Redemption: A British Stepbrother Romance (56 page)

I
’d done
enough training over the last couple of weeks to whip my body back into shape, but I still had one more obstacle to overcome—my mind.

Training my brain required a level of discipline that had always eluded me, but never more so than now.

“Hey, Earth to Riker. Anyone in there?”

I looked up and focused my eyes until I saw one of the ring girls bending over in front of me, thrusting her cleavage into my face. I recognized these boobs. Were these the ones I came over after the last fight? Who knows. They all started to look the same after a while.

Except Nora’s. I’d know hers from a mile away.

“What do you want?” I asked tersely. I’d told her before that I didn’t like distractions before a big fight, and this fight was as big as they came.

“Just wanted to let you know that I’ll be waiting for you after you win,” she said sweetly. “I could give you a little sample of what is waiting for you if you like?”

She licked her large, luscious lips slowly, but all that did was remind me of Nora. Not that she’d ever been quite so obvious, but I found it impossible to think of any sexual act and not picture her.

“Leave. Now,” I commanded.

“Alright, alright,” she replied disappointedly.

She’d still be back at the end of the fight, and she wouldn’t be the only one. I had no interest in her, or any of the other ring girls. I didn’t know any of them by name; I thought of them by the things they’d done to me.

The one who’d just left liked to savor the taste of my cum in her mouth when I’d finished. The short Asian girl like me to watch while she masturbated in front of me. The two blondes liked to double team me.

“Is it safe to come in?” Duke yelled from the door.

“Yeah.”

Duke walked into the locker room closely followed by Gayle, who shut the door behind her.

“This is the big one,” Duke said, as if I needed any reminding.

“We’ve spotted the scout,” Gayle said. “He’s going to be in the front row facing the wall covered with pictures of you on destroying other opponents.”

“What wall?” I asked.

“You’ll see. We’ve made a bit more of an effort for this fight. We don’t want the scout thinking this is some two-bit underground operation.

“It
is
a two-bit underground operation,” I pointed out.

“Not tonight,” Duke said. “Tonight it’s the unveiling of a future UFC star. We’ve pulled out all the stops; now you just have to go out there and do the business.”

“You make it sound easy.”

“It is,” Duke insisted. “You’re better than that guy.”

“He looked pretty good in the video footage we have of him.”

“You’re not scared, are you?” Gayle asked.

It was an obvious tactic, but I took the bait. “No, I’m not fucking scared. Let’s just get out there and get this all over with.”

“That’s a bit more like it,” Duke said, giving me an encouraging pat on the back before they both left the locker room.

I’d lied. I was scared. Not of the fight, but of the future. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t imagine a future with Nora in it, and that scared the hell out of me.

She hadn’t been in touch since I bailed on her after we slept together again. I didn’t blame her, but a part of me hoped she would come by the gym again anyway.

I could have apologized to her, but I’d never have been able to explain what I’d done and why. I couldn’t even explain it to myself.

All I knew was that I had to get this UFC contract. And then I had to fight Tyler. Simple really, but it would take years, and I’d risk bodily injury on an almost weekly basis. I couldn’t put Nora through all that.

And if I lost, then things would just be even worse. I’d have to keep fighting in Duke’s gym for a pittance. Nora deserved better than that. She deserved better than me.

Nora would be starting work soon. She’d be a white-collar worker, and she’d meet men with money and careers. Real careers. They’d live in houses where she wouldn’t need to fear for her safety when she walked alone at night.

Once outside the locker room, the noise of the crowd hit me just as hard as any of my opponent’s punches ever would. Duke and Gayle were on the microphone getting them all riled up in an attempt to make it into a big show.

I had to block all that out. I had to block out a lot of things, most of all Nora.

My opponent was already in the cage, bouncing around to show off his energy to the crowd. Most of the regulars here were supporting me, so he got his fair share of boos, but he let them soak in and used them to spur him on.

I waited impatiently for Duke to announce me, and then let the two blonde ring girls—the double-teamers—escort me to the cage to the sound of cheering and music so loud and deep it was a wonder it hadn’t set off half the car alarms in the city.

