Bronze (Blackwings MC - Devil Springs Book 5)

by Teagan Brooks

  That was also when my excitement at getting past the doorman was replaced by a rush of nervous energy mixed with a touch of fear. I had no idea what kind of place I was walking into. What if it was one of those BDSM clubs, and I’d just become my brother’s slave by declaring myself his guest?

  And that’s the thought that should’ve had me running for the stairs, but it didn’t. I knew both of my brothers would keep me safe, once I found them. Even if I didn’t find them, there was a good chance dropping my father’s name would get me out of almost any situation that could arise.

  With that in mind, I pressed forward and moved deeper into the club, the sound of a crowd getting louder with each step I took. I finally came to a foyer with three doors where several people were milling about, thankfully not clad in latex and chains. Since I had no idea what was behind the doors, I leaned against the far wall and waited for someone to open at least one of them. Five minutes later, I had my answer. Each door led to a room filled with small bleachers surrounding a fighting ring in the center.

  Since there weren’t any active fights, I wandered around from room to room looking for Declan and Tiernan. I did find a bar along the way and got myself a drink to help ease my nerves before continuing to explore.

  I was in the first room on the left when the lights overhead flickered, and someone came over the speaker to tell us to take our seats. Based on how quickly the crowd collectively followed the instructions, I followed suit and planted my ass in the first seat I found.

  From the moment I sat down, I could feel the man sitting beside me was staring at me. I glanced around the room to see if there was a vacant seat anywhere, but I didn’t think I was allowed to move after the way everyone dove for a seat.

  He leaned closer, halting at the edge of invading my personal space. “Does your father know you’re here?”

  My head snapped up, and I glared into the eyes of a man I’d never met in person but instantly recognized—Luca Peccati. “I’m an adult, Mr. Peccati.”

  “Yes,” he agreed. “You’re also an O’Shea.”

  “Does that mean I’m not welcome here?” I asked, preparing to find my brothers and get us the hell out of there if necessary.

  “It means, as with any event of this nature, friend or foe may be in attendance.” My brows wrinkled in confusion. “For starters, you’re an O’Shea sitting beside a Peccati. Look around, Sloane. Who else do you see?”

  Reluctantly, I raised my head and let my eyes slowly sweep over the faces filling the bleachers. The first thing I noticed was an abundance of men who were obviously working as security, though I didn’t know if they worked for the club or were personal guards for some of the people attending the fight. Unless they all belonged to Luca. I stiffened at the thought and forced myself to focus on the task at hand.

  “Is that Nikolai Volkov?” I whispered.

  “Indeed it is,” he confirmed.

  “In the next section to the right, that’s Gabriel DeLuca and Pietro,” I breathed.

  He cleared his throat. “Do you understand now?”

  It finally hit me. I was in an underground fight club, and judging by the crowd in attendance, it was a high-dollar one. “Oh,” I said. “Well, thank you for bringing that to my attention.”

  “Why are you here?”

  “I was supposed to be meeting a friend, but I think I’m in the wrong place,” I lied and pointed to the door. “Is it okay for me to leave?”

  He shook his head. “No. Once the door closes and locks, it remains locked until the end of the fight.”

  “Why?”

  “There’s a number of reasons, but one is to prevent people from trying to sneak out and cheat the system by placing a large bet on the winning fighter halfway through the match. Everyone in here placed a bet on one of the fighters before they entered this room,” he explained.

  “I didn’t,” I blurted, causing his eyes to widen before they narrowed sharply.

  “Then, you shouldn’t be in here. How did you get in?” he asked in a way I knew it was best to answer with the truth.

  “I told the doorman I was here to surprise Declan,” I admitted. “And I told him I knew where I was going.”

  Luca sharply nodded his head once. “I see. Well, Ms. O’Shea, it would be in your best interest to secure a bet with me right now before the match begins.”

  There was no doubt in my mind that he was dead serious, literally. “Fine,” I relented. “I want to place the lowest bet you’ll take on the fighter you think will win.”

