Chapter 145
I’ve never been anywhere like this. The place is totally packed, and the gathered crowd is energetic and loud – near riotous, really. They stand and shout as each of the fighters throws and lands a punch. The people next to me keep pushing me closer to Beau. He doesn’t seem to mind. He just grins at me.
“This is just the opening fight,” Beau says. He has to talk loud to be heard over the crowd. “You should see the main event.”
“What is this place?” I ask him. “Amateur boxing?” I had no idea such a place even existed.
“This is an underground fighting ring,” Beau says. “It’s one of many all spread throughout the country and the world. It’s not exactly sanctioned, though you often see politicians in here to enjoy the fights. I don’t think it’s going to get busted any time soon.”
“The politicians allow it?”
“They are avid enjoyers, Nanny. Here. You’ll like this next fight.”
I turn my eyes to the ring in time to see the cleanup of the last fight. One of the fighters had been knocked out clean and was being removed from the ring. A paramedic was nearby, checking the unconscious fighter.
They don’t give much time to clean up the ring, before two new fighters are announced – and they are both women. My eyes nearly bug out of my head.
Women are not allowed to be warriors, yet here, in the underground kingdom, they are allowed to fight?
The crowd cheer for the women same as they did for the men, as if nothing is different here. As if nothing isn’t allowed.
The feel of the crowd is electric. It sparks through me, down deep into my core. Suddenly the pushes and shoves feel like a breeze in a meadow. The shouts are like poetry.
I see this place in an entirely new light, and I want to be a part of it.
“I see the spark in your eye,” Beau says. “You think you could fight here?”
I want to, but I don’t tell him that. I remember how poorly he and the other brothers handled discovering my dream of being a warrior. I’m not about to face that same ridicule again.
I will simply have to discover how this place is run all on my own. If I find out the fighter requirements, I wouldn’t need Beau as an in-between.
“You have a long way to go before you could make it here,” Beau says.
I look at him in surprise. That wasn’t a flat out rejection. It was no, you’ll never do this, or you’ll never be able to do this.
In a tiny way, what he said is almost… supportive?
Beau brought me here. He let me see this. He told me I have a long way to go, but not that it’s impossible.
This is a kindness I never expected from him. So I give him one in return. I lean in and kiss him on the cheek.
“Thank you, Beau,” I say. “This gives me something to work towards.”
I mean it from the bottom of my heart. Since Tide’s hospitalization, I’ve felt so helpless. Becoming a warrior is still the dream, but it seems so unattainable without anyone to help me. But if I could fight well enough to make it here, maybe I could jump into being a warrior with some kind of support.
Beau shakes his head a little. It’s too dark to see if he’s blushing, and I can’t imagine he would. But when he glances back at me, there’s a fondness there that he doesn’t always show.
“Don’t mention it,” he says. “Seriously. Not a word of this to my brothers. They’d kick my ass if they knew I brought you here.”
“I won’t say a word.”
“If anyone asks you, you found this place all on your own.”
“I understand.”
We watch the fight for a while. I’m entirely enamored with the way the fighters move. It’s different than the formal warrior training, rawer somehow. The moves are delivered more with fury than the precision movements required by the warriors.
I watch the two women move around each other with grace, light on their feet. They use their speed to their advantage, continuously trying to catch the other off guard. One throws a punch and the crowd erupts. People rise from the seats to yell. I’m one of them.
I feel Beau watching me as I sit back down. His good mood seems to have faltered slightly. Now he looks at me with something like seriousness, unusual for him.
“What is it?” I ask.
“You have to promise me right now, not to even think of attempting this until you have advanced your skills to the next level.”
I pull my brow together. “You worried about me, Beau?”
“Nanny, you come here to fight anytime soon and I’ll be picking you up at the hospital, you got it? No, I don’t want you hurt.” He seems angry by this admittance, and quickly looks away from me, back to the match.
I try to process his words as the match continues.
After the final match, Beau ushers me out of the crowded warehouse with his hand on the small of my back. At the motorcycle, he hands me a helmet and we both get on. He backs us out of the spot and we take off.
I’m expect him to take me home. It’s getting late by now, and I can’t imagine where else we’d go.
I should have known better than to expect anything from Beau. He drives and he drives, and I cling to his back. Before too long, he stops the bike at what seems to be a park. Looking up, I realize we are at the base of a water tower.
Beau gets off the bike and I follow him. I hand him my helmet and he attaches both to the motorcycle.
I’m pretty sure we aren’t supposed to be here. The place does have a gate around it, but Beau seems unbothered as he pushes it open. He holds it like that, even after he walks through, like he expects me to follow.
I stay where I am, just outside the gate.
Realizing I’m not following him, he looks back at me. “What is it?”
“I don’t think we’re allowed in there,” I say.
He rolls his eyes with dramatic flair. “Well, aren’t you a good little girl? Come on, Nanny. You think there’s anywhere in this town I haven’t been?”
“That doesn’t make me feel better,” I say.
Beau glances at me, and then up at the water tower behind the gate. “Oh, I see what this is.”
I cross my arms. I know he’s baiting me, but I can’t help myself from taking the bait. “What?”
He looks at me again. “You’re afraid of heights.”
“Am not,” I snap. “I’ve climbed plenty of high things.”
“It’s okay if you are. I will only tease you a little, I swear. I would never accuse you of being a coward.”
Asshole. He knows just what he’s doing. His little smirk gives him away.
But I still push past him through the gate and make my way to the ladder of the water tower, ignoring his string of laughter behind me.
“I’m not afraid of anything,” I say, and climb.
