Owned & Untamed (Back Down Devil MC #11)(66)

The fight continued with both men back on their feet.

“Come on, man,” I said.

I felt Belle clutching at my leg. I looked down at her and reached for her. I pulled her up on the table and put my arm around her.

Jim and Carl traded a few heavy punches with equal force. They were both starting to feel it. Carl took a little lead, hitting Jim with a one-two that sent him back. Jim wisely used the ropes and corners to his need, bouncing in and out Carl’s attacks.

But then Carl got Jim in the gut. The punch hit hard and I saw the air leave Jim’s face. Carl hit him with a left, right combo and Jim was far away from the ropes. As Jim started to go back I saw everything around me collapsing. My best friend. My girl. My club. It all being set on fire.

Carl swung one more time and Jim grabbed at Carl’s arm. Not only did he stop the punch he kept himself from falling. Jim turned the momentum around and went right at Carl, hitting him in the nose. Carl’s arms flew open and Jim unleashed a combination of punches that I wasn’t sure I could even pull off. He found his balance and started to dance around Carl, forcing him to stumble and take swings with no target.

When Carl had about two seconds left in him, Jim put his fists down and stood there.

“What the hell is he doing?” Trev shouted.

I had no idea.

Carl started to reach for Jim with those long arms of his. Jim swatted Carl’s arms away. Then Jim let out a scream I’d never forget. It was the nightmare scream that had been inside him since the day shit blew up overseas. The split second decision to save who he could and not being able to save Bill.

Jim jumped forward off both feet and smashed the top of his head into Carl. He hit Carl so hard the big guy lifted off his feet (something I’d never seen before with Carl) and sent Carl through the ropes and out of the ring.

Jim ended up crashing into the ropes and dangling there.

There was complete silence all around.

Everyone waited to see what Carl was going to do.

In my mind I let ten seconds go by and that was enough.

I cupped my hands around my mouth and shouted, “Call the f*cking thing!”

And that’s when the fight was called.

Carl was knocked out cold outside the ring.

Jim had f*cking done it.

I looked down at Trev and Jasper. They were smiling ear to ear. The rest of the Back Down Devil MC guys were cheering, jumping up and down. Somewhere in the thick of the crowd Ivan, Peter, and their men were there. They saw the fight and they were about to get paid a lot of money. And we’d be able to give them their sixty-five grand that they wanted.

And life would move forward.

I jumped off the table and helped Belle down.

Kye and Tristan got Jim out of the ring and brought him to the table.

I could feel the mood of the crowd starting to swell. There were a lot of people who lost cash on the fight. So it was key to now cash in and get the f*ck out of there.

“Jim,” I said, and grabbed his shoulders. “You did it, man.”

“I did it,” Jim said.

“We have to get out of here,” Trent said.

People were starting to throw beer bottles at the ring. A few more fights were scheduled but Jim’s was the biggest.

“Everyone stay right here,” I called out. “I’ll go get the money.”

“I’ll go!” Trev yelled.

“Fuck that, Prez!” I shouted back. “You stay here. Stay safe.”

“I’m coming with you, brother,” Kye said.

That was fine.

Me and Kye pushed through the crowd.

The plan was simple. Get back to the clubhouse and arrange to meet with Ivan. Once that was settled then we’d make the necessary calls to the PD to ensure the land deal was falling apart for good.

It was going to be busy so we had to move fast.

There was a small building that handled all the money. We showed up looking like the bad guys. The amount of money we had won off Jim’s fight was a huge amount. The money was all stacked up in thick bricks of cash and put into a bag. Not quite a cheap shopping bag but definitely not some nice briefcase either. I took the bag and trusted the count. All eyes were on me and Kye. Last thing we needed was to get jumped or heisted with money owned to Ivan (for the second time).

I tucked the bag under my arm and we walked toward the outside of the crowd. We got to the perimeter where the crowd thinned out. I kept my other hand near my gun just in case I needed it.

We made it a few steps before Kye stopped me.

He pointed toward the crowd.

There was a fight going on outside the ring. There had to have been twenty people going to town on each other. I carefully considered my options. The key was to get to Belle. I regretted not bringing her with me to the get the cash. All I could hope for was that she’d be safe…

My thoughts were rattled at the sound of an explosion.

Kye grabbed me and we went to the ground.

The entire crowd started to break up with screams and yells.

Black smoke billowed into the air, mushrooming over itself.

Someone had just attacked the fight.

And Belle was nowhere to be found.





chapter thirty.



(belle)



I lost hearing for a few seconds. It came back with a heavy buzzing sound. I looked around and people were running all around me. People bouncing into me, knocking me back. Someone grabbed my arm and I turned to see Trent. He had a weak grip on me and an army of people broke us apart. I heard screaming and watched as the crowd swelled even more. It was like being swallowed up in a wave at the ocean.