“Are you fucking with me?” I asked, the air seeping out of my chest involuntarily. “You must be mistaken.”

“I promise you, I’m not.” His face was solid stone.

“What would he be doing here in the first place, Abraham?” I tried to make sense of it all, which it didn’t.

Black would never be caught dead in Jade territory for any reason. The stakes were too high. If he had managed to secure a way to be present tonight, that would mean my instincts were correct. There was something going on here. Something neither Abraham nor I was aware of. The anxiety in my chest came back full force as I tried to figure it out.

“Look.” He cornered me and rested his hands on my shoulders. “You’re going to be fine. You’re going to get your ass out there and prove to everyone that you are a force to be reckoned with. And I’ll be there with you every step of the way.”

“Abraham, I think this is bigger than us both.” My thoughts came out too easily.

“Even if it is, we can figure it out. You just need to focus all your attention on the ring tonight. Make sure they can’t touch you, and if they do, make them regret it.”

I sighed internally. “You’re right.”

“I’m always right.” He boasted and punched his arm.

“You’re an ass, is what you are.” I stated grimly. “Now can you get out so I can get dressed?”

“I already seen the goods, so what does it matter now?” He smirked.

“I will hurt you.” I warned.

My glare must have read murder with how he stood and shook his head, making way to the door. “I will be right outside.”

“Perfect.” I rolled my eyes.

Abraham stepped back in, in what seemed like hours. I was finishing wrapping each of my fingers with tape. I turned to greet him with sass, but the retort was swallowed down when I realized he wasn’t alone. Kindred stood next to him with a lopsided grin.

“Are you ready?” Abraham asked.

“It’s time.” Kindred spoke at the exact same time.

I adjusted my sports bra and pulled the straps on my shorts as tight as they would allow. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Then follow me.” Kindred curtly turned on his heel again and exited the room swiftly.

What was with this guy?

Abraham kept his word and followed behind me briskly. It was a weird sensation, having someone flanking me before a fight. I was used to doing this on my own. I couldn’t decide if I liked the idea of him supporting me or not.

“There’s a lot of people that showed up tonight.” Abe spoke over the crowd’s growing noise.

“We have a lot of high-end gamblers that have showed up for tonight’s fight. Few wanted to believe that Smoke was on the roster, but it was something they could not ignore. Even if they believed it to be a hoax.” Kindred explained.

Unfamiliar music drifted over the loudspeakers, and in that moment, I couldn’t hear anything but the internal sound of my breathing. Abraham and Kindred’s conversation fell into the background as I focused on putting one foot in front of the other.

I did not hear the announcer call my name, but Abraham’s firm touch kept me from drifting away. He pushed me forward and my body moved with the motion. I didn’t make a show of walking up the stairs to enter the ring like all the other contenders usually did. I was here to fight, regardless of whether that made a name for myself or not.

I stood in my corner as our stats were read off. The crowd erupted when the announcer yelled over the microphone of my undefeated status, and I briefly wondered if this would be it for me. If tonight would be my last night on the mat.

I turned to Abraham. “I can’t do this.”

“You can.” He yelled firmly over the crowds cheering.

His hands captured either side of my face and he rested his forehead to mine. “Where’s my spitfire at?”

“She’s hiding.” I mumbled.

“I don’t believe that.” He smirked. “Just picture beating my ass. God knows you want to.”

I grimaced as he inserted my mouth guard, muffling my response. He grabbed the gloves hanging over the top rope and one by one placed and strapped them over my hands. I watched with curiosity as he helped me prepare for the coming onslaught without a single doubt written on his face. If only I held the same confidence he had in me, in myself. He turned me to face my opponent, whose name I did not know.

I stepped forward out of the minimal comfort of Abraham’s hands as the referee entered the ring and stopped in the center. My opponent met me there and our hands were joined together. I could barely make out his words as he spoke to us both, captured by the look of determination in my opponent’s eyes.

He was larger than me by more than a mile, standing just shy of a few inches taller. Tan lines paved a way to a marbled chest, muscles bulging in areas that I would have to work every day of my life to achieve.

