by Jade Kuzma
I grunted deep breaths until I finally ran out of gas. My hands dropped at my sides. My entire body needed to recover.
I moved over to the side of the gym and collapsed on my stool. I gulped down a bottle of water. That shit reminded me of just how exhausted I was. My throat was so dry you’d think I just walked through a desert.
It was a typical day at Ivory Blues. Treadmills. Punching bags. Jump rope. Sparring. Everybody was busy training. When there wasn’t someone who needed me to watch over them, I always took the opportunity to throw a few punches myself. I couldn’t deny that there was nothing more cathartic than the feeling of being able to just let loose. It was the only time in the world when I felt like I didn’t have to think.
The scene wasn’t anything special but something caught my eye across the gym. Isaac was busy caving-in a heavy bag. He was throwing hard enough to hurt himself. Anybody who threw that hard was gonna wear themselves out fast.
But it wasn’t the way he was throwing that bothered me. Even from far away, I could still see some of the bruises on his face. Still injured and he was already back at it.
I thought twice about walking over and saying something. But seeing as how Yates had already gotten me involved by bothering me at Hades, I figured I had no fucking choice.
Isaac didn’t pay much attention to me. It took him a few seconds to realize that I’d moved right next to him.
“Aden.”
He greeted me with a confident smirk and a head nod before getting back to the punching bag.
“What’s up?” he asked.
“How are you feeling?” I said.
“Never better. Feel like I can punch a hole through a brick wall.”
“You try something like that and you’re gonna break your hand.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. I sure feel like it though.”
“How’s your face?”
“Can’t you tell? Nothing new. This is the same kinda shit I get when I’m sparring.”
The amount of bruising on Isaac’s cheeks wasn’t anything you ever got from sparring. Even the small cut near his eye was enough to make anybody take some time off.
Isaac kept ignoring me, swinging away like I wasn’t even there.
I moved closer so that he had to stop.
“What are you doing?” he said.
“You need to knock it off.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Street fights? Are you serious?”
He rolled his eyes and sighed.
“Not this again.”
“Isaac, those fights aren’t sanctioned. They’re just two guys swinging at each other without any regulations. You’re gonna get yourself hurt.”
“I’m not gonna get myself hurt. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“You’re already hurt. Look at your damn face.”
“And look at the other guy’s face. Did you get a good look at him? I turned it into fuckin’ hamburger meat. I don’t know why you’re making such a big deal about this.”
I took another step toward him.
“This is a big deal,” I said. “You get involved with those people there… People like Yates… They’re all just trying to take advantage of you.”
“I don’t see how he’s taking advantage of me when my wallet is fatter than it’s ever been.”
“Listen, Isaac—”
“No, you listen!”
He raised his voice suddenly. Some of the other people in the gym stopped what they were doing when they noticed.
“I’m finally making something of myself,” he said. “I’m making money. I’m using the training that you gave me. I’ve got more money than I’ve ever had in my life. This is my ticket to riches and fame and all of the bitches that come with it.”
“Isaac—”
“I’m not gonna make the same mistakes you made!”
I clenched my jaw as I stared at him. Even though he was a lot smaller than me and a foot shorter, Isaac still puffed his chest out like he wasn’t afraid of me.
“Yeah, that’s it, isn’t it?” he said. “You’re jealous.”
“I’m jealous? Is that what you think?”
“You are. You’re jealous that I’m gonna do something with myself. You’re jealous that you’re nothing but a has-been and you’re stuck in this gym. You’re jealous that I’m gonna be better than you’ll ever be.”
Isaac was always angry but I’d never seen him as worked up as he was now.
“You can’t stop me from fighting,” he said. “I’m gonna keep doing what I’m doing.”
“Isaac—”
“You’re not my father. You’re just some quitter who trains at this gym. Stop trying to be something you’re not.”
“All right, all right. That’s enough.”
A couple of the other trainers stepped between Isaac and me. I didn’t even fucking realize that he’d gotten up into my face. Not that I would’ve done anything.
Everybody else in the gym went back to what they were doing and the commotion finally died down.
“Why don’t you just mind your own fuckin’ business?” Isaac said.
He went back to thudding his fists against the heavy bag. I stood there for a moment before sighing and taking a step back. I turned around and suddenly saw the last man in the world I wanted to see.
“Hey, there, Mercer.”
“…Yates.”
Yates looked even worse in the daylight. His dark hair messy and his face still dirty, he looked like he hadn’t gotten a lick of sleep. I knew he wasn’t a bum though. Not with the way he was taking advantage of people like Isaac.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I said. “I told you the next time I saw you I would knock your head off your shoulders.”
“Hold on, hold on,” he said, putting his hands up. “Take it easy. I wanted to talk to my man here.”
“Your man?”
“My man.”
He pointed at Isaac behind me.
“Leave him alone,” I said.
“That’s not your decision, champ.”
Yates walked up to Isaac. Isaac’s demeanor flipped like a switch, a big smile on his face like he’d run into his best friend.
