Dare to Dance

by S. B. Alexander

  “You see, Ruby”—Tommy’s voice stiffened those hairs on my neck—“you were late for the fight. Which meant I lost money. Lots of it.”

  I clenched my fists in my lap. “How did you lose money? Your customers got a fight.”

  “That room downstairs is always packed from corner to corner on fight night,” Tommy said. “When you didn’t show, people took their money and left.”

  His first sentence was correct. I’d noticed it wasn’t as crowded tonight. “I won. Therefore, you owe me money.” I knew nothing about how he made money, and frankly, I didn’t want to know.

  Trent plucked a folder from a pile of disorganized papers on the coffee table, which was cluttered with empty beer bottles and an ashtray overflowing with cigarette butts.

  My nails dug into my palms.

  “Tommy isn’t lying to you,” Trent said. “Our entry fee is one hundred dollars per head. We had a packed house of two hundred. After thirty minutes, half of them got restless. So, we had to return their entrance fee. When it was all said and done, we lost ten grand in entry fees.”

  “Bull,” I blurted out. I was savvy to the knowledge that numbers could be calculated any way to suit someone’s needs. My mom’s boss had done that a time or two.

  They both let out a chuckle that made me feel degraded.

  Assholes. Stars clouded my vision. “I won fair and square. That’s my money,” I nearly shouted, pressing my hands into the arms of the chair.

  “It’s no longer your money.” Tommy’s voice dropped, mean and deadly. “You lost it all when you decided to stroll in late. We run a business on our time, not yours.”

  The need to kill him skipped through my mind. “Then pay me half.” A thousand dollars was still a lot of money. Besides, I deserved it.

  “Ruby.” Trent’s tone was nice and calm. “You’re no longer dealing with Tommy. The ten grand that was lost tonight is mine. I’m a businessman that doesn’t like to be screwed out of all that cash. You now work for me. You will pay me back.”

  I jumped out of my chair. “Fuck you. I owe you nothing.”

  “Do you want to keep your waitressing job?” Tommy asked.

  “Seriously? You’re using the waitressing position to threaten me again?” The need to kill him grew brighter than a full moon on a clear, dark night.

  “A Ms. Waters called me today.” Tommy’s tone was smug.

  Visions of holding a loaded gun to Tommy’s head completely vanished. If he knew that piece of information, then he also knew about Raven, although Alex could’ve told him about Raven. My mouth fell open as the office spun. I grasped the arms of the chair.

  Trent pushed to his feet, holding that folder in his hand as though it held secrets, my secrets. “Do we have your attention?” He climbed over a box and reached into the fridge near Tommy’s desk. He snagged a beer and twisted the cap.

  A pregnant pause filled the room, my fear rising as though I was on a sinking ship.

  Tommy rested his elbows on his knees. Trent took a long pull from the bottle.

  “So, talk,” I said as a dull pain throbbed in my chest from the morbid anticipation of what they had in mind.

  Trent set down the beer bottle on the desk, the folder still clutched in his other hand. “I have a client I want you to entertain.”

  I sucked in a sharp breath. “No fucking way.” I shook my head violently as I darted for the door. “I’m out of here.” I wasn’t about to jump from illegal fighting to illegal “entertaining,” whatever he meant by that. I wasn’t stupid, though. He meant sex for hire. That type of work wasn’t in my vocabulary. Norma had prostituted herself. I understood why. But I wasn’t Norma. I stole to survive, and I would continue to do so before I entertained anyone by using my body.

  “What about your daughter?” Trent asked as though he knew he’d won the battle.

  Blood rushed out of me. I flared my nostrils as I gripped the doorknob. “What about her?”

  “If you don’t do as I say, then I’ll make sure your case to get your daughter back falls on the bottom of a judge’s docket for months or longer.”

  I spun around. “You can’t do that.” No way he had a judge in the palm of his hand. Then again, my mom’s boss had had relationships with people in high places.

  Trent removed a piece of paper from the folder and extended it to me. “See for yourself. I can also inform social services of your illegal fighting.”

