Page 1 of Spar
CHAPTER ONE
Tori hesitated andcrossed her arms over her chest. The wind howled down the dark alley, cautioning her to turn back. Never one for doing what she was told, she quickened her strides until she caught up to Luke.
He pounded twice on a metal door with a rustedNo Entrysign.
The door swung open, and inside stood a large man blocking their entrance. Giving them each a once over, he spent longer than Tori deemed appropriate on her bare legs. She pulled on the hem of her dress as he stepped aside and motioned them inside with a nod of his head.
Luke handed the guy a twenty and looked to her. Holding up a large, hairy hand, the man rubbed his thumb against the pads of his fingertips. His grizzly smile mocked her as if she’d assumed she was getting in for free just because she was a woman.
No dumbass, I assumed my boyfriend was going to pay.She dug through her purse and pulled out two crumpled ten-dollar bills, handed them over, and tailed Luke inside.
People were huddled around the center ring of the dimly lit gym. AC/DC blared from the speaker system, and the faint scent of sweat and dust hung in the air. Sticking close to Luke, Tori followed as he pushed his way through the crowd to the front of the ring. A rush of excitement ran through her. The music cut abruptly mid-song, and in its place, the crowd roared. Two brunettes with big, teased hair, tiny shorts, and even tinier bikini tops entered the ring holding ROUND 1 cards high over their heads.
“Who’s fighting tonight?” Tori yelled above the crackling of the microphone.
Luke shrugged his shoulders and lifted his head as if to get a better view of the boxers.
The crowd went silent as a hooded figure stood in his corner of the ring.
The announcer’s voice boomed through the silence. “Ladies and gentleman, welcome to tonight’s heavyweight boxing match at Benny’s Boxing Gym. In the blue corner, weighing in at 215 pounds we have Mikey ‘the Mauler’ Jones.”
Tori clapped and cheered with the rest of the crowd as she checked out the challenger. The fluorescent lights cast a sickly glow over his yellow shorts and pale skin, but his upper body puffed out and displayed a large chest and broad shoulders. He stared straight ahead toward the opposite corner. Tori’s gaze followed Mikey’s to the large form who sat hidden under his robe. As the cheers died down and the announcer turned his attention to the red corner, the hooded figure stood and threw back his head. The hood dropped revealing a square jaw and full lips that were set in a straight line across his face. An odd sense of familiarity punched Tori in the gut.
“And in the red corner, we are honored to have local favorite, the man who holds more super-heavyweight titles than any other man in the state, Chris ‘the Force′ White!”
Tori grabbed Luke’s arm, which stiffened under her grasp, to keep herself upright. Tension rose between them, but she kept her eyes trained forward.
Chris shrugged off the robe and threw it outside the ring where a group of giggling and swooning girls fought, tugging it between them until one scrappy girl ripped it free from the others’ grasps. Tori rolled her eyes as the girl held it up to her nose and inhaled deeply and then clutched it to her chest.
Chris wore black trunks showing off a hard and defined physique that Tori remembered well. His 6’4” height and broad build would have been intimidating enough, but the look on his face was fury.
The boxers touched gloves, and the crowd erupted in cheers. Tori held her breath and focused on the man in black. He rolled his shoulders, stretched his neck from side to side, and then stared his opponent down, all while appearing calm and unaffected by the other man in the ring.
At the sound of the bell, Chris charged forward. Mikey blocked the first few punches, but Chris’ quick hands eventually made contact. First, a shot that made Mikey’s body heave forward followed by a right hook that catapulted him back. Chris kept stalking his opponent, not allowing the challenger a moment to recover. He cornered Mikey against the ropes and landed another punch as Mikey tried to get in a quick jab. Tori could have sworn the corners of Chris’ mouth turn up slightly in a wicked grin before he landed a huge uppercut that sent Mikey sprawling to the ring floor. Chris turned without a glance over his shoulder and jumped down from the ring.
Cocky son of a bitch. Tori beamed as the crowd went nuts. Letting out a breath and releasing her hold on Luke, who remained quiet, she stood frozen in place letting the mass of people push past her to the ring and its reigning champion.
Chris headed outthe back door as spectators surged forward. He caught Benny’s big smile over the crowd.
“My office!” Benny shouted above the noise, pointing toward the small office at the front of the building.
Chris shook his head and continued moving in the opposite direction, unwrapping his hands as he walked. He threw his duffle bag over his shoulder and slipped out the back door.
He pulled on a sweatshirt and some jeans over his boxing shorts and heaved himself into the Ford F150 as his cell phone vibrated in his bag.
“Yeah?” he answered gruffly.
“Why’d you run off? I have your winnings in my office. Come in, have a drink. Let’s celebrate, eh?”
Chris turned the key in the ignition. “Not interested in celebrating tonight, Benny. Mail me a check.”
“Aw, don’t—”
Chris hung up the phone, cutting Benny’s protest short.
Steering the truck north to the outskirts of the downtown area where dive bars and quiet restaurants would be filled with an older crowd, his body relaxed with the knowledge that no one from Sweetbriar or from the fight were likely to walk through the door of any of these places.
Poppers was just how Chris remembered it. Being here now, he felt old. Shit, he fit right in with the clientele, who he’d once categorized as old and desperate. He ran a hand over his face wondering when was the last time he’d shaved. He might have been the youngest, at thirty-two, but he blended in with his scruff face and the dark circles under his eyes.