“Yates,” he said. “What’s going on?”
“Big group of fighters comin’ through tonight. I told ‘em I could get ‘em some competition. You in or you out?”
“You know I’m in! Fuck yeah, I’m in!”
Isaac’s enthusiasm put an even bigger smile on Yates’s face.
“Be at the spot tonight,” Yates said.
“Right… I should probably take off and get some rest. I’m gonna give it my all.”
“You do that and there’s a big, fat payday waitin’ for you.”
Isaac grabbed his gear and rushed out of the gym like he was getting ready for a date. He give me a sideways stare to remind me that he was still pissed.
“Don’t make that fight,” I said to Yates.
“My hands are tied,” he said, putting his hands up to feign innocence like he always fucking did.
“What the fuck are you talking about? You can tell Isaac not to fight.”
“I can. But I only have so much control. You think this is all me, Mercer?”
I narrowed my eyes at him, trying to stop myself from doing something I would regret.
“…What are you saying?” I said.
“I’m sayin’ is that it’s not up to me. I’m only there as a host. I don’t run these fights.”
“And who does?”
“These next set of fights… They’re being hosted by some club.”
“Some club?”
“An MC or something. They were in town and wanted some entertainment. They were gonna get to your man Isaac eventually. I’m just a messenger.”
“You really expect me to believe some bullshit like that?”
“You can believe whatever you want, champ. I’m just tellin’ you the truth. I only host the fights. The people fight
in’ do it on their own. The people who put it together ain’t me. Sure, I might make a few bucks on a bet or two… But you can’t blame a man for bettin’ on a sure thing, can you? Speakin’ of which…”
Yates leaned in close to me. Just the way he looked at me was enough to know that the motherfucker was up to something.
“…I think they’ve got room for you,” he said. “You can fight if you want.”
“I’m not fighting. Not in some back alley behind an abandoned building like some animal.”
“You’d make a lot of money—”
“Do I look like I give a shit about money?”
Yates looked me up and down. He licked his lips. Some hyena out in the wild wondering how much he could make off of me. I’d seen his type before. It didn’t matter what kind of clothes he was wearing or how sloppy he looked. They were all the fucking same.
“In this town, everybody’s always tryin’ to make a buck.”
“Not me. You can take your fights and shove ‘em up your ass.”
“They’re not my fights—”
“I don’t give a shit!”
“Okay, okay, okay!”
He put his hands up and started backing away.
“I think you should stop by though,” he said. “You’ll get a front-row seat if you want it. I think you’ll be plenty interested if you see what’s at stake. At least root for your boy. I heard you trained him. One of Mr. Mercer’s own protégés… Isaac can’t fail.”
Yates gave me a wink as he backed up toward the exit. I followed him out to make sure that he’d left for good. He whistled with a bounce in his step as he made his way down the sidewalk. Only a motherfucker like Yates could be in a good mood in a crummy part of Ivory like Old Town.
I was too distracted to do anything. All of the frustration building up inside of me made me wanna fucking explode.
“Hey.”
I turned and suddenly everything left me when I saw Danica standing there. She looked as gorgeous as she always did. Just a beautiful woman dressed plainly in a pair of jeans and a tight t-shirt. It didn’t matter what the fuck she was wearing. A fucking blond angel I needed to see but didn’t realize until this moment.
“You all right?”
She arched an eyebrow at me, a look of half-confusion and half-amusement on her face.
“I’m fine,” I said.
“Are you sure about that? You don’t look fine—”
“I’m fine.”
“All right… Just asking…”
She gave me a half-hearted smile. I realized that Danica had nothing to do with this shit. Seeing her face was enough to make me smile back at her and forget about all the shit I’d just dealt with.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“Oh… I was in the neighborhood. Thought I’d stop by and say hello.”
“In the neighborhood, huh? There’s no reason to come to a fuckin’ place like Old Town.”
“Oh, there’s plenty of reasons. I’m looking at one right now.”
She took a step toward me. The way she bit her lip made me think about all of the nasty things I wanted to make her do.
“You got any plans tonight?” she asked. “I wasn’t sure I wanted to come into work tonight.”
“Why not? Don’t you make good money?”
“I do. It’s just…”
She looked away from me and shook her head.
“…It doesn’t matter. I’m still deciding.”
There was something wrong. That shit was obvious from the look on her face. But I wasn’t gonna try to press her.
“I figured maybe you wanted to do something tonight…”
She took another step toward me.
“Tonight…”
I looked down at the ground. I sighed knowing what was gonna happen.
“Sorry,” I said. “I’m busy.”
“Oh…”
She didn’t hide the disappointment on her face very well.
“That’s cool,” she said. “I guess I am going to work tonight. Take care now, Aden.”
She slowly spun around on her heel and started walking back down the street.
“Hey!” I yelled out.
Danica turned around and widened her eyes.
“Yes?”
“Are you doing anything right now? The gym isn’t busy and I don’t have any clients to deal with.”
