Dark Horse (14 page)

“
We have a business relationship, Henry. But that doesn’t mean you’re always on the clock. What we do on our time doesn’t have to interfere with what you do for me.”

“
We’ll see.”

“
Henry… I don’t mind. I can do this for you. Whenever you want it.”

H
e paused for a moment before opening the door.

“
I have to go now,” he said. “I’m already late for my training tomorrow.”

“
Go.”

Henry stared at me for one last moment then closed the door. I stood there in a state I couldn
’t quite describe. A man had never been so forceful with me before. Even stranger than that was the fact that I enjoyed it. But I couldn’t let it get to me. Henry was right. I was using him. And I couldn’t allow my better judgment get in the way of good business.

Knowing that Henry wasn
’t completely infallible, a smile suddenly developed on my face. I started to giggle to myself as I headed toward the bathroom. When I looked at my reflection in the mirror, I couldn’t help but laugh.

Just like every other man
. Powerless to your own desires. You’re not so complicated, Henry. Now I’ve got you right where I want you.

Chapter 15 - Henry

My arms were growing heavy. The sweat dripped down my head and the rest of my body. The fluids fell down onto the mat underneath me and created a small puddle. My chest was burning up. My heart was pumping and the blood was rushing through all of my muscles. My lungs couldn’t take in the air fast enough.

“
Don’t stop, Henry. Keep going.”

King held the pads up as I pounded awa
y at them. Even with gloves on, I could feel my knuckles beginning to swell from all of the punches I was throwing. I didn’t know where the energy was coming from but I had it. My eyes were locked on the target and I was continuing to hit them while King continued to yell at me.

“
Switch!”

He shifted the pads to the side of his head. I lowered my hands just a bit and began delivering heavy kicks aimed at King
’s chest. My shin thudded against the pads, the sound echoing through the small gym. The vibration of the pad sent a shockwave through my bones each time I lifted my leg up. Left kicks. Right kicks. I was light on my toes as I shifted back and forth. My focus didn’t waver. My body was crying for a break but I did my best to ignore it.

“
Time!”

Maxwell screamed and I nearly collapsed in place. I couldn
’t take it any longer. My arms fell to my sides and the sweat on them went flying toward the ground. I drooped in place as I took in huge gasps of breath.

“
Nice work, Henry,” King said to me. “You look like you know what you’re doing.”

“
It’s been a long time.”

“
Maybe. But just remember that you don’t lose it. You may have forgotten where you put it but it’s always there.”

“
Well, my memory isn’t too good either.”

“
I’ll be the judge of that. Where exactly did you learn all of that?”

“
Marine Corps. Special Forces. A couple of guys in my command like to mess around and—”

“
Mess around?”

“
Yeah. I never thought there was any practical application to this but they wanted us to prepare for every contingency. So I had to learn how to throw a punch and kick properly even though I never really used it.”

“
You’ve got good fundamentals, Henry. I can’t teach you how to be a savage but it’ll be useful for what I know you’re doing now. Go take a break. You got fifteen minutes.”

King winked at me and disappeared into the gym. He knew what Maxwell and I were involved in. He wasn
’t a fan of it. But he had some sympathy for me because I felt the same way he did. King knew that I was only doing this because I didn’t have a choice. It was the only reason he took a chance on me.

“
Nice job, baby,” Maxwell said as he walked up to me. “You’re looking good. You’re looking real good.”

He handed me some water and a towel. Maxwell stood there with an inexplicable excitement on his face
while I wiped the sweat off of my body. Even though I was dressed in nothing but a pair of shorts, the gym still felt like I was standing in the middle of the desert.

I drank the water to try and quench my thirst. The cold fluid felt like ice against my i
nsides. I looked at Maxwell and wondered what he was so happy about.

“
Are you all right?” I asked him.

“
Yeah, I’m all right. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“
That’s not what I meant. You look excited for some reason.”

“
Shit, man. Have you seen yourself in the mirror? You’re a machine. Wilson’s not going to know what hit him when you clock him upside the head.”

“
I don’t think it’s going to be that easy.”

“
If you keep this up, it will be.”

I had grown more anxious as my fi
ght with Wilson came closer. I knew that there was a lot on the line so when I got to the gym, I did everything I could to try and remain focused. I didn’t know much about him except what he looked like. I just had to assume that he was capable of hurting me and doing some permanent damage.

“
You look different today,” he said to me.

“
Different? Different how?”

“
I don’t know. It’s like you’ve got a little pep in your step. You’re in a better mood or something. You’re not usually like this.”

“
I don’t know,” I shrugged. “I guess I’m just trying to focus.”

I didn
’t tell him about what happened with Lanea just last night. I had let my instincts get the best of me. It was a moment of weakness and I lost control to my own lust. I was upset with myself because I had given Lanea what she wanted. Deep down inside, I wanted it as well. The fact that she was able to manipulate me into making me do that was the proof. But I didn’t want to lose myself to any feelings I might be developing for her, lustful or otherwise.

As
I stood there and waited for King to return, Maxwell looked at me with a bit of curiosity in his eyes. He knew that something was different about me. I couldn’t hide it.

“
Is there anything else you need, man?” Maxwell asked me.

“
No, I’m fine.”

“
By the way, how was your little date with Lanea?”

I hesitated to respond. I wondered whether it would be a good idea to tell him what happened but decided against it. I didn
’t want him to badger me about anything besides getting ready for the fight.

“
It was fine,” I said. “She bought me a bunch of food and I ate a lot. A big meal is always good to have after a tough work-out.”

