Page 1 of Bought By Three Men

CHAPTER1

Ava

I pushedup on my toes to see the next person I would be fighting. My right eye had swollen shut, but I could still see clearly through my left. The last girl sucker-punched me. Not that I blamed her. I would have done the same thing to her. A lot of money went to the winner.

Each match won was three grand. Getting in the ring was only two hundred. Barely enough for a decent meal. Yet, it was enough to get people to fight in the underground bunker. Years ago, someone made this place in preparation for World War 3. That war came and went, along with some others.

The bunker remained intact. Then, Von found it last year and turned it into a women’s boxing club. Since I was always in some scrap or another, he asked me to fight for him. He said it was also because of my bubbly personality and love of pink. It made me stand out, and people who didn’t know me always bet against me—their loss.

“Ava, are you sure about this?” Dottie, my little sister, wiped the blood off my face. She hated that I did this. I probably wouldn’t spend my Friday nights fighting if my family didn’t need the money.

My stomach turned. I looked again at the next fighter. The crowd cheered, which consisted primarily of Rich men. Some Elite were also there, but only a few. They bored quickly, and watching the Homeless beat each other up was beneath them.

Three classes of people made up New Boston; the Elite: who ruled, the Rich: who prospered, and the Homeless: who barely survived. I was lucky enough to be part of the bottom economic class.

“Dottie, I can take her.” I grabbed her by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes to try to be more convincing.

“That’s Big Booty Judy!” Dottie pointed to the ring.

Judy bounced from foot to foot. Her hair was in a tight red bun, and it didn’t move as she jumped. From a distance, she appeared small and fragile. Well, aside from her plump ass. That bubble butt had its own zip code. Everything about her gave you a false sense of security. She was all muscle and well-trained, and her size made it better to get up close and attack.

“I’m like half a foot taller and have long arms. Don’t worry, I’ll knock her out and won’t break a nail doing it.” I flashed her my perfectly polished razz nails. Two fights and none of it had chipped.

Dottie crossed her arms and looked down at me. She was five-nine, only two inches taller, but she towered over me when she gave me the disappointed mom look. Since our mom lost her mind, Dottie took over. She did the maternal instinct thing better than I did. She was only seventeen, and I was twenty-five, but she was more mature than me in many ways.

“In this corner, standing at five foot even, one hundred twenty pounds, we have the undefeated champion of The Underground, Big Booty Judy!” Von waved his bony hand at her. Judy grunted.

It was my last chance to back out. We could have left. Von would have understood. I could only see from one eye, had a broken nose, and various parts of my body ached. I had already made decent money for food and my mother’s medication.

“Will anyone challenge our champion?” Von peered out into the crowd.

The chatter stopped. Everyone looked around to see if anyone would be brave enough. Of course, the Rich dipshits didn’t know this was all part of the act. Von figured they would be more interested if they didn’t know who was fighting. He was right. The Rich came from all over New Boston to watch. His club was the most popular in the country.

“No one?” Von hobbled over to the edge of the rink. He was pretty young, but an accident left him with a limp. Rumor was the accident was him not paying a loan shark.

I was supposed to challenge Big Booty Judy. Von never told us who we were fighting, only which matches we were in. He claimed it made the whole act more authentic. This was my match—the last one of the night. I shouldn’t have agreed to three, but we needed the money. Now more than ever.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, it appears no one wants to fight Big Booty Judy.” Von looked into the crowd and shook his head.

“Boo!” a man shouted.

Then the crowd erupted, they screamed and shouted, demanding a fight. Had it not been the night’s last match, Von would have skipped to the next one.

“Let’s go home,” Dottie whispered. “You can fight again next week. We have enough money for Mom’s meds and food.”

She was right. Big Booty Judy fought dirty, and I was in no condition to attempt a fight against her. “Okay.”

“Well, it looks like the crowd really wants a fight.” Von waved his hands around.

The crowd cheered and pumped their fists. Judy crossed her arms, looking bored. I picked up my speed before he forced me into the rink.

“Okay, Okay!” Von waved his hands down to calm the crowd. “I will double the winner’s prize.”

I kept walking. I didn’t have a chance against Judy.

“Still nothing?” Von asked. “Okay, I will triple the loser’s money.”

I stopped.

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