Dark Horse

by Wilde, Rhea

  “Like Octavio?”

  “Octavio isn’t nearly as good-looking as you, Henry. If people think that you’re just some boy toy I’m keeping around for my amusement then they’re more likely to bet against you. Just because you are a fighter doesn’t mean you actually have to look like one. Let everybody put their money on Wilson. Let them get excited about the big man with the muscles who eats people for breakfast. Do you really care about what people think of you as long as you’re winning?”

  “I guess that makes sense,” he sighed. “But only when people are looking at us. Nothing is going to happen behind closed doors.”

  “That’s fine, Henry. You’ll have plenty of time to change your mind.”

  I winked at him then slowly turned around and headed into my bedroom.

  “See yourself to the bathroom,” I said. “You need a shower. I can smell that cheap stripper perfume on you from a mile away. I’ll have a limo waiting for us downstairs when you’re ready.”

  “Where are we going?” he asked me.

  “You’ll see when we get there.”

  Henry still seemed reluctant to accept my offer. He finally relented as I heard him disappear into the bathroom. The sound of the shower turning on was like music to my ears. I searched through my wardrobe to find the right outfit for today. We were going out on the town. I had to make sure that everybody could see us together.

  Chapter 12 - Lanea

  As I sat in the limo and sipped on my drink, Henry sat awkwardly in front of me. It was easy to tell that he’d never been in a limo before. He shifted in his seat and constantly look out the windows to see a city I had grown bored of long ago. If his demeanor weren’t enough, his filthy clothes made it clear that he wasn’t a man that had any business sitting across from me.

  “Where are you taking me?” he asked.

  “Have you looked in a mirror lately?” I asked him. “You look like a homeless bum. I’m taking you to get cleaned-up.”

  He took a deep breath and exhaled but didn’t protest. I smirked at him as the limo slowly pulled up to one of the fanciest shops in the city. When we stepped out, Henry looked almost in awe at the store before him.

  “This isn’t me,” he said. “You really expect me to wear clothes from a place like this?”

  “It isn’t you but it will be soon. Not just any man spends his time with Lanea Zara. Didn’t you hear what I just said? You look like a charity case. People can’t suspect that you actually know what you’re doing when you’re fighting. Look.”

  I pointed toward a man just a few meters away from us who was taking photos of us. The sound of the camera clicking was joined by the sound of people murmuring with one another. Just as soon as I had stepped out of the limo, all eyes were now upon me.

  “You see that?” I said to Henry. “I can’t walk an inch in this city without people taking a picture of me. Queen Zara owns this city. And you won’t complain any more about being in my company. Is that understood?”

  Henry didn’t respond. He only looked at me like he always did. I was growing accustomed to seeing the serious look on his young but worn face. For some reason, it never failed to make me smile.

  “Now come along,” I said. “They’ve gotten enough pictures for now.”

  I stepped inside of the boutique with Henry just behind me. I instructed the staff to close all of the windows and kick everybody out. This was going to be my opportunity to finally clean Henry up.

  When the store cleared, I instructed the staff to get Henry some clothes. I stood there and watched as they took his measurements. Henry didn’t protest but he wasn’t having any fun either. He only positioned himself in front of all of the mirrors while several tailors had their way with him. I looked at him and tried to get him to smile but he didn’t.

  While Henry dealt with all of the people now tending to him, I searched the store for some appropriate things for him to wear. Truth be told, anything in the store would have been better than the t-shirt and jeans he was constantly in. But he needed to wear something that made it clear he was too good to be a fighter.

  “Do you have his measurements?” I asked one of the tailors.

  He nodded to me.

  “Good. Now get him something elegant. Classy. Maybe a couple of suits.”

  “I’m not wearing a suit,” Henry said.

  “You’ll wear whatever the hell I tell you to, Henry. Because if not, the deal is off. Are we clear?”

  Henry clenched his jaw as he looked at me, exhaling a deep breath through his nostrils at the same time. I winked at him and he disappeared into one of the changing rooms. I waited while the entire staff of the store began to search for clothes for him. I looked underneath the door and watched as his jeans and shirt fell onto the floor. A devious thought came across my mind.

  I pushed my hand up against the door and pushed the dressing room door open. He jerked his head toward me.

  “What are you doing?” he asked me.

  “I’m just checking to make sure you’re okay.”

  I eyeballed him up and down as he stood there in his underwear. It was obvious that Henry was hiding something. I remember what his muscles felt like when I pushed my hand up against his chest. Underneath the rags, I was shocked to find that he was even more impressive than I imagined. His body was hard with cuts and lines in all of the right places. His abdomen was clearly defined. The six-pack on his stomach led down toward his underwear, the striations on his sides like arrows pointing toward something even more impressive. His underwear was tight and I could see his length straining as it rested toward one side.

  The smirk came upon my face as I stared at him with no regard for his privacy. The staff continued to shuffle around the store and ignore him while I examined the piece of meat that was now working for me.

  “I’m fine,” he said to me. “Now if you want to get me some clothes, get me some clothes.”

