Lightning Strykes

by Sherryl Hancock

  Quinn glanced at Wynter, seeing the way her hand was shaking when she reached up to touch her forehead. Quinn took Wynter’s hand in hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

  Remington and Akasha went to the center of the ring for instructions, then went back to their corners. Remington winked at Wynter as she walked back over. Then she turned around, shifted her neck a couple of times, and then grew still. When the referee gave them the signal to start, Akasha immediately moved in. Remington let Akasha come to her, side stepping the first couple of swings, and shifting around Akasha slowly, her eyes watching Akasha’s every move.

  For a while Akasha made some half attempts to punch Remington. Remington simply moved her head to avoid them. Akasha bounced on the balls of her feet and then suddenly did a roundhouse kick to try and catch Remington in the head. Remington avoided the kick, but shocked everyone by stepping in, so that when Akasha followed up with a jab, it actually caught Remington in the face.

  “What the fuck…” Quinn muttered.

  “What?” Wynter asked worriedly as she saw Remington shift back out of Akasha’s reach.

  “She knows that’s Akasha’s big move… why did she step in…” Quinn said, shaking her head.

  Wynter turned her head back to the ring, seeing that Remington’s cheek was bleeding. She had to force herself to breathe as she continued to watch. Akasha’s confidence grew, and she threw a series of punches, one of which would have struck home, but Remington put up a gloved hand at the last second.

  Akasha did a round of the ring, acting like she’d already won the fight. Remington glanced over at Quinn and saw the perplexed look on the woman’s face. She winked at her.

  “Son of a…” Quinn said, as she started to grin.

  “What?” Wynter asked, worried sick at the moment.

  “Just watch,” Quinn said, her eyes glowing with excitement.

  Akasha made a move toward Remington again, this time going for a jab, and when she missed, she went in for a side kick. Fast as lightning, Remington grabbed Akasha’s foot before it could connect, yanking the shorter, heavier woman forward, and took her down to the mat. Akasha hit the mat and tried to roll away but Remington was faster. She reached out a gloved hand and grabbed the other woman’s shoulder, shoving her back to the mat on her back. Remington’s fist lashed out, punching Akasha in the face twice. She got up then, and waited for Akasha to climb to her feet.

  “What is she doing?” Wynter asked, thinking that Remington should have just kept Akasha down.

  “Kicking her ass…” Quinn said.

  Akasha, mad that she now had two solid hits against her, charged Remington. Remington braced and didn’t move out of Akasha’s path. She shifted so that Akasha’s head missed her midsection, and wrapping her arms around Akasha’s neck. Kicking out, Remington dropped to the mat, taking Akasha down with her. Once again, moving with the speed she was known for, Remington shifted and moved to kneel over Akasha’s back, grabbing her from behind in a choke hold. She lifted Akasha’s head off the matt and held it. Akasha tried to struggle to throw off the hold, but Remington simply increased the pressure on her windpipe, showing that she was more than happy to cause her to pass out.

  “She’s gonna tap…” Quinn said excitedly.

  “She’s gonna what?” Wynter asked.

  As the crowd cheered and screamed for Remington, Akasha slowly put out her hand, finally tapping out on the mat. Remington held the hold for an extra second to prove a point, then got to her feet. The crowd went crazy.

  “Wait, what just happened?” Wynter asked.

  “She just won,” Quinn told Wynter.

  “And that, folks,” said the announcer, “is what happens when lightning strikes!”

  Epilogue

  “So, let me get this straight,” Wynter said, looking up at Remington as they danced at the victory party. “You let her hit you on purpose?”

  Remington grinned, nodding. “I let her think she was actually scoring hits, yes.”

  “Why?” Wynter asked.

  “Because it gave her the confidence to try something stupid,” Remington said.

  “Which she did by trying to kick you,” Wynter said.

  “Yes,” Remington said.

  Wynter shook her head. “Quinn thought you were crazy.”

  “I know,” Remington said, grinning. “I saw her look.”

  “That’s why you winked at her,” Wynter said.

  “Yep,” Remington said.

  Wynter shook her head again. “I wish I would have known. I was freaking out.”

