Chapter 7
Luke
T he whole day and night had been nonstop with shit to do. I handled pressure well, and at the end of any day, there were highlights and lows that kept my life balanced.
The shittiest thing that aggravated me was Jimmy not bothering to show up at my fight. He said he’d be there, but I didn’t spot him in the crowds. I didn’t need him there for support. My opponent was an easy one to defeat, someone I’d fought before with equal measures of success. I wasn’t a clingy man to lean on my sponsor for a good performance. I had been expecting him, though. I was sick of doing the same old. My potential to make so much more money just sat there, untouched and unused.
As soon as my fight was over, he had the decency to text me, though.
Jimmy: Something came up.
I grunted a laugh at the screen as I checked my phone on the walk home. After seeing Emma up there on the balcony, I wondered why she was up so late. Mild curiosity ate at me. Did she stay at the club? Did she try to bring someone home to the condo?
It wasn’t my business. She was just a wealthy, smartass guest. I shoved her to the back of my mind as I considered Jimmy’s second text.
Jimmy: I’ll meet you at the corner.
I knew which corner. It was where we always met, near a small park space with lots of trees that offered shadows. Backed by a tall building, it was a secretive yet open spot near the apartment I shared my Mom.
I debated showing up though. If he didn’t have the courtesy to come when he said he would, why should I do as he expected?
I had half a mind to tell him to fuck off. That I didn’t need his representation or management when he didn’t show up at fights and refused to advance me in matches.
I can strike out better on my own.
Something nagged at me though, and I headed his way. At least to hear him out. To ask why he was such a fair-weather rep.
“I hear the fight went well,” he said as I approached.
He stood there in the darkness, his lean figure a sharp cut of an outline against the grayness of the brick building he leaned against. I never knew too much about him—where he came from, what his business was. The first time I met him on the streets was when I was a teen. At that initial encounter, I was impressed with his knowledge about fighting and his willingness to train me with what he knew. The only reason he claimed to come up to me was because he saw me dealing with a little bit of violence on the streets, in defense, and he took it upon himself to groom me into one of his fighters.
I’d never met the others. The world of fight rings consisted of a web of connections no one ever tried to label too well. We all moved around, meeting at new sites, never calling out others in real life. It was a second identity, one all of us—fighters, managers, sponsors, and coordinators—kept on the downlow.
Tall, built, and with craggy facial features that hinted at his low patience, Jimmy eyed me seriously. The guy never cracked a smile. He seldom laughed, and if and when he did, it was a reaction to a dark brand of humor.
I smirked as I walked closer.
“I knew you’d win.”
I leaned against the wall next to him. “Why wouldn’t I? I bet Ramirez three times before this.” Rolling the back of my head on the bricks, I studied him smoking a cigarette. “I guess you wouldn’t bother to come watch. No one cares about reruns.”
“I knew you’d win because you’re a good fighter.”
Irritation flared within me. I turned, wedging my shoulder against the wall as I faced him. “Then why do you set up me with his shitty matches like Ramirez? Why do you want me to stick with fighting low-key, weak amateurs?”
He didn’t reply, narrowing his eyes as he watched the smoke rise from his exhale.
“I’m in this shit to make money, Jimmy. Not to fool around. This isn’t a damn hobby.” He knew this. He’d always been aware of my motivation to fight—for the paycheck. “Why train me for years if you don’t want me to be successful?”
“You’re not ready.”
I growled, knocking my fist back to the wall. “I’ve been ready.”
“You have to build up your rep. It’s not a sprint but a marathon.”
I scowled. “Spare me the pretty words. That’s bullshit. It’s not like I’m just starting out.”
He faced me with an unreadable expression. “You are, though. You’re not in the same leagues as the ones who’d bring in the payout you dream of.”
I crossed my arms. “That’s not true.” I wasn’t being cocky and trying to sound like someone I wasn’t. My record spoke for itself.
“Besides, the level you’re participating at is safe.”
“Fuck safe , man.”
“You’re all Nina has,” he reminded me.
I pushed a heavy sigh out. I’d never understood the tie between Jimmy and my mom. They knew of each other, that was obvious. She mostly turned to look the other way when I came home from fights. Jimmy talked to her when I was younger, I guessed to explain that he’d take me under his wing, but that was it.
I didn’t need him to tell me that I was all my mother had. She was all the family I had in the world, and at this rate, it’d always be the two of us. Me trying to make money to keep her alive and her eking out a living in pain.
This feeling of being stuck in a rut ate away at me. I was convinced it didn’t need to be like this. If he agreed to one more damn fight, against a worthy opponent...
“How’s she doing?” he asked.
I bit back my frustration. “She’s doing as well as she can be.” It was no secret between us that she suffered with her health. I knew so little about Jimmy that I was clueless about his wealth, but I’d be damned if I accepted charity from him. We were poor. We were scraping at the bottom of the barrel, but I would work for what we deserved.
