Except then he bellowed out an animal roar and dragged his finger across his throat in a death promise to Gage, and Skyler promptly went back to disliking him.
Gage, however, was completely unruffled. Even from yards away, Skyler noticed nothing but pure calm reflecting in his eyes.
She jerked when a bell rang to indicate the start of the first round. Her heart immediately jumped to her throat when Skull Tattoo launched himself at Gage. Fists up, Gage blocked his opponent’s blows, then attacked so fast Skyler barely even saw him move.
Left hook, right hook, one-two punches at lightning speed, until he’d backed Skull Tattoo against the chain-link wall. All the other man could do was try to defend himself, but when he threw his hands up to protect his face, Gage simply planted a fist in the man’s gut. Skull Tattoo buckled over, swayed on his feet, and then lifted his head in time for Gage’s fist to connect with the side of his face.
Lights out.
It was over.
Skyler stood there, dumbfounded. Her jaw dropped as two refs and a man who must have been the doctor rushed over to the unconscious fighter. The doctor touched his cheek, checked his pupils, and then signaled something to the ref, who wasted no time thrusting Gage’s arm up in the air. The announcer declared Gage the winner and the crowd went wild.
Unlike the previous victor, Gage didn’t stick around to take a bow or pump his fists. Covered in sweat, he hopped out of the cage and made a beeline for the row of chairs in front of it. Skyler saw him mutter something to a man with ginger hair and a bushy beard. People’s heads blocked their faces from view, but she noted Gage’s stiff body language, and knew he wasn’t happy with the conversation.
A moment later, he stalked back to the locker rooms.
Since she didn’t care about the next fight, Skyler left her seat and headed in the direction Gage had gone, but the two beefy men guarding the corridor wouldn’t let her through. She swallowed her irritation and stepped back to wait.
Fortunately, Gage reappeared less than five minutes later, back in his street clothes and showing no signs of injury. Not even a bruise.
Then again, no duh. His opponent hadn’t gotten a single swing in.
“Hey.” His face softened when he saw her.
“Hey. Nice match.” She raised one eyebrow. “Are all your fights usually so quick?”
“Nope.” He brought his head close to hers and lowered his voice. “I wanted it over fast so I could take you home and fuck you.”
“You say the sweetest things.” Her heart soared when he flashed her a crooked grin. She loved seeing his lips curve like that. It was so rare, and so deliciously rewarding when it happened. “So is that it, or are we sticking around to watch the other fights?”
“Do you want to?”
She winced when another roar went through the crowd. “God, no. My head is going to explode from all this screaming.”
They were out of the arena less than thirty minutes after they’d gotten there, Gage’s phone ringing just as they reached his car. He pulled it out, frowned at the number, then muttered, “Give me a sec,” before taking several steps away.
It couldn’t be considered eavesdropping when the other person wasn’t bothering to lower their voice, right?
Because there was no way not to hear Gage’s ferocious, “Are you kidding me?”
Skyler flinched at the note of fury in his tone, wondering who the caller was. She’d never seen Gage this upset before.
“Just stay there. I’m on my way over.” Anger lined his strides as he walked back to the car. “Change of plans,” he said roughly. “I’m taking you home, but I can’t stay over tonight.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I need to go see my brother.”
“I’ll come with you,” she said instantly.
Gage hesitated, looking so unhappy with the idea she felt a tad insulted.
“Are you expecting any trouble?” she asked pointedly.
“No, probably not. I doubt it’ll even take too long, but—”
“Then it makes even more sense for me to come along,” she interrupted. “We can stop in on your brother, and then head to my place like we originally intended.”
“Sky…” His tone was laced with reluctance.
“If you’re worried about this being some kind of big relationship step, then don’t. It’s just your brother—it’s not like I’m meeting your parents or anything. What’s the harm in letting me tag along?” She knew she was pushing him, but she couldn’t seem to stop. She wanted another glimpse, just one more tiny glimpse into Gage’s life. She’d gotten one now at the arena, but it wasn’t enough. She wanted more, darn it.
“Please?” she said softly.
After a long pause, he let out a weary curse. “Fine, you can come. We won’t be there long, anyway.” Then he sighed. “C’mon, let’s go.”
Chapter Nine
Gage’s brother lived in a converted town house that consisted of four apartments. Denny’s was on the ground floor with an entrance located at the side of the brick house, and the lightbulb over the door shone bright when Gage and Skyler walked up.
Gage reached for the screen door, glancing at the woman by his side. “You can wait out here if you want.”
He found himself praying she’d agree. Denny had sounded alert and sober on the phone, but you never knew with him. Gage had once seen his brother carry on an entire conversation with two police officers while tripping on half a dozen hits of acid.
Crap, why had he let Skyler convince him to bring her?
Because you can’t say no to the damn woman.
Nope, he certainly couldn’t. All it had taken was the disappointed glimmer in her beautiful eyes and her soft “please” and he’d caved like a cheap tent.
Except…it was more than that. A part of him had wanted her to come. Maybe if she met Denny, if she saw what Gage had to deal with, she’d…what? Understand him better? Understand why he couldn’t give her more than a fling?
“I’ll come in with you,” she said, her quiet voice interrupting his troubled thoughts.
His head jerked in a nod. He was about to stick his key in the lock when the door swung open and his brother appeared.
Gage instantly ran through the usual routine—examined Denny’s pupils, checked his bare arms for fresh track marks, inhaled deeply for any lingering scents of crack or heroin. But Denny looked as sober as he’d sounded earlier, and the only odor hanging in the air was the faint whiff of pot smoke.
“Hey,” Denny said awkwardly.
“Hey.” Gage cleared his throat. “This is Skyler.”
“Nice to meet you.” His brother stuck out his hand, which Skyler tentatively shook. “Come in. I don’t want to talk out here.”
They followed him inside, where the smell of marijuana got stronger. “You’re smoking weed again?” Gage couldn’t hide his disapproval.
Denny was ahead of them so his face was hidden from view, but his shoulders sagged at the accusation. “No, Gage, I’m not smoking weed again. I’m also not drinking, mainlining H, popping E and acid, or smoking crack. I’m clean, just like I’ve been for the last three months.”