All of Me by Tiffany Patterson

Chapter 21

Gabe

“Do you need to answer that?” Lena asked, glancing at my cell phone on the table.

It was three days after our return from New York, and we’d gone out for a late-night dinner. Lena had spent much of her day writing music, and I’d put in extra hours at the office. I reviewed each of Eli’s previous fights along with the exhibition in New York. Those two losses didn’t sit well with me.

I’d called him to schedule a meeting with him and Preston the next day. He was off training for the next two weeks after the exhibition, but he needed to speak with us about those losses. From watching them, it seemed like he had intentionally lost them. To the naked eye, it wasn’t obvious, but I had been fighting a long time. I was pissed it took me so long to see it.

“They’ll call back,” I said, pushing the phone aside.

Lena’s frown deepened. “If you’re avoiding taking the call because of me, don’t.”

I tilted my head to the side. “What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked while the phone stopped ringing.

“Exactly what I said.” She shrugged. “If there’s someone else who’s trying to get your attention, please don’t let me keep them from you.”

I went to respond, but my phone’s buzzing sounded again. “The fuck,” I grunted. “Hello?”

“Wolf? Shit, it’s me. Jake.”

I tried to pinpoint the voice since this number wasn’t in my phone. “Jake Coven?”

“Yeah.” Rick was a former MMA fighter who’d come up through the ranks in the same league as I had. He’d retired early, though, due to a significant injury. He lived in the Dallas area and managed a few gyms up there.

“You signed Gatlin, right?”

“This isn’t a good time to talk business,” I said sternly, wondering why the hell he was calling me so late to talk about Eli.

“Yeah, I figured, but wanted to let you know, your guy’s about to enter the ring of this underground fight. There’re ten Gs on the line.”

“What the hell?” I clenched the phone tightly in my hands, my mind racing, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. “Where are you?”

Jake ran down the address of where he was. I barely heard him explain that he’d gotten involved in an underground group. All I knew was that Eli was down there about to blow up his entire fucking career before it even got started.

“Is everything okay?” Lena asked with concerned eyes.

I pinched my lips to prevent the slew of curses that fought to break free. The last thing I wanted to do was scare her.

“I’m sorry, Cin. We’ve got to cut tonight short.” We’d already finished dinner but had plans to go to a late movie. I waved the waiter over, handing him my credit card.

Rick sent the fight's location to my phone, and I saw it was only ten minutes away from where we were.

“What’s wrong?” Lena asked, wrapping her hand around my arm.

At that moment, I felt the urge to tell her all of my secrets, big and small.

“Eli. He’s about to fuck up his career doing something stupid.”

“And you’re going to stop him?” she asked, blinking.

“I’m going to try. But I need to get you home first.” Sighing, I ran my hand through my hair. “I might be too late,” I mumbled.

My place was a half an hour drive from our location. I’d have to drop her off and then double back to get Eli.

I explained the situation to Lena as I escorted us out of the restaurant and to my car.

“Take me with you,” Lena said.

I shook my head. “Hell no.” I didn’t want her around any of that bullshit. I knew the types of guys who hung around underground fights. Some were regular guys who fought to live out a glorified fascination with the sport. Others were blackhearted criminals.

“You need to help your fighter. I can see the concern in your eyes. Let’s go,” Lena insisted.

“You’re going to remain in the car,” I said before I reversed my car and started for the location of the fight.

Thanks to it being close to ten at night, few cars were on the road, and a typical ten-minute trip took me around five.

We pulled into the parking lot, where a row of vehicles sat. Everything from high-end Benzs to nearly broken-down pickup trucks was there. From the outside, the three-story brick building appeared empty, save for the flickering light coming from somewhere on the first floor.

“I told you to stay in the car,” I snapped at Lena as she opened her door once I turned the car off.

“Yeah, right,” she scoffed. “And sit out here twiddling my thumbs while a possible homicidal serial killer makes his move?” She glanced around the parking lot and shook her head. “Don’t think so.”

I snorted. While the parking lot was full of cars, there weren’t any people around. It was dark due to the lack of streetlights.

I took Lena’s hand into mine and pulled her in close to me. “You stick close to me.”

“I don’t think I have a choice with this vice hold you have on my hand.” She smirked.

I suppressed the urge to kiss that smile right off of her face. We headed toward the back door of the building. I knocked against the iron door twice, paused, and then knocked once.

The door opened an inch. “Code word,” a gruff voice demanded from behind the door.

“Serpent,” I said.

The door slammed in my face. A second later, it opened wide, making room for Lena and me to enter.

“She’s cleared to be here?” the huge guy asked as he stood from his stool and stared down at Lena.

“She’s not going anywhere, and you better think twice about touching her.” I glared at him, daring him to even think about saying shit to Lena.

His nostrils flared, but he finally sat down.

“Downstairs,” he said.

“Come on,” I said to Lena, wrapping my arm around her waist, ushering her forward.

We moved through the entryway to a door that read stairs. As soon as I pushed the door open, I could hear the cheers of the fights’ onlookers.

“What’s that?” Lena whispered.