The bell rung and I stepped back, bouncing backward and forward on my feet, keeping my arms up to block my face as the man lunged forward, throwing unrelentless punches on either side of my face.

Get it the fuck together, Jaylyn.

I ducked on the one he geared straight for my throat, throwing my own arm upwards to connect with his jaw. Relishing little in the hit, I jumped back to continue the dance. We circled each other as the crowd roared over the announcements.

He tried to feign to my right, but I took the opening and slung my body in a hard loop, pulling my leg up to hit him centered in the ribs. I could see the look of shock in his eyes as he struggled to catch his breath, backing away from me only by a few mere inches.

With the advantage, I swooped forward, extending blow after blow to his uncovered face until the referee pulled us apart. The man regained his footing, blood filling and dripping from his own mouthguard and I smirked.

I had no idea why I had been so worried in the first place. I belonged here.

Caution was written in his eyes, knowing that he had underestimated me. He played more to his advantage as he gained inches forward, blocking my blows. My eyes darted between his gloves, waiting for the opening, but nothing came. I realized my mistake when my back rubbed against the ropes, stretching with the force of me being pushed back.

When he had me right where he wanted, he swung a right hook for my face, and both of my hands went up to instinctively take cover only for the hit to never connect. Instead, I felt the crunch as his left hand connected with the side of my torso.

I swallowed down the yelp that threatened to burst from my ribs as the referee pulled him loose from me and I sauntered forward, trying not to hold onto my side. I couldn’t show the weakness I felt, or it would be used to his advantage.

The dance continued.

When an opening presented itself, I swung around for another kick to his ribs. When it connected, I felt the snap through my shoe, but the man didn’t even flinch. He only grabbed my foot with a smile.

Gotcha.

Adrenaline kicked in as he wrapped his arm around my leg, trying to swing me off balance. I used his weight against him as he pulled me in a downward motion and jumped with my free foot, swinging all my weight around with his motion and watched as my free foot swung with more force than usual and landed square on the side of his face.

His mouthguard flew from his jaw, blood spraying across the mat as his body limply fell forward, facedown. I had landed on my feet and backed away as the referee determined the match. His arms swung outwards, signaling the end, and the crowd broke free. I couldn’t see their faces or enjoy the win as the man’s body was heaved upwards by his team.

I backed slowly into my corner and was met with warm hands and concerned eyes.

“Are you okay?” Abraham pressed, having asked me multiple times that I had not heard.

He wiped my forehead as I tried to catch my breath and slowly used a water bottle to drip water into my filled mouth. I only shook my head; it was all I could manage with the burning ache that turned my stomach coming from my wounded torso.

It was a cracked or broken rib.

Abraham placed his hands back on my shoulders, digging into them to massage my muscles as the next person made their way to the ring. Confusion took over as I looked towards the boxes circling the ring, until my eyes connected with the leader of this operation. Lee looked amused if you could call it that.

I didn’t agree to this.

There were breaks between matches.

What the fuck is this?

Reality set in when my eyes drifted slightly to the left to find Black in his own private box, nestled right next to Lee’s. His stare bored into mine, holding a glass of wine in his hands, surrounded by his guards. His lips tilted upwards on one side as he raised his glass, toasting me from abroad.

I might throw up.

“It’s...a...set...up.” I muffled to Abe, and he bent forward.

“What?” He yelled over the background.

I spit my guard into his palm and took a deep breath. “It’s a set up.”

Abraham turned to follow where my eyes led, looking straight at Black. He turned back towards me and offered my mouthguard back to me. I took it, and for the first time tonight, Abraham looked worried.

“You can do this, Jay.” He tried to sound confident. “I’m right here.”

We both turned when different music started to play, and two others joined the man that was already in the ring ready to fight. I looked between the three of them as they all prepared to fight. This is what my instincts had been screaming at me for.

