Chapter 9
NINE
Grand.
When I made it to my mother’s house, I was agitated because a delay on the highway kept me from spending time with Raiden. I couldn’t pick him up from school because I got caught up at DMV renewing my license which took four fucking hours. Everybody in the damn city decided that today was the best time to show up at the Department of Motor Vehicles. Then I had to go downtown to do a mandatory drug test and an anger management course mandated by the city as a condition of my release before meeting with my PO.
To make matters worse, the woman assigned to me mentioned on multiple occasions that she would do a favor for a favor. She propositioned me for dick every damn time I stepped into her office. Last week it was dick in exchange for a later curfew. Today, it was no more drug testing if I ate her pussy. I declined both. Shit was crazy and I needed to get my fines paid so I could finish my parole and be done with all this.
Another reminder of the bullshit from my past. The night I was arrested, I had weed in my system. I wasn’t an addict. I smoked recreationally, and barely even then. I also didn’t have anger issues. What happened between me and Moses was a reaction to him drugging Aleah. I didn’t go around the city fucking people up with no reason attached.
Regardless of how fucking long my day had been, I made my son a promise that I would see him before he went to bed and I was keeping that promise. As soon as I let myself in, I was greeted by a smile from my mother, even though I could sense she had been worried. I hated that my actions caused her any more stress than already existed. The shit really fucked with me.
I walked in and kissed her cheek. “Hey, Ma. Sorry I’m late. I got stuck in traffic. They had the highway blocked due to an accident.”
“It’s fine. He waited up as long as he could.”
“He’s asleep already?” I asked, considering whether or not I would wake him long enough to make sure he knew I kept my promise.
She shook her head gently, offering a soft smile. “No, he’s awake. I made him take a bath and told him he could watch TV in his room after he said his prayers to keep him busy until you got here. I knew you would be here, even if you were late.”
“Yeah. Been a long day but I wasn’t gonna let him down.”
“I know.” She touched my arm and glanced at the stairs. “Go on up.”
I nodded and left her in the living room, jogging up the stairs. When I reached the end of the hallway, I stopped outside his room when I caught the sound of Raiden’s voice. My heart clenched listening to him talking to Aleah. My mother told me she encouraged him to do so when he was old enough to ask questions about both of us. She placed a picture of the three of us in his room. It was one she took the day after we brought him home.
“Mommy, I get to see my daddy now. My nana told me he was coming home and now he’s here. I wish you could come home too but Nana told me you have to be my angel and you couldn’t come home. It makes me sad because I want you to be here with my daddy and her. I’m gonna keep praying like my nana taught me and maybe one day you can be my angel here and not far away. I love you, Mommy. Good night.”
My knees felt weak and I turned my body just in time for my back to hit the wall. For a brief moment, it was the only thing holding me up. I was fucking destroyed. She should be here, not me. I was the one who fucked it all up.
“Daddy, what’s wrong?”
Fuck.
I forced a smile and pushed away from the wall, looking down at Raiden whose little face was pinched with concern.
“Nothing, man.” I lowered to my haunches and brushed a hand over his head before I lifted him in my arms and carried him into his room. I sat on the side of his bed and glanced at the photo that sat on the nightstand.
“I missed you today.”
“I missed you too, man. I had to take care of some stuff and couldn’t pick you up today. I apologize.”
“It’s okay. Can I still come to your house tomorrow?”
“Yeah, you can.”
His face split into a grin. “When I wake up?”
I chuckled. “Not that early but before you eat lunch.”
My mother had his little ass up by six even on the weekends and there wasn’t a chance in hell I would be up that early and functional.
“Can we go back to the motorcycle place and have lunch?”
“Nah, I think we’re gonna do something different this time. You cool with that?”
He frowned. “Like what?”
“It’s a surprise.”
“It doesn’t have to be a surprise. You can tell me.”
I grinned, shaking my head, then tapped his nose. “Sorry kid, you have to wait until tomorrow.”
“Daddy…” he whined and I shook my head, hoisting him off my lap. I gently tossed him onto the bed. I lifted enough to pull the covers back so I could tuck him in, then lay next to him, folding my arms behind my head, grinning when he mirrored my position and folded his arms behind his head too.
“Tell me about your day.”
For the next hour I lay with my son, listening to details about his day and him trying to persuade me to tell him what I had planned for tomorrow. I had not a damn clue what we were going to do but I would figure it out. Pride wouldn’t allow me to ask my mother or Tali. I needed my relationship with Raiden to be independent of them. Fuck, I might just wing it and let the day be whatever it turned out to be. Whatever he wanted to do was cool with me. I was simply grateful to have the time with him.
I waited for him to fall asleep, kissed his forehead, and eased off the bed. I stared at a face that mirrored mine and my gut twisted when I felt grateful for a split second that I consumed his features. The weight of having to look at his mother’s face on him hurt my heart and within seconds I felt like shit for even having the thought.
