Chapter 5
Xander
It’s my first fight of the competition and I have to admit, my nerves are starting to get the best of me. I know I’m prepared but I’ve never seen the opponent before, how do I know what to expect? Is he good? Is he a clean fighter or a dirty one?
Who the hell knows?
“You’ve got this,” Cole says to me as he takes both my shoulders and gives them a tight squeeze. Luke and Jace stand next to him, both giving me encouraging nods.
“Don’t let him get you off your feet,” Jace reminds me.
I nod along with them, taking in any last-minute advice they’ve got for me, after all, I don’t want to screw up my first fight of the season and tarnish my reputation before I’ve even got one. Besides, there is five grand on the line for tonight. Compared to my trust fund, that’s just spare change but it’s going to make a difference when I need to get my own place and live on my own two feet.
The announcer is heard over the speaker and is suddenly calling me ‘the Widow-Maker’ like who the fuck comes up with this shit? I don’t have a chance to dwell on it as Cole pushes me out into the ring with my robe and all.
The crowd is going nuts as they try to get a good look at the new-blood, trying to figure out what kind of competition I’m going to be. Little do they know, this competition is mine. I’m just that good.
I slowly pull off my robe, giving the chicks in the audience a good show before flicking it over to Cole who snatches it out of the air with a smirk. I hear the chicks in the crowd all screaming out dirty comments, wanting to get me in bed while the guys are all rushing around trying to get their bets down.
Even with every eye in the room on me, I feel a familiar piercing stare that has my heart rate picking up. What the hell. She couldn’t be here. There’s no way.
My eyes snap up to the crowd, right to the area I feel her stare. My eyes lock on hers in an instant to find her gawking at me and I have to admit I am completely shocked. What the hell is Charli doing here? Sweet, innocent Charli at a freaking place like this.
A strange need pulses through me to get out of the ring and rush up to her just so I can drag her ass out of this shit hole and take her home. She doesn’t belong in a place like this. But honestly, what do I know? Apart from telling her to keep my chance, I’ve never actually spoken to the chick. What do I know if she is an innocent, sweet girl? Hell, she works in a bar for fuck's sake and now she is at an underground fight. Maybe she isn’t the kind of girl I thought she was, maybe she is just the kind of girl I could bend over an….. No. I need to concentrate
Either way. She is here now and there is no way I am leaving this ring without my first win under my belt. I keep my eyes trained on her and watch as some loser flings his arm over her then leans his whole drunken body against hers, making her stumble forward. It infuriates me to see, but I must admit I get a slight satisfaction out of the way she cringes in distaste and pushes the loser off.
He wobbles behind her but she clearly doesn’t give a shit about the guy. A smirk comes ripping across my face and I watch in amusement as the corners of her lips begin to rise.
Whoever this girl is, I’ll be finding her after the fight.
The announcer starts to introduce my opponent and I know it’s time to stop staring at Charli and get my head in the game. I send a wink in her direction and grin as her face instantly flames.
I turn away and face the opposite side of the ring, mainly to give Charli a moment to get herself sorted but also to check out who this twat is ill be competing against.
The guy is introduced as ‘Hell-Raiser’ and I scoff at the pathetic excuse of a fight this is going to be. The guy is small and has barely any muscle mass. Though I have to be smart about this, he is here for a reason and wouldn’t be here if he couldn’t fight, which means the guy must be fast but so far, I have never come across anyone that is faster than me.
I watch him as he strips himself of his robe and makes his way into the centre of the ring, looking up at the crowd with both hands raised as if he is already the undefeated champion. Yeah freaking right. I need to teach this loser a lesson.
Before long he focuses his attention on me and the fight gets started. He lashes out immediately and I jump back out of the way, narrowly missing my jaw. Wow, this bastard really is quick. He smirks at me as if his little deadly secret has been revealed and I should suddenly be shaking in my boots.
He pushes forward but I won’t let this kid make a fool of me. I match his advance and go right for him. He seems put off, so I use that to my advantage and nail the guy in the gut then follow it up with a quick combination. Jab, jab, kick and repeat.
It’s almost like a game. The adrenaline pulsing through my veins has me feeling almost on cloud nine, add that to the feeling that I’ve got this fight in the bag and knowing that Charli can’t take her eyes off me. Amazing.
I’ve barely broken a sweat. ‘Hell-Raiser’ attempts to fight back but he has worn down way too quickly. Total rookie error.
“Quit playing with him,” I hear Cole scolding from the side, his voice roaring over the sound of the enthusiastic crowd.
I smirk down at the kid, who has sweat dripping through the centre of his eyebrows, a busted lip and a scowl that could go on for days. I almost feel bad finishing it so quickly, that the kid hardly got a chance to impress anyone which will not benefit the rest of his competition but I came here to do a job and build a reputation. From this point on, no one in this competition will doubt my skill, no one will enter the ring with me as cocky has this idiot had.
