Page 88 of Renascence

At this point, I’m not interested in the fight.

“Are you okay?” Raven asks when we find our seats. She’s on my right, Ellen on my left.

“Yeah. Just have a lot on my mind.”

“What did Venom do?” She raises a skeptical brow.

“Nothing, I promise.”

“Okay, but if you wanna talk, I’m here.” She squeezes my fingers.

“I appreciate that.”

Thankfully the introduction of the fighters interrupts our conversation.

“Guys, look! It’s him!” Ellen squeals, pointing to a man walking to the cage.

A big, blond, muscled and tattooed chunk of hotness.

“Which one is he?” I ask.

“That’s K.O. Jackson,” Ellen explains. “I wouldn’t get comfortable if I were you. His fights don’t usually last long.”

Sure enough, K.O. knocks out his opponent after playing with him for a few minutes. I can’t believe we drove all this way for that. At least he was hot and we got to see a little man-candy. We hustle out of the venue, meeting up in the parking lot. Gage does a quick head count, and then we start making our way to the van.

That’s when I spot him. I wasn’t sure at first, but a closer look confirms it.

James.

There’s a woman on his arm. A platinum blonde in a pink jumpsuit, looking like a bottle of Pepto-Bismol. She’s not the one he got pregnant. Only God knows what he’s doing now that I’m not in the picture. As if he feels me looking, he turns in my direction, our eyes locking. Subconsciously, I move closer to Venom, grabbing his arm. James quickly drops his gaze, hurrying away.Why am I having this kind of reaction to James?I should be flipping him off and moving along.

“What is it?” Venom stops moving, obviously following my gaze because his body tenses. His arm curls around my shoulder, pulling me to his side. “Come on, Em. Forget him.”

I hang on tightly to Venom, putting one foot before the other. We don’t get far before we have to stop again, a group of men blocking our path. One moves forward to stand before Gage, looking very much like the Italian mobsters you see in movies. Venom steps in front of me, shielding me with his body. Charger, Booker, Motor, and Tek spring into action, taking me, Raven, Ellen, and Chrissy aside. Razor and Einstein flank Gage, Venom, Crow, and Rico, backing them up. Everyone moved so fast, my head is spinning.

“What’s going on?” I ask.

“Just be quiet,” Raven answers in a hushed voice.

“But—”

“A little piece of advice: trust your man. Whatever happens, let him handle the situation. Always.”

At her words, I quiet down, watching everything unfold.

“Well, well. The Reaper himself. What are you doing in these parts?” the man in front asks Gage.

“You may know my name, but you obviously have no fucking clue who I am. You got ten seconds to get the fuck out of my way.”

Uh-oh.

“Oh, I know exactly who you are. Thing is I ain’t scared of you.” He looks to the other men, briefly settling on Venom before returning to Gage.

“Then you’re a stupid motherfucker.”

The men stare each other down for a few seconds before Gage proclaims, “Time’s up.”

“Is there a problem here, fellas?” a deep voice thunders behind us.