Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Rage
“Would a million dollars change your mind?”
“No.” I scowl at the phone in my hand.
“Rage, it’s a lot of money. A million dollars with the potential for—”
“Serious injury,” I interject. “Drama. A complete invasion of the privacy of my life, which, as you know, could be detrimental to my current career.”
“There are ways to mitigate injury. You know how this works. And the publicity could be a good thing. Think of the people who’ll be clamoring to have Rage the Cage as their personal bodyguard.”
Fuck. That.
“The answer is no.”
“What about one point five and some strategic contract wording to minimize your tax exposure?”
I grunt. “Carl. Not one million. Not five million. Not ten million. There is no amount of money that will get me back into fighting professionally.”
My former agent sighs dramatically. “Elliott. Come on. Rage the Cage was incredibly popular. And the fact that you simply walked away after two championships left people wanting more.”
“Good for them.” I glance at my buddy, Grim, who’s just joined me at the gym and squints curiously. “But I’m not interested. I’m sure there are twenty other fighters out there who’ll take you up on your offer. Take care of yourself.” With that, I disconnect.
“What was that?” Grim asks. We’ve been friends a long time, and he knows when I’m annoyed.
“My old agent. Says the UFC wants to promote some big comeback series of fights with people who retired or whatever. Not interested.” I head toward the ring.
“Five million is a lot of money,” he says, following me.
“Well, he didn’t actually offer five. He offered one and then upped to one point five. Still not enough.”
“But you love to fight.”
“I used to. Now I love being healthy and eating most of what I want. I’m almost thirty-eight. Why the fuck would I want to subject my brain, and the rest of me, to that kind of abuse? Money isn’t the most important thing in the world. Besides, I have a good job.”
He nods. “Agreed. But you do love to fight.”
I grin. “And that’s why I’m going to kick your ass around the ring tonight.”
He grunts and the conversation is apparently over. We put on head gear before climbing through the ropes. I roll my shoulders and arch a brow at Grim as I put in my mouthpiece.
“Ready?” I mumble
He grimaces. “Yeah, whatever.”
I just laugh.
The company I work for, Shadow Security, has a standing fight night every Friday, where we work out, spar, and generally mess around.
Usually, it’s lighthearted and fun, even though as bodyguards to celebrities and international dignitaries, we’re serious about staying in shape.
But Friday nights are about camaraderie and honing our skills—not getting hurt.
I lift my fists. “Let’s go.”
He narrows his gaze just a little. In this particular situation, he doesn’t trust me.
And that’s a good thing. That’s how he and the rest of our colleagues will learn to be better fighters.
We’re all what’s considered elite bodyguards with special skill sets.
No one here has to learn anything, in the general sense.
But I’m the best with my fighting skills, and I’ve been showing them how to be better.
Most of them appreciate it. Grim, however, is my closest friend.
My confidante. The proverbial brother from another mother.
We’ve been through almost everything together, so when we get in the ring, there’s a trust between us that doesn’t exist with others.
And I might take advantage of that trust once in a while.
I take a playful swing at my friend and he ducks out of the way, but we’re just warming up. My body moves effortlessly, as comfortable in the ring as I am sprawled on my couch, and I feel the familiar tingle of excitement.
It’s always been this way, since my days as a wrestler in high school.
Then I moved on to boxing, and by the time I got to the Marines, I was primed for everything they could throw at me in their Force Recon school.
That was when I got serious, and when I transitioned out of the military, I wound up in the UFC—Ultimate Fighting Championship—which is a premier mixed martial arts promotion.
“What, taking it easy on me today?” Grim taunts.
“You asking me to put a hurt on you?” I counter, narrowing my gaze at him.
Not that I would ever hurt him—or anyone else unless I have to—but I like to mess with him. And he’s well aware of it, which is why he’s always on guard. To be fair, I don’t fight like other men. If I wanted to hurt someone, even a guy as tough as Grim, I could. Everyone knows it.
In fact, it’s kind of a joke here at headquarters because there’s literally a schedule—every Friday I fight someone different since no one wants to get in the ring with me two weeks in a row.
I think it’s hilarious that they’re all a tiny bit afraid of me.
Okay, they’re not afraid. Not in the true sense of the word. If we all didn’t have a level of comfort, we wouldn’t be here. I should probably say they have a healthy respect for my talent when it comes to fighting.
Once Grim and I are in fighting stance, we exchange a few jabs, eyeing each other. He’s wary and I’m trying to decide how I’m going to surprise him. Between the head gear and mouthguards, there’s a level of protection, but I still need to fuck with him.
Turning sideways, I bend my arm at the elbow at a ninety-degree angle, aiming for the side of his head.
My right hook is hard, and his head snaps to the side, but he comes back with an upper cut, catching me under the chin.
With enough practice and the right amount of force, you can knock someone out with one of those. Luckily, that’s not his intention.
“Nice one.” I grin. Then I hit him back. Hard enough to make him stumble.
