Chapter 8
BOLT
I head for the locker room with Diesel and change as he waits for me in the gym. We go through a few strategies, he tapes me up, and it hits me.
“Shit!” I pat the pockets of my gym shorts.
“What’s the matter?” Diesel asks.
“I don’t have the necklace. I left it in my apartment.”
The women hustled me out so fast, I forgot it, then Nicoletta in that halter top clouded any thought.
“One night ain’t gonna matter.” Diesel runs the tape over my knuckles.
The one and only thing I have of my mother’s is her St. Christopher medal. I cherish it, convinced it has unseen powers. Fuckin’ crazy, but I also haven’t lost a fight if I have it on me.
“I’m undefeated, and it’s because of the necklace.” I motion to the door. “I got about a half hour before I’m up. You gotta go get it.”
She gave it to me when I was a kid, and now I keep it in my pocket whenever I fight.
“Ahhh, fuck.” Diesel shakes his head. “Where is it?”
“It’s in the bottom drawer of the dresser in my bedroom.”
“You sure? I’ve seen your room. It’s a fuckin’ pigsty.”
“Don’t be a wiseass, just get it for me.”
“All right.”
Diesel heads for the door, and I do a few light drills. Nothing to wear me out, just enough to keep loose.
Twenty minutes later, Diesel’s coming through the gym door.
“You find it?” I ask.
“Yeah.” He holds it out to me, his face stone-cold.
“What the fuck is the matter? Going through my bedroom couldn’t have been that bad. Especially since Nicoletta’s been straightening up for me.”
“Really?” His face twists into a sneer. “Anything else she’s been doing in that room?”
“Yeah, we’ve been fuckin’ each other stupid in that room. Not that’s it’s any of your damn business.”
“I’ll bet, perfect setup.”
“You got something to say, just spit it out.”
“Found something besides the necklace in your dresser drawer.” Diesel reaches into his cut and pulls out something wrapped in a paper towel. He slowly unfolds it, and I’m staring at a long, sharp kitchen knife.
“What the fuck is that?” I ask.
“You tell me. It was wedged way back in your bottom drawer.”
I take the knife from his hand and look it over. “Never saw it before.”
“It’s not yours?”
“Why the fuck would I be hiding a kitchen knife in the back of my drawer?”
“Funny, I wondered the same thing.”
I flip the knife from side to side. “I don’t know where it came from.”
“I was afraid you were gonna say that.”
Diesel locks eyes with me, his meaning clear.
“You think—Nicoletta?”
“I sure the fuck do.”
“Nah,” I shake my head, “I don’t believe it.”
“What’s not to believe? She picks you out, two weeks ago, sets you up to protect her, then plants the murder weapon on you.” Diesel cocks his head. “If it wasn’t so fucked up, I’d be impressed. She played you from day one.”
“Nah, nah, there’s gotta be more to it.”
“Sure there is. The more to it is her showing up scared, and five seconds later, bullets are flying overhead. Then her playing along with us the other night. Acting like she’s gonna take part in shutting down her father and the rest of those pervs, when it’s really the other way around.”
There’s no way I let another woman get over on me.
“Hey, Bolt,” one of the prospects calls out from the front of the gym. “You’re up in two.”
I shove the necklace into my pocket and put the knife between my clothes in the locker.
“Smoke’s gotta know about this.” Diesel nods to my locker.
“He was the one who told me not to let her out of my sight, right?”
“I don’t think Smoke meant that to include you getting roped into her bullshit.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Deny. Deny. Deny.
“I’ve seen how close the two of you are getting. Everybody sees it.”
“You’re crazy.” My heart amps up.
“Am I? I saw you and her in the alcove between the locker rooms. You gonna tell me you weren’t giving her your dick?”
“Didn’t know you enjoyed watching so much.” I end the sentence with a sneer.
“Don’t put this back on me. If you were getting that hot in the locker room, then you’re definitely getting between her thighs when you’re alone in your apartment.”
“Sounds like you got it all figured out. What are you gonna do now, run to Smoke?”
“Nah, fucker, this ain’t my story to tell, but you better get your head straight and come clean with all this shit, or it’s gonna explode in your face.”
I push at his shoulder. “And maybe you should stay the fuck outta my business.”
Diesel’s eyes narrow, and we both know if we throw down, it would ruin my chances in the cage.
“Hey, Bolt,” the prospect yells again. “C’mon, you’re up. The fuckin’ crowd is goin’ wild.”
I move toward the door, and Diesel holds me back. “You gotta tell him.”
I pull out of his grasp, push through the door, and two prospects flank me on each side. The crowd shouting and cheering my name amps me up.
