Chapter 26
Jaxon
The elevator ride to Benji’s floor felt like it took an hour when in reality, it was probably less than thirty seconds.
Anger was rattling inside me, stealing any rational thought I'd have the second the doors opened.
I marched straight down the hall and pounded on his door hard enough that the wood rattled.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then I braced both hands against the frame and leaned forward, my head hanging between my shoulders as I tried to breathe through the rage boiling inside me.
Punch something.
That was the only thought looping through my head.
Get the anger out before I do something stupid.
Because right now, every muscle in my body was wound tight, adrenaline still pumping through my veins hours after the fight.
Chase’s voice still echoed in my head.
The shit he’d said about Savannah.
The taunting smile on his face when he said she'd never be mine.
The way he looked at Savannah with nothing but contempt and disgust.
Then there was Savannah telling me that I should've walked away and put whatever he said behind me. She didn't care about what he said, and that made it all worse because why the fuck didn't she care? Had he said those things to her before?
I let out a sharp breath through my nose and squeezed my eyes shut. My jaw was clenched so hard it hurt, unable to rationalize the hint of betrayal beneath the anger.
Footsteps approached from the other side of the door before the lock clicked.
When the door swung open, my head raised, and I locked eyes with Benji who stood there in a white shirt and gray sweats. Even at two in the morning, his dark hair was slicked back to perfection.
My best friend took one look at me and his eyebrow shot up.
“What happened to your face?”
We stared at each other for a second. Then I said the only thing that mattered right now.
“In the ring. Right now.”
Benji didn’t move.
Didn’t ask questions.
He just studied my face for a long moment.
My breathing was still heavy, my fingers flexing around the door frame like I was already throwing punches. Something in my expression must’ve told him everything he needed to know because he gave me a nod.
“Ten minutes.”
I stepped inside and leaned against the wall, crossing my arms as I waited. My mind kept replaying the night like a broken highlight reel.
Savannah’s body under mine in the bathroom earlier.
Her breath hitching.
Her fingers gripping the countertop.
Then Prince Charming had to go and fuck it up.
My fingers curled into fists again.
Ten minutes later, Benji came back out of his room with both hands wrapped. He tossed something at me and I caught it automatically.
“You’re gonna rip those dress pants if you swing in them,” he said casually when I looked down.
Black sweats and a shirt.
Nodding, I stripped off my shirt and dress pants in silence and pulled on the sweats. The cool air hit my skin, but it didn’t do anything to calm the heat burning under it.
I left the shirt then bent low for my bag. “Let’s go.”
Two minutes later, we were in the elevator heading down.
Neither of us spoke.
The mirrored walls reflected the state I was in—bruised cheek, messy hair, chest still rising and falling too fast.
Benji glanced at me once then looked forward again.
Ding.
The elevator doors opened to the private gym on the lower level, and the fluorescent lights flicked on automatically as we stepped inside. One side housed all the workout equipment and gear while the other had a boxing ring raised off the floor.
I dropped my bag by the edge of the mat and climbed through the ropes without a word. My hands reached for one of the pairs of boxing gloves, sliding them on with ease and familiarity.
Benji followed, rolling his shoulders once and cracking his neck slightly.
Then looked across the ring at me.
“You ready to talk,” he said calmly, locking the straps of his gloves, “or are you just trying to kill something tonight?”
I clicked my two gloves together as if that were the answer to his question, then gestured him forward with the crook of one glove. I was in no mood to talk.
“If I wanted to talk about it,” I said flatly, “we wouldn’t be here.”
Benji’s mouth curved into a crooked smirk.
“Oh,” he said lightly. “So this isn’t your way of saying you miss getting your ass kicked in the ring?”
I scoffed and lifted my fists into position. “Keep talking.”
Benji grinned. “Same rules apply.”
And then he launched at me.
His first punch came fast. I barely blocked it before his second one followed, and just like that, the gym filled with the sharp smack of gloves against forearms and ribs.
Round one was brutal.
Benji was faster tonight.
Or maybe my head wasn’t fully in it yet.
Either way, he caught me twice in the ribs and once along the jaw before the timer on his watch beeped.
“Round,” he said calmly, stepping back.
I wiped the sweat starting to gather on my forehead and rolled my neck.
Round two started a few seconds later.
This time I went in harder.
Anger finally found an outlet.
My punches landed heavier, faster, driving Benji back a step as I caught him across the shoulder and then square in the chest.