  “Well, it wasn’t an actual plan or anything,” Remington said. “I could see she was hesitating, and unsure about her ability, I just used that to my advantage.”

  “Pretty smart there LaRoché,” Wynter said, smiling.

  “ Mèsi renmen m ',” Remington said.

  Wynter narrowed her eyes, putting her hand to Remington’s lips when she started to translate. “I know this one… I think… you said thank you, love.”

  “Trey byen, babe, close. I said, ‘thank you my love,’” Remington said, smiling down at her.

  “Oh, that’s the ‘m '’ isn’t it? My?”

  Remington nodded, smiling.

  “I’ll get this yet,” Wynter said, grinning.

  “Here’s a new one for you… Jwaye Nwel,” she said, leaning down to kiss Wynter’s lips softly.

  “You got me,” Wynter said, shaking her head.

  “Merry Christmas,” Remington said, smiling down at her.

  Wynter glanced at the clock on the wall behind them. It was after midnight, therefore Christmas day officially.

  “Jwaye Nwel,” Wynter said, smiling up at Remington.

  “Trey byen,” Remington said, nodding.

  “Since it’s officially Christmas,” Wynter said, smiling as she stepped over to the table where her purse lay. “I have something for you.”

  She pulled a small rectangular box out of her purse and handed it to Remington.

  “What is this?” Remington asked, giving her a narrowed look.

  “It’s called a Christmas present, Remington, I’m sure you’ve heard of them,” Wynter said, grinning.

  “Komik… funny,” Remington said, as she opened the box. She stared down at the item nestled inside in shock and awe. “Bondye…” she murmured. “Wynter this is beautiful…” she said, her tone as awed as her look.

  A pendant was nestled in the box, but not just any pendant, it was a highly stylized multi-layered fleur-de-lis with a gothic-looking cross running through it. The pendant was made out of some kind of metal colored in blue, silver, and dark gray. It hung on a thickly linked chain that was also multi-colored with lines of blue, silver, and the same dark gray.

  “What metals are these?” Remington asked, touching the pendant reverently.

  “Platinum, titanium, and blue tungsten,” Wynter said, smiling.

  “I’ve never seen anything like this before…” Remington said, shaking her head.

  “That’s because no one ever has,” Wynter said. “It’s custom.”

  “It’s fantastic,” Remington breathed. “Put it on me,” she said, handing Wynter the box.

  Wynter smiled, thrilled that Remington liked the pendant. She took it out of the box and put in on. Remington leaned down kissing her lips deeply.

  “Thank you,” she said, when she pulled back.

  “Well, there’s a little more to this,” Wynter said, “but only if it’s okay with you.”

  “What?” Remington asked.

  “Well, I worked with a designer on it,” she said, indicating the pendant, “and well, I talked to Tribal Hollywood. They have a line of MMA jewelry, right now just for guys, but they are really interested in a line representing you.”

  Remington’s eyes widened. “Me? Why?”

  “Uh, ’cause you’re like awesome,” Wynter said, smiling.

  Remington blinked a couple of times, looking surprised. “What would I need to do?”


  “Basically do what I did and work with the designer to come up with stuff that’s exclusively you.”

  “I don’t have any artistic talent whatsoever,” Remington said.

  “Well, I don’t think that’s true,” Wynter said. “But I’m really happy to help. I was already thinking of something representing Satan.”

  Remington smiled, loving the idea. “Then we’d have to call it something that’s both of us, not just me.”

  “Like what?” Wynter asked.

  Remington look thoughtful for a moment, then started to grin. “What about Lightning Strykes, the strikes with a Y instead of an I like your name.”

  “I love it…” Wynter said, smiling.

  “And I love you,” Remington said, smiling.

  “I love you,” Wynter said, pulling Remington’s head down to kiss her lips.

  “So I guess since you gave me my Christmas present already, I can give you yours,” she said, reaching into her jacket pocket and pulling out a small square box.

  “Ah-ha,” Wynter said, grinning. “We both had the same idea, apparently.”

  “I would say so,” Remington said, smiling.

  Wynter opened the box and almost stopped breathing. It was an incredibly beautiful ring set with sapphires and diamonds. She was further stunned when Remington went down to one knee and looked up at her.