Elliot Michaels was the first opponent I’d ever considered physically intimidating. He was slightly taller than me, but not as bulky. I had more strength, but that extra reach would definitely work to his advantage.

The biggest advantage he had over me was his mindset. One quick look in his eyes and I could see that the only thing on his mind was this fight. He didn’t have a woman in his life who occupied his every waking thought. He was free.

I’d been like that once.

Those were the days.

The referee—Jim, the owner of a bar just a few blocks away—gave us a quick lecture on the rules, which essentially just consisted of ‘try not to kill each other unless absolutely necessary to win, and no blows to the balls.’

There was no handshake between the fighters. We moved to our end of the cage and waited. I shook my head from side to side and bounced around on the spot to loosen up my muscles.

“Okay gentleman,” the referee yelled out, trying to make his voice hear above the noise. “Let’s fight.”

A
lison had finally convinced
me that Riker could not be a part of my future. When she left later that evening, I had no intention of seeing Riker again. Ever.

That lasted for about three hours.

Duke invited me to the fight. I declined immediately, but then had second thoughts. What if the fighting wasn’t as bad as I’d imagined?

If I could handle Riker fighting, then there could be a future for us after all. If I sat through this fight and resisted the urge to leave as soon as things got bloody, I might be able to convince him—and myself—that there was still hope.

Duke hadn’t gone to much effort to keep the fight a secret. People were just strolling into the gym from off the street, and they clearly weren’t there to work out. A security guard did a quick check for weapons, but otherwise everyone was allowed to stroll downstairs to the fight without so much as a second glance.

If the cops ever did want to take this place down, they wouldn’t have to go to much effort either, other than buying a twenty-dollar ticket.

The underground area looked completely different from when I’d last been here sparring with Riker. When I’d been down here, the cage had been the only thing of note in the entire room. It still took center stage thanks to all the lights illuminating it, however what really captured the attention was the boisterous crowd surrounding the cage, already baying for blood even though the fight hadn’t started yet.

Small time bookies operated around the outskirts, frantically taking cash from willing gamblers who mostly seemed to be putting their money on Riker. At four to seven on, he was the clear favorite to win.

What did winning even mean in a fight like this? Presumably the other person could concede. Or did they have to be knocked out first? Would the referee step in if the fight became too one-sided?

A quick glance at the referee milling around in the center of the cage answered that question for me. He was overweight, and out-of-breath just walking around the ring. He’d never be able to step in and stop Riker from destroying his opponent if that’s what it came to.

“Nora.”

I just about caught my name being called out over the din of the crowd. I looked in the direction of the noise and saw the crowd parting as someone made their way through. Not many people could make a group of large men move out of their way so quickly.

“Hi Gayle,” I said cheerfully as she appeared next to me.

“I’m so glad you came. I must admit, I didn’t expect you to, but Duke knew you’d make it. I do hate it when he’s right.”

“This is a big night for you and Duke. I want to support you both.”

“It’s a big night for Riker as well. Are you supporting him too?”

“Of course.”

“See that guy in the suit in the front row?” Gayle said as she pointed to the only person in the room dressed as if he had come straight from a high-powered job. I nodded. He was hard to miss. “That man is a scout from the UFC. If he’s impressed by what he sees here tonight, Riker could get a contract that will change his life.”

“You mean he’ll go from fighting in this cage to fighting in a cage in another location?” I said dryly.

“Well, yes, I suppose that’s true. But he’ll be paid a decent amount for it. Certainly more than what we pay him.”

“In that case, I hope it all goes well.”

I didn’t even know if I was being honest. I didn’t want to see Riker lose or get badly hurt, but the alternative didn’t seem like a great outcome. He’d be paid more, but he’d put his body on the line against talented fighters week in, week out. Was that what I wanted?

What would happen if the scout wasn’t impressed with what he saw? Riker would keep fighting anyway. He didn’t know any other way of living. Fighting was his life, and it always would be, regardless of my position in it.

