An Act of Redemption (21 page)

As we pull up to the house she gives me a fake smile before quickly exiting the car. I jump out quickly, coming around the other side and snag her around the waist before she can make her escape. She keeps her gaze on my chest, refusing to make eye contact. Grasping her chin, I lift her face to see she has unshed tears in her eyes, and it completely guts me.

“Everything is going to be okay, I promise.”

She nods. “I know, I’m sorry. I’m just scared for you.”

“Don’t be. I can take this fucker and he’s going to pay for what he did to you.”

“Just remember who you are, Logan.”

I know exactly what she’s saying but she doesn’t need to. I move in closer and cup her firm ass in my hands before lifting her off her feet. “I know exactly who I am, baby, and that’s yours.” That brings a genuine smile to her face. “Now kiss me and tell me you’re my Anna.”

Her soft lips brush mine. “I’m your Anna,” she whispers, turning my dick hard.

“Mine,” I growl unintentionally.

“Yours,” she repeats quietly.

My mouth slams down on hers and I take all the sweetness she has to offer, needing it before I leave her. The slam of a door snaps us out of our moment and I turn to see Jaxson glaring at us. With a grunt I turn back to Anna. “I guess that’s my cue, baby.” I press one more kiss to her smiling mouth before dropping her back to her feet. Reaching up, I cup the side of her smooth cheek. “I’ll be back in a few hours.”

Her smile dims and so does the light that she just had in her eyes. “I’ll be here waiting for you…always.” With a kiss to my palm she reluctantly steps away.

I desperately want to pull her back and say
fuck it
, but know I can’t. I watch her run up the front steps, stopping long enough to jump on Jaxson and kiss his cheek. “Hi, Mr. Grouch.” She giggles at his grunt then turns back to me one last time to blow me a kiss before heading into the house.

I walk over to the garage where my bike has been parked for the last few days so I could drive Anna around in the truck.

“It might rain tonight you know,” Jaxson says, following me.

“I’ll be fine.” If I don’t have to be confined inside of a vehicle I’m not going to be. I was confined long enough. The only time I’ll drive the truck the agents rented for me is when I have Anna because I know it’s better for her. But for me, I need the open air; it’s something I went without for too long.

“You feeling good about tonight?” he asks as I straddle the bike.

“Yeah, I’m ready.” And I am. The fury that has been coiling inside of me since the incident against Anna is just waiting to be unleashed.

“Keep it together. I know you’re pissed, so am I, but don’t let your emotions fuck with your head.”

“Don’t worry, the only thing my fury will be fueling is my punches.”

He nods. “All right. I’ll see you in a bit, kid. Wreak havoc.” After a hard clap to my shoulder he walks off.

“You do know I’m only eight years younger than you, right? That’s far from a kid,” I yell to his retreating back.

He stops and turns around. “As long as you’re dating my little sister you’re a kid. If you don’t want to be a kid then I guess you better break up with her.”

I grunt. “Not happening.”

“Yeah, I figured, but it was worth a try,” he says with a smirk, then turns around and heads into the house.

Shaking my head with a chuckle, I start the bike up and go do what needs to be done for the sake of my freedom.

*

Adrenaline viciously pumps through my body as I bounce on the balls of my feet, my muscles wound tight with a dangerous rage waiting to be unleashed. Not even the cheering from the crowd, one of the largest yet, penetrates the violence roaring in my ears.

Ricketts stands on the other side of the ring with a cocky smile. He has no idea what’s about to come to him. His fate was sealed the moment he made the decision to go after Anna.

“Jesus, man, I’ve never seen you like this before, you look about ready to kill,” Lewis comments, as he finishes smearing the Vaseline on my face. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good thing. Just tell me whatever it is he did so I know not to ever do it.” He chuckles awkwardly at his joke.

Before I can answer, the ref starts his announcements. I pay no attention to him and keep my eyes trained on Ricketts, waiting for that bell to ring at any moment.

“You wanna know?” I ask, as soon as the ref finishes.

“Yeah.”

“Never fuck with my girl.”

As soon as the bell sounds, I waste no time and head right for the fucker. A split second of surprise flashes in Ricketts’s eyes just before I strike hard and fast. He expected me to do the usual dancing around, put on a show, and it was his mistake. I never give him a chance to hit back. I only make him pay for what he did to Anna. “Not so tough now are you, motherfucker?” I snarl, pummeling him with my fists, feeling bone crush against each blow.

He finds a way to escape the corner I forced him into. “Jesus, man, what the fuck?” he bellows, looking up at me with his face swollen and bloody, still caught off guard by my intensity.

“Did you think you were going to get away with going after my girl?”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” he shouts back, acting like he doesn’t know.

“You’re full of shit and you’re going to fucking regret ever touching her.” I go after him again, but this time he’s ready for me. He manages to get a few punches, but nothing compared to the blows I land on him.

“Goddammit!” He stumbles around with his arms up, foolishly thinking that will protect him from me. He manages to escape fists once again. “I’m telling you, I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, I didn’t fucking touch her.”

“You’re lying! I saw you watching us outside the gym.”

“I was checking to see where you were training but that’s it. I haven’t seen her since that day. I fucking swear it!”

I stop my circling, a moment of doubt worming its way inside of me. Something in his tone has me questioning what I thought I knew. Unfortunately, he uses this split second to his advantage. Charging at me, he takes me to the ground and lands a few blows, some really powerful ones that have my ears ringing.

In a swift move that I learned from Slade the other day, I flip him over and get him under me. I wrap one arm around his neck and my other around his leg. He struggles to get free but I have him locked up tight, he isn’t going anywhere.

When the bastard spits in my face, I twist my arm that’s curled around his knee until I hear a sickening crack. His scream of agony fills me with satisfaction.

