Two of the brothers from the club held me, one on either side, gripping my arms, and I stumbled as they helped me out of the ring. That asshole had gotten in a couple of good swings at me, and I was pretty sure my nose was broken. I could feel blood dripping down my face, but I couldn't feel any pain. All I could feel was the blood pumping in my ears, and the vague din of the crowd like they were at a distance.
I was exhausted, but felt more alive than I had in a long time, since back when I was a member of the Inferno MC - not in the later days, when Mad Dog's poison had begun to permeate everything in the club, but in the early, youthful days, when April and I were still in that heady newlywed phase and I'd just joined the club. Back then, everything was great. Back in those days, life hadn't begun to wear me down. Back then, Mad Dog had yet to take away everything I held most dear.
But right now? Now I felt the rush of adrenaline, that rush I'd glimpsed for the briefest of moments when I was exacting my vengeance on Tink. It was the same feeling I'd had when I thrust my knife into Mad Dog and watched the life begin to drain from his eyes. But both of those times, that feeling was extinguished quickly, blotted out by the reality of what I was doing-taking my vengeance on the men responsible for April's death. That knowledge was too weighty, too dark to allow me to feel much of anything other than rage.
But for the briefest of moments, I felt what I felt now, the sense of clarity, the feeling that everything in the entire world was falling into place, coming together exactly as it should be. All of my senses were heightened, sharpened by the thrill of the fight. In the middle of the ring, when my fist connected with the fighter's face over and over again, I felt lost in the moment, like there was nothing else but what I was doing right then that mattered.
I felt fucking powerful.
Fucking omnipotent. Like a god.
I didn't feel pain, even though I knew I was hurt. Right now, I was invincible. Nothing and no one could touch me.
As the brothers pulled me away from the ring, I looked up and my eyes met hers. It took me a moment to recognize her, even though she stood out from the crowd like a sore thumb. She definitely didn't belong here in this shitty warehouse, with that asshole, the one who had probably left the marks on her.
Even standing there in jeans and a plain shirt, she looked more regal than if she'd have been wearing an evening gown. She couldn't have blended in if she tried. It was something about the way she stood there, tall, proud...haughty, I thought. Like she was royalty. Her long black hair swept over her shoulders in waves. She was tiny, petite, but there was something about her presence that was larger than life. She could command a room, I thought, bring a man to his knees with a single glance. I knew it about her instantly.
The man beside her, a different one than I'd seen with her at the casino, put his hand on her arm and leaned in close to her, saying something in her ear. She didn't respond, and her eyes stayed focused on mine.
And then someone stepped between us, in my line of sight, and the moment was gone. The brothers were guiding me away from the crowd toward the back of the warehouse, a back room somewhere, and when I looked in her direction a few seconds later, she was talking to the man at her side.
As I walked away from her, I found myself unable to get her out of my head.
Those eyes.
And then, just like that, a flash of guilt. I had no business, thinking about her the way that I had. Looking at her like that. April was my wife. She had my loyalty. Forever. It was part of who I was as a man. I couldn’t escape it.
"Holy fuck, Hammer, that was some shit, man!" Skunk slapped my back. "I always knew you could throw down, but holy sweet Jesus, that was nuts!"
"Just a fight man," I said. "Nothing but a fight. And don't think I didn't hear your fucking Tink comment, cocksucker." I turned and looked him in the eye, and he backed off.
"Man, I was just throwing a little motivation your way," he said. "You seemed a little tied up in your head out there, and I was a concerned, is all. And besides, I put a nice chunk of cash on you winning tonight. So don't get all pissed off crazy on me. I made enough tonight to get a brand new sled."
Pipes rolled in and gave me a slap on the shoulder. "That was some of the most savage shit I think I've ever seen, man. He's breathing again by the way, just in case you wanted to know."
I shrugged. I guessed it was good I didn't kill him. I knew I should be glad I hadn't.
I felt a twinge of pain in my shoulder. Probably just a strain or something. Doc, one of the brothers who used to be some kind of military EMT - I didn’t exactly ask him for his fucking credentials-noticed my grimace and squatted down beside me where I sat in the old beat up chair in the back room of the warehouse. He probed my shoulder with his hands, manipulating it, and I groaned involuntarily.
“Shit, quit fucking doing that, Doc,” I said.
“Just need to make sure you’re not dislocated,” he said.
“Well, I’m not. It’s my nose that’s the goddamn problem,” I said. “It’s been broken before, I’m sure it’s broken now, so let’s get this shit over with.”