Imprinted Tattoos (The Lost One's Book 1) Page 9

  If I didn't desperately need the money I would leave right now but since I do I can only take measures to conceal my appearance and hope that Eric is too busy chasing pussy to pay much attention to what's happening in the ring. It's his fault I know about this place anyway. I've always taken self-defence and martial arts for as long as I can remember. I'm not sure why my mother insisted on them, but how could I question her? Her punishments would have been worse.

  As soon as my ex learnt that I knew how to fight he bought me here. I'm ashamed to say he tempted me with money but more than that I wanted to make him proud, so I fought, and I won. I've only been back here when I have absolutely no other choice. Only twice since we split and not once were any of his men in the building.

  "Thanks for the heads-up Sam."

  He nods before leaving. I push all thoughts away; I need to focus. Any distractions and I'll be finished. I need to win in order to get my cut of the winnings.

  I shake out my muscles before pulling my hair into a tight bun and pulling the hood up on my jumper to cover my hair and hopefully obscure my face. I search my bag and finally find some Bobby pins I only find two, but it will have to do. I push the pins through the inside of the material of the hood and then secure them into my hair. It's not much but hopefully it will work. Seems like I'm throwing a lot of hope out there just to get booze for my mother.

  Although I’m also doing it for the release of my emotions, that's how I knew what Kai was doing when he was beating the ever-loving crap out of that bag.

  "Nyx come on, you're up" Tommy informs me.

  I walk through the locker room door and down the long hallway, the sounds of the crowd getting louder. I make it through to the end of the corridor whilst the announcer goes through the usual fan fair that accompanies announcing fighters.

  I tune everything out as I walk into the cage. I eye up my opponent, looking for weaknesses, anything I can use against him. He's big, very well-muscled and about a head taller than me. In other words, I look even more tiny next to him than I do normally. I can, however, use his height and size against him. He may have a longer reach than me and be physically stronger, but he will be slower too.

  The announcer yells 'fight' and we begin to circle.

  He has an ugly sneer on his face and seems so self-assured, like he thinks he's already won. That will make him sloppy. Never underestimate your opponent. Tired of circling, he lunges for me, and I kick out whilst moving out of the way, getting a solid kick on his thigh. Not much but having a dead leg during a fight is a bitch.

  Not waiting for him to recover, I jab him in the side and hear his rib crack.

  He bellows loudly and swings around catching me in the stomach.

  I circle him to give me time to recover from the attack. He charges me again and I dodge a kick aimed to sweep my feet out from under me. One of the most important things I've learned about fighting is that you never want to go down, especially when you're my size and fighting opponents so much bigger than you.

  The more I dodge his blows the more erratic his swings and kicks become, frustrated that he hasn't been able to land a blow. I spot my opening and throw an uppercut to his jaw before quickly following it up with a roundhouse kick to his head.

  He drops like a very heavy sack of potatoes, just before the ref gets to three and declares a knockout, I go flying through the air, my hood ripped off and taking some of my hair with it in the process.

  The son of a bitch grabbed my ankle.

  As I'm falling, I position myself so my elbow lands with as much force as possible on his face. I feel his nose crunch and wet sticky blood spurt out of it before I spin round and hit him in quick succession making sure to go for pressure points, I know will knock him out cold.

  After two blows he's out and the announcer declares me the victor. I ignore the crowd like I usually do and make my way back to the locker rooms as quickly as possible. I may have won but that fucking asshole ripped my hood off, I need to get out of here now.

  I quickly throw on a pair of yoga pants and sneakers not bothering with showering or changing properly. Sam has already left my takings in my locker, seeming to know I would want a quick escape, which worries me even more. I grab it all and throw it into my bag.

  The sense of urgency is almost overwhelming.

  I hear a crash from the other side of the locker room and curse myself for jumping. Not waiting around, I grab my bag and make my way to the only other exit in the room. It's not my first choice in a situation like this, since it leads out into a secluded side parking lot that no one ever uses and is the perfect place for an ambush.

