Secret Worlds (579 page)

“I hope so,” he said. His walkie-talkie crackled on his shoulder and he responded immediately. “Talk to you soon.” He rolled up his window and drove off, leaving Ari in the driveway alone.

“I can’t believe you brought me here,” Oliver said over the shouts and cheers. He looked like a kid in a candy shop. “It’s not even my birthday.”

“I had a feeling you’d enjoy it,” Ari yelled back.

The whole gym vibrated with excitement, like with any other sporting event. The bleachers were full of spectators, drinking and eating. They’d passed a snack bar in the lobby selling candy and sodas. Much to Oliver’s dismay, it was alcohol free, but they got two huge sugary sodas and bags of popcorn. An event was already in progress when they’d arrived. Two young men circled one another in the ring, doing some kind of martial arts.

Ari and Oliver came around the corner and tried to find an empty seat. There were several rings and bleachers lining the walls so you could see more than one event at a time. The center ring in particular seemed to be the main one, though. Built a little higher, with brighter lights. Oliver pointed to a couple of empty seats at the top of one of the bleachers.

“Ms. Grant?”

Ari turned at her name. A man she’d never seen before stood in front of them and smiled. He was handsome, with dark skin and deep brown eyes. Ari tried, and failed, to keep her eyes from his incredibly ripped biceps. “I’m Boyd. Davis was hoping you’d come.”

“I told him I would.” Ari caught Boyd’s glance at Oliver. “Oh, this is my friend, Oliver. I thought he’d enjoy the fights. I hope that’s okay.”

“Of course,” he said. “Davis saved you some seats.”

“Oh, that’s not necess—”

“Thanks!” Oliver said, pushing past Ari. “Show us the way.”

Ari followed the men, half listening while Oliver peppered Boyd with questions about the fights.

“Each ring will have a series of preliminary fights for future events. Boxing is over there,” he pointed to a ring near the far wall. “Wrestling and martial arts are in those two.”

“What’s in the main one?” Oliver asked.

“The top two fighters from these two centers will be in that ring. It’s more of an ultimate-fighting method.”

“What does that mean?” Ari asked.

“You’ll see.”

Oliver jumped in. “So this happens often enough for them to have rankings.”

“Yep. Tonight is the finals. Each kid will only have three events, maximum. But the center-ring fight is the main event. Those boys will only have the one fight. They’re looking to win that.” Boyd pointed to a huge trophy near an announcer’s booth, built into a loft area over the gym. Ari hadn’t noticed it thanks to the noise and crowd. She thought she saw Davis duck down, speaking to someone, and she had a feeling of déjà vu. But in her memory he was between her legs. Naked.

Oh boy.

“Here you go,” Boyd said, ushering them into a less crowded, center-row seat over the main ring. They had perfect views of the other rings as well. “Davis wanted you to know Curtis will be in an exhibition fight in ring three during the first round.”

“Already? Is he ready to do that?”

Boyd laughed. “I’m sure we’ll find out.”

“Thanks, man,” Oliver said, offering him his hand.

Ari also said, “Thank you.”

“No problem. Enjoy the contests.”

Ari and Oliver sat down. According to the scoreboard, the fight going on at that moment wasn’t a fight at all, but some kind of martial arts presentation. The boys completed their showing and bowed to one another, prompting the crowd to clap. Ari had no idea what to expect next, but she wasn’t exactly surprised when Davis appeared in the center ring with a microphone. He wasn’t in his standard T-shirt and jeans that night. Instead, he wore a crisp, black button-down shirt and black dress pants. Davis had that fit look achieved through intense workouts. Slim but built, his muscles pulled at the fabric of his shirt, even though it fit perfectly. Now that she knew what he looked like under those clothes, she couldn’t stop thinking about it. Physically, he was perfect. It didn’t help that he excelled as a lover. She tried to focus on anything else. His hair was freshly shaved, the lights shining off his head. His smile genuine. His mouth … 

“Thank you all for coming tonight,” Davis began, interrupting her wandering mind. “We have several exciting fights this evening leading up to the main event between Jordan and Alvarez, ranked number 6 and number 2 in the region, respectively. Remember the proceeds from the tickets and concessions go back into our program so that we can continue to provide this opportunity to under-privileged youth all over the metro area. Please help us welcome our opponents from the city of Piedmont!”

