18. Bones
Chapter 18
Bones
I stared at the car key so long, my eyes went fuzzy.
In a few minutes, we’d slip into the car and head to the venue.
But I wanted to rip that key up and make sure it could never be used again.
Frankie fucking cursed us. Or jinxed us. Or fucked us. Whatever. If he wouldn’t have brought up Ari’s fight in the showers, maybe karma wouldn’t have bitten our asses.
I guessed karma enjoyed the ring as much as we did because it came and knocked all of us out.
Ari would be fighting tonight.
The organizers for the venue, Guppy’s Saloon, had found another woman who was looking to use her hatred of her husband to fuck some people up. And what better target than the blond bombshell who ran Smiley’s? Guppy, the bastard who ran the place and looked exactly like his nickname, called Lotto just after 8AM. According to Lotto, he sounded way too excited for a small-time fight. This was about to be Ari’s debut into the underground world with plenty of greedy, grubby eyes watching.
It pissed me off so badly, I had to dip from the makeshift tent early to calm myself.
Lotto and Frankie eyed me as I left. I knew they felt the same but couldn’t say anything. Ari was basically radiating excitement, and I didn’t want to upset her. She needed me to be strong, but not punching through bags and ready to snap at any moment.
I drew a deep breath and ran a hand down my face. It almost felt like it was my first match back in the ring. Nerves made my hands shake so bad that when my phone buzzed in my pocket, I already dropped it.
UNKNOWN CALLER
Weird. I declined the call and slipped the phone back into my pocket. But one minute later, it buzzed again. I stared at the screen with a frown. Probably Jace Perk or some douchebag trying to rile us up. Since Lotto had posted return videos and jabs on our socials, the Perks had been like a boil on our asses. Annoying and ready to explode. Maybe it was River coming to say he’d left Perk’s Gym. Wouldn’t that be funny?
I shook my head and answered on the fifth ring.
“Bones speaking.”
“Hey, kiddo.”
My eyes widened, and I pulled back to look at the screen again. My voice caught so that all I could say was, “Dad? That you?”
“I’m glad I got the right digits this time.” He chuckled. The connection wasn’t the best, but that was my old man, all right. “I lost my old phone and accidentally called some law office trying to remember your number.”
I slumped against the front desk, setting my hand over my eyes to keep from crying. I hadn’t realized how much I’d needed to hear his voice until now. “Losing your memory or something?”
“On the contrary, I think I’m at the top of my game.” His laughter warmed my soul. “The casino’s gonna kick me out if I make off with any more jackpots.”
“Wait, jackpots? How many have you won?”
“Oh, like two or three. Nothing big. I think your mother is blessing me, Bones. I’m happy to be home.”
And I’m happy you’re alive , I wanted to add. I swallowed that down. I didn’t want to bring up his sickness when he sounded more alive in Mexico City than he had here in Seattle. There were so many things I wanted to ask now that we had a chance to talk on the phone after so long, but I wanted this to be a happy conversation.
“So, you figured out how to call?” I joked. “Usually, you send snail mail. I was waiting for another postcard from some resort near the border.”
“Those resorts are tourist traps. I’m not going to another one. They swindled me out of some cash,” he complained and started swearing in Spanish.
I shook my head with a laugh. “All right, all right, no more resorts.”
“Anyway, one of the boys here helped me. Luis. He’s got a hell of a right hook. Reminds me of you when you were younger.” Dad laughed again. “Oh, I didn’t tell you, did I? I bought into a local gym with some of my winnings. Fixed it back up and got the kids new boxing gloves.”
I pushed off the front desk and took a look around the nearly rebuilt Smiley’s. Light from the setting sun cast an orange glow over the new exercise area. In a few days, a new ring would be in the middle of the room and really bring the place back to life.
Dad was doing the exact same thing we were doing: trying to keep the boxing spirit alive. Luckily, he wasn’t a dick like Troy Godwin. I was sure his money didn’t come with strings.
“You’ve got them training in fights already, huh? How old is Luis?”
“Same age you started. Got KOed his first match like you, too.”
I groaned and rubbed my forehead. “Could you not remind me of that? I got better.”
“You sure did, kiddo. I’ve been watching the videos Lotto posts to your page. Well, what the boys show me. My phone can’t do all that.”
My heart swelled, and I fought to control my smile. Knowing Dad was watching over me, even from so far away, made me feel a whole lot better about this whole mess.
“Yeah, we’re, uh.” I paused, trying to find the right way to word ‘fighting for the demon of the underground himself.’ “Hopefully stepping our game up here soon.”