  He chuckled. “You’re lucky that I won’t take advantage of such a vague bet because I know your father. Others would not be so thoughtful.”

  “Dad has always spoken highly of you,” I said offhandedly before my curiosity got the best of me. “Why is a bet required?”

  “That’s not information you’re privy to,” he said sharply, then softened his tone. “Even Maxim and Pietro placed bets in order to enter with Nikolai and Gabriel.” He paused when the lights flickered. “Ah, it’s about to begin.”

  I turned to the ring and watched quietly as the two fighters squared up in the center. There was very little fanfare before the two large men started pummeling each other in a barbaric fashion. The sounds of their taped fists slamming into each other’s flesh almost had me throwing up. It seemed like it went on forever before one of them finally fell to the floor in a bloody heap.

  As people got up and began to circulate, Luca stayed planted in his seat. “Am I allowed to leave now?” I whispered.

  He shook his head, but the corners of his lips tipped up in a small grin. “No, dear, there’s one more match scheduled for this room tonight.”

  I felt my face turn green. “I’m not sure I can sit through another one of those,” I confessed, causing him to chuckle.

  “I can assure you this match will not be as long as the first one.” He snapped his fingers in the air, and a man suddenly appeared at his side. “I would like a drink. And bring Ms. O’Shea a fresh one as well.”

  The attendant returned several minutes later, magically refilling my drink correctly without asking what it was. The crowd had thinned out, and the room started to fill with new people. Luca turned to me. “Now, tell me why you’re really here.”

  I decided to see if part of the truth would satisfy him. “I saw someone I recognized come in here, and I wanted to say hello.”

  He nodded slowly. “Nice try, Ms. O’Shea. Now tell me the rest.”

  I opened my mouth even though I had no idea what to say when the lights flickered. Glancing around, I noticed everyone was already in their seats. Had I missed the announcement? Before I could give it much thought, the fighters appeared in the ring, and my jaw dropped open in absolute disbelief.

  Because I recognized both fighters.

  In the left corner, wearing green trunks like the proud Irish fighter he was, Declan bounced on the balls of his feet and tossed a few punches in the air.

  In the right corner, wearing black shorts with bronze stripes down the side, Bronze Black was leaning casually on the corner post waiting for the fight to begin.

  Bronze Fucking Black.

  That motherfucker! Fiery rage began to fill my veins at the sight of his deceptive face. I started to rise to my feet when Luca’s hand shot out and pulled me back down. “Where do you think you’re going, Ms. O’Shea?” Luca asked.

  “But that’s—” I started.

  “Your brother. You said you knew he was here. Have you been lying to me, Ms. O’Shea?”

  I don’t know if it was the initial shock of seeing him again or the surge of anger that washed over me, but I was on the verge of snapping his head off regardless of who he was. Instead, I managed to regain my wits enough to respond accordingly. “Please, call me Sloane. And yes, I knew Declan was here, but I didn’t know he was fighting.”

  “Interesting,” he mused.

  “How so?” I asked and managed to pull my eyes away from the ring to face Luca.

  “
Because he fights here regularly.”

  Well, shit. My eyes darted around the room once again looking for three familiar faces—my father’s, Kian’s, and Tiernan’s. “Of course, the Irish mob family would have a mini-reunion at an underground fight club.”

  Luca covered his mouth with his hand, but I heard the light chuckle that escaped him. “Oops. I didn’t mean to say that out loud. But since I did, is my father here?”

  It occurred to me that if my father knew Declan was fighting, he would attend his fights; therefore, Luca would have handed me off to my dad. I knew the answer but asked anyway to hopefully ease my nerves. “Does my father know Declan is here?”

  Luca cleared his throat and straightened his tie. “Pay attention, Ms. O’Shea. The show is about to begin.” It didn’t occur to me until much later that Luca never answered my question.

  I think I held my breath from the moment the fight started to the moment it ended, which was thirty-eight seconds later.

  Holy.

  Shit.

  Declan had been fighting for well over fifteen years and was what I considered to be a good fighter. I could only recall him losing one match, and nothing even close to a knockout happened. And Bronze knocked him out in thirty-eight seconds.

