Fighting Greed

by Miller, Jennifer

  I start to shake my head no. I don’t know why, I’m not doing myself any favors. Clearly he already knows. What am I doing? He bares his teeth at me and this time, I do flinch. But before I can reach out and put in my numbers or press my thumb to the screen to unlock it, my phone starts to ring stopping me cold.

  Zane’s name appears on the screen.

  Nico’s eyes meet mine and an evil smile crosses his face.

  “If it wouldn’t leave a mark I would backhand you right now.”

  Shaking. I’m shaking. What is he going to do? I knew it. I knew I should have stayed away from Zane. Nico has people everywhere. Everywhere.

  Without a word he turns around and stalks down the hallway toward Ryan’s room.

  “No!” I yell as cold, harsh, sharp fear runs through my veins. “No. Leave him alone.”

  I run after him, grab his arm, but it does nothing. He doesn’t stop.

  He pushes Ryan’s door open, moves to him and takes my sleeping son from his bed.

  Turning, he pushes past me and walks back to the living room. I follow him, feeling numb and cold inside not uttering a word in fear of waking Ryan. The only phone I have to call for help is in his hand. I look at the door and consider making a mad dash to a neighbor’s apartment but in the time it takes me to get help he could hurt Ryan. Would he hurt Ryan? I wouldn’t put it past him.

  I will kill him. I will use my hands, nails and teeth - anything I can - to hurt any part of him if he harms one hair on my son’s head.

  He sits on the couch with Ryan on his lap. Ryan shifts a little but falls back asleep, “He’s going to sit right here while you and I have a little chat.”

  Bravery has me saying, “So help me god if you hurt him Nico, you will regret it.”

  He smiles, “What happens to him depends entirely upon you.”

  “Seeing Zane wasn’t my fault. We ran into each other at the new gym – the one you bought me a membership to. I won’t see him, I’ll never go back there. Now, put my son back to bed.”

  “Quite the contrary, Sutton. I want you to see him again. And again. And again. Whatever it takes in fact.”

  This I was not expecting and I’m stunned into silence at first. “What? You want me to see Zane?”

  “I do.”

  “Why?” And I’m scared of the answer. The only reason he would want me to see Zane is because there’s something in it for him. That’s the reason Nico does everything – for his benefit.

  “You’re aware of what he does for a living?”

  “He’s a real estate agent.”

  He frowns at me, “The other thing he does for a living.”

  “He’s an MMA fighter. Which means he could kick your ass.”

  He scoffs, “No doubt about it, but my bullets are faster and more permanent than punches. I can guarantee it.”

  “What does the fact he’s a fighter have to do with anything?”

  “Do you have any idea what the biggest draw is at the casino – gambling wise?” When he stares at me waiting for an answer I shake my head. “People, men mostly, love to bet on games. Football games, baseball games, hockey games, you name it. They bet who will win, they bet on the score, they even bet on players and there’s a lot of money involved. While there’s some science to it, the fact is, it’s ultimately about guessing. No one knows for sure what the outcome will be, of course. You can base your guess on who has the best players, which one is the better team and their record, but the funny thing is that sometimes something happens you least expect. A player gets hurt or someone that before was only average has a stellar game. A lot of money exchanges hands during those seasons – football being the most popular except for one sport. Have any idea what it is?”

  “MMA,” I whisper feeling dread clogging my throat making it difficult to breathe.

  “That’s right. And imagine my surprise when I find out that one of the fighters fighting in two of the biggest upcoming fights this year, has a hard on for…you.”

  “No…” I shake my head already knowing where this is going and ready to protest.

  He shifts Ryan in his arms and my heart drops.

  “Yes. You, Sutton, have an inside track to the fights. I can do my own homework on the fighters of course, but finding out inside information from Zane would be invaluable to me.”

  “Zane won’t tell you anything.”

  “You may be surprised, I mean, he was in rehab with you for a reason was he not? My guess is that it wasn’t blackjack he was addicted to betting on. But, it’s no matter, I don’t intend on asking Zane anything. Because you are.”

