14. Void
VOID
Finally, the new guy was making things interesting.
Ever since he showed up and took Dax away from me, I wanted to pound him into the pavement, but I knew that would only cause more harm.
When it came to Dax, I’d always put her first, so I’ve kept myself in check.
I knew the game he was playing. For the most part, he hadn’t messed with me, but the glint in his eyes right now told me I’d just served myself up on a platter to him.
Bring it on, asshole. We’d see who was still standing after this.
“Now, when it comes to you, Lachlan, I know you can fight.” I had to grit my teeth as he used my real name which I hated.
There weren’t many people still alive who knew what it was, and I liked to keep it that way.
“You don’t become the top of your fighting class in the MMA circuit if you’re shit.
Too bad you ended up killing too many people and got banned from ever fighting again unless it was in the underground rings.
Is that where Eagle found you?” Cameron inquired.
Did he really think throwing the fact I killed people in the ring would bother me?
Back then when I fought, I used to go into a blind rage.
It didn’t matter who was in the ring with me, I’d be the one coming out the other side.
Fighting was the only thing keeping me from returning to England and taking my rage out on the two people who deserved it.
When I got kicked out of the MMA world, it took everything in me not to catch the first flight back and pay those so-called parents of mine a visit.
Thankfully, I was approached by a guy who ran the biggest underground ring on the West Coast, and he asked me if I wanted in.
They didn’t care about silly things like if I left behind dead bodies.
Hell, some people wanted that to happen to keep their hands clean of the situation.
“Why are you asking me that when you already know the answer, snake,” I growled. “Does that mean you’re too much of a pussy to put your words to the test against me?”
Cameron looked at me with a calculating look as if he could somehow figure out what his chances were just by my body language. Well, if he were reading it right, it would tell him just how fucked he was. Apparently not finding what he wanted, he turned his attention to Dax.
“Can you beat him?” he asked, cocking his head to the side.
Dax flicked her gaze to me, and the memory of the one fight we got into just outside Mutt’s house made me grin.
With that one fight, I knew she wasn’t really trying to get away from us.
She was good and put up one hell of a show for the onlookers around us, but I knew her secret.
At that point, she wasn’t willing to admit she liked us even a little, but we’d surprised her with the life we live on the compound, and she started to become friends with Tilly.
That fight between us was like foreplay, getting out her frustrations of being trapped and not really wanting to get herself out of it yet.
“I’d say we’re about equal, but if my little demon ever reached the moment where she needed or wanted to end me, she could,” I mused, thinking back on the moment after she saw her house blow up.
The darkness in her called to mine, but hers had a bite to it that would push her to the max, where I hadn’t gotten to that level of survival.
I’d have been just like her, if not worse if Eagle hadn’t found me and pulled me from the ring.
My darkness was about to swallow me up whole when I let fighting and drugs become my only reason for living.
The drugs dulled out everything else, allowing me to fight and kill with no remorse.
It’s when I got the tattoo on my face. I lived in a world of oblivion, and I’d never allow myself to forget what I did.
Was I a better man now? Maybe in some ways, but I was still a killer.
Difference was I knew exactly what I was doing, when I was doing it, and acknowledged the evil in it.
My answer caused Cameron to snap his gaze back to me, a hint of surprise in them.
The newbie could talk a big game about how well he knew Dax and all her secrets, unafraid to see her as she truly was, but I wasn’t so sure.
Time will tell, though, and soon with the battle that was coming our way.
When he got to see her in her element, the true leader of the Hidden Empire forged through blood and death, we’d see if he sticks around.
“Does that scare you to learn that about our woman?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest and giving him a smirk.
He narrowed his gaze at me. “Why would that scare me? I won’t ever give her a reason to make that choice.”
“Hmph, what makes you think you have control over that? We’re going into battle with people who don’t give a flying fuck about playing fair or following some code of conduct like you feds.