This was so fucked up. I didn’t know how to process a world with no Aleah and a son we were supposed to raise together. I yanked a hand down my face and left his room in search of my mother. When I found her in the kitchen making tea, I dug in my pocket for the cash I brought with me. I grabbed her hand and placed it in her palm, which granted me a hard stare.
“What’s this for?”
“Told you I was gonna pay you back for what you spent on my place and the things you put in there for me.”
She shoved her hand forward, shaking her head. “I don’t want your money, baby.”
“Ma, just keep it. I need to do this.”
She exhaled a sigh and glanced at the fold of cash in her hand.
“You working?”
“Something like that.” I didn’t want to get into how I got the money but I would have to tell her something so I clarified. “It’s not drugs or anything you need to worry about. I’m not gonna fuck this up.”
She stared for a long minute before she nodded and placed the money on the counter. “Did you check with Walt? I saw him a few months ago and let him know you were coming home. He said you should come talk to him.”
“I know, Ma, you told me.”
“You going to see him?”
“Yeah, I am. I just have to get a few things in order before I do.” I leaned in and kissed her cheek. “I’m about to head out. I’ll be here before lunch to get him.”
Her face lit up. She was pushing for me to keep Raiden. Said it would be good for both of us. That was all about her believing coming home to my son every night would keep me out of trouble, and truthfully it would, but I didn’t need him as motivation. Losing Aleah and years of my life was enough. When I promised my mother I wouldn’t fuck this up, I meant that from the depths of my soul. The thought of someone having that much control over my life was suffocating.
“He’s been looking forward to this all week.”
“Me too. I’ll call you when I’m on my way.”
“Okay, baby.”
I left her house, pushing thoughts of Raiden and my mother to the back of my mind. I needed to get in the right headspace for these fights. I sent Tali a text, making sure he would be there, then my thoughts shifted to her .
Saniya Montgomery.
Her pretty ass left me with conflicted feelings. I wanted her bad as hell but felt like shit for wanting her. My dick was currently hard with thoughts of those beautiful brown eyes and pretty lips I wanted to see stretched around it. Not only was she easy on the eyes but she was about her business. After the night I caught her looking for me at The Pit, I looked her up to see what she was about. A part of me felt like she was on some bullshit.
The only thing I found were several sites that listed her work. She was well-known around the city and had a solid reputation. Another reason I had no business wanting her. Saniya had her life together and I was figuring mine out. I couldn’t step to a woman with nothing to offer but dick and that was the position I was in currently. Regardless, I still fucking wanted her and that was a problem.
Tonight’s fights were at a different location. I received a text letting me know the address. It was two minutes before ten when I pulled into the lot, so the place was already packed. I called Tali to find out where he was and decided to park around back with him. That way we could slip out after the last round and avoid the crowd.
The women who showed up didn’t give a damn about watching us beat the shit out of each other, but they weren’t shy about wanting to be fucked by the winners after they were done. There was only one woman in particular I considered entertaining, and if I was right about her little stubborn ass, she would be here tonight.
Once I was out of my car, Tali fell in step with me as we walked to the side entrance. I banged on the door and he glanced at me, shoving his hands into the pocket of his hoodie while we waited. “You ready for this?”
“Ain’t shit to be ready for.” I cut my eyes his way then back to the door when it opened a few minutes later. The guy glared at both of us until I mentioned I was one of the fighters. He nodded and stepped out of the way, giving us room to enter.
“Main area is down the hall to the left. Check in with Rix before you get changed.”
We followed his directions and entered the open space. Just like a couple weeks ago, an abandoned warehouse had been transformed into a top notch arena. A bar was built along one wall and the heavy bass from the song the DJ was spinning blasted from the free standing speakers in each corner of the room. There was black velvet roping which sectioned off groups of chairs.
The closer to the ring, the nicer the chairs. Men in suits stood in groups, drinking expensive liquor and smoking cigars while their arm candy stood close by. The diamonds they wore sparkled under the bright lighting which would be turned down when the first contenders entered the ring. The spotlight would be on the fighters. There was a lot of money in this room and my goal was to cash out.
“You’re late. You need to get changed.” The sound of an agitated male voice barking out a demand had me swinging my head to the right where I noticed Rix approaching me with a hard expression on his face. He stepped in front of me and lifted a glass of liquor to his mouth.
“First fight hasn’t started. I’m not late.” I kept my voice level. I needed to get in the ring tonight but I didn’t like his fucking tone so my patience was thin.
“You’re the first fight.”
“Nah, that’s not our deal. I fight whoever makes it to the last round.”
“That was our deal. These guys pay for a show. They don’t want to watch a guy get the shit beat out of him only to knock their opponent on their ass seconds before the third round ends. You want to go back to our deal, you give them a show tonight.”
