Page 56 of Jax

I reach down and grab Leenie’s hand and thrust it in the air like they did when his new girl won against me. I walk her around the room with her fist in the air, and most of Psycho’s followers glance away. Some of them spit at our feet. His loyal groupies, I guess. But still more look at Leenie and I like we actually are the real winners. Not that they would ever outwardly show it.

When we’re done, I limp back to our side where we find the two brothers grinning at us like lovesick fools. “I think you’re going to get lucky tonight,” I whisper to my new best friend.

“Girl, I better. I also need a massage and my nails done.”

“I owe you,” I tell her.

“Fuck that. We’re family. You don’t owe me shit.”

Leenie barely gets the words out before Finn’s body collides with hers in a massive hug. She winks at me over his shoulder, and it’s enough to deaden the pain for a little while.

25

Ireach out to steady both Finn and Leenie when his excitement almost makes them topple to the floor. My feet tangle up, and Jax has to save us all, steadying my hips with his enormous hands. The protector that Finn is makes sure Leenie’s okay before he spins on Tiron. Evidently, Finn’s match has started.

Finn peels his shirt off, showing off his athletic build. Leenie takes his shirt and drapes it over her shoulder as we watch him enter the circle.

Tiron’s a sneaky fucker. He’s always hiding shit and lurking where you least expect him. I don’t trust him being in the fight with Finn one bit.

Jax pulls Leenie and I close, eyeing the guys around us. I peer over Finn and Tiron, who are circling one another, and watch Psycho. A scowl darkens his face as he scrutinizes the fight. No doubt, he believed his girl would kick Leenie’s ass which didn’t happen. He probably kept me locked up in that room to make sure I was so energy deprived that I’d lose to his new girl. He couldn’t have known I would have chosen not to fight her. Psycho doesn’t think like that.

Now that we’re to the guys’ fights, tension fills the room like unbearable smoke. It’s been a while since I’ve seen Finn in a fight, and come to think of it, I believe I only saw it once before. He was always wanting to do everything Jax did so he followed him right into training.

He’s agile and quick, but Tiron is too. The difference is that Finn is a freaking professional. He doesn’t train in a squatter house, he runs his own damn gym. He knows about strategy, and his plan, apparently, is to blitz him. He doesn’t want Tiron to have room to even breathe.

We’re still in the first round when Finn wrestles Tiron to the ground and puts him in an arm bar. Psycho stands over them, glaring at Tiron whose free hand is hovering over Finn’s leg. It’s evident he wants to tap but he hesitates.

“Fucking tap,” Finn barks. “Don’t think I won’t break it.”

Tiron holds out for a few more seconds, but when Finn starts to lean back into the lock, Tiron taps quickly. As soon as Finn has extricated himself from the lock, Psycho picks Tiron up by the collar and throws him against the closest concrete wall. Psycho’s followers scatter like cockroaches. He punches Tiron until Tiron’s head bounces off the concrete, and he falls to the floor.

Psycho’s shoulders hunch as he stares down in disgust. He peers over his shoulder, and a light turns off in his eyes.

“Two to one,” Jax growls, entering the center of the ring to face Psycho. “You still want to go through with this? You can only hope to tie us.”

“Which still works out for me,” Psycho snarks. “I said you had to win, not tie.”

Jax shrugs. He obviously doesn’t plan on losing to Psycho, so his bend of the rulebook doesn’t matter to him. “Tell you what,” Jax says. “I’ll give you another day to prepare. Hell, I’ll even fight you in the Ring in front of anyone who wants to come. You win, we’ll walk out of there after handing over the keys, our tails between our legs. You lose, you lose for good. You get the hell out of Rawley Heights and stay out. You never touch Sadie again. You never even think about her.”

Psycho leers at me. “No problem. I’m done with the cheap slut anyway so you’re welcome to my seconds.”

Jax’s muscles tighten like he wants to fight right now but there must be a reason why he’s delaying it.

“If we fight in the Ring, we still fight with my rules?” Psycho asks.

“Three five-minute rounds. For the final match, no tap. You have to be knocked out or a bone broken.”

Psycho’s eyes glimmer, and I can tell he’s coming up with something. The extra time is only going to allow him to perfect whatever his scheme is. I’m about ready to tell Jax to finish him right here when Psycho nods. “But Sadie stays with us another night.”

“The fuck she does,” Jax snarls. “You already weren’t supposed to touch her yet she’s bruised from head to toe.”

“It’s not my fault she’s clumsy. Isn’t that right, Sadie?”

Jax isn’t a fool. “She’s not staying with you. If she can’t come with us, we fight now.”

Finn shuffles from one foot to the other. No one else notices, but it tells me that Jax just went off-script.

“How will I know the fight will happen tomorrow if you take her? There’s no incentive.”

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