Chapter 11 Ezra
Chapter Eleven
EZRA
I glance around the warehouse, waiting for Noah to jump out of whatever corner he’s lurking in.
He’s definitely heard the rumors about me being at the party the other night with Jade, and there’s no doubt in my mind that it’s going to send him over the edge.
Which is why I’m still hoping I can spin this in his favor.
Jade shuffles along behind me, her lips pressed together in a thin line. Her shoulders are drawn close to her ears like she’s worried about what’s going to happen.
Good.
She should be worried.
I’ll do all I can to protect you, love, but there are going to be times when even the monster inside me isn’t enough.
“Sit here.” I motion to a chair in the front row. “Keep your hood up and don’t bother with anyone. The last thing I need is Noah finding out you’re here.”
“Seems like if that were the case, then you wouldn’t do something stupid like bringing me to a Rinaldo party,” she mutters as she sits down, eyeing me like I’m an idiot.
And maybe I am, to some degree. Bringing her to that party was only the first step in planting the seed in Noah’s head that she could belong with us. That she might be willing to turn against her family for me.
It’ll be the revenge I need for the way her family took Zoe from me. She was my cousin. The only person in my family who didn’t make me feel like I was only good to them if I was winning fights or killing people.
She’s gone now, but I have Jade.
It’s a better trade than I hoped for, even though I’m still working out the finer details.
I crouch down in front of her, adjusting her hood to keep her hidden. “I know, but I have a plan for you. Being here isn’t part of the plan, but I’m choosing to trust that you’re not going to run away from me.”
Suspicion shines in her eyes, making it clear that she still doesn’t trust me.
Not that I blame her for that in the slightest. One night of sex doesn’t make up for kidnapping her. But in time, she’ll see things the way I do. She’ll see the future I have planned for us.
Unless Noah kills her first. Or worse. Tries to make me kill her.
I pull out some cuffs, clamping one around her ankle and the other to the chair that’s bolted into the ground. She’s not going anywhere during the fights.
After a moment of looking up at her, I stand. “This is for your own safety. Stay here and don’t draw any attention to yourself, and everything is going to be fine.”
“Somehow, I doubt that.” Her words are barely more than a whisper as I walk away, and I don’t have time to fight with her right now.
As much as I might enjoy being with her, there are other aspects of my life to deal with.
I head through the crowd, weaving past the people putting bets on whether or not I’m going to win the fight. It’s more than a little morbid to stand around and listen to the people threatening to beat the shit out of you because they can.
It makes you feel like you’re nothing more than a dog someone is fighting and hoping to win big on. Which, I guess, is exactly what I am to Noah.
To some degree.
I push my way into the back room of the warehouse where the other fighters are getting ready.
Tyson walks over and claps a hand on my shoulder. “It’s about damn time you show up.”
“Had some other things to take care of.”
He shuffles me to the side, leaning in close. “You weren’t stupid enough to bring her here, were you? Having her in the apartment is bad enough but bringing her here after the stunt at the party is going to be like pouring gasoline onto a wildfire.”
I sigh. Letting him know that Jade was in the apartment the other day when he came home was bad enough. I shouldn’t have told him. It would’ve been easier to take her back to the cabin instead of putting him in the middle of what could be a bad situation with Noah.
But I like having her close. Watching her sleep in my bed, her hair fanning across the pillows, her long legs sprawling out.
Tyson shakes his head and takes a step back. “You’re going to get both of us killed if you’re not careful about this. You know that, right? You might fuck us both entirely because you’ve been following her around for far too long and hoping for something she’s never going to give you?”
“I told you, this is all part of the plan. Noah is going to see her turning against her family, and it’s going to level up our position in the war.”
“But what if she doesn’t turn against them?” he hisses, stepping closer to me again. “You are banking on something that isn’t a sure thing.”
“She left the party with me. You know that was an attempt to get her back, and she followed me. That has to mean something.”
“I think you’re delusional.” Tyson’s gaze darts over my shoulder, and he takes a step back. “Boss, good to see you.”
Noah nods to him as he appears at my side, clamping a hand on my shoulder. “Come. We have some things to talk about before the fight.”
I sigh and slide out of the sweatpants I have on, tossing my shirt to the side and grabbing the wrap for my hands. I’m not going to have time to properly warm up.
I follow him through the hallways at the back. “What’s up?”
“Look, there are big things in the works. Especially with this fight. It’s going to bring in enough money to get the rest of the funding we need, which means you need to be in your best form.”
“What kind of things?” I start wrapping my hands, though it’s going to do little good. My knuckles will still be aching and bruised by the end of the fight.
“The kind that’s going to bring in a load of guns bigger than we’ve had before and with it, a new round of allies.”
“Thought you didn’t need allies.” I step around a couple of people heading our way, pulling my wrapping tight.
“And you’d be a fool if you really thought that.” Noah turns and eyes me. “I know you’re not a fool, so do you want to tell me what the fuck you were doing with a Lynde at the party the other night?”
