Dark Horse (8 page)

“Tell Maxwell I want to talk to him,” I yelled at Henry. “You may not be interested but I still have business to discuss with him.”

Henry exited without replying. I pulled my dress back on my body and let out another exasperated sigh. I went over to the bar and poured myself another glass of champagne. As I gulped down the alcohol, Octavio stepped in through t
he door with Maxwell.

“
You wanted to talk to me?” Maxwell asked.

“
What the fuck is his problem?” I asked.

“
Um, Henry’s an odd dude. What happened?”

“
Let me make something clear to you,” I said as I walked toward him. “You and I both made a lot of money off of him tonight. But I know that’s not enough for you. I don’t care what it is you have to do. You get in his good graces and get him to fight.”

“
All right,” Maxwell replied. “I’ll talk to him.”

“
Good. Now get out of here. I don’t want to see you back here unless Henry is with you.”

“
Okay, okay…”

Octavio escorted Maxwell out of my room. Octavio stepped back into the room and I shooed him away as well. I wasn
’t in the mood to talk to anybody else. I needed to be alone.

This had never happened before. Nobody
had refused my offer for more money. And nobody had turned my body down along with it. I didn’t care what I had to do. I would break Henry open and get him to do what I wanted. He was just like every other man. All I needed to do was figure out exactly what he wanted.

Chapter 9 - Henry

I woke up the next morning with a violent knocking in my head. I groaned as I slowly opened my eyes and placed my hand up against my head. As I ran my fingers over the bandage, I was reminded of what happened last night. I’d lost count of how many men I’d put down. The last man managed to give me a permanent reminder that this wasn’t the business I belonged in.

The knocking continued and I realized that it wasn
’t just in my head. There was someone at my door. I didn’t know how late I’d slept but it was definitely past my normal bedtime.

“
Just a second,” I shouted.

When I sat up from my bed, my muscles and my bones were aching. I felt like collapsing back onto the bed but the knocking didn
’t stop. I lazily made my way to the front door. I opened the door and there was Maxwell waiting for me, the familiar smile on his face.

“
Hey, what’s going on, Homicide? You don’t look too good.”

“
What do you want, Maxwell? You’re the last person I want to talk to right now.”

“
The
last
person?”

“
All right, not the last person but you’re not very high on the list. I’m still trying to recover.”

I sighed as Maxwell walked his way past me. I was too tired to deal with him right now but I was too tired to stop him. He took a seat on the couc
h and I made my way into the kitchen. I poured myself a glass of water to try and wake myself up while Maxwell quickly made himself at home.

“
What’s going on, Homicide?”

“
What do you want, Maxwell? I know you want to talk business and I’m not in the mood right now. Frankly, I can’t even if I wanted to. I could barely move a muscle—”

“
Hey, now. I’m not gonna put my best fighter out there so he can get beat up. That last fight alone put us over the top. You know how much money you made last night?”

I looked a
t the scattered pile of bills on top of my coffee table. They were resting in front of my framed picture of Elsa. I didn’t even remember putting it there, so I definitely didn’t have the time to count it.

“
There should be almost three grand here,” he said to me. “Like I said, you’re probably going to live pretty comfortably for awhile. But this isn’t going to last you forever.”

“
I know. That’s why as soon as I’m feeling better, I’m going to start looking for a job.”

“
Why are you still talking about a job? Don’t you see? You keep winning and you’ll never have to work again. Lanea can—”

“
What did she say to you?”

“
What?”

Maxwell looked at me surprised. I took a gulp of water with my eyes still locked upon him. He shifted
his eyes left and right and then shook his head like he didn’t know what I was talking about.

“
What do you mean?” he asked me.

“
Come on, Maxwell. You talked to her last night after I left. Don’t treat me like an idiot. What did she say to you? Don’t keep any secrets from me.”

“…
All right,” he sighed. “It’s nothing special. She just wants you to keep fighting, that’s all. She thinks that we, you, all of us… we can all make a lot of money if you keep going.”

“
Is that all she said to you?”

“
I’m being straight up with you, Homicide,” he said as he shrugged. “This is a business. And with your ability, this is the best business in the world.”

“
According to you, it is. Not me.”

I took another gulp of water to try and rehydrate myself. Despite the amount of money I
’d made for him, Maxwell still looked just as desperate and pathetic as he did the first night I’d seen him in the bar. He hadn’t changed one bit. And that meant it would still be hard for me to trust him.

“
Listen, Maxwell. I’m not gonna waste any more of your time. I’m not interested in fighting any longer. I’ve got enough money to buy myself some time to stay away from that place.”

“
Homicide, you’ve gotta—”

“
No! I’ve made up my mind, Maxwell. I don’t care what you say or how much money you offer me. I’m not fighting. Am I clear?”

I didn
’t know how else to say it to him. I could barely make a fist at this point with how much I’d used it. I looked through my cabinet and searched for a couple of aspirin to stop my head from throbbing. Maxwell remained silent as he sat on my couch. When I noticed he was still there, he finally got up from his seat and sighed.

“
Okay, Homicide. I get it. I just… I just wanted to give you this. In case you change your mind.”

He threw a card on the counter then opened the door to leave my apartment.

“I’m going to get some breakfast,” he said. “I’ll keep a seat open for you.”

“
Thanks but I think I’ll cook something at home today.”

I didn
’t look at Maxwell as he closed the door behind him. I sighed when he left then took a closer look at the card he had left for me. I picked it up and read it.

Lanea Zara 555-0199

I threw the card back onto the counter and took a seat on my couch. I let out a deep breath as I looked at all of the money on the table. I smiled at the picture of my daughter, knowing that I would get to see her again. My moment of peace was interrupted when the phone started to ring. I stared at it for a moment then picked it up.

