Uppercut Princess (The Heights Crew #1)(73)

When we walk in, I notice Big Daddy K first, sitting stiffly on a black leather couch, one of our guards behind him. I vaguely recognize him from K’s house the other day, but the major thing that sets him off as one of ours is the fact that he’s dressed exactly like Magnum. I wonder how many guards Big Daddy K has.

Fonz’s guard stops next to her side while Johnny escorts me to stand next to his father. My stomach revolts standing this close to him, and I wonder which person in this room I should fear most. The man who killed my parents? Or the woman across from us, pulling on a cigar, embers blazing on the end?

Roza Fonz’s hair is done up in hundreds of braids that fall well past her shoulders. She has ebony skin, contrasted by a red slash of lipstick across her lips. She has on a red pantsuit that hugs her curves while she sits cross-legged on a couch that matches Big Daddy K’s.

“This is her?” she asks. She blows out a plume of smoke that wafts toward the ceiling in a haze. I can tell from her inspection and the telling twinkling in her eye that she has the same assumption of me as the guard who cupped my ass did. “This does not seem like a fair fight,” she says, finally turning her gaze over to Big Daddy.

“You let her worry about that,” he says. His voice is edgy, as is the barely tethered tension stiffening his body. He looks nothing like the guy I met earlier in the comfort of his own home. He’s on high alert though he’s doing a good job of masking it. If I hadn’t met him before I wouldn’t have noticed anything was amiss.

“It seems like any of my fighters I put her up against would throttle her. How much experience does she have?”

Big Daddy K chuckles. “What does it matter? Now that you’ve seen her, are you taking the deal or not?”

Roza sets her cigar down in an ashtray. “You may be willing to sacrifice young women, K, but I’m not. Women aren’t allowed to fight in my rings. I help them get off the street, not help them stay there.”

Big Daddy K glances over at me. The whole side of my face burns. He grabs my hand, and I flinch. He places it on the arm of the sofa, covering it with his own. My face loses all emotion. It drains, and I have no doubt the pallor of a ghost stares back at Roza. He chuckles, patting my hand. “Kyla wants to fight. I hear she’s been named Uppercut Princess to my clients.”

Uppercut Princess? I like the sound of that.

As soon as he lets my hand go, I drop it to my side and vow I really will just set my hand on fire this time to get his vile germs off me.

Johnny snickers into my ear. “Uppercut Princess,” he breathes.

I don’t mind the sound of that at all. I could even get used to Princess as long as Uppercut was in front of it.

“You don’t need to know her background to agree to the arrangements.”

Fonz pushes back into the plush leather couch. “Her against one of my fighters.” She flicks a hand toward me. “She represents you. Mine representing me. Whichever one wins will mean the winner for one of us. When that happens, the loser agrees to back off the fighting circuit. Am I understanding correctly?”

Big Daddy K nods once. His eyes dance. It’s clear he’s getting a thrill out of this. It makes a skitter of fear race up my spine and settle in the back of my neck like a bad seed.

“Why would you agree to this?” she asks, gaze narrowing on him cautiously. “Why her? You could choose any one of your male fighters. Big, brute strength.”

“Family business,” he says, lips thinning. It’s obvious he’s over this conversation and just wants an answer out of her, not the third degree.

Since I’m also curious about this question, I’d love to hear the answer. Other than the fact that it affords me the opportunity to prove myself to him, I’m not sure what’s in it for him. As far as I can tell, there’s nothing in it for him.

“Either accept or don’t, Roza. The way I see it, this is how we figure out where the line is drawn.”

“I drew the line years ago. You stepped over it,” Roza snaps. She flicks her long braids over her shoulders.

“Here’s a way to decide once and for all without widespread bloodshed,” he says, ignoring her remark.

Roza is shaking. Not out of fear, but out of anger. I can tell she doesn’t like him at all, and not just because he’s the leader of a rival gang and a contending business owner. It’s because he looks down on her like she doesn’t mean a damn thing to him.

Her guards keep checking on her. The one I kneed in the gut smirks at me like he can’t wait to see me get my ass kicked.

I’ve got news for him. I don’t intend to be the one who gets my ass kicked. I need to prove to Big Daddy K that I’m worthy to stand next to his son. I’m worthy of his trust. Winning this business exploit for him is how I’m going to do it. I don’t care how much I have to train or how many tough blows I have to take, I’ll come out the victor.

If I lose this fight, I lose everything.

“You,” Roza says, nodding at me. “Why do you want to fight?”

As Magnum instructed, I wait until Big Daddy K tells me it’s okay to answer. When he nods, I gaze over the black coffee table at her, a woman who must’ve risen over these men she surrounds herself with. A woman who commands their respect. By the way they look at her, I know if one of us started something, they’d stand in front of her in a heartbeat.