He grunted.
“Better.”
I took the second round.
By the third, the rhythm of it had taken over.
Punch.
Block.
Slip.
Strike.
The sound of hard plastic echoed through the empty gym as we circled each other. Benji caught me with a clean hit to the side of my ribs that made me suck in a breath.
He took round three.
Round four went the same way, and by then we were both sweating and breathing heavily. But the anger didn't fade as I hoped it would.
Which only pissed me off more.
When the fifth round started, I didn’t wait. I went straight at him.
“You know what the problem is?” I snapped, throwing a punch that he blocked easily.
Asshole.
“What’s that?” he said, ducking another.
“Chase.”
My fist slammed into his guard.
“That guy is such a fucking—”
I swung again.
Benji slipped it.
“—dick.”
My breath came harder now as the words started spilling out.
“He called her a fucking whore,” I growled. “Right to her face. As if she”—Benji swung and I blocked—“was the one who deserved it. Degraded her right to my fucking face.”
Punch.
Block.
“Talked about her like she was nothing.”
Dunk.
Punch.
“He deserved what he got.”
Benji absorbed another hit on his forearms.
“And then she gets pissed at me,” I continued, throwing another strike, “like I’m the one who did something wrong.”
He countered with a quick jab that clipped my shoulder.
“She said I should’ve just walked away.” I laughed bitterly and swung again. “Like hell was I going to stand there and listen to that asshole run his mouth about her.”
Benji blocked again.
“Then he brings up my fucking sister,” I muttered, my jaw tightening. “Fuck that.”
My fist slammed against his guard.
“So yeah,” I finished harshly. “I decided to teach him a lesson.”
Another swing.
“And Savannah gets mad at me for it. Me! What the absolute fuck?”
“Give me all the facts. Tell me what exactly happened,” he said, and that's exactly what I did.
Benji didn’t say anything.
He just kept defending, blocking every punch I threw until the last of my anger burned itself out. When I finally stopped, my arms dropped slightly and I growled, walking away from him.
My chest was heaving now.
“I'm the one who's been there for her. Me. Not him. I'm the one who's been treating her the way she truly deserves. I'm the one who…”
I pinched off one of the gloves as I leaned back against the ropes, dragging a hand across my face.
“Fuck.”
Across the ring, Benji leaned back against the opposite ropes, breathing steadily. He watched me for a moment, then he said calmly,
“She wasn’t choosing Chase, by the way.”
I looked up sharply. “What?”
He lifted both hands in a small gesture.
“I’m just saying. She probably just didn’t want to attract attention to herself,” he said. “Or the situation.”
I glared at him. “So, what? Now I'm the bad guy for defending her?”
“I didn't say that. All I'm saying is she doesn't seem like the fight-for-my-honor type. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that she doesn't enjoy being the center of attention.”
I ran my tongue slowly across my teeth.
“And you,” he added, pointing casually at me, “served it up on a silver platter tonight. Let me guess, this fight happened… in front of her family and friends?”
My jaw tightened again. “Hotel lobby.”
“Uh-huh. And are we counting lucky stars that you weren't arrested?”
“Maddox was there. Turns out he owns the Carrion.”
“Dammit, he moves fast. I was looking to buy that hotel.” Benji pushed off the ropes and stretched his arms behind his head. “Look, you weren't wrong for coming to her defense,” he continued. “She probably realized that, too.”
I frowned and he simply shrugged.
“And my guess is she'll probably feel bad in the morning for arguing with you.”
Silence settled over the ring again. My breathing slowly started to even out, but the knot in my chest hadn’t gone anywhere. If there was one thing I'd learned about my trouble, it was that she was set in her ways.
Benji ducked under the ropes and hopped down from the ring, walking to the vending machines. I followed him, my legs heavy as the adrenaline finally started draining out of my system.
My ribs ached. My knuckles throbbed.
But my head felt… quieter.
He punched a few buttons and the machine rattled before two bottles of water dropped down.
I caught the one he tossed at me and twisted the cap off before chugging half the bottle in one go, the cold water burning down my throat.
Then I let myself fall backward onto the gym floor, stretching out across the mat with a groan.
“Why can't I get her out of my head?” I mumbled, more for my benefit than his.
Benji leaned against the machine for a second before walking over and standing above me, hands resting on his hips.
“Why do you care so much anyway?”