Downfall(28)

I wanted to be close enough to taste the noises Orley was making as she dreamed of me while she was sleeping. I didn’t even stop to question that whomever was giving her pleasure in the middle of the night was me. I knew it without her saying my name. Those sounds, that pleasure, the girl… they were all mine, even if she didn’t fully understand it yet.

When I got back from the bathroom, everything was quiet and still once again. I tried to fall back asleep knowing I had a full day of work, a training session at the gym, and a solid two to three hours of coursework to complete later in the day, but rest was elusive. Instead, I stared up at the dark ceiling imagining what I’d done to Orley in her dreams to draw those sounds out of her. I was anxiously awaiting the day when I would get to put my hands on her and try to make her whisper them against my skin. The possibilities she inspired were endless.

The next day at work dragged. I usually loved joking around with the guys and learning whatever I could from the Boss. I liked being up to my elbows in grease and rusty old engine parts. Today, I couldn’t seem to put anything back together the way it was supposed to go and I’d knocked my head on the elevated hood three times. When I saw the Boss coming my way out of the corner of my eye, I figured he was going to chew my ass for the less-than-stellar work I was cranking out today, but he surprised me when he asked me to come with him back into his office. The man was hard to read. His eyes were darker than mine. He’d had a lifetime to call this city home, and he fought to keep it from burning to the ground and keep the people he loved safe. It had hardened him in a way I never hoped to be. I didn’t want to be stone, unbreakable and cold, but I appreciated those qualities in the man I looked up to more than anyone else.

The older man flicked his fingers in the direction of my face and lifted a black eyebrow. The star tattooed near his eye twitched and I tried not to cringe when he asked, “Why did you lose your last fight?” I was, for all intents and purposes, his protégé. When I lost, when I failed, it was a reflection on him. I never wanted this man to regret giving me a chance to make a better life for myself and provide the means to take care of my mother.

I lifted a hand and fingered the healing bruise. “Guy was better than me, I guess. It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen.”

The Boss opened the small fridge he had tucked away in a corner and offered me a bottle of water. “It doesn’t happen. Because no one is better than you, kid. Not even me.”

I cranked the lid off the bottle and swallowed down the cool liquid. I told myself not to blush at the praise. “You’re the best.”

The Boss snorted and propped a hip on his desk. “I was, but then you came along. I wouldn’t waste my time on anyone who wasn’t the best. Not when it comes to cars, and not when it comes to a fight. You wanna know what I think?”

I did, but I also kind of already knew what he was going to say. The man didn’t pull any punches and his honesty was brutal most days.

“You’ve got too much going on, kid. All those distractions and responsibilities are going to get you killed if you aren’t careful. This place, your mom, the fights, and on top of all of that, there’s the pretty redhead you brought into my shop. You’re drowning.”

I crushed the empty water bottle in my hand and jerked my eyes away from his penetrating dark gaze. “I’ve got it all under control.”

It was the first time I’d ever lied to him and I felt like shit the minute the words left my mouth.

He sighed, reached out, and clapped a strong, rough hand on my shoulder. “We never have control of anything in this city. You’re smart enough to realize the truth of that. I think you’re also smart enough to recognize when someone comes along who needs you more than the things you already decided were the most important things in your life. If you get hurt because you’re spread so goddamn thin, who’s going to watch out for the people who need you most?”

I bristled at the implication I was failing in any way. “This was a one off. You know I win more than I lose.”

“All it takes is one bad fight, kid, and then it’s not only you who ends up losing.” He sounded like he knew that first hand. I hated that he was speaking from experience. I tended to think of him as indestructible. I didn’t like the reminder he was a fallible human just like me.

I sighed and rubbed a hand across the back of my neck. “I don’t really have a place where I can cut ties right now. Everything I’m mixed up with is kind of impossible to walk away from.”

The Boss nodded and crossed his arms over his massive chest. “I remember that hamster wheel. Running and running but the view never changing. Which is the only reason I’m about to put this offer on the table.” He tilted his chin up and narrowed his eyes at me. “Our mutual friend was approached by some rich assholes with too much money and a thirst for blood. They want him to set up a private fight. One of their guys against one of ours. It’s a private event, closed to the usual scavengers. It’s going to be a blood sport for bored billionaires. The payout if you win would be enough to keep your mom comfortable in that facility for the next couple of years. You could finish school, get a legit job working on cars, and stop running yourself into the ground.” He shrugged. “You know how things work. If you agree, you go in on your own. No rules. No regulations. No escape if it goes wrong, and the bastard in charge still takes a cut.”