  “Me? No. There’s no way. If I ask him for inside information he’s not going to give it to me and he certainly wouldn’t want to be with me after asking such a thing. I don’t know what you’re thinking. This isn’t going to turn out however you’re hoping it will.”

  “I don’t want you to tell him anything about me at all. What I want is for you to date him, get close to him, talk to him about the fights and ask his opinion and report them back to me.”

  “I don’t see how that will be beneficial to you.”

  “I don’t give a fuck what you think or if you understand. This is what you’re going to do. I don’t care what you have to do to get the information. Fuck him if you have to, but you will tell me everything he tells you about the fights and the fighters. Do you understand?”

  “And if I don’t?” I ask bravely, or maybe stupidly, I can’t decide.

  He uses his free hand to stroke Ryan’s hair but there’s no affection there, only threat.

  “Then it would be a shame if your son has an unfortunate accident.”

  “Even you wouldn’t hurt a child.”

  “Wouldn’t I? I have no tie to him whatsoever. He’s a constant reminder of your fucking betrayal, you whore.” He stands holding Ryan in his arms and tears burn behind my eyes.

  “This is about money? Don’t you have enough?”

  He laughs, his head falling back as he does so making Ryan shift in his arms again as Nico’s laugh wakes him a little.

  “You can never have too much money. Besides, let’s just say my boss has gotten a bit… stingy lately. I’m having to take some matters into my own hands and that’s where you come in.”

  “This is insane.”

  “Do you really need me to say it again? Like before? You may have a sense of freedom ever since you insisted moving into here and we ended our sexual relationship, but make no mistake, I own you. If I say jump, you jump. If I say go count cards for me at another casino in town, you do it. If I say seduce Zane like the slut you are, you open your legs and ask if you should open them further. And since clearly it needs said again – you will not leave. You will not take Ryan and run. Because if you do, while you and Ryan may be safe from me, the children you leave behind at that precious orphanage you love so much will not be. Do you understand me?”

  “I understand,” I whisper.

  “Very good. Now, he doesn’t know about Ryan does he?”

  “No, not yet.”

  “Keep it that way until I say otherwise.”

  He walks to me and puts Ryan into my arms. I clutch him to me, my heart pounding out of my chest, my lips landing on his forehead in relief.

  Nico reaches out and cups my cheek, when I pull away he grabs a handful of my hair and yanks it hard making my eyes meet his. Tears do fall this time – from the pain.

  “Go put him back into bed.”

  Woodenly, I walk back to Ryan’s room and lay him back on the bed, tucking him in. Wishing I could lie down with him and hold him in my arms, I kiss him once again on the forehead and leave the room thankful he’s no longer near Nico.

  When I reenter the living room, Nico holds my phone out to me. “Call him,” he demands.

  “Right now?”

  “Now. You become anyone and do anything that you have to in order to keep his interest.”

  In another life I’d be insulted that he’d suggest that who I am i
sn’t enough. Swallowing heavily, I turn away for a second and squeeze my eyes closed. Taking a deep breath, I dial Zane’s number then turn back around.

  “Hey, everything okay?” he asks in lieu of a hello.

  “Yeah. Sorry about that. I, uh, accidentally spilled wine all over and needed to get it cleaned up before it stained.”

  “Oh, that’s okay. You had me worried. You were going to tell me something before. It sounded important.”

  “Yeah, uh, I was just going to tell you that um-” I hesitate hating everything about this. My eyes meet Nico’s and I try to convey my hatred of him through my eyes. But it’s not just him I hate – I hate myself too. I hate that I’m dragging Zane into this when it’s the last thing I wanted to do.

  “Sutton? You had started to say something about rehab on the phone before.”

  “Yeah sorry. I was just going to say that in rehab, I fell for you. I tried to play it off like I was cool to hook up and fly, but the truth is leaving you that day was hard. And after that… I missed you and I thought about you. I wanted to tell you that I’m really glad we ran into each other again. It’s fate, just like I said.”