“I can tell. I’m proud of you. And I saw Ari fighting, too?”
The mention of Ari made my smile drop. “Uh… yeah. Yeah, she’s got a fight tonight, actually.”
“Oh, good. She’s going to kick ass.”
The confidence in my old man’s voice made me chuckle. “You really think so?”
“She’s got you, Lotto, and that other guy by her side. Frankie?” I confirmed with a grunt and Dad laughed. “How could you go wrong with that team? I wish I had you here to train some of the other boys. Luis is a star in the making, but Pedro and Eduardo need all the help they can get. No amount of jackpots can help those kids learn to protect their heads. Just yesterday?—”
I listened to Dad ramble on and on about what Pedro and Eduardo did, leaning back against the front counter. He sounded so happy. Carefree. I didn’t care what he was saying—he could recite the Mexican Constitution and I’d be happy to listen. As long as he was still around to talk my ear off about it.
“Actually, Jorge just walked in. He owns the place I bought into. La Suprema . You’ll have to come down and check it out someday.”
“Someday,” I agreed. “As long as you keep calling until then.”
“I’ll call once a week. Unless it’s a casino day.” He laughed. “I’ll call Lotto, too. Tell him Pops says hi, and we’ll talk soon. I need to drill some sense into these boys first.”
“Go easy on ’em, Dad.” I laughed. “Or else Frankie will be calling asking for tips on how to whip the rest of us into shape.”
“I’m sure. Are you still all together…”
There was a tilt to his question that made me smile. “Yeah. Yeah, the four of us.” I appreciated that even if he didn’t understand, he didn’t question. “If we can make it down, I’ll bring everyone to say hi.”
“Oh, good, good. Give them my love. Talk to you soon.” Right before he hung up, I heard Dad yell, “Eduardo, si?—”
I laughed even as the phone went dead. Who knew all Dad needed to breathe some life into him was yelling at teenage boxers in Mexico City? I stared at my phone for a few seconds before pocketing it in the back of my jeans. The call with Dad made me feel… lighter. When I pushed up from the desk, I almost stumbled forward. I hadn’t realized there was so much tension in my body until it was all gone.
“Whoa, hey there, don’t hurt yourself!” Ari’s voice rang through the empty room. Smiling, she came closer, followed by Lotto and Frankie. “You’ve been gone forever. Is everything okay?”
“Yeah.” I patted the phone in my pocket and grinned. “Yeah, everything’s great. Just talked to my dad. He says hi and to kick ass out there.”
“As if I wasn’t going to,” Ari joked and tightened her long ponytail. For someone who’d spent the entire morning and afternoon practicing with Frankie, she looked fresh and ready as ever. “But thanks… there’s no way I’m losing with him in my corner.”
“Hopefully when he calls back, we can tell him all about it.” Lotto eyed me, his jaw tight with how hard he clenched his teeth. I nodded a few times, and the tension in his shoulders visibly relaxed. He must have been as worried about Dad’s health as I was. “We should get going then.”
“No bleeding in my car,” Frankie said.
My lips quirked at the joke. Only he wasn’t joking, because he glared at me for daring to look amused.
“I just got it reupholstered. Keep your shit off the leather.”
“What if it’s not my blood?” Ari questioned, her smile a little too innocent to be believable. “You’ll forgive me, won’t you?”
“No.”
Frankie grabbed the key from the front counter—the same one I’d been staring at a few minutes ago—and unlocked his car from the lobby.
Ari pouted. “Come on, Frankie, you can’t care more about your car than me.”
“Unless you’re making me five K to pay me back, I sure can.”
“Five K? You got robbed. I know a guy who can do full reupholstering for three K.” Lotto smirked as he walked past Ari and smacked her ass. “Angel will make more than that. Easy.”
“I hope so.”
For the first time all day, Ari’s confident mask slipped. She bounced her gaze between us, eventually landing on me. In the dimming sun, she looked absolutely gorgeous. And absolutely scared shitless. It was only a flash of vulnerability, but I reached out to grab her elbow and shuffle her closer.
“You will. Promise. Tune everything out and give ’em hell.”
“And don’t vomit in the ring. Or my car.” Frankie opened the new front door for us, the same old bell ringing. “Though vomit technically isn’t against the rules.”
“Don’t listen to him, angel,” Lotto said. “He wants you to vomit so he has an excuse to pull you.”
Frankie didn’t argue. He didn’t have to. We all felt the same. As excited as Ari was to showcase her skills, trepidation lurked deep within all of us. If Ari didn’t vomit, maybe I would. This was worse than my first fight ever, and as Dad had graciously reminded me, I was KOed in twenty seconds flat.
