The second Mickey left the cage, she expected them to go at each other like previous fighters had. They didn’t. They walked around each other in a circular motion. Watching. Assessing. Waiting for the other person to make the first move.
It was Thunder who eventually did, lunging forward and swinging. Jackson stepped aside, barely missing the hit, causing Thunder to fall into the wire cage.
She swallowed at the sight of Thunder’s face, suddenly understanding where the name came from. His expression was all thunder.
He ran at Jackson this time, fist cocking back, ready to hit. Again, Jackson dodged, but this time Thunder didn’t fall into the cage. Jackson grabbed him from behind, tugging him back and putting him in a choke hold.
Jackson held the guy for a good ten seconds as Thunder’s face reddened and he bucked and kicked. Finally, Jackson let go, kicking him forward.
When Thunder turned, he looked… River couldn’t even describe it. It was worse than any anger she’d seen before.
This time when Thunder charged, he did it so quickly that Jackson couldn’t dodge the man. Thunder grabbed him around the midsection, sending them both to the floor.
River’s breath caught in her throat at the sight of the powerful men grappling. Any time either man got on top, hard punches were thrown. Punches that whipped the other man’s head back and had River full-body flinching in her seat.
Jackson was good. And so damn dangerous-looking. Hell, he was like a stranger out there. He only ever let Thunder get in a single hit or kick before flipping their positions, going on the offensive once again. For every hit he took, he gave three back, at least. At some moments, it was as if Jackson anticipated his opponent’s move before the guy even made it.
River shut her eyes for a second, needing to catch her breath. When she opened them again, both men were on their feet, and Thunder was throwing a punch. Jackson blocked it with his arm, countering it with a hard high-kick to Thunder’s head.
Thunder fell back into the fencing, and Jackson charged, throwing one hard punch to the guy’s face.
That was it. Thunder fell to the ground, out cold.
The air whooshed out of River’s chest. Jackson won. She could finally breathe again. But the nausea was still there, swirling away in her gut, threatening to crawl up her throat and choke her.
She managed to sit through the last two fights…just. The second the final one finished, she turned to Cole. “I need to go to the bathroom.”
He gave a short nod, both he and Declan rising, leading her through the rows and down the small hall. They’d almost made it when someone passing in the hall yanked her arm, pulling her to a stop.
Surprise filled her when she saw who it was. Brian Ford. Jackson’s father.
Declan was immediately between them, his voice low and deadly. “Let her go before I break your fucking arm.”
His fingers let go, but his gaze held hers. “What the hell are you doing here?”
She straightened her spine. “Why? You don’t want me here?”
His eyes narrowed. “No one does.”
She raised a brow. “And why is that?”
He took a small step forward. Declan did the same, looking moments from punching the guy. Cole remained firmly by her side like he was waiting to tug her away.
Brian sneered at her. “If you don’t know, you’re stupider than I thought.”
Before she could respond, he turned and continued down the hall.
River frowned. What the hell? What was he doing here? Was he involved in whatever had happened to Ryker?
The idea did nothing to quell the nausea.
She pushed inside the bathroom and moved straight to a cubicle, expecting to be sick. She wasn’t. Instead, she managed to just…breathe. To be still in the quiet of the empty stall. To calm her racing heart and gurgling gut.
She felt the vibration of her phone in her pocket. It had vibrated a few times, but she hadn’t been able to tear her gaze away from the fights. She tugged it out and saw it was Michele. The woman had texted her three times.
Michele: Is he okay?
Michele: Oh Lord, he isn’t, is he?
Michele: River, I need you to answer me right the heck now!
Taking a final calming breath, she quickly typed out a response.
River: He won. He received a few hits and kicks to the side but he’s okay.
At least, as okay as one could be after fighting in that ring.
Michele: Oh, what a relief! I’m so glad. Get home safe xox
Her hand went to the lock on the door, and she was about to leave the stall when the bathroom door opened and voices sounded.
“Angel, you need to calm down,” a woman said.
River’s breath caught at the name. Angel.
“I can’t!” said a different voice. A distressed voice. A voice she recognized as the woman who had answered her call. “All I could think about while that new guy was fighting was that it should have been Ryker!”
The tiny hairs on River’s arms stood on end at hearing her brother’s name.
“Yes, you can. You have to.”
“It’s my fault. It’s my fault he’s dead!” River’s skin chilled. “I’m the one who told him about the kegs.”
River frowned. Kegs?
“You need to get it together,” the other woman said, all calm gone, her voice almost pleading. “If they find out you’re the one who told him, they’ll kill you too!”
A deep breath. “I know.”
River opened her door. A blond woman with tears streaming down her face and a brunette with a pixie cut both looked up in surprise. The brunette frowned while the blond turned away, wiping the tears from her face.
River opened her mouth, but before she could utter a word, the door to the bathroom opened, and Cole stepped inside. “We need to go.”
