Page 48 of Fury

“We went in.”

He narrows his eyes. “You did what?”

“I don’t have time to sit and wait,” I snap. “If you want her, we’re gonna have to kick down doors to get to her.”

He thinks over my words, and then a slow, sly smile spreads across his face. He pats my shoulder. “You’re not as dumb as you look.”

I force a smile even though I want to hit him square in the face. “I need a fight,” I tell him. “One I’m winning,” I add, so there’s not room for arguments.

He gives a nod and indicates for his fixer to come over. “Find my man a fight. Not a fixed one. Let’s see what he’s got.”

I roll my eyes as I head for the changing room.I’ll show the fucker what I can do.

I leavethe ring feeling a lot better than when I entered it. And even though Donnie’s fixer clearly tried to screw me over with a much larger opponent, he still couldn’t beat me.

I watch through swollen eyes as the bookie reluctantly counts out my winnings. Then I turn to Donnie and push the wedge of cash into his chest. He frowns, taking it. “Towards my debt,” I say, heading for the door.

As my bike slows to a stop, I hear the music from inside the clubhouse. My body aches, just like it always does when I fight without warming up properly, and all I really want is Xanthe. But when I step inside, I see she’s already occupied with some of the other brothers. She catches my eyes and smiles, but I don’t return it, instead heading for the bar and taking a bottle of whiskey.

“Hard shift?” asks Axel, assessing me from his seat at the bar. I sit beside him, unscrewing the cap and topping up his glass before drinking directly from the bottle.

I slam it down and sigh heavily. “I needed to feel,” I mutter.

“Did it work?”

I glance back to where Ink is whispering into Xanthe’s ear and roll my eyes. “What do you think?”

“There’s no cure,” he states. “Coop will tell yah.”

Coop looks up from his glass. “Huh?”

“For love, there’s no cure,” clarifies Axel.

Coop grins, shaking his head. “It can destroy your soul if you let it, Pres.”

“Is that why you stayed single after Widow?” asks Axel.

He shakes his head. “Nah, I chose to put everything into Lexi. I didn’t want her turning out like me or Widow.”

“Did you stay celibate?” I ask, frowning.

He laughs. “Don’t be crazy. I just didn’t let them close enough to rob my heart.” He takes a drink before adding, “It’s different for you.”

“How so?” I ask.

“You don’t have kids.”

“It’s not kids he’s protecting,” says Axel, downing his drink in one then tapping my bottle for a refill. “It’s his heart.”

I scoff, filling his glass. “You make me sound like a pussy.”

“I’m just speaking the truth.”

I grab my bottle and stand. “Look at her,” I say, “glowing in all their attention.” The words sound bitter as I watch her laughing at something Hawk says. “Is it any wonder?”

“All you have to do is walk over there and claim her.”

“So she can throw it in my face?” I ask, shaking my head. “I’m no good at it, Pres. Relationships just fuck up without me even trying.”

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