Three
Rex parked his beat-up Nissan behind Jimâs Gym and came around the front. When he walked in, Jim, Rexâs trainer, acted like heâd block the door, although they both knew Rex could push his way through, well, just about anything.
âShould you be training today?â Jim asked. His brown eyes were squinted in concern.
Rex gave him a look. âIâm good for it. Trust me.â
âThatâs what they all say,â Jim said, eyeing him suspiciously. âBut youâre the only one whoâs ever really been okay. Whatâs your secret, man?â
âClean living.â
âReally?â
âDo you see me swilling booze after the fights like all those other douche-nuggets?â Rex asked.
Jim started cackling. âDouche-nuggets?â
Rex forced a laugh. It was a Gemma-ism. She used to come up with the most hilarious names for people. He hadnât meant to use it himself, but sheâd been on his mind lately.
Rex listed on his fingers, âBesides not drinking, I donât do drugs, I donât use uppers or steroids, and I actually eat the occasional vegetableânot just potatoes, which everyone in Idaho seems to think are vegetables.â
âPotatoes are vegetables,â Jim grumbled.
Rex sighed. âAnyway, look at my eyes, look at my face. Iâm good to go.â Rex had carefully kept some of his injuries visible, only healing the bruises no one would notice missing.
Jim stared hard at him. âYeah, fine. But if you feel at all out of sorts, you better stop, you hear? Donât push it. Youâre one of my best fighters.â
âGot it,â Rex said.
Jim stepped aside, and Rex entered the gym. As he went, he reached out to ruffle Jimâs salt and pepper hair, and Jim faked a punch in defense.
Laughing, Rex headed first to the locker room to drop off his duffel bag, and then straight for the weights. Weights first, then cardio, and then back to the weights. Then the punching bag, and then the ring. Best to get all the workout out of the way first, so heâd practice when he was tired. Heâd be tired in the cage at the fights, stretched to his limits, so that was how he approached his training.
Toward the end of the day, Jim came up to the edge of the ring and watched Rex sparring with a new guy. âYou guys are looking good up there,â Jim called. âRex, youâre leaving your left side open when you advance. Karlson, youâre gonna need to do some footwork.â
The other guy, Karlson, looked down at his feet, and Rex suppressed a grin.
âRex, can I borrow you for a sec?â Jim asked.âI got some people I want you to meet.â
Rex nodded and trotted over to the side of the ring, yanking off his gloves. âSure.â
Jim gestured toward the entryway or his office, and Rex stepped between the ropes to join him.
âStand up fellas,â Jim said. âCorbett and Masters. They want to be your managers.â
Aw, hell. Rex didnât want managers. He did just fine on his own, and better yet, nobody got in to take a cut of his winnings. But heâd put on a polite faceâwhich on him meant he wasnât outright grimacingâand say hello. Jim had done a lot for Rex, taken him in when he didnât know a jab from an uppercut. The least Rex could do was say hello to Jimâs buddies.
He followed Jim over to the office. Inside were two men. One had lighter brown hair. He was short and stocky and looked like heâd been a fighter, if his crooked nose was any indication, and his gold incisor. The dark-haired guy was taller, but still broad. Heâd have been a heavyweight if heâd been into fighting. Rex evaluated his stance. The guy carried himself like an athlete, but not a boxer. Maybe heâd been a football player.
âThese are my pals, Corbett and Masters,â Jim said by way of introduction.
Rexâs shifter senses told him immediately this was a lie. The lie wasnât in the names, though, it was in the distinction that they were âpals.â Interesting. He shook the menâs hands and gave a lie of his own. âNice to meet you.â
âWe heard you were in the market for some management,â the guy on the left, the short one with the gold tooth, said. âIâm Mike Corbett and I think we could help you with that. Masters and I know everything about managing fighters, and we can bring you even more money.â
It wasnât a lie, exactly, but Rex knew he didnât want whatever it was they were offering. No amount of money would be worth it to him to tangle up with some guys who screamed âthugâ with every flexed muscle and defensive stance of their feet.
âThanks,â Rex said, trying to sound humble but firm, âbut Iâm actually not in the market for managers.â
âBut Jim here says you donât got anybody,â the tall guy, Masters, said. âYou canât go this alone. You need some brains to help with all that brawn.â
âIâm managing myself okay,â Rex said.
âWeâd manage you better,â Corbett said. His gold tooth glinted.
âThanks, but Iâm not interested.â
Corbett looked like heâd argue again, and his gold tooth gleamed when he gave a smile that was anything but a smile. But just then, something caught Rexâs eye over Corbettâs headâmovement in the front window. A face, peering through the grimy glass.
