Noah ended the call and tucked his phone away.
It sounded grim and dirty and not at all romantic. “Who will be here? Women?”
“You would not believe the women there,” Noah replied, rolling his eyes toward me. “From the suburban mom to the punked-out chicks. They’re turned on by the fighting, I guess.”
I clutched his hand a little tighter, which caused Noah to lean down. “I’ll take care of you.”
“I know you will,” I said with conviction. “I trust you.”
His eyes, lit by the moonlight and the stars, darkened a bit, and he stopped. We both understood I meant for more than for just this one night and one moment. With both hands on my hips, he drew me close so that we were flush from head to toe. “You won’t regret that.”
His mouth came down onto mine with almost a bruising pressure, as if he were trying to brand his message into my body. My hands clenched around his biceps, and I felt them flex slightly underneath me as his arms folded around my back and pressed me hard against him. When he lifted his head, we were both breathing heavily. Even through our two layers of denim, I could feel the outline of his hard-on against me.
“No more distracting me,” he said, his eyes glittering. His mouth tipping up at the corners.
“No sir,” I replied, cheekily. “I won’t stop you and force your arms around me again.”
“Smart ass.” He turned toward a side door of a large brick building that had a dim red bulb above it. No one was standing around outside. Noah rapped out strange pattern on the door. In response, the door opened immediately, and a large man with dirty blond dreads greeted us. “Noah Jackson, what are you doing here?”
“I’m fighting here tonight. Against Rickers.”
Dreadlocks shook his head, the tail ends of his hair swinging slightly. “That’s bad news. What about the UFC?”
“If everyone keeps their traps locked down, it will be fine. Deke, this is my girl, Grace. Keep an eye out for her. She’s precious cargo,” Noah gestured for me to enter. I stepped forward and felt my hand engulfed in Deke’s giant paw. Noah handed Deke a few bills.
“Nice to meet you, Grace,” Deke grunted. After I returned the pleasantry, he pointed down a dark hallway. “Go to the back room. No one wants you to get in trouble. You’re our hometown boy.” Before Deke could close the door, Finn rushed in.
“Great, I caught you. I can never remember the stupid knock,” he panted, clearly having run quickly to make it through before the door was closed. Finn and Deke exchanged greetings and money, and then we all left Deke at the door to venture down the dark hallway.
“I feel like I’m in some bad Halloween movie, and Freddie is going to jump out with his chainsaw at any moment.” I shivered under Noah’s arm.
“I thought the chainsaw guy was Jason.” Finn draped his arm around my back and patted my head.
“Finn, make sure no one mauls Grace tonight, okay?” Noah ordered, pushing Finn’s arm away and drawing me closer to his side.
“Will do,” he replied, unperturbed that Noah seemed to be creating a pocket of space between Finn and me—as if even his friends were not allowed within a certain distance.
At the end of the hallway, a tiny bit of light seeped out underneath a nearly hidden doorway. Noah didn’t bother to knock this time. He just opened the door. Inside were the remnants of an office. Filing cabinets were stacked on top of each other, some perpendicular to the floor, and there was a battered desk with its drawers open and askew, like a lady of the night with her heels kicked off and her pantyhose around her ankles. It was somewhat obscene. Two sofas, with cushions that were nearly flattened by use or age, were positioned opposite the desk. Next to the sofa stood Bo, Mal, and Adam. Bo held out his hand for the bag Noah carried.
He dug in and pulled out the wraps while Noah emptied the contents of his pants pockets and handed my phone to Finn. Noah held out his hands, and Bo wrapped him. “I saw Rickers earlier. He looks like he has trimmed down some, off the ‘roids.”
Noah gave a short nod. “Have you heard where he’s been training?”
“No. Maybe out of town.”
“Strategy?”
“Don’t let him punch you in the face. He was weak in the stomach before. A good kick should level him. I don’t think he’s a good grappler, but you’re on sand and cement here, not the Octagon, so you don’t want to spend too much time on the floor. If I think the fight is getting out of hand, I’m throwing in the towel,” Bo said.
“I don’t need a motherfucking babysitter,” Noah snarled.