by Jessie Cooke
“I’ll get dressed and go down to the police station now,” And that was the point where Wolf started thinking of alternatives. They could hardly punish a brother for simply being loyal to his president, even if that president was slightly fucked up. He would have loved to not get Dax involved at all...but in the end he told himself that would have been exactly the way his old man would have done it. When Wolf died, even if it was suddenly...he hoped to at least go out knowing his club wasn’t going to suffer the “Sins of the Father” when he was gone.
Beck glared at Jacob and poor Jace, who had nothing to do with any of this. She was sitting on the table in the back room of the gym, arms folded across her chest and hands tucked into her armpits, mostly trying to control the urge to hit someone or something.
“Beck, if nobody is willing to get in that octagon with you, they can’t hold that against you,” Jace said. “Besides, if I get in a bar fight, I’d much rather you use the skills you have with a gun to save my ass and you know the rest of those assholes would too.”
She looked at Jacob while Jace was talking. She let him finish and then said, “If you told him I could do this, I was ready, maybe...”
Jacob was already shaking his head. “Rebekah, you know I like you and I’m amazed with your skills and impressed with your motivation...but I took this job from day one, 99% sure that no man associated with me or the Skulls was going to get in that octagon with you. Dax and Gunner were down this way for something else and I think when Gunner volunteered he had you pictured as much more masculine, just based on what they already knew you could do. You have to understand that we’ve been told our entire lives that it’s never, ever, under any circumstances okay to hit a woman. You’re good, Beck. You’re strong and you’re fast...but you have to be realistic here. If Gunner had agreed to this and only gone 50%, he would have still won and probably in the first round. He outweighs you by a hundred pounds. He’s built differently than you...because he’s a man, and he’s supposed to be.”
“If I don’t do this—fight—then all this time has been wasted. Even if I did it and lost...which okay, I’m not delusional, I know that guy out there could kick my ass. But even then, these assholes would have to respect that I was willing to do it. Now, they’re just going to look at this as a ‘girl-fight’ and hope we pull each other’s clothes off and pour water on our t-shirts so they can see our nipples.” Jacob’s lips twitched and she said, “It’s not funny! I’m not a fucking club girl.”
“Neither is Tammy,” Jace said. “Tammy was raised in an MC around nothing but men. She has a twin brother and she was raised by her father. She’s tough, one of the toughest women I’ve ever met, and Gunner has been training her to fight. Before the fight starts, I guarantee you that she’s going to make sure these pervs know this is no mud wrestling show or PPV wrestling special. It will be treated like a professional fight and they’ll have to accept your win. Wolf put this out there to the entire club and none of them volunteered either, because as much as they want to give you a hard time and keep their MC a brotherhood...they don’t want to hurt you or see you hurt either.”
Beck looked at Jacob again and said, “You’ll make sure this is treated like a professional fight?”
“Absolutely.”
She sighed. Part of her was relieved because although she wouldn’t admit it, she was pretty sure that any man in the club could kick her ass. It wouldn’t be easy, but she wasn’t stupid. She knew they were made differently than her. They were bigger and most of them were stronger and as much as that pissed her off it was simple fucking biology. But she had worked so fucking hard for this, and she’d much rather go out beaten and bloody than “fighting like a girl,” which is what most of them would think of her fighting Tammy Davis. But not fighting her, now that Tammy had stepped up and volunteered, would be the same as conceding defeat, and she wasn’t doing that either.
“Okay. Give me and Jace a few minutes, then I’ll be ready.” Jacob looked relieved. He gave her a nod and a smile and left. She looked at Jace and crooked a finger at him. He smiled and went over to stand in front of her. She opened her legs like scissors and wrapped them around him, using her thighs to pull him in closer. “Give me a kiss.” Still smiling, Jace bent down and kissed her. Beck reached up and put her hands on the sides of his face and deepened the kiss. It was long, hot, and passionate and it took her breath away. She wished that she could just let him pick her up off that table and carry her...anywhere...and make love to her. And the fact that she was thinking of it as “making love” now, and not just fucking, hardly scared her anymore. She did know that eventually he’d have to get back to his life and his sister back east, but she’d already started thinking of ways to get around having to be separated from him for long periods. If Wolf did let her prospect, then maybe once she was fully patched in, he would let her be a nomad for the club and maybe she and Jace could travel together.
Jace pulled out of the kiss first and reached down to adjust himself. “Now I have to sit through a fight that you’ve already said won’t be naked, with a hard-on.”
She laughed. “I’d love nothing more than to take care of it for you before I go out there...but I don’t think we have that kind of time. You’ll save it for me, though, right?”
“I’ll try...” Suddenly she wrapped her hand around the bulge in his jeans, firmly and said:
“You’ll do what?”
“I’ll save it for you.”
“That’s what I thought you said.” Jace laughed and said:
“But you’d better let go of it or I’ll have to go change my pants and miss the fight.” She let go, put her hands on his face, and pulled him down for another kiss.