You might have a criminal father and have done some minor illegal things, but from where I’m sitting, you have the least skin in the game here.
All of us have blood on our hands for one reason or another.
We all know what it takes to survive in the shadows of our city and the cesspool of shit we’ve had to wade through to be where we are today.
I’m not saying all this to get under your skin or to make you feel like an outsider among us, but you can’t use the words, ever or never.
There will come a time where you’ll be pushed to the limit and never can become your only option,” I explained.
Something about my words seemed to strike a chord with him, and a glimmer of understanding made him stiffen. “I’ll take what you’re saying into consideration.”
“Good. Now, little demon, I know you have a space somewhere around here where we can have a few friendly matches between men,” I stated.
She tossed me a bright smile as she turned on her heel. “Follow me.”
My little demon led us out of the warehouse to a smaller building just behind it that looked like it was supposed to be a garage.
Instead, it turned out to be a boxing gym.
There was a ring in the middle of the room, punching bags off along one wall, and weight benches where some guys were working out.
Dax lifted a hand to her lips and let out a shrill whistle, making everyone pause what they were doing and turn to her.
“Everybody out. I need the space for the next hour,” she announced.
Without question, they set down whatever they were using, packed up their stuff, and left, nodding their greeting to her and Wes as they left.
Seeing my woman have such command over people made me smile and my cock harden, knowing that just yesterday she let me rule over her body.
I was under no illusion. She let me, and that was the best sex I’ve ever had.
The urge to pin her against the ropes in the ring and fuck her senseless was tempting, but it wasn’t something I wanted to share with the others.
I’m sure there would come a time, but I wanted her undivided attention a little longer.
“Who’s going first? Obviously, I’m not going to be joining in, so I’ll play referee,” Dax shared as she turned to face us.
I flung an arm over Cameron’s shoulder and pulled him to my side. “I say we let the newbie pick who he wants to fight first. He’s the one who wanted to see how skilled we are.”
Cognac clapped his hands grinning. “I like that idea. Who’s it gonna be, fed?”
“You up for being my first challenger?” Cameron asked Cognac, slipping out from under my arm.
“Hell yeah. Now, this is what I call some manly bonding. Hey, loba, you got wraps or we doing this raw?” Cognac asked, looking at her over his shoulder.
“I think we have spare wraps. Let me go look,” she answered, heading off toward a row of lockers.
Eagle stepped up next to me and spoke low enough so only I could hear him. “You gonna be good if you fight him?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine. He doesn’t have it in him to pull that out of me,” I assured my best friend and president.
When they found me drugged out of my mind, trying to bandage myself after a fight, I was close to losing myself forever.
Between the four of them, I was able to kick my habit and find new meaning in being their enforcer.
Now, it served a purpose when I beat the shit out of people or killed them for being a traitor or some other crime they committed against us.
In the first two years, I struggled with slipping back into old habits and letting my opponent set me off with the slightest dig, but now I knew who I was as a man and a fighter.
With the help of my brothers, I was able to rid myself of what bullshit my parents filled my head with and found the truth.
I might not have turned into what they wanted for a son, but I was still worth something to these men and a fierce pink-haired woman who set my soul on fire.
This was a much better place to be than I ever would have found in their world of old money, politics, and selling their son to others for secrets to get ahead in life.
“Heads-up,” Dax yelled before rolled-up fabric almost hit me in the face. “Found enough for each of you to have a set.”
I’d been back in the ring many times, typically to spar with the guys or friendly competition with some of the guys in the crew.
This, however, was going to be something a little different.
Cameron wanted to fit into the group, but he wasn’t finding his place as easily as Weston did.
The difference was, Wes didn’t give a flying fuck about us.
He was in it for Dax and Dax alone. So if she said he had to make it work with her seeing us, then that was what he was gonna do.
Cameron, on the other hand, kept feeling the need to prove he’d been first, and we needed to prove ourselves to him.
Funny thing about that logic—he’s the one she left.
