Prologue #2
“Who’s that?” he asked, dark eyes studying me from head to toe.
“Just some lost kid.”
Again with the kid?
“Are you done with your meeting?” the blond added, placing his left hand on the taller one’s chest.
I then noticed the wedding ring.
Fuck.
“Yeah, I am. Let’s kick it.” He wrapped one thick arm around his—I guess—husband. “This place stinks.”
“I told you Miami sucks. It’s nothing like LA.”
LA? That explained the stick up his ass.
“Let’s go, Llorón.”
And as the two left, so did my hopes of getting laid.
Fuck.
I turned to face the bar, my eyes going to the glass he’d left behind. Maybe there was some alcohol left in it? I grabbed it, only to see it was empty.
Shit.
I slammed it back down and took the hundred he left, slipping it into my pocket just as Ace came running toward me.
“What ya doing slacking here, man? We’re here to work,” the fucker grunted when I noticed his nose.
“Looks like you missed some powder,” I hissed, jaw tense because he had some balls complaining about me slacking while he sniffed coke from some girl’s tit in the toilet.
“Whatever.” He rubbed his nostrils clean. “Ricky’s outside waiting for us.”
“For what?”
“We’re gonna hit another club. This place’s dead.”
“Ain’t no fuckin’ way.” I pushed away from the bar when Ace latched onto me, one arm draped around my shoulders.
“Who do you think you’re fooling, Rivas? We both know you need the cash,” the sleaze said while rubbing his fingers together. “How else will you pay back daddy’s losses?”
My pulse quickened, and I gritted my teeth. “You want to get punched or something?”
“By you? Hell no.” Still with that ugly smile on, he moved away from me. “Now, let’s go find Ricky.”
Fucking asshole.
“What the hell, dudes? You left me to dry out here,” Ricky complained the moment we met him out in the back alley.
“Yeah?” Ace snatched the joint from between Ricky’s fingers. “Sure doesn’t look like it.”
“That’s mine—ouch.” He flinched when Ace flicked his forehead and took a long drag.
My nose scrunched up at the scent of weed, and I turned my back on them while they continued spitting out their nonsense. I hated them to the core, but I needed the money. The hundred I snagged from the bar was hardly enough, and so I stuck around despite it all.
Done with the joint, Ace tossed it to the ground.
“Let’s go,” he said, and we began moving.
We walked quietly for a while until the two of them started arguing again. I did my best to ignore the shit coming out of their mouths, although it was hard.
“Yo, Rivas.”
I wanna crash out so bad.
“Rivas.”
I’m also starving. A burger would be nice.
“Hey.” He slapped my arm. “I’m talking to you, asshole.”
“Sadly.”
“What did you say?”
“Nothing.”
“Forever the grumpy one, huh? Anyway, how’s your li’l bro?”
My eyes shot to his, my rage flaring in seconds.
“Finally getting something out of you, huh?” He grinned. “You know the little brat keeps calling, asking for a job—”
I grabbed the collar of his shirt before he could finish his words. “You stay away from him, or I’ll kill you.”
Ace’s lips curled up. “That would definitely get you back in jail, wouldn’t it?”
His mockery danced on my last nerve, and I raised my fist, ready to punch him, when Ricky slapped my arm.
“Let him go and check this out,” he said, pointing at the end of the street, where a man was walking back to his Lambo. One glance around was enough to tell he was all alone, meaning—
“Jackpot,” Ace giggled, taking advantage of my relaxed hold to set himself free. “Told you it’s our lucky night.”
“Fuck yeah.”
With me staying behind, the two already began walking toward their victim.
“Yo!” Ace called, making the man turn to us. “That’s a nice fucking ride, bro.”
Before this stranger could say a word, Ace charged at him in full force.
I’d half expected his punch to send this guy to the ground, but instead, the guy hit Ace back.
Hard. So hard that Ace tripped backward, and Ricky had to run to help him.
