go!”
I checked the clock, it was 8:05 PM. “Boy these
things certainly start on time don’t they?”
“Yep,” she said, her phone rang and she answered.
“I’m sorry babe, we’re running late.” Jaclyn covered the phone’s
receiver with her hand and spoke to me. “Jason said we can go in
the back and skip the bouncer. A fight’s about to start so we need
to hurry.” She uncovered the receiver and spoke to Jason. “Ok,
babe. We’re coming right up.”
We hurried through the makeshift parking lot to the
barn, a loud masculine roar began to get clearer and clearer, and
that roar made my heart pound. This was just the type of place my
mother warned me never to enter, a true house of ill repute.
Jaclyn knocked on the back door, which creaked as it
opened. Jaclyn lost herself in a wave of excitement. “Jason baby I
missed you!” she said, lunging into his arms. He hugged her
tightly, every single one of his muscles flexing. She kissed him on
the lips.
He looked over at me and extended his hand, his
exposed chest flexing. “And you must be Beth?”
“That’s me.” I nodded and faked the biggest smile I
could as I shook his hand.
“Hey, you gals are just a little too late. Castro’s
about to fight, come on let’s go before we miss it.”
The sweat, dust, and must hung thick in the air as
we moved through the massive barn. We walked through a crowd of
people to find the ring, which was no more than a circle of dirt
outlined by stacks of hay three feet high. The ring itself didn’t
matter; it was what happened inside of it that got this crowd riled
up. And by the looks of the faces of the men and women around me,
they were dying for a fight.
A biker wearing spurred leather boots, riding pants,
and a vest studded with patches entered the ring, a cheap
microphone in his right hand, which was hooked to an old boom box
that was just loud enough to hear over the crowd’s roar. His
stringy gray hair was flowing backward as he moved, riling up the
crowd.
I turned to Jaclyn. “Hey, who is that?”
She yelled into my ear. “That’s Cyrus Westin, leader
of the Steel Assassins MC. He runs this show and god knows what
else.”
My heart started to pound as the crowd grew more
intense. Cyrus greeted the horde. “Well are you vicious bastards
ready for some blood? Or are you vicious bastards ready or some
blood?” The crowd yelled, and the excitement grew in waves. “Should
I bring the fighters out?”
“Yea!” the crowd screamed as men chugged beer
bottles and the cherries of their cigarettes burned red-hot.
“Well alright then! Let’s get this shit started! In
the east side of the pit, with a an undefeated record of 7 and 0,
and fighting out of Pineville, Oregon, Castro Ruiz!”
The crowd went absolutely ballistic. He was clearly
a favorite. Jaclyn shook my shoulder in excitement and turned to
place a big, fat kiss on Jason’s lips.
Castro emerged from the crowd and stepped into the
ring, slamming his fists together. I tried to fight the excitement
rumbling inside of me but I just couldn’t stop it. I looked to
Jacs. “God damn that boy is hot!”
She laughed and clapped her hands. “Woohoo! What did
I tell you?”
Cyrus continued. “Alright, alright, I get it, you’re
in love with Castro. Calm yourselves. Remember you bloodthirsty
motherfuckers it takes two to fight!” The crowd cheered again.
“Please, please calm yourselves.” The crowd toned down to a simmer.
“In the west side of the pit, in his second fight, with a record of
0 and 1, and fighting out of Redmond, Oregon, Jackson Douglas!”
I looked to Jaclyn. “Jackson who?” I said. The
crowd’s response was mixed, some booed and some cheered. Money
began to change hands as the audience began to place wagers on the
outcome of the fight.
I looked for Jackson Douglas and
spotted him as he stepped through the crowd. My heart leapt from my
chest