The crowd cheered in welcome and Davis slipped out of the ring without notice. A loud bell rang and Ari’s attention focused on the teenage boys filing into the gym who had stopped to sit on benches around each of the rings. Peter followed them in, nodding to whom Ari suspected was the other coach. Although the boys wore warm-up suits, several immediately began removing them and revealing their team uniforms. The GYC boys wore white tanks with black, shiny shorts. The Piedmont team wore black tanks with red shorts.

“I’m still not convinced this is a good idea,” Ari said, watching Curtis remove his cover-up and lay it neatly on the bench.

“What’s the big deal?” Oliver asked. He had a mouthful of popcorn. “It’s organized sports—juvie style. You and I both know they’d never make it on a traditional team.”

“I guess,” she said, diverting her attention to the fight that was about to happen. Curtis had just lowered himself under the ropes and entered the ring. He had on his gloves and helmet. He was in the boxing arena, which sounded a lot better than ultimate fighting. “It just feels like some kind of forced situation. He didn’t really have a choice, and now he’s been tossed in the middle of the lion’s den.”

Ari had seen Curtis the prior week but she could have sworn he’d already gained some muscle. His long, thin arms seemed a tad bulkier and she pointed this out to Oliver as the boy jumped around the ring, moving his arms back and forth, warming up.

“Working out seven days a week for two weeks should make some changes,” he said. “Not to mention a healthy diet.” They watched the two boys, the other shorter, but thicker with short, curly blond hair, shake hands. The referee raised his hand and a buzzer sounded, starting the fight.

More than once, Ari winced as the boys landed blows. Despite the difference in size, they were evenly matched. The boy from Piedmont caught Curtis off-guard more than once but Curtis had speed on this side. He was quick and agile.

“You’re right,” Oliver said, after letting out a loud whoop at the end of round one. “He’s definitely fast.”

Seeing Curtis hold his own made Ari feel better and as they watched each round, she found herself on the edge of her seat, cheering with the rest of the crowd. Curtis’ speed helped him outlast his opponent, and he landed two hard punches against the boy’s black tank, before cutting under his chin, knocking him to the ground.

The referee blew his whistle, calling the fight, and held Curtis’ hand up in victory. He pulled off his mask and mouth guard and smiled at the crowd, all of them cheering for his win. The look of accomplishment on his face was enough for Ari to concede.

“Fine,” she said, knocking Oliver on the shoulder. “Maybe this isn’t the worst thing to happen for him.”

“Did you just admit you were wrong?”

“Be nice and I’ll buy you more popcorn.”

Oliver raised an eyebrow. “Deal.”

***

Ari watched the final fight through her fingers. It was intense. Really intense.

As the two boys pummeled each other, she realized she’d never seen anything like it. Engaged in a mixture of martial arts and boxing, the two boys flew through the air as though they were weightless. When they connected it was like an earthquake rocked the gym. Even over the cheering crowd, she heard their heavy breathing and grunts, both trying to get the upper hand. The boys fought tirelessly, wrestling one another to the ground, using their feet and fists and bodies.

“How old are these kids?” Oliver asked. His eyes glued to the match.

“Eighteen?” Ari guessed, flipping through her program. That number seemed too young. They seemed like men, powerful and strong. Maybe Davis fed them steroids.

Alvarez represented the GYC. Stocky, with a barrel chest. He looked like a tank instead of a kid. Ari flinched as he flipped to the ground, his legs swiped from under him by his opponent, Jordan. He landed with a thud but was back up in an instant, swinging his fists, slamming them into Jordan’s chest.

Clearly outmatched, it was only a matter of minutes before Jordan fell for the last time. The referee called the fight.

After holding his arms up in victory, Alvarez reached out a gloved hand and helped Jordan off the ground. They shook hands, even gave each other a sweaty hug and the announcer called the fight to an end.

“I’d like to catch Curtis if I can,” Ari told Oliver, so they pushed through the crowd to the athletes. The guys were pumped, revisiting the fights and it took Ari a minute to squeeze through a pack of sweaty boys to reach her client.

“Ms. Grant?” he said in surprise when he saw her. Ari noted the bandage on an old wound over his eye and a new, reddish-purple bruise under his jaw. “What are you doing here?”

