MAXIM (Galactic Cage Fighter Series Book 8)

by KD Jones

  Shivering, he turned on his vehicle and cranked the heat up high. His neck and back were stiff as he tried to straighten up. He wanted to bang his head against the steering wheel for being so stupid. He had a blood bond with that crazy vampire now, and if he didn’t come through for him, Yulson would come after him.

  “What the fuck have you done?” Sullivan hit the dashboard, mad at letting himself be drawn into this job.

  ****

  “She sure is hitting that bag hard.” Ashland Wilder glanced over at River with a questioning look on her face. They sat in one of the workout rooms at the lodge, watching as Star worked out her frustrations on the bag. “She looks mad.”

  “Yep,” River agreed with her best friend. “I wish Star would just have sex with Banks and Jansen; maybe that would help her with the anger she’s built up. It sure helps me when I need to release some stress.” She snickered, then looked back at her sister pounding the bag. She was proud of Star. Her sister had come a long way since the day they met. She worked out all the time, and she’d started putting on some muscle. It wasn’t enough to make you stop and stare, unless you were a man. Her curves were curvier, and her attitude had changed as well. She liked the way she looked and it showed with her work-out clothes. When she first met her sister, she wouldn’t have dared to wear skimpy shorts and sports bras, but she did now and she looked great in them.

  “For some reason that just makes me laugh. It’s true, but it’s funny,” Ash giggled.

  “Hey, what are you two laughing at?” Star Johnson stopped punching the bag and looked over at her sister and their friend.

  River just waved her sister’s question away and pushed Ash over until they both lay on the floor, laughing until they cried. Once they started laughing they just couldn’t seem to stop, and the more Star pounded on that bag the louder they got.

  Star walked over and just stared at the women. “What’s so damn funny?”

  “Nothing.” River tried getting up, but fell back down on the floor, still giggling.

  Star shook her head, walked back over to the bag and started punching it harder.

  “Okay, okay. Please stop.” Ash took a deep breath and lay flat on her back, trying to calm down.

  “Uh Oh.” Ash snorted. Both the girls rose up quickly when they heard Banks walk in the room and head straight for Star. “You need to look at what you’re hitting or you’re going to hurt your hand.”

  They both watched as Star stopped hitting the bag and tilted her head sideways at him. “What did you just say?”

  River watched as Star’s voice became very calm, which should have scared Banks, but he just continued to stare at her. Then he really messed up and moved in closer, invading Star’s space. Banks Cohen was really a good man, but he was like most Alpha males, very bossy. When the call went out to all paranormal groups asking for their best to join a specialized unit, Banks was chosen and sent to Freedom, Colorado to be part of it. He was a six feet, seven inches tall and built like a mountain. It was like watching a movie play out, where the much smaller female decided to stand her ground and face off with the big bad grizzly bear like she wasn’t scared at all. Unfortunately, this movie was playing out right in front of them. To make matters worse, Banks repeated in a patronizing voice, “If you don’t look at what you’re hitting, you’re going to hurt your hand.”

  River shook her head and started to get up to intervene. She cringed when Star narrowed her eyes at him, her fists balled up at her sides. Before River could warn him, her sister jumped up and punched Banks in the face. He fell backwards against the table, blood pouring from his nose. He shook his head in confusion.

  “You mean like that?” Star bellowed, then quickly walked out of the room.

  Ash and River jumped up and hurried over to Banks, who was cussing. He held his nose as the blood poured between his fingers, splattering over his nice blue shirt and the floor. River put her hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay?”

  “What the hell is Star’s problem? I only told her she needed to look at what she was hitting or she’d hurt herself, and then she punched me in the damn nose.”

  “Yeah, we saw that. I guess you could say she was looking at what she was hitting when her fist connected with your nose.” River nudged Ash, who snickered.

  “Sorry, Banks,” River added, but she had to purse her lips so she didn’t smile, or she was going to laugh in his face. The bear shifter looked mad enough already.