  Nico’s face hardens and he rolls his eyes.

  “I would really like to see you again – if you still want to see me.”

  “Absolutely, I do.”

  “Good, that’s good,” I sigh in relief. “Will you go to dinner with me?”

  Looking up again, my eyes meet Nico’s and he smiles cruelly and nods his head in satisfaction and mouths, “Perfect.”

  Pulling up to the children’s home I take a moment to pop a mint in my mouth and check my reflection in the rear view mirror. All’s good. I have not only Sutton to impress but the hardest audience yet – children.

  Sutton suggested she would get a ride here for her shift today and then after I showed my last house of the day I could stop here to pick her up for our date. I told her I’m more than happy to pick her up at her place, but she said this would be more convenient. Not one to argue and just happy she’s agreed to a date after a week of not seeing her, I agreed. I’m a bit nervous about making a good impression though. Here goes nothing.

  Heading up the walkway to the house I can’t help but notice a few things that need repair. A shingle hanging off the roof, some overgrown shrubs that need attention and a shutter that needs tightened into the bracket from which it’s hanging. Not to mention the home itself could use a good painting and the windows a good cleaning. I frown, aware that this place likely has a limited budget and other priorities.

  There’s no sign over the door or other indication that this home is any different from the others on this street. From outside you’d think any other family lived here. No way would you know that the kids inside wish that their home was like all the others, that they had a family to call their very own.

  Ringing the doorbell I fidget as I wait for Sutton to answer the door. I’m not waiting long, but it isn’t Sutton at the door but a young man that looks to be about fifteen or sixteen years old. He’s got bright red hair, freckles across his nose and cheeks and his eyes are startling green.

  “Can I help you?”

  “Yes. I’m looking for Sutton Reeves. She’s expecting me.”

  He stares at me for a few moments, his eyes looking at me suspiciously. “Sutton!” he yells while keeping his eyes on me the whole time. “Someone’s at the door for you!”

  Feeling amused I stand still and watch him scrutinize me, curiosity written all over his face.

  When Sutton appears over his shoulder, I smile wide, my eyes devouring her. Hair falling loosely over her shoulders, she’s casual in jeans and a t-shirt and looks beautiful.

  “Zane, hi. Come on in. I see you’ve met Henry.” She moves in front of the teen I now know is named Henry and opens the door for me.

  Once I step into the entry way and she closes the door behind me, I take her in my arms, “Hello.”

  “Hi,” she says into my shoulder. When she pulls away her cheeks look a little flushed. Maybe I shouldn’t have hugged her in front of one of her kids, but too late.

  She takes my hand and we follow Henry down the hallway. We pass a large living room that has backpacks lying about, couches, chairs and a large TV.

  To the left she pulls me into a kitchen that has an attached dining room. Several kids are sitting around the table and a couple other individuals that I assume are employees, are in the kitchen dishing food out onto plates.

  “I just want to finish helping them serve dinner and then we can go. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “Of course not,” I tell her with a smile as I take the aviator sunglasses off of my face. The sun’s still shining out even though it’s six in the evening – it was setting on my way over and was directly in my face. It takes a minute for my eyes to adjust. When I look around the room and take in the happy atmosphere I notice a male worker and a child staring open-mouthed at me.

  “You’re ‘Insane’ Zane!” the boy says to me. I turn to him fully. He’s maybe twelve years old with dark unruly hair that keeps falling into his eyes and he pushes it out frustratingly. He’s stood from his seat and is staring at me in awe. Unsure how to respond, I pause and look toward Sutton, not knowing if she would be okay with me confirming his statement. I feel relief when I find her grinning and she nods at me.

  “That I am,” I tell the boy and chuckle when his mouth falls even further when I walk closer to him and hold out my hand.

  “And you are?”

  “I-I’m-I’m… wow… it’s really you.”

  The other kids are staring at me curiously clearly not a fan like this one and want to know who I am given his reaction.