Gemma? Rex mumbled, âThanks anyway, excuse me,â and bolted past the men and out the door.
But Gemma, or the woman who had looked just like her, was nowhere to be seen.
Rex leaned back against the window, staring out at the street. His damn mind was playing tricks on him. Wishing so hard for her that now he was seeing her out on the streets, not just inside his head anymore.
His shifter hearing was stronger than a humanâs, and he heard Masters say through the window, âWeâll get him. Itâs just a matter of finding his weakness.â
Four
Stupid, stupid stupid, Gemma muttered. Of course it couldnât have been Rex. It had looked like him at first, and then sheâd pressed her face against the glass like a peeping tommette, and caught his attention. The glare that bearded stranger had leveled in her direction had nearly made her piss her pants.
Why had she agreed to come here, again?
Anyway, that hadnât been Rex, she told herself. That guy had been way bigger and way meaner. And Rex wouldnât have been caught dead in a fighting kind of gym. Hell, Gemma didnât even know what to call this place, and she bet Rex wouldnât know what to call it, either. He was super gentle and hated violence.
She couldnât pretend he wasnât on her mind if she was going to start seeing him in strangers, though.
The parking lot was nearly deserted, so she hightailed it to her car. On the way there, she saw a burly man with a buzz cut getting out of his own car. âYou donât look like you belong here, sweetcakes,â he said.
Sweetcakes? Ew. âNope, just got turned around. Thanks.â
âToo bad. We need more beautiful faces at the fights.â
Wait. Fights. âReally?â she said. âI guess I kind of liedâŚthat stuff fascinates me. I was hoping to see some of the guys training in there, but I got a dirty look. Didnât want to make a nuisance of myself.â
âYou should see the real thing,â the man said. His smile was bright white. Looked fake. Maybe heâd gotten too many teeth knocked out. âYou wouldnât be a nuisance at the cages. I can get you in.â
âYou could?â Gemma batted her eyelashes, half hating herself for it, half thankful she had long eyelashes to bat. If sheâd been Bill from the office, she wouldnât have gotten nearly this far.
âSure thing. You just show up at the door and say that Ajax said youâre good to go in. Theyâll let you in no problem.â
She smiled up at him. âYouâre one of the fighters?â
âYeah, and Iâll be there tonight. Fighting the Rose King. Maybe we can catch up after.â
âMaybe,â she said, forcing a note of brightness instead of hell-no-ness to her voice. âHow do I get there? Theyâre in Helene, right?â
âThatâs right. So you just go up 15, and branch off at Lucky Road. Youâll see the warehouse after a mile or so. They wonât let you bring in phones or cameras, so leave that stuff in your car.â
âThanks! So Iâll see you there,â she said.
She waited until heâd walked around the corner of the gym before she unlocked her car. Got in. Locked the door again. Leaned back. Yikes, that had been scary. No way could she go to the fight tonightâshe wasnât ready. She had toâŚgather more resources. Gather more information.
She banged her head against the headrest. She had to get her ass to the fight, was what she had to do. Thatâs what Karin would tell her. Karin wouldnât hesitate, so Gemma wouldnât, either.
*
Back in her hotel room, Gemma carefully chose her outfit. She needed something sexy, but not too sexy. She needed to blend in, but also appear that sheâd gone there to be noticed. She looked at the slinky black dress sheâd pulled out of her suitcase. Nope, she just couldnât do it. Putting on jeans and a blouse, she finished her hair and makeup and headed out into the gathering dark.
She kept hoping that somehow sheâd miss Lucky Road. Apparently, she wasnât that lucky, because she found it on her first try. She didnât want to be here, she didnât want to do this. Why hadnât she simply told Karin no?
One did not say no to Karin if one wanted to keep oneâs job. If that wasnât in the internship handbook, it should damn well be added.
Up ahead, she saw the warehouse, just like old Ajax had promised. Several cars and trucks were parked in a dirt lot adjacent to it, so Gemma found a spot, parked, and tried to drum up some courage. Sheâd gotten this far, she wasnât going to chicken out now.
The warehouse was small as far as warehouses went. Looked like it used to be some kind of storage facility. Factory parts or something, if the rusted metal pieces to the side were any indication. Her boot heels crunched on the gravel scattered in front of a low, narrow door. A tall guy, bigger than Ajax, stood in front of the door, arms at his sides but looking anything except at ease. The bouncer gave her a good look-over, and she wondered if he was going to insist on frisking her or something.
âNo cameras, no phones, no nothing,â he said.
âYeah, I know,â she squeaked. Ajax had told her as much. She did have a small container of pepper spray hooked to her belt loop. It wasnât completely hidden, but she didnât care. She just needed something.
âNo weapons,â he said, pointing to the pepper spray.