Cognac and Cameron removed their shoes, shirts, and finished wrapping their hands in the ring.
Once they were ready, doing some quick stretching, Dax hopped into the ring with the ease of familiarity.
One of these days, she and I’d have a go, no holding back, letting our skill do the talking. It would be fucking glorious.
“Rules… yes, there will be rules. I can’t have you guys taking each other out right before dealing with the Mad Dogs,” Dax said, raising a hand to stop Cameron from talking.
“Only one rule, don’t play dirty. No groin shots, slamming heads into the ground, headbutts, eye gouging, or biting.
” She said this last one, looking right at Cameron with narrowed eyes.
“You hear me, Cam? Keep your teeth to yourself.”
“Beautiful, how many times do I have to tell you that’s only for you, no one else.” Cameron huffed. “I’m not Hannibal who enjoys biting people for the hell of it. It’s a mark of my claim on someone, and the only person I want to claim is you.”
“Fine, then it shouldn’t be a problem to follow the rules. Anyone else have something they want to add to the rules?” Dax asked, ignoring the fact Cameron just said he wanted to mark our woman as his.
If he was trying to build any kind of bond, then he was doing a real shitty job at it. Glancing at Cognac, I could see his hands flexing in irritation at that comment, letting me know he wasn’t going to be toying with his prey in this fight.
“Nah, all good, loba. Those sound reasonable to me,” Cognac answered, shaking out his arms and bouncing on his feet. “Ready whenever pretty boy is.”
Ah fuck, this wasn’t a game anymore. Cognac only called people shit like that when he was pissed, but you’d never know with the smile he wore as a mask.
Dax stepped into the middle and raised her hand as both men squared off. “Ready… fight!”
Cognac jumped back, giving more room between him and Cameron before they started to circle each other, fists raised and at the ready.
I watched as Cognac scanned his opponent’s moves, trying to get a gauge for his skill level.
With no warning, Cognac moved in and feinted like he was going in for a grapple, but Cameron stepped back out of his reach.
They circled once more before Cognac made a real effort to go for the grapple, diving into his chest and grabbing his leg, trying to lift Cameron up and toss him over his shoulder.
Cameron created a block with his arms so Cognac couldn’t get a good hold on him, shoving him back off him.
Cameron went right in with a left-right hook, but Cognac dipped and dodged, moving to the left before coming back and trying to grab around his neck.
Cameron kicked out, hitting Cognac in the thigh, making him stumble.
Quickly, they both backed off and got their footing before going right after each other, Cameron kicking out, aiming for Cognac’s chest, but Cognac grabbed his ankle and twisted, knocking Cameron to the ground.
This swiftly moved into a wrestling match on the mat as Cognac tried to get the best choke-out hold on Cameron, but he wasn’t making it easy.
Cameron seemed to have some good skills and instincts when it came to wrestling, never letting Cognac get more than one limb under control.
Finally, Cameron got a knee in between them and kicked Cognac off and across the ring.
Leaping to his feet, Cameron pounced on Cognac and flipped him on his back with an arm around his back and legs around his waist, keeping his head out of reach from Cognac’s arms. They rolled around on the mat for a bit, but it was clear that Cameron had the upper hand in this fight.
Eventually, Cognac tapped out, and Cameron let him go right away, allowing him to gasp for air as he lay there on the ground.
“Well, shit, man, remind me never to let you take me to the ground again. That move was fucking brutal. I was seeing stars in minutes,” Cognac muttered as he lay there staring at the ceiling. “You weren’t fucking around, were you?”
Cameron stood and offered a hand to Cognac. “No, but neither were you unless that first move wasn’t going to be dropping me on my head to knock me out in the first two minutes.”
Cognac just grinned and punched Cameron right in the left nipple. “Guess you’ll never know.”
“Who’s next?” Dax asked, back in the ring.
Yanking my shirt off, I walked up. “How about we see what skills you’ve really got?”