  “I don’t know. I think I kind of like you this way, Henry.”

  “Well, don’t get used to it.”

  “What if I don’t get you anything to wear? What would you do?”

  He immediately reached down and picked his old clothes up from the ground.

  “All right!” I said to him. “You win.”

  I grinned at him as I used all of my strength to pull his dirty clothes from him. I closed the door and instructed one of the workers to dispose of Henry’s old outfit.

  I took a seat and waited for Henry to try on all of the clothes that they had picked out for him. Henry stepped out of the dressing room in a pair of slacks and a fancy black dress shirt. He stood in front of the mirror and looked at himself. I watched his eyes as he examined his new outfit.

  “If I didn’t know any better, I would say that you’re enjoying this,” I said to him.

  “I’m just doing my part,” he said to me. “If this is going to make us more money then I’ll do it. I don’t care what kind of clothes I’m wearing.”

  “Good. Then you’ll try on the rest of the outfits that I’ve picked out for you.”

  Henry eyeballed me then returned to the dressing room. It didn’t matter to me if he was enjoying this or not. I was having too much fun. I had pictured Fabian playing this role but he clearly didn’t have what it takes to be the man by my side. Henry was considerably more handsome, in a rugged sort-of-way. To see him put on all of the different outfits and try out the different looks was an entertainment I hadn’t experienced in a long time. Nothing could compare to the brutal violence of watching two men trying to incapacitate each other. But it was nice to splurge on some new clothes for my personal little Ken doll.

  Henry modeled the outfits one by one. He managed to look impressive in every one of them.

  “Are you really going to buy all of this?” he asked me.

  “You really don’t know how much money I have, do you?” I replied.

  Even though I was sitting in the chair and enjoying myself, the staff of the store was still doing their best to cater
to me. They knew who I was and how much money I had.

  It seemed like a few hours had passed when Henry stepped out in the last outfit. The tailors had worked together to construct a suit perfect for his physique. I watched Henry as he stepped out of the dressing room in a black pin-striped suit. The outfit matched his frame perfectly. The jacket sat upon his broad shoulders and made him seem more masculine than he already was. His shoes were polished and the material seemed to shine.

  I stood up from my chair and examined him closely. We both looked at his reflection in the mirror.

  “Now you look like you belong,” I said to him.

  “I may look like I belong here but I don’t. Just make sure you remember that.”

  “I will, Henry. Just make sure you play the part.”

  He turned around and looked me in the eye. It felt different from the last time I’d been this close to him. The tension I’d felt was gone. It almost felt like I was looking at a man who actually deserved to be with me. The corner of my mouth curled into a smile and I regained my senses.

  “Now we just need to do something about that hair,” I said to him.

  “The hair is fine. Now if we’re done here, we can leave.”

  “We’re done here but we aren’t finished yet.”

  “Where are we going next?”

  I didn’t say anything. I only instructed him to follow me back into the limo. We sat there while the rest of the staff piled all of his clothes into the back. The engine started and my driver whisked us away into the city.

  “You know, if you’re going to play the part, you should really take advantage of everything I have to offer.”

  Before our excursion to get Henry, I put on a short red dress just for him. I uncrossed my legs and showed him that the red dress was the only thing I was wearing.

  “Do you like what you see, Henry? I picked this outfit out just for you. Don’t worry. Those windows are solid black. Nobody can see what’s going on in here right now.”

  His eyes didn’t wander. He stared right back at me then turned away and looked out the window.

  “Where are we going now?” he asked.

  I had to do my best to hold back a frustrated sigh. Henry proved to have more willpower than I imagined.

  What is this guy’s problem? There has to be something he’s not telling me.

  “We’re going back to my suite,” I said. “I think it’s only appropriate that we spend some time together if we’re going to be doing business. Wherever it is you’re staying now, forget about it. You’ve moved on up.”

  “No. I’m not leaving.”

  “Why? Give me one good reason, Henry.”

  “Maxwell got me a trainer in the city. Where you’re staying is out of the way.”

  He had a good point but I didn’t want to admit it. I bit my lip and held back another frustrated sigh.

  “Okay,” I said to him. “You don’t have to stay with me. But I won’t have you in some rundown shack in the middle of the city. You’re just asking to be stabbed by some bum who needs money for a bottle of whiskey.”

  I lowered the separator of the limo and instructed the driver on where to go. We headed toward a small apartment complex I owned just on the fringe of the city before the slums started. When we got there, I stepped out with Henry just behind me.

  “Will this do?” I asked him.

  “Yeah,” he said, squinting his eyes as he looked at the place. “Which room am I in?”

  “Whichever room you want to be in. Nobody actually lives here.”

  “So it’s just an empty apartment complex?”

  “It’s not completely empty. It has all of the basic amenities and I have someone check in regularly to make sure that there aren’t any vandals. But there aren’t any people here if that’s what you’re asking.”

  “Why would you buy a place like this and just let your money go to waste?”

  We turned and looked at one another. I smiled at him but he continued to stare at me skeptically. I reached in my purse and pulled out a set of keys for him. Then I followed him as he picked out the nearest room closest to the street.

