47. The Win
The Win
Eli
I wipe my face on a towel and claim my kiss from Harper.
She leans into it, always wanting more. Her vanilla scent rises from her, flooding my senses.
My cock twitches in anticipation. I can’t wait for tonight.
Having her spread out before me. I’d leave right now to get us started, but this challenge intrigues me.
Does Nick Miller have a beef with me?
That’s what these fights are for. A controlled atmosphere to let out your rage. Without having to get in trouble at school or in public. Most people don’t challenge horsemen though.
“Do you know what this is about?” Caden stands next to me with his shirt on and his arms crossed. The other fighters take the center stage. Brewster’s got size, but Adams isn’t a slouch.
They laugh as they talk shit while trying to clock each other.
“Nick Miller? No.” I draw in a breath.
Jack still stands next to the basketball guys, talking. He may know something, but it isn’t enough to come over and warn me.
Maybe Nick just needs to let off steam, and I’m a convenient target. Maybe he just wants someone to fuck him up, which I’m also willing to do.
“Did you fuck his girl?” Caden asks.
Harper arches an eyebrow. She’s still avoiding watching the fight, but not as much as when Luke and Caden fought. I wasn’t focused on her when I fought Luke, because she will always be our distraction and I didn’t want to lose like Caden.
“Before you, little nympho.” Caden chuckles. He likes when she gets possessive.
“Who’s his girl?” I haven’t been paying attention to the dynamics at school. Relationships aren’t something that land on my radar, especially as fleeting as most are in high school.
“Maggie Carter.” Caden flinches as Brewster aims a little too low. Adams crumples into himself.
“From what I heard, she lost her V-card at band camp.” Harper looks up at me. “At the beginning of the year, I kind of wished I’d joined band.”
I chuckle. “Aren’t you glad you didn’t, kitten?”
She shrugs, but this little smile tips her lips up. The way we started was unusual. Fuck, the way we are is unusual. But I wouldn’t want it any other way.
Luke strolls back with a few bottles of beer and passes them out to Caden and Nico before handing the last one to Harper.
She takes it and looks at it like she doesn’t know what to do with it.
Luke lifts her into the air. She makes a little noise, but then Luke sits in her chair and settles her on his lap.
When he takes his beer and drinks some, Harper shakes her head, but then curls up on him. She’s good for all of us, but Luke needs her softness more than most of us. Besides, they make a stunning pair.
“Dude, I’m done.” Brewster holds his hands up in the air with a smile.
“Yeah, it doesn’t take much for Brewster to finish.” Caden smirks down at Harper, who flushes pink. Luke chuckles low.
It’s almost my turn to fight again. I clench my hands and release them. My side aches, but once I get out there, I won’t feel anything until it’s over. If Nick is looking to get fucked up, then I’ll give him what he wants.
He can stand in for Zach Gray and his henchmen. If I could put them down and get away with it, I would. But I’m not planning on going to prison anytime soon, and definitely not for a guy like Gray. He may be hard to take down, but he’s not untouchable.
Jack finishes showing off Adams and proclaiming to the raucous crowd his victory before he looks to me. I stride out onto the field as Nick walks to meet us.
“No face hits or crotch shots or it’s an automatic disqualification.” Jack smiles. “And everyone will know you’re a pansy.”
Nick nods and his eyes meet mine. I want to get into this guy’s head and figure out what this is about. Jack circles us.
“Are you ready for another fight against a horseman?” Jack yells.
The crowd roars. The bets are going crazy. But I focus on Nick Miller.
“A challenge has been issued. The challenge will be met.” Jack meets my eyes. He nods slightly. Whatever they are after, it’s not our girl as far as he can tell. Otherwise, he’d tell me to tear this bastard apart with a shake of his head.
Jack steps away and yells, “Fight!”
I don’t move. I stand there and wait to see what Nick will do. “What’s up, Nick?”
He moves in with a punch that I sidestep to dodge. It’s a warning shot. He has to know how I fight by now. This is my fourth fight of the night.
“I mean, I don’t have a beef with you in general.” Scratching my chin, I leave my other arm down by my side. “I might have a beef with some of your friends...”
He comes at me again. Faster. He’s still not saying anything. If I were Caden or Luke, I’d already be working to take this guy down. But I want to fulfill my curiosity.
