Chapter 14 #2
Smirking, he slowly rolls back his sleeves, exposing tan, muscular forearms, and my mouth goes dry as his veins only seem to bulge. The prick. He doesn’t know it’s a weakness of mine, but when I meet his eyes, he’s watching me carefully.
“Some time today,” I call out of annoyance and embarrassment.
“Do you need your brother to hold your hand?” I duck under his punch, coming up next to him and driving my fist into his side with all my strength.
“That was slow and weak. You can’t hurt me, rich boy, so don’t hold back on my account.
” I dance away as he covers his side before shaking it off.
He watches me move around him, and then he dives at me.
He has good control of his body. Neo doesn’t give away his moves before he makes them, but he fights too clean, and I use that to my advantage.
I hop over his leg and under his swing, dancing around and driving my foot into the back of his knee.
He goes down, then I bring my knee up into his face twice.
He groans as he falls forward, blood dripping from his nose as he flops to his back.
His pretty, perfect face is covered in rivulets of red.
Most fighters would back away, but I’m not most. You need to make sure they don’t get back up—a lesson I learned the hard way.
I slam my foot into his face and then step back as he covers his bleeding nose.
“Stay down,” I scoff, looking at him, but the idiot climbs back to his feet. He’s stubborn and stronger than I expected. I even hear the crowd muttering in respect.
Shrugging, I pivot and dance around the ring to avoid his wild, angry hits.
He’s not holding back now, which is good.
His teeth are stained with his blood, and his eyes are bright and furious.
He exudes power, even in a suit. He’s brutal, but I can’t let myself get distracted.
Using the ropes when I hit them, I launch myself at him, wrapping my legs around his neck and spinning us so he hits the mat.
Keeping my legs tight, I choke him out, even as he slaps me and rolls us, lifting me into the air and slamming me back onto the mat.
The blow loosens my legs, and he launches at me, but I drive my fist into his face, and he falls back with a groan as I climb to my feet above him.
“Are you stupid?” I ask as I crouch in front of him as he coughs, spitting blood into the ring.
“No, just determined,” he replies as he lifts his head and eyes me. “I’d do anything for my brother, and right now, we need you.”
Grudging respect and understanding fill me. I’d also do anything for my sister.
“Go home before you get yourself killed,” I tell him softly. “This isn’t the place for you.”
“No, but it is for you, and we need you.” He climbs to his feet once more, lifting his fists.
Sighing, I stand and shrug. “Okay.”
This time, I don’t hold back, and neither does he.
He dives at me with a viciousness born from training and survival, but he’s not as fast as I am.
No matter how much he has trained, there is a difference.
I had to adapt to survive, while he did it for protection, and that means I always fight to win because losing meant pain or death.
I always fight dirtier and faster because I had to.
I learned the hard way how to win and what happened if I lost. Most fighters spend their lives in gyms, trying to learn what I have, but I would give it all up if I could forget the memories.
It serves me well now, though, as I weave under a jab that would have rendered anyone else unconscious.
His eyebrow splits as I drive my fist up, and when he jerks back, I bring my knee up into his stomach.
Neo bends over, and I ram his face into it before spinning behind him, where I wrap my arms around his throat and jerk him back to the floor.
I go down with him as I wrap my arms and legs around him.
He wheezes in my grip, slapping me and the mat, twisting his body to try and get free.
Once he realizes he can’t break it, he does the only thing he can—he rolls us and lifts, slamming me down until I release him, and then his fists come for me.
I roll out of the way, flipping to my feet and meeting him head-on again.
His reach is longer than mine, so I need to get under his guard, which isn’t hard.
He’s blinking a lot since blood drips into his eyes, and I duck under it and kick out, my foot connecting with his face, causing him to spin and hit the ropes.
Yet again, he gets back up, spitting his blood over the side before turning to face me.
He has the same look in his eyes I used to have in mine when I fought—desperation.
He will do whatever it takes to win this because he feels like he has to.
My respect for him only grows. I thought the Sais were posh, rich boys playing gangsters, but his eyes tell me differently. I know they love their family, since I’ve learned enough about them, but being willing to die in this ring for Kane? That surprises me.
Besides, what he doesn’t know is that I’m involved in this now too.
I should walk away, but I’ve built a life here.
A family and a community.
I’m not leaving it now, so I’m going to strike first.
I consider their offer, but the truth is, it gives me a chance to go after Butcher. I would get what I’ve always wanted with their help, which means I might just be able to handle it without dying.
Butcher is the reason I am who I am. He’s the reason I became Karma.
We spar back and forth, getting more and more brutal until Neo’s panting and dripping in blood, but I’m slowing as well. After all, I can’t make this too easy.
He throws wild jabs at me, driving me back into the ropes, his teeth clenched and coated in blood.
His fist comes at me again.
At the last second, I move my face ever so slightly so it’s in the path of his swing. No one else would ever notice I did it, but it’s the excuse I need as his punch lands, marking him as the winner.
My head swings around, and everyone freezes, falling silent. Poking my aching jaw, I turn back to see his wide eyes. Licking my teeth, I glance from him to his brother. “I guess that means you win.”
Nodding at him, I duck out of the ring, ignoring the shock and confusion, and slip my shirt and coat on as I nod at Reacher. “See you later, old man.” I don’t look too closely. Seeing his knowing smirk already has my hackles up.
Outside of the gym, Zayn and Neo catch up with me. Their guards surround me, with more waiting at a blacked out SUV, and I stop.
“So you’re going to help us?” Zayn asks, sounding confused.
“A deal is a deal. I’ll help you find your brother,” I reply.
“You agreed to it easily,” Neo states, watching me as he shoves a handkerchief into his nose, making his voice muffled. I wonder if anyone has ever landed as many hits on one of the Sai brothers before. “Why?”
I run my eyes over him, letting my smirk grow.
“You call that easy? You got your ass kicked.” His brother chuckles as Neo’s eyes narrow, and I roll my own.
“Let’s just say we have a mutual interest,” I admit as I look from him to his brother.
“Let’s do this, shall we?” I spin on my heel and walk away, letting them choose to follow me.
Climbing on my bike, I grab my helmet as I look at them. “Keep up if you can.” I shove it on and take off, leaving them to scramble after me.