you call that, Frankie?”
“You’re one to talk. Giving in to Troy Godwin for some fucking money. That bastard thinks he’s king of the world, and you’re calling me selfish?” I took a step forward. “Run your mouth again and I won’t be punching that fucking bag.”
Lotto didn’t even flinch. “Go for it.”
I stopped, raising an eyebrow. Lotto was merely a manager. He didn’t have much experience, if any, in an actual fight. Maybe he was hiding his prowess from me this entire time. Or maybe he was just being a smug dick.
“I’d knock you the fuck out in one hit, Lotto.”
“Not if I hit you first.” He smirked. “I’ve seen plenty of fights. Want to make a bet? If I hit your first, you’ll stop being a little bitch. If you hit me first, you can do whatever the hell you want.”
“That’s not even a bet. That’s a?—”
Lotto moved so fast I barely had time to dodge. His fist grazed my left temple, skirting along my skin and into my hair. I grabbed his wrist and flipped him over my shoulder with barely a tug. He fell to the ground in a heap, and I slammed my fist into his side. Lotto groaned and kicked at me, but I held him in place on the ground, his back to my chest.
Fire burned in my veins. Lotto needed to learn his fucking lesson.
“Anything I want, huh?” I growled and tugged at his pants. The button popped open with a few harsh tugs, and I dragged them down, along with his underwear. Lotto hissed—probably the zipper catching his skin—but I didn’t fucking care. He deserved to feel my wrath. “I’m going to shut you the fuck up once and for all.”
Lotto tried to kick out from under me, but I pinned him down with a forceful hand on his back. With my other hand, I spread his ass cheeks and spat on his asshole. He grunted and shook his hips to get away. When he moved, I saw how hard his cock was. I smirked. Try all he wanted to fake fight me, I knew exactly what he wanted.
I pulled my pants down to my knees, spat in my hand, and tugged on my cock a few times until I was fully hard. I spread him even further and pushed into him in a few angry thrusts. Lotto groaned and swore under his breath, but his hips jerked back into my cock, pushing me deeper.
“Who’s the little bitch now, Lotto?” I grunted as I fucked him. I gripped his hips hard enough to bruise. “Did you really think you could beat me?”
“You really think you’re winning?” Lotto answered breathlessly.
His answer pissed me off. I slapped my hips even harder, so hard that he fell forward on his stomach. I followed, lifting his hips enough to fuck him into the sweaty mat. His grunts mixed with the harsh slaps of my hips, his ass tight around me with every thrust. I reached forward and wrapped my hand in his hair, forcing his head down into the mat.
“I’d say so.” I laughed and held him down when he tried to wiggle away. In response, I fucked him even faster. “Maybe I should fuck you in the ring. Let others see your definition of winning.”
“Go ahead.” Lotto wrapped a hand around his cock and moaned with each harsh tug and matched my pace. “They’ll see I can take it.”
God, he fucking pissed me off. I gritted my teeth and pounded into him like I was pounding the bags, smacking his ass until it bloomed red and blue. Smiley’s echoed with our grunts and the sound of my balls slapping against his ass. Lotto was the first to break, coming all over his hand with a choked off moan. The sight of his cum all over his hand and the mat made me shiver. My orgasm rose quickly, and with a few choppy thrusts, I came inside of him, my cock pulsing with each spurt.
I fought to catch my breath as I slid my flaccid dick out of Lotto’s ass. Cum dripped from his hole and down his thighs. His ass and hips had bright red imprints of my fingertips and hands. Some bruises already bloomed along his sides, and yet he smirked like he’d just won a gold medal in the Olympics. Lotto pushed up on shaky arms and cracked his neck a few times.
“Do you feel better?” He reached forward to grab my towel from the bench. I kept silent as he cleaned himself up. I didn’t want to admit it out loud, but yeah. I did feel better. Fucking hell. Lotto threw the dirty towel my way when he was done. “Ready to stop being a little bitch?”
“I won that stupid bet,” I reminded him as I cleaned up my cock and stuffed it back in my pants. “Proof’s still in your ass.”
“But you didn’t.” Lotto pulled his pants on again and leaned toward me. For a second, I thought he was going to kiss me. But then he smacked me lightly upside the temple where his fist grazed me earlier. “I punched you here first, dumbass.”
“That was barely a punch. My grandma would have better aim.”
“Ever consider I missed on purpose?”
I froze and stared at him. Lotto’s eyes flashed angrily as he pushed to his feet. Minus the messed-up hair and sweaty sheen on his skin, he looked the same as always. I stood to join him.