“New to the House tonight, we will be hosting a special fight for all you in the crowd.” The announcer cried out. “For one-night only, the Jade Corporation will be hosting a three-on-one match against the still, undefeated champion, Smoke! We will see who reigns in the end! The bidding will start at one billion dollars! Place your bets if you dare!”

The dramatic tone in his voice caused the blood to drain from my face. There was no fucking way I would be able to leave this fight still standing. This is what Black had put me up against for defying him, for keeping him in the dark about my plans. This was my punishment and he had wanted to witness my downfall for himself.

I met all three of them in the middle of the ring, and the referee looked down at me with what looked like pity.

“I want to see a clean match, you hear?” He aimed it mostly to the three men that loomed over me, covering me with their shadows.

I nodded and the bell rang high.

I instantly jumped back as I assessed the three men sharing the mat with me. One had a slight limp that he wasn’t even bothering to try to hide. The other two looked in decent shape. The one with the limp would be the easiest to take out first, I just needed to keep the other two from getting behind me, which would be the ultimate challenge.

Neither of the three men made the first move as I circled around trying to formulate a plan. The shuffled positions, switching the arrangement on who was closest to whom in a pattern that I watched closely until the limping man was closest to my left.

I swung my foot forward and connected with his torso, jumping on my stable foot to swing and use that foot to connect a hit to the man closest to my right. The middle barreled forward and pushed me straight onto my back, knocking the air from my lungs. The crowd cheered at my growing demise.

I pushed myself back onto my feet, ignoring the protest from my damaged ribs, hissing under my breath. I raised my fists back up as limping figure dashed forwards swinging for my face while another swung for the same spot that was burning in my stomach. I spun on my heel, and their lunge sent them flying past me, leaving one behind.

His eyes widened as I came forward and landed a complete hit straight to his nose, blood gushing from the weight of my glove. The other two had recovered and came for me, coming forward too fast, I dropped as the bigger one aimed a hit straight for the back of my head, and his fist connected with his partners face instead of mine.

More blood poured from his face as he dropped to his knees and then to his stomach.

Unconscious.

The referee called the round, and we returned to our corners as they proceeded to clean up the mess. My breathing was erratic, but one man was down, and that meant there was only two left to deal with.

Simple thoughts. Keep them simple, Jaylyn.

I couldn’t help but look back over my shoulder at the man who had devised it all. I took a moment to enjoy the absolute look of disgust on his face. He hadn’t expected me to get this far, and he couldn’t have been more wrong.

Black hated to be proven wrong.

Abraham shook me back into focus. My head needed to be here.

I stood up, watching as Abraham wiped away the sweat from my arms, smearing specs of blood that wasn’t mine into my skin.

I turned and the damned bell resumed the next match.

I stepped forward cautiously as the other two joined me.

They looked more focused than they had been before. It rattled me to the core. This fight wasn’t about to be any easier than I had hoped for. The larger of the two, the one unphased by a slight limp, pushed forward grinning through his guard. The other stayed behind to watch. It almost seemed like the dominant one had forced his partner to back down.

Joy to my world.

He punched forward, only meeting air as I dodged each attack. He circled around me, almost causing me to lose balance with the pace. I misplaced a dodge and his gloved hand connected with mine but still pushed deep enough to connect with my cheek. My glove ripped from my hand and flew across the mat to land at the other’s feet.

My eyes widened when the referee tried to end the match, but the man still pursued forward, ignoring the bell. I dodged low. If this is how they wanted to play, then this was how I was going to play. I kept out of reach as I ripped my remaining glove off my hand and threw it to the side, only the tape protecting my fingers and wrists remaining.

The man smiled again as he came forward. I was too close to a corner, and he would no doubt crush me between him and the bar. I slowed my breathing as I waited for the perfect moment to bolt out of the way and the man fell at full speed into the bar himself, his shoulder making an awful snapping noise upon impact. I winced.

He fell to his knees, howling in pain, and the referee shook his head, finally ending the round. The man glared at me as medics came onto the mat to wrap his shoulder and apply a sling. I only smiled my best smile back.

