Page 30 of Hard Corps (Selected Sinners MC 7)

As I mentally prepared to step back into the center of the ring and give the crowd what they seemed to enjoy, an elderly man ducked under the ropes and waved his hands.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, this fight is over,” he said.

I widened my eyes and shrugged my shoulders. With his eyes fixed on mine, he shook his head from side to side and walked to the corner of my opponent.

Well, fuck.

After Erik unlaced my gloves and removed them, I pulled my mouthpiece. A few seconds later, and the old man in charge of the gym was outside the corner of the ring beside Teddy and Erik.

Standing beside Erik in sweats, a silk jacket with the gym’s logo on the back, and Kelsey stitched on the front, he pressed his hands into his hips and shook his head. “Jesus Christ. Ripper said you were some Army guy that fought on a military base. You were beating the hell out of my boxer. Just who the hell are you?”

I grinned at his question and did my best not to sound arrogant in my response. “I’m a Marine, I wasn’t in the Army, Sir. And I’ve fought a little.”

“You’ve fought a lot,” he growled, his voice old and gruff. “That guy you were educating on the sport is a local who was undefeated and we’d like to keep him that way. His trainer stopped him from a serious old fashioned ass whipping, that’s for sure. You ever think about considering boxing as more than a hobby?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “I might.”

“Let me know,” he said with a nod. “And that’s a mean left hook you’ve got.”

I nodded my head toward him as he turned away. “Appreciate it.”

“But you need work, a lot of work,” he growled over his shoulder as he walked away.

As I stepped away from the ring and toward the locker room, I considered what he asked. I had planned on leaving Kansas, coming to Texas for seven to ten days, and going back to Kansas. Considering Ripp’s situation and my need to find an outlet for my frustrations associated with the war, maybe making a few changes would be in my benefit.

As Erik and I changed clothes, I made up my mind. I didn’t say anything to him just yet, but I decided to stay in Austin.

At least for a while.

I knew one thing for sure – the more space there was between my ex-wife and me, the better off I would be.