Hunter (The Devil's Dragons Motorcycle Club)

by Nikki Wild

  The guys called them “jobbers.” It was a fight term that referred to an easy-to-beat opponent. If you were fighting a jobber you were typically going to come away with a win.

  These girls were definitely jobbers. More than once, I had to pull fighters and their girls out of my locker room and yell at them to find another place. It’s not that I cared if they wanted to fuck these girls, but they could do it on their own property.

  I spotted another bubbly, bouncier girl hanging around the front desk. “What about that one, Nicky? She looks more like your style.” I nudged him forward. “She’d do anything you ask.”

  “Shit, it seems like anymore, any of the girls will do what I like. There’s more of ‘em so they know they gotta work harder to stand out.”

  “You’re a true gentleman, Nick,” I said. “At least I can count on someone around here to make me laugh.”

  “What about you, man? Are you gonna take that fight with Simmons?” he asked. “They’re saying if you do it’s gonna break all the records.” He wiped a bead of sweat from his eyes. “And it’s for the belt, that’s about the only thing you’re missing.”

  I took a long pull from my water bottle and pondered it. The reporters had been asking me the same question for weeks. I had beaten everyone else in the division, so it was about time I take the fight to the top. The only thing holding it up was the dirt bag promoter. He was promising Simmons a higher take on the gate since he was the champ and I still didn’t know how I felt about being billed as the undercard.

  The truth is, I was the real draw, not some piece of shit defensive grappler who knows how to win decisions. People came to see me because I knew how to win fights, not judges. I took my licks standing up, and I dished out the kind of blood the crowds love. When my opponents went down, nobody had to check a damn scorecard to see who won. I was the man left standing.

  Nobody cared about Simmons. He had no charisma and even less desire for the spectacle. We’re modern day gladiators and I knew the crowd just wanted to be entertained. I was the one selling this fight to the public, so I should be the one pulling the lion’s share of the take.

  “I haven’t decided yet,” I said, “but you’ll be the first to know when I do. I can’t in good conscience keep my main man out of the loop, now can I?”

  I gave him the winning smile that even seemed to put other guys at ease. They all know I’m the top dog here and when I’m happy they know they can relax.

  “Right on, dude,” he said. “Well, I don’t know if it’s possible for a man to drown in pussy, but if you take that fight and win it, I suppose you’ll be the first to find out.”

  I played along and gave him an easy shove toward the main room. “Now get to work on that bag, you’re starting to look a little soft around the middle.”

  I couldn’t really focus on the gym though. For some reason that girl from last night was stuck in my head. When she sent me home, I’m not gonna lie, I was surprised. I had already scoped out the spot on the couch where I intended to put her on her back.

  Just the thought of having those long and sexy legs wrapped around me made my dick hard. I know she wanted it as bad as I did. That’s why it was such a mind-fuck when she said goodnight.

  Maybe it was too much too fast. She seemed like a good girl and everything that happened last night was probably overwhelming. Damn, she looked nice though. Even in those torn up clothes. She wasn’t dressed to impress and it didn’t matter. That body would take over if she was wearing an old potato sack.

  “Hi Luke, how are you today?” It was one of the nameless jobbers snapping me out of my daydream. I wanted to tell her to fuck off for interrupting me, but I couldn’t do that. I had an image to protect and it wouldn’t do any good to be a straight up asshole.

  “Doing fine, honey,” I said. “Just about to go get my session in, what about you?”

  “Mmm, that doesn’t sound like fun. I bet I could think of a better way for you to work out today.” She leaned forward and showed me her pouty lips. “This place can be so repetitive sometimes, I bet even you wouldn’t mind switching things up for just one day.”

  Her shirt was cut low and she hadn’t even bothered to wear anything underneath. Her nipples stood at attention. When she ran her hand against her bare belly she let out a little giggle.

  Any other man in this gym would be be all over this girl, but with my mind on Bria I wanted nothing to do with her…

  “That’s not me, sweetie,” I said. “I have to train my ass off to win my next fight. I can’t lose my focus.”

  I dismissed her with a polite wave and turned to find a sparring partner.

  Instead of taking the hint she decided to push her luck. She sidled up to me and whispered in my ear, “It doesn’t have to take long... Let’s go to your office.”

  I couldn’t hold my tongue any longer. I had to speak through clenched teeth to keep the volume down. “If you think I’m going to fuck you, you’re badly mistaken.”

  Her eyes widened.

  “I’m not in the mood today… Now leave me the fuck alone so I can train.”

  She stepped back, a mixture of disbelief and rage painted her face.

  I’m not sure why I unloaded on her like that, but it felt good. Fuck her anyway for thinking she’s going get at any piece of my hard earned pie just because she has a tight little body and knows how to use it.

  “Fuck you, asshole!” she screamed, before turning on her heel and marching out the front door.

  I looked over my shoulder just in time to catch a chorus of high pitched “oooohhhs” from the other fighters.

  “Somebody’s an asshole,” one joked.

  Another one yelled, “Now Luke, you’re the one who tells us to leave our personal problems at the door.”