Prick.

Once the ring was cleared the bell rang again, and the one who I had planned to take out first remained. He came forward, there was no hint of emotion in his eyes. I could feel the exhaustion taking hold of me, as I stepped forward and chanced a look around as the referee pinned my fists against his gloves.

I froze.

Everyone in the crowd was chattering and cheering, whispering to their partners, others yelling to be heard over the noise.

Everyone but one.

Those familiar baby blues locked me in place and I tried to swallow the lump building in the back of my throat. Fear spiked in my chest as the familiar face looked at me like he would look at a stranger. Not even just a stranger. Like a stranger he loathed.

There was anger written all over Ryker’s face as he remained the only non-moving, non-talking person in the crowd. He only stared at me.

With the fear, came the overwhelming anger.

What the fuck was he doing here?

He must have followed us.

And then, he is not my fucking keeper.

I didn’t hear the fight start over the anger boiling in my mind until the man’s fist connected with my jaw, and I dropped to the mat as stars filled my eyesight. The crowd jumped to their feet, cheering as I went down.

I struggled to catch my breath, barely hearing Abraham’s pleas for me to get back up. My head rolled as nausea filled my stomach and I could taste the blood filling my mouth and dripping down the side of my face.

Those ocean eyes haunted the stars behind the blackening edges of my vision. The limping man raised his gloves as he circled around me, getting increasingly more cheers from the audience. I watched as the referee counted next to me, his fingers right in my line of vision.

I tried to lift my head and was met with the feeling that my head was swelling, and I laid it back down. I could hardly hear what number he had gotten to before I looked back at Abraham and smiled. Something clicked in his thoughts, as he yelled louder for me to get to my feet.

My opponent foolishly gave me his back, and I slowly got to my feet. The roar of the crowd didn’t warn him of my presence, and I swept forward into the same back kick I had used countless times while training with Abraham.

I felt the force of it connect with the back of the man's head and he fell forward. I didn’t waste time as I wrapped my legs around him as if it were muscle memory before he had a chance to fall completely down. We both crashed into the mat, and I stretched my legs, clamping them closed, pinning his legs down.

I looked up and smirked at Abraham as my fist came down hard breaking his nose with the first swing. Abraham cheered for my release, and I sent wave after wave of blows to the man’s face, even after he stopped struggling to get free.

When the referee finally pulled me loose, I stood, hunched, next to him.

The announcer cheered my success over the speakers and the audience came to life.

“Introducing the winner, Smoke! Still remains undefeated!” He cried out, and the rest drifted away as I tried to focus on breathing, cradling my stomach.

Every part of my body hummed with adrenaline and hurt. Abraham entered the ring and slung a towel over my shoulders as soon as the referee dropped my arms.

“That was fucking amazing!” He yelled next to my ear. He then cradled my face. “My little fucking spitfire.”

And then Abraham Crowley kissed me, in the middle of the fucking arena.

The whirlwind of the crowd deafened my hearing as we were both swept off stage, and my anger boiled over. Abraham kept one arm around me as Kindred hustled us into hallway that would lead us back to the locker room. I growled low in my throat as we shuffled through the maze and slung Abraham’s arm back to himself, ignoring the protest of my aching ribs.

“What’s your motive, Abraham?” I snarled between my teeth, refusing to look at him.

He didn’t give a response and Kindred curiously looked back at us as he moved us forward. In my peripherals, he almost looked sullen; that only fueled the rage that was threatening to escape me.

Kindred stopped in front of my door, and I swept inside without a second thought. I couldn’t breathe with him standing so close to me. I wanted to rip his fucking head off. Ryker was in the crowd, there was no doubt about it. Whether or not Abraham knew that was beyond me. But I didn’t care to find out. Whatever rivalry they had against each other; I did not want to be caught in the middle of it.

And Ryker wasn’t my fucking keeper.

I stood in front of the shower, ignoring my surroundings as I stepped out of my bottoms and mat boots. My feet were red with the impacts I had dealt and I inspected them for bruising. When I was content with my findings, I tried to lift my top and sports bra off at the same time with one arm to try to alleviate the pain coursing through my side.

