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“You’re okay. We thought we’d never see you again.” Her uncle ignores her, and it really fucking grates on me that he could be so passive of her affection.
“Where is Tawk? These men and I need to discuss something with him,” he speaks to her harshly.
“I’ll fetch him for you, Uncle.” She smiles, seeming unaffected by his coldness toward her. Then she turns her attention to Prez. “Thank you for bringing him home to us,” she says before scurrying off.
She returns a few moments later with the man who always watches her so protectively. I understand why the chief would think he was a good opponent. The guy is built strong, with wide shoulders and strong arms.
“This is Tawk,” the chief speaks proudly. “The strongest man in my village.”
“So this is the man you think should fight for your tribe and my club?” Prez eyes up the guy whose line of vision is focused on one person… Me.
He senses that I’m a threat. That I crave something belonging to him. And that I’m gonna take it from him.
“I have faith in this man,” Chief adds.
“Well, my faith lies in this man,” Prez’s hand rests on my shoulder. “And his fight record speaks for itself.”
“You know there’s only one way to settle this, right?” Squealer interrupts, sliding his head between the two leaders, biting down on the pick between his teeth. “Your guy vs our guy. Winner takes the fight.”
“That has to be the stupidest fuckin’ idea…” Prez immediately starts to shut down Squeal but I interrupt.
“I’ll do it.” I keep my eyes focused on Tawk as I speak, and not one of his facial features react. “The guy deserves a shot at being the people’s hero.”
“Game on, I’ll go grab the others, they won’t wanna miss this.” Squealer howls a laugh as he rushes back up the bank toward the cage.
“You sure ‘bout this?” Prez asks me under his breath, if you pick up an injury that'll put you out of the fight, we’re fucked.”
I nod my head, this time my eyes landing on Shaniya. She looks worried, her teeth nipping at her bottom lip, and I wonder if any of her concern is for me, or if it all goes to the man who’s standing by her side.
A crowd gradually starts to build around us. Word must have spread around the club because anyone available gets here fast.
“He’ll be easy to drop,” Nyx tells me when I hand him my cut. Taking a band from my wrist between my teeth, I gather up my hair on top of my head and tie it up. Jessie stops me before I enter the center of a ring that's been created by spectators' bodies.
“Make it quick, yeah. The next fight’s the one that matters, we don’t need you getting hurt,” he warns.
“Every fuckin’ fight matters, Jess,” I tell him, stepping past him ready to meet my opponent. Shaniya stands beside her uncle, that worried expression still overwhelming her pretty face. I stretch out the muscles in my neck and start bouncing on my feet as Tawk steps toward me, his chest puffed out proudly. If he’s scared he’s showing no signs of it, but then why would he be? Right now, he’ll make the same mistake most fighters do. He has me on size, he’ll use that fact to convince himself he can beat me, but he has no idea what I’m capable of.
When he draws his elbow back ready to strike I swerve to avoid it, at the same time grasping his other arm and pulling it behind his back. Sweeping a foot under his, I take him down. Then continue bouncing on my toes while I wait for him to get back to his feet. Soon as he does, I land him with a face jab that instantly sends him back down to the dirt and proves that size means jack shit.
The cheers coming from my brothers are counteracted by the look of hurt on Shaniya’s face. Me hurting him, is hurting her, and internally it cripples me, but there’s too much at stake for me to let that stop me.
The fucker comes back at me, crowing loudly as he slams his shoulder into my waist and takes me to ground.
Big mistake.
I manage to wrap one arm around his neck and then I tense every muscle I got, choking him until there’s hardly any breath left in his body. The guy isn’t tapping. And I’m unsure if that’s due to a lack of knowledge of the rules, or the fact he’s stubborn.
“Stop,” Shaniya’s voice calls out over the cheers and I immediately let him go, rising back onto my feet and watching him gasp for oxygen.
“You done?” I ask, standing over the spluttering mess of a body. The stupid asshole shakes his head, and with determination in his eyes he struggles back up to his feet.
“Fuck’s sake,” I utter, before laying a left-handed blow on his cheek that sends blood spraying from his mouth. He stumbles backward, falling into two of his men, who both urge him forward, and then he runs at me again like a crazed animal. He’s lost his head, frustration has already defeated him and I stop him with a roundhouse kick straight to the jaw that sends him flying into the dirt.
Grabbing the back of his head, I lift him up off the ground by his long, thick black hair, raising my fist and threatening to strike him again.
“Still not fucking done?” I ask.
“Enough,” his chief calls out. “Your warrior will fight,” he confirms before I do any more damage to his warrior.
