Takedown Teague (Caged #1)(45)

I swallowed as I tried to hold her gaze. I couldn’t even win the staring contest, let alone speak any of those words without my tongue falling right out of my face.

“Yeah, I didn’t think so.” Yolanda stepped back. “Are you lying to yourself, too, or just me?”

I shook my head briefly.

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I was serious, though—it’s not like that. She’s not looking for a f*ck buddy, and I’m not going to get involved with someone, so what difference does it make?”

“Why not?”

“Why not what?”

“Why not get involved?” Yolanda asked.

My skin went cold.

Every muscle tensed at once.

I stopped breathing.

My eyes clouded over with images of blood and meat and…

“Why not?” I repeated. A moment later I was on my feet and shoving her backwards. For once in her life, Yolanda had the good sense to back away from me as I started screaming. “Why not? Why not? Are you f*cking kidding me? You of all people? How the f*ck can you just stand there and ask me why not?”

“Easy, Teague,” she said. Her eyes were wary, but honestly, the little explosion was already having an effect on me, calming me. She started to take a step forward, but I shook my head sharply and she stopped.

“It’s ancient history,” she said quietly.

“That doesn’t change anything.” My voice was hard, cold, and barely recognizable as mine. I backed up slowly, watching her stand perfectly still as I did. Once I sat back down on the bench, I let out a long breath.

She looked down at me, and her eyes changed slightly. They softened a little and looked somewhat sad. She took a step backwards as she continued to look down at me and then let out a long sigh.

“Maybe it’s time for you to take a chance again,” she said quietly before turning around and walking out of the showers.

I was never one to change my opinion, but Yolanda certainly gave me something to think about.





Chapter 12—Admit the Reality


“You want me to go with you?” Tria asked quietly. There was hesitation in her voice, but I didn’t understand why.

“Yeah, why not?” I asked. “I mean, it beats hanging out here all night, right?”

Yolanda’s words had been bothering me all afternoon. It was rare for her to ever make a comment about any woman who might be in my life though the vast majority of those didn’t last past round two. I had spent a lot of time trying to figure out what her angle was and why she seemed to be pushing me toward the young woman who was—in a thousand different ways—way too good to get messed up in my life.

She had promise. She had potential. She had a future.

I didn’t have shit. Much more importantly, I had my demons. I glanced down and realized I was rubbing at the inside of my arm. I dropped my hand quickly and turned back to Tria.

I watched her closely as she furrowed her brow and considered whether or not she wanted to come to the crappy bar down the street and watch me beat up some random guy in a cage. It was obviously not something she had considered before, and she didn’t seem to know how to answer.

“Well?” I asked as I glanced up at the clock. “I need to head over that way, and if you don’t come with me, you ain’t goin’ at all. I don’t want you walking there on your own.”

“So…it’s like a game, right?” Tria asked. Her tone was unsure, and her eyes watched mine carefully.

“Well, it’s a ‘sport,’” I said. I wasn’t exactly sure what she meant by a “game.”

“I’ve just never seen anything like that,” Tria told me. “I still don’t know how you can do anything inside that tiny cage-room-place.”

I laughed at her description.

“Well, if you came and watched, you would know.”

She hesitated and contemplated for a moment, then finally agreed to go.

“Cool!” I said with a smile. As soon as she agreed, I realized how much I wanted her to be there to see me work—see me at my best. “Let’s get rockin’!”

We made it to Feet First quickly, my pace a little faster than usual as we headed down the street. I was excited to have Tria there, watching me work, and I was genuinely looking forward to the fight that hadn’t even begun yet. I didn’t typically get excited until right before I got into the cage.

Inside the bar, there were already people packed wall-to-wall. I didn’t have a lot of time to talk to customers before I had to get ready, but I tried to chat with a few of them as I got Tria set up near the bar where she could have a good, unobstructed view of the cage. Gary was also close by, and I made sure he was going to keep an eye on her while I was fighting. The last thing she needed was some drunk * f*cking with her while I was indisposed.

“I’m fine—really,” Tria said.

I had Dordy make her one of his special froo-froo drinks. It was a daiquiri sort of thing and looked like it contained more fruit than alcohol. Hell, he might have made it a virgin drink, and she probably wouldn’t have known the difference.

“Okay, well—I gotta get ready,” I told her. “Just hang here. You got the best seat in the house. I’ll come find you after I beat this f*cker.”