Page 70 of Bishop

Bishop

“You ready for this?” German asked me, as he finished taping my hands for the fight.

I grinned with genuine excitement. “I was ready for this match before going to prison. Tonight, I'm fucking chomping at the bit for it!”

Reaper returned my dark smile. “I’m sure you are, Brother. Just do me a favor and don't kill the pig they stick in the ring with you. We don't need the death of law enforcement on our hands tonight. At least, not on the record.”

"Roger that,” I returned, as Hawk handed me my mouthguard.

“So you don't ruin that pretty smile of yours. Your sister will kill me if anything happens to you, man. And I can’t have my woman crying. Especially as good as she looks tonight.”

I nodded and inserted the proffered mouthpiece. I certainly didn't want to fuck up my teeth, either. I happened to like my smile, and I was guessing Evie did too.

The thought of Evie caused my gut to tighten abruptly. My girl would be watching me tonight, and I wanted to make my woman, along with my Club, proud. Especially after she'd dressed up so prettily for me. Damn, that outfit made me hard. Even now, about to step into the ring, I could feel myself stiffening. If I didn’t get myself in check, I’d have to take a quick ice bath to dampen my excitement before the match.

What turned me on most of all was knowing Evie had dressed up for me. She wasn't the kind of girl to wear revealing clothes. The fact she’d stepped out of her comfort zone tonight to cheer me and my Club on, turned me into fucking stone.

A man with a walkie-talkie popped into the dressing room then. "We’re almost ready for you, Mr. Wilmont. Just give us five more minutes and then you can exit out the back door of the locker room that leads to the front lobby. From there, you can enter the hall from the rear and walk down the red carpet.”

Reaper smacked my back hard. “We’d better go take our seats then. I’ll see you out there, killer.”

My Brothers all gave me fist bumps before I waited for everyone to file out of the room. Once alone, I walked over to the sink and splashed cold water on my face. After doing some light stretches, I put up my hood and strode out of the locker room. When the lights dimmed, I knew it was showtime. Stepping onto the red carpet as the announcer called my name, I raised my hands in a traditional boxer stance and began to walk down the red carpet.

* * *

Evie

I was actually enjoying myself as each group of men took the stage. So far I’d seen four fights. Though they weren’t exactly tame, I realized they weren’t as terrifying as I’d imagined, either. Because it was for charity, and not some professional event, the men were generally good about following the rules and taking it easy on one another.

The fifth fight was different. The fifth fight would be between Matty and some cop named Chris Rogers. I’d heard some guys in the crowd talking about Rogers when the girls and I had gone to refill our drinks, and it hadn’t exactly put my mind at ease.

It seemed like Matty and Chris both had a background in MMA and were fairly evenly matched. Though I knew it wasn’t particularly charitable of me, I found myself wishing that Matty had the obvious advantage. I had all the faith in the world in my man. I simply liked the idea of an easy match more than a hard-fought one.

When the lights dimmed, I knew the event was about to begin. That’s when they announced last year’s champion, Chris Rogers, to the arena. The man came down the red carpet, dressed in blue and white shorts that had his district number, seven, printed across the waistband.

Chris was about five-eleven, muscular, and had an air of confidence about himself that let the audience know he believed he was going to win this match. As he strutted down the walkway, the Devil’s Riders booed and shouted unintelligible taunts at the man. He cooly ignored them all as his side cheered him loudly on.

After Chris got into the ring, the announcer introduced Matty. The group of men around me erupted into applause and accolades as their Brother confidently strode down the red carpet. This time it was the cops and firefighters who did the trash-talking. And, to my surprise, they were every bit as good at it as the bikers had been before them.

The minute I saw him, I felt a calm descend over me. It was at that moment, I knew everything was going to be okay. As Matty drew closer to where I was standing, he suddenly stopped, pulled me into his arms, and gave me the most soul-searing, intimate kiss anyone can legally receive in public. In the course of that kiss, my man lifted me off my feet and into his arms. By the time he set me back down, I could barely remember my name or how to breathe properly.

This passionate display set the entire crowd into a frenzied uproar. When I managed to stumble back to my seat, Amelia and Angel were smiling back at me. With cheeks flaming from the very public display, I tried to get the butterflies in my chest back in check.

Matty took the stage like he owned it. Climbing under the ropes, he did a lap, arms held high. When he passed Chris, he gave him a hard stare, letting the man know with a single look that he didn’t stand a chance against this particular opponent.

If my kiss hadn’t triggered the crowd, that one look certainly had. They stomped their feet, hooted, and shouted all manner of depravities. Even the cops’ side of the arena was getting into it. I saw many raised middle fingers and heard so many ribald comments being tossed back and forth that my ears were practically flaming from the mutual insults being exchanged.

Both men took their places and shrugged off their hoods. Of course, I couldn’t take my eyes off Matty. Could anyone blame me? His body was a freaking work of art. We locked eyes as he turned around so I could see his newest artwork inked on his back. To my utter shock, it was my name tattooed straight across his shoulders in bold, capital letters.

“Holy shit!” Amelia uttered beside me, busting out into a full belly laugh. “My brother doesn’t do anything halfway!”

Holy shit was right. I couldn’t believe it. My man had tattooed my name across his entire back! I guess he wanted to prove to me that this wasn’t just a hit-and-run relationship like I kept worrying it was. That he was in it for the long run, and he wanted to prove it to me in a way that only a biker could. Well, mission accomplished. I believed him one-hundred and ten percent now.

I wanted to cry ugly tears of joy, rush the stage, and jump into my man’s arms. But I somehow restrained myself. However, after the fight, I was going to climb that man like he was a goddamned tree for his beautiful, extraordinary gesture!

When Matty turned back around to face me, I knew he was feeling the same powerful emotions that I was. The referee then repeated the rules of the exhibition as he had for the previous two fights, which meant Matty had to shift his focus back to the ring. The two fighters waited for the rules to be laid out before the buzzer was sounded for the match to begin.

As loud as the crowd was, I could barely hear them over the beating of my heart. The men collided, immediately locking up in some gladiator-like embrace. Chris pulled away first. He hustled back, adjusting his approach when he realized he couldn’t overwhelm his opponent with sheer strength alone.

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