  They all exploded in laughter when I gave them my ‘cat-that-ate-the-canary’ grin.

  “Sorry boys,” I said. “It’s all business now.”

  After a few more hoots and hollers the room calmed and I was able to settle into my routine.

  Seven

  Bria

  It sounded like a giant was banging on my front door. I had to practically pry my eyes open to see the clock. 9:30 AM. Whoops. I guess I overslept.

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  “Hang on, I’m coming,” I yelled.

  Bang! Bang! Bang! It was more frantic this time.

  “I said I’ll be there in a second!”

  As soon as I turned the lock my door flew open and Kaitlyn wrapped me up in a giant hug.

  “Oh my God, Bria, what the hell!?”

  “I… What?” I said, as I tried to shake the disorienting feeling of being awakened from a dead sleep.

  Kaitlyn threw her arms out in exasperation.

  “Uh, hello? You were supposed to text me when you got home!”

  “Oh, sorry,” I said. “I had a really rough…”

  “And then I called your work and they said you never came in this morning. I thought you were dead!” She was practically shrieking at this point.

  “Okay, I’m sorry, but something did happen.” She quieted when she saw the look on my face.

  “What? What happened?” she asked, now in a more reserved whisper.

  “Someone attacked me when I was walking home. He tried to rape me…”

  “Oh my God, are you okay? Oh no, oh no, oh no, I knew I shouldn’t have left you alone. I’m the worst friend in the world!” Tears were already streaming down her face.

  “It’s okay Kaitlyn, I’m fine. Someone saved me.” I placed my hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eye so she would know I was okay.

  “It was a really close call but this guy, he came out of nowhere, and rescued me. I guess I was just so freaked out by the whole thing I passed out.” All of my senses were now beginning to return.

  “Did you call the police?!?”

  “I called them… But there isn’t much they can do. He’s a big white guy in an old Buick… And I didn’t get a look at the other gu
y…”

  “There were TWO of them?” Kaitlyn shouted.

  “It’s ok. They didn’t hurt me… Who did you talk to at my job? Did they sound mad?”

  “No, I think your fine,” said Kaitlyn. “I talked to the receptionist or whatever and she said they were concerned though. She said it’s not like you to not show up without giving someone a call.”

  “Okay, good,” I said, collapsing back onto the couch. “I’ll call them in a minute.”

  “So, wait,” said Kaitlyn. “You said somebody saved you. Like some random guy, or what?”

  I fiddled with the tv remote control while I tried to remember everything that had happened the previous night. It came to me in flashes like I was trying to remember the details of a dream.

  “I was just walking home. I mean, there was this guy in line behind me at the gas station who gave me the creeps. It was weird too because I never even looked at him in there. He was just kind of off, you know?”

  Kaitlyn nodded her head. It wasn’t often she stayed silent. She was hanging on my words like they were the difference between life and death. In a sense they were.

  “Then,” I continued, “I tried to brush it off like it was my imagination getting the better of me. I convinced myself he was just some drunk in there to buy cigarettes.”

  Kaitlyn’s brow furrowed. She could tell what was coming.

  “Anyway, I started to walk home. I was thinking about things, kind of in my own world, you know? It was stupid but I wasn’t even paying that much attention to anything around me.”

  “Dude,” Kaitlyn interrupted, “you always should pay attention when you’re out alone. Even I know that.”

  Thanks for the great tip. I thought, sarcastically.

  “Yeah, well, it was my bad, like I said.” The words came out with a bit more of an edge than I would have liked but she understood.

  “So I was about halfway home when the psycho started chasing after me.”

  “The guy from the store?” she asked.

  “Yeah, I told you I didn’t look back but I could just feel it was him.”

  “Oh my God!” she exclaimed in a low whisper.

  “I ran and ran as fast as I could. He kept gaining on me. He caught up to me when I reached the corner at my street and tackled me.” Telling the story to her was more draining than I would have imagined. My stomach was starting to churn just thinking about it.

  “He dragged me to his car and took me over to the other side of town. I didn’t even really recognize the area. There were a lot of empty office buildings and factories and stuff, but mostly I just remember it being really dark.”

  “Was he saying anything to you?”

  “Not really. He told me his name was Rick for some reason. I knew I was in deep shit though because he kept looking at me like I was some piece of meat or something. Kept licking his lips and staring at my chest.”

  “What happened next?”

  “Uh…,” I searched for the best way to describe what happened next. My head was starting to pound. “He started to grab me. He had a knife and was holding it to my neck while he tried to pull my pants down with his other hand.

  The blood drained from Kaitlyn’s face. “Did you fight back?”

  “At first, yeah, but he was too strong. I kicked and squirmed as much as I could but he was big. I could hardly breath under all his weight let alone get away. He had my door blocked in too, so there was no jumping out and running.”

  “This is disgusting,” she said.

  “But then, right when I was about to give up, I saw him.”

  “Who?” she asked, now with a bit more life in her voice.