“Fuck this guy up, Bolt.”
The prospects make a path for me, pushing people back.
“You’re a fuckin’ winner, man.”
“I gotta lot of fuckin’ money on you tonight.”
By the time I get to the three metal stairs leading to the cage, they’re chanting my name louder. Fuckin’ unbelievable feeling. All the trauma, all the doubts fade away in a cloud of euphoria.
The cage door bangs open, and I stomp onto the mat as the ref announces me and my opponent. I already know this guy doesn’t stand a chance because I got the skill, and now I got a shit-ton of anger to go along with it.
I pick out Smoke and Blood in the bleachers, then my gaze drifts to Nicoletta. Her beautiful face is beaming up at me, but it don’t mean shit. I sneer down at her, hoping she knows it’s for her, ‘cause there’s no fuckin’ way I’m letting another woman play me.
The ref blows the whistle, and I pounce. Body shots, ribs, gut, then a sharp uppercut. My opponent stumbles backwards but stays vertical, and the crowd howls for more. I charge, smashing his back into the jagged wire of the cage, pummeling him with all my anger, frustration and . . . pain.
What a fool I was to think this time was different. This woman was different.
I deliver one more crushing blow to the guy’s face, and he sinks to his knees, then flat out on the mat. The ref shuffles over, counts to ten, and I’m declared the winner—in the cage.
I raise my fists high over my head, drinking in the crowd’s adoration.
I watch my brothers fist-bump each other as they pull in money from the take, and it all becomes clear.
I’m a fighter. It’s what I’m good at, and anything deeper in life is too damn hard, so from now on it’s faceless, nameless sex. Nothing more, nothing less.
I bound down the stairs, and I’m greeted with backslaps, high-fives and Gina whipping off her skimpy top and shaking her tits in my face.
I smile down at her black-rimmed eyes, grab her ass and hoist her up, and when she wraps her thick thighs around my waist, I lean in and suck one of her bare nipples into my greedy mouth.
She squeals in delight as the guys around us egg me on.
“C’mon, Bolt, fuck her right here!”
“You gonna share some of that sweet pussy?”
“Just what you need after a fight. A hot cunt to keep you warm.”
I keep Gina wrapped around me as I head to the gym. Past the cheering bystanders, past the other Bastards, and past Nicoletta with her eyes wide and her lips set in a firm, thin line.
I bang through the gym door and set Gina on her feet. Show’s over.
Her hand immediately finds my crotch, and she squeezes me hard, beaming up at me. “I knew you’d want a piece of me sooner or later.”
How fuckin’ sad is that? Gina’s even worse off than me.
Two seconds later, her hand is inside my silks, rubbing the life outta my half-hard dick.
“Let’s fuck right here, baby.” She pushes at her skimpy shorts, and I realize my mistake. Revenge might be sweet, but—
I still her hands. “Stop.”
“What?” She twists her face into a frown.
“I said, stop. This ain’t happening.”
I let my anger over Nicoletta’s betrayal play with my mind.
“What do you mean, it ain’t happening? You just had a mouthful of my fuckin’ tits for all to see.”
“That was a mistake.”
“A mistake?” She pushes her shorts to the floor, thrusts her ample hips forward, then cups her enormous breasts. “You know I got guys beggin’ me to let them come on my tits. Fuck, last week, I sucked one of the prospects off while the other one fucked my ass.”
“I don’t think that’s the sales pitch you want it to be.” I take two large steps away from her.
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean? Guys love to bust a nut in me.”
“Just forget it.”
She tugs up her shorts. “Sure, if that’s the way you want it. Don’t worry, I already forgot about you, ‘cause you’re nothing but a limp dick.”
“Time for you to go, Gina.” I turn my back to her and head for the locker room.
“You know what, Bolt?” she screams at my back. “You’re nothing but a fuckin’ asshole, and don’t think you’re ever get gonna get to see my snatch again ‘cause . . .”
The locker room door closes behind me, and thankfully, I can’t hear Gina’s screeching voice anymore.
I quickly shower and dress. Then I stick the knife into the inside pocket of my cut and head back to the cage. When I get close to the bleachers, Smoke and Blood greet me with back slaps and congratulations.
I play along as the big winner, then reach down and grab Nicoletta’s wrist. I drag her to her feet, then pull her behind me. When we get far enough away from the bleachers and the pounding noise, I spin her around and pin her shoulders against the brick wall of the gym.
I reach into my cut and pull out the knife. The lights shimmer off the long, thin blade. “Wanna tell me where this came from?”