“
Hello.”

“
Henry.”

“
Nina… What is it?”

“
I have to talk to you.”

I felt a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. The tone of Nina
’s voice made it seem like this was important.

“
It’s about Elsa.”

“
What about her? Did something happen to her? Is she okay—”

“
She’s fine, Henry. She’s fine. It’s just… I talked to Ryan’s lawyers. I already have full custody of her. And…”

“
Nina, what are you saying?”

“
Ryan and I decided that it would be in Elsa’s best interests if she didn’t see you any longer.”

“
What? What are you talking about?”

I couldn
’t believe what I was hearing. I jumped up out of my seat and started pacing back and forth.

“
Nina? Why would you do this to me? To her?”

“
Henry, this isn’t about you. This is about her.”

“
So you’re not going to allow her to see her own father?”

“
She barely even knows you, Henry. You’re never there.”

“
That’s because you never even give me the chance to see her.”

“
You were never there even when you did have the chance. You were always away and—”

“
Nina, why are you doing this?”

“
Henry… Ryan’s a good man. He can take care of her.”

“
Fine. But I’m still her father! That doesn’t mean I still can’t see her!”

“
Henry, stop.”

“
Is this about the money? Nina, I have the money. I can have your child support for you—”

“
This isn’t just about the money, Henry. Look around yourself. You were never there for her. You’re not there for her now. Things are never going to change. Do you really want Elsa to see how you’re living right now? Do you want her to see her father in some rundown apartment?”

“
Y-you can’t do this to me, Nina.”

“
I already told you, Henry. I spoke to Ryan’s lawyers. You don’t really have much of a choice. Just for once, stop thinking about yourself and think about what’s best for Elsa.”

“
I’ve always thought about what’s best for her!”

“
Then you’ll let Ryan and I take care of her and you won’t let her see you like this.”

“
Nina—”

“
I have to go, Henry. I… I’m still expecting your child support, so make sure you send it as soon as you can…”

I was speechless. The phone cli
cked and I listened to the dial tone. It was ringing in my ear like a jackhammer. The sound paralyzed me, numbing my entire body. I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard.

I put the handset back down then something came over me. I picked the phone back up an
d threw it at the wall. I let out a violent scream that the entire apartment complex heard but I didn’t care. My heart was racing. My chest was heaving as I started having trouble breathing. I started to stomp back and forth, my hands in the air as I tried to figure out what to do.

But there was nothing I could do. Nina was in the position of power. And there was a part of me that thought that she was right. There wasn
’t any reason for Elsa to see me like this. I lived in the worst part of town in a tiny apartment. When I looked down at the picture of my daughter sitting upon my table, I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. I fell onto my couch and began to sob.

Why is this happening? Why did she have to do this to me?

I cried in my seat and took deep breaths, trying to regain my composure. The pain I had felt in my head from last night had completely disappeared. It was replaced by a pain in my heart that hurt worse than anything I’d ever felt.

As I stared at the photo in front of me, I looked down at
all of the money scattered in front of it. I wiped my nose and the tears from my face and finally gathered myself. I organized the money and counted it out. I’d made more than I’d realized. It sat on my table in a neat little stack. I stared at it for a moment then looked around at the apartment I was sitting in. If I didn’t have to pay child support, this was enough money to pay for a year’s worth of rent. And that’s when I realized I had to do something.

I got dressed then shoved the small stack of money
into my pocket. I quickly headed toward the diner where I had dinner with Maxwell just yesterday and there he was, enjoying a hamburger and fries. He smiled at me when he noticed me walking up to him.

“
Hey, man! Take a seat! I knew you’d be back. You hungry, let me get you something. Hey, waitress! Where is that—”

“
I’m fine, Maxwell,” I said as I took a seat in front of him.

Maxwell squinted his eyes as he looked at me, the smile on his face disappearing.

“You sure you’re okay, man. You don’t look—”

“
I just… I just got some news over the phone, that’s all.”

“
Do you want to talk about it?”

“
Not really.”

“
Okay…”

I ignored the waitress as she came to take my order. Maxwell ended up ordering food for me but I wasn
’t hungry. My appetite was the last thing on my mind. As I sat there in silence and looked at all of the food in front of me, Maxwell calmly ate his breakfast. He kept glancing at me until finally he broke the silence.

“
Listen, man,” he said to me. “I know what you think of me. I’m just some guy on the street that’s hustling to try and make a living. But that doesn’t mean I’m not a man. I’m a man just like you.

“
You know Bruno? That old bartender at that bar I first met you at. Let me tell you something about him. That guy
hates
me. The guy doesn’t want anything to do with me. But you know what? He still puts up with me. He still doesn’t kick me out every single time I show up. Even when I order a beer and sit there for hours because I can’t find a fight. You know why? Because he understands that sometimes shit gets tough.

“
And I can see it in your eyes, man. You just told me you got some bad news. You can talk to me. We’re in this business together. You’re doing all of the hard work and making this cash for me but that doesn’t mean that I don’t care. I’m here for you, man. You understand me?”

I stared at Maxwell and tried to read him. He didn
’t have a cheesy smile on his face or a deceptive grin. He just looked at me seriously with some kind of sincerity in his eyes. I’d known him for a couple of days but it felt like this was the first time he was actually being completely honest with me. I sighed because I knew that deep down inside, I wanted to talk to him. At this point, I didn’t have anywhere else to turn to.

“
Yeah, I understand.”

“
Good,” he said. “Why don’t you eat some breakfast at least? There’s some protein in those eggs. Builds muscles. It’s good for you.”

I smiled for the first time since I
’d gotten the phone call from Nina. I reluctantly reached for my fork and picked at the food Maxwell had ordered for me.