Hard Rider

I shuddered.

“Can we forget about this now and enjoy our drinks?”

The waiter dropped them off just as he said it. Kyle made a sour face. “I told you to put two olives in the martinis.”

“I’m sorry sir, I didn’t-”

“You didn’t what?”

“I apologize. Let me fix that for you,” answered the waiter. He took the drinks and disappeared behind the bar.

“Can you believe how dumb some people are? That’s why he’s working here in the first place I suppose.”

I thought I could actually feel my skin crawling. Just being in his presence was enough to make me hate myself.

“Why are you making that face, Riley?”

“Huh? I mean, excuse me?”

“That face… are you still angry over what I said about your little receptionist friend? Don’t worry, I didn’t really sleep with her. I was just trying to get under your skin.”

“No, no. I don’t care about that.”

The waiter returned with the drinks. “I expect that these are fresh,” Kyle said. “I hope you didn’t just throw another olive in the old ones.”

“Of course, not, Sir.”

He waved him away.

“Then, what is it?” Kyle said, returning his attention to me. “What’s making such a beautiful face carry around that expression?”

“I just have one last question,” I said.

“Are we going to do this all night?”

“Last one, I promise.”

He turned his palms up toward the ceiling. “Whatever you want to know, just ask.” His eyes were practically bugging out of his head as he ogled my breasts.

“Troy had someone come by his apartment the other night. Was that your handiwork?”

This one actually seemed to make him happy. “Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t. All I know is that the animal should keep in mind that if he continues to bother you, things will get a little more serious than a hunting knife.”

Troy hadn’t said anything about a knife, but I was pretty sure Kyle was admitting to something. I’d heard all I needed to hear. While Kyle downed his drink, I secretly sent Troy the message that we’d be on our way out soon.

“Hey,” I said, “I’m really not very hungry. What do you say we get out of here?”

Kyle practically jumped out of his seat. “Yes. Okay… yes. Let’s get out of here. We’ll take my car; you can come back for yours later.”

“That’s fine,” I answered quietly. Even though I knew it was a charade, it still felt gross to say.

Back at the valet, Kyle scrambled for someone to get the car. “Hello… I have my ticket right here, can’t one of you idiots get my BMW?”

“Hey, uh, Kyle… it’s actually a mild night. Do you mind if we walk to the parking garage?”

That was the part of the plan that Troy insisted on. He was waiting for us in the garage.

“All the way over there?” he asked, incredulously. “I suppose if we have to. I guess it’s one less opportunity for those dummies to ding my car.”

“Good.”

I hurried in front of him. This needed to be over as quickly as possible.

“Hey, wait up. This ticket says we’re on the second level. It should be right over here.”

But we didn’t make it to the second level. That was because Troy was waiting just inside the entrance for us. When Kyle noticed him, he looked like he had seen a ghost. “What the fuck is he doing here?”

I could only grin. All the stresses of the last twelve hours melted away when Troy took that first angry step out from behind the pillar.

“You better get the fuck out of here, Bud,” Kyle said. “I’ll call you P.O. and have your ass thrown back in county jail.”

“Is that right?” Troy asked. “I hope you can dial a phone with broken fingers.”

Kyle frantically groped the pockets of his suit jacket in an attempt to get to his phone before Troy reached him. When he pulled his hand out of his pocket, he dropped it on the ground. It bounced and came to a rest right between Troy’s feet.

“Riley,” Troy said, “go wait for me by the street. Stay close to the front of the restaurant.”

“She will not,” Kyle barked. “She’s coming home with me.”

“Kyle, I wouldn’t go anywhere with you if you were the last guy in Chicago.”

“Bad decision, slut,” he growled. “I guess that means I’ll be sending those pictures to everyone on the work email list.”

“Pictures? You mean, the pictures that are on this phone?” Troy asked as he scooped it off the ground and pulled the battery cover off. “The ones… that are on this SD card?” He plucked the tiny chip out and held it for Kyle to see.

“That belongs to me. It’s my property.”

Troy snapped the SD card in two and placed the pieces in his pocket, then he slammed the phone on the ground. It broke into a million little fragments.

