Page 92 of Dare to Dance
“So, she’s never spoken to you about Trent Baker?” This new information made me wonder if maybe Alex wasn’t working for Trent.
“I haven’t spoken to Alex in detail in a long time. When I’m at Firefly, I’m there because Tommy owes me something. I’m not there to hang out. And before you ask me if her and I dated, the answer is no. She’s not my type. You know that.”
In the time I’d known Dillon, I hadn’t seen him with a woman, although I did know from conversations that he was into blondes, not brunettes.
Jay’s voice filled the room. “Kross?” His short stature emerged. He had a scowl on his face. Then he glanced at his watch. “Why aren’t you ready?”
Liam huffed out a breath as he came up behind Coach. “It’s my fault,” Liam said. “I had to get more tape.” He wagged a roll of it between us.
I made a mental note to thank the kid.
“Good luck tonight.” Dillon unfolded his bulk. “I’ll be with your brothers.” Then he left.
I needed more than luck. I needed Detective Rayburn to find Raven. But I had to concentrate on the fight. Otherwise, Reggie would knock me out with the first punch. I had to at least show some effort before I lost.
Liam quickly worked to finish taping my fingers while Coach gave me a list of pointers. “First, be careful of his hook. Second, footwork. Third, don’t let him get near your face. Finally, in order to seal the deal with Gail, knock him the fuck out.”
I laughed at his last statement. Like me, Coach didn’t have any love for Reggie. We both respected his talent, but Reggie had been my first fight, and back then, Reggie was a cocky bastard. Coach hated players like that. I hated Reggie for my own personal reasons. That alone sent a pain of guilt through me because I had to throw the fight. Kody was salivating for me to hurt Reggie, but since he knew what was going on, he understood.
Not only that, I wanted my contract with Gail, more for financial reasons than for my own fucking ego. After tonight, I would be serving hamburgers at McDonalds or in jail for murdering Trent Baker if he was truly responsible for kidnapping Raven.
After I was dressed, primed, and ready for a fight I wanted to run from, I walked out of the locker room with so much trepidation that fear had to be written all over my face.
Voices droned from the crowd, which occupied the three sets of bleachers lining three sides of the ring. On the fourth side, chairs were set up for Gail and her team plus a handful of chairs for family and friends of Reggie and me. We were limited by fire code on how many people could occupy the gym. Therefore, the fight was invitation only. At first, Jay didn’t want anyone at the fight except the essential people—referee, Gail, her entourage, and the EMS folks—but Gail wanted to see a fight complete with an audience. She’d said something about how the energy of the crowd affected the fighter’s actions, whatever that meant. All I knew were two things. One, I was glad Jay nixed the idea of having any reporters at the fight. I’d been chastised for throwing my last fight when I hadn’t, but tonight would be different. I didn’t want or need the press. And two, I blocked out the noise and the people when I was in a ring.
Regardless, I’d invited my brothers, Ruby, Norma, Dillon, and that girl Ruby had fought, Vickie. I’d decided not to invite my parents, solely because I didn’t want my mom seeing me get punched or bloody or any other gruesome act that might make her cringe.
I set my sights on Ruby. She was sandwiched in between Kade and Kody. She still looked pale. Kelton was sitting behind them with Norma and Vickie. Vickie flashed puppy dog eyes at me then pumped one of her muscled arms in the air as a silent gesture of encouragement for me to win this fight. Dillon sat in the end seat.
As I approached the ring, the referee began to spit out my stats. “Weighing in at two hundred and twenty pounds with a record of eight and one, let’s give it up for Kross Maxwell.”
Liam, who was walking alongside me, hit me on the arm. “Remember, no deer in the headlights tonight.”
I harrumphed. When I’d first met Liam, he had the nerve to tell me how much I’d fucked up at my last fight. I’d almost popped him one, but I couldn’t argue with the truth. Boy, was I in for another one of his tongue-lashings when I lost the fight.
The ref pointed behind me. “Fighting in the other corner, weighing in at two hundred and twenty-five pounds with a perfect record of ten and O, let’s hear it for Reggie Stockman.”
I quickly glanced over my shoulder at Reggie. We’d given him access to the women’s locker room so he could dress. He hadn’t changed much since the last time I’d seen him. His dark eyes had that “fuck you” look, his hair was cut in a military style, and he wore his usual superior smirk that made me clench my fists.
The crowd tittered more for him than me, which was odd considering the audience was made up of mostly gym members. Jay had extended the remaining invitations to the people who worked out at the gym. I searched the crowd for anyone who stood out or gave me an inkling that they worked for Trent Baker. I came up empty, although I spotted Penelope. She sat on the top row of the bleachers to my left. As the fleeting thought of her working for Trent skated through my mind, Ruby smiled at me, erasing thoughts of Trent for the moment.
I stopped and kissed her quickly then continued, passing a long pair of smooth, bare legs.
Liam whispered in my ear. “Gail is staring at you.”
Shoving down all my problems, I planted on a smile as I passed the gorgeous woman. Man, her legs went on forever, disappearing underneath a classy red coatdress that was cinched at the waist by a belt. Her black hair was tied behind her head, revealing a long neck, angular face, dark slanted eyes, and red painted lips. She was the picture of a wealthy businesswoman.
She returned the gesture, showing bright-white teeth as she dipped her chin. When she did, the slight movement of her head made me do a double take at the main entrance behind her.
The noise dulled. I flicked a quick glance to Ruby then back to the fucker in the doorway. Trent Baker strutted in like a cocky son-of-a-bitch. I couldn’t believe he had the nerve to show up there. Ruby screamed. The sound sliced through my psyche, propelling me into action. I leapt over Gail, or maybe she moved out of the way. People scrambled.
“Kross,” Jay shouted.
He could fire me now or after I killed Trent Baker. I dove at him, landing my gloved fist into his bulbous nose. The impact didn’t have the same effect as it would if I’d had bare knuckles. Before I could launch another blow, hands were pulling me away, while Kade was holding Ruby securely to him.
“You bastard,” she screamed at Trent. “Where is my daughter?”
Trent held onto his jaw with a smug expression on his face.