  “Some guy. He was out for a run when he heard me screaming in the car. I guess he wanted to help me so he came over. He just threw open the car door and ripped the asshole off of me. It’s like, one-minute I was ready to accept the horrible thing that was about to happen to me and the next my problems were gone.”

  “What happened after that?”

  “He beat the shit out of him is what happened. That fucking wannabe rapist probably has a few broken bones and his face is all busted up from what I could see.”

  “But what about the other guy? You said there was two of them?”

  “I didn’t see the other guy… I think Rick was waiting on someone in the alley but I didn’t see him until he almost ran me over with the car.”

  “Did the cops get anybody?” Her questions were coming a mile a minute.

  “They didn’t.” I said, plainly. “They got away...”

  Kaitlyn grabbed a glass of water from the kitchen for me. My voice was starting to crack. It was more from the emotion than being parched, either way I accepted it gladly. I took a long cool drink to help me collect myself.

  “So… Does this hero of yours have a name?” She was still tentative but her tone was more relieved.

  “His name was Luke, he had a gym nearby and that’s where his car was parked so he gave me a ride home.”

  “He had a gym, like, what do you mean? He was working out after midnight?”

  “I mean he owned it. It was his place,” I answered.

  “And his name was Luke?” she asked. The way she was looking at me told me she knew something I didn’t.

  “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “Just keep going,” she said.

  It was an odd thing to say but I continued. “I called the cops and told them what happened, then he drove me home. That’s it.”

  “What did he look like?” Kaitlyn asked.

  “I told you he was a fucking creep. Nasty teeth…”

  “No, the other guy… Luke,” she asked.

  “Seriously, Kaitlyn?” I replied. “A fucking crazy pervert assaults me and you want to know about the other guy? Give it a rest.”

  She shook her head and a small smile crossed her lips. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad you’re okay. It’s just…”

  She walked across the room and picked my macbook pro up off the floor. “Sit down,” she said.

  I watched as she pulled up the browser and punched something into Google.

  She flipped the macbook around in her hands and faced the screen toward me.

  “Was this the guy?” she asked with a triumphant smirk.

  I couldn’t mistake those piercing dark eyes. It was definitely my hero from the night before. The reaction on my face said what I didn’t have to.

  “I’m right, aren’t I?!” she exclaimed. “How do you not know who Luke Greer is?”

  “I… what?” I said, now more confused than ever.

  I tried to read the headline of the article she had brought up but she snapped the machine shut and almost fell over backwards, laughing.

  “That’s crazy,” she yelled in astonishment. “Have you been living under a rock for the last year?”

  “Why, who is he?” I asked. I remained guarded, although her excitement was peaking my interest.

  “Bria Hudson I told you that stupid job was consuming you. The only way you wouldn’t know about Luke Greer is if your head was buried in legal documents. Do you ever even talk to anybody besides me?”

  “Okay, shut up,” I said, this time with a little more force. “I get it. Just tell me who he is.”

  “Wow!” exclaimed Kaitlyn. “He’s only the biggest sports star in the world right now.”

  She covered her broad smile with both hands and rocked back again. I nodded for her to keep going.

  “He’s practically put Atlas City on the map all by himself. The guy is a HUGE star.”

  “Okay, but what does he do?” I asked.

  “He beats other guys into the ground and he makes A LOT of money doing it. They said on the news he made over a million dollars for his last fight. That gym he owns is legendary. Top athletes and fighters come from all over the world just to train with him.”

  “So, he’s a cage fighter.” It was more of a question than a statement. As Kaitlyn talked on excitedly the pieces
all fell into place. The vague familiarity I’d had with him that I just couldn’t place, the gym with that big cage inside, all that flash with the car and everything. I couldn’t believe it.

  “Yes he’s a fighter! Like the best fighter in the world! The man is a complete and total stallion.”

  “Alright, I get it. Calm down already, he’s just a jock.”

  “He’s not just some stupid jock, Bria. Luke Greer is about to be a superstar and he just saved your ass like in some kind of movie. Oh my God, you said he dropped you off, did he come inside?”

  I hesitated and she jumped all over me like a shark on fresh blood.

  “He did!” she screamed. She had to cup her mouth again so she didn’t wake up everybody in my building.

  “Luke Greer was in your house,” she squealed like a schoolgirl. “Oh my God… Did you?!?”

  “Nothing happened!” I warned before she got too carried away. “He only wanted to make sure I got home safe.”

  “Yeah right,” she said enthusiastically. “He could have made sure you were home safe from the parking lot. No way, Bria, he wanted to make sure your bed was nice and warm.”

  I thought about our embrace and decided against telling her.

  “No he didn’t Kaitlyn. He was just concerned about my safety and that’s it.”

  “Whatever,” she said, barely letting me finish. “You can lie to me but I’m your best friend. I can tell something else was going on. What did he look like, at least?”

  “You know what he looks like,” I replied nodding toward the macbook in her lap. “Besides, you’re the one who seems to be so infatuated with everything about him.”

  “No, I mean, what did he look like in person. Was he tall?”

  I sighed and decided to give her a little bit of what she was after.

  “He was tall,” I said. “Well over 6 feet.”