  When he looked at most people, his intense blue eyes sparkled. When he looked at Star, everyone could see the sparks that flared up between them. But Star fought Banks and Jansen at every opportunity.

  Jansen Vega was a wizard from the Twisters Council, also an Alpha male who was chosen to be on the Unit. River remembered the day Jansen and Banks were introduced; she could see the sparks that flew between the two men. They were both different, but if she had to say it, Jansen was a little nicer, at least compared to Banks — if there could be such a thing as a nice and sweet Alpha. He hardly ever spoke unless he was answering or asking a question. But everyone could see how much Banks and Jansen wanted Star. Their eyes lit up when she walked into a room, and followed her every move. The three of them were obviously mates, but for some reason her sister was fighting it. River couldn’t really say anything, though, because she’d fought Jonas and Reece every step of the way when she was told they were her mates.

  “What the hell is wrong with your sister?” Banks growled again, bringing River out of her thoughts. She handed him a rag to help clean him up. Star really had hit him hard.

  “I don’t know, but maybe you and Jansen could keep your distance from her for a while so she has a chance to calm down. She’s—”

  “Demented. That’s what she is. Damn woman needs her ass spanked,” Banks growled, with barely concealed fury.

  “Well now, that would require you being around her, and like I said Banks, you should just give her some space,” River pleaded. “I think she feels like she has no place here and nothing she can contribute. She wasn’t happy at the furniture store. I think Jonas is going to have her help interview some potential members so she feels like she’s doing something useful.”

  “Are you crazy? Hell, with her attitude she’ll run them off,” Banks warned.

  “Come on, Banks. She isn’t like that with others, just you and Jansen. Maybe all of you need to get in a room together and work this out.” River shrugged when Banks raised his eyebrow at her. Holding up her hands, she added, “Just a suggestion; either that or just stay away from her. Listen Banks, I know my sister, and she’s strong-willed. She had to be, growing up. Living in an orphanage most of their life does that to a person. She doesn’t like people telling her what to do, and you sound like you’re ordering her around instead of giving her some advice. Next time, if she’s hitting the bag wrong, then so what? Just let it go. Get someone else to tell her, and maybe she’ll take it better. Better yet, take a different tack with her and stop demanding that she do it a certain way. You’re way to bossy with her.”

  “What did I do that’s so wrong? I mean, we can’t say anything to her without her going off on us. She actually threatened to shoot me yesterday when I told her her gun was on safety.” River and Ash looked at each other, then broke out in giggles.

  “Women,” Banks said and walked out of the room.

  “Did you see your sister jump up and punch Banks in the nose? She might have broken her hand with that punch. I mean, Banks is a grizzly bear. He’s nothing but muscle, and she hit him in the nose. I just don’t get it, River. She acts like she hates Banks and Jansen.”

  “Don’t you remember, Ash? Hell, you said yourself how bad-tempered it made you when you met your mates and the mating pull started. Larken and Larsen made you crazy. I can totally understand why you panicked when you found out that they were not only twins, but also the lodge owner, the sheriff, and the Alpha and Beta of the local werewolf pack. My God girl, I would have run for the hills. I almost did when
I met mine.”

  “I sure remember those days,” Ash said. “Thank God I had Nash to explain everything to me. I tell you what, River, if it hadn’t been for him, I don’t know what I would’ve done. Unfortunately, I was just like her for a while; I was scared to death of them, and it pissed me off that every time I saw them I wanted to jump their bones.”

  “It must be great to have such a long-lasting friendship.” River looked at her friend with a far-off expression. “I still remember the day that I met Nash at the lodge and he welcomed me into his family with open arms. No questions asked. He just welcomed me. That shows great character.”

  “Nash is one of the best people I know. As a matter of fact, he just might be the answer to our problem. He has nothing to gain by talking to Star and giving her advice.”

  “We don’t want him to end up bloody,” River warned. “You know how sensitive your sister is about anything to do with Jansen and Banks.

