Fight For You

Chapter 9

It was only a few seconds before I came to and Coach and Dominic were pulling me to my feet, but it felt like a lifetime later. El Lobo was prancing around the cage, his fists in the air as he was declared the winner.

He won. I let him win because I let my guard down for Jackie.

When I finally got to my feet I looked back out into the crowd at the spot I'd seen her, but she was gone. My heart sped up. How long was I out? Where the hell did she go? Where the fuck did the bastard take her?

"Nicky, what are you doing?" Coach snapped.

I ignored him and looked directly at Dominic. "Find out where Emilio is. Now," I growled.

"O-o-okay, Nick. I can do that." He skittered out of the cage.

Coach and I followed soon after. A crowd of people started to gather around us, but I just wanted to get dressed. I needed to get the hell out of there and find Emilio. Even more important: I had to find Jackie.

"Nick? Nick?" Coach yelled, but I didn't answer. I kept my eyes trained ahead, looking at the door that led to the VIP room.

He finally pulled my head down and forced me to look at him. "Nick, where is your head right now? Because I know it sure as shit wasn't in that fight."

"There's some business I have to take care of ..." I trailed off.

Coach looked at me hard. "I know you're a fighter, Nick. You can try and tell me something different, but I know you. I know this performance wasn't you. Go clean up and I'll see you at the gym tomorrow." He let go of my head and pushed me back. Coach was always a hard-ass, but I'd never seen him pissed off at me.

Yeah, I'd fucked up the fight, but some things were bigger than the cage. All my life that's where I thought I'd wanted to be. Just the fighter in the cage, and now for the first time I was ready to take that fight outside.

***

Dominic was waiting outside the VIP room as soon as I was dressed. He was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, but jumped up and to attention as soon as he saw me.

"Hey, Nick, you ready?"

I nodded, unsure what I was supposed to be ready for, but if it involved taking Emilio or El Lobo down, then hell yes I was.

I followed Dominic down a short hallway where two girls were standing in nothing but a pair of white lace panties each. The girls weren't paying any attention to us, just staring at their cell phones. As we approached, their eyes flitted to us and they put their phones down.

"Hey, you're Nicky Ragusa, right?" The shorter one asked in a baby doll voice.

"Yeah. Yeah, I am," I replied, clenching and unclenching my fists. I didn't have time to chat or get groped by some random strippers.

"You trying to get a free show? Or just looking for a little something else for you and your friend?" She batted her eyelashes and her friend sidled up to her side, licking her lips and puffing out her chest. "We'll take you both for a few G's. No questions asked. We don't do anal, but everything else is fair game."

I looked to my side to see Dominic's eyes were so wide they were practically bugging out of their sockets. I shook my head and smiled politely. "Thanks for the offer ladies, but we've got some business to attend to."

"Oh poo," the baby doll-voiced girl said. "Maybe next time, Nicky."

"Yeah, sure, whatever." I waved and grabbed onto Dominic's shirt, pulling him with me down the hallway and out toward the back exit.

"Don't get messed up in that shit," I growled as Dominic protested. " Just focus on the task at hand and tell me where we're going."

Dominic nodded toward a building across the alleyway. The last few letters of an old video rental place hung off the sign. Old boards crossed the windows, sprayed with graffiti. I looked both ways, making sure no one was around, but the place was empty. People cleared out pretty quick after the fight and anyone still at the strip club was already inside.

I followed Dominic around to the back of the old video store where a paneled door was held open with a brick at the bottom. Dominic lifted the brick and slid in. As soon as I was in behind him, I very carefully closed the door behind us.

My shoes squeaked on the blue linoleum floor and I stepped more softly, following Dominic through the dark room. He held his cell phone up, which only gave a little bit of light to lead the way. He turned a sharp corner and opened a door to an even smaller room. A tiny window let in a hint of moonlight, but only enough to get a glimpse of what was going on inside. It may have been an office at one time with its dropped ceiling and the same blue linoleum floors, but now it was being used for more sinister purposes.

My cousins Phil and Mark stood like bookends, each holding one arm of Emilio, a strip of duct tape over his mouth and his feet bound together by rope. Once his eyes met mine his muffled cursing became more apparent. I took a step closer, making sure he heard each step of my shoes. No need to be soft-footed now. He needed to hear that I was coming for him.

I stopped when I was right in front of him. He quit trying to talk, so I ripped off the duct tape.

"Ah! Fuck!" he yelled and put his head down.

I grabbed his chin, forcing him to look me in the eye. "You do not look away from me when I demand your attention."

He stared at me, the air thick between us.

Finally he smiled. "Nicky Ragusa. The man fucking my ex-girlfriend. I knew I'd get to make your acquaintance one of these days. I just didn't know it would be after one of my brothers kicked your ass."

I squeezed his jaw, locking my grip onto it. I could have broken it with my bare hands if I wanted to.

"You should learn some respect, Emilio," I snarled.

"Respect?" he laughed, though it was strained. I let go of his mouth and he coughed, sputtering into my face. I waited for him to continue. "You don't deserve my respect."

"Do you know who the fuck you're talking to?" Dominic jumped in behind me, his fist in the air.

I put my hand out, stopping Dominic. "Let me handle this, cuz."

Dominic nodded and took a step back.

Emilio laughed. "Of course I do. Nicholas Ragusa. Son of Vince Ragusa. The Don of Chicago. El Principe, they call you." He gargled and spit a wet ball of mucus right in the center of my forehead. "You're no fucking prince. You're a peasant. If you want some white trash sloppy seconds, you can have her. I don't want her anyway."

Mark and Phil's eyebrows were raised, waiting for my response. I let out a silent laugh through my nose and wiped the spit wad off of my forehead with the back of my hand. The adrenaline running through me was so thick I could have killed him right there. I'd never wanted to destroy something so much in my life. This was personal, not because of Jackie anymore. He had it out for me and my family. I couldn't let him get away that easily.

I nodded at Phil. "Hey Philly, light 'im up."

"Whatever you say, boss," Phil replied.

Emilio's eyes widened. He didn't beg for his life or try to apologize. He just stared. I patted his cheek and smiled. Then I turned away and shut the door, drowning out the sounds of the gunshot behind me.