“Shit,” I grunted. “That’s a fight.” I hoped Eli wasn’t one of the fighters in the ring.

We reached the bottom level to a room of men cheering around a center of lights overhead. The entire floor was concrete with exposed metal pipes along the walls. There was a clearing in the room, where a set of overhead lights hung, creating a stage for the fight.

“Move,” I grunted as I pushed through some of the onlookers, firmly holding Lena’s hand in mine, ensuring she didn’t get lost in this melee.

“Dammit.” I came to the front of the crowd to find Eli and another guy circling one another.

“Isn’t that Eli?” Lena asked, standing beside me.

“Yeah.” I nodded.

“Are you going to stop him?” she gasped. “Oh my God,” she exclaimed when Eli landed a nasty kick to the ribs of the guy.

I fought hard to keep a lid on my anger. There were at least a hundred or so onlookers cheering on the fight. At the corners of the room, I noticed a few guys in leather jackets with blank expressions on their faces.

I snorted. Who the fuck wore leather jackets in Texas in the middle of summer? They were meant to stick out.

“Not yet,” I told Lena. I watched Eli as he took his opponent to the ground. He rolled him, and the crowd cheered around us.

“Why is he fighting down here?” Lena asked while grimacing when Eli elbowed the guy’s side.

I didn’t respond as I had my full attention on Eli. If he were smart, he’d end this fight as quickly as possible. But if he had any fucking brains at all, his stupid ass wouldn’t have been there in the first place.

Not even a breath later, Eli got the guy in a rear-naked chokehold from the ground, forcing him to tap out.

Again, members of the crowd clapped and hollered. A few of them slapped money to the palms of guys with grins on their faces.

As soon as Eli stood up, I rushed over to him, my right hand holding onto Lena.

“What the fuck are you doing?” I demanded, pushing him out of the circle.

“The hell?” he asked, looking disoriented.

I wasn’t in the mood for him to play catch up. “Do you know what this shit could do to you?” I pushed at his chest again. “You just got signed.”

“Get your hands off of me,” he insisted, pushing at air since he missed my hand.

“Why the fuck are you down here?”

Eli didn’t get a chance to answer my question when a short, Joe Pesci looking motherfucker approached us.

“That was great, Eli,” he said, punching Eli’s shoulder. “Now, you do it again, and you’ll come out the big winner for the night.”

“What the hell do you mean again?” I asked, breaking up the lovefest.

The guy turned to me, and his eyes widened. “Grey Wolf?”

Fuck.

This guy recognized me, but I didn’t know shit about him. Not an enviable position.

“We’re leaving,” I said, grabbing Eli with my free hand and pulling him toward the exit.

“Whoa, whoa,” Joe Pesci wannabe said. “Leaving? This guy owes me another fight.”

“Like hell he does,” I snapped.

“I can’t leave,” Eli protested.

I didn’t listen to either one of them. “We’re getting the fuck out of here.” I pushed Eli forward, and holding Lena tightly to my side, I started for the door.

“Sorry. We can’t let you do that,” Joe Pesci Impersonator said, getting in my way.

I tensed with the desire to stomp this little shit into the concrete flooring. “Move.”

He shook his head. “Your guy owes me another fight.”

“He’s right,” Eli said. “And I didn’t get paid yet.”

“You won’t get paid if you walk out that door,” Pesci said, stopping firmly in front of us. Out of nowhere, two of the guys I spotted earlier approached. One pushed the side of his jacket back to reveal the butt of his gun in his waistband.

“Matter of fact, if you don’t fight in the next fight, you won’t make it out of the door at all.”

My stomach rumbled, and I gritted my teeth. What the hell had Eli gotten himself involved in?

“Any of you,” Pesci said, eyeing me before his gaze moved over to Lena, who remained silent.

I tugged her hand, pulling her behind me.

“We’re leaving,” I said firmly.

He shook his head. “Not until I get what your guy promised.”

I glared at Eli. “What did he promise?”

“Two fights or twenty Gs.”

I gritted my teeth.

“He’s only fought once tonight. He owes me another fight.” The threat in his tone was apparent.

My heart pounded. I couldn’t let Eli fight again, but I had half a mind to kick his ass myself.

“I need that money,” Eli said.

“Shut the fuck up!” I ordered through clenched teeth.

This greased up Joe Pesci wasn’t about to let us out of that basement without a fight and probably a couple of bullets.

“Ten thousand per fight is the bank?” I asked.

Pesci shook his head. “Nope. You can’t pay his way out of this one.” He pointed to the crowd. “They paid money to see a fight.”

I glanced back at the crowd and the dickhead in front of me. I glared at Eli. “Fine.”

Eli stepped forward, but I held my hand across his chest, keeping him from heading toward the makeshift ring.

“You want a fight. You’ll get one.” I released Lena’s hand and started unbuttoning my shirt, revealing the tank I wore underneath.

“What are you doing?” Lena asked.

“Hey, sweetheart, you look familiar,” Pesci said.

“You don’t fucking know her,” I growled.

His eyebrows lifted, and he held up his hands. “Touchy.”

