Get Off on the Pain (3 page)

After a few seconds he swings his bag over his other shoulder. He turns and walks away to the side of the house, and just like that he is gone.

Is that his house? Does he live there? This could be interesting.

I pull away from the window and turn around to face Bailey, who must have been over my shoulder the whole time, because we end up butting heads with a loud thud.

I grab my head and give Bailey a dirty look. “You were over my shoulder the whole time? Way to get noticed.”

“So what? Who cares if he knows? Did you get a look at that man? He is exactly what you need. Lyric, he is
sexy as all hell
. He looks like he could be fun too. He appears to be your type, not like that cocky boss of yours that is always hitting on you. What a douche.”

I shake my head while lowering the blinds. “You don’t know that. You could hardly even see him in the dark,” I say, playing off his sexiness even though there was plenty of light from the streetlamp to know damn well that he was definitely hot; more than hot from what I could see.

She lets out something between a laugh and a huff. “I saw enough, honey, trust me, and I saw the way he looked over here at you too. He wants some company. You should go over there tomorrow and offer to massage his tight ass.” She lets out a little moan and bites her bottom lip on the opposite side of the piercing. “Or make him an offer to massage yours. I bet he won’t turn that down.”

I look back toward the window and laugh at her tired silliness. “I don’t know what I would do without you and your dirty mind,” I say with a smirk. “Now get out of my room.” I point at my door. “I’m tired. It’s been a long day.”

“Not nice. You’re always kicking someone out of somewhere.” She stands up and walks toward the door. “You’re lucky I’m too tired to fight back or else I’d stay in here all night just to bug you.”

“Uh huh, sure.” I lay back and adjust my pillow. “Go to sleep.” I sit up real fast. “And clean your mouth before bed.”

“Yes ma’am,” she says while showing off her lip to me. “God, I love this thing. Nightie.”

“Night,” I say tiredly as she exits my room, shutting the door behind her.

I’m definitely sleeping in tomorrow. I need some damn rest . . .

IT’S BEEN SIX LONG YEARS since I have set foot in this alley, and being here now is making every muscle in my body tense with the anger I have been trying to keep buried. I take long, wide strides through the dirt and gravel, keeping my eyes straight ahead of me. It’s all I can do to stay in control. I’m here for one reason and one reason only.

When I arrived home over an hour ago to an empty house, my first instinct was to go searching for my brother Alex. From the looks of the vacant house no one has been there in a while.

The ideas running through my head makes me sick to my stomach. I’m here in search of my little brother, although, I’m hoping I won’t find him here. The last thing I want is for him to end up like me.

I pick up speed when I hear the whooping and hollering of the various people rooting on the fight that is taking place at the end of the alley. That part hasn’t changed. With each step that brings me closer, I hear the sound of the blows that are nearly louder than the screams that follow.

“Ah, damn!”

“Get ’em! Get ’em!”

“Get up! Shake it off!”

Approaching the scene I flip my hoodie up, doing my best to not stand out as I push my way through the crowd. The only thing I’m here to do is find my brother; a quick grab and go. There is only problem with that: Alex was just sixteen the last time I saw him. It’s going to take me checking people out to be able to spot him. That also makes it easier for someone to recognize me.

Keeping my head low, I do my best to stay out of the lighting while still trying to pinpoint Alex. The first place I look is where the fight is taking place, but I know right away that none of them are Alex, because one fighter has blonde hair and the other has red. Alex has dark hair like me.

I take a second to watch the fight, remembering what it was like to be in their spot. The power running through your veins. The rage. The release it gave me. It all led me into my dark hell that has me back here, watching from the outside.

The blonde guy—the bigger one, comes at his opponent, swinging a bare knuckle fist into the right side of his face. The blow causes everyone to get rowdy as the smaller dude falls over to the side, blood and sweat splattering through the air. Just like that the fight is over and one guy gets to go home feeling like a fucking machine while the other guy gets pride in taking his beating like a man. The one thing I know is that they’re both here to release their demons. That’s why we all do it. That and for the cash.

Turning away from the fight, I get ready to walk forward but bump into someone’s shoulder. Before I can even look up to see who it is I get shoved backwards, causing me to bump into someone else that is too busy yelling at the fight to even notice.

I steady myself and shake it off. I’m not here looking for trouble, although everything in me wants to shove my fist down his throat and release some of this pent up anger.

“Watch where the fuck you’re walking, asshole!” The idiot seethes while pushing his chest out and shoulders back, trying to intimidate me. He may be big, but it doesn’t faze me. “Take your stupid hood off and pay attention before you find yourself fucking with the wrong person.”

Pushing back my anger, my muscles tense up as I push past him, bumping his shoulder in the process. Now is not the time to get myself thrown back in the hellhole I came from. I know I’m pushing it, but I have a hard time being pushed around, and right now is not the time to piss me off.

The guy reaches out, grabs my shoulder, and spins me around to face him. “Hey! You want to go at it, asshole? I told you to watch where you’re walking.”

Inhaling a deep breath, I attempt to get my thoughts in check, but it’s no use. The heat is already spreading throughout my body, making it hard to think straight. Breathing out, I swing my elbow out, connecting it to the dude’s jaw. A loud crack sounds, causing everyone to stop watching the current fight and focus their attention on us.

