Page 8 of The Fight For Survival

Don't delude yourself, Bray.

As we're walking towards Mia, Damon whistles under his breath, "Kane didn't tell me he left such a sweet piece of ass behi-" I have his jacket clutched in my grip before he can even finish. "You don't fucking talk about her like that, you hear?" I growl in his face. His hazel eyes widen, putting his hands up in surrender. "Sorry, man, I meant no disrespect. I just meant… look at her, she's a beauty," I glance over, and my eyes connect with her puzzled ones. She was probably wondering why I'd gone psycho on the man.

Those damn butterflies in my belly are wreaking havoc again as I stare. She looks down to the floor, toeing the pavement in front of her. Even in the dim light, I see the blush reach her cheeks. "Yeah," I inhale. "She sure is."

I let him go, smoothing out his jacket while he looks at me with wariness. I can understand. I'm taller than him, broader, and my beard can sometimes make me look feral.

"Come on," I go to walk to the car when I hear a voice behind us.

"Hey Bray, the bosses arepissed,man," the club manager says. Face pale from probably getting shit from them. The bosses hardly ever show their faces at the fights, wanting to stay behind the scenes, reaping the money while keeping their names clean. I've never met them, but I heard they are scary as fuck when something doesn't go their way.

"You talk to them, or are they here? I skim my surroundings, expecting to be attacked any second. "They saw everything through the cameras and want to know why you're not fighting," he's breathless as he wipes his mouth with a shaky hand.

"Something came up, and we couldn't," I tell him, crossing my arms over my broad chest. Relaxing now that I know they are not physically here.

"They said you have one more chance tomorrow night. If you fuck it up, you don't want to know what they'll do," he whispers, eyes wide in fear. His fear spikes my own.

I like what I do. The money is good, I get to let myself go and fight without rules, and I'm good at it. The last thing I want to do is piss the bosses off. When I started working at Noxious, it was for a set purpose. I stayed when I didn't find the answers I was looking for. "Okay," nodding my head, "I'll let Kane know, and we'll be here." Looking at Damon, I wave my hand, "let's go."

Meeting Mia by the car, I pull her into me. She wraps her arms around my back, laying her head on my chest. I hear a sniffle. "Shhh, it's going to be okay," I tell her, rubbing small calming circles on her back. Her scent, a subtle hint of vanilla, the rest just her, driving me to near madness.

Please don't get a hard-on.

"You want me to take you home?"

"Please," she whispers sadly.

"Of course. Is it okay if Damon tags along? I think Cade is going to Kane and Damon's apartment to talk and wants some privacy."

She pulls away, looking behind her to see Damon watching us with curiosity. He gives her a small wave, and she gives him a polite smile in return. "Oh yeah, I guess so," she responds shyly.

I unlock my car and open the front passenger side door for her. "Oh no, it's fine. I can sit in the back. Damon is taller." I go to protest, but she's already putting herself in the backseat. Damon slides past, patting me on the back as he gets in the car, "aw, such a gentleman, thank you," he snickers as I hold the door open. What a smug little fucker this man is. I slam the door harder than I probably should have and walk around to my side.

The drive is silent for about ten minutes until Damon opens his big mouth. "So, what are you, Kane's ex or something?" I give him a quick side glare, a warning in my stare, which gets ignored because he's turned in his seat, peering at Mia. "Or something," she mutters.

Looking in my rearview mirror, I see her wiping away a tear that escaped. I wish I had my hands free to wipe her tears away for her. I want to tell her that piece of shit isn't worth her sadness, but I don't think that would help. To prevent Damon from opening his big mouth and making anything worse, I turn on the radio, increasing the volume to mask Mia's whimpers.

Pulling up to Mia's drive, I shut off the car. "What do you need, sweetheart?" I ask, turning in my seat. Her lips turn up with the hint of a smile, and I hope it's because she likes my pet name for her. "I think I want to get drunk," taking off her seatbelt, she exits the car.

Damon turns to me, undoing his belt. "She your girl? I thought I saw that Cade guy holding her earlier, so…" he looks at me with a teasing smirk. "If you don't wipe that fucking look off your annoying face, I'm going to break it," I grumble, ignoring his question. "And it's Daniel to you. Not Cade," I exit the car and walk up to Mia's door. She unlocks it, holding it open for us invitingly.

As she slips her shoes off and heads towards the kitchen, I turn to Damon.

"Don't mention Kane again tonight, you hear me?"

"Sure, whatever, man. A bad story there, I'm guessing," he states while looking around the open plan hallway and living room.

I laugh humorlessly, "yeah, you could say that."

Of all the people I could have been fighting tonight, Kane was the last person I would have ever thought it would be. I've never met the guy, but I've heard the story. He broke Cade and Mia's hearts, and I don't think I could ever like the man for that reason.

Damon

LookingaroundDanielandMia's home, I envy the man. I take in the hallway. Family photos are neatly scattered on the main wall to the right. Pictures of Daniel and Mia with three older-looking people. Parents perhaps?

My eyes travel back to the image of Mia as if they have a mind of their own. She has her arm around Daniel's waist with her pretty face towards the camera, and the smile on her face steals my breath from my lungs. She is beautiful. Her startling green eyes almost look unnatural. It's hard to believe someone can have eyes that green. Her long deep red hair fans her slim face. Her smile wants to make me smile as if it's just for me.

Damn, it's a fucking photo, D. Calm yourself.