Chapter 24 #2
“No,” he choked out. The look I was wearing was causing the exact effect I wanted it to.
Within seconds, I had my arms up, my head bobbing from side to side as I fended off his next outburst. He hit right, then left, then right again, relentlessly trying to knock me on my ass as he worked harder than he ever had before.
His face turned purple as he forgot to breathe, and as much as I wanted to remind him that I’d taken bigger beatings before breakfast while in prison, I knew he needed to think he was winning.
He needed to think he was better than me and more deserving of her.
I could grant him that for just a minute.
Pulling back, he danced on his toes, rolling his head from side to side as his nostrils flared and he struggled to pull in enough air through his gritted teeth.
My chest heaved as I struggled to catch enough oxygen of my own, and as he took a second to collect himself, I bent over and pushed my fists into my knees, glancing up at the men all around me that were looking at me as though I’d lost my goddamn mind.
Slater was the only one who closed his eyes and let his chin drop to his chest.
Straightening my back to stand taller, I puffed out my chest and let my head fall to the side. Kenny had gotten more hits to my face and body than any man on the outside had in years. He could count himself a hero already, but something about the look in his eyes told me he wasn’t quite there yet.
“Not bad,” I breathed out.
His face set to murderous. “I don’t need your motherfucking approval.”
“You need to work on your sly kidney punches though, brother. Bit sloppy.”
“Do not patronize me.”
“I’m not here to patronize you. I’m here to let you get a few things off your chest.”
“Fuck you, Drew,” he wheezed.
My lips curled at both edges as I stepped closer.
The throbbing in my face, my ear, my stomach and my chest was pretty intense, but it was my drug.
Despite how much I tried to convince myself that this wasn’t who I was, I couldn’t deny it.
I was all about the macho bullshit, as Ayda called it.
Nothing was ever going to change that. Not even domestic life.
“Admit you hate me,” I said quietly, dipping my head down to his level as the two of us struggled to speak through our heavy breaths.
“I hate you.”
“Because I’ve got what you want, right?”
He didn’t answer. Kenny’s eyes searched mine frantically. I would have felt sorry for him had the anger not been drowning all that shit out.
Standing up taller, I waited him out. It took all of three seconds for his own frustrations to boil over and for him to snap. He swung for me, my left arm rising in the air to block him one final time before I threw all my power and weight into my right fist and hit him square across the jaw.
Kenny stumbled back instantly, his face creasing up as he tried to find his feet and his fight, but I didn’t give him chance. Taking two steps forward, steps that felt like they shook the earth, I rolled my shoulders forward and hit him again. Right. Left. Right.
Then he was down. Falling to the side, his eyes rolled backwards as his head bounced off the floor and his body crumpled in on itself.
I stood over him, my fists down by my sides as I watched his arms come up to defend the yet to be broken bones of his face. Whatever he’d just suffered, he knew there was more to come. Someone beside me took a step into the circle, but quickly thought better of it before stepping back.
The silence lingered in the air again until I made my final move.
Leaning over him, I gripped the material of his T-shirt and yanked him forward. When I was close enough that I could practically eat the fucker, I stared into his scrunched up eyes and spoke.
“I’m not going to end you.”
Kenny blinked slowly, his mouth falling open as he stared at me helplessly.
“I didn’t want to have to fight you.”
His face fell into confusion, the swellings on the side of his jaw already turning an angry shade of red.
“This was all on you,” I said a little quieter.
A trickle of blood fell into my mouth and my tongue ran up to clear it away, not missing the cut in my top lip that he’d gifted me with. Kenny’s attention fell to all the marks on my face and when his shoulders sagged in my grip, it was clear it was all over. He didn’t have to say another word.
Pulling him to his feet, I stood him up on shaky legs, keeping a hold of his T-shirt until I knew for damn certain that he wasn’t going to pass out on me.
Collecting the blood in his mouth, he coughed and spat it on the floor beside us, the pain in his face obvious as he tried to roll out his jaw.
When he eventually looked up through heavy eyes, I stepped away and went to the side of the circle to collect his cut.
Travis handed it over without question, giving me a nod of respect as I turned back and walked over to my opponent.
Standing behind him, I slid it up both his arms while he just stood there looking dumbstruck, flinching when I slapped two hands on his shoulders before walking back to stand in front of him again. My eyes wandered to our patch on his leather and I let my thumb trace over it.
“Whether you hate me or not, don’t ever give me a reason to hit a brother or question his loyalty again.”
Then I walked out through a sea of bodies who all parted for me without anyone uttering a single fucking word.