Chapter 16
CADE
The Pit
I hit the mat face-first.
Again.
The breath rips from my lungs, leaving me flat on the cold vinyl. My cheek burns, I’m drenched in sweat, my ribs are throbbing, and my arms feel like jelly. I close my eyes, trying to stop the room from spinning. For a second or two, I consider staying down.
“Get up.” Khoza’s deep voice slices through the haze as his frame shadows my entire body.
So much for that.
I push myself up slowly. “This isn’t working,” I groan. “We’ve been at it for over an hour.”
Khoza just stares at me, circling again like a vulture around fresh roadkill.
“I’m not a fighter,” I snap.
“No,” he says with a tilt of his head. “Not yet.”
Khoza jabs fast. His knuckles catch my shoulder and I stumble back with a grunt. Another swing, but I duck just in time, my heart hamering against my ribcage.
“See? You’re learning,” he says, his voice flat. “A little.”
I glare up at him. “How the hell is any of this supposed to help?”
“You need to be ready for anything,” he says, stepping forward.
He jabs again, connecting with my jaw. My head snaps back. A white-hot pain flashes for a moment as I fall hard into the ropes.
“You’re too soft, man,” he growls, stepping back to bounce on the balls of his feet. “Lex would never—”
“I’m not Lex!” I yell as I stagger to my feet.
“No shit.” He smirks. “That bastard would’ve given me a solid klap to the nose by now.”
“I’m not trying to be him.”
“I’m not asking you to. Be you, but stronger. Harder. Meaner, if you must.” He closes this distance again, his shadow looming over me. “You won’t stand a chance against Luca if you can’t take a klap, my bru.”
“Klap?” I ask as I breathlessly try to reset.
“Punch, hit, smack to the face.” He scoffs and raises his chin. “Whatever you Americans call it.”
I square up again, hands curling into fists. Khoza lands another punch, this time straight to my ribs. I stumble back. Every single breath of mine now laced with fire.
“Again,” he says, fists still up. “You’re not done.”
I grit my teeth, blood pounding in my ears. I swing a wide right. Khoza dips and cuts my legs out from underneath me. The sound of my spine slamming into the mat echoes throughout The Pit.
“Damn. That was embarrassing,” a low drawl echoes from ringside. “You done being his punchin’ bag yet?”
Just fucking perfect.
Caleb Briggs stalks up the stairs and steps into the ring.
Wranglers, snakeskin Ariats, black v-neck hugging his muscular frame, with a battered and scuffed up dark-brown leather jacket slung over his shoulders like he just came off the set of Yellowstone.
The cherry on top is a black Stetson sitting low over his eyes, shadowing the smirk that is for sure playing on his face right now.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, wiping the beads of sweat off my chin.
He tips his hat slightly. “Thought I’d stop in and check on y’alls progress. See if ya needed help.”
“We’ve got it handled,” I snarl, motioning to Khoza. “You can leave now.”
“From what I just saw,” he says, his annoying grin widening. He glances at me, then over at Khoza. “I think you can use all the help you can get.”
Khoza snorts, stepping back and leaning on the ropes fully on board with whatever chaos this Clint Eastwood wannabe is about to unleash.
Briggs sets his hat down on the edge of the mat and removes his jacket.
“I’ve got it from here, Koz,” Briggs says with a quiet authority. “Take a break.”
Khoza doesn’t argue with him. He just grunts and steps out of the ring, each footfall sending a ripple through the floor beneath me.
“Square up,” Briggs says.
I do, reluctantly.
He taps my back foot with the tip of his boot. “You’re leanin’ too far forward. If you lose your base, you lose the fight. Power don’t start in your arms, it starts in the dirt. Most of your control…” He slaps my thigh with the back of his hand. “…is in your legs.”
I adjust.
“Hands up, chin down, and elbows tighter. And for the love of God stop swinging around like you’re holding a fuckin’ paintbrush.”
I glare at him. “Funny.”