A slight cringe comes over me but I hide it immediately as my fist comes up and I clock him in the temple.
‘Hell-Raiser’ goes down like a sack of shit.
A guy comes rushing into the centre of the ring and grabs my wrist, holding it high above my head then speaks into a microphone. “Winner by ‘KO’ – ‘The Widow-Maker’.” The crowd starts cheering and I look up into the stands.
My eyes land on Charli instantly and what I see there has me thinking all sorts dangerous things. Her blue eyes flame as she takes me in, her bottom lip is pulled in between her teeth and without seeing those delectable thighs, I know they are pressing together, desperately trying to relieve the ache that she’s hoping I can fix.
Her need has me wanting to do all sorts of things to her, especially when the blush creeps over her cheeks when she realises she has been caught.
I smirk up at her but I don’t get to watch her long before Cole, Luke, and Jace are tackling me to the sweat and blood-soaked ground.
“I knew you could fucking do it,” Luke exclaims as he grabs me by the shoulders and shakes me in his own excitement.
Cole claps me on the back with a massive grin that takes over his whole face. He doesn’t say a word but he doesn’t need to, the words ‘fuck yeah’ is practically written across his forehead.
The boys drag me out of the ring while Jace reminds me of the five grand I’ve just won.
I look back over my shoulder just in time to see the dude Charli was with throw his arm over her shoulder and wrap the rest of his arm back around the front of her neck, not allowing her any freedom. He starts dragging her towards the exit and I see the worry in her eyes as she tries to pull his arm off her. She doesn’t want to leave with those people that much is clear.
“Hey,” I call to Cole, trying to get his attention back from his friends. He turns with a raised questioning eyebrow. “I gotta go, can you grab the money?” I ask as my eyes flick back toward Charli.
He looks confused, probably wondering why I’m suddenly desperate to get out of here. “Um, yeah, sure, whatever, man. I’ll see you at Rebels tomorrow.”
“Thanks,” I say before taking off like a bat out of hell.
I head towards the exit but can’t find her anywhere. I dash up the stairs and into the old abandon building but still can’t find her through the mass of people who are all trying to leave the building.
I head out the front and look up and down the car-lined street.
“Let me go,” I hear a girl’s voice growling. I turn in the direction the sound came but can’t see anything in the dark night. Something inside me screams that it’s Charli and I head in that direction, hoping I’m not wrong.
“Chill, babe. We’re having a fun,” a man’s voice responds. “Don’t start acting like a little bitch now.”
“This is your idea of fun?” the girl scoffs. “Get your dirty as fuck arm off me.”
I pick up my pace and follow the sound of her voice. I turn down an alleyway and spot them immediately. Charli is there, standing next to the guy and two other people who are already sitting in their car.
A girl hangs her head out the window and gives Charli an annoyed look. “Come on, hurry up already. We’ll head back to Eddie’s and Chris can show you a good time,” the girl slurs as she tries multiple of times to light up a joint.
The guy beside her who I’m assuming is Chris grins down at her and takes her by the wrist before trying to pull her into the car. “Don’t,” Charli shouts out.
“Hey,” I call as I finally catch up to them and focus my attention on Charli, “You ok?”
The guy reluctantly lets go of her wrist as all eyes turn to me. Some in suspicion, some with curiosity and one in relief with is mixed with a strange confusion.
“Um, yeah, I’m ok,” Charli says as she takes a step away from the guy.
“Cool. Wanna get out of here?” I ask.
She gives me a funny look and I know she is hesitant about me too, though the relief in her eyes is evident. She’d rather risk it with me than this guy. “Uh…,” she cringes.
“Dude, she’s with me,” the guy says, stepping forward into my face. Then turns towards Charli “Let’s go. Get in the car.”
“Dude,” I say, mimicking him. “It’s pretty damn clear she doesn’t want to go with you.”
“Come on. Let’s go,” the chick in the passenger’s seat whines as she blows a cloud of smoke out into Charli’s face.
“Um,” Charli says, finally speaking up. “I’m going to go with this guy,” she announces, indicating to me with her thumb.
“Whatever,” the guy grunts getting into the car. “She’s fucking frigid anyway.” He slams the door behind him and the car takes off up the alley.
“Thanks,” Charli murmurs, looking up at me. “That guy was a bit… much.”
“No shit,” I scoff, before looking her over, though not in a creepy way. “You’re really ok?”
“Yeah, thanks,” she says with a shy smile as her blue eyes meet mine. The move has that same blush creeping over her cheeks and I have to admit, I’m really digging it.
“Come on,” I say, indicating with a flick of my head for her to follow me. “Let me drop you home.”