Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 78725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
“And who’s going to take his place? Me?” I barked a laugh. “Do you have a backup on speed dial, River?”
“As half-owner of Smiley’s, you probably should have thought of that, yeah?”
“Watch your fucking mouth,” I growled and took a step closer to him. He didn’t even flinch. “I consider everything about this place, even pieces of shit like you.”
“Doubt it, since you’re letting Bones fuck himself out for some clout.”
“You think this is about clout?” I pushed his shoulder. “If it was, your ass wouldn’t be here, and we’d be back at Heathens Hollow instead of the Perks.”
“So, you’re blaming me now?”
“If you want to see it that way.”
River laughed bitterly. “You haven’t changed a bit, Freakshow. Always a selfish, egotistical asshat who thinks he knows better than everyone.”
“Excuse me?”
River puffed his chest out and bumped against me, his face close to mine. “You heard me. I know about the shit you tried to pull in getting Ari out of Heathens Hollow. And how you’re the one who pushed for this stupid fucking contract. You think you know better than anyone else here. Same with Bones. When he fucks his hand up for good, and you lose your cash cow, what then, Mr. Trainer?”
His questions hit me like a ton of bricks. I was an asshole. You didn’t become a giant in the scene being some meek little lamb. Ego came with the territory. So did narcissism. But I wasn’t Freakshow anymore—I was Frankie. Co-owner of Smiley’s and the trainer who was supposed to watch out for his boxers.
But I was also a grown-ass man, same as Bones. He knew he could come to me if he ever needed to tap out. Same with Lotto or Ari. And who the fuck did River think he was, coming in here and questioning me? He had barely been here a week. I’d had bruises longer than River had been part of our “family.”
I shoulder checked him out of the way. “Fuck you, River. Keep your damn mouth shut or—”
“Or what?” River shoved my shoulder so hard I stumbled a step back. “You gonna clock me, Frankie? For being right?”
“For being a motherfucking pain in my ass.”
“Go ahead then.” He opened his arms in challenge. “Throw the first punch. Be the macho man you pretend to be. See where that gets you.”
I wound my arm back, ready to show that fucking prick a lesson, but before I decked him across the cheek, Ari’s face flashed through my mind. Then Bones then Lotto. They’d fucking kill me if I died from a stupid squabble like this. And River wasn’t even worth it. He was trying to rile me up to prove a point—that Freakshow was still the main player, not Frankie. That might have been true before but not now. Not anymore.
My clenched fist centimeters from his right cheekbone.
River didn’t wince. Didn’t flinch. He stood absolutely still with a dark look that could wither the brightest of sunflowers.
“Get the fuck out of my face,” I demanded. “If you can’t trust me as a trainer, we don’t want you here.”
“Never said I didn’t trust you.”
I dropped my fist and took a step forward. “Well, I don’t trust you. The others might, but I couldn’t give two shits about you.”
His lips slid into a heart-pounding grin. “Sure, Frankie. Keep telling yourself that.”
“You haven’t done anything to earn my trust, fucker.”
River pressed his chest against me, his lips a breadth away from mine. “What can I do to earn that trust then, Freakshow?” He tilted his head. His captivating eyes rooted me to the spot. “How about I show you how I earned the others’ trust?”
He smashed his lips against mine.
I gripped River’s throat with my hand as I kissed him back. That bastard might have thrown the first punch, but I wasn’t going to let him control this match. I bit on his bottom lip and forced my tongue inside his mouth. His moan was cut off when I squeezed his throat. I pushed my tongue against his, a taste of blood filling my mouth.
When I pulled back to breathe, I pushed him back toward the ring by his throat. River was a rat bastard, but he was a handsome-as-fuck rat bastard with a flush on his cheeks and a tint in his bright blue eyes. That, and the outline of his hard cock in his jeans, told me everything. He wanted this. He wanted me. My dick throbbed when he smirked and threw himself forward to kiss me again, all tongue and teeth.
Before he could feel satisfied with his win, I pried him away. I only saw a flash of question in his eyes before I practically threw him onto our ring’s metal stairs. He clung to the top step, and I put my foot on his back to keep him pressed down.