Page 29 of The Fighter who Needed Me
Burk sighed and shook his head, “I don’t think there is anything to be done. If there is no information here, the best we can do is ask around, but her parents were always very quiet and private. Barely speaking to anyone at functions. I do not know what to tell you Brooks. I hate that she could be hurt and suffering. That does not and has never sat well with me, but if we can’t find them, I don’t know what else to do.”
Brooks could feel the impossible length between his wife and him.
It broke something inside him knowing she was out there and being hurt and he knew that it would never be fixed.
Not truly. Not until she was back in his arms.
He nodded at Burk, knowing that his brother was right but hating it nonetheless.
They walked out of the house and Brooks felt himself die inside. Much like he had when his mother had died.
He had tucked all of his emotions away, hidden until they got off the streets and he was able to let his guard down.
But this time was different. He knew his true self was gone. Dead and buried.
* * *
That night, after everyone had gone to bed, he had lain awake, no hope of sleep this night.
He was keyed up and could stay still no longer.
He dressed in a simple white fawn shirt, black breeches and his knee-high Hessians.
And then he walked from the salon, saddling his horse and riding to the place he never thought he would see again.
But he couldn’t sit and try to live the life he had led right now. Right now, he needed to beat something.
Walking down the stairs after leaving his horse with a small boy and a handful of coins, he knew that there was no going back.
The sights and smells were the same as they were all those years ago when he and Burk were starving boys and had nothing else to turn to.
Now he was rich, but dead inside. He saw a few fighters in the ring, boxing as if their lives depended on it, which sometimes it did.
One of the men had their eye swollen shut and had bruises on his ribs and back, the other was worse off.
He had blood streaming down his face from a cut above his eye, his nose was bloody and when he got a swift uppercut to his jaw, his head snapped back and his lip started bleeding and he spit out something white and red.
A tooth. Brooks watched the rest of the fight with his arms crossed over his chest.
The man he looked for caught his eye, and Brooks saw them widen in surprise.
Then he made his way through the crowd of people jeering and cheering for the men in the ring and to his side.
“Well, this is a sight I didn’t think I would see again. What are you doing here?” Carter asked and Brooks looked over at his friend and mentor.
“I came for one reason. I need this. I feel as if I will burst free from my skin if I do not hit something. You see, my woman was stolen from me and I have no way to find her again. And because of that, my blood is singing for a fight and the men I teach at the salon can’t fight the way I need to right now.”
Carter nodded his eyes wide at his request. Brooks knew that Carter was only a few years older than Burk and himself but had made this fight ring into something to be proud of after taking it over for his father a few years ago.
His father, Charles Sawyer had given them their break when they needed it the most and had taught the three of them what they needed to know to crush people in the ring. To hone their skills.
But while he and Burk had left and started life anew after making their fortune, Carter wanted to stay in the life he knew. And the life he was good at.
He studied Brooks for a few seconds, “I’m just surprised at all of this. The last time I saw you, you were still as averse to the opposite sex as you ever have been. She must be something really special. Let’s go to my office and discuss having you fight again. I know the people would love to have the Angel’s King back again.”
Brooks fought his eye roll. He knew the moniker people had left him with and while he did not love it, it had worked for him.
He gestured to Carter to lead the way and heard more than one person quietly say, “The Angel’s King! Do you think he will fight again?”
