Page 6 of King

“You should. No fucker has beat him yet, but you acted like you were taking candy from a baby.”

“That’s because he’s the fucking King.” Danny shouted. I shook my head at him, but it did wonders for my confidence.

Rico laughed as he dipped his hand into his pocket. I kept my gaze on his pocket as he slowly pulled out a wad of rolled up notes. “The punters really must have wanted to see this fight because there were some big gamblers in there tonight,” he counted the money out silently and I counted in my head, note by note, one by one. By the time he’d taken his cut from my winnings I had three grand in my hand. Rico closed my fingers around the money. “Well done, lad. Not many new fighters walk out of here with that amount. I knew I did the right thing, putting The Punisher against you.” His hand lightly tapped my cheek, the good side of my face, otherwise I’d have put him on his arse, still I grit my teeth. “Stick with me kid, I’ll make you rich and the fighter you should be.” I nodded and relished in the feeling of the wad of money in my hand. I loved it and I knew he was right. I knew I’d made the right decision. If I earned this every week, we’d have a house quicker than I could’ve ever imagined.

Now I couldn’t wait to get back and show Phoenix.

I shook Rico’s hand. “I’ll be in touch,” he said and walked out of the room.

“Can you believe that?” I asked as my head shook. I counted out a few notes and handed them to Danny and Ethan.

“We don’t want that.” Ethan said, shoving the money back at me. “We’re your friends, it’s what friends do.”

“And I appreciate you both, so fucking take it. It’s only a couple of hundred, just have it.”

With a slight shake of Ethan’s head, he slipped the notes into his pocket. Danny of course had already pocketed his. I bent down to grab my bag, but Danny snatched it up before I had the chance.

“Come on, let’s get you out of here,” Danny said as he led the way out.

We passed through the corridor and past the big fuckers on the door. The biggest one stopped me. “Saw the fight tonight, you did good, kid.”

“Cheers, mate.” I smiled. Pride ran through my veins.

“Keep that up, you’ll soon have a name for yourself,” he clapped my hands in a handshake and opened the door again. The smell of the cool night air hit me as I left the building, breathing it in, I shivered at the drop in temperature. It was only early spring, but the weather had been unnaturally cool for April and the nights were still chilly. But still, I welcomed it tonight.

Ethan took my keys and opened the car for me, before helping me into the passenger seat. Danny got in his car, and we agreed to meet at Nix’s. As Ethan started the engine, I stretched the seatbelt across my body, holding it away from my sore ribs, and rested my head back against the headrest. I allowed my eyes to close as Ethan drove.

PHOENIX

Headlights lit up the driveway, and desperate for it to be Jacob, I sat up a little straighter to look out of the window from my bed.

I’d been on edge all night. I never did watch Friends. I couldn’t concentrate on what was happening. I felt sick to my stomach knowing he was out there; knowing he might not come home. My hands shook as I fidgeted with anything they could to distract myself. I’d checked my phone for a message or a missed call a thousand times. Every time I’d hoped there would be a text, and there wasn’t, I was disappointed all over again.

I watched as the car turned into the driveway and bolted from the bed towards the stairs. My hand slid along the wall as I took each step as quickly as I possibly could. It was a wonder I didn’t go flying since I wasn’t really concentrating on my feet, just on getting to the bottom. Once on firm ground, I ran through the hallway, pressed hard on the door handle and yanked it open. The cool breeze hit my bare legs as I ran outside, but I didn’t care, I knew Jacob was back. That was all I cared about.

When I saw Danny’s car behind Jacob’s, my steps faltered and waited. “Hey, Nix.” Ethan greeted me as he got out of the car and went to the passenger side. I was nervous. Why would Ethan need to drive Jacob’s car if everything was fine? My heart sped up, it had almost beat out of my chest before I managed to peer around Ethan and saw Jacob sat in the passenger seat. A loud gasp left my lips, and my hand went to my mouth at the sight before me. Danny had jumped out of his Ford Ranger and jogged over to Jacob’s open door to help Ethan with him. They flanked him on each side. I couldn’t look away; my gaze was locked on them. Jacob was holding his side, and oh lord, from what I could see of his face from here, it was a complete mess.

“He told us to bring him here.”

“Of course,” I nodded and smiled at Danny as he walked with him across the drive.

“Hey, gorgeous.” Jacob greeted as they reached me. Tears filled my eyes as I quickly scanned his face in the shadows and slid an arm around his waist.

“Jesus Christ, Jacob.” I cursed. I hated seeing him like this. Was this going to be a normal look for him now? “Let’s get you inside.”

We made our way to the front door as Danny asked if I needed any more help. “Maybe if you can help him inside, is that okay?

“I don’t need help. I’m just a little beat up, I’m fine.” Jacob complained.

“Right, come on, mate. Don’t moan, I’m helping you in. Then I’ll leave you alone.”

I took my arm from around him and left him to Danny and Ethan. They went into the house as I followed closely behind. Luckily, Dad had gone to work already; he worked nights as a security guard, and my sister, hopefully she’d already be asleep. Which would just leave Mum for me to handle. I turned around to Ethan with a smile, “Thanks for driving him home, Ethan.”

“Hey, you're welcome.”

“See ya later, mate. Call me tomorrow.” Danny called out and started moving towards the door. Jacob lifted his hand up slightly as he rested his head back against the cushion on the settee and closed his eyes.

I saw the guys out and pulled the door behind me to stand on the doorstep. Ethan folded his arms across his chest and smiled. “He did well, you know.”

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