She looked hard at the guy. Took a step back. âThen forget it,â she said. âIâm a woman. Iâm not going in there unprotected. Ajax said to tell you Iâm good to go in.â
He practically stumbled over himself to take it back. âFine, no problem. Take it. You can go on in.â
Maybe they were desperate for women in the audience, or maybe the bouncer was afraid of Ajax. Shrugging, she stepped through the door and was instantly in a huge room. Lights were pointed at the cage, but there was enough of the light to filter into the crowd. Gemma looked around. Of the few women there, most of them wore super skimpy clothes, and hung on the arms of guys. Hair made up, makeup done in dramatic dark colors. Gemma touched her own face. Sheâd gone easy on the lipstick, heavy on the eyeliner and mascara. Seemed she mostly fit in, although her shirt was slightly larger and less see-through than a wet Kleenex. So there was that.
She pushed her way, politely, through the crowd, then realized sheâd never be able to see anything from so far back. âExcuse me,â she said to the people milling around in front of her, but no one moved. âExcuse me,â she said again, more loudly.
No more politeness. Especially when a hand grabbed her ass. She reached back and twisted it until a guy nearby started howling. Then she smiled sweetly in his direction and let him go. âYou must have mistaken me for someone else,â she said.
He nodded and backed away.
Ajax was announced, followed by his opponent, The Rose King. Gemma watched passively while Ajax was hustled into the cage. On the other side, a man came in. His back was to her, and Gemma immediately figured out why they called him the Rose Kingâhe had a giant, beautiful red rose tattooed in the middle of his back between is shoulder blades. It was a gorgeous piece of body art.
Wait. That was her tattoo. She had a matching one on her hip.
How was that possible? Sheâd had hers done special for her eighteenth birthday. Her middle name was Rose, so sheâd always had a thing for them. Rex had even gone with her to the tattoo shop, more than once, as she worked with the artist to make the perfect rose. That rose was supposed to be one-of-a-kind, just for her.
Afterward, Rex had kept the paper. Said he liked the design and wanted to hang onto it. The next time sheâd gone to his house, it had been stuck to the bulletin board over his desk. It did look pretty.
The Rose King.
Rex meant king in Latin. And the rose tattoo. And Gemmaâs âRex sightingâ earlier that day.
It couldnât be.
This man had dirty blond hair with an undercut, the top sections pulled back in a super-short ponytailâRexâs hair was lighter and heâd always cut it evenly. This man had a beard so thick that even from the back, she could see the sides of itâRex had always kept his face bare. This man had gigantic muscles and looked like he could squash anyone like a bug. In fact, he looked like he could squash an entire city block like a bug. This guy was a giant.
Rex had been muscular, but lean.
But when he turned and looked out at the crowd, when his blazing green eyes scanned the sea of people, Gemma knew. She knew.
She was staring at her old best friend.
I hope you enjoyed this! <3
Love,
Liza
this is torture . please send more chapters.
Aw, not trying to torture you! Don’t worry–you’ll get more soon! <3
Another snippet. How cruel.
I still like it.
Glad you’re enjoying it!
Just read first two chapters and I want to get this book. OMG it’s getting good. Want more
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you’re enjoying it. đ You can totally buy it, but if you can wait, more is coming to your inbox very soon!
Cool how you explained his name. I like to know how things come about. I’m looking forward to more!
Thanks so much! đ I’m glad you’re enjoying it so far!
You have hooked me. I want more.
I am hooked and anticipating what comes next
<3
More chapters please.
Your wish is my command. đ
It is torture waiting for the next section! Please sent more as soon as possible!!
Ahhh I don’t want to torture anyone! You’ll get it very soon! Hang tight! <3
Ahhh I need more please. Donât leave me hanging…. this is torture. Canât wait for the next part.
Very soon. But this is the second comment about torture–ack! I promise, you’ll get the next part soon!
Liza thank you for sending me part 2 and 3 so that I could catch up with the story, I really appreciate it. I read 4 and 5 yesterday and now that I’m completely in the know I can say that this book is awesome and I can’t wait for more.
You’re welcome, Holli! I’m thrilled that you’re enjoying it! <3
Love the characters and how they are developing. Cannot wait for more!
Yay! I’m so glad to hear that, thank you! <3
This story is exciting, can’t wait for more. Thanks for sharing, I am enjoying it so far. Good luck with the book.
Thank you! You should be getting the next part in your inbox tomorrow! đ I hope you like it!
Totally hooked, canât wait to find the next email in my inbox đđ¤Şâ¤ď¸â¤ď¸â¤ď¸â¤ď¸
Yaaassss, The Rose King is your gateway drug to the Fierce Mates universe! đ <3