  My heart crashed against my bruised ribs, heightening the pain. I shuffled over and took the paper with a trembling hand. The heading read, “Ruby and Raven Lewis, case file number 5218.” The words on the paper blurred. “You’re bluffing.” He isn’t bluffing. He has a copy of my file, which means he knows someone in the family court system.

  Ms. Waters’s name came to mind. No. I refused to believe he knew her or manipulated her. She’d seemed sympathetic to my situation and didn’t strike me as someone who would take a bribe. She had given me pointers on the legal procedures to prove Kross was the father. “How did you get this?”

  Trent’s fat nose widened as he smirked. “I’m a highly respected businessman with a judge on speed dial. Do you want to call my bluff?”

  If I hadn’t been in a sinking ship before, I was now. I could go to Ms. Waters and ask her if Trent could do something like this. But then she would know I was illegally fighting, which would show I wasn’t a responsible mother, and further slow the process. I couldn’t go to the cops. I had nothing to prove that Trent was threatening me with a judge. I didn’t even know who the judge was.

  It was more important than ever to tell Kross about Raven. I had to speed up the process of getting her out of foster care, especially if a paternity test was a faster route. Not only that, Trent didn’t know Kross was the father. So Trent couldn’t screw with Kross’s case.

  In the meantime, I would do anything to get my daughter back.

  “What do you want me to do?” I asked.

  16

  Kross

  I sat in the locker room at the gym, lacing up my boots. With the exception of Kody and me, the locker room was empty. Jay was closing up at noon for the Thanksgiving holiday, which was when I was due to meet Ruby. My stomach was in a ball of knots, tightly wound and ready to snap open. Since I’d seen her fight, my body, my mind, and my soul hadn’t been the same.

  Her beauty had done things to me in high school, like give me flutters and butterflies and sweaty palms. Those same feelings were back, only at a heightened state. I’d thought watching her dance ballet was a sight to see. How wrong I was. I was in awe as I watched her dance in the ring, driving her fists into Vickie over and over again. Pride had risen in me as Ruby had continued to fight despite the pain she endured from Vickie’s fists. I knew how bad it hurt to get a fist to my gut. I knew how hard it was to fight through the pain. In that moment, in that fucking disgusting basement, I’d wanted to claim her as mine. I’d wanted to shout from the rooftops that she was my girl.

  “What are you and Ruby doing this afternoon?” Kody asked as he stood at the locker across from me, buckling his belt. He’d been sparring with me since Liam was home with his family for Thanksgiving week. Jay had me on a workout regimen so I wouldn’t lose momentum before my fight with Reggie Stockman.

  “Not sure. At first, she’d wanted me to take her home to the Berkshires. But when I told her I would take her, she’d said another day. So I’m not sure what we’re doing today.” I didn’t care if we ended up at that warehouse she’d taken me to or if we roamed the streets. As long as we were together, we were building that highway of trust between us.

  Kody combed his hair. “So she hasn’t mentioned a kid?”

  “You sound like Kelton.” Even though he’d advised me to give Ruby space, he’d been grilling me every chance he had. “No.” I believed she was close to opening up, which was why she’d asked me to take her to the Berkshires. Although if we weren’t going up there, I wondered if she had changed her mind.

  “Is she joinin
g us for Thanksgiving?”

  I stuffed my gym bag in my locker. “No.” I’d asked her, and she’d said no. I wasn’t pushing her, mainly because I wasn’t ready to be bombarded with questions and grilled at the dinner table. “Look, I’ve got to meet with Jay before I leave. I’ll meet you guys at home later this afternoon.”

  We were all gathering at my parents’ house. We had a Thanksgiving tradition in which we gathered down by the lake around a small campfire and told each other what we were thankful for. Before I’d learned that I could be a father, my Thanksgiving speech was dedicated to family and how thankful I was for all of them. While I still was grateful for them, I was now thankful that fate had brought Ruby and me together.

  I prodded through the gym and into Jay’s office. I hoped our conversation was swift. Ruby would be there in less than ten minutes.

