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The game was amazing. Lisa asked questions and cheered when it was appropriate. She seemed genuinely happy, and it made me wonder when the last time she was happy. It had me hoping she stayed clean and got better.
Cameras floated in and out of the crowd. At one point, I had to swat one away. It got in our faces and plastered it on the jumbo screen. Instead of hiding from it, Lisa waved. Ugh. Luckily, they wouldn’t show this in New Boston.
After a close game, the Sharks won. Lisa cheered louder than anyone in our section. An older gentlemen tried to her her number. I asked if he wanted to lose a hand, he didn’t, so he left.
“Okay, you can take me to the Center.” Lisa wrapped her arms around me. “Thank you for never giving up on me.”
CHAPTER24
Ava (Day 4)
“No,you aren’t fighting in my club.” Von furiously shook his head.
“You gotta be kidding,” I snapped.
“Kid, you may be a fan favorite, but you ain’t worth me being strangled by my own intestines.” Von rubbed his neck.
“That doesn’t make any sense.” Felix scratched his head.
“Those elites came by a few days after her fight with Judith. Told me to close up shop until they gave the okay. Paid me a lot of money. Anyway, when they called and said I could open again, there was one condition.” Von was extra fidgety.
“What was the condition?” I ground my teeth. The elites were Ethan and Tristan. They did this, why? Why stop me from fighting? A few days after my fight would have been before the auction. They hadn’t even bought me yet, why would they stop me from fighting?
“The condition was never to allow you to fight again. If I did, they would strangle me with my insides.” Von stepped away from us. “I like my insides.”
“Those fuckers!” I couldn’t believe they did that. Ethan had told me The Underground might remain closed forever. This was what he meant. It would remain closed for me.
Two other places told us the same thing. I wasn’t allowed to fight. Ethan was clever. He hit up the major rings. The ones that paid the most and had ‘no death’ rules we off-limits for me. Looked like I would have to see if Ethan got to the more sketchy places.
“Let’s check out Ton-tons.” I bolted down the street.
“Are you crazy?” Felix caught up to me. “They don’t have death rules. They won’t stop a fight if you’re getting your skull stomped in.
“I need to fight.” This was my thing, and Ethan was taking it away from me. It wasn’t fair.
“Let’s go to Peaks. I’ll fight. Then tomorrow, you can talk to Ethan. He can tell Von to let you fight. It’s safer.” Felix grabbed me seconds before I walked into Ton-tons.
“Fine, but I will fight. No man gets to tell me what to do.” I ground my teeth. I dealt with that from Brad for far too long.
We headed into Peaks, and it was crowded. Men and women were everywhere. I looked around for Tasha and her friends. Even in a crowded room, she was easy to spot. They were in the VIP section. It was a bunch of cushy recliners up high surrounded by glass with a personal server. From her viewpoint she would never see me. Not that it mattered. She didn’t know Ethan would flip if he knew I was here. Not that I cared. He couldn’t control me.
Felix and Sandy took off to sign up for the next available match. Von was the only owner I knew that prescheduled his fighters. Even then, he would switch things up if he thought he could get more money. Peaks owner Tree, just put anyone in that she wanted. She loved Felix, so he would probably be up next round.
Tree had a thing for men. All men. She wouldn’t even allow women to fight. I always thought it was because she couldn’t bat her eyes at them and get them to grovel at her feet. Not that Felix ever did, but he was respectful and helped her around the club. Brad, on the other hand, she hated him. Tree was one of the few people who saw him for who he was. He fought for her before he became a manager. Then when he started managing me, he tried to convince her to let women fight. It was a nasty argument that got him banned for a little while.
Ugh, why was I thinking about Brad so much? The memories kept flooding back, and none of them were good. I shut my eyes to try and block out the memories, and one of the worst words played out in my head.
Rain drizzled down, leaving a misty dew on us. Brad shook his hair, and it flung water on my face. I laughed as I tried to wipe it off with my wet t-shirt. When that didn’t work, I gave up, pulled off my wig, and tossed it in my gym bag. I didn’t want it to get ruined.
Brad and I had just left Von’s place. I had been matched up with someone twice my size, and I won! It was marvelous. I was still an amateur, yet I was doing well.
“Ya know I could manage you.” Brad clasped my hand.
“That’s not fair to Judy.” I looked down. I didn’t want him to think I didn’t like his idea.
“Do you not want me to manage you? Would you rather Felix did it?” He pulled his hand away and sped up down the sidewalk. “I’m so stupid. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“That’s not it. Dottie manages me. You know I would rather have you than Felix.” I spun him around to face me.
