Page 28 of Shifting Gears

He glanced around the space and glared at a couple of guys who were staring at us.

“The fuck you lookin’ at?” AJ said, and they ducked their heads and rushed away. Then he tucked his hands into his hoodie pocket, his muscles flexing in frustration.

I let out a sigh of relief.

“You really don’t know that I’m the reigning champion fighter in LA?” AJ asked, his voice lower so others wouldn’t overhear us.

Wait, what? Does he mean he actually fights for a career?

“Wait a minute. Are you telling me you are a professional fighter?”

He chuckled, and a smirk, hidden by his mask, made his eyes narrow. “Sure, if you want to call where we are right now professional, then yeah.”

Then it hit me full force. AJ was so good at fighting two-on-one because he had done it before. He wasn’t merely some fit guy who had gotten lucky that night. He had been professionally trained. Years of honing his skills in fight after fight.

“I didn’t know. I mean that. Please believe me. The night we met, I truly had no idea who you were. I only asked you to come here tonight after we ran into each other because I’m scared as hell that my fighter will lose tonight, and if he does, I don’t know if I will be strong enough to face Kaito all alone. Not that I want you to talk or do anything to him, but knowing I have you here reassures me just a little more that I have another person in my corner,” I said as I stared into his eyes, determined that he hear my truth.

His eyes softened as he processed what I’d said. The tension disappeared between us shortly after.

“All right, baby girl. I guess I don’t have much choice but to take your word for it. But just so we’re clear, I don’t fight for free. So, if you want me in that ring, you’d better believe it’s gonna cost more than your ass in my bed.”

I resisted the urge to slap his arm and instead settled for barely shaking my head.

“Trust me, asking you to fight is the furthest thing from my mind, AJ. Now, let’s head over to the training area. Toumashould be here at any minute. He’s my student fighting tonight,” I explained as I stepped past him and led the way.

We walked over to the side of the room where the fighters were all warming up for the night, including Touma, who had arrived through the back entrance a few minutes ago.

He looked between me and AJ and raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, only nodded at me before going to a mat to warm up.

I watched as Touma stretched. He was in really good form tonight. Sydney had done well, keeping up with his training in my place. I would have to give her more credit next time we got together. Maybe I didn’t have anything to worry about after all.

AJ leaned against the wall next to me, watching Touma go from stretching to sparring with the practice dummy near us. I couldn’t help but watch as AJ analyzed Touma’s movements. Just like I’d thought, AJ was a natural as a fighter inside and out.

I wondered how he would do in matches here. I’d seen him in action once before, but fights like these were different from a bar brawl. You weren’t facing untrained muscles in these rings; you were fighting some of the deadliest people in Japan. There had been more serious injuries and even deaths in these matches than people might realize. To get distracted could cost you more than the title; it could cost you your life.

“He’s not half bad. Unless he’s going up against someone like me, he should be able to win,” AJ said as Touma delivered a powerful blow to the dummy, almost knocking it over.

“He’s been training for months. He has to be perfect.” But I realized how harsh that might sound, so I continued, “Thank goodness he’s not up against you. I really need him to win, and it might look bad if I was also cheering on his opponent.”

My attempt to lighten the mood worked as he chuckled.

Good. I didn’t like the tension we had after our conversation earlier.

I went to say something else when the energy in the room shifted, and my eyes were drawn to the entrance. Kaito walked in, surrounded by his guards and his fighter in tow. The room parted, giving him unencumbered access to his box, which had a prime view of the match. He walked over, being greeted by people as he passed, and sat down. The announcer went over to Kaito, and he spoke to him as people resumed their activities.

He glanced over at me and smirked. Then his gaze went beyond me, and I knew he was looking at AJ. I quickly stepped away from him, and his eyes snapped back toward me. My stomach turned, but I didn’t want him to get curious about AJ and come over to ask questions. I looked between him and his fighter. He was more muscular than Touma but still looked like he was fast on his feet as well.

For a split second, I felt my nerves creep back in. He turned away to talk with the man seated to the right of him, and my body relaxed without his eyes on me.

But I shook my feelings off with another glance over at Touma. He was squaring up to spar with a fellow fighter he had warmed up with in the past.

It all started normal enough. They threw easy jabs and uppercuts as they dodged and weaved around, putting their hands up to block as the other attacked.

Touma looked like he was in perfect form. I couldn’t find a single fault as he went through his paces. So much that I turned my attention from them and walked over to AJ again.

“Don’t think you have much to worry about. I’m guessing his opponent is the one who walked in a few minutes ago. He’s top-heavy. As long as your guy keeps his footwork up, he shouldn’t get hit much,” AJ said as I stood next to him.

I felt his hand slide onto my ass, and I was thankful that at this angle, there was no way anyone else could see that. Or thefact that merely his touch alone was causing my body to heat-up and my face to flush.

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