A bunch of our colleagues are here to watch, and I hear them chuckling, egging us on, catcalling just because they can.
I bounce on my toes, giving Grim a chance to get his bearings.
Then we settle into the fight, each blow a little harder than the last as we work up a sweat and get more creative with our tactics.
That’s what this is all about. He’s a better sparring partner than he thinks he is, which makes it fun for me.
He’s big and smart, quick on his feet, and all things being equal, he’s as lethal as I am. Just in different ways.
I’ve just pulled back my fist, about to catch him with a right cross, when I see a flash of hot pink in the doorway. I turn, barely a fraction of an inch, and I see her.
Luna.
Our mysterious and gorgeous cyber security genius.
The woman I’ve been secretly fantasizing about for months.
And she’s wearing something low-cut and flowy, showing off her sexy figure.
I catch a glimpse of long legs just as Grim’s fist connects with my jaw. My chin snaps up, pain ricochets through my face, and my mouthguard goes flying, bouncing on the mat a few times.
Fuck.
Grim is watching me and looks as surprised as I feel. Especially since I know he knows exactly what distracted me. “Seriously?” He chuckles. “Are you—”
I feel a flicker of embarrassment—he caught me off-guard and distracted—so before he even finishes his thought, I kick out my leg and sweep his feet out from under him.
But he’s a big guy and takes me down with him.
Without my mouthguard, I know he’s not going to hit me in the face, so he pummels me in the ribs as we roll around, each trying to outmaneuver the other.
By the time I look up again, Luna’s gone and I feel a flash of annoyance I can’t quite describe.
“Get off me!” I grunt, shoving him away.
Our friends are laughing and hooting, and I grab my mouthguard before I get back to my feet. Obviously, I’m not putting it back in my mouth, and I jump to the ground, grabbing my water bottle.
“Does this mean I won?” Grim calls after me.
“It means I have work to do!”
“What, that’s it?” Daniil, our boss and the owner of Shadow Security, arches a brow at me.
“It’s Friday night,” I mutter. “And I have front desk duty.”
He chuckles. “Uh huh.”
I lift my middle finger in his direction as I make my way to the showers.
We have a full gym with all the equipment you’d find at a public facility, the boxing ring, a sauna, and men’s and women’s locker rooms with showers.
Daniil and his wife, Courtney, went all out when they drew up the plans for the company’s headquarters, and while the rest of the building isn’t completely finished yet, finalizing the gym was a priority.
I take a quick shower, get dressed, and head out to the main lobby.
Shadow Security has only been in business five months.
Set on a hundred acres that butt up against the San Bernardino National Forest, Daniil built a home for himself and his family and then a massive headquarters on the land.
In addition to the main building, which has three floors and over twenty-five thousand square feet, there will be a driving range, a shooting range, a garage for the fleet of company vehicles, an underground bunker and several safe rooms and studio apartments. It’s a lot.
That’s why it’s taking so long to be done.
I sit down in the control booth, which is just off the main reception area, and get my bearings. There aren’t enough of us to handle all the different jobs, so everyone has to pitch in.
Luna is our cyber security expert and she normally manages the front desk when we’re expecting visitors even though she has a technology room where all her stuff is set up. Tonight’s her night off, and I volunteered to help out since I have no other plans.
Courtney, who is nine months pregnant, usually handles the phones since she can do that from the house. The rest of us—the elite bodyguards who all own a share of the company—handle everything else. Clients, emergencies, training, manning the security cameras, and anything else that comes up.
In my peripheral vision, I see that same flash of pink and this time I turn my head, watching Luna pause to put a dab of lipstick on her full pouty lips.
There’s something about her I can’t get out of my mind.
Aside from her being beautiful, I love how unapologetically quirky she is.
From her ever-changing hair color to her funky outfits to her loud, infectious laugh.
She’s also perhaps the most intelligent woman I’ve ever met, and so good at her job.
No matter what we ask of her, she’s up to the task, and almost always with a smile on her face.
There’s no doubt she loves her job and the people she works with, and I probably spend more time than I should thinking about her.
Unfortunately, I don’t think she knows I’m alive beyond being a co-worker, and even if she did, what would she see in a former jarhead like me? I’m not the kind of guy to push myself on a woman, so I’ve made my peace with it and kept a polite distance.
I’m not above eavesdropping, though, and I drop my gaze as I listen to Luna, Allora, and Courtney laugh about something.
“Have the best time!” Allora says to her.
“And we want details tomorrow!” Courtney adds, rubbing her large belly. “I have to live vicariously through you guys right now.”
“I thought pregnant women get super horny?” Luna teases her.
Courtney laughs. “That was true until about a week ago and then my body was like, nope. Don’t touch me. Don’t look at me. Just get this thing out!”
They laugh again.
“I have a good feeling about this,” Allora tells Luna. “I think you and Roger will make really pretty babies!”
Babies?!
What the hell is she talking about?
And who the fuck is Roger?!