The entire drive to the abandoned school where the fight would be held was filled with Ari’s specialty crafted “Pump It Up Mix.” At least the music drowned out all of my worries, instead replacing them with Ari’s excited singing and arm-dancing out the open window. But as soon as we rolled into the parking lot and headed down into the dingy basement, the carefree attitude we had was swallowed by cigarette smoke and angry jeers. Fighting was already in full swing, and the white of the ring was smeared with dried and fresh blood.
Ari stared at the ring as we pushed through the screaming crowd toward the locker room. She disappeared inside, but when she didn’t reappear after five minutes, Frankie slapped a hand on my shoulder.
“Go talk to her. Lotto and I will handle organizational shit.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You don’t want to talk to her.”
“She’s not going to want to hear what I have to say.” He pushed my shoulder before letting go. “Last chance.”
I snorted. Frankie needed to get fucking real. If she hadn’t listened to me yet, there was no chance she would do so tonight.
I entered the locker room, checking again for Ari’s opponent before I headed further inside. Ari sat on a wooden bench, playing with her taped-up knuckles. When I slid my hand over hers, she practically jumped out of her skin.
“Are you trying to give me a heart attack before I even step in the ring?”
I bent down in front of her and helped her fix the tape on her right knuckles. “I don’t think that would stop you.”
“We’re in an old school, Bones. I’m sure there’s an afib machine around here somewhere.”
“Might be decades old.”
“We have that in common.” Ari smiled and flexed her hand once I let go of her hand. “Are you here to give me a pep talk?” She eyed me suspiciously, “Or tell me I’m an idiot?”
“Why do you think I’m here and not Frankie?” My smile could barely be called that. I stood and held a hand out to her. She took it, and I helped her stand, my grip on her tightening. “Too late to back out now, baby. So what do you need?”
“How about a good luck kiss?” She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me closer, pure honey in her proposition. “And the promise to celebrate with the others back at Smiley’s when I win. I heard the showers got some good use last night.”
My body flushed with heat at the memory. I pulled Ari closer, crushing her body against mine and my lips against hers. The kiss was hungry. Intense. Our lips and tongues moved out of pure heat and desperation. She clung to me and groped every inch of muscle she could. I grunted when she smacked my ass and copped a tight feel. My body burned for her, cock straining against my jeans.
Then she pulled away, breathless and clearly fucking pleased with herself. Her smirk was as sharp as the edge of her eyeliner.
“There’s more of that after the match.” Ari pressed a small kiss to my lips then sauntered away. “So get ready.”
Fuck me. I ran a hand over my jaw, catching my breath before following. Lotto and Frankie were back, and Frankie ushered Ari closer to the cage in the middle of the old basketball court. A woman was already standing in the cage, looking wilder than a pit bull. Joanne, if the crowd’s chants were anything to go by. Her curly brown hair was piled up in a bun atop her head. She had much broader shoulders and looked like a fucking dam wall—stacked, leaner, and much stronger.
Once Ari got closer to the cage, the crowd began screaming her name. Guppy, that fat bastard, yelled into a microphone about the “sexiest match on the docket!” The crowd around the betting table was a school of sharks, waiting to make money off two sexy women. I crossed my arms over my chest as Ari stepped into the ring, my teeth clenched so tightly, I might have snapped some molars.
Lotto stepped next to me and wrapped an arm around my waist. “Relax.” His firm order made my shoulders drop, but only slightly. “You look like you’re about to shit your pants.”
“Frankie would make me walk home if I shit in his car.” I sucked in a breath, my eyes on Ari’s back. Hopefully, her white tank top stayed that clean when she stepped out of the ring.
“She’s going to be fine,” Lotto promised and squeezed my side. “She’s going to win.”
Lotto sounded so confident. Ari looked it, too. Her shoulders were squared back, her head held high, and she stretched out her neck and arms. What did I have to worry about? Winning in the ring was a mix of talent, luck, and straight narcissism. Good fighters had the talent. The best fighters had the balls and bullshit to back it up. The ring was nothing more than a lion’s den where the strongest lion would lead the pack.
And right now, Ari was the king while Joanne was the prey.
The bell rang; the crowd erupted in cheers, exuding a thirst for violence. They danced around each other for a second before Ari threw her first punch. It clipped Joanne’s cheek and made her take a step back. She blocked Ari’s follow-up punch and threw out a mean right hook.
And sent Ari straight into the bloodied mat.