  I have no choice though.

  "Sage" a man’s voice sing songs behind me, "the boss would like to see you; he misses his little toy" a sardonic laugh follows that horrifying statement.

  I bolt out of the door making sure it closes almost silently behind me. There are no other exits so he will know where I've gone but hopefully, he will scour the locker room first thinking I'm so out of my mind with terror I will have just curled up into a shaking ball on the floor.

  After all when they all knew me that's what I would've done. I race up the dark stairway as quietly as I can and make it out of the side door with no further incidents, which makes me suspicious, that guy should have caught up with me now. I stay alert but figure maybe luck is finally on my side.

  Sticking close to the building I chec my surroundings constantly. I only make it a few feet from the door before I'm suddenly surrounded on all sides by men. I glance behind me praying for an escape route of some kind and my heart plummets as I see that they've closed ranks standing shoulder to shoulder and caging me in.

  Well fuck, fuck, FUCK!! I internally scream.

  A guy exits out of the door I just came through at a leisurely pace and I realise this must be the guy that was in the locker room. He smirks at me. Which is when I realise that I've been fucking herded like an animal. I should know better, hell I do know better. What the fuck was I thinking!

  The men in front of me part and let through a man in his early twenty’s with short dark hair and murky brown eyes. He's dressed like he should be attending a multimillion-dollar function not an underground fighting ring. His body is lean, but you can tell just from a glance that it has no real strength. No, this man prefers to have others do his dirty work.

  I can't believe I ever thought I liked him. How was I so starved for attention and for someone to care about me, that I thought he was good looking or someone I'd want to be with I don't know.

  "Brent" I manage to grit out through my teeth.

  "Sage, how lovely to see you. I've missed you" the fake sickly-sweet tone of his voice makes my stomach churn.

  He reaches out a hand as if to stroke my cheek and I take a step back; I never want him touching me again. His eyes flash with malice for a brief second before the fake sugary sweetness overtakes his features once again.

  "Now, now sweet Sage there's no need to be like that. The last time we saw each other was just a misunderstanding. I want you to come home to me" he says it so assuredly.

  He genuinely believes I'm going to drop to my knees and thank him for taking me back. The absurdity of it all causes me to crack and I let out a long loud laugh. The shock of me laughing in their boss’s face freezes the men surrounding me, that is until a sharp stinging hits my cheek. I straighten up and refuse to show him that he just hurt me, I simply smirk at him.

  "A misunderstanding huh?" I ask raising my eyebrow.

  Fucker just slapped me like the bitch he is.

  He blusters briefly before getting himself back under control and he drops the fake sweetness as a dark glare covers his face.

  "It's cute how you think you have a choice about whether you come with me or not."

  I stiffen slightly at the implications in his words but force myself to relax. I will not show fear. I can be scared later, I don't have time for it now. I glance around me looking for an escape route or the easiest way to fight m
y way out without getting shot or stabbed. As I'm scanning the shadows my eyes spot a large shape dressed in black with a black mask covering the entirety of his face. There's something incredibly familiar about him. My eyes lock onto his and I inhale sharply, Hunter?

  What the fuck?

  I move my eyes away from him quickly not wanting to draw attention to him and scan the area for the others. I know that where there is one the others won't be too far away. I spot them all, all in the same completely black outfit with a black mask.

  I make eye contact with Levi and he nods slightly. I instinctively know that, that's my cue to get down and somewhere safe before all hell breaks loose. I almost warn them away from trying anything with Brent and his men but that same instinctual feeling pops up to tell me they can handle themselves.

  However, if they think I'm sitting out of this fight they've got another thing coming. I shake my head back at Levi and watch his eyes widen. None of these men are armed with guns, Sam strictly prohibits anyone apart from the guards for the arena to have them. I know for a fact though that they are all carrying knives and that more than likely Brent does have a gun.

