Page 14 of The Midnight Delivery

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THE FIGHT WAS OVERbefore it started. Mike called the start of the match, and Dustin immediately pushed Damian and hit him with his right hand as soon as space allowed. The punch staggered Damian, and forced him to cover up, which Dustin seized upon and punched damn near through Damian’s body with his left. The crack of Damian’s rib as Dustin connected resounded through the crowd and dropped Damian to his knees. Dustin moved with purpose, quick and deadly, as he drove blow after blow into Damian.

I had to stop this destruction. “Mike,” I screamed so hard my throat ached. “Stop him! He’s going to kill Damian!”

Mike looked at me, then to Derek on the opposite side and shrugged. Derek’s hands were in his pockets and his eyes were bulging.

“He’s going to kill him!” I repeated, begging Derek to understand what was happening before him.

Derek did a double take, before he nodded his head and threw the white towel every fighter’s representative carried with him, signaling to end the match. It was a safety measure carried over from boxing, in case the fighter was unable, or unwilling to quit themselves. Up to this point, no one died from these fights, but if someone ever did, it could ruin everything by bringing the full weight of the police down on them. Sometimes, the fighters needed to be protected from themselves. Fighters fight, it’s what they do, which is why the smart ones always had someone with them in the crowd to watch over them and make the right decisions. I made the decision to protect both Dustin and Damian, by spurring Derek to action.

Mike moved between Dustin and Damian to separate them, and I was able to see the consequences of my actions. Damian lay on the ground in a pool of his own blood, curled up in a protective ball. His arm was grotesquely bent at an unnatural angle, and he was unconscious. But, he was alive. And as Derek and others scrambled to his side, I looked at my brother. Mike, and a few men from the crowd, formed a human barrier between him and Damian, because he was shuffling back and forth, panting like a caged tiger. He’d won the prize fight, which means we had the money necessary. The only thing left to do was to go find Dirk, and then put an end this entire ordeal.

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THERE WAS A DINER ONthe other side of the park where the winners would convene to receive their cash prize. Dustin and I arrived, and the little silver bell stationed above rang as I pushed through the double glass doors to gain entrance. The diner was closed to the public this late in the night, so the small tables and long counter where people could sit and eat were empty, but still gave me the impression of a bygone era when things in life were simpler. Save for the presence of Dirk, Tony, and three men dressed in jeans and dark shirts, who sat in the middle, the place was the center of peace.

“Well done,” Dirk said, clapping his hands in congratulations. “To the victor go the spoils.”

Tony faux cleared his throat. “Ahem.”

“My mistake,” Dirk mockingly corrected himself, and gave a deep bow to Tony. “To the victor gotheirspoils,” he said with a chuckle.

“Thank you,” Tony responded, a smile covering his face from ear-to-ear.

“I don’t think so,” I interjected.

Dustin was by my side, with his hands in his pockets. He leaned over and whispered in my ear. “Ari? What are you doing?”

“Taking my place at the head of the table,” I declared and stepped forward. “I’ll takemymoney now, Dirk.”

Dirk looked at Tony, who raised up from his seated position and covered the remaining distance between us. The other three men also stood to their feet.

“Oh, so I see youdowant to get ass fucked,” Tony snarled. “Bitch, I see I’m going to have to teach you a lesson about standing between a man and his money.”

Tony snapped his fingers and the three men scrambled into action. One man grabbed me by both arms and held me as he stood behind me, while the other two grabbed Dustin each by an arm, and forced him down to his knees. Dustin struggled against them, but he’d spent too much of his energy demolishing Damian, and had nothing left in the tank.

“Relax,” I called to him over my shoulder. “The grownups are talking.”

Tony inhaled deep and laughed so loud the windows rattled. “You got a set on you, lady. I’m going to enjoy this.”

My nostrils flared, and I glared at him. “So, am I, fucker.”

The silver bell rang again, as twenty men also dressed in jeans and dark shirts entered the diner and flooded the area. Each man carried a gun in either their hand or visibly displayed in their jeans.

“Let me introduce you to my partners. Eric Dean and Axel, better known as The Coup.”

“What?” Tony screamed.

The two guys I’d made eye contact with prior to the start of The Midnight Prize fight stepped forward through the sea of armed men. The shorter one who had nodded to me in the crowd tapped my captor on the shoulder and shooed him away with his hand. “You’ll be letting go of her now,” he commanded.

“Yeah,” I agreed with a smile. “Someoneisabout to get ass fucked.”

My captor released my arms, and I brushed each off with the fingers of my opposite hand. After that, I surveyed the scene. Dirk had been surrounded by about five guys, and Tony had three on either side of him. The bigger man dwarfed my brother, and stood alone, while the rest had surrounded my brother’s captors.

“See, negotiations are kind of my thing,” I said to Tony and entered his space. “A fact you would’ve known if you had taken a moment to speak with me about things, instead of trying to intimidate me. The thing is, Tony, I have to thank you. If you hadn’t backed me into a corner like the one you did when you killed my Uncle, I would have never known what it feels like, truly feels like, to have zero fucks left to give. It’s empowering.”

The shorter man pulled his gun from his waist and fired. The bullet struck Tony in the right leg in a glorious splash of blood flames and dropped him to his knees in agony.

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