“The fuck does that mean?”
“I’m not putting you in the hospital to prove my point.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Ari wouldn’t do that either, which is why she accepted the deal.”
“The fuck does Ari know?”
“Plenty, and you’d know it, too, if you stopped running from the conversation like a coward.”
His ribbing made me grit my teeth. The tempered anger from earlier was spiking again in my stomach, threatening to swallow me whole. “Ari’s never had a fight like this. She doesn’t know what it means to hurt.”
“She doesn’t?” Lotto poked his finger into my chest, voice dropping dangerously low. “The same woman who stood by your side every fight. The one who took you to the hospital and nursed you back to health after your seizures. The same one who accepted a deal from the fucking devil to keep you out of the ring and make sure her father’s legacy lives on. You really think she doesn’t know what it means to hurt?”
I swallowed. Fuck me. Lotto had a damn point, even if I didn’t want to admit it.
“There are different kinds of hurt, Frankie.”
“I know that,” I muttered.
“Then why are you hurting her?” Lotto dropped his hand. “Ignoring her isn’t going to do shit. All you’re going to do is push her away. She’s doing this for us because she loves us. You probably most of all.”
Damnit. I ran a hand through my sweaty hair and took a few steps back, Lotto’s words ringing in my ears. All I wanted to do was keep Ari safe. Stepping in the ring changed you. People who went in never came out the same. I couldn’t imagine losing the Ari I knew and loved to a few shots upside the head. I would never forgive myself if the Perks took away the best thing in my life.
But in doing so, I was only hurting Ari. Not listening to her or supporting her when she needed it. It probably pained her to make the same decision I was punishing her for.
“It doesn’t mean I have to like it,” I said, more to myself than Lotto.
“Oh, I fucking hate it. So does Bones. And she knows as much. But she’s going to do this with or without your support.”
I snorted. Of course she would. That’s just who Ari was—strong-willed and equally bone-headed. I loved both sides of her, even when it majorly pissed me off. If I didn’t call her soon, she’d be busting down the front door to Smiley’s and really breaking it in half.
“Also you’re outnumbered.” Lotto shrugged and patted his pockets, looking for his phone. He found it by his feet, no doubt having fallen out of his pocket when I dragged down his pants. “Me, Bones, and Teo are going to help her. I also found a few other coaches in case?—”
“Fuck your coaches,” I growled.
“Don’t give me any ideas, Frankie.” Lotto smirked. “We all know how I tamed you.” Before I could cuss him out, he clicked something on his screen and held out the phone to me. “So I can delete his number?”
I glanced down at the screen. Hugo Barnes. One of the best trainers in the area, with plenty of high-profile, celebrity clients. With Troy’s money, our savings, and Bones’ fights, Ari could afford someone of that caliber for the next two months. “Winners at Every Punch.” That smug asshole and his equally lame slogan were all over my social media algorithms. He also was the subject of a few rumors about how he became so jacked and popular in the first place.
I ripped the phone from Lotto’s hand, deleted the contact, then threw it back at him. “Keep that ’roided-up asshole away from Smiley’s. If Ari wants to stay legit, that’s what we’re gonna do.”
Lotto smiled at my gruff demand and pocketed his phone. “Should I tell her to come back for a little one-on-one chat? I quite enjoyed ours.”
As much as I wanted to be alone with Ari and really talk some sense into her, I knew we’d fall into old habits. Yell, kiss, bang, rinse and repeat. Something like this, that affected all of us, deserved a more serious conversation.
“Call up Bones and tell them both to head back. I’ll shower off so we can discuss.”
“You’re making the right decision.” Lotto slapped a hand on my shoulder. “It’s just sometimes the right decision is a fucking bomb.”
“I’d rather try my luck with the bomb.” I sighed and shrugged him off. “It would be easier to deal with than Troy Godwin.”
“Leave him and the Perk siblings to me.” Lotto’s smile took on a menacing edge. “They’ll know what they’re dealing with soon enough.”
“Sometimes, you scare me, dude.” I smacked his side with the dirty towel. “Call ’em up. I’ll be out soon.”
I went before I could change my mind. Was Lotto right? Was I making the right decision? I didn’t know, but being lost in my own head wouldn’t do any of us favors. If we couldn’t get out of this stupid contract, we might as well fight tooth and nail to end it on our terms.
And if not, I’d hop into the ring myself and give Troy his goddamn money’s worth.