20. Liar
Chapter Twenty
LIAR
I n the lobby, it was distinctly empty, like everyone was already somewhere else.
At the fight, of course. The sidewalk was the same, except the closer we got to the MGM, the busier it got, until we were in quite a press, but Tom stayed in front and to the side, pushing through like the wall he was.
He was a nice wall, and no one seemed to mind parting for him.
There was only one instance where things got awkward, and that’s when some guys were yelling at each other, and one of them tripped and went down right next to me.
I bent down to help him up, giving him an eye-full of my magic bra, and he came up all feral and stuff, but Tom was there, pushing him back, his voice low, soothing while he tugged me forward with an arm around me, blocking anyone else who might get crazy.
No one did. It’s like everyone’s reaction was the same if they thought I was with Tom. “Tom, your girl’s an angel!” “Tom, don’t you know better than to take a lady to a fight?” That kind of thing.
He didn’t answer them, and I didn’t either, just went along with his arm kind of around me as he blocked anyone else who might get too friendly.
Finally, we slipped through a side door, Tom’s key opening it easily, and then we were in a hall that smelled like lemon polish and lavender, a bit strong to keep the body odor down.
It didn’t do anything to block out the sound of raving fans, though.
The announcer’s voice was low, deep, compelling, reminding me of Horse.
“And now, to start our lineup, we have a newcomer that you are going to like. Welcome Angel! He’s so pretty, but he won’t be pretty when he’s done here. Let’s hear it for Angel!”
The crowd screamed. I grabbed Tom’s hand.
“Hey, is there somewhere I can watch the fight? I’m kind of curious. Somewhere out of the way, not public, maybe close to where the fighters come out?” Was that too obvious? Probably. I smiled extra bright.
He gave me a curious look then slowly nodded. “Sure. I have just the box. No one should be using it tonight, it’s where the people with backstage passes go so it’s a short distance. It’s a maze down here though, easy to get lost.”
“A box? Sounds perfect.”
He smiled almost warmly. “Sure. We’ll get some food down there, and then you can be more comfortable, out of harm’s way, but right there where you can surprise Nix.
” He gave me an approving nod, and I felt guilty for using him to see Beastie, although I was also here to see Nix.
Of course I was. He’d given me a kitchen and a studio.
Not to mention a wardrobe. I’d kiss his socks off the first chance I got.
Right after I gave Beastie a piece of my mind.
And a shot of morphine. If he was here. He probably wasn’t here.
“The fight is in the center with stands all around, but under the stands are boxes, and they have screens that interrupt the benches, you know, so you pay for good views and don’t have to worry about blood. Some people like the blood.”
I kept my smile in place while my stomach roiled. If Beastie was actually spraying his blood around, I was going to kill him.
The private box was nice, luxury carpet, couches that were waiting for an orgy, and a big window that was part glass and part tv screens that showed the fight up close and personal.
I stood there for a second, staring at my idiot bestie who was walking around on the white square looking like he was checking his tires, just totally out of place, no fear, no tension in his bare shoulders, but he was wearing nothing but a pair of white shorts and looked about as pure and pretty as an angel.
“That’s a new guy,” Tom said as he ushered me forward with a hand on the small of my back. “Sit down, get comfortable. This fight won’t last too long, no more than thirty minutes and then you can see Nix.”
I flashed him a smile then sat down in time to see the fight begin.
I’d seen Beastie fight before, but I’d always stepped in before he really got going.
Except for that one time when he had his friends hold me back so he could teach the guy who had dared grope me a very thorough lesson.
I was so mad, him using me to indulge in his favorite addiction.
Violence. I wanted to march right out there into that ring surrounded by millions of bloodthirsty fans and stop him, but no way I’d make it without someone stopping me first.
The opponent was in red shorts, and he came at Beastie from the back, throwing a low punch to get his kidneys. I gasped and gripped the couch, but Beastie spun around, dodging the blow and delivering a punch to his face that whipped the guy’s head back, throwing off his whole trajectory.
“Don’t worry,” Tom said, crossing his arms. “These guys know what they’re doing. Most of it is for show.”
“Oh. I see.” What a stupid reason to do something, so that the audience could cheer for blood.