There was an urgency to his tone. One she hadn’t heard before.
She shot a desperate look back at Angel. “But—”
He grabbed her arm, tugging her outside with an unbreakable grip.
What the heck was going on?
River was seconds from getting mad at the guy when she saw it.
Chaos. Punches being thrown in the crowd. Chairs being crashed over people’s heads.
Her jaw dropped.
Suddenly, Jackson was there, throwing a protective arm around her shoulders. Then the three men shoved their way through the violent crowd, Jackson shielding her body with his own the entire time.
They made it out of the basement…barely.
Jackson’s fingers were tight around the steering wheel, his gaze continually shifting between the road and the rearview mirror. Not just because someone could follow, but because he felt uneasy.
The second the fight broke out, dread had engulfed him. Suffocated him. River had been all he could think about. Was she okay? Had she gotten caught in the crowd? He trusted his guys to keep her safe, but the need to be with her had drowned him.
He shot numerous looks toward River during the drive, noticing she seemed just as unsettled as him. Neither of them spoke. Not the entire way to her place.
He continued to check the roads behind him, adding in a few extra turns as he went and making sure no one was following.
It wasn’t until he stopped in her driveway that he finally spoke. “River—”
“I don’t want you fighting in that cage again.”
His jaw tightened as he turned off the car. A beat of silence passed before he spoke. “I need to go back next week.”
She spun toward him. “Are you serious? Jackson, those guys wouldn’t care if they stomped on your neck and killed you! And your next opponent will be bigger and stronger. Probably another man who looks like an ex-con.”
“I can handle myself.”
She scoffed, shaking her head. “You think you’re made of steel. That you’re invincible. You’re not.”
She unbuckled her seat belt quickly, but he didn’t miss the way her fingers shook. His gut twisted at the sight. When he didn’t immediately climb out with her, she bent down, putting her head back in the car.
“Get your ass out here, Jackson. I’m cleaning those cuts.”
A bit of tension leaked from his gut, and he almost laughed. Unbuckling himself, he climbed out. River was already at the door. She’d barely unlocked it before he was stepping inside ahead of her.
Just like last time, he walked around the house, checking every room. Every space. When he got back to the living room, he was glad to find the woman still on the porch.
Finally, she listened to him.
“All clear.”
With a quick nod, she stepped inside, closing and locking the door behind her before moving down the hall. Jackson sat on the couch, stretching his muscles. He was stiff. He’d taken a couple of hits in the cage, but not as many as he’d been expecting. His opponent had been strong and fearless, but he’d also been cocky.
Jackson, on the other hand, had been tactical. And once he’d learned how the guy moved, and what his preferred mode of offense was, he’d been able to anticipate what was coming.
River placed a first-aid kit on the coffee table before sitting beside him. Her jaw was still set, worry lines shadowing her eyes. There was also that same little tremble in her fingers that hadn’t eased.
She grabbed an antiseptic wipe and pressed it to his cheek. He barely felt the sting as he studied her face. “When the fight broke out and you weren’t in your seat, I was worried.”
That was a lie. He wasn’t just worried. He’d damn near lost his mind.
Her gaze remained firmly on his cut before moving to another on his chin. “I went to the bathroom. I thought I was going—” She stopped, shaking her head. “Cole and Declan were right there.”
“They would protect you with their lives,” he said quietly. That’s why he’d had no reason to be so worried. But with River, he wasn’t able to shut it off.
“I know.” Leaning forward, she grabbed a new wipe. “I didn’t like seeing you up there. But I also need to stay involved.” She paused. “Promise me, Jackson. Promise you won’t push me out. Shield me from anything.”
This time when he met her gaze, he saw it. The desperation. The fear she couldn’t hide.
Those eyes killed him when they were being tough, but when they were vulnerable, they tore his damn heart out. “I’ll keep you as involved as I can.”
She seemed to consider that for a moment before giving a quick nod. She went back to dabbing another cut.
“We’ll figure this out, Rae,” he said quietly.
He used her childhood nickname, and her eyes softened, meeting his once again. “I already have no idea what happened to Ryker. I can’t lose you both.” Her chest heaved with a hitching breath, and he was almost certain she was only just holding it together.
He took hold of the hand that had been cleaning his cut, immediately swiping the pad of his thumb across her palm. “I’ll be okay.”
She shook her head. “You say that, but you don’t know. You can’t. And it scares the crap out of me.”
Unable to stop himself, Jackson lifted his other hand, grazing the side of her face. She leaned into him, and damn but it heated his chest. “I’ll be careful.”
For a moment, there was silence. Stillness. But a million different emotions ran between them. Each one heavy with emotion.
“Good…because as much as you need me to be okay, I need you to be okay more.” Then she did something he didn’t expect. She leaned in and kissed him.
