Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 86052 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86052 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
His eyes roll back, and just like that, it’s light’s out.
I hate winning by knockout, but I’m so fucking good at it. I’ve always felt it was cheating, but in the Underground, you do what you got to do to make it to the next round and keep your name on the leaderboard.
Once I’m declared the winner, I make my way back to the fighter’s area with Cole, who scolds me for each mistake I made. As I get myself dressed, Cole grabs a first aid kit to clean up all the little cuts marring my skin.
I head back out to the ring and find Charli in her sexy little dress. It doesn’t take me long to realize she isn’t alone. In fact, she has quite the crowd surrounding her, and a wide grin stretches across my face.
All of the Denver Dragons stand with my girl, and I wonder how the hell I didn’t notice these bastards while I was in the ring. Hell, even Coach Harris stands among them, and man am I happy I didn’t fuck up that fight. I would have never lived it down.
Charli throws herself into my arms and kisses me with pride. “Do you have any idea how turned on I get watching you fight?” she murmurs into my ear.
I grin down at the little minx. “Don’t you forget it.”
“Fuck,” Jaxon says as I make my way over to the guys. “You’ve got skill, man,” he says as he pulls me in and claps me on the back. “I’m not even pissed you kept it from me anymore.”
“Thanks,” I say with a grin. “And sorry. I wanted to tell you, but I couldn’t.”
“Nah,” he says, shaking it off. “Don’t worry about it. I get it.”
Relief washes over me. I hated the feeling that I was betraying the boys, especially Jaxon. I had really come to respect him, but hearing that we’re good makes everything feel right again.
One by one, the boys come around and bitch me out while also offering their compliments on the fight. I introduce Charli to the guys properly even though she’s apparently already done it. The next fight gets started when the boys settle in for another show, and it appears we’re making a night of it.
Countless drinks trade hands until the boys are wasted, and it’s not long before Coach starts looking like he’d rather be anywhere else. When he finally takes off, a few of the more well-behaved boys follow his lead and get going.
There’s just a small group of us left, and we all move in to watch the last fight when someone barges past me and knocks me in the shoulder, spilling my drink all over Charli. She gasps as the cold liquid splashes across her body.
On instinct, my arm snaps out to grab the culprit. I instantly recognize Pitbull, a sickening smirk across his face. I realize pretty damn quickly that he did it on purpose and rage fills me, easily getting the rise out of me he came looking for. “You owe my girl an apology,” I spit as Charli stares at him, half hidden behind me and looking more than uncomfortable around this asshole.
Pitbull looks Charli up and down with a sick kind of interest that has me right on edge. “Your girl don’t need no apology,” he says with a smirk. “Bitch looks like she needs a good, thorough fucking, though.”
My jaw clenches, and I have to restrain myself from lashing out in the middle of this crowd. All that’s going to do is invoke a reckless panic that will quickly turn into a brawl. “You better fucking watch it, asshole,” I warn.
“Or what?” he laughs, shrugging me off as though I’m not the biggest threat in the room. “You’ve got no fucking chance against me. You’re nothing, just some random scum standing in between me and my fucking payday. You better watch your back because I’m coming for you.”
I smirk back at the loser, knowing he’s talking shit. He wouldn’t have said a word if he wasn’t worried I could beat his ass. “Bring it, fucker. The only place you’re coming is in second after I wipe the floor with you.”
He lets out a growl and shoves me right into the rest of my group. I can’t help but lose my shit. No one disrespects my girl and then my boys. I push him back and suddenly it’s on. He goes flying over the back of a table, chairs spilling out around him. I pin the fucker to the ground and pummel his face with my fists. With every strike, I’m distantly aware of Aaron grabbing Charli and yanking her out of the way.
Cole is on me in seconds, desperately trying to pull me off him, and after Luke and Jace join in, they eventually get us separated. “Deal with it in the ring,” Cole scolds us both, giving Pitbull a hard shove when he tries to come for me, barely blinking an eye at the asshole. “It’s only a fucking week away. I’m sure you dickheads can rein it in until then.”