Page 42 of Of Pranks and Passion

Coach tipped his head towards the fight already underway. I hadn’t been brave enough to look before.

“He’s in the middle of a fight. Come on. You can sit down over here and wait for him.” He led me over to some chairs, but I couldn’t settle long enough to sit. It felt like all eyes were on me, even though logically I knew no one was paying attention to me. They were focused on the fight.

Angel hugged my shoulders, rubbing my arms rough enough to warm me up without hurting me. I was still shaking.

“Just watch the fight. I always thought Phantom was art in motion when he was fighting. He doesn’t love easily, but he absolutely loves being in that ring.”

I could see what he meant. Easton was covered in sweat, had several bruises already along his torso, and blood was smeared along his chest, but he was smiling. The only other time I saw him look like that was when we were having sex. Half feral but fully overjoyed to be there. He dipped and dodged flying fists, cackling if his opponent actually got a hit in before coming back at him tenfold. I got the feeling he was toying with the guy because there were at least a dozen times where Easton could’ve gotten in a hit that he ignored.

Focusing on him helped a little. He was always good at distracting me. I felt some of the adrenaline settle. I still wanted him, like an ache in my chest, but I was okay waiting as long as I could see him.

His opponent got in another hit, and Easton’s head snapped to the side. The look that overtook his face was malicious elation. He kicked out, sending the guy to his knees, and it looked like he was going to rain hell, but his eyes flicked over the crowd, almost like a habit, and when they landed on me, he froze.

It gave his opponent a chance to get to his feet, and I gasped when the guy tackled him to the ground. Easton flipped them in the last minute, slammed his elbow into the guy’s face, and knocked him out cold. It was that simple. He didn’t need to drag it out.

The announcer shouted Easton’s win loudly over the din in the warehouse, calling him Phantom just like his friends did. The only one who called him Easton was me. I wondered if that was a bad thing, but he never seemed to mind.

Ignoring the chaos, he jumped over the ropes that kept the crowd from the makeshift ring. It wasn’t a real one. I was pretty sure fighting like this was illegal, but I didn’t really care. Every inch of me wanted to be in Easton’s arms, and as he prowled through the crowd straight for me, I vibrated with the need to run to him.

“What the fuck happened?” he demanded.

I didn’t answer outside of throwing myself at him. I didn’t care if he was sweaty and gross. So was I. And I needed him.

His arms settled around my shoulders, and he didn’t push me away. I knew he wasn’t a fan of people’s emotions, but he kept me cuddled against him while he demanded the story from his friends.

“What. The Fuck. Happened?”

“He didn’t give us many details, but I’m assuming he was attacked,” Angel answered. “He called me crying thirty minutes ago, and when I said I’d pick him up, he told me it wasn’t safe. He wouldn’t let me go get him until I told him Coach was coming with me. And he kept looking around when we went out to thecar, like he was waiting for someone to jump out and get him.” He sighed. “I know you didn't want him here, but he only wanted you.”

Easton tried to pull away to look at me, but I refused to be moved. They didn’t come near me when he was around. I was safe as long as I was with him.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

EASTON

I triedto pull away so I could get more of the story from Gary, but he’d latched on like a barnacle and refused to let go. I couldn’t do anything with him right now. With an exasperated sigh, I relented. “Alright, Gary. Up. I’ll carry you.”

This wasn’t a safe place. There was a reason I never brought Gary to watch me fight, no matter how many times he asked. I knew he was curious, and I wouldn’t mind showing him a safer version of what I enjoyed, like a friendly match with Coach, but I didn’t like him here. He was innocent, and people were looking at him like a piece of meat.

Since I wasn’t asking him to let go, he did as I asked, shifting his grip to my neck instead so I could pick him up. He wrapped his legs around my hips so tightly it made me grunt. On a normal day, I’d make a sexy comment to get him to smile, but now was not the time. The little I saw of him, he looked like he got the shit kicked out of him, and there was blood on his face. He needed to see a doctor.

Coach stuffed my earnings into my bag and led the way out of the warehouse. I normally liked to do at least two fights, but Iwasn’t obligated. And no one said shit when I walked out. They’d end up on the floor if they did. I could fight just fine, even with a Gary barnacle attached to me.

I went to Coach’s car and tried to put Gary in the front seat, but he tightened his grip and let out a whimper that was actually kind of heartbreaking.

“Yeah, he wouldn’t let go of me either when we put him in my car. I think he’s too scared to sit alone,” Angel said.

That irritated me, but I couldn’t begrudge Gary some comfort while making his way to me. Angel said he only wanted me. That felt pretty good. And I knew he and Angel were only friends. Didn’t stop me from being a possessive asshole, but right now I could put it aside for Gary.

“Why don’t we split up?” Coach suggested. “Angel can sit with Gary and–”

“No…” It was the first word out of Gary’s mouth since he showed up, and it was half a sob. He didn’t want to let go. I tightened my grip around him with a frown. We weren’t anything serious, just a fake couple until the rumor blew over, but he didn’t seem to care. And something about him needing me made my chest feel tight. It was weird.

“I don’t feel comfortable letting Angel drive home alone, Gary,” Coach wheedled. “And he drives like a bat out of hell. He’d only scare you more.”

Angel let out an offended gasp. “Excuse you! I can drive carefully! I won’t scare him! You’re just a big baby!”

“You blew two red lights,” Coach snapped.

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