“Okay, I’m ready now.”
“Kick ass, baby.”
“I plan on it,” she told him with a wink.
29
“How’s she doing?” Wolf asked, taking a seat next to Jace.
“She’s good, Boss—ready for this.”
“How about you?”
“A lot better now that I know she’s not fighting a man. I don’t think I could have taken that.”
“You and Beck are close.” Wolf said it more like a statement than a question but Jace answered it anyway.
“Yeah, I like her.”
Wolf smiled as if maybe he knew “like” was putting it mildly and then he said, “What about when this is over, what’s your plan?”
“I need to get home. I’ve left all the work on my employees, and my sister probably thinks I’ve abandoned her. I wanted to see Beck through this, but tomorrow will be back to reality.” It wasn’t that cut-and-dried. Jace had no idea what he was going to do about being three thousand miles away from Beck. He knew that it wasn’t going to be easy and that was putting it as mildly as calling how he felt about her, “like.” But he couldn’t abandon Rosie and he knew Beck understood that. He wished he could take her with him, but after she’d worked so hard for this, he couldn’t even suggest that. She would take it as his assuming because she was the woman she should follow him, and as horrible as it would be to be apart from her, he thought it would be worse to lose her respect.
“Before you take off, will you make sure we get some time to talk?”
“Of course. You have a job for me?”
“Of sorts,” Wolf said, pretty mysteriously.
“Is it here in California?”
Wolf smiled. “We’ll talk about it in the morning.”
“Okay, Boss.” Jace let it go, but he was curious, and while he sat and waited for the fight to start the wheels in his head were turning. He supposed if Wolf had enough work for him, he could take a look at finding a place for Rosie in California. His sister wouldn’t care what state she was in; it was all about the facility and the staff. The one she was in was one of the best in the US—Jace had researched them thoroughly before putting her there. They only came as far west as New Mexico, but that would still be closer if he had to...or decided to...spend more time in Californi
a. Of course he had no idea if Beck even wanted this thing between them to continue after her “test” was over. He knew that at first it had been about her getting her needs met with someone discreet...but he liked to believe it had evolved almost as much for her as it had for him. He wasn’t foolish enough to believe she was in love with him...the way he was with her...but he did believe she at least liked him a lot and felt safe and comfortable with him, and that was a good place to start.
“Ladies and gentlemen.” Jacob Wright was on the microphone in the center of the octagon. “Please find your seats, our main event is about to begin.” He waited while the brothers, old ladies, and club girls found their way into the empty seats set up around the octagon. Most of them had already been there for a couple of hours, filling up on beer and whiskey. Most gyms didn’t have a bar, but the Westside Skulls gym was not like most gyms. “Okay, settle down and give me your undivided attention,” Jake said. He waited until it was completely silent and said, “Tonight we have an awesome match-up for you. The challenger tonight comes all the way from Boston, Massachusetts. She’s not a professional fighter but she comes with an impressive pedigree. She’s the daughter of Randall Covey, the president of the Headhunters MC in San Antonio, Texas and she is married to one of the best young fighters I’ve had the privilege to train, Gunner Davis. She’s achieved certifications in Krav Maga and Jujitsu and she was trained for tonight’s match-up by Gunner. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Tamara Covey Davis.” A roar of applause welcomed Tammy and Gunner into the room and didn’t die down until they were inside the octagon and on Tammy’s side. She was dressed in a sports bra type thing and a pair of tight black yoga pants that came down to just below her knees. Her hands were wrapped and so were her feet. Her long blonde hair had been tightly braided into two braids that were attached at the base of her neck and twisted so that there was no tail or hair hanging out for her opponent to grab. Tammy obviously worked out and she had a nice, firm, muscular body...but Jace was biased. He didn’t think she looked as fit or as strong as Beck; and as mean as Tammy could be, he was still sure Beck could best her. While those thoughts ran through his head he leaned over closer to Wolf and said:
“If she wins this, it counts, right, Boss?”
“It counts,” Wolf said. Jace breathed a sigh of relief. He still worried that Beck didn’t know all she was getting into by being a part of an MC, and a female to boot...but it was all she wanted, and all he wanted was to see her happy.
“And now, ladies and gentlemen, our main contender this evening is a young woman who is a seventeen-year veteran of the US Navy, has a black belt in karate, is certified in Jujitsu, and has been trained to be in this octagon tonight by yours truly...so you know she’s got to be good. Representing the Westside Skulls tonight, please welcome Rebekah ‘Beck’ Golden.”
Jace noticed that the applause for Beck wasn’t as hearty as it had been for Tammy. It pissed him off. Anyone that had been anywhere near the club over the past month knew how hard she’d been working toward this. Regardless of their feelings about a woman in the MC, they should respect the hell out of all her hard work. He turned to look at her as she came down the aisle, flanked by one of Jacob’s teammates. She had her hair braided too, but it was in four or five small braids all over her head. She looked hot and as she passed, Jace got to his feet. Wolf came to his feet too and that prompted the rest of them to stand and applaud her. Nothing but confidence shone in her light blue eyes, and Jace felt nothing but pride and love in his heart as he watched her step into the octagon.