“She’s not quite happy with the life her family’s put in front of her.” I smirk. “Seems that she’s looking for a way out and an end to the war. I figured they keep stealing some of ours, why not steal one of theirs and see what we can get from them?”
Noah studies me for a minute, suspicion in his eyes, his eyebrows pulling together. “You don’t know these people and what they’re capable of. She’s going to play you for a fool.”
“I spent months talking to her online to get her into the position I did.” I have to lay the lies out now in case he starts digging into everything I’ve done.
And they’re not all lies, not entirely.
I did find her in the chatrooms and started talking to her to bring her to me.
I was originally planning to kill her and string her up from the front gates at her family house.
It would’ve been brutal and bloody. The Lynde family would’ve been left cowering, and it would’ve been the perfect time to strike.
But then I got to know her, which got me as torn as I feel today.
Noah scoffs and shakes his head. “You don’t think she’s going to be loyal to you, do you? The Lyndes are loyal to nobody but themselves, and I can promise you that she’d die before she told you anything.”
“Then that just might be what happens.” I give him another confident smile as my name is called over the speaker system. “Looks like it’s time to go fight. Don’t worry about her. I have her tied up and locked away, and sooner or later she’s going to break and tell me everything we need to know.”
He tucks his hands in his pockets. “You better be right about this.”
I wait for him to leave before letting out a breath and heading through the next set of doors and out into the ring.
As I duck between the ropes, I shake out the nerves.
The man across from me is one I’ve fought before. His nose is more crooked than ever, but apart from the apparent hits to the face he’s been taking, the man has always been a beast, in and out of a fight.
The bell rings as I shuffle out of the way of the first jab he throws. He’s testing me, trying to find out my weak points.
I don’t have any. Not when Jade is sitting there and watching me.
Her eyes are burning a hole in my back, but I can’t risk a glance at her.
Get your head in the fucking fight.
The fist that collides with my face snaps my head to the side.
I whip back around, fists up in front of my face.
He moves to the side, testing me again.
Cheers and shouts roar from the crowd surrounding us.
The lights are hot and bright, sweat already dripping down my back.
An opening appears. I move, kicking him hard in the thigh before bringing around a hook to slam into the side of his head the moment his hands falter.
I hop back from the attack, keeping out of his range.
He spits blood to the mat between us. “You’re going to be a dead man for that move.”
“Try me, princess.” I snap forward, only testing him, trying to force him to make a mistake.
He stumbles back a step when I shift quickly.
Perfect.
I lunge for him, fists flying.
He manages to get a couple of good hits in, grabbing me and throwing me down.
I roll out of the way as he tries to stomp the hell out of me.
It’s not fast enough, though. His foot comes down on my ribs.
The air is forced from my lungs. I cough and wheeze, forcing myself to get out of the way.
My gaze meets Jade’s for just a second.
She looks amused by the hit I took, her smile visible beneath the shadow the hood casts on her face.
I get to my feet and wipe the blood from the side of my mouth.
There’s no way I’m going to lose the fight when she’s sitting there and watching me. Not when Noah needs the money either.
Staying loose on my feet is the key.
I shake out the nerves, jumping around and trying to ease out the tension. And then I lunge again the moment I get a chance.
He’s not going to send me to the ground again. Not when my love is sitting in the front row. Not when she’s looking like there’s nothing she’d love more than seeing me get punched in the face.
I think she needs a bit of a reminder of what I’m capable of.
Blinders go on as I land punch after punch, hot blood splattering on my body.
I hit the side of his head hard, and he goes down with a low groan.
He tries to get to his hands and knees, but I deliver a kick to his side as hard as I can.
It sends him rolling.
I’m on top of him in seconds, bashing in his face. I see red, but whether it’s the bloodlust in my veins or actual blood all over me, I don’t know.
All I know is that I have to keep fighting. I have to show Jade what I’m capable of. What I could do to protect her from her family when it comes to it.
She’s going to have the life she wants because of me. I’m going to make sure of it. I’ll do everything I can to make sure that she’s on our side. That she stays alive.
Hands wrap around my biceps, lifting me off the guy and pulling me away.
I struggle against the grip for a couple of moments before I’m slammed back into the sturdy post in the corner of the ring.
Tyson gets in my way when I try to go around him. “What the fuck do you think you’re going to do now?”
My chest rises and falls. “Don’t know. Get the fuck out of my way.”
“You want her to see you like this?” His voice is so low that nobody around us is going to overhear the conversation.
I glance over his shoulder, searching for Jade. Where she should be sitting is only an empty chair with cuffs linked around one leg.
I shove past him. “Where the hell did she go?”
She’s not there. I don’t know where she went, but somehow she got out of the damn cuffs.
There’s going to be hell to pay when I hunt her down.
I shove my way out of the ring, running back to grab my clothing. I don’t have another fight tonight, thankfully, so as long as I can get out of here before Noah finds me, I can go track her down.
And then I can show her who the fuck she’s playing games with, since watching a fight wasn’t warning enough apparently.