“Well…”
She walked back toward me with a growing smirk on her lips.
“…I am kinda bored. Not much to do during the day while I’m waiting to go to work.”
“Why don’t you spend some time with me in the gym? I could use the company.”
“I don’t know,” she said as she looked inside of the gym. “The place looks kinda rough.”
“It’s supposed to be. That’s how you get stronger.”
“…I suppose. It wouldn’t hurt how to throw a punch.”
“Why don’t you come inside and I’ll teach you?”
“If you insist…”
Just hearing the sweet tone of Danica’s voice was enough to make me relax. But I wasn’t completely comfortable. Not with what I knew was gonna happen tonight.
Isaac was making a mistake. I had to make sure that nothing happened to him before it was too late.
Chapter 12
ADEN
Danica knew something was up but she didn’t push me. We spent most of our time in the gym while I showed her the basics. It didn’t matter to me whether or not she picked anything up. She was the distraction I needed to forget about all of the bullshit.
When nighttime rolled around, she headed off to work and I headed to the back alley where I knew Isaac was making a mistake.
I made my way down the street by myself. I could hear how alive the rest of Ivory was in the distance. Old Town was mostly empty like it usually was.
I thought about what the fuck I was gonna do when I got there. Isaac was hell-bent on going through with it. Yates was encouraging him and there was a crowd of people betting on the fight who wanted to make sure that they got their money’s worth.
It didn’t matter. I was gonna make sure that Isaac didn’t get in over his head more than he already was.
The chatter of the crowd grew louder when I neared it. I walked through the darkness of the back alley and saw the light on in the distance behind the building. From the noise they were making, you knew a couple of poor bastards were there for the crowd’s amusement.
A few dozen people circled around. They cheered. They shouted. They had their fists in the air. I’d seen shit like this before but there was something more brutal about it. Made sense considering how illegal this shit was.
I pushed my way through the crowd and got to the front. I stood and watched as two men went at each other. They were shirtless in nothing but a pair of blue jeans and their boots. They were so exhausted they could barely keep their hands up. Sweat dripped all over their bodies and blood covered their faces. Even if I knew who they were, I wouldn’t recognize the motherfuckers.
While everybody was enthralled by the fight, I scanned the crowd and saw Yates standing a few steps away from me. Just as I started walking toward him, the crowd gasped. I turned and saw one man slump. The crowd’s surprise was followed by a combination of cheers and boos. Some had won some money. Some had lost. The two men might as well have been a couple of stray dogs the way they were pitted against each other.
The two fighters were helped out of the center. Yates made his way in front of the crowd and held his hands up.
“All right, everybody! You know why you’re here! The main event, baby! We got my man, Isaac! Isaac, where you at?”
I looked around but didn’t see him. Suddenly, I felt someone push up against me. I turned and stared right at Isaac.
“Isaac.”
He noticed me and immediately gave me his dirty look.
“Aden… What the fuck are you doing here? You here to see me kick some ass?”
“I�
��m here to tell you to knock it off—”
“Figures.”
“Isaac, this is your last chance. You’re gonna get yourself hurt.”
“Whatever.”
He rolled his eyes at me then moved to the center next to Yates. The crowd cheered him on. Isaac bathed in the crowd’s support like he was some kinda fucking Roman gladiator. Isaac was 18. A young kid who didn’t know any better. Money. Fame. Glory. He had all of those stupid words dancing around in his fucking head and there was no way I could get through to him
“Tonight, Isaac faces his toughest task. Everybody give it up for Thompson!”
I looked across the crowd and noticed a group that stood out from everybody else. Bikers probably with the way they were dressed. Leather vests with matching patches, every one of the motherfuckers had a shaved head with tattoos instead of hair.
One of them stepped forward. He was the biggest one out of all of them. He held his arms in the air and roared. The entire crowd started to cheer. The closer he moved to Thompson, the bigger the difference you could see between the two of them.
Isaac suddenly didn’t seem as confident as he was before. He looked like some scared kid who didn’t know any better. Thompson was twice his size and he was about to bump fists with him.
“Shit… Isaac!”
I shouted out over the crowd. Isaac turned to me.
Come on.
“Don’t be stupid.”
I kept waiting for him to realize how much of a mistake this was. But he just kept staring at me with a growing disdain. He shook his head at me and suddenly the confidence I thought was gone returned to him.
“Dammit…”
I muttered to myself and looked around. Not a single person around me seemed to give a shit about what Isaac was getting himself into.
“Ladies and gentlemen, place your bets!”
The crowd started holding their money in the air. They shouted out who they were placing their money on. There was so much cash being exchanged.
Isaac stood there and started warming up. Thompson didn’t budge from his spot. The two of them waited until finally everything was set.
“Gentlemen,” Yates said to the two of them. “You know the rules… There are none.”
Yates laughed to himself.
“Good luck.”
Just as he said it, Yates spotted me. The grin on his face grew even wider as he walked over to me.