“
So she took you out to dinner and that’s it?”

“
That’s right.”

Maxwell looked at me with some skepticism on his face. He narrowed his eyes and
a sly grin developed on his face. I did my best not to react to the face he was making at me.

“
So you didn’t…”

“
Didn’t what?” I asked.

“
Hey, I’m just saying. Winning big fights comes with a lot of rewards. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying yourself.”

“
I’m aware of that,” I said. “But I’m not interested in any of that at the moment. I have to stay focused. I know that you and Lanea want one thing and I want the same thing. I win this fight and we all make a lot of money. That’s the only thing that matters.”

“
I know, I know. I’m just saying. There’s nothing wrong with having a little fun. Lanea seems to be taking a liking to you.”

“
Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

“
I don’t know, Henry. Just be careful.”

“
You don’t have to tell me that.”

Maxwell smiled at me, no longer able to hide his grin. When he started to burst into laughter, I rolled my eyes at him. I took another sip of water and did my best to try and rehydrate myself before King would return to punish me. Fifteen minutes never se
emed so short.

When King returned, Maxwell took his position off to the side and observed us. The second phase of our training sessions involved less kicking and punching. Because of that, it required me to use significantly more energy. King
wrestled with me so that I knew what to do in case a bigger man took me to the ground. At any moment, I could have an arm or a leg broken. It was a good possibility that it might happen and I couldn’t fight the idea from entering my head.

My fight with Wil
son was only a day away. I soaked up as much of the information King gave me in an attempt to find the old training I once had. Ready or not, I would have to step into The Pit with everything on the line.

When the training session finally ended, I was exha
usted as usual as I exited the gym. Maxwell was there by my side the entire time. He was like my manager. A man there to ensure that his fighter would perform at his best.

“
What do you say I treat you to something?” Maxwell asked me. “I can’t afford as fancy a dinner as Lanea got you but I can get your stomach filled up just the same. You need to recover your energy. Fight’s just around the corner.”

“
Sure. Just let me take care of something first.”

“
Yeah, no problem, man. I’ll be at the diner around the corner.”

Maxwell disappeared into the city after the end of a long day. I stood outside of the gym feeling like I had accomplished a lot. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the cell phone I was now able to afford because of my wealth.

“Let me see…”

I dia
led Nina’s number. I hadn’t spoken to her since she had told me that she didn’t want me to see my daughter. Now that I was better off with a place to stay and some money in my pocket, I knew that I would be able to change her mind.

“
Hello?”

“
Nina.”

“
Who is this?”

“
It’s Henry.”

“
Henry? What do you want?”

“
I just wanted to tell you that I found a job and… you don’t have to do what you were going to do.”

“
Just because you found a job doesn’t change anything.”

“
It does. You were right, Nina. Elsa deserves better than to have to spend time with her father in a dump like I was living in. But I don’t live there any more. I’m living in a nicer place. Much nicer.”

“…
I don’t know, Henry.”

“
Come on, Nina. She’s my daughter. At least give me the chance to see her. I’m trying to do everything that you’re asking me to do. I’m trying to make things right. Elsa deserves to see her father.”

“
Henry…”

I could still hear the hesitation in her voice. I was doing my best to hold all of my frustration back. Just knowing that she wa
s keeping Elsa away from me because of the life I was living tore me up inside.

“
All I want is a chance, Nina. It’s not going to be like before. I’m going to be there for her. As often as I can.”

“
I’ll think about it. Things might have changed for now but who knows if you’ll keep this up. I just don’t know, Henry.”

“
Okay. Just give it some real thought. I sent you your checks. And after tomorrow night, I’ll have enough money for a long time. I told you that you just caught me at a bad time.”

“
Listen, Henry. I have to go now. Can we talk about this later?”

“
Sure.”

“
I promise I’ll think about it.”

“
That’s all I wanted.”

The phone clicked off quickly. Just knowing that Nina would give me a second chance to spend some time with Elsa had put me in a
better mood than I was already in. It put a lot of pressure on me to win the fight against Wilson but now I was more focused than ever. There was no way I would allow myself to lose to him.

I was going to put my phone into my pocket when it started to rin
g again. I looked down at the number that I didn’t recognize. I hesitated to answer it for just a moment before finally putting the phone to my ear.

“
Hello.”

“
How are you doing, Henry?”

“
Who is this?”

“
Oh, I’m hurt, Henry. You would forget my voice so quickly after all of the fun we had last night.”

“
What do you want, Lanea?” I sighed.

“
Is that any way to talk to the woman you just fucked the shit out of? Oh wait, it is.”

I listened to the sound of Lanea giggling on the other end of the line, waiting for he
r to get to the point.

“
I was just checking on my favorite fighter. I wanted to make sure he’s ready for his big fight.”

“
I’m fine, Lanea. I’ll be ready. I’m going to win.”

“
That’s what I like to hear. I like a man who knows what he wants. Confidence. That’s what it takes to make it in this world. Speaking of which… What do you say you come over and relax? I know that you’ve just finished up a very thorough training session. I’m sure your muscles are very tense right now. I could relieve some of that tension.”

“
Not now, Lanea. I have to focus.”

“
But how can you focus when I know what’s building up inside of you? You need to release—”

“
Listen, Lanea. What happened last night… I don’t know why I did what I did.”

“
I know why you did it.”

“
It doesn’t matter. You’re just complicating things by thinking that our relationship is anything more than you making money off of me. Do you understand?”