I guessed what deal with me meant.
Killian I didn’t want to mess with, but Sculpt even less because he had the mystery factor. He showed up at school on his motorcycle looking the epitome of a bad boy, stuck to himself until the cafeteria fight with Killian that day, and then hung with the most feared guy at school.
But despite Sculpt’s quietness, it didn’t take long for the girls to latch onto him like bees to honey because he was really good looking and had that danger aspect about him. The difference between him and Killian was that Killian didn’t like the girls around him.
And even tonight, Sculpt had chicks around him and Killian didn’t, although they were certainly looking.
We were in a basement of an office building for the illegal fight, and Killian wasn’t paying attention to the girls staring at him. No, he was glaring at me.
Sculpt had a pretty blonde girl on his arm who I recognized from school, but didn’t know her name. She also glared at me.
I certainly didn’t feel welcome, but no chance in hell was I running even though my legs were already out the door.
A hundred dollars, Savvy. Dance classes.
Sculpt nudged Killian, and both guys looked to the right where a guy came out of the men’s washroom a few feet away, bouncing on his toes as he made his way to the ring.
He was huge and older. Much older. Maybe twenty-five and covered in tattoos. He was also ripped. Bulging arm muscles. Legs like tree trunks. And he wore a seriously pissed-off scowl. I also noticed he didn’t wear any boxing gloves, had just wrapped hands.
Holy shit, was Sculpt fighting this guy? “Umm, you don’t wear boxing gloves and a helmet or something?”
Sculpt snorted with a grin while shaking his head. He eyed Killian. “You might be right.”
Killian grunted.
God, what if he really got hurt and needed a doctor? I had my first aid certificate, but I wasn’t prepared for serious injuries, and that guy looked like he could do serious damage.
What had I gotten myself into? What if someone died? What if he was knocked out? Or broke bones?
“Fuck,” Killian muttered then grabbed my chin, thumb bruising, and forced me to meet his eyes. “Breathe.”
I inhaled a ragged breath.
“I warned you not to take the fuckin’ job,” he said between clenched teeth. He released my chin but remained close so his heated breath wafted across my face, smelling like mint and pine.
He had. And he was right. I didn’t like this. At all. But it was a hundred bucks for an hour of my life. A hundred bucks toward dance school.
“I’m fine,” I replied, straightening my spine.
“You’re not fuckin’ fine,” he growled.
“I am,” I argued.
“You hold your breath when you’re scared, and you get pale as fuck. You’re not fuckin’ fine.” Killian looked at Mars. “Make sure she doesn’t pass out.”
Lips firm, I glared. “I’m not going to….” I stopped because he was already moving away to talk to Sculpt.
“He looks good,” Killian remarked, his focus also on the tattooed monster. “Bulky.”
Sculpt nodded. “Yeah. I’ll drag it out. Get him moving and tired first.”
They continued talking about Sculpt’s opponent while I looked around. The place was packed with mostly guys, but there were some girls, and all appeared older than us. I guessed we were the youngest here.
A lot of money exchanged hands, and the noise was loud with a constant buzz of excitement. It was infectious and even though I wasn’t looking forward to witnessing my first fight, I couldn’t help but feel the vibe, too.
“You want to pay attention, so you don’t get killed,” Killian barked.
Mars tugged on my sleeve.
Killian stood in front of me again. Sculpt was gone.
“Sorry,” I replied.
“Stay in this spot. Don’t go wandering or talk to anyone,” he ordered.
“Can we bet?” Mars blurted.
“No!” he said, but his focus was still on me. “Do you understand, Savvy?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“You hear sirens, don’t fuckin’ run with the crowd. You’ll get trampled.” Sirens? He must have recognized my shocked expression because he said, “Fights are raided all the time. Not a big deal if you know what to do and don’t panic.”
Police raiding seemed like a big deal to me, but I wasn’t going to tell him that. “So, where do we go?”
“You wait for me or Sculpt. We’ll get you out.”
“What if you can’t get to us?”
“One of us will,” Killian replied.
“But you might not.”
He groaned. “Yeah, if you leave this fuckin’ spot, we won’t. So stay here and don’t panic if anything happens.”
I rambled when I was nervous, and I opened my mouth to do just that and go on about the possibility that he wouldn’t be able to get to us if the crowd blocked him. I was also going to point out that he wasn’t Superman and able to fly over everyone to get to us.
But I never said anything because Mars knew exactly what I was going to do and latched onto my arm, shaking her head.
“We got it,” she said.
Killian briefly glanced at her, back at me, then nodded just as a guy announced the fighters.
Before Killian walked away, my fingers curled into the back of his T-shirt and tugged. He peered over his shoulder at me. “Are you fighting tonight, too?”
“No.” He stared at me a second then added, “I don’t fight for money.” His shirt stretched, my fingers slow to react as he strode away toward the ring.
We were at the back wall, near a storage closet and only a few people lingered near us. Most hovered and jostled one another to get closer to the ring.
“Kite likes you.” Mars bumped me with her shoulder, grinning.
“What? Are you insane?” I blurted loudly because Sculpt and the guy, appropriately called Hannibal, got in the ring and everyone cheered.
She shrugged. “Just sayin’. Sculpt doesn’t look at you like Kite does with those incredible green eyes.”
“He’s looking at me like that because he’s mad that I took the job.”