Page 94 of Dare to Dance
Norma massaged my shoulders from behind me. “We all got you,” she said.
I couldn’t keep the tears at bay any longer, especially as Kody covered my other hand with his. As one, then two, then three tears found their way out and down my cheek, I focused on the fight. The noise level was low, at least for me. All I could hear was my heart pounding in my ears.
“Come on, Kross,” Vickie shouted from behind me. “You can do better than that.”
Reggie was punching Kross in a right, left, right sequence. Kross took a hit, ducked, then took another hit. When Reggie and Kross were locked together, the referee untangled them. Kross danced as he jabbed at Reggie. Reggie bobbed and weaved, taking a punch every now and then. For a boxing match, it seemed boring until Kross glanced at Trent. Then Pandora’s box opened. One side of Kross’s mouth turned upward.
“Rattlesnake,” the crowd chanted.
No. No. No.He wasn’t supposed to knock out Reggie.
Kross lunged at Reggie, punching him in the jaw, ribs, and stomach. Then in one smooth motion, Kross wielded an uppercut that sent Reggie backward. He fell with a thud.
I tried to jump out of my seat to protest, but as though Kade and Kody knew what Kross was doing, they both held me down.
“He needs to show he’s at least fighting,” Kade whispered with his hand glued to mine.
“Kross knows what he’s doing,” Kody said with surety on my right.
No matter how confident Kross’s brothers were, I couldn’t jump on their train.Get up. Get up. Get up,I silently repeated. The referee was counting. I stole a look at Trent. He had his arms crossed over his chest. His gaze was riveted on the fighters with that I-own-the-world look. Then I checked on Kross. A death beam shone from his eyes as he focused on Reggie, while the referee counted.
On each count, I swallowed the fear invading my body. When the referee reached six, Reggie stirred. As if in slow motion, he climbed to his feet, shaking his head. The ref scrutinized his eyes. “You okay?”
“Never better,” Reggie snapped as he retreated to his corner where an old man gave him water.
I swung my attention back to Kross as my body deflated in the chair. He raised his gloved hands, his forearms in front of his face as he shifted from one foot to the other, raring to go at Reggie again.
I pinched my eyebrows at him, but he wasn’t looking at me, or he refused to look at me. A rustling noise drew my attention away. I tossed a look over my shoulder. Dillon fidgeted in his seat as he nodded at me with a deadpan expression. On the other hand, Kelton was gnawing on a fingernail, his eyes glued to his brother in the ring. I reached over and touched his knee. I wasn’t exactly sure why I did that. Maybe because he was the only one of the Maxwell brothers that seemed to be feeling what I was feeling, scared and nervous. Kross had mentioned that Raven took to Kelton instantly. Of course, that might have had something to do with Kelton bringing a lizard with him to meet Raven.
His blue eyes regarded me before he gave me a rueful grin. Suddenly, I wanted to hug him and tell him that everything would be okay, that he would be able to give Raven all the lizards he wanted. But I couldn’t tell him that if I wasn’t sure I would ever see her again. Kross believed we would be a family. Kade had a moral code of family, and he was at my side, comforting me. And Kody believed Kross knew what he was doing. Even though Kelton didn’t give me the same vibe that Kody and Kade had, his emotional turmoil, or whatever he was struggling with, was enough to kick me in the ass and remind me that I wasn’t alone. Family surrounded me. Kross, Raven, and I would be together, and for that, I had to roll back my shoulders, stick out my chin, buck up, and show Kross I could be strong.
The bell dinged at the same time the phone in my right hand vibrated. I flipped it over to find Mark Rayburn’s name on the screen. I showed Kade before I excused myself to find a quiet spot near the main entrance.
“Detective Rayburn, Trent is here at the gym.”
“I know. We have a tail on him. Look, tell Kross not to throw the fight. I’ll be there in two minutes.”
“Do you have evidence?”
“Just tell him, Ruby.” The phone went dead.
I darted my gaze at Kross and Reggie, who were jabbing and circling each other while the crowd tittered with chants of “get him, Reggie” or “knock him out, Rattlesnake.” Just as I lifted my foot to take a step, the door to the main entrance opened. A gush of cold air swept in along with Alex, who was holding Raven’s hand.
“Raven!” I screamed as I ran to her, scanning her body for any signs of bruises. Thank God I didn’t see any.
She jumped into my arms. “Mommy.” My heart faltered as her little hands locked around my neck.
I peppered kisses all over her as I held her tightly to me, tears rushing out. I inhaled her baby scent and suddenly, my pulse slowed. No sooner had my heartbeat quieted than it ramped up again when I glanced at the ring. As if in slow motion, Reggie’s fist connected with Kross’s face. Kross fell backward.
Nooo!
The ref began counting.
I whipped my attention to Alex, wanting to unleash all my rage on her, but I just sneered. I didn’t want to scare Raven anymore than she already was.
“She’s not hurt,” Alex said, sounding sorrowful. “I had no choice.” Her long hair was a mess, and her cheeks were flushed as though she’d been running.
“Everyone has a choice.” I had to get Raven away from her.
