Page 35 of Unlucky You

The ref appeared out of nowhere, grabbed my wrist, and hoisted my arm in the air. “Ladies and gentleman, we have a first-round knockout.”

My eyes found Tali who shook his head wearing a smug grin before he yelled, “That’s what the fuck I’m talking about.”

And then I noticed who was next to him. Her eyes locked with mine and I took in the concerned look on her face. She was here but didn’t like what she just witnessed. My gaze narrowed, and so did hers, but then a smile tugged at her lips and she slowly raised her left brow. This fucking woman. That subtle act was her way of saying, fuck my warning she came anyway. And as much as I wanted to act like I didn’t care, I liked that she fucking did.

TEN

Saniya.

This place was an oxymoron. Men and women dressed in expensive clothes, holding crystal tumblers and champagne flutes of high-end liquor surrounding a boxing ring coated in blood where men brutally beat on each other. I didn’t want to be here, but no matter how many times I attempted to talk myself out of showing up, here I was.

The experience was a complete contrast to the last time. Maybe it was because my focus was on capturing the experience through my lens whereas this time my attention was solely focused on one man.

Grand was unlike any man I had ever experienced and even though they always turned out to be a complete waste of mytime outside of the dick they delivered, I had experienced some incredibly fine men.

Watching him throwing punches with an arrogance and ease while his cut tattooed muscles glistened and rippled was dangerously close to orgasmic. Blood hammered in my ears, my nipples were erect and sensitive, pushing against my T-shirt, and pulses of heat raced through my body, spreading warmth through every inch of me.

Why the fuck was I turned on and reacting to a man brutally beating another?

The universe had a sense of humor. Because as soon as the thought raced through my mind, Grand’s intense gaze locked on me for all of two seconds before he pulled his lip between his teeth and his fist made contact with his opponent's temple, ending the third and final fight of the evening. The guy went down and lay motionless on the bloody platform.

The first fight ended in a first round knockout, the second lasted until middle of the third, and this one, midway through the second. Unlike the last time I watched him fight, Grand pretended to be engaged. It was almost comical to watch. They hit him because he allowed them to. He hit them to put on a show. Tali was right, Grand could have easily ended all three matches with a knockout. Nothing about the guy made sense.

Before the ref could announce him as the victor, he stalked across the ring, leaned over the ropes, and pointed to Tali. “Leave,now. I’ll meet you outside.”

“Nah, fuck that, I’m?—”

Grand cut him off with a shake of his head and pointed to the backpack Tali was holding. “Go…”

His eyes narrowed and slowly rolled over to me before he added, “And take her with you.”

Neither of us was granted another argument because he turned his broad back and glistening tattoos toward us, crossedthe ring, and dipped through the ropes on the other side. I watched him approach the guy who handed over the black envelope the last time he fought and whoever he was looked pissed.

“You drive?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s go,” Tali barked, yanking me so hard that I stumbled into his side, barely finding my footing before he was dragging me through the warehouse.

“Where are we going?” I jerked away and he glared at me over his shoulder. The crowd was thick. It felt like the bodies multiplied but I accredited that to the people who were sitting moments ago now standing and moving around the ring.

“You came for my cousin, right?”

I frowned but a scowl filled his face. “Don’t waste my time with that lie you’re about to tell. You’re here to see him but that isn’t happening in here. Bring your ass or either go the fuck home. But if you’re not with me when he gets to his car, you won’t get another chance.”

“What makes you think I want a chance…”

He smirked and shook his head, stepping so close his body brushed mine when he dropped his chin. Amusement flickered in his eyes when he spoke. “He told you not to come but you’re here. You want a chance, Saniya. In fact, you want more than a chance. Now come the fuck on so you can have it.”

When he turned to walk away, I almost did the same and headed in the opposite direction, but he had already called me on my shit so there was no point in being prideful. I began weaving through bodies and followed the same path he traveled, picking up the pace until I was right beside him. We pushed through a metal door in the corner, entered into a hallway, and exited through another door that led us outside. The night air was cool, so I grabbed my jacket and tugged it closer to my chest,dipping my head while we walked through the parking lot. We were in the back of the building and there were only a handful of cars. He moved to a Jeep, hit the locks, and pointed to the passenger side. “Get in.”

Once inside, I kept watching the door we had just come out of, expecting to see Grand. After about ten minutes, I felt uneasy.

“Why did he want you to leave? Don’t you usually wait on him?”

“Yeah I do,” was all he said but he didn’t bother looking at me. He was watching that same door.

“Tali, why did you rush me out of there?”

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