“I’m taking his place,” I told him and pulled off my tank.

“No way,” Eli demanded.

“I swear if I hear one more word out of your mouth, I’m going to stomp a second hole in your face.” I poked him in the chest with my finger. “Your dumbass shouldn’t even be here.

“Are we doing this or what?” I asked Pesci.

He looked between Eli and me and shrugged. “Whatever. Let’s go.”

“Gabriel, you can’t be serious,” Lena said, fear lacing her voice.

I hated hearing that fear but knew this was the best option. I couldn’t let Eli get into another fight and risk his career. But someone needed to take his place. I was about done with my pro career as a fighter. I’d made that decision recently. Most important, I wouldn’t take any money for this fight.

It was a risk, but right then, I was willing to take it.

“It’ll be over quick,” I assured Lena, pulling her into me to kiss her forehead.

I turned to Eli and threw my shirt at him. He caught it right before it smacked him in the face.

“You watch her. If any motherfucker in here touches a hair on her head, I’m taking his head, and yours clean off your shoulders. You got it?” I glared at him, waiting for an answer.

He slowly nodded.

“Stay with him,” I told Lena.

I moved to the center of the crowd and came face-to-face with my competition.

“Meet Cyclops,” Pesci said as he stood between us. “You’re all in for a treat tonight,” he said to the crowd. “Looks like Gabriel Grey Wolf Townsend decided to join us tonight.”

The place went up in thunderous applause. I hated everything about this.

Within a minute of me stepping into the ring, Pesci leapt out of the way, a bell sounded from somewhere, and Cyclops came at me.

I sidestepped a front kick he threw my way. We circled one another, arms raised, sizing each other up. I noticed the way he dropped his guard every time he moved in for a punch.

When I saw my first opening, I took it, popping him right in the nose with a jab when he dropped his guard again. His head flinched backward, and I took the opportunity to deliver a right hook to his side body.

The room went up in cheers again. I wanted to peer out into the crowd to make sure Lena was all right, but I needed to stay focused.

My opponent dove in, in an attempted takedown. I brought my elbow down onto the middle of his back. It wasn’t enough to do any severe damage, but the hold he had on me loosened. Breaking free, I wrapped my leg around his body in a move that forced us both to the ground.

I ended up behind him, placing him in a chokehold, similar to how Eli had won his fight minutes earlier.

I counted in my head until I felt that telltale tap on my forearm. My arms fell away from him as I released the hold and pushed his body off of mine.

“That was over before it even began,” Pesci wannabe said. “Let’s give it up for Grey Wolf.” Pesci moved to the center of the ring and tried to hold my hand over my head.

“We’re leaving,” I said through clenched teeth.

He nodded.

I pivoted, ignoring the onlookers and shaking off a few who patted my shoulder in congratulations.

After snatching my shirt from Eli, I threw it on, not bothering to rebutton it. I grabbed Eli by one arm and took Lena’s hand, and led the three of us out of that basement, up the stairs, and to the door.

“I didn’t get my money,” Eli shouted before we passed the guard, pulling his arm away from me.

I saw red and was half an inch away from swinging on him.

If it weren’t for Lena’s body heat next to me, I would’ve completely lost my temper.

“You mean, you’re welcome, don’t you?” I seethed.

“Welcome? For what? I need to go back and get my damn money.”

“You need to get your fucking ass back in your car and go home before I beat the living shit out of you,” I yelled.

“He owes me,” Eli insisted.

“Owes you for what? For putting your damn career on the line?” I pushed him right past the guard at the door and into the parking lot. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“You just cost me twenty Gs!” he yelled.

“You cost your dumbass possibly millions by fighting in one of these things.” I couldn’t understand why someone with as much talent as he had couldn’t figure out how not to screw it all up.

“And you’re putting my fucking name on the line,” I seethed, getting in his face.

“It’s my money,” Eli countered.

“Gabe, calm down,” Lena said when I advanced on Eli, ready to acquaint his jaw with my fist. I was about at the end of my patience with him.

“You’re going to have to settle up with him later,” I said. “Take your ass home.” I pushed him toward the row of cars

Eli paced back and forth, looking as if he wanted to run right through me to get back into that dingy basement.

“This is some bullshit.” He tossed his hands in the air and headed for his Thunderbird.

I wanted to follow him and demand he explain this stupid shit, but I needed to get Lena home. And I didn’t trust myself not to haul off and whoop his ass for putting her life in danger.

“I shouldn’t have brought you here,” I said, finally turning to Lena once Eli pulled out of the parking lot.

She looked at me with a sparkle in her eyes. “Why?”

“I should’ve never put you in danger like that.” I moved closer and settled my hands on her hips, pulling her to me.

She lifted onto her tiptoes. “It was kind of fun.”

“Fun?” I pulled back, staring down at her.

She nodded. “Yeah. I got to see the Grey Wolf live in action. It’s a shame that it ended so quickly. And really a shame you still had this on.” She traced her fingertips along the sleeves of my exposed tank top. “Next time, take both shirts off, Wolf.”

I chuckled. “That’s enough action for tonight.”