“Just checking up on you. You did a great job tonight.”

Oliver pushed past her and held out his hand. Curtis didn’t hesitate this time like he had with Davis that first day. He eagerly accepted it. “Excellent fight. Can’t wait to see the next one,” Oliver gushed.

“Thank you,” Curtis said, adding a “sir,” to the end. Wow. Maybe this program really was changing him.

Fans of all ages surrounded the athletes and many wanted to offer their congratulations. Oliver turned to talk to some of the other boys, leaving Ari with Curtis.

“We’re going to go, but I just wanted to tell you how proud I was to see you accomplish this.”

“Thanks,” he said. His eyes darted to the ground. “Umm … can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“Do you think you could bring my mom and my grandma next time?” he scratched the back of his neck. “You know, if it’s not any trouble?”

Ari smiled and nodded. “I think that’s a great idea. I’ll make sure Davis gives me a schedule, okay?”

“Thanks,” he said, smiling in return. The instant she stepped away from Curtis, a crowd of admirers rushed toward him.

“Come on,” she said to Oliver, tugging on his shirt. She caught him in the middle of a conversation with Peter, and Oliver clapped him on the back as he walked away.

Over the loudspeaker, the announcer informed the athletes they had five minutes until they were required to go back to the locker rooms and for attendees to head out.

“So you’re besties with everyone around here now, huh?”

Oliver shrugged in his easy way. “I like this place. These guys are kind of cool. Peter says that besides the fighting, they spend a lot of time on parkour.”

“Oh yeah?” Ari knew this of course, having seen Davis at the club.”

“Have you seen it? It’s like backflips and jumps. Using regular stuff like walls or stairs to get from place to place.”

They followed the rest of the people leaving, passing by the now empty rings. Ari searched for Davis, hoping she would see him before she left, but the crowd was too thick and he was most likely busy anyway.

“I’ve got to use the restroom,” Ari said, as they entered the lobby. Oliver rolled his eyes. “Meet you out front?”

“Yep,” he said, being carried away by the crowd. Ari ducked into the ladies’ room, and took her place at the standard too-long-ladies’-room line. When she finished, she dried her hands on her jeans since the paper towels were out, and walked back into the lobby. The entire gym was empty except for a couple of guys cleaning up.

Pulling her gloves out of her pocket, Ari tugged them on. She pushed the door open with her hip and stepped into the parking lot. The cool air hit her face and she saw Davis standing in the middle of the parking lot talking to a tall guy with a blue bandana wrapped around his head. A Glory baseball hat sat askew on top. Davis’ jaw set, clenched so tight she could see the muscle bunching in his jaw. At some point she would have to thank him for the tickets. And break the ice.

Ari took a step forward and the door closed behind her with a slam. Everyone turned to stare. She made eye contact with Davis and smiled. He didn’t smile back.

“Don’t move!” the guy said, pulling a gun out from behind his back. Even from across the parking lot it was leveled clearly at her face.

Ari’s hands immediately shot in the air, palms faced out.

“He has a gun!” Ari heard from the crowd on the fringe of the parking lot. From the corner of her eye, she saw Oliver.

“It’s okay,” Ari said to the gunman. She took a deep breath, fighting the panic of being in a situation like this again. Now that he faced her, she realized he was younger than she thought. An older teen. Just like the group of thuggish-looking kids circling behind him, tense and ready to back him up.

Davis looked between Ari and the guy. Calmly, he said, “Antonio, put the gun down.”

Ari lowered her hands and Antonio shouted, “Back up! You may be one of them!”

She jerked her hands back up.

Them? Great. This guy was crazy. Delusional or something. Ari waited, on … well something. Davis? The police? She didn’t even know why this guy had a gun on her.

“You know there’s no violence on the property and we have zero tolerance for weapons,” Davis said. He took a step toward Antonio. The boy swung the gun away from Ari and pointed it at Davis. They were only feet apart.

Oliver called her name, “Ari!” and she turned to him. He frantically waved her toward a parked car. She snapped to her senses, pulling her eyes from Antonio and Davis’ standoff. She ran as fast as she could.

“No!” A woman yelled, but her voice was silenced by the shot. Loud and echoing against the metal building. Ari’s body slammed to the ground, the wind knocked out of her lungs. She skidded backwards, landing on the hard pavement.