Knight
The taste of nicotine relaxes me. I inhale the smoke, hold it inside me and savor it before blowing it out in a puffy white cloud. I lean against my Dodge and wait for her to come out of the gym. She comes here every day with Allison. Ally was sweet and tender, viewed the world through rose gold glasses until they took her. Koby has been with us for months, her and that pathetic wimp of a brother stay in the guest house.
I know Bishop and King must have a plan but they never include me and Rook—they think we can’t stomach this life. I chuckle to myself, if only they knew what I wasreallycapable of. The shit I can do makes King’s work look like child’s play. I’m the quiet brother. I don’t need to speak to fill the silence, I relish in it. Rook is the one who laps up the spotlight. I only joined the team at school because he asked me to. Rook wants out of this life—I don’t. I want to maim and hurt, I want the blood of my enemies to coat me and watch the life drain from their eyes. I want to hear them beg and scream for their pathetic excuse of a life. I want to break them.
“Stalking again?” I smirk as I slowly turn around and face the Russian bitch. She thinks she’s cute sneaking out the back door and trying to catch me off guard. She never will. I heard the gravel crunch under her feet as soon as she rounded the corner. I take in the sight of her. She doesn’t wear a sports bra like Ally and Kiara. She wears a loose shirt that hides her shape, her tiny shorts peak out from her under it. Her blonde hair is piled on top of her head and her blue eyes burn with hate. Good, I fucking hate you to!
“Planning to kill my family?” She narrows her eyes and places her hands on her hips.
“I’m not here to hurt your family.” I drop my smoke and don’t bother to stomp on it as I close the space between us and crowd her until her back is against my car. She doesn’t fight me off like I know she could. I push my chest into her, my close proximity doesn’t cause her to blush or shudder like most girls, no, Anya Volkov is trained well. I run my nose along the column of her neck causing her to stiffen. Her scent invades my senses and I groan. I may fucking hate her but this Russian bitch gets my cock hard. “You have three seconds to back up or I’ll break your fucking jaw.” See, I would believe her if I didn’t hear the slight hitch in her breathing. I do affect this ice queen after all. I pull back and smirk at the disgusted look that mars her face, then open my mouth to taunt her some more but am cut off.
“You coming, Koby?” I spin around to see Gage standing a few feet away next to his piece of shit car and scowl. The fucker just nods his head at me as Koby brushes past me and stalks toward Gage. I stand here silently fuming that she is fucking going with him! She normally gets a lift home from one of our guys. Where the fuck are they going? Gage starts his car and peels out of the carpark without a backward glance at me. I grind my teeth in frustration and quickly jump in my Dodge and follow them.
* * *
I keep a good distance back from them, I don’t want to alert Gage to the fact I’m tailing them, I want to see where he plans on taking her. If I find out he is a rat and helping her in any way to take my family down, I’ll put a bullet in his fucking skull myself. He and Koby spend the most time together. Ally trains with her but never stays as late as Koby. Her brother stays in the guest house and never leaves. Something is up with these two and I want to know what it is and why the fuck they have hidden their true identities. Allison swears she had no idea who they really are, she thought they were just kids who knew about the bratva. My brothers, Kiara and Ally are the only ones who know about their little secret. We have allowed them to stay with us still—keep your friends close but your enemies closer and all that shit.
Gage takes a right, heading toward skid row. What the fuck are they doing down here? I keep back and wait to see if he’s passing through or not, he pulls his car into an alleyway of sorts. I grit my teeth as I have to park my baby on the street. All the bums’ eyes light up at the sight of her. I get out and shoot each of them a scathing look before grabbing my phone from my pocket and dialing Mav’s number, he answers on the second ring.
“Knight?”
“Track my car’s GPS and have someone come watch it. Anything happens to it and I’m coming for you.” I end the call and fucking pray for Mav’s sake someone gets here in time to stop her from being stripped and burnt out. I follow after Gage and Koby and make sure to stick to the shadows. I don’t want them to make me or all this will be for nothing. It pisses me off that I had to call Mav, I don’t know what it is but that guy really rubs me the wrong fucking way. He’s too good. I’m not a jealous guy or anything like that but mark my words, Mav is hiding something and I’m going to find out what it is as soon as I deal with my Russian problem. Gage keeps moving with ease and I can tell this isn’t his first time here. Watching how sure footed Koby is in the dark lets me know she has been here before as well. I have no idea what the fuck could be out in this part of town but I’m about to find out as Gage yanks open a tiny side door. I flatten against the side of a building and wait a few moments before following after them.
I yank the door open and furrow my brow, it’s a corridor! I keep walking and spot another door at the end. I push it open and I’m immediately assaulted by the base of the music and lights flashing that blind me for a moment. I scour the area, there must be a thousand people in here. I lift the hood of my sweatshirt up to try conceal my identity, I don’t need these fuckers recognizing me. I shoulder my way through the crowd and down a flight of stairs. The smell in this place is sickening—sweat, blood, rank body odor, you name the most rancid smell you can think of and that is what this place smells like. As I push through the crowd to get a better look at what has them congregated, I cop an elbow to the ribs. It takes everything inside me not to pull my gun and plant a bullet in the fucker’s head. I glare at the drugged-out son of a bitch, and whatever he sees in my eyes has him backing down, raising his hands in surrender. I don’t break eye contact with the piece of shit until he disappears into the crowd. At the sound of cheers, I spin around and push my way through the crowded area, then slam to a stop at the sight in front of me.