  Jay glanced up from the TV. He was going through tapes of Reggie Stockman. I’d seen them about a hundred times. Reggie was considered a slugger, his style similar to that of the famous George Foreman. Sluggers had raw power and often went in to attack their opponent with one hard punch. Whereas a fighter like Reggie lacked mobility, an out-fighter like me was quick on his feet, making a slugger work for his punches, and in turn, he tired easily. I wasn’t getting cocky. I knew all too well how a slugger’s punch packed some severe heat. The fighter I’d met in the ring a few weeks ago had knocked me the fuck out. I still had work to do, but seeing Ruby fight had given me some of my mojo back. I had been concentrating more, and my punches were spot-on.

  “You see what he does,” Jay said without taking his eyes off the tape.

  “Yeah, he has that wide left hook that comes out of nowhere.”

  “He’s a quick motherfucker for a slugger.” Jay paused the tape then sat back. “Your fight is set for one week from this Saturday. We have standing room only, and this is an interview fight. Not a match that will go on your record.”

  “You didn’t call me in for something I already knew. What is it?”

  “A buddy of mine saw you at an illegal underground fight on Saturday. Is that true?”

  Fuck me. I’d been trying to keep a low profile. I couldn’t afford Jay’s wrath. I couldn’t throw away my career. Yet I’d needed to be there to support Ruby. I’d had to be there in case she’d gotten severely hurt or if the cops raided the joint. The chance always existed that cops would bust into an underground event of some kind. I knew all too well from the underground gambling game I’d been part of with Kelton, Lizzie, and Dillon that anything could go wrong. So, Dillon and I had made a plan just in case. He’d been at Firefly enough to know that a tunnel existed in one of the rooms in the basement. Luckily, we didn’t have to go through with our plan, although I hadn’t figured in that a friend of Jay’s would be at the fight.

  “Yes.” No sense in lying. “I was there helping a friend.”

  He pinched his hooknose. “Tommy Delano is a gnat’s ass away from getting caught by the law for his illegal fights and anything else he’s into.”

  I angled my head. “You know him?”

  He cocked an eyebrow. “I know every underground fighting circuit in this city. If I catch you or get wind that you’re at one again, we’re through. You can find another coach.” His voice escalated. “I’ve worked too hard with you to fuck all this up. I don’t give a shit who you were helping. Am I clear?”

  I raked a hand through my hair. “Crystal.” I might have just lied to him because if Ruby continued to fight, then I would continue to be there with her.

  “We train again on Monday. Have a nice holiday.” He turned back to the TV.

  I lifted a foot to get the fuck out of there before he called off the fight. This was my third warning. I’d received one for the predicament I’d gotten into with the cops at the mafia gambling game. The second had been for not having my head in the ring, which had led to me losing a fight. Now, the underground fight. Boxing was everything to me, but so were family and friends. “Jay.”

  He paused with his finger on the remote.

  “If you must know…” I hardly shared my personal business with Jay. He did, however, know that friends and family were important to me. “I was at Firefly to help someone who is dear to my heart.” Truth. “She could be my future.”

  “Boxing is your future.” He rubbed a hand over his bald head. “Or are you telling me it isn’t.”

  “It is. Look, I knew the risks of showing up at Firefly. I know Tommy is scum. But you know me. I don’t let friends get hurt. Ruby, one of the girls who was fighting, didn’t know how to fight. I couldn’t let anything happen to her.”

  “Admirable. But how many times are you going to stick your neck out for someone before it fucks with your career? For months now, your head hasn’t been straight. You’re putting yourself into sticky situations that could mess up your career. I’m not trying to be a dick. What I’m saying is when you’re in that ring”—he pointed to the door—“make sure you’re all in, head, heart, and soul. At the match, I want to see Kross, the great fighter that you’ve become. The one that knocks out his opponents. The man who people revere. The rattlesnake.”

  I chuckled at the public’s nickname for me. A sportscaster had mentioned that I was like a rattlesnake. When I went in for the kill, one side of my mouth turned up, alerting my prey that I was about to attack. Then before they knew what had hit them, they were out cold. I’d tried to be aware of my tells, but when I was zoned into punching someone’s lights out, it was hard to change my habits.

  “Yes, sir.”