I stare down at him, my eyes hard with warning. “If you ever go near her again I will fucking end you. Do you hear me?”

“I didn’t touch her! You have the wrong guy,” he chokes out through the little air I’m allowing through.

Something tells me he’s being truthful, and now I’m left with a lot more questions.

Who the fuck could have done it?

Ricketts’s struggling brings me from my troubled thoughts. “You better be telling the truth, because if not I’m coming back for you.” With that last threat I finish what I started. I tighten my arm around his neck and it isn’t long until he falls unconscious.

As the bell rings for my victory, I release his limp body and get to my feet. Lewis runs up to me, jumping at me with excitement. “You did it, man, you fucking did it. You’re in the final!” He raises my hand to the screaming crowd, cheering as loud as them, but none of it fazes me. It never does.

I hate this shit.

A pair of panties hit my chest. I kick them to the side without bothering to look in the direction they came from. Pulling away from Lewis I head to my dressing room, wanting to get the fuck out of here. I shove my way through the crowd, but come to a dead stop when I spot someone in the far back corner, watching me. The guy has a hood pulled over his head, shielding most of his face. Something about his stance has familiarity tugging at my memory, reminding me a lot of Kolan Slade.

What the fuck?

The person turns and slips out the side door, snapping me into action. I rush toward the emergency exit, pushing past the crowded bodies. By the time I make it out the door he’s long gone. It’s as if he fucking vanished.

“Hey, man, what’s going on? Who are you chasing after?” Lewis asks, running out the door behind me.

I turn to him. “Do you know who that was?”

“Who?”

“The guy with the hood on. Didn’t you see him?”

He stares at me like I’m crazy. “Did Ricketts get more shots on you than I thought?”

I shake my head. “Never mind.” I head back inside and go to my dressing room.

Lewis keeps close, following me in then slams the door behind him. “Fuck, you were a beast out there. No one and I mean
no one
has ever been able to take him down like that.” He jumps at me again, his excitement still apparent. “Jesus, I can’t believe we’re at the final. This is going to be huge. I’m wagering everything I have on you.”

I inwardly tense as guilt rears inside of me. “No, don’t. Don’t wager anything, you have no idea if I’m going to win.”

“What the hell are you talking about? Of course you are, and we’re going to make a killing.”

“So you know who I’m fighting?”

“Well, no. We don’t find out until that night, but I have complete faith in you, man. I think you might actually be unbeatable.”

I shake my head. “No one is, Lewis.”

His excitement dims and concern takes over his expression. “Yo, Knight, don’t tell me you’re flaking out on me, man. You can’t. These guys don’t fuck around. If you don’t go through with this they won’t think twice about killing you, and I don’t want that to happen.”

His sincere concern makes me feel even more like shit. I want to divulge everything and tell him to fucking run, but I know I can’t. Instead I pull myself together and wave away his panic. “Nah, man, I’m not flaking out. You know me—I wouldn’t do that. I just don’t want the added pressure of you losing all your money and living on the streets.” I joke halfheartedly.

He releases a relieved breath. “All right, good. I didn’t think you would, you’re a man of your word.”

Before I end up cracking from the guilt, I clear my throat and change the subject. “So when and where is this final fight?”

“I don’t know and we won’t find out until last minute. Boss doesn’t trust anyone any more, not after the fed we caught undercover in here.”

“Fed?” I ask, knowing the agents need this information.

“Yep. He wasn’t around long before he was found out, and it ended with him taking his last breath.

“How was he caught?” I ask carefully, keeping my tone light.

He shrugs. “I don’t know, and to be honest I don’t want to. I’m here for the fighting and money, nothing else.”

I already knew that because the guy doesn’t have it in him to kill anyone, no matter how badass he tries to be. It makes me hate even more that he’s caught up in this shit. “If I decided to go EFC after this would you come with me?” I ask, before I can think better of it.

His eyes widen in surprise. “You serious? You’re thinking of going EFC?”

I shrug. “Why not? I figure it will be the only place I can make decent money. Like you said, who’s going to hire an ex-convict? Hell, I don’t even know if they will but it’s worth a try.”

A smirk stretches across his face. “Yeah, man, I’d be honored to come with you. We’ll find a way for you to do both. Can you imagine the money?”

“Or we use this as our chance to go the straight and narrow like we discussed,” I suggest, talking about the conversation we had just before he was released.

His smile dims, becoming more genuine than cocky. “Yeah, maybe we should.” With a heavy breath he runs a hand through his hair. “Look, I gotta run. I’ll keep you up to date, but I’d say you have at least a week or two.”

I nod. “All right, keep in touch.”

“Will do.” He turns to leave but stops and turns back around. “Oh, I was going to ask, what the hell did Ricketts do to your girl?”

I think about how much I should divulge, if anything. This time I decide to be honest, hoping he can help. “Someone waited for her the other night and threatened her, saying they would kill me if I didn’t throw the fight.”

“No shit?” he says, genuinely shocked. “No wonder you went at him like you did.”

“Yeah, well I’m not so sure it was him.”

“What do you mean?”

“He says he didn’t do it. Usually, I wouldn’t believe him but something feels off.”

“Who else could it be?”

I shrug. “I don’t know, I was hoping you could shed some light on that for me.”

I watch as he rolls it around in his head. “I don’t know, man. I’ve never heard of anything like that happening before. My first instinct would be that he’s lying, but who knows, stranger shit has happened. A lot of money rides on these fights, maybe they stupidly bet against you?” He shrugs. “Again, I have no idea, I’m just throwing shit out there, but to me it would be stupid to bring her into it. Why not just switch their bets and place their money on you?”

“Unless they can’t? Maybe they have more to lose than money?” I think out loud, trying to run over every possible scenario. Shaking my head, I let out a frustrated breath. “I don’t know.”