“You being good to her?” he asked.
“Oh, fuck this, man.” I pushed off the wall, not in the mood for his concerned-relative attitude. I appreciated that he was concerned about her, but if he really wanted to make a difference, he’d let me in a better level of fighting. “You know, Ben was talking to me after my match.”
Jimmy tipped his chin up as he dropped his cigarette. Crushing the butt with his shoe, he leveled me with a hard look.
Ben was one of the men who helped set up the fights. He wasn’t the top coordinator, but he was involved with the “administrative” angle. “He said I’d make a lot more if I was matched with someone sponsored by the families.”
“For fuck’s sake.” Jimmy growled, shaking his head. “No.”
“Give me a damn reason.”
“I have.”
I narrowed my eyes, refusing to back down. “A real one.”
“Those things take time. Even if you have a good track so far, fighting in those ranks is complicated. There’s a whole different consideration for politics and representation. My money passed. More egos to cater to.”
I rolled my eyes. He wasn’t going to change his stance. Not tonight. While he pissed me off with his decision, I tried to appease myself with the fact that Ben and I had exchanged numbers. I had a direct link to him, and if I had to, I’d go over Jimmy’s head and arrange something myself.
“I’ll text you when I’ve got something lined up for you,” he said.
I lifted my hand in a half-ass wave, already walking away. I was tired. I was hungry and irritated and not in the mood for him. Instead, I headed home to give up for the day.
Mom was still up, watching a documentary about the oceans. After I showered and grabbed some leftovers, I joined her in front of the TV. “What are you watching this for? The ocean’s right outside.”
She shrugged. “How was work?”
“Fine.”
“That’s it? Fine?”
I paused eating. “Oh, Randy and Alyssa are having another baby.”
“Already?” Her brows shot up as she smiled.
I chuckled. “Yeah. Already. So he’s hoping to work a lot to be ready for it.”
“He’s such a good father.” She smiled, glancing back at the TV for a moment. “I’ll have to start on another baby blanket soon then.”
I wasn’t sure how she could with her joint pain. Crocheting took a lot out of her, but it was a labor of love.
“I remember what a hellion he was—both of you.”
I grinned, thinking back to my rougher boyhood days on the streets with Randy.
“He’s settling down like such a well-rounded young man though.”
“I’m not sure thirty is young anymore.”
She shot me a look. “Ha. Wait ’til you’re my age.”
I resumed eating, looking forward to going to bed.
“I wish you could find some time to settle down a bit too.”
If I could fight higher than where I’m at, I’d have that time to do so, dammit.
“I’d need to find someone first.”
“A good girl.” She nodded. “You need to make time to find a nice, decent woman.”
It’d been a while since I had the free time to go out and look for someone to hook up with. Oddly, I didn’t feel like I was missing out at all. Casual sex helped pass the time, but if I had to choose between getting some pussy or having a few more hours to sleep and relax, I’d pick the latter.
Fuck, I am getting old. That mentality made me sound like an old geezer, worn down from working too much.
“What about that nice woman who moved in upstairs?”
I furrowed my brow. “The woman who’s married to the cop?”
“Oh.” She blinks. “I thought they were sisters.”
I shook my head.
“You work so much that you don’t give yourself a chance to meet anyone.”
Au contraire... I met a bold, feisty brunette today at work.
Emma was the only woman who came to mind. Since that incident in her condo, I struggled to force her out of my thoughts. It wasn’t so much that she had a fine body I’d like to worship and fuck hard. It was her instant antagonism, that immediate dislike just because we didn’t come from the same circles.
“It can’t be that hard. There’s got to be plenty of decent, nice, good girls around here. You just have to look . And meet them.”
Technically, Emma and I hadn’t met . I only knew her name because her friend said it. Otherwise, I never would’ve learned it. I was too far beneath Her Highness to warrant an introduction.
Besides, Emma was not the kind of dream daughter-in-law my mom was hoping for.
Emma didn’t look decent in that lacy, barely-there panties. She looked decadent. Sinful. She wasn’t a nice woman, either, sassing me back and glaring at me with such fire in her eyes. She seemed like a brat.
Emma would be nothing but trouble, and I knew better than trying to start something with a rich guest, a woman who’d never understand the life I had to fit into it.
She’d caught my attention. There was no denying that fact, but it didn’t erase the reality that she was off-limits.
I didn’t need to invite any more headaches in my life. I had enough trouble on my plate, and I wouldn’t be so stupid to go looking for more. I helped her out at the club, getting that prick away from her. I scolded her to be careful on the balcony, not that she’d listen anyway.
Next time—if there was another chance encounter with her—I’d mind my own business and stay out of her way.
My phone buzzed, and I glanced at it, glad for a distraction from thoughts about Emma.
Ben: It was nice talking with you tonight.
That was what I had to focus on. Getting better fights, making more money, and finding some damn stability. Only then could I worry about finding a nice, decent good girl.