  Jay returned to watching the tape. I made my way out. I would dump all my energy and effort into impressing Gail. I would also show Reggie I was still the better fighter. He and I had met in our first amateur fight four years ago. I’d come out the victor, and he was pissed. I wouldn’t doubt that he itched to even the score. I also wouldn’t doubt that he had sharpened his skills. Just from watching the tape, I saw that he was a better fighter. So was I. My brothers had been talking shit about Reggie and me fighting again, Kody especially. Reggie had been part of Greg Sullivan’s posse in high school that had helped put Kody in the hospital. Even after four years, Kody wanted to see Stockman bleed.

  It was three minutes past noon, the sun was shining, and I had a long weekend to spend with family and hopefully Ruby. I glanced up and down the street. No sign of Ruby. She didn’t have a cell phone so I couldn’t call her. A man in his late forties was locking up the pawnshop across the street. He waved then tucked his hands in his pockets and began walking. Then the gym door clicked open.

  “Ruby called. She wants you to meet her at Boston Public Garden, the Arlington entrance,” Jay said.

  After twenty minutes through stops and turns, I parked my truck then hotfooted it the two blocks to the Public Gardens. My heart picked up a beat every time my foot pounded the pavement. Images of Ruby in my arms after she’d fought made my stomach tingle. She had fit perfectly in my arms, and the bare skin on her back had melted into my hands. Her cheeks had been silky beneath my thumbs. I had the urge to feel more of her. Hell, I had almost shoved my tongue through her supple lips that night. I couldn’t ruin whatever we had building between us. She was coming around, and I wanted her to make the first move. That way, I would know without a morsel of a doubt that she wanted me.

  Ruby paced in front of the George Washington Statue that stood amid the backdrop of the city. The park was quiet except for a swan floating down the lagoon. My pulse—not so quiet. Ruby continued to carve a path in the pavement until she spotted me.

  When I saw her eyes, I was immediately drawn into a sea of blue-green, sparkling water surrounding some faraway deserted island. My pulse ticked higher.

  She gave me a rueful smile that contradicted the pensiveness in her eyes. “Sorry I couldn’t meet you at the gym.”

  Abruptly, my euphoria changed to caution. “Is everything okay?”

  Her chested heaved as she cupped her hands together. She nodded, tears pooling. “For so
long, I’d been so freaking mad at you. Then when I saw you at the fight that first time, I panicked. I never wanted you to see me as a homeless person. We had something back in the tenth grade. Didn’t we?”

  Whoa! A knot formed in my stomach at her desperation. “What’s this about? Did someone hurt you?” She didn’t have any visible signs of bruises. Then Tommy came to mind. I would kill him if he’d done anything to her.

  “No. Please answer the question.” Anguish weaved through her words.

  I grabbed her hands, which were cold and clammy. “I was in a different place than you back in high school.”

  “And now?”

  “I’ve told you how I feel when I’m around you.”

  She dropped her gaze to her feet. “I need to hear it again.”

  Even though that knot in my stomach grew tighter, I grinned because she was wearing the new Nikes I’d bought her. “Hey.” With a finger under her chin, I guided her to look at me. “The more I’m around you, the stronger my feelings get. But why do you sound so desperate to hear how I feel?” Visions of high school surfaced. She’d been insistent, asking me how I felt about her then. Only now, I didn’t want to run, even though I didn’t like when someone backed me into a corner and demanded an answer. “We’re not sixteen anymore. I’m not running if that’s what you think. I was serious when I said I wanted to rekindle what we had.”

  “No matter what?” She searched my face in earnest.

  I glanced past her to the lagoon. I didn’t scare easily, but she was doing a good job of making my pulse soar, and not because I loved the way her auburn hair blew in the light breeze, or how her long lashes fluttered when she shied away, or how her pouty lips called my name.

  “I thought so,” she said, hurt washing over her features as she walked to the gated entrance.

  I followed her. “Ruby, wait.”

  Just past Ruby, a woman walked through the gate, holding a little girl’s hand. Before I could get another word out of my mouth, the little girl ran up to Ruby. The child had jet-black hair pulled into two ponytails with pink bows, and the bluest fucking eyes I’d ever seen. I faltered where I stood. Then I shook my head, closed my eyes, blinked several times before I set my gaze on the little girl again.