“You want him to fight three guys back to back?” Tali frowned beside me.
“Who the fuck are you?”
I sensed Tali’s reaction brewing and shut it down before he moved. I held my arm out to stop him. “How much?”
“Five grand.”
“Ten or I walk.”
“Nah, Grand. Fuck this. You’re not about to step in there for three fights. That’s nine rounds.”
I turned and delivered a look for Tali to shut the fuck up. His jaw flexed but he fell back.
“What’s it going to be?”
“I’m not giving you ten grand. You want to walk.” He shrugged and lifted the drink. “Then walk. Your loss, not mine.”
I smirked because he was full of shit. He wanted me in all three fights because he knew I would have to fight back ,which meant the people who showed tonight would get the show they were paying top dollar to witness. There was no way for me to survive nine rounds without putting up a fight or one of these guys would likely kill me. Rix had peeped what I was capable of. Luckily, I was smarter than he was giving me credit for. I would also win which meant he could wager bets and make even more money.
We engaged in a standoff until I lifted my chin and stepped away. “Tali, let’s go.”
I turned to leave, and before I could create any real distance between us, Rix folded. “Fine, ten grand but you better fucking earn it. None of that shit from the last time.”
I glanced his way and angled my head to the side. “Price just doubled. You want me in the ring tonight, it’s going to cost you twenty.”
“I’m not paying you twenty thousand dollars.” His eyes narrowed and his nostrils flared. I walked back to him and pulled his card.
“You showed your hand. You assumed I would be so desperate for the money that I would do anything to get it, which means you counted on me agreeing to whatever terms you threw at me. I’m not that fucking desperate and you’re not that great of a businessman. You banked on me fighting. If I don’t, you can’t replace me. There’s no one here tonight that can survive all three fights and make it to the last one to be worth watching. You want me, it’s going to cost you twenty grand and another five because you thought I was that fucking stupid.”
He glared, fisting the glass he was holding so tightly I was surprised it didn’t shatter. When he took too long, I hit him with the same line he gave me. “Your loss…”
“Rix, we getting started or what?” One of his guys walked up with his brows pinched, eyes bouncing between us.
“Yeah, give me a minute. We’re negotiating the terms.”
The guy frowned hard, glaring at me before nodding and walking away. I could imagine he wasn’t used to Rix negotiating with anyone. I almost fucking laughed. Rix wasn’t used to that shit either.
“Twenty-five and you better fucking earn every penny.”
I moved forward until I towered over him and dropped my chin. “There ain’t a damn thing in life I better do except stay Black and check muthafuckers like you who underestimate me.”
“Yeah, I mean at least give them their money’s worth.”
I smirked and nodded. “Let me change and you pay before I fight.”
He barked a laugh and my expression didn’t change. “You’re serious?”
“Give it to Tali, have your guys watch him if you don’t trust that he’ll hang around. Deal is I fight for twenty-five grand. If I agree, I don’t have a choice but to get in that ring. You, on the other hand, can fuck me over. Pay in advance or I don’t fight.”
“My guys can hold the money…”
I shook my head. “You don’t expect me to believe they won’t fuck me over on your behalf, now do you?”
He ground his back teeth so damn hard I would bet them bitches cracked some. “Fine but if you try anything stupid, they will shoot first. There won’t be any questions asked.”
“Deal.”
I walked away and Tali didn’t say a word until we were in the bathroom we passed in the hallway on the way in. Whatever argument he was about to present, I didn’t want to hear. My mind was made up.
“I hope you plan on knocking muthafuckers out as soon as they step to you.”
“No.”
“Come the fuck on. I know your head ain’t right but that’s a suicide mission. You think he’s about to hand over twenty-five grand for three fights.”
“Either he does or I don’t get in the ring.” I yanked the hoodie over my head and tossed it to Tali.
“That’s a lot of money.”
“And he’ll make fifteen—possibly twenty—times that before I step out of the ring. He was too eager to pay me five. He can afford to pay that and more.”
“Can you?”
He tilted his head to the side and stared, silently communicating what he was asking. Would my body hold up?
“I’ve suffered worse. That’s how shit worked fighting in prison. Five, six fights back to back. You fight until you’re the last man standing. They don’t give a fuck about rules in there. I can handle it.”
“Yo, Grand, I don’t know…”
“You get fifteen percent of what I make. That’s almost four stacks.”
His face twisted. “I don’t want the gotdamn money. That’s not why I’m here. I want your ass to walk up outta here. Not you dragged out and tossed in the back somewhere for the cops to find and add to their cold case files.”
“Then you don’t have shit to worry about. I told you I’m good.”
Once I was in nothing but a pair of black shorts, I shoved everything into my backpack and tossed it to Tali. “Put the money in there and keep it close to your chest. When I’m done, we leave. Got it?”