The guy falls on his ass, probably not expecting me to stand up to him. Too bad for him; it’s in my blood.

Jumping to his feet, the big dude swings with a left hook, hitting me on the right side of my mouth. I feel blood dripping down my lip and that’s all it takes for me to lose it; although, I have to admit, I welcome the pain.

Grabbing the back of his head with both hands I push his head down and lift my knee, plowing it straight into his face between the eyes. One blow to the face and the guy’s knocked out cold.

This is exactly why I didn’t want to come here. Bad shit happens when I get my hands on anyone. It’s what fucked my life up in the first place. I refuse to let it ruin me again.

In my rage with my adrenaline pumping, I didn’t even notice the screaming of the crowd that now seems to be surrounding us. I don’t care. I’m not here for them, although, I think some of them have figured out who I am now.

Drowning out the crowd, I push through them, fighting to get air. It’s been too long since I’ve felt freedom and being boxed in is fucking with me. I just need to find Alex and get the hell out of here. I knew this was a bad idea.

I start looking around again, but realize that in this crowd it’s close to impossible to find him without getting my ass into any more trouble. It’s best to just leave. If he hasn’t been home in a while then my guess is he isn’t even in town. I’ll have to do some digging at home.

“Holy shit! Is that you?”

I stop dead in my tracks at the sound of the familiar voice: Trevor Locke. The only person I was ever able to trust outside of my mother, Alex, and Jack. He’s my old best friend and the one that had my back through everything.

“Memphis? Holy fuck, is that you?” He steps around me and places his hand on my shoulder. “You’ve gotten huge.”

Yeah, well, that’s what happens when you’re being held hostage in a cage.

Looking up, my eyes lock with his as he checks me out, trying to figure out if it’s really me. I’m surprised to see how big he’s gotten as well. The dude’s a beast now, which tells me right away that he’s probably still fighting here, even though I had to practically drag him here in the past.

We both stand here, getting lost in the crowd again, before I pull him through the ruckus and to a quieter spot. If anyone knows where Alex is it’s him, at least, I hope.

“Hey man. Where the hell is Alex?” That being the first thing coming from my mouth after so much passing time sounds shitty as hell, but right now he’s my only concern. Trevor was good to me in the past, but now is not the time to reminiscence.

It takes a second for him to respond, as if he’s in shock or some shit. “I wish I could tell you, but he’s not here. When the hell did you get back? I didn’t think you’d come back here. Holy fuck!”

I take in a deep breath and run my hands over my face in a mixture of relief and dread. I’m relieved he’s not here, but scared shitless at the fact that I have no idea if he’s okay or not.

“I got into town an hour ago,” I respond stiffly. “I just need to know where Alex is. Have you seen him?”

He brushes his hand through his hair before shaking his head and holding up his finger to someone that’s trying to get his attention. “Nah. I haven’t seen him in months. I have no clue where he’s at. I’ve been checking in and no word. He’s been spending time with some Asher guy and his men, I think. At least he was the last time I saw him.”

His words cause my blood to run cold. I haven’t heard that name in years. A fear runs through me that I’ve never felt before. This is bad shit.

“Shit! I have to go,” I say through gritted teeth. “Thanks, man.”

I take off walking, allowing the anger to build up inside at the memory of the last time I saw Alex. It was the worst night of my damn life and still I wouldn’t take back what I did. I have no regrets, but I don’t like the thought of him out there somewhere fucking up just like I did.

“Memphis! Come on, bro. Stay and chill with us. Give the crowd a good fight. It’s been six years.”

“Can’t. I’m done with this shit, Trevor. I’m over it.”

“You’ll be back. I give it a week,” he yells. “A fucking week. You can’t turn away from something that’s in your DNA.”

I don’t look back to react to his words. Instead, I just walk as fast as I can until I’m back to my truck.

Right as I’m about to open the door Rachel appears out of nowhere, places her hand on the door, and slides in between me and my truck. She looks up at me with those big blue eyes before placing her hand on my chest and pulling her bottom lip into her mouth. I’d recognize those red lips anywhere.

She’s damn cute and she knows it: blonde hair, short, denim skirt, and red cowgirl boots to match her lips. My dick may hate me later, but fucking is not what I have in mind right now. Everyone that I touch gets hurt. They always have. I was just too much in denial to admit it back then.

“That was damn sexy what you did back there, Memphis.” She smiles while running her hand down my stomach, stopping just above my belt. “You knocking him out with your knee. Everyone out there is always talking about you, you know. I heard you’ve only ever lost one fight and it’s because you were drunk out of your mind. All the guys want to fight like you and all the girls want to fuck you, including me. I’ve waited a long time and I’m really horny right now.”

“Rachel,” I say with a snarl. “I see you haven’t changed for shit,” I mutter as she slithers her hand down to cup my package with a moan, groping me through my jeans.

She bites her bottom lip and moans. “Mmm . . . exactly what I expected to find. A big, hard dick. I can take care of that, baby.”

Grabbing her wrist, I pull her hand away from my dick, spin her around so she’s out of my way, and open my truck door. I can tell by the smell of liquor on her breath that she’s wasted and I really don’t have time for this. I need to keep my head straight. Fucking her won’t do anything to help that at the moment.

“You can keep on waiting. I don’t have time for your shit.”