Page 8 of Ignite
It was all pretend, but the fantasy was way better than thereality.
Like I said, when you’re as little as me, you take whatever win you couldget.
4
Liam
Irarely foughtthree nights in a row, but tonight, I’d made anexception.
I was climbing up the leaderboard fast, accruing a heap of Championship points. If I could keep up the momentum, it wouldn’t be long before I was assured a place in the title fight. And if I could win, it would mean life-changing amounts ofmoney.
The Underground was always packed on a Friday night?. I moved through the wall of people, smiling and fist bumping a few people who said hey. Declining a selfie with a good-looking woman, I turned, and that was when I sawher. ?????
Ali.
I lingered, watching her stare up at the fight board. One of my best assets as a fighter was my ability to read other people. You could learn a lot about an opponent in the way he acted around other people. If he showed arrogance or humility toward his friends and conquests. The way he carried his shoulders, made gestures, and paid attention to what was happening around him. Unconscious tells that helped me see the best way to bring him down in less than five minutes. Most of the time, they didn’t even realize they’d given themselves away until they weretapping.
I was sure it was a skill I could apply to some real-world job to make a legitimate living, but I’d never flown that way. Rules and I…well, we’d never seen eye toeye.
Watching Ali from afar, it was the first time I’d been able to really look at her. Twice I’d talked to the woman, and twice she’d shied away, doing a damn fine job of hiding her true face. I didn’t think there was anything sinister about it, but this was three nights in a row she’d come back, which meant it was twice she’d ignored my warnings. She had balls. Big brassones.
She was standing on her own, a cute little mouse in a room full of much larger predatory animals. If I wasn’t paying attention, I would probably overlook her in the chaos, but she was a calm point in thestorm.
She was wearing the same biker jacket, but tonight, her top was gray. This time, I noticed she was wearing sloppy black boots and tight jeans that wrapped around her legs like a second skin. Her hands were shoved into her pockets, the collar on her jacket flipped up to cover the back of her neck. When someone bumped against her, she flinched and gave them the dirtiest stink eye I’d ever seen, but itwent.
Definitely trying to hide. I wondered if it was a self-preservation thing or if she actually had some deep, dark secret she didn’t want anyone to know. What a mysterious littlething.
Making a move, I weaved through the sea of punters and lingered behind her. A waft of perfume hit me in the face, some fruity girl thing, and I actually liked it. Women who smelled nice usually tasted just assweet.
“Third time’s a charm,” I murmured into Ali’sear.
She jumped, spinning so fast she almost fell on her ass. Grasping her arm to steady her, Igrinned.
“Liam!” she exclaimed, her cheeks turningred.
Liam sounded much better than Blade, especially coming from her. I never cared much about protecting my identity here. I knew some fighters liked the freedom anonymity gave them in this place, considering the wads of cash a win took home, but others didn’t care. They were so ingrained in the criminal lifestyle they reveled in giving the cops the middlefinger.
Me? I didn’t care about any of those things. Honestly, I didn’t really care about much atall.
I fought, I won, I made brilliant money, and I kept my mouth shut. That way, everyone was happy. Over time, I’d become an integral part of The Underground, and now I was a valuable chess piece on the board. I helped them make cash off the punters, and I was looked after in return. Criminal underworld one-oh-one.
I smiled, taking in Ali’s startled expression and her flushed cheeks. She was ariot.
“What you doin’?” I asked, my eyes glued tohers.
She paused, her mouth opening and closing before she finally managed to say, “Just looking at theboard.”
Glancing over her, I took in the up close and personal version. She was plain, slightly uptight, and painfully shy, but something drew me to her. She had this quiet way about her that was almost gentle. She was athinker.
“You’re very good,” I said, tilting my head to theside.
She frowned, her eyebrows knitting together. “I… I don’t know what youmean.”
“I’m completely sure you do.” If I could just coax her out a little, thenmaybe…
When I saw tears begin to shine in her eyes, I reached out and gently grasped her arm. Shit, something was going on with her. It could be anything, but I didn’t like seeing a woman upset. Where there were tears, there wastrouble.
“I don’t really know how I got like this,” she said, averting her gaze. It was an abrupt declaration, but it was direct to the point. Nobullshitting.