Jake and Beck huddled up on one side and Tammy and Gunner on the other. After a few minutes, the MMA fighter who worked for Jake and was acting as referee for the night called them to the center of the ring. They were treating it like a real MMA match and he gave the spiel about a fair fight and had the women tap their fists together. He held onto their hands and said:
“Let’s get this fight started.” The buzzer rang and the two women began circling each other. The crowd began to buzz, almost all of them still on their feet. Jace heard them calling out to the women to “throw a punch, kick her, take her down.” He heard a few nasty comments, but Wolf heard them too and as soon as his head spun around looking for the culprit, those remarks died. Jace didn’t take his eyes off the ring, or Beck. After the women circled each other twice, Beck finally shot out a right hook. Tammy had her hands up and caught it on the back of one of her hands, throwing out a left almost simultaneously. Beck caught that and she used it to twist Tammy’s arm behind her and run her up against the mesh. The crowd was going crazy. Tammy struggled for a few seconds and then Beck let her go and backed off. Jace smiled. Beck was just asserting herself, showing Tammy who was the more dominant fighter.
Tammy came back at her and Beck was ready with a kick. She landed her right foot in the center of Tammy’s thigh and the other woman went down on her back on the mat. She managed to roll away and get to her feet before Beck got there, but she was favoring that leg now. They both started throwing punches then. A few of Tammy’s landed against Beck’s face. Jace flinched each time. He hated the idea of her being hit, by anyone, but she was giving as good as she got, even better, and by the end of the first round, Tammy already looked exhausted. Beck looked exuberant. Her lip was bleeding slightly but she was smiling and her face was glowing. Jace didn’t know if it was a good thing or not to be in love with a woman who was that happy when she was throwing punches, but it was too late to wonder about it anyway—he was already too far gone.
The buzzer rang and the women returned to the center. This time Tammy charged Beck right off the bat. She pinned her to the mesh for a few seconds, but Beck was able to get one of her legs wrapped around Tammy’s and throw her off balance. They both went down to the mat, Tammy on her back and Beck on top. Beck started throwing punches; a ground and pound was what it was called. Tammy had her hands up to protect her face, but Beck’s fists were relentless. Even with her hands between Beck’s fists and her head, Tammy was taking a hell of a beating. Beck only kept it up for about half a minute, but Jace was sure that to Tammy it probably felt like an hour. Beck just suddenly stood up off her and took a step back to let the other woman get to her feet. Tammy looked pissed and blood was dripping from her nose. Gunner tried saying something to her but she wouldn’t look at him. As soon as she was on her feet she charged Beck. Beck was ready, though; she knew it was coming. That was the difference, Jace realized. Tammy was trained how to throw a punch and a kick, but she didn’t seem to know how to anticipate her opponent’s next move...which was key.
Beck spun her sexy little body around and her foot slammed into Tammy’s side. She stumbled back but didn’t go down. As she came back toward Beck looking slightly dazed and confused, Beck threw a hard right and the other woman went down, hard. The audience was yelling and the referee was holding Gunner back. He was trying to get to his old lady, who was out cold. Beck was smiling through the blood in her teeth and Jacob was the one that went over, lifted her right arm, and said:
“Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner by knockout, Rebekah ‘Beck’ Golden.” Beck looked at Jace and he winked and smiled at her. She lifted her other hand up to her lips and blew him a kiss. For any other woman to do that, he would have been touched. For Beck to do it in front of all of these people...he was overwhelmed.
30
“I think I’m drunk.”
Jace chuckled as he watched Beck walk into her room. The entire time he’d known her, she had been so focused on her training that she had barely taken a sip of alcohol since that first night. But after she won the fight, she took a shower and came out ready to party. For the duration of the evening she walked around with a bottle of champagne in one hand and holding onto Jace with the other like she was afraid she’d lose him. There wasn’t any talk of her patching in or prospecting at the party. Everyone was just having a good time, dancing and drinking and celebrating her hard work and her victory. Even Tammy, once she came to and took a long show
er herself, joined in the celebration. The two women were friendly and Jace was impressed by them both. Male fighters had a tendency to toss barbs at each other both before and after the fight, but Tammy and Beck were not only civil but complimentary to one another. She continuously amazed him and he’d had a great time celebrating with her...but lately there was no place he’d rather be than alone with her in her room at the club. This time would be even more special because he had no idea where they were going from here and no idea how to talk to her about it.
“It’s hot in here,” she said, sitting down on the bed and taking a swig out of the bottle of champagne she’d brought back with her. “Take off your clothes. I think I want to take advantage of you.”
Jace laughed. “You’re the drunk one. Shouldn’t I be taking advantage of you?”
She snorted. “Did you see me kick that girl’s ass tonight? I’ll kick yours too if you mess with me.”