  I suddenly sprint towards one of the guys circling me. I can hear a commotion behind me and know that my guys have joined the fight.

  Reaching the guy, I slam my fist into his temple and promptly knock him out. I find his knives quickly and grab one for each hand before kicking the others underneath the dumpster no sense in leaving a man armed even if he is knocked out.

  I take a brief second to watch my guys fight with ease and precision. It occurs to me that they are very well trained. I shake out of my thoughts there's no time for that now.

  I smack the butt of my knife down onto the temple of another one of Brent's guys, watching as he drops. I fight my way towards Brent knowing that I'm going to have to disarm him before he shoots one of my guys. He turns to me just as I reach him and catching him off guard I strike out with my fist towards his throat forcing him to drop to the floor as he struggles to breathe. It won't kill him, but it will incapacitate him long enough for me to disarm him.

  I find his gun, thankful that he only has one, check the safety and put it in the back of my pants.

  Glancing around at the fight still ensuing and trying to see where I'm needed most, I spot someone sneaking up behind Kai, a flash of silver in his hand giving the blade he's carrying away. I aim and throw without a second thought.

  My knife sails through the air, straight and true as it hits the shoulder of knife guy causing him to drop the knife with a loud clatter. Kai stares at me in shock momentarily before taking the first man he was fighting and the knife guy down swiftly. All of my guys, except for Kai, are fighting with their backs towards each other in a circle. Me and Kai both make our way over to them fighting through Brent's men. It seems he called for back-up at some point.

  We make it to the circle and stand with them, our backs facing inwards towards the centre of the circle and our shoulders touching. I get a sense of peace and strength flow through me as my shoulders brush against Kai and Hunter.

  I'm surprised at how well I can fight with them. It makes sense that they fight well together, it's obvious they've been doing it for years but it's a pleasant surprise that I seem to be able to fit in so well with them. I love how they didn't try to push me into the middle of the circle, they've seen me fight and they treat me as an equal not a damsel in distress.

  The warm feeling in my chest expands and suddenly a glowing white light covers me, spreading over each of my guys too. Everyone stops and stares before a blast radiates from me and my guys sending Brent's guys sprawling across the ground all of them knocked out cold.

  "What the fuckity fuck was that?" Kai questions, breathing heavily from the fight.

  "I don't know Kai, there seems to be a lot of explaining that needs to be done" I say pointedly looking them all. Knowing full well I have a lot to explain too.

  "How could you tell it was me?" He asks perplexed.

  "Same way I know that's Hunter, Levi, Jax and Maverick" I say pointing to each one, "I just know" I shrug, and they all share a look.

  "Can we get out of here; we don’t know how long they’re going to be out for."

  "Yes of course, our vans parked around the corner. We have a lot to talk about" Levi looks at me and I nod.

  I don't know what that light was, but I feel lighter, freer and I trust my guys.

  "Stay at ours tonight Little Star?" Jax questions.

  "I don't think any of us want to let you out of our sight right now" Maverick admits.

  "Ok, I'd love to, but I've got to pick up some booze and drop it back to the house first. She won't notice I'm gone then."

  "We'll go to the store now and get it out of the way."

  I nod and after a quick store run, we make it back to their place. I flop onto the couch my energy starting to plummet now the adrenaline is wearing off.

  "Make yourself at home Sweetheart" Hunter jokes and I stick my tongue out at him playfully and maturely.

  They all chuckle, making me smile.

  Once we've all showered, changed and ordered pizza we sit in the living room.

  "So . . ." Levi starts.

  "I'll start" I say, surprising myself and from the looks of it, the guys too.

  I know these men are incredibly important to me. Even in the short amount of time I've known them all, that’s pretty fucking clear. I also know that it's possible they will become even more important to me. I do not want to keep secrets from them.

  A relationship started on secrets will fail before it even has the chance to succeed.