“Yeah.”
We prepared to head back to the main area and I paused at the door. “If you see her, keep her with you.”
He frowned for a minute. “The photographer?”
“Yeah.”
He arched a brow, smiling like a fucking idiot.” You invited her?”
“No, she invited herself. If she shows, she’s with you.”
He laughed smugly and nodded. “Aight, I got her.”
I was on my way out the door when I glanced at him over my shoulder. “And keep your fucking hands to yourself.”
Tali bellowed a full-blown laugh. “Fam, I know better than to mess with your girl.”
I glared at him and pushed through the door because what else could I say? I was telling him to keep an eye on her which clarified that she meant something to me. The problem was, I had no clue what?
I stood on my word and refused to step foot in the ring until Rix handed over twenty-five grand. My goal was six months of this shit. If I could stack a decent amount of money, then the rest would be easy. I didn’t need much and if Walt took a chance on me again, I could survive off what I made working for him and still save. I would have to get a two-bedroom place so Raiden had his own room, but that could wait. Tonight was about putting an end to me risking my freedom by fighting here. With three fights, I would make what I’d planned on stacking over the next six months. After tonight, I wouldn’t be back. Raiden was too important for me to get caught up in some shit that would send me right back to prison.
When I dipped under the ropes for my first fight, I surveyed the crowd then fucking laughed. I was looking for her. I’d warned Saniya to stay away but wanted her here, or rather I wanted to see her. I couldn’t say I wanted her here. This shit was about to get bad.
While we waited on the ref, the guy I was fighting bounced on the balls of his feet. Unlike me, he had his wrists taped but per instructions his knuckles were bare. Rix wanted these fights to be as brutal and bloody as possible. Although his feet were bare like mine, he was also in formal boxing shorts and chewing on a mouth guard, which hung from the corner of his lips. He had the build of a professional boxer and had my six-one height by at least another two or three inches. If I had to guess, he was trying to gain his footing in a professional setting, but needed the money so he used his skills to gain the advantage with illegal fights.
He wouldn’t win. Skill was just as much a hindrance as it was an asset. This guy would try to outsmart me and while he was overthinking with his technical training, I was going to knock him the fuck out. I would let him get in a few good hits first to bypass the first round but there wasn’t a chance in hell he was going to win this match.
“Alright, gentlemen…” The ref began waving us to the center. “The rules are, there are no rules. Last man standing moves on to the next fight.” He smirked and looked right at me. I had no doubt that Rix had informed all his staff that I would be the last man standing. Thanks to the twenty-five grand Tali was currently in possession of, I would damn sure deliver so I could be done with this hellhole.
He lifted the mic and addressed the crowd. “For the first fight of the evening, we have Grand facing off with Jenson. If you haven’t placed your bets, do so now. You’ve got thirty seconds. Once your first bet is placed, you have until the end of the first round to change it. If we get a knockout before the end of the first round, your original bets stand.”
“Fighters, ready?”
He glanced my way. I lifted my chin and waited for Jenson to respond. He slammed a fist into his palm and sneered my way. The ref blew the whistle and hurried out of striking distance, just in time to avoid Jenson charging me.
The crowd cheered when I let him land a solid right uppercut to my left side but when he threw a left hook, I dodged it by a hair. He swung with so much force the miss sent him tumbling forward into the ropes, which pissed him off.
When he pushed off the ropes and rushed me again, I let him land three solid punches to my sides. Left, right, left. But that was all he was getting. The arena erupted in chaos with chants encouraging him. He ate that shit up, assuming he had the best of me. That was when he fucked up, his focus was on engaging the crowd and not fully watching me. So when he sent a right cross, which was intended to land on my jaw, I dipped back and caught him with an uppercut that sent him stumbling into the ropes.
This time I didn’t let him gain his footing. I crossed the ring, grabbed the sides of his head, and jerked him down at the same time I brought my knee up. The heavy bass of the music and the roar of the crowd prevented me from hearing the bones crack on impact but I felt it. When he threw his head back, a spray of blood shot from his nose. I advanced again and my fist met his jaw with a left hook. Jenson’s head snapped to the right, his eyes rolled back in his head, then he dropped.
The ref appeared out of nowhere, grabbed my wrist, and hoisted my arm in the air. “Ladies and gentleman, we have a first-round knockout.”
My eyes found Tali who shook his head wearing a smug grin before he yelled, “That’s what the fuck I’m talking about.”
And then I noticed who was next to him. Her eyes locked with mine and I took in the concerned look on her face. She was here but didn’t like what she just witnessed. My gaze narrowed, and so did hers, but then a smile tugged at her lips and she slowly raised her left brow. This fucking woman. That subtle act was her way of saying, fuck my warning she came anyway. And as much as I wanted to act like I didn’t care, I liked that she fucking did.