Page 61 of Shifting Gears

He said nothing, only nodded.

I walked over to the sensei of AJ’s opponent, collected our winnings, and we went back to my place.

This becamea pattern over the next two weeks for us.

His next opponent was a retired sumo fighter, but you would never be able to tell he was retired. He still looked to be in amazing shape.

I laughed when I glanced over at AJ because the look on his face was priceless. He stood there, pumped up and ready for his match, eyes wide as his opponent stomped into the ring.

He wasn’t expecting a sumo. Not in an underground circuit. But there he was—barefoot, mountain-sized, and grinning like he already knew how this was gonna end as he sized AJ up.

As the match began, AJ thought speed would be his best weapon. I watched as he bobbed, weaved, and stayed out of his opponent’s arm’s reach, peppering him with fast shots to the gut and thighs. It was like he was punching a wall padded with meat.

The sumo didn’t flinch, just moved with heavy patience. Every step he took felt like it shook the floor. Then he grunted and surged forward out of nowhere. AJ barely dodged a swipe meant to grab him, but he readjusted quickly, cutting off his angles like he was herding him.

AJ fired off a combo to the ribs—jab, jab, hook—but the sumo took it like he was throwing pillows.

Then I saw it—the twitch in the sumo’s foot, the shift in his stance. Before I could blink, the sumo wrestler exploded with abear charge, hands wide. AJ ducked, but the sumo caught him with a forearm and lifted AJ clean off his feet.

AJ crashed out of the ring, skidding on hard wood like a sack of groceries tossed from a moving car. The ref called it. AJ stood up, rage pouring off him.

I jogged over to him and stopped him from doing anything rash.

“Easy there. Just because you lost this fight doesn’t mean you aren’t still making noise to get Kaito’s attention. Remember, the goal isn’t to win every fight; it’s getting a match with the highest man on the chart.”

AJ cracked his neck and glanced down at me, taking a deep breath before he relaxed slightly. “First time I’ve been thrown out like trash,” he said, chuckling as he and his opponent exchanged a nod.

I smiled up at him. “You learned something. Never underestimate a mountain in motion.”

He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and steered me out of the gym and to his car. He leaned down and whispered in my ear as he opened my door for me, “Or just don’t get caught by the landslide. Let the bull charge out of bounds on his own.”

His next fightwas someone he was much more equipped to fight against. A boxer.

He entered the ring as AJ was doing a few last-minute shoulder rolls.

The boxer had that old-school stance—chin tucked, fists up, clean footwork. The match started, and I watched as they begancircling each other. There was no flash, just fundamentals from the boxer’s style. He came in with sharp jabs, testing AJ’s guard. The first couple of hits clipped AJ’s shoulder, but he kept his feet moving.

I gasped as I watched the boxer land a clean cross that buzzed AJ’s head, but I regained my composure when I saw AJ grin through it. I thought he would go on the defense, but he started baiting him instead. He let him throw, let him miss. When his opponent over committed on a left hook, AJ ducked under and cracked him with a rising elbow that split his cheek open.

It was one of the sexiest moves I’d ever seen in person. AJ was agile, and his toned body moved so fluidly in action.

They traded a few more punches in a flurry—his gloves smacking AJ’s flesh. But AJ was faster, hit harder, and was more relentless. AJ got in close, body shots making his opponent grunt, and then he hit him with a right hook that spun the boxer half around.

He tried to recover, but his legs betrayed him. One last haymaker under the chin from AJ put him down for good. He crumpled slowly, like a man folding into sleep. I looked down at AJ, blood on his knuckles, and felt my heart thundering.

This was the kind of win that would travel fast in the whispers of the fight circuit.

And sure enough, two days later, I got the fight offer that I knew would put us right under the eyes of Kaito, as it would happen in his ring against one of his new fighter’s upcoming opponents. If AJ won that match, then there was no way Kaito wouldn’t want to challenge us.

Especially if he thought his fighter could beat AJ and it would be a way to tear me down even more. Which was exactly what I wanted him to think.

I called AJ’s cell and could hardly contain my excitement when he answered.

“Yeah?”

“I hope you are ready because you have a new fight offer in two days. This one will be in the ring that Kaito owns. If you win this, there is no way he won’t challenge us next.” I couldn’t hide the excitement in my voice. I was practically bouncing off the floor as I thought about my next steps in my plan for revenge.

“Baby, I’m always ready.”

---