“Maggie’s cute, but not my type.” I lift my hands as his eyes narrow. “I’ve seen your sister, but again, not really my type.”
When he comes back in, I execute a clinch, trapping his arms and bringing him in close.
“So what is it, Nick? Is this about Zach Gray?” I need to know. I need him to talk.
“No, man.” Nick doesn’t try to break the clinch. “But we need help.”
Jack comes over. “Break it up, guys. This isn’t snuggle time.”
We back away from each other. Help? I glance over at the other basketball players who came with him. Drake Perkins and Eric Hutchins watch us. I don’t know what trouble they could be in, but Eric is a twin. His brother Adam was one of the guys with Zach tonight.
I doubt Zach was nice enough to bail out his minions.
I move in close and hit him in a soft spot on the side. The crowd yells, covering for me when I ask, “What do you need help with?”
“Your father can help Adam.” Nick narrows his eyes.
I laugh. “Why would I help get the guy off who terrorized my girl?”
“Because I know why Zach is going after her.” He glances around like he’s paranoid someone can hear us, but the roar of the crowd is too great.
I bounce back and check out the people surrounding us. We know someone is a mole on the football team. And that our fathers have listening devices to spy on us. But right now, it’s just Nick and me out in this field.
“How do I know what you’ll tell me is the truth?” It wouldn’t be the first time someone told us something for a favor, and what they told us wasn’t true.
Nick comes in and puts me into a clinch. His eyes search mine. “That asshole Gray has half of our players hooked on his drugs and selling them. I want out of this fucked up town. He could fuck up my free ride to Crowne Mawr.”
We release each other before Jack can break us apart. Nick comes in to hit me again, but this time, he talks.
“Luke fucked my little sister.” He lands a punch on my side.
I counter with a fist to his stomach. “What does that have to do with this?”
“Gray’s fucking psycho when it comes to my sister.” Nick feints to the left to avoid my fist, but I get him with my right. “I didn’t realize it until she came to me and showed me the texts. He fucking frightens her.”
“You want us to take care of him because of your scholarship and your sister?” There have been weaker reasons for what we’ve done in the past.
“He thought she’d be his.” Nick shakes his head and steps back to rest for a moment.
“He wanted her to be his. After Luke finished with her, Zach came after her, sneaking into her room in the middle of the night. She woke up to him there once but didn’t want me to get my parents involved. Because of who his parents are.”
Nick hits me in the side again and I let out a breath.
“He’s going to make the other two take the blame for the lights. He’s going to come after your girl because Luke took his away from him.”
Fuck. I pause for a second and study him. “This isn’t all about the girl.”
Nick shakes his head and holds his left arm against his body. “Tanner.”
I fucking hate that name. “How’s he involved?”
“He’s the one who whispered in Zach’s ear to take your girl before you could.”
I close in and Nick dances back.
“Tanner wants you to pay for what you did to him.”
Not everyone knows the whole story. Maybe a few friends of Ava’s, but we kept her out of it intentionally. We didn’t need to punish her more than she’d already been punished.
“We had our reasons,” I grumble as I make contact with his open side.
He blows out air. “Everyone knows that too. I need Zach out of my school and away from my team and my sister. I need my friends to get the help they need to get out of this shit he’s gotten them into. The drugs. The jail time. There’s only one group that can make that happen.”
Our eyes meet. I give him a subtle nod before going for the side he’s protecting. Fuck Zach Gray. Nick goes down and I stop to look at him. My mind spins with possibilities. This is our time to make things right.
I hold my hand out to help Nick stand. When he’s on his feet, I lean in. “We’ll do what we can, but we might need help.”
He nods. “Whatever we can do without becoming targets.”
Jack strolls over and lifts my arm in the air. “The undefeated winner of the night!”
The crowd goes wild, but I’m done here.
I turn to look at Harper. She’s watching me with those brown eyes. I’d hoped the fights would take care of this dark need inside me, but they haven’t. She straightens a little like she knows what I’m looking for in her.
I don’t believe for one second that Zach and Sidney’s plans have changed for tomorrow. Whatever they have planned, I want Harper ready for it. Because, if I have to, I’ll kill Zach Gray to make a point.