“Not that they aren’t capable fighters, but this is about making it look good for the audience.”
I nodded then gulped as the other guy pounded on Beastie until my friend was against the ropes.
After that, I closed my eyes and only opened them when a guy came in with food.
Tom got a plate while my stomach roiled around.
I hadn’t had anything since the pink lemonade, but I wasn’t about to eat while Beastie was getting the crap beat out of him. Wasn’t he better than this?
“He’s not very good, is he?” I said, swallowing down nausea.
“Who, blondie? It’s his first public fight, and that’s Bulldog’s favorite to initiate the new and cocky. Blondie’s got to earn the right to winning, pay for it in blood.”
“How enlightened and logical,” I muttered, before I took deep breaths through my nostrils. “How long will this fight last?”
“Fifteen more minutes. Do you want some nachos? What about some steamed vegetables? There’s quite a spread here.”
I shook my head and kept watching my friend get the crap beat out of him. The bell would ring, and they’d take breaks, but seriously, Beastie wasn’t pretty anymore, and the other guy had hardly a mark on him.
“This is the last round,” Tom said, and then the bell rang, and the psycho came out of my bestie. Not just psycho, those were skilled moves that he’d learned from all his boxing club days. He broke the other guy, no longer pretty, but relishing in the blood, sweat, pain, like a true psychopath.
“That’s unexpected,” Tom said while I stood up and made my way to the door. “Where are you going?” he asked, following me out.
“I need some fresh air. I guess that fight was a little intense for me. Is it this way?” I turned left at the next corner, and Tom followed me, hurrying to keep up.
“I guess it was a bit of a shocker, but you never know how it’s going to go with fresh blood. Sometimes they crumble, and sometimes they come up with fire in their eyes.”
Or madness. “Oh, look, a bathroom. I’m going to duck in here and check my makeup. I’ll be right out.” I walked in while Tom frowned after me.
“There’s a restroom in the box,” he called after me, but I kept walking, right into the long bathroom past all the stalls and straight out through the doorway on the other side.
I didn’t need Tom for this part. Nope. I’d checked the layout of the place and thanks to Tom putting me in such a convenient box, the timing was perfect.
I was in Beastie’s changing room when he came in, so I could grab his ear and stab his face with a needle.
“What the…” He put his arms up when he saw it was me, but I couldn’t tell what expression he had, because his face was such a mess.
“And that you came to Las Vegas but didn’t bother to visit me!
? What kind of friend are you? And you didn’t tell me about the fight, but of course you wouldn’t, because you know exactly how stupid this kind of thing is.
Why did you do it? Your brains are more valuable than a million dollars.
Did you win? You better have won, otherwise it would be a complete waste,” I said, digging in my bra for more medication while dragging him by the ear to the nearest chair.
He sat down and I straddled his legs, working on his face with my best drugs.
Was he smiling? He was. Such an idiot. “I won. You didn’t watch the end?
It was a good ending. I knocked him out with one— Ouch!
Sunshine, you say you don’t like to see me get hurt, but then you stab me in the tenderest part of my nose?—”
“Hold this,” I said, taking my ice pack out of my purse and pressing it too hard on his broken nose. “I can’t believe Trevor wasn’t lying. And you never texted me back.”
“I didn’t get your text. Trevor’s in town? He saw you? Did he hurt you?” He grabbed my wrist while I was trying to clean out the cut around his eye so he could look at me.
I rolled my eyes. “Trevor? He’s not a violent meathead like you.” I thumped his chest where he had a really good bruise developing. I sighed heavily and then injected it with my favorite anti-bruiser.
“He does fight. How do you think we met? He actually beat me pretty good, but I was distracted.”
“No, you were distracted by fighting. Whatever else you were thinking about was a million times more important. Unless it was Stina’s breasts.” I wrinkled my nose at him.
He rolled his bloodshot eyes. One was positively nasty looking. “You’ve got to get over that.”
“I’m totally over it. If I wanted perfect breasts, I’d buy them. I don’t want to be with someone so incredibly superficial, anyway. It’s a blessing to be imperfect when—” He covered my mouth with his hands and stared at my face like he did sometimes, like I was an extreme curiosity.
“You know, Sunshine, it’s really good to see you.”