Grabbing his arm mid roll, I drop to my ass and pull that arm like my life depends on it, leading me to wrap my legs like a vice under his arm and around his neck in an arm triangle choke. I hold on tight ready for him to try and get out. I feel him try to shuffle on the floor, and I pull his arm even tighter and squeeze my thighs, applying more pressure around his neck.
He goes slack almost instantly, then I feel it. Frantic tapping to my left leg, has the bells being rung. I give him a little extra squeeze before I let go, knowing the rules, but he’ll be remembering me.
Standing I allow the world outside of this ring to filter back in.
The noise is deafening, there are a lot of shouts around me as my focus returns. I see bewilderment and jaws on the floor but mostly I hear sneers.
‘Fucking bitch’. ‘She just cost me’. ‘This is a setup’. ‘Whore’.
I just smile, basking in my glory. This is just what it sounds like as a boss bitch in a man's world.
Glancing around I see the shock across everyone's faces until I see Jake smiling wide at me with relief. As much as these guys know how Rafe trained me, it seems they forget when we aren’t in the gym.
Looking over to Riggs, his eyes are already on me, seeing me in a different light. Still shocked and not likely impressed by the turn of events, he moves forward to shake my hand out of respect, as my other arm is raised above my head by the referee and I'm officially announced the winner.
There seems to be a lot more people surrounding the ring than when I first entered it. I try to see how West’s match is going, but with the amount of bodies that suddenly seem to be filling the ring, I can barely see. At least he’s still on his feet.
I’m done now, I’ve taken in my fill of the noise and the excitement. I’m ready to get my cut from the bets and head out. I need to burn off the rest of this adrenaline.
Heading straight to the locker room I'm hoping I can grab a quick shower whilst the other fight is still going, and there's less people to worry about. Catching sight of West still fighting, I think I’ve found how I can burn the rest of this adrenaline off.
Sex.
There’s no way I could approach Jake, he’d want to get married in the morning, but West? Maybe he could be down for some no-strings passion. With only his shorts on, I can see his chiseled abs and muscular thighs from here, and I could get down with that. His light brown hair is cut short at the sides and gelled on the top, his brown eyes always observing.
Murphy stops me just as I enter the hallway and hands me an envelope. I don't question how much is in there and that information isn’t divulged. Staring me dead in the eyes, he holds for a moment then nods, not at me, more like in agreement with himself. Without a backwards glance he’s gone. Odd.
As I shut the door to the locker room a chill runs down my spine and my senses go on high alert. I give myself the smallest moment to ready myself, fully aware that I'm not alone in here. I turn quickly to assess the room.
I first notice the five men that caught my attention earlier when they entered the warehouse with their sunglasses on. I knew something was off with them, but I let them disappear into the crowd, as I watched Jake and Tommy.
Continuing around the room I see a defeated Rafe looking at his shoes, sitting in the corner, unable to meet my eyes.
What the fuck is going on?
Before I can even bring myself to ask the question I hear heels clicking from the showers, not wanting to take my eyes off Rafe, I finally pull my gaze in that direction.
"Happy Birthday, Daughter! I must say you put on a fabulous show for me, just like your Daddy. You're going to fit right in at Featherstone Academy, chop chop, you leave tonight.”
I’d know them pointed heels anywhere, it’s funny how suited they are to the dirt on the tiled floor. My mother stands before me in a grey tailored suit, with her blonde hair slicked back in a chignon and a thick layer of make up like she's more than she actually is.
Any chance of a little birthday sex to come down from this high, is well and truly out of the window now.
CHAPTER THREE
I'm a little stunned.
She's caught me off guard if I'm honest but I'm trying to not show it. Veronica has shown up a few times over the years, barely hung around for five minutes, then she's gone again. I'm trying to process what she just said and the scene in front of me. I move towards Rafe trying to gain his attention. As I do one of the guys, that seems to be here with my mother, steps behind me and locks the door.
"Rafe, what's going on?"
He looks at me with such anguish in his eyes, I'm halted. He looks broken, this can't be because of the fight. I mean I knew he'd be angry when he eventually found out about it, but the look on his face is something else entirely. We’re not hearts on our sleeve’s kind of people, but I can see the emotion in his eyes, the devastation.
"Luna, don't be rude, aren't you going to greet your mother?"
"Last I checked, I don't have a mother, you can leave now." I blandly respond, keeping my eyes trained on Rafe.
This woman is bat shit crazy. Standing here like she's given me the world and sacrificed herself to do so. The only one here that has sacrificed is Rafe, so
