AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Nothing,” I quickly reply.
Her sigh is loud enough to be heard through the heavy wooden door. “Kirsten . . . you can tell me the truth. I’ve seen how he looks at you. Has he done something? You can tell me. I know someone who can help. We could tell the owner.”
“No!” I shout through the door. “It would be my word against his, and I can’t lose this job, I need the money.” I push away from the door and open it to reveal Sara leaning against the wall next to it. I look in her eyes and plead, “You have to promise not to say anything. Please.”
She sighs again. “Fine. I won’t say anything, but you need to learn how to protect yourself.”
“You’re overreacting. He won’t try anything at work.” Even as I say them, the words feel like a lie. Johnny already has tried something here.
Something dark crosses her eyes, but before I can make sense of it, she shakes her head. “I heard what he said. He was threatening you, Kirsten.”
“I know,” I whisper.
“One day, he could corner you, and there might not be anyone there to help you when he does,” she warns. “You can’t just let this go and hope it will resolve itself. He’ll only get worse. Have you thought of having someone teach you some self-defense moves?”
I breathe out a sigh, slumping against the wall next to her. “I looked into it, but self-defense classes are so expensive, and they run for months. I don’t know if I have that long before he tries something again.”
There is a long silence before Sara finally breaks it. “I know someone who can teach you how to fight for cheap.”
“Where?” I ask, hope starting to bloom in my chest.
“I can’t tell you, but I’ll take you there after our shift.”
“Wait . . . you mean, tonight?”
“We can’t wait on this. Who knows when Johnny will try something. You’ve only been here a month, and he’s already escalated.”
“You’re right,” I say eagerly. “I want to be ready when he tries something again, but . . . are you sure about this person?”
She pushes back from the wall, slapping my shoulder as she walks past me. “Meet me at the back door after our shift.”
For the rest of the shift, my mind races through all the possible places Sara could take me, but I come back empty. Nonetheless, the thought helps distract me from my boss. The rest of the evening goes well, and I’m able to avoid being anywhere alone. I would feel better if my favorite bouncer hadn’t mysteriously disappeared. I feel safer when he’s there, but it helps that Sara sticks close. A lingering uneasiness remains from our interaction earlier that leaves me even more determined than ever to go along with Sara’s plan.
I find her waiting for me where she said she would, and the second she sees me, she motions for me to follow and starts walking away without a single word, forcing me to run after her. I trail behind my co-worker, clueless as to where we’re headed. The streets she takes are dark and a little sketchy, but I trust her. She’s the closest thing I have to a friend. She doesn’t say a word the entire walk and doesn’t respond to any of my questions, so we fall into silence as she leads me down the block. We take a sharp turn, and suddenly, we’re at the edge of a large parking lot half overgrown with weeds. At the other end of the lot is an abandoned warehouse, the windows dark with grime.
“Sara, where are we?” I hiss, a shudder breaking through my body at the thought of the only friendly person at work leading me to my doom. A cat mewls from somewhere in the night, and although I love cats, the sound feels ominous.
“You’ll see,” she says mysteriously, which does not exactly help with the anxiety tightening my chest. I look around us as we cross the lot to the warehouse, but there are no signs or lights, just a discreet door that slowly opens as she approaches, revealing a tall, muscular man with a bald head. He nods at Sara as we step inside, and the atmosphere changes completely. I can hear the faint sound of a roaring crowd as I follow Sara down a dark flight of steps and through another door.
This door opens to a cavernous underground space. The place is pulsating with energy from a rowdy crowd we couldn’t hear from outside.
“Hawk! Hawk! Hawk!”
The whole scene sends my mind reeling as I try to place where the hell we are. The raw cheers from the crowd and the sound of fists hitting flesh echo through what seems to be an underground arena. Men are gathered around, their eyes fixed on the cage in the center of the room. They’re shouting and cheering, with some smashing their fists on the tables scattered about the space. The atmosphere is charged with a mix of adrenaline and danger, and I realize too late that . . . I shouldn’t be here.
I don’t need Sara to say it to know that she just brought me to an underground fight club. I’ve heard about them before, I just never thought I would ever be at one!
“Sara,” I hiss, tugging at her sleeve and looking nervously around us, even as I struggle to take in everything. “Sara, we can’t be here!”
“You wanted someone to teach you how to fight, right? This is where all the best fighters in the city gather.”
Oh, I have no doubt about that. Inside the cage, there are two fighters going at it, their muscles flexing with powerful strikes. Each punch and kick has the crowd roaring. The two go at it until one of the men drops to his knees with a thud that sends the onlookers into a frenzy of chanting what I assume is the victor’s name.
“Hawk! Hawk! Hawk!”
“B-blood,” I whisper shakily as I stare at the still man lying on the floor of the cage. I look up at the winner, whose back is turned to me, and my breath catches in my throat. His thick muscles are a thing of beauty, carved to perfection and covered in tattoos, gleaming with sweat and specks of blood. I find myself locked in a trance, helpless to do anything but stare.
As if sensing my gaze on him, the man begins to turn, and I suck in a sharp breath, my heart thudding with anticipation to see the winner’s face despite myself. Sure, he just knocked someone out, and with the way the crowd is chanting his name, I bet it’s not the first time he’s done so, but . . . I can’t help myself. It seems unlikely, but there is something familiar about the man.