  Rising from my seat, I started to move toward the ring to make sure Declan was okay when a firm but gentle hand pulled me back. “Your brother will be fine. You, however, might not be if you leave my side. Am I understood?” His tone brooked no argument.

  “Yes, Mr. Peccati,” I agreed, unsure of why his words unnerved me the way they did.

  He stood and extended his hand to help me to my feet. When we stepped into the aisle, he looped my arm through his elbow and held it tightly against his side. We didn’t make it more than two steps before we were surrounded by people.

  Suddenly several larger men shoved their way to the front, turned, and started forcing the crowd back. “Thank you, Vincenzo. Please see that Nikolai Volkov and Maxim, as well as Gabriel DeLuca and Pietro, are escorted to the lounge immediately. Give me ten minutes. Then, I’ll start seeing the others one at a time in my office.”

  With that, Luca and I exited into the foyer, leaving the crowd of spectators locked in the room. He turned to me with very stern eyes. “I’m going to escort you to the stairs. From there, Piero will escort you to your vehicle. You will then get into your car and drive straight to your house.”

  “But Declan—”

  “I will check on him and call you myself. Now, off you go,” he said and shooed me toward the man waiting at the top of the stairs. The next second, he reached out and placed his hand on my shoulder to stop me. “We need to settle your bet first.”

  “Oh, right,” I said. Any other time, I would have been much more concerned with the outcome of placing a bet in the manner I did, but all I cared about was getting out of there as fast as possible before I ran into Bronze and did something I would regret. Like tell my dad what he did, because clearly he could handle my big brothers with no problem whatsoever. “Did I win or lose?” I asked and placed my hands on my hips.

  Luca grinned and reached into his jacket. “You won, Ms. O’Shea,” he said and held out a stack of bills for me.

  I looked at his outstretched hand like he was holding a pit viper instead of a wad of cash. “Did I win betting against Declan?” Because I didn’t want to take it if I did.

  “You won. We’ll leave it at that,” he said and reached for my hand, placing the stack of money in my palm.

  My eyes widened in shock. From one glance, I guessed I was holding at least five thousand dollars. I floundered for what to do with the money. It wouldn’t fit in the tiny purse I was carrying. As a last resort, I stepped closer to Luca so we were almost touching and made quick work of stuffing half of the bills in each bra cup.

  When I stepped back, I almost laughed at the look on his face. Instead, I said what I was thinking. “I shudder to think how much I could’ve lost.”

  “Let that be a lesson to you, Ms. O’Shea.”

  “Oh, it has been. And it was well-received. Good night, Mr. Peccati,” I said and jogged up the stairs to meet my next escort.

  The man Luca called Piero didn’t utter one word in my presence, but he kept his eyes trained on me. When we arrived at my car, he simply nodded and disappeared into the night once I locked the doors. Leaning back against the headrest, I closed my eyes and tried to process the events of the evening.

  Bronze Black knocked out my brother.

  Bronze Black was in Cherryfield.

  Bronze Black was fighting in an underground fighting ring.

  And Bronze Black lied to me, used me, and toyed with my emotions. A familiar anger bubbled in my chest. So much so that I considered going back inside to look for him until I remembered Luca’s warning.

  Cranking my car, I yelped when someone knocked on the window. I turned to see who was knocking and was met with a pair of familiar stormy blue eyes. “What the fuck are you doing here?” he roared.

  “What the fuck am I doing here?” I returned and got out to face him. That’s when I noticed the other two men standing beside three motorcycles, one I assumed belonged to Bronze. “What the fuck are you doing here?” I demanded and made a show of looking around the area. “What? You didn’t bring your brother to do your dirty work for you this time?”

  “What?” he asked and seemed genuinely confused, but I knew how good of an actor he was.

  I snorted in derision. “I fell for your act one time, but it won’t happen again.”

  “The fuck are you—”

  Bronze’s words were silenced by the audible chambering of a gun nearby.

  “Is there a problem here?”