  Sutton appears next to him and with a large smile takes his hand and puts it in mine and giggles when he sucks in a breath in surprise.

  “Zane, this is Toby. Toby, Zane is a good friend of mine.”

  “By friend you mean boyfriend, don’t you?” A little girl asks. If I had to guess I’d say she’s a little younger than Toby – maybe ten or so. She’s smiling and keeps looking between Sutton and me.

  “Um… I…”

  This time I’m the one that laughs at Sutton’s response.

  “I don’t think she’s decided yet. I’m still working on convincing her,” I tease with a smile.

  “Well, have you gotten her flowers or candy?” the little girl asks me.

  My smile falls, “Um, no, I didn’t bring her flowers or candy.”

  “Did you bring a dessert or something for all of us?” someone else asks and my frown turns deeper.

  “You guys…” Sutton begins.

  “No, I didn’t. I didn’t think about that, I’m sorry.”

  “It’s not looking good for you then,” the little girl states matter-of-factly and I’m pretty sure that my cheeks turn red. I don’t know if this has ever happened to me before. My mouth falls open and I close it again.

  Well shit. I’ve been schooled by a ten year old.

  “That’s enough now Melody. You’re embarrassing our guest,” one of the other workers states. She seems like a nice woman except for the fact she pointed out my embarrassment.

  “Hi, it’s nice to meet you,” she says holding her hand out to me. “My name is Camille. You must be something special; Sutton never brings anyone here,” she leans toward me and whispers conspiratorially while Sutton is hushing Melody.

  “Nice to meet you,” I shake her hand and smile at her revelation.

  “Let me introduce you to everyone,” Sutton says clearly working to shake off her embarrassment as well. I hope she’s not regretting having me meet her here. Starting at the head of the table she points, “That’s Travis, Melody as you know, Jacob, Nate, Joy, Zach, you’ve met Toby, that’s Melanie, Tiffany and José.”

  Ten kids. Ten kids that all live here because for one reason or another they’ve been orphaned. I know this in no way even begins to touch on the number of children that are orphaned or fostered in Arizona alone obviously a
nd I have no idea of their backgrounds, but the awareness of their circumstances makes me feel choked up.

  Smiling at each of them I say to all of them, “You may have heard Toby say, my name is Zane. It’s nice to meet all of you. Sutton says really awesome things about you. I was really looking forward to meeting you.”

  Sutton gestures to someone behind me, “You met Camille, but the gentleman still staring at you open-mouthed much like our Toby here is Nick.”

  “Hi, Nick,” I smile. “Need some help there?” I gesture toward the spoon he was using to scoop green beans onto plates. It’s about to fall out of his hand. He looks down quickly, sets it down and moves to me.

  Shaking my hand, “Hi. It’s such an honor to meet you. I’m such a big fan. I’ve been a fan of MMA for years and years. I even have tickets to your fight coming up. I bet you’re busy training aren’t you? Are you ready? I can’t wait to watch. I know you will win.”

  He says all of this pretty fast but I’m able to keep up. “I’ve been very busy training, yes and I’m definitely ready for the fight. And I think I’ll win too.”

  “I heard that your opponent-”

  Before he can finish his sentence I hear a voice ask, “What’s MMA?”

  Turning I see my new little friend Melody staring at me curiously. Before I can answer her Toby looks at Melody and says, “MMA is mixed martial arts.”

  She rolls her eyes at Toby and he looks like he’s about to say something else to her so I intercede, “I fight professionally against another opponent – another person - inside something called an octagon. We use a mixture of fighting types - boxing, jiu jitsu, judo, karate and others - and fight against each other until one of us can’t punch or get out of a hold – which is when you keep someone from being able to hit you - and one of us wins.”

  “You get paid to beat people up? That’s awesome!” Henry says wide-eyed.

  “It’s much more complex than that. We are professionals and we use expert moves in order to take the other person, our opponents, down. We try to beat the other, yes, but our actions are very closely watched by judges and a referee to make sure we stay within the rules of the sport.”