Keeping still, I watched as this man managed to fend off both of them—kicking their asses would be more accurate.
He sure knew how to throw a punch. Much better than any of the men I fought off in the tournament today, and clearly more than Ace and Ricky combined.
My heart began to hammer fast, not because of fear, no, but for the rush, the adrenaline of an impending fight.
I clenched my fists, already eager to get my hands dirty and my needs answered.
I hated that thirst for violence throbbing inside me like an untamed beast. This sickening voice that constantly told me to kill.
I hated it from within. The only problem was… I didn’t hate it enough.
So, after this man, who was just someone with shitty luck, had his round with the two assholes, I went in.
He turned around to face me, yet moved so fast I couldn’t even catch a glimpse of his face.
All I saw was his fist coming my way before I dodged his left hook.
Taking advantage of the momentum and seeing how his footwork was off-balance, I used my body rotation for maximum power and threw a circular punch that struck his temple.
It sent the poor guy down, a loud gasp escaping him with the force of his back hitting the road.
Thrilled by the action, I got on top of him and gave him another punch, then another.
Each time he tried to resist, I struck him harder until his face became a bloodied mess.
I loved it.
I lived on that brief feeling of superiority, fully aware that it would soon be gone.
Stolen. So why shouldn’t we steal this man’s money the same way life robbed us of everything?
Blood splattered out of his mouth, getting all over me as I continued to hit him.
But each time my knuckles met with his flesh, my stomach tightened, almost like my body was telling me to stop, that this was over.
With a sigh, I brushed a hand through my hair, the blood and sweat making it stick back and not fall over my brows again.
I got off his chest, disappointed as it was too easy. Watching him fight the guys, I thought I’d at least get something out of it, but in the end, it was all for nothing.
“You’re a fucking monster, Rivas,” Ace laughed, slowly getting up from the road before walking over to the guy I’d just knocked out.
“Leave him alone,” I said after he used his shoe to turn the guy’s head aside. Only Ace didn’t listen and instead kicked the guy in the stomach.
“Hey,” I barked, anger steaming through my voice like fire. “He’s already down. Just take his fucking money and leave him alone.”
“Fuck off,” Ace bit back, a sickening smile on his lips right before he stomped him, causing the guy to wince on the ground when Ricky also joined in.
I clenched my jaw, watching the poor man wiggle like a worthless worm as those losers continued to beat him up.
Shit.
I felt sick, knowing it was all my fault because if I hadn’t intervened, he’d have had his way with them.
But did I have the right to feel bad for the dude after beating him to a pulp?
I guess not, and yet I couldn’t just stand by and witness those two cowards stomping on him like he was a pile of meat, especially as the first rule of boxing was not to hit a man who was already grounded.
“What the fuck?” Ace shouted once I pulled him back and away from the man.
Except those were the only words he managed to spit out before I knocked him out cold, and after I was done with him, I moved on to Ricky, who begged me to spare his face.
Sadly for him, I wasn’t big on that whole mercy crap, and once done with him, he was a few teeth short.
With my knuckles all but bruised and bloodied, I looked around at the three men spread around me.
I knew this wasn’t my finest hour, but they could have all avoided it.
Well, maybe not him, I thought, frowning at the stranger, who was still breathing but had been lying still for a while now.
Fuck. Feeling guilty, I couldn’t even bring myself to take his money and instead chose to walk away and leave this night behind me, fully aware it would never happen.
Not after I beat the shit out of Ace and Ricky.
Those two would come after me, but that would have to be tomorrow’s problem, because now, all I craved was a drink and my bed.
But life had its own way to fuck me up because on my way back home, after I’d gotten that drink I craved, I just so happened to bump into that shitty referee again.
And just like earlier today in the ring, he tossed the wrong word at me, one that rubbed me the wrong fucking way.
Only that this time, after I charged at him, it didn’t end with me being disqualified from a stupid fight; instead, it had me arrested.
Life was a bitch, and tonight was just further proof of that.