“I thought so.” He shrugs. “Now hit me. We both know you know you’ve been dyin’ to.”
I throw a wild right. He dodges it easily, grabs my wrist, and glides it back.
Briggs nods. “Better. Now do it again, but keep an eye on your feet.”
I square back up and throw a few more at him. He keeps his fists up and stays quiet while he lets me find my rhythm, adjusting my feet and correcting my form when I need it. Which is all the damn time.
We go again.
And again.
And again.
Until my arms shake but my form refuses to crumble. Until I’m not just swinging anymore, but actually hitting and connecting.
When I finally drop my arms, he tosses me a towel.
“Not bad,” he says.
“Thanks,” I gasp, sweat pouring down my back. “Hate to admit it, but you’re a good teacher.”
Briggs laughs. “Thanks,” he says, leaning down to pick up his hat. He brushes it off before putting it on.
There’s a few awkward moments of silence before he speaks again.
“Look, about your sister, I’m sorry we kept it from y’all. Ellie just—”
“I know,” I cut in. “Haley told me. And I’m sorry too. I’ve been an ass to you.”
“Nah, don’t worry ‘bout it,” he says, pulling an arm through his leather jacket. “With everything you guys have been going through, being a dick to me is the least of your worries.”
I huff a laugh as we both sit down, our feet dangling off the mat.
“So,” I say, side-eying him. “Haley mentioned some things.”
“Yeah?”
“She said after the Masquerade the way you comforted Ellie.” I sigh. “You really love her don’t you?”
“I’ve never loved nothing more.”
I want to tease him and jab at him a little. Maybe call him out for falling in love with someone as crazy as my sister. But before I can open my mouth, his phone rings.
“Hey darlin’,” he says. “Yeah, I know. I’m on my way.”
I hear Ellie’s high-pitched voice on the other end, but I can’t quite make out what she’s saying.
“Alright. Love you too.” He hangs up. “Look, I’ve got to get,” he says, pocketing his phone. “If I’m late to Ashmoor your sister’ll have my balls.”
“She wears the pants in this relationship, huh?” I tease.
“You have no idea,” he says, boots hitting the ground as he pushes off the mat. “Catch ya later.”
“Later,” I say.
I pull my phone out of my bag. Two missed calls, both from Ellie. Seven unread text messages, also from Ellie.
ELLIE: Do you think you and Lex are going to make it today? Haley and I could really use you there.
ELLIE: So… Haley was just texting Khoza and he told her something very interesting about you and Caleb!
ELLIE: Why is my boyfriend with you???
ELLIE: And why are you at The Pit?
ELLIE: I just tried to call you.
ELLIE: Why aren’t you answering your phone?
ELLIE: CADE!
“Wow, El,” I laugh as I dial.
Ring. Ring.
Ring. Ring.
“Hey, babe,” Lex answers.
“Hey.”
“How was it?”
“Brutal,” I admit, wincing from barely touching the side of my jaw. “I don’t know how you and Rez do this shit for fun.”
“Not sure about Rez, but I do it,” he says, the grin in his voice audible, “so you have to take care of me when I get home.”
“Sounds about right. What are you doing?”
“I was getting ready to drive up to The Pit to see how it was going.”
“Don’t bother,” I say, heading for the exit. “We’re all finished. Meet me at Ashmoor instead.”
“Why the fuck are we going there?” he asks, his voice tight.
“Because of something Sabine said the other day,” I answer, groaning a little as I stretch out my back.
“What’s that?”
“Remember when she was talking about the Black Books not being coerced into helping us find Bella?”
“Yeah,” he responds.
“She said that they’d all help us anyway, because that’s what family does for each other.”
“Your point, Cade?” he asks, not even trying to hide the annoyance in his voice.
“Lex,” I say softly, the sun hitting my face as I push open the door. “The Trifecta is our family too. We need to be there. For Ellie. Haley. Hell, even for Javi and Rico.”
There’s a long beat of silence before he sighs. “I’ll meet you there.”