“Here, let me help you.” The rumble ran across my neck as an extra pair of hands added to my own until the cloth pulled free.

I turned on my heel throwing my hand out and a loud smack echoed off the walls, Abraham’s face completely turned to the side.

“How fucking dare, you...” My voice came out as a whisper.

His nostrils flared with the impact, as were mine. He turned to face me, glaring down at me as I glared up at him.

“Are you fucking done?” His voice rumbled dangerously low.

A warmth filled my chest as the beast in my mind purred for the man in front of me, fueled by the anger he had invoked. “No.”

Something in the way I had said that simple word caused a fire to erupt from the depths of Abraham’s stormy eyes and his lips came crashing down onto mine. It was a fight from the start, his mouth trying to consume mine, and the demon in me fought against it, relishing in the battle. Fire against fire.

Abraham pushed me backwards, one hand finding the nape of my neck and holding there tightly, leaving no room to escape, even if I wanted to. Which was another thought as he turned the shower on, my hands lifting at his shirt until it was gone. Why was I doing this? Was it because Ryker had been so suffocating lately? Or did I feel something for the man undressing under the water as his teeth clashed against mine, fighting for control?

Or was it because the beast inside of me felt something for the monster inside of him?

With thoughts of why still lingering in my mind, it was completely wiped when Abraham slid his hands behind my torso and lifted me from under the curve of my ass. Splitting my legs open, he filled space, pinning my back against the cool tile. The adrenaline running through me made the pain in my side less noticeable, as did the rough grinding against the apex of my core.

The burning need spread from between my legs into my stomach and I whimpered under the hot stream, steam filling the small space. Abraham kept one arm holding me in place, trailing the other just along my jaw, squeezing there tight enough to cause a gasp to escape. His lips abandoned mine to carve a path down my neck to the hollow of my throat, nipping and biting. I growled out my frustration as I wrapped my arms over his neck, my fingers disappearing in his drenched hair, curling tight and yanking hard.

“Fuck me.” I demanded roughly.

He chuckled, but nevertheless lined our bodies together and slammed forward hard, and the beast inside of my head rejoiced. I couldn’t stop the moans dripping from my mouth as he moved back and slammed forward again, and then again. There was nothing soft about Abraham, and soft isn’t what I wanted or needed in this moment.

I threw my head back against the tile as Abraham’s cock demanded every ounce of pleasure he was provoking, my legs locking behind him to keep from falling from the impact. His fingers squeezed my jaw tightly again, forcing my head back to the angle he desired.

“Look at me.” He demanded as his cock filled me again, and my eyes opened to stare into his burning depths as he commanded my body.

I groaned as he held me in place, only letting me move slightly as he repeatedly slammed into me, and my body sang, being lifted higher and higher until stars filled the borders of my vision and I thought I might pass out.

Every thrust caused a different kind of noise to radiate from my chest, moans to yelps, getting louder as they progressed. My nails dug into the back of his shoulders as my core tightened around him.

“Abraham...I’m going to...” I panted.

“Come for me, my little spitfire.” He bent forward, groaning into my ear.

That was all it took, and I came undone in his hands.

I cried out as the tension released, leaving my nerves tingling all the way to my fingertips, collapsing against his chest as he slowed his pace, allowing me to recover. He shifted my weight in his arms, bringing my naked chest directly against his, never stopping his slow and steady rhythm that would keep my body interested. I rested my head against his shoulder and blinked.

Once.

Twice.

Fuck.

I wrangled myself loose from his hold, forcing him to drop me back to my feet.

“Jaylyn....what?”

Abraham recognized my look of horror and followed to where Ryker stood in the doorway of the shower with a look of disbelief on his face, laced with anger. Abraham kept my body hidden from view with his own.

“Get the fuck out...now.” Abraham’s voice held the danger once again, and Ryker shook his head, never looking away from me before he stepped out of sight.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.