Page 27 of Fight Me Daddy

Tonight was another big fight for me. Not in the VFC, but in the underground fights I'd started attending. My last match-up had me injuring my hand, but I wasn't used to the hard ground and the viciousness of the illegal fights. In MMA, there were rules and guidelines. But on the streets, none of that existed. It was fight until the other guy couldn't stand up and if you were unlucky and didn't get back up, well that was the end of that.

I shuddered thinking about it. The sensible side of me screamed to call it quits, but I had people who needed me. This is the right thing to do. I stood up and walked over to the wall safe where I had money stashed away. Usually, there were only a few meager dollars in there, but now there was a stack of cash waiting to be given over to Gabriele. If I kept going, I would be able to pay him off a hell of a lot sooner and I would never have to see the man again.

The thought made me smile, but my stomach twisted into knots. I laid a hand on it and frowned. "Must have ate something weird," I muttered, quickly shutting the safe and turning the lock.

I refused to acknowledge the fact that my one time with Gabriele was affecting me.

***

I arrived at the warehouse as close to the fights starting as I could. Hanging out around areas like this was a bad idea, and if anyone saw me here I would have my ass handed to me. My coach was still out of town visiting his daughter, but he would be back soon and I knew he liked to keep an eye on his fighters. As he put it, fighters were overgrown children with more temper and he didn't have time to be pulling my ass out of the fire.

As I moved through the crowd, I tugged my hoodie down and looked from underneath it. There was already a crowd, beer, and the heavy smell of weed smoke. I slipped through and headed off to the side to wait until it was my turn.

One by one, men and women filed into the ring and fought. I watched them, studying each of their moves as I warmed up. By the time I was called, my heart pounded so hard I felt dizzy. I sucked down some water trying to calm down.

"Carlos! Are you fighting or not?"

I put my water bottle down and jogged over. "Fighting," I said as I slipped off my hoodie and tossed it onto a box over on the side of the makeshift "ring".

My opponent, Mickey, stepped forward and sized me up. He was a bit taller than me, but I didn't mind. Being big didn't mean you were going to win. I was known for my speed and I could take on someone twice my size as long as I avoided their hits.

"Fight!"

That shout woke me up and I dodged as my opponent dove toward me. He tried again, but I kept moving.

"Hit him! Stop fucking dancing around!"

I ignored the crowd. What they were saying was irrelevant. I didn't care about putting on a good show, I only cared about winning. Once the man in front of me, Mickey, was down, I would walk away with the money to save my gym and get the mafia off my back. That was the only thing that mattered.

We came together and his fist connected with my chest as mine drove into his chin. The stunned look on his face made up for the pain that blossomed over my skin and vibrated through my chest. I went back in again but moved after he swung. As soon as he was too far to defend himself, I moved back in and kneed him in the side.

The crowd cheered and I felt the same sense of adrenaline that I felt when I was in a professional fight. My goal wasn't to become popular here, but there was nothing as good as a fight to get the blood pumping.

Mickey lunged at me and wrapped his arms around my waist. I refused to go down and instead, I punched him in the back repeatedly as I tried to force him to release me.

"Go down you fuckin' prick!" he yelled.

"Fuck you," I snapped.

I finally elbowed him in the neck and he hit the ground with a grunt. But he was up again in seconds, his face red as he huffed and panted. I still wasn't out of breath and I smirked at him. The growl that left his throat didn't scare me at all.

Gabriele Bianchi growled a lot harder than that.

He charged at me and I sidestepped him only for him to change course. Strong, calloused hands grabbed me and my back slammed against the concrete floor. All of the air whooshed out of my body and I sucked in nothing as I tried to curl up and fend off his blows.

Breathe. Goddamnit, breathe! I'm not about to let this big asshole take me out! If I lose, I don't get shit.

I forced myself to breathe and finally, I sucked in a shaky breath. But it was enough. As he wailed on me, I turned over and his fist collided with my face. I felt the blood run down as flesh split and I was half-blinded by the stuff.

But it didn't matter. He'd gotten too close and I was going to make him pay for that.

I wrapped my legs around his neck as he tried to fight me off. He panicked as he realized what I was trying to do, but I was already moving faster than he could stop me. I locked my legs around his throat and yanked his head down.

Triangle chokes were my favorite fucking move and I watched as he panicked to get out of it. He turned from a man to a snarling, growling animal. We both knew the truth.

He was done. There were only two options; tap out or pass out. And I was okay with either one.

I squeezed harder with my thighs and he finally tapped out.

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