“I’m up for a spar,” she said.
He looked at her, she was probably 75 pounds lighter than him and he would have a big advantage in reach. “You sure?”
“I’m tougher than I look.” He looked reluctant. “Look, it’s just a spar. I’ll wear headgear and get a workout in, I need to work on my boxing and defense anyway.”
“You’re on, Rori.” They went to the wall, where they both put on the protective headgear. “Hey Smoke, give us a hand?” The guy put the weights away and came over, he was a black man, about twenty, and had abs you could open a beer bottle with. He helped them put on the heavier boxing gloves and volunteered to referee.
“Three minute rounds, keep it clean, break if I tell you,” he told them in the ring. “Box.” They started to circle each other, and Taco sent a few jabs her way without much behind them. Rori smiled, they always underestimated her, and she loved the look they got when they realized they were in a cage with a wildcat. She was light on her feet, easily moving away, and when he overextended his jab she was ready.
Instead of moving back or to the side, she ducked down and stepped in, landing a right cross to his stomach followed like lightning by a left hook to the ribs. Before he could respond, she was already dancing away from him. His eyes got big, and she smiled before she saw him get serious. He got back in his stance, stalking her as she floated around the ring. He tested her defenses, using his jab and moving her into the corners where her speed wouldn’t help her. The first round ended, basically a draw; both had landed punches, but neither had done real damage.
She drank from her bottle as she listened to Taco and Smoke whisper to each other. Her hearing, always good, seemed to be better than ever. “Dude, she’s gonna kick your ass if you can’t keep her in the corner.”
“She’s a girl, I can’t beat her up.”
“Shit, bro. She’s got no problem beating on your ass. Quit playing around.”
He called them to the center and started the second round. Taco was more aggressive, keeping Rori on her heels and defensive. She never gave him a stationary target and managed to duck out of the corners before her could use his size or strength against her. He was starting to get winded, and she started landing more counter-punches and combinations as the round came to a close.
Round three started the same way, but she got trapped in a corner and he took advantage. She kept her gloves up, moving around and avoiding direct hits, when she left her right side open on a cross. His big left hand came out of nowhere, smashing into the left side of her headgear and dropping her to the ground. Smoke moved between them, pushing Taco to a neutral corner, then returned to her. She was pulling her way back up the ropes. “Look at me,” he said.
“I’m fine.” He looked at her, she could focus and was ready. “Don’t stop this.”
“You sure?” She nodded, and he let her go. Rori knew she had to change the momentum, so when he restarted, she took the offense. Moving inside his cross, she pushed him into the ropes and let loose a fast combo on his ribs. He pushed her off, but she was relentless, forcing him to keep his elbows down and protect his ribs. It was a good effort, but he waited for his moment and nailed her with a straight cross. This time she dropped, and Smoke waved the fight to an end. “Two knockdown rule,” he said as he pushed Taco to the corner.
Taco looked down in horror, he knew the spar was unfair and he hadn’t wanted to hurt her. He used his teeth to loosen the laces and ripped his gloves off, then pulled off the headgear. Smoke had taken her headgear off as she lay on the ring. He knelt down to find her laughing. “You all right, girl?”
“I’m fine,” she said. “I was just thinking of something my friend used to say.”
Smoke helped her to her feet. “What could be so funny?”
“She used to tell me, ‘Never fight an ugly guy, they’ve got nothing to lose.'” Smoke roared with laughter as Taco leaned back.
“Good fight,” she said as she gave him a hug.
“I’m sorry I hurt you,” he said.
“You didn’t hurt me, you helped me get better. I asked for this.” They walked out of the ring and put their gear back. “Just don’t tell anyone about this fight,” she said as she looked at them.
“Why? You’re damn good for your size and age, you should be proud of this.”
“I’d rather be underestimated.”
Taco smiled, an idea coming to his mind. “Being underestimated brings a lot better odds, if you’re a betting man. Keep it quiet, buddy, we’ll make some cash with this girl.” Dinner was approaching, and with that would come Church, where she would be the center of conversation.
–
Mongo and Three Tequila parked in the driveway of Rori’s condo in Orlando, Roadkill right next to them. He got off his Harley and knocked on the door. “Roadkill?” Donna looked at him, then the two in the driveway. “What are you doing here?”
“I need to talk to you, Donna.”
She looked at him, she had enjoyed her time at the party with the big man, but her daughter was missing. “I need to stay here, Rori’s missing,” she said.
Roadkill nodded to her mother, who was coming up behind her. “Your Mom will be here, and this is important. Please.” She looked at her Mom, then nodded and followed him out. “Don’t say anything, please,” he said as she climbed on the back of his bike.
They rode through the streets until they came to a house, and the door opened before they pulled in. They stopped the bikes and he helped her off; when she started to say something, he held his finger over his lips and stopped her. Using a handheld metal detector, he did a quick scan; removing her phone, he placed it in the storage saddle on his motorcycle, sealing the hard top. He then used another device with an antenna, when it didn’t show anything he smiled. “Sorry about the security, but we had to be sure. Come on in,” he said.
“You’ve got some explaining to do,” she said as they went into the kitchen of his house.
He pulled back a chair for her at the table as Bear and Tequila sat down; opening the refrigerator, he pulled out four beers and put them on the table. “You were under surveillance, Donna. We couldn’t talk until we were sure you were clean.”
“Surveillance?”
“I got a call from Rori this morning,” Bear said.
“WHAT? Where is she? Why didn’t she call me?”
“She’s on the run, Donna.” He laid out the story he had been told, including additional details he’d gotten from Bear after she arrived at the Manchester chapter. He watched the emotions play on her face as she found out about the man who had followed them from Minnesota, her blackout and escape from their home, and the tracking device on her motorcycle. “Ashley and her father have to be involved, it was her idea to go up there and she wasn’t surprised to see this guy. If they had a tracker on her motorcycle, you can bet they have one on your car, cameras, probably bugs in your house.
“Why?”
“She doesn’t know, but the old guy said the same thing her kidnappers did, that she belongs with them.” He reached across and took her hand. “She’s safe, she’s with people I trust who will hide her from them. She’s afraid to contact you or come home because she thinks the bad men will hurt you or your Mom just like they did Jenny. I have to agree with her, it’s better to stay hidden right now.”
“She’s all right?” He nodded. “The police called me this morning, Ashley’s father reported her missing. They put out an alert on her.” She pulled the paper out of her pocket with the name and number of the officers in New York.