21. Thorn
CHAPTER 21
THORN
“She’s got brass balls, I’ll give her that.”
Smirking at Soul’s assessment, I don’t take my eyes off Delaney, who’s in the ring with Mark. She’s already taken on Knuckles, Abyss, and Spike, and she’s still going. Oh, and let’s not forget the two minutes she spent in the ring with Grim. Sure, she ended up on her ass, but she’s over a foot shorter and a hundred pounds lighter than the big man, and she got right back up. I’m impressed but not ready to cave on using her as bait.
“I can assure you, she’s got no balls betwe?—”
“Gonna stop you right there, brother,” Soul says with a chuckle.
“You know what she’s trying to do, right?” I ask, shifting the conversation.
“Doesn’t take a genius to figure it out.” Soul smacks my back. “And you made it very clear when you demanded we all come to the gym.”
I dart my gaze to my president and scowl. “We’re not using her as bait for a serial killer.”
“Seems like she can handle herself.”
“Yeah, here, in a controlled setting,” I snap. “Out there in the real world, it’s different.”
Soul narrows his eyes and tilts his head thoughtfully. “Is this about Delaney or Tamara?”
My body tenses. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I’m just wondering if you’re trying to make up for the past when the future is right in front of you.”
Before I can formulate a response, my name is shouted from the ring, and I look at Delaney.
“Your turn,” she says with a grin.
“You wanna fight me ?” I ask incredulously.
“Chick doesn’t fight fair, Thorn,” Mark mutters as he strides past me and Soul toward the showers, his hands cupping his junk. “Watch your back with that one.”
“I fight to win, prospect,” Delaney says proudly. “Not to be fair.”
Pride swells at the way she easily and effortlessly puts Mark in his place. I try to remind myself that I don’t have the right to be proud of her, but no part of me gets the memo.
I walk to the ring and roll under the bottom rope. Hopping to my feet, I move closer to her.
“You sure about this?” I ask.
Delaney arches a brow. “Are you?”
“Bring it on, sweetheart.”
To start, I throw a left hook, knowing she’ll quickly deflect it based on how I’ve seen her fight all morning. What I don’t count on is the commotion coming from the entrance when the ol’ ladies come barreling through the door. Delaney spins around with a roundhouse kick, which she lands on my chest, and I stumble back more than I care to admit.
“Fuck,” I grit, rubbing my pecs.
“Damn, she got you good,” Jez calls.
I turn to glare at the women. “Only because you distrac?—”
My legs go out from under me as Delaney sweeps her leg around to knock me down. My ass hits the mat, and I bounce a little.
“What the hell?” I demand, glaring up at her.
“I’m not gonna take it easy on you just because we fucked,” she sasses, but then her cheeks turn a bright pink, and I can’t stop my laughter.
“Well, I guess Delaney’s officially family,” Cece says matter-of-factly.
Delaney covers her face with her hands and drops to her knees in the ring. I move closer to her and lower her hands.
“If you’re gonna be hangin’ around all of us, you’re gonna have to get used to people knowing your business.”
Delaney levels her gaze on mine as she takes a deep breath. “I can’t believe I blurted that out for all of them to hear.”
“Honey, forget about it,” Skye calls. “We sure as shit don’t care who you’re banging.”
“Oh, God,” Delaney mumbles.
“Why don’t we get back to the show?” Mel says, stepping up to the ring. “I, for one, would really like to see Delaney kick some ass.”
I stand and turn in a circle to take in everyone. “Any takers?”
“You’re done already, Thorn?” Jacob asks with a laugh.
“Watch it, prospect,” I snap. “‘Cause you’re next.”
“Aw, hell,” Jacob mutters as he enters the ring.
Delaney rises to her feet. “Wait a sec,” she says. “That’s it? Y’all are just gonna forget what I said?”
“Do you want to talk about it?” Cece asks.
“Well… no.”
“Then let us watch you take Jacob down,” Apple says with a hint of pleading in her tone.
“What did I ever do to you?” Jacob asks, spinning around to face Apple.
Malice’s ol’ lady shrugs. “Nothing.”
I glance at Delaney. “You ready, sweetheart?”
She stiffens her shoulders and shakes her arms as if to rid herself of the past few minutes of embarrassment. “Always.”
Two minutes later, I’m standing outside the ring, and the two of them are squaring off. Jacob bounces on the balls of his feet, and Delaney watches his every move. When Jacob throws a right hook, she dodges the contact before throwing several punches of her own, none of them landing.
“C’mon, you can do better than that,” Jacob taunts.
“Pretty sure you can’t handle a better version of me,” Delaney counters.
“Give him all you got,” Skye yells, and the rest of the women cheer her on.
“Kick him in the nutsack!” Violet shouts.
Delaney turns to look at Violet at the same time Jacob throws a right hook, hitting his distracted target.