Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

Ty

“ C oming?” Tomas hits my shoulder as he fake-fights. He bounces on his feet and continues to punch me wherever he can reach.

I swat at his fists, then sucker punch him in the stomach. “Yeah.”

“Low blow,” he grumbles, leaning forward.

With a smirk, I lift the ski mask off my face just enough to put in my mouthpiece. Tomas has been with me for years; he trained me as a teen when I was first starting out, but he, like everyone else, has no idea what I look like beneath my masks.

The attire I don for fights is much different than what I normally wear. My white mask is replaced with a black ski mask, boots are traded in for tennis shoes, baggy gym shorts instead of black jeans, and white wraps rather than black gloves adorn my hands.

“I’ve got a lot of money riding on you,” Tomas says. “But I know you’ll win.”

I grunt in agreement. I’ve been in many illegal fights and have never lost one. It’s safe to say tonight won’t be any different. I’ve got a lot of built-up rage that’s just begging to let loose.

I follow Tomas around the side of the bridge. It’s closed for construction that’s set to start in a month, making it the perfect place to host a fight.

The crowd underneath is rambunctious and hyped up as we approach. Everyone steps aside to let me through so I can enter the ring they’ve laid out for us. I pull off my hoodie and hand it to Tomas, then bounce up and down in place and move my head from side to side to loosen my muscles. I can’t wait to pound my fists into someone’s flesh.

My opponent comes into view as I’m shaking my arms out to get my blood pumping. I size him up. He’s about two inches taller than me, and maybe twenty-five pounds heavier. Here in the underground ring, size doesn’t matter as long as you can fight. Knowing your weaknesses and strengths comes in handy too. Without that knowledge, you won’t last long here.

A referee comes into the center of the ring. We stand on either side of him.

He makes us slap hands before yelling, “Fight!”

With my fists up and my stance adjusted, I wait for him to make the first move. I always let my opponent go first. It gives them the impression they have the upper hand.

When he goes for a punch, I block it and kick him under his knee. He limps for a moment before walking it off. He moves toward me again. I block and kick him in the same place. The more I attack that area, the weaker his stance becomes.

Tomas shouts directions at me from the sidelines. Listening his advice, I land a punch to the guy’s jaw. He stumbles and sways a bit. Shaking it off, he catches his balance.

He kicks my side. It stings, but I stay upright. While there are no set rules, I try not to kill here. This is just a means to an end for me, a way to make easy cash and let out some steam. Killing people in front of others is messy and gets rumors started. That only ends with you getting noticed. I don’t need that shit.

As if an invisible force calls for me to glance up, my attention shifts to the crowd. My eyes widen.

It’s her . Why is she here?

While I’m distracted by her presence, my opponent takes advantage of the situation. He clocks me on the jaw, causing me to stumble. I readjust myself and bounce around the ring, mainly so my back is to her. If I keep facing Lakelynn, my concentration will be on her, not the fight.

Adrenaline pumps in my veins. I land two more kicks under his knee. My goal was to play with him, let out aggression, and win. Now, after spotting Lakelynn, I want to end this as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t work as well as I planned. My opponent lands another kick to my side. I grunt, feeling the bruise forming. As payback, I slam my fist into his side.

I continue punching wherever I can connect on him. He fights to gain an advantage and takes us to the ground. Being faster than him, I pin his arms down with my knees and land punches onto his face before he has time to block. Blood spews from his nose and mouth.

The second he’s out, the ref blows a whistle and enters the ring. I get to my feet.

“The Masked Demon wins!” The ref holds my arm up in celebration.

Tomas cheers along with most of the crowd. I glance over to Lakelynn again, and our gazes connect. Her eyes widen.

Fuck. Does she recognize me?

Grabbing my hoodie from Tomas, I smirk under my mask as I disappear into the crowd.