  “What are you doing?” Wynter asked, as everyone at the party stopped to look over at them. Even the music stopped.

  “Well, I’m hoping you’ll say you’ll marry me,” Remington said, smiling.

  “Are you asking?” Wynter asked.

  “I am,” Remington said. “Ou pral marye avè m ', Wynter, will you marry me?”

  “Oh my God, yes!” Wynter said with tears spilling over. Remington stood up to kiss her lips as she did.

  Everyone clapped and cheered. Wynter and Remington looked at each other, and then Wynter looked at the ring again.

  “Oh Remi…” she breathed. “This is so beautiful… It looks vintage… Is it?” she asked, looking up at Remington with wide eyes.

  “I was told it’s a circa 1930s Art Deco piece,” Remington said.

  “Oh my God, it’s so beautiful,” Wynter said.

  “They called it a ‘mask shape,’ it’s French,” Remington said, smiling. “And that’s platinum that it’s set in… I figured since you really liked that dress you got, and you said it was Art Deco…” Remington’s voice trailed off as she grinned.

  Wynter shook her head. “How did you have time to get this?” she asked. “You’ve been working and training non-stop since Thanksgiving.”

  “I had help,” Remington said, grinning as Xandy and Quinn approached them.

  Xandy smiled. “I helped her research a bit but she picked it out.”

  “You did an amazing job,” Wynter said, grinning up at Remington.

  “I’m glad you like it,” Remington said.

  “I love it!” Wynter said.

  “Congrats,” Quinn said, clapping Remington on the shoulder.

  “Thanks,” Remington said, smiling.

  “This bodyguard thing is hazardous to one’s single life,” Quinn said, winking at Xandy.

  “Oh, I dunno,” Remington said, grinning, “it’s not so bad.” She smiled at Wynter.

  “Not too bad,” Wynter answered, smiling back at her.

  “I love you,” Remington said.

  “Just remember that,” Wynter said, winking at her.

  “Bon Bondye…” Remington said. Good God.

  Wynter simply laughed, nodding her head.

  ****

  Back in Los Angeles, Memphis McQueen had just gotten home from New York. As she walked up the stairs, she glanced in the mirror. Her white-blond Mohawk still had touches of the red she’d had on the tips lately. Need to make a change before I got back to the tour, she thought to herself. Going into her room, she dropped her bags, and kicked off her black leather tennis shoes, pulling off her jean jacket and tossing it on the bed. She took off the multiple long silver chains she wore and hung them on her door. Wearing just her black skinny jeans and white tank top, she walked out into the hallway. She heard her roommate and best friend Oliver on the computer in the office.

  “Hey,” Memphis said, sticking her head into the office.

  Oliver looked up, his brown eyes crinkling as he smiled.

  “I saw the fight, it was fuckin’ awesome! How was it being there?” he asked.

  “Fuckin’ awesome,” Memphis said, grinning. “Did you hear my track?”

  “Yeah, you’re gonna get laid so much now,” he told her, his grin wide.

  “Yeah, ’cause that’s my big goal in life,” Memphis said, rolling her blue eyes.

  “Hold on…” he said, looking back at the computer. “Damn it!” he exclaimed.

  “What’s the problem?” Memphis asked, walking into the room and looking at the screen. Oliver was chatting in some online forum.

  “I can’t get this chick to notice me,” Oliver complained. “I’ve tried like a million times, she never even acknowledges my existence.”

  “That’s ’cause you’re ugly,” Memphis said, grinning.

  “Thanks, you’re a big help,” Oliver said, bumping his head against her arm. “Come on, what do you girls look for in a guy?”

  “I wouldn’t know,” Memphis said, “I only look for girls.”

  “Okay, but what kind of thing catches your eye?” Oliver asked.

  “A sense of humor,” Memphis said.

  “I’ve tried being funny,” Oliver said, shaking his head.

  “Yeah, but you’re not funny,” Memphis said. “Unless you count funny looking.”

  “Help me out, what do I say here?” Oliver asked.

  “What’s so great about this chick?” Memphis asked, moving to perch on the desk next to the computer.