What in the seven fucking hells!
Koby stands off to one side of the circle in the middle of the crowd. Gone is her baggy shirt as she stands here bouncing on the balls of her feet. Her hands are taped and she now wears a pair of black tights and a black sports bra, along with a white mouth guard which gleams under the lighting. Gage stands beside her, saying some shit into her ear. She cracks her neck side to side. I follow her line of sight and my eyes widen in surprise—she’s having an underground fight.
Koby
Adrenaline courses through me as I eye my opponent. She’s lean and smaller than me but I won’t be making the mistake of underestimating her because of her size. This bitch has a rep around these parts. She is known to be dirty which Gage and I have been preparing for. She won’t catch me off guard, I need the prize money from this fight. If I keep up this streak, that means I’m one step closer to getting me and Dimitri the fuck out. He isn’t built for this life and I am the only person who gives a fuck about him. I planned this shit out perfectly and I got us the protection we need. He will never find us here, not in the midst of his enemy—it is the last place he would think to look for us.
“Don’t fuck around.” I clear my mind and focus on what Gage is saying. “You strike first. She favors her left side and I think her ribs are still bruised from the fight a couple weeks back. Go for the left and put her down quick. She has a longer reach than you, so watch for that.” I check out her left side and can still see some bruising marring the side of her body. I don’t like exploiting weak points but I also don’t want to lose—I need the 5k prize this fight offers. “You have three rounds. I want her down by the end of the first!” I turn my head and stare at him. He has to be joking but the look on his face tells me he is dead serious.
“Do you know how hard that will be?” It’s fucking hard talk with my mouth guard in but Gage insists that if I don’t wear it, I don’t fight!
“Do it, Koby. I don’t want to get caught. Knight has been following you everywhere and we can’t let him find out about this!” At the mention of the middle Murdoch child, my body begins to thrum with awareness. The sight of him angers me but at the same time the haunted look in his dark brown eyes makes me want to fight his demons. I want to take away his pain. I shake that stupid thought away. He and his family are a means to an end and that’s it.
“Okay.” Our unofficial ref enters the circle. Gage gives me one last pat on the shoulder before gripping my face between his hands and leaning his forehead against mine. This has become ourthing—before each fight he always does this and it centers me, keeps me humble and in the moment instead of getting caught up in my own head.
“You got this, babe. Knock her out and take the win, then we can celebrate.” I close my eyes and nod, take a couple deep breaths before he lets go and slinks back into the crowd. I move to the center when the ref calls us in. Claudia––my opponent—stands at least a foot taller than me. I crane my neck back and hold her gaze as the ref runs through the rules.
“The only rule, there is no rules!” The crowd roars around us. I’m not a cocky bitch and try to intimidate her. I just hold her gaze and wait for the ref to push us back. What does catch my attention though is the fact she is wearing gloves. I turn to look at Gage over my shoulder and ask him about it but the ref calls fight and the bitch strikes me while I’m not looking. I stumble into the crowd and they push me back. My vision is fuzzy and the side of my temple where she hit is pounding. I growl in annoyance. Claudia has a cocky grin on her face—the ugly bitch has brass knuckles on under those fucking gloves!
“Kill her!”
“Claudia for the win!” The crowd shouts around me. Their doubt in me just fuels my rage as I circle around and wait for her to attack. Then she does. She strikes out with a right hook and I duck swinging out with my left to connect with her ribs. she curls over and stumbles back a step, I don’t stop. I launch at her. she’s backed against the crowd and these blood-hungry cunts won’t allow her to slip by them so I wail on her. Punch after punch to the face and I land a few good hooks to ribs that I feel them crack under my knuckles and wish I didn’t feel bad… but she cheated! Her eyes roll backward as I land another blow, her team throws in a white towel. The ref yanks me back and the crowd boos. I smile and turn toward Gage ready to run and hug him when I’m hit from behind. The force of the hit sends me to my knees and has my vision swimming with black dots. The noise around me grows quiet and I sway side to side. Gage drops to his knees in front of me and cups my face. I feel some sort of liquid dripping down the back of my neck. Gage darts his gaze over my head and I panic when his eyes widen, he grips me and turns me so my back is to his chest.
I lazily look up, still dazed from the hit. I blink my eyes a couple times to try and get my eyes to focus… I see Knight standing there with his gun pressed against Claudia’s forehead. I can tell it’s him because he wears the same clothes from earlier. The color drains from her face, as two men step forward and look as if they are ready to lay into Knight. I spit my mouth guard and plead to Gage.
“You need to help him.” Even my voice sounds drunk, she must have got me good.
“Nah, babe, he’s got this.” The two men stand either side of Claudia. One wears a pair of brass knuckles as well. The music and the roar of the crowd has died down, it’s so quiet in here that my ears ring from the shock of it.
“You got one chance here, boy––” Knight laughs and pushes his hood back. When both men recognize who he is they instantly take a step back and their faces grow slack. Knight rams the barrel of the gun into her head harder as he speaks.
“You dirty shot her.” Claudia keeps her lips pressed together. I can tell from the look in her eyes that she is in pain. Knight is stiff and coiled with rage, no one around us will dare move against him or say a thing because they know exactly who he is. He doesn’t need an entourage or men surrounding him. He may be the quiet one from what I have noticed, but he is just as deadly as his two older brothers. “You and your family are done in this town.” Claudia’s eyes widen in fear, all her bravado from earlier is gone and replaced by horror.