Chereads / Sucker Punch: A why choose Romance / Chapter 4 - Chapter Four

Chapter 4 - Chapter Four

Ari

"Lola?" I said into my phone. I'd called her the moment I'd stormed out Smiley's door, and she'd answered. "Will you meet me for lunch? Frankie is being a total ass, and I need to get the fuck away from him."

"Of course." The moment her calm, soothing voice came through my phone, my anger started to subside. Lola was the most levelheaded person on the planet and was exactly what I needed right now—someone with an outsider's perspective. "I'm just heading back from a house showing, so I can meet you at the sandwich shop if you want?"

"I'll see you soon."

As I stalked toward our meeting place, I tried to forget about Frankie and instead refocus on the problem at hand. I needed to concentrate on getting a replacement fighter as quickly as possible for the hole Marcus had left. That was where I really needed to be spending my energy.

Smiley's needed a winner.

We needed to show we had someone people could bet on and have a chance at making real money. We needed bets laid in our favor. Not just against us. Our door remaining open depended on it. Nobody wanted to train in and fight for a gym that only had losers.

Maybe Lola would have some ideas. I'd met her via Frankie back during the height of his fighting days. She was an event organizer on the side when she wasn't selling real estate. She met a lot of people along her way, and with her fighting insider history, she might have information I didn't.

"You act like this is something new," Lola muttered in disgust, as soon as I finished telling her about Frankie's outburst and also about chasing off another good fighter. She'd never particularly been impressed by his broody behavior at the best of times, so this really seemed to add to her dislike. "He can be such a dick sometimes."

"Tell me about it." I rolled my eyes. Getting it off my chest had helped me feel somewhat better. I didn't think Frankie had intended to be harmful with his words; he simply couldn't hack the pressure at times, and there had definitely been a lot of it, lately. But it still didn't excuse his behavior. Then again, we were all used to it now, so it was unlikely he'd ever change. I just hoped it didn't cost us any more fighters… and Smiley's. "So do you have any ideas?"

"Hmmm… what about Blue from Leroy's? I heard he's upset and looking. He's second in line and tired of not being the focus."

I knew where she was going with this. He was a decent fighter, but he hadn't been with that gym long. He was just as green as many of the fighters I already had at Smiley's.

"Theo from Leroy's, too. Or Jack Levine from Bobby's. Steal from them as payback."

 

None of those fighters seemed right. I couldn't see them as champion material, and I definitely couldn't see them getting along with Frankie, aka Freakshow, who had beat the shit out of them multiple times in the cage.

"Ooh, I know!" Lola's eyes went wide with excitement. "Well, I don't know for sure. I think he's a good idea, but there's a definite risk with him."

At this point, I was willing to take on a risk to get the right man for the gym. "Go on, I'm listening."

She pulled out her phone and clicked on a picture to show me. "Bones Vega."

"Bones." I snatched the phone from her.

The picture confimed that Bones was officially one the sexiest men I'd ever laid my eyes upon. He had dark hair, deep brown eyes, and a sexy small scar running down his left cheek. Something about his smile in the pic had my heart beating just a little faster. He was obviously strong and muscular—which was to be expected because most guys I worked around were—but there was something protective about his look, too.

I not only saw the protectiveness last night in his eyes, I felt it when he threw me to the ground and shielded me with his body.

Tattoos nearly covered every inch of his skin, his identifying bone tattoos on his hands prominent in the picture which again made him appear simultaneously dangerous and mysterious. It was interesting to take in his appearance without chaos swirling around him like at the fight last night, and yet, there wasn't anything about the picture that felt 'calm'.

"I met him last night. I watched him fight."

"Interesting. He doesn't fight much anymore. He used to fight for Bobby, and he was incredible, like an unbelievable fighter. He was a fan favorite, and everyone loved him. But… there were some issues. Just as he was about to explode in peak fitness and wins, there was some fucked-up shit, and everything seemed to fall apart."

"What issues? I don't recall anything."

Something about the story felt familiar to me. It was as if I could remember it, or I had heard it somewhere, but the details remained fuzzy. It was definitely before I took over Smiley's a year ago. I'd been fully up to date on the fighting scene since then… or at least I had been trying. Not to mention this could have all been going on when my father had died, so I hadn't exactly been in a place to keep up with all the drama when my life had been one big drama by itself.

"Because he was such a good fighter—almost undefeatable—it appeared he threw his last match. No one could ever work out the exact truth, lots of rumors, but it seemed to destroy his career from there. Bobby kicked him out of the gym for costing him a shitload of money, and he pretty much got blackballed from any promoters. If he fights now, it's as a free agent. I actually saw him at a fight a short while back, and I know for a fact that he wants to earn the trust back, but once you burn your rep, it's impossible to pull it back from the ashes. But he was damn good. Vicious and brutal, which always made for a great show."

Warning bells were going off.

Warning bells I should have stopped and listened to.

But at the same time, my gut sensed more.

Vicious and brutal, which always made for a great show.

If no one else would give him a chance, that made him perfect for us. I'd bet on him even if others didn't. Hell… his bad rep could end up making me more money in the long run.

But there was that risk. How pissed off would Frankie be if I took it? Then again, he hadn't left me with much choice when he chased off our last hopeful.

"Do you have a way to reach him? His address so I can pay him a surprise visit?" I would at least give it a shot. "I might go over to talk to him in person. Since he doesn't strike me as someone who chats on the phone often." I didn't see any point in making any judgments or decisions just yet when I didn't know the full story. And I was a big believer in staring someone straight in the eye to read their character. "If he's such a good fighter, like you say, then maybe he's exactly what we need. Risk or not."

"Yeah, I'm sure I can find it for you," she said with a smile. "But don't blame me if this blows up in your face." She paused and then laughed. "But you can give me all the credit if it lands you the best fighter we've seen in a long time."

As I thought about going to see this Bones Vega, I couldn't help but notice the way my heart literally clenched in my chest. I took several deep breaths, trying to keep my mind on what was important. Trying to keep my focus only on the fight. The fight to save Smiley's.