  Oliver clicked on the girl’s profile, her ID was Kiery22, and brought up her picture. Memphis saw exactly what was great about her; she was beautiful. She had long light brown hair that was pulled to the side in one long braid, and the biggest most beautiful cornflower blue eyes Memphis had ever seen.

  “Wow…” Memphis said, blinking a couple of times. “Hell, ask her if she’s bi for me.”

  “Fuck you!” Oliver said, laughing.

  “Never gonna happen,” Memphis said, grinning. “We already had that conversation over a year ago.”

  “Well, I got dibs on this one,” Oliver said.

  “Yeah, if you can get her to pay attention to you,” Memphis said, grinning.

  “Help a brutha out!” Oliver whined.

  “Oh holy Christ, fine!” Memphis said, looking at the words scrolling by in the forum.

  After a few minutes, she said. “Okay, type this, ‘and they say chivalry is dead.’ ”

  “What? Wait!” Oliver said, trying to type what she said.

  “Too late, ya gotta be faster,” Memphis said, shaking her head.

  “I can’t type that fast, and read everything too!” Oliver said.

  “Jesus, move,” Memphis said, shoving him off the office chair and sitting down. She watched the screen, reading what was going on.

  One guy was talking about how all the women in the room must be fat and ugly, because why else would they be there in the first place. Memphis narrowed her eyes, and began to type the words coming from Oliver’s ID as Oh-Liver23.

  Oh-Liver23 - Maybe they’re here to talk to sweet talkers like you, Chad82

  Chad82 – Butt out Oh-Liver!

  Oh-Liver23 – But Chad you’re so cute… come over here big boy…

  Kiery22 – OMG Oh L too funny!

  Chad82 – shut the fuck up Liver boy!

  Oh-Liver23 – But Chad… you said you loved me…

  Kiery22 – Oh, Chad, you cad! Shame on you!

  Oh-Liver23 – Chad you’ve broken my poor heart… I’ll never love again!

  Breck-Good – Chad how could you hurt poor Ollie over there? He loves you so!

&nbs
p; Chad82 – I’m no faggot!

  Oh-Liver23 – Neither am I! I’m a gay man in a straight man’s body!

  Kiery22 – Poor Ollie, he’s so confused!

  Oh-Liver23 – Only you really understand me Kiery… marry me and we’ll run away

  together!

  Kiery22 – Oh Ollie!

  Oh-Liver23 – Oh Kiery!

  Kiery22 – LOL Ollie you’re brilliant!

  Breck-Good – Chad seems to have grown rather quiet suddenly.

  Oh-Liver23 – Chad? Honey? Babycakes? Sweetie pie????

  Kiery22 – Does anyone hear crickets suddenly?

  Oh-Liver23 - I think that’s the sound of an arsehole dying…

  Kiery22 – Too right Ollie!

  Moments later a private chat screen popped up.

  Kiery22 – That was brilliant! I believe he’s having a paddy as we speak!

  Oh-Liver23 – Glad you liked it, What’s a paddy?

  Kiery22 – Where are you from?

  Oh-Liver23 – California, Hollywood actually.

  Kiery22 – Brilliant! I believe you American’s call it a tantrum.

  Oh-Liver23 – Well, babies do what they do.

  Kiery22 – Indeed! I loved it, he was all mouth and no trousers anyway.

  Oh-Liver23 – Good God, what is that? A man with no pants online, so shocking!

  Kiery22 – LOL I know, so true! It means all talk and no walk or action.

  Oh-Liver23 – That makes perfect sense now. Hey, BRB, okay?

  Kiery22 – Come right back!

  Oh-Liver23 – Of course, just for you.

  With that, Memphis pushed away from the computer.

  “She’s all yours, I’m going to bed,” she said, and walked out of the room.

  You can find more information about the author and other books in the WeHo series here:

  www.sherrylhancock.com

  www.facebook.com/SherrylDHancock

  www.vulpine-press.com/we-ho

  Also by Sherryl D. Hancock:

  The MidKnight Blue series. Dive into the world of Midnight Chevalier and as we follow her transformation from gang leader to cop from the very beginning. Building Empires and Empires Fall available on Amazon now!