“Why don’t you come and sit with us?” Gayle offered. “You don’t need to be all the way up here. We’ve saved you a seat on the front row.”

“Thanks, but I’m fine up here,” I lied.

I hated it. In the ten minutes I’d been standing here, I’d barely been able to stand still for a second without people squeezing past me or flat out walking into me as if I were invisible. And don’t get me started on all the stray hands that had ‘accidentally’ grazed my ass in the shuffle.

“You don’t want to get too close to the violence?” Gayle asked.

I nodded. I didn’t even like being in the splash zone when I watched a whale show at Sea World, and that was just water. I sure as hell didn’t want to risk getting splashed with whatever fluids flew around during a fight.

That wasn’t the only reason though.

“Don’t tell Riker I’m here,” I said to Gayle.

“You didn’t tell him you’re coming?”

“No. I don’t want to distract him for the big fight. Not that I would distract him, but, you know…”

“I wish I did know,” Gayle replied. “What happened between you two? One minute the two of you could barely make it through a training session without tearing each other’s clothes off, and now you don’t speak. Did he do something stupid? If he cheated on you, I’ll fucking—”

“No, no. Nothing like that. We’re just not going to work out. Two different worlds and all that.”

“Bullshit. If that was the case, it would make you a snob, and I know you’re not. And Riker wouldn’t think that way, because he’d have to be bloody stupid to turn down a woman like you. Okay, so he can be a little—”

Duke bellowed Gayle’s name from his position down near the entrance to the cage.

Gayle rolled her eyes at the unwanted interruption. “We’re going to continue this conversation. But for now, duty calls.”

Gayle went down to the front and met up with Duke, before heading to the locker room area at the back.

When they both came back out, the fight was ready to begin.

Riker’s opponent had a lot in common with Riker, judging by the description from the announcer, who looked in even worse shape than the referee. Where did Duke find these people?

Elliot Michaels had also experienced a rough upbringing, and had spent time in prison, before getting his life back on tracks through fighting. The parallels to Riker were uncanny.

The crowd greeted Elliot with a loud chorus of boos, but Elliot soaked it in and used it to psyche himself up. Even after all my training, I couldn’t pretend to know that much about real competitive fighting like this, but it was obvious Riker had a fight on his hands tonight.

Now it was Riker’s turn to walk up to the cage. I spotted him standing in the doorway with two blondes hanging off his arms. They both whispered seductively in his ear, no doubt letting him know what reward he’d be getting after the fight. The thought of him with them made my stomach crawl.

I’d never been fazed by Riker’s past experience with women. I can’t pretend I enjoyed thinking about it, but it didn’t bother me that much. We all had our pasts, and I wasn’t about to judge him for his. He’d been through enough.

The women took the robe from Riker’s shoulders, and escorted him to the cage as cheers drowned out the awful music blasting from the bassy speakers.

Riker had been naked with me, so I didn’t think his body could hold any surprises. I’d been wrong. When we’d trained, Riker had always worn a tank top and sweatpants. Now he was shirtless, and in a pair of shorts that were tight enough to set my imagination on fire as I pictured his muscular thighs from the last time I’d straddled him.

While Riker and Elliot were similar on paper, they had a completely different attitude in the way they approached the cage.

Whereas Elliot had been cocky and aggressive—feeding off the crowd’s negative energy—Riker had a serious, sullen look to him. His mind looked elsewhere, and if it weren’t for the blondes on his arm, he might not have even made it to the cage at all.

At least he wasn’t looking into the crowd. I shrunk down slightly so that I could only just see over the top of the guy in front of me. I couldn’t let him see me.

Despite all the noise, the sound of the cage door shutting after Riker had stepped through, reverberated around the room like a deafening explosion. No one else seemed to notice it.

The referee gave his little speech to the fighters and then backed away. According to Riker, the only rule was to not hit the crotch. Typical men and their priorities. Unfortunately, Elliot didn’t look like the type who paid much attention to rules.

This was it.

Come on, Riker.

I wanted him to win. There was no conflict in my head now. I wanted him to win, and win quickly. Get this over with.

The bell rang.