  Quickly glancing toward the voice, I exhaled in relief when I saw Piero and Vincenzo, each holding a gun, though neither were pointed at anyone. “You need to leave. Right now. Luca will not be happy about this.”

  “That’s what I was trying to do!” I shouted and threw my hands in the air.

  “Why?” Bronze demanded at the same time.

  Piero turned to Bronze and pinned him with a glare so harsh it made me shiver. Bronze held his hands out in a placating manner. “Look, man, her and I have some shit to sort out, and I’m not going anywhere until that happens.”

  A throat cleared in the shadows, and Luca Peccati stepped into the light. “I’m not going to ask why you approached your opponent’s sister in the parking lot. I’m not going to point out what a poor decision you made. However, I am going to stand here while Ms. O’Shea drives away, and then the rest of us are going to my office to talk.”

  “Works for me. Ta-ta!” I shouted and peeled out of the lot before my door was completely closed.

  I hadn’t fully processed everything that happened by the time I got home, but I did know one thing for sure—there was no way in hell I wasn’t going back.

  15

  “Motherfucker!” I bellowed seconds after jumping out of the direct path of Sloane’s car. What the fuck? Apparently, whoever was writing the story of my life loved almost killing me.

  I stood there in complete and total shock with my hand over my heart as I tried to keep it from beating out of my chest and catch my breath at the same time. When I finally regained some composure, I realized the little she-devil didn’t even stop.

  “She almost hit me!”

  “But she didn’t,” Piero pointed out.

  Gritting my teeth, I held my tongue as I watched her taillights disappear. I spent more time than I cared to admit looking for her after she popped smoke and disappeared. Then, all of a sudden, she’s right there in front of me, and there was nothing I could do to make her stay.

  “Gentlemen, follow me,” Luca instructed.

  I signaled for Grant and Drew to follow me back inside. Fuck, I had no idea what kind of shit I’d inadvertently stepped in. If I could get a handle on my anger before we reached Luca’s office, I was going to do my best to get out of it without involving the club.


  Luca closed the door and took a seat behind his desk. “Explain.”

  “I met her a few months ago in Devil Springs and walked over to say hello,” I shrugged. “I didn’t know she was O’Shea’s sister.”

  Luca silently stared at me while waiting for more, but I didn’t have to tell him my personal business, and I wasn’t going to.

  When he realized I wasn’t going to say more, he sat back in his chair and clasped his hands in his lap. “I can’t have external animosity between my contenders. You of all people know what happens when fighters have problems outside of the ring. If you want to keep fighting here, don’t approach her. Having said that, I can’t do anything about it if she approaches you. If that happens, keep your personal shit out of and away from my club.”

  “Understood.”

  “Very well,” he said and extended his hand. “We’ll see you back here in two weeks.”

  Pissed off didn’t even begin to cover how I was feeling. I’d tried to find her, on more than one occasion, after she left town without a word. Every avenue I tried was a dead end. But it suddenly all made sense. She was Lorcan O’Shea’s daughter.

  I fucked an Irish mob boss’s daughter.

  And I kicked her brother’s ass.

  I wanted to laugh at the thought but knew it wasn’t the time. I’d have to double fist pump later.

  Fuck. Her dad had the power to make his baby girl untraceable, which explained why I couldn’t find her by her phone number or license plate. And it also explained why she was checked in under an alias. I’d suspected she was lying about why she was in Devil Springs early on, but finding out her real identity confirmed it.

  Sloane may have thought she got away from me again, but it would only be until my next fight. Because regardless of what Luca said, I was going to see her again. I just had to make her come to me first.

  When we arrived at the club, I told the doorman I was expecting a guest and gave him her name. Then, I leaned closer and slipped some cash into his palm. “You need to escort her to my locker room and lock the door once she’s inside. Otherwise, she’ll sneak into the fights and get herself into trouble. She may try to check in as her brother’s guest, Declan O’Shea. She pulled that shit two weeks ago, and Luca found her in one of the rooms,” I said and gave him a pointed look.