  The apartment wasn’t as lavish as I was used to. But there wasn’t anything I could complain about. My people did a good job of making sure the place was clean and taken care of. I watched as Henry looked around the room with some kind of wonder on his face. He seemed almost mesmerized by his new surroundings.

  “So I take it you’ll be staying here now?” I asked him.

  “What’s the catch?” he said to me.

  “The catch? We’re business partners, Henry. I wouldn’t call it a catch.”

  While he turned his head and looked around the apartment. I crept up closer to him until I was standing just behind him. He turned around and found me standing there before him. I leaned in closer to him, my face just inches from his. I placed my hand against his chest. I felt his muscles bulging through his shirt and was reminded of how I felt the last time I did this.

  “You work for me, Henry,” I said to him. “So you do whatever it is I tell you to do.”

  “No,” he shook his head. “I fight for you. That’s all. Our business ends when I stop winning fights and I stop making money.”

  “…Okay.”

  I had nearly given up at this point. Henry seemed too focused and determined not to give in to the hormones I knew that were swirling around inside of him. I turned around and slowly started to leave when he stopped me.

  “Thank you for the clothes,” he said to me.

  With my back turned to him, I had to stop myself from turning around and laughing at him.

  “You can thank me by winning your next fight,” I said to him.

  I walked out of the apartment and left him there. I could finally let out my frustrations as I sat in the limo by myself on the way back to my suite. My thumb rested in between my teeth. Henry was proving to be more of an enigma than I was expecting. When I got back into my suite, I ordered Octavio to make me a drink so that I could forget about what had just happened. He took a seat on the couch next to me while I did my best to ignore him.

  “Is something wrong, Ms. Zara?” he asked me.

  “It’s… It’s Henry. He’s not complying with my wishes.”

  “He no longer wants to fight for you?”

  “Not that, you idiot. I mean he doesn’t want… he doesn’t seem to have any interest in me.”

  “He’s a fool. Ms. Zara—”

  “Spare me, Octavio. I’m not in the mood.”

  I gulped my drink down and tried to let the alcohol make me forget about how frustrated I was. I stood up from my sofa and paced back and forth.

  “He will make you a lot of money,” Octavio said to me. “Isn’t that what’s most important?”

  I stopped walking back and forth and finally regained my senses. I looked at Octavio then nodded.

  “You’re right,” I said. “Henry is going to make me a lot of money, especially since he doesn’t look like a fighter any more. Yes, that’s it. I’ll get to see him fight.”

  “Will the arena be opening tonight, Ms. Zara?”

  “Yes, of course it will. The Pit will be open for business like it always is. And make sure everybody knows that Wilson is coming to fight. They need to get excited to drive the odds.”

  “As you wish, Ms. Zara.”

  Octavio left me in my suite to let it be known that I would be at The Pit tonight. It never failed to get me out of a bad mood. Watching two men use everything in their power to try and please me with their fighting prowess was the only medicine for the mood I was in.

  Chapter 13 - Lanea

  A night at The Pit didn’t help me like I had hoped. My thoughts continued to wander. Watching the men do everything they could to please me wasn’t enough for me to get my thoughts off of Henry. I had fighters before. But he was different. And I was going to do everything I could to get to the bottom of it.

  I called Maxwell and had him come into my suite early
the next morning. I was lounging on my sofa when Maxwell made his way in with Octavio. Despite recently coming into a good amount of money, Maxwell still managed to come off like the cheap hustler I always knew him as.

  “Hey, Lanea,” he said to me. “What’s going on?”

  He stood there in front of me while I did my best to look as uninterested as I could.

  “I want to talk about Henry,” I said.

  “Henry? What about him? Is something wrong? Is this about his fight with Wilson? He’s in the gym right now and—”

  “This isn’t about the fight. The fight’s still on and I know that Henry will beat him.”

  “Then I don’t know what this is about…”

  “Maxwell, where exactly did you find Henry?”

  “Well, I…”

  Maxwell hesitated for a moment. I turned my head and glared at him, narrowing my eyes. Maxwell sighed then shrugged his shoulders.

  “I found him where I usually find these guys,” he explained. “They’re out on the street just trying to make a buck or two. He stepped up and took a fight. Fought unlike anybody I’d ever seen before.”

  “Maxwell, is there something you’re not telling me?”

  “Lanea…”

  I got up from my seat and slowly started to walk forward to him. Maxwell looked at me confused.

  “I don’t know what you’re asking,” he said to me.

  “So he’s just some guy on the street who just happened to be looking for a fight?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Okay. Now tell me something else, Maxwell. Why was he so reluctant to fight in the first place? Why did he suddenly change his mind?”

  “Lanea—”

  “Tell me, Maxwell.”

  I stared hard at him, grinding my teeth while he continued to look confused at me.

  “He’s fighting because I laid out the terms you’d set. He didn’t want to fight because he was afraid of getting hurt. But when he realized how much money he could make, he knew that he didn’t have a choice.”