Full Contact (Redemption #3)(100)
The Redemption boys love to party. And tonight is no exception. After Tag and I testified earlier this week, his other witness came forward and testified too. Luke is in jail. His family is under investigation for threats. The trial made the evening news, and more women are coming forward. Justice is done and served on a silver platter. And Redemption wants to celebrate.
After christening Phoenix Ink, now managed by me, Torment shouts that protein shakes are on the house. Fighters stampede toward the little café, and the owner’s eyes widen in fear. Lucky for him, Shayla and Doctor Death have offered to help out, and they run the blenders like there’s no tomorrow.
Glancing quickly around the gym, where fighters are dancing, chatting, and, of course, fighting, I lean against a lat machine, slide my hand into my handbag, and pull out a handful of contraband potato chips. One whiff of greasy goodness and my mouth waters.
“Bad.” Ray snatches the chips out of my hand. “Chips are full of unhealthy fats and chemicals. My boy needs good, healthy food.” He waves to Rampage and shouts, “Get Sia a whey protein shake. Extra wheatgrass.”
My lips tighten into a thin line. “First, your boy may be a girl. And second, I’m not a dog, Ray. Or a small child. If I want to eat potato chips, I—”
“Won’t.” He clasps my hand and kisses my palm. “’Cause you don’t want your man to worry. A man who isn’t worrying is a happy man. Happy men buy sexy presents. Sexy presents lead to sexy times.”
“I see.” I lick my lips, imagining the taste of potato chips on my tongue. “Somehow it always winds up being about sex.”
Ray leans in and kisses me. “Wrong. It always winds up being about you.”
Rampage joins us and hands me a protein shake. I don’t ask how he managed to get the shake before the fifty people lined up at the café. Maybe it’s because Rampage is the ears, eyes, and heart of Redemption. He is also the café owner’s cousin.
“So we’re gonna have a kid running around the gym,” he says.
Ray hisses out a breath, and I look up and frown. “How did you know that? We only just told my parents and Tag today.”
Rampage shrugs. “I know everything that goes on at Redemption, and we need a few kids around here. Liven the place up. Fuzz can teach some junior MMA classes and make the kiddies cry.”
“Hey.” Homicide Hank joins us, with Blade Saw and Doctor Death on his heels. “I got kids. Two of ’em.”
“Everyone knows they aren’t yours,” Doctor Death says, winking at me. He is fully recovered from his fight with Ray and, surprisingly, holds no grudge. In fact, he caught us one night on our way out of the gym and apologized for his behavior. Ray said he understood. His girl did, indeed, have a damn fine ass. But if Doctor Death ever touched her ass again, he’d break all his fingers.
“Fuck you, Death.” Homicide makes a rude gesture, and Doctor Death laughs.
“I do, in fact, get f*cked over quite regularly, but that’s my love life. In the ring, it’s you who is going down.”
Homicide Hank takes a swing at Doctor Death. Someone yells “fight.” The fighters leave the café and run over to the mats, where the two miscreants are now going at it full tilt.
“So, this is a Redemption party,” Duncan says, coming up beside me. “Not quite what I expected. When you said most of them didn’t drink when they were training, I imagined the party would be more sedate.”
Ray snorts a laugh. “They’re just getting warmed up. Just wait until those protein boosters kick in.”
“He’s big into the health thing,” I say to Duncan. “He gets up at five every morning, goes for a run, then works out, makes a protein shake, cooks up a healthy breakfast, and he’s ready for work before my alarm has even gone off. It’s so annoying. I wish he’d warned me before we started going out. I’m so not a morning person.”
“You will be.” Ray winks. “I’m gonna whip my girl into shape so we can run together in the morning.”
Before Ray can start his lecture about the healthy benefits of starting the day with exercise, I excuse myself to look for Jess. Although she doesn’t train at Redemption, she never misses a party.
I find her sitting alone in the bleachers, watching Tag and Shayla talking over by the free weights.
“She has a crush on him,” Jess says as I sit down beside her.
“Yeah. For a long time. But Tag isn’t interested. She’s not his type.”
Jess shrugs. “Neither am I, apparently.”
“You’re wrong.” I squeeze her arm. “Now that Luke is behind bars and my parents are in their new condo, and he’s about to become an uncle, he’s changed. He’s happy.”
“I’ve never known him happy,” Jess says.
“If you liked him sad, anxious, and stressed, you’ll definitely like him happy.”
As if on cue, Tag looks up and smiles. He gives Shayla a pat on the back and then jogs over to us, climbing the bleachers two at a time.
“Hey, Sis.” He ruffles my hair. “I’m surprised Ray let you out of his sight.”
“I’m not out of his sight.” I roll my eyes and gesture toward the lat machine where Ray is talking to Blade Saw with his gaze fixed on me. “You think he’d take his eyes off me in a gym full of protein-boosted fighters?”