Page 64 of Jax

A shiver of dreaded excitement runs up my spine as Leenie and Finn approach us. It’s quiet. Because the FBI is going to be dropping in today, we didn’t announce the fight at all like we promised Psycho. Instead, the FBI came in here last night and bugged the whole damn thing, including cameras. We’re telling Psycho that we’re filming it and that he can have the tapes whether he wins or loses, giving him full control over them. Hopefully, that will settle him down over the initial anger he’s likely to get about not doing this in front of a crowd.

Finn opens a big, metal door in the alley, and we walk in. Jax flips on lights as we go. Our footsteps echo, and the place screams empty, abandoned warehouse with no one else in here but us. When we get to the main area, though, the vibe changes. Leenie and I sit back and watch as the brothers take off the ring cover. As they do, I immediately realize why Psycho didn’t put up too much of a fight about postponing the fight until today. One, I’m sure he wanted a breather to strategize and figure out what his Plan B was. But two, he couldn’t resist the temptation to fight in an octagon. It’s all he’s ever bitched about. How poor kids don’t get the same treatment. How he’ll never know what it would be like to fight in a ring because he wasn’t afforded the same opportunities.

As for me, I believe you make your own opportunities.

Look at Jax and Finn. By all accounts, they had the same upbringing as Psycho, and yet, instead of bitching about their situation, they fixed it. Proving that Psycho is just a whiny bitch.

It’s not long before they start showing up. The four of us are talking in a corner in low voices when we hear the echo of their footsteps coming down the corridor. When Psycho enters, he looks around, thrusting his hands out to his sides. He can’t be all that surprised with how quiet it is in here but he likes making a show of things. “What’s this? No people?”

Jax steps up. “I was worried that when I beat your ass you might do something stupid, so I felt it best to keep other people away.”

Psycho—or should I start calling him Daryl Loomis—laughs. “You just didn’t want all your admirers to see you get taken out.”

“You keep thinking that,” Jax says darkly. He starts pointing out the cameras around the room. “We thought of a compromise. These cameras are running, and you can have the footage whether you win or lose. That way, if you want to destroy it once I beat you into a bloody pulp, you can.”

Psycho’s slow walk up the aisle ends in front of us. He’s always been taller than me, but I feel less intimidated with Jax and Finn nearby who are the same height but much bulkier. “I think I’ll be using that footage for something far better.” The evil smirk Psycho lets loose sends a shiver down me. No doubt he thinks he’ll be able to smear their name. “So, since we have the cameras recording, let’s put the terms of the fight on record, shall we?” Jax nods for Psycho to continue. “If I win, I get this businessandElite Boxing. Did you bring the titles?” Finn pulls the titles from a folder he’s carrying and hands it over to Psycho. They’re fakes. We won’t be losing anything here today.

“If I win,” Jax starts. “You leave Sadie the fuck alone for the rest of her life. She’s free. From everyone. No retaliation. No checking up. You become a distant memory.”

Psycho gives me a hasty inspection with an upturned nose. No doubt he sees the clear evidence of what his girl did to me yesterday but also the medical attention I received, too. He never so much as afforded me the opportunity to get professional help after he hurt me. I’m sure there was a whole slew of reasons but one was because he just didn’t care.

I scan the people he brought with him and am surprised to see Tiron in a sling. Not that I should be. It’s such a Psycho thing to do. I’m sure he thinks Tiron should’ve let Finn break his arm with that armbar, but since he tapped out, Psycho delivered his own punishment.

Jax holds out his hand, and Psycho places his hand in his and they shake on it.

A feral smile pulls Jax’s lips taut. With Psycho still in his grip, he yanks him forward and headbutts Psycho square in the forehead. Psycho immediately grunts, reaching up to touch his head. Jax shoves him back into his gaggle of followers. “That’s for the cheap shot Leenie took yesterday.”

Leenie chuckles, and even though she’s in a different line of work than her brother, it’s evident they’re related. Girl’s got an evil streak.

And I love it.

Psycho runs a hand over his forehead as Jax stalks toward the octagon. Psycho’s chest heaves in huge breaths as he attempts to regain control. He’s not used to looking like a fool in front of his people.

Finn takes a low-key defensive stance in front of Leenie and me while he shouts words of encouragement to his brother who’s peeling his shirt off. He tosses it to the side as he climbs the few steps into the ring.

Damn if the boy didn’t just get ten times sexier. He bounces from foot to foot, his pectorals shifting and moving. If the headbutt hurt him as much as it did Psycho, he’s not showing it. As Psycho traipses toward the entrance, Jax gives me a quick wink.

Smiling, I follow Finn as we move toward the opposite end of the ring while Psycho’s people huddle around the cage where we were. Everyone is here, like we thought. The new girl is front and center, Tiron is sulking off to the side, and my new friend I promised we’d get out is standing at the very edge of the group, eyeing me. I give her a slight nod to let her know I have it handled, and I sure as fuck hope I do. A lot is riding on this moment, and Psycho is still the one who’s up in the air. Who knows what he has up his sleeve for his Plan B, but if he wants to get through the FBI, it better be a damned good one.

The smile Psycho wears as he enters the cage can’t be hidden. It makes me sick to think he’s taking any pleasure from this but it fades away quickly when the bell rings.

I’ve been waiting for a long time for Psycho to get his but it’s that much better to know that Jax is doing it. For me. Inmyname.

29

Psycho’s stance mirrors Jax’s, tightening my stomach. They look comparable. Equals. I assumed Jax would outclass him by a long shot. Psycho’s a con man. He dupes people for money—or gets other people to do it for him—so I wasn’t expecting him to look as well-trained as Jax does.

I swallow a lump in my throat as Finn grabs the metal cage, shouting advice to his brother as the two men circle. It’s suddenly so hot in here that my stomach sours and shifts. Sweat gathers at the edge of my hair. We’re literally fifteen minutes away from Jacob’s FBI team coming in here and shutting Psycho’s little cult down for good.

My interrogator was the first person to use that word in front of me. I Googled it on Jax’s phone late last night as he was sleeping next to me, and I’m completely embarrassed to think that that’s what he was. Someone who was so damn manipulative he got people to do things that they never would have dreamed of in a million years. A cult leader.

So, when Jax throws the first punch, and it whips Psycho’s head around, I can’t help the “Yes!” that bursts from my mouth. Psycho turns his head and glares at me but the only thing his inattention does is give Jax another opening. He follows up his punch with two more, knocking Psycho back against the side of the ring.

I jump up and down, ignoring the dull aches and pains all over my body, and scream into the cage as Jax meticulously tears him apart. Body punches, jabs to the nose, he covers nearly every square inch of his body with punishing blows while I’m yelling for him the whole time. It’s as if every punch he lands is scabbing over a scar on my body. On my emotions. On my peace of mind.

Leenie moves to my side and rubs my back as hot tears fall over my cheeks. They’re angry, bitter tears, and I’d like to think it’s all the damage Psycho has done to me expelling out for good. Like a cleansing of epic proportions.

When the bell rings, signaling the end of the first round, Psycho has a gash over his right eye to match the one Jax gave him from the headbutt. Psycho got in some punches but not enough to make it an even fight. Not by a long shot.

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