“Hey! What are you doing?!”

“Shut up,” Troy snapped. “Riley… go!”

I didn’t want to miss what was going to happen next, but the tone in Troy’s voice meant business. I walked backward toward the street so I could see as much as possible.

“That doesn’t even matter,” Kyle whined. “Do you really think those were my only copies?” He was sweating like he was on fire.

“Yeah, I do,” Troy said. “I can see it in your eyes. And even if you did have more copies, you wouldn’t do anything with them. You know why?”

“Wh- why?”

“Because if you did, I’d make you regret it for the rest of your miserable life.”

That was all I needed to hear. The way Troy said it convinced me there was nothing to worry about. A maggot like Kyle would do anything to save his own skin. He was a bully, but he’d bitten off more than he could chew this time. I was sure that he was going to be willing to forget about the whole thing. In fact, he was probably thrilled just to escape with all of his teeth.

When I reached the street, I heard something that sounded like a woman shrieking. I guess Troy just wanted to make sure.

Troy

Seventeen days until the fight. That’s all the time left I had to train. After getting past that ordeal with the guy from Riley’s job, things were beginning to fall into place. Both of us were doing a lot better.

She turned in her resignation to her boss the next morning. Interestingly, that guy didn’t show up to the office for a few days after that. He’d taken the option to spend some time working from home. Riley told me he called in and said he needed “personal time.” She didn’t think she’d ever see him again. If that turned out to be true, it would be a wise decision on his part.

I slung the barbell high over my head and silently counted out the last of my reps. When I dropped it at my feet, it made a huge clatter that kicked up dust from the mats.

“Looking good, Champ,” Ray said as he passed by on his way to the cage. I was rounding into peak form. By the time fight day arrived, I’d be a killer.

Riley wanted me to come over for dinner tonight. She was celebrating her last couple of days at the office. It was like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders ever since she quit. She’d always been a positive girl, but now she was bouncing off the walls with boundless energy. It was yet another side to her I enjoyed.

I tossed my towel in the basket on the way out th

e door and headed for my bike. It was another sunny day, which was totally rare for this time of year, so I took advantage and rode the Harley. What I didn’t expect when I came out was to see Damon Ortiz sitting on it.

“There he is,” Ortiz shouted. “Mr. Cage Fighter. Good to see you.”

My defenses went up. He had his usual two security guys flanking him on either side of my bike. One of the guys was the same ogre that kicked me the last time, but the other guy was new. I imagined he was a replacement for the other guy—the one who clearly couldn’t fight.

“Yeah, I’m here,” I said. “Just like I always am.”

“Aw, c’mon, Troy. Don’t be that way.”

He was in a good mood and that bothered me. “But I have stuff to do,” I said. “So, if you have something to tell me, just do it. You can skip out on all the intimidation bullshit.”

He twisted the throttle on the motorcycle and looked at his men. “Intimidation… me? Naw, that’s not my style. I just lay out a some of my expectations and list the consequences if those expectations are not met. It’s very fair of me, if I say so myself.”

I tossed my gym bag on the ground at the front wheel. “You can have your expectations, but you can also get the fuck off my bike.”

“Hmm,” he snuffed down his nose. “Get the fuck off your bike? Okay, I’ll let you get away with that one. But that’s only because I’m a business man and, right now, I’m here for other business.”

“What do you want?”

“Eddie told me you came by to see him.”

“Yeah, I did. That’s why I’m confused about you being here. Didn’t he give you the message?”

“He did. But I didn’t like that message. It wasn’t one we agreed upon previously.”

“We didn’t agree upon anything. You told me what you wanted, I thought about it, then I decided I wasn’t interested. That pretty much covers it.”

“Does it? Okay, maybe I wasn’t clear enough on that night. Remember how I told you my next visit wouldn’t be so nice?”

My fists clenched up and I prepared for a fight. He must have seen the look in my eyes. “Hold up, Eason. Don’t get too excited, we’re just here to talk. Do you really think we’d be dumb enough to assault you in broad daylight like this?”