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“What the hell are you doin’ out here?” Mamba flipped open a pack of cigarettes, offered one to Samson, then lit them both up.
“Fuckin’ up my life as usual.”
“This have something to do with Madeline screamin’ her damn head off at you before?”
Samson dragged deep on the smoke. He’d gone two months without nicotine, but this shit tonight had him wishing for a lot more than a cigarette, which was never good. He reasoned a cancer stick was the lesser of two evils.
Mamba pointed at him with his cigarette. “You got something goin’ on with that event planner, huh?”
Samson took one more drag, then pitched it onto the blacktop, purposely ignoring Mamba’s question.
“That’s why you were all over Hawk.”
“I was all over Hawk 'cause he was acting like a douche and putting moves on a woman who wasn’t interested.”
“I get it, but the look in your eyes said way more than defending a random woman. It was more likekeep your fuckin’ hands off my damn property.” Mamba ended with a self-satisfied smirk.
“You wanna head over to Valley View?” Hopefully, the suggestion would end Mamba’s question-and-answer period.
Mamba cocked his head. “Sure.” He took one last drag, then crushed the butt under his boot. “Things are winding down here.”
Samson pulled the Escalade’s keys from his pocket. “I’ll drive.”
Throwing his fists beat the more destructive ideas floating through his brain. Some solid punches and sweating out the anxiety would take the edge off—anything to take his mind off fuckin’ up with Lisbeth again. Plus, he didn’t feel like hearing “I told you so”from Nick.He dug his phone out of his pocket.
SAMSON: Heading over to Valley View
NICK: See you tomorrow.
Samson chirped the locks, and they slammed themselves into the SUV. He and Mamba got tight after they met down in Searchlight. Mamba had some bad blood with a Vegas street gang, and the Serpents sent him to the southern border town to keep him out of trouble. Mamba, like Samson, had a built-introuble-meter,and it seemed shit followed them no matter where they went.
Their friendship centered around their love for throwing fists in the cage, shared ghosts, fatal addictions, and fucked-up childhoods. Mamba understood Samson’s need to release the pressure by blowing off steam in the cage. And even though Mamba’s fights made a shit-ton of money for the Serpents, there was more to it, and Samson was probably the only one who got it.
Samson pulled out of the lot and turned left onto Charleston Boulevard. “I can’t believe you’re gonna be a father in a few months.”
“Fuckin’ unbelievable, right?” Mamba cracked his neck. “Mandy’s the best thing that ever happened to me.” He sucked in a deep breath. “She keeps me grounded. Her steady way of looking at things dials down my aggression.”
“She must be improving your vocabulary too.”
Mamba flipped him off. “Some of the credit also goes to Dr. Phil.”
“Shit.” Samson laughed around the word.
Samson just hit Vegas when Mamba and Mandy got together. It wasn’t all roses and rainbows, especially with her brother being a rival street gang member, but they held tight and weathered the shitstorm.
“She’s all right with you being out without her?”
“Yeah, she’s probably been in bed for hours. This pregnancy is knocking the shit outta her. Between that and running the nail salon all day, Mandy’s beat when she gets home. And she didn’t wanna come here tonight 'cause of the smoke.” He laughed. “Gotta give her credit. She’s tryin’ to do everything right, even makes me smoke out in the backyard.”
A slight smile tilted Samson’s lips at the thought of this scarred-up cage fighter smoking outside because his pregnant girlfriend told him to.
“I know, you’re thinking I’m a pussy.”
“Nah, happy for you, man.”
“If somebody told me a year ago I’d be bringing home pizza at midnight, going to OBGYN appointments, and picking out cribs, I would’ve said they were fuckin’ batshit crazy. I’m loving every minute of it. This is the best I’ve ever felt in my whole damn life.”
“I’d pay to see you, the big, tatted biker-cage fighter sitting in the doctor’s office surrounded by pregnant women. Too fuckin’ funny.”