  “We need a plan to get them together.” Ash rubbed her hands. “I love it when a plan comes together.”

  “What plan you, big dummy? We have to figure out one first. We need to find some way to get them in the same room without them getting violent. If we can do that, then maybe we’ll have a plan.” River snorted. “Preferably a room without any guns or knives in it.”

  “It can’t be that hard,” Ash commented.

  River knocked on Ash’s head. “Helloooo. Didn’t you just see my sister punch Banks in the nose? Come on, Ash. They hate each other right now. How are we supposed to get them together without killing each other? Because right now, I think my sister can take them.”

  “Do you think people can die from sexual frustration? Because those three sure need to get some soon or they may kill us all.” Ash chuckled. “I think we need some help. I bet Nash can help us with matchmaking. He’s real good at getting people together. When Larsen and Larken and I were first having trouble getting together, Nash was able to help us. In fact, it almost ruined our friendship, but Nash is my best friend, so we got through it.” Ash thought back on the day she’d told Nash that all he cared about was getting his Alpha a mate, that he wasn’t concerned about what she wanted. Thank goodness he was her friend and overlooked a lot of the cruel words she spouted at him. It took her a while, but she’d eventually started to understand how the mating pull wreaked havoc on your body. She only hoped that they could help her sister before she killed one of her mates.

  “Yeah, I heard about that, and maybe we need a little bit more help from some others, too,” River suggested. “Not saying he wouldn’t be helpful, it’s just that these three are all fighting it, and I don’t want to see a repeat of today. So we need to work fast.”

  “Like who?” Ash asked.

  “I don’t know; who do you think?” River shrugged. “This is going to be a hard one.”

  “Please don’t say Reece and Jonas,” Ash complained. “I don’t think your mates would be the right ones to help us out.”

  “Are you crazy? I know my mates, and they’d tell us to mind our own business. I can hear them both now, talking to me like I was a child.” River lowered her voice, trying to sound like Reece, “Now baby, just let nature run its course, and it’ll happen. Just stay out of your sister’s business.”

  “Men!” Ash and River said in unison.

  “Exactly.” Ash poured a glass of orange juice and handed it to River then drank out of the bottle.

  “Did you just drink out of the bottle? The same bottle that we all drink out of?” River alleged.

  “Do you have a pen?” Ash asked.

  River frowned then looked over on the desk and gave her a pen. She watched as Ash wrote her name on the top of the bottle. Then to make matters worse she held the bottle up to her, “See this bottle here?” Ash asked.

  “Yeah.” River answered then proceeded to watch her best friend like the bottle all around the top.

  “It’s mine, but if you want some then I can share.” Ash laughed.

  “You are such a goober.” River couldn’t help it but she started laughing. “Okay, okay we’ll meet back tomorrow with some more ideas,” River agreed.

  “You know who could help us, is your friend Mary. You talk about what a great friend I have in Nash? Well, I think your relationship with Mary is amazing. She’s like your grandmother. She’s awesome, and she always has great wisdom about everything. Plus, I think Star would actually sit and talk to her.”

  “You’re right. I’ll talk to Mary, and you talk to Nash. Hey, what about Lilly — you think she’d help us?” River grinned.

  Ash’s eyes got big as she thought about her sister-in-law. “You know, that might work. Lilly has put together plenty of Valentine’s Day dances in the past, and people have always ended up finding their mates. Maybe it’ll end up working for Star, Jansen, and Banks, too. Just let her loose so she can work her magic. It’s coming up in a couple of days, anyway.”

  “That might work.” Ash rubbed her hands together, a gleam in her eye. “Okay, now we have OVDR in order.”

  “What the hell is OVDR?” River asked, confused.

  “You know, ‘Operation Valentine’s Day Romance,’” Ash explained.

  “That has to be the worst name ever. Goodness, come on you crazy girl; let’s go find Lilly. Maybe she can come up with a better name than that,” River complained as she dragged Ash out of the gym.

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