  If I am lucky enough to have a relationship with these amazing men, I will do everything in my power to make sure it succeeds.

  "All I ask is that you don't say anything until I'm finished."

  They all nod their agreement apart from Hunter who starts to say something before Levi shoots him a warning look, causing him to instantly snap his mouth shut.

  "I'm not really sure where to start?" I say unsurely.

  "Fair enough, how about why you were at the fight club?" Levi asks.

  Giving me a starting point. I shoot him a grateful smile and I'm rewarded with one in return that makes my heartbeat faster in my chest.

  "I was there to fight" I state simply.

  Hunter rockets off of the couch causing a chain reaction with others until they are all standing.

  "What the fuck Sweetheart? Fighting? Why were you fighting? You could've been hurt! The guys that fight there fight dirty" he rapidly questions me not letting me reply and slowly angering me the more he continues, he seems to have forgotten I just fought alongside him and the rest of my guys. "Can you even fight? They are so much bigger than you!"

  I think he needs reminding just how well I can fight.

  Seeing my emotions easily expressed on my face the others take a discreet step back. I walk up to Hunter, who by this point is pacing and gesturing wildly. Still continuing his speech. I swing my leg around and take his legs out from underneath him successfully bringing him to the floor. I then put my foot on his throat with just enough pressure to let him know what I'm capable of but not enough to actually cause him pain. The others are all laughing loudly at the wide-eyed shock on Hunters face.

  "You seem to have temporarily forgotten that I just fought alongside you. I am more than capable of looking after myself" I tell him sternly.

  He looks up at me apologetically.

  "Sorry Sweetheart, I just worry."

  I smile down at him and take my foot off his throat before turning around and sitting back on the couch.

  "As I was saying, I was there to fight. I've had martial arts training for most of my life. My mother insisted on it although I don't know why. When my ex found out he immediately wanted me to fight at the club, it's his club." I watch the guys exchange wary looks before deciding to continue and ask questions later. "I need the money; I've just had to sell my car to pay the bills and get booze for m
om."

  I pause not really wanting the guys to know how desperately I craved affection back then but also knowing that I am deeply connected to all five of them and if I want whatever this relationship is to continue and succeed, I need to be completely honest with them.

  Even if it goes against everything I'm used to.

  I glance over at Kai and he gives me an encouraging smile almost as if he knows.

  "I also wanted to make him proud and make him want to keep me" I look down at my hands clasped in my lap and continue without looking up. "I was so deprived of any sort of affection that I refused see the damage he was causing or capable of."

  I sense them all tense. Knowing that what I'm about to say is going to be hard for all of them to hear but especially hard for Kai, I get up off the couch and sit myself sideways in his lap wrapping my arms around his neck and anchoring one of my hands in his hair.

  His arms automatically wrap around my waist and pull me closer. I glance around at the others hoping that my display of affection for Kai hasn't hurt any of their feelings or caused any jealousy. Thankfully although they all look tense, they seem to understand.

  I take a deep breath as Jax gives me an encouraging wink.

  "I didn’t get him a beer quick enough, how fucking ridiculous is that, he knocked me out just because I was a bit slow at getting him a mother fucking beer" I scoff angrily.

  Kai's arms tighten around me and a quick glance at the others shows me they all have their fists clenched so tight their knuckles have gone white. Jax seeming to need the connection brings my legs up at rests his hand on my thigh over my yoga pants. I can feel Maverick's hand resting on my back.

  I clench my hand tightly in Kai's hair and continue.

  “When I came to, I was thrown out by the garbage cans like trash, thankfully I was still fully clothed, and everything was as it should be.”

  All of them exhale sharply, Hunter and Levi come to sit by the couch and place a hand somewhere on me.

  I know they are all struggling with this, but I am the most worried about Kai his reaction when it was my mother that had hurt me was awful. I can only imagine what it will be like since this situation is incredibly similar to his mothers. He buries his head into my neck and his breathing becomes increasingly heavy.