Reese

I sit up and swing my legs around, ignoring the pain in my side. “You’re lucky I snapped your fingers and not your dick. Who the fuck do you think you are to touch me without my consent? You want some asshole doing that to your mother, or sister, or daughter?”

“Fuck you, you whore,” he snarls.

I pull my arm back and swing my fist into his nose, enjoying the crimson spray that bursts from it, splattering us both.

“Fuck! You broke my nose. I’m going to—” He lunges for me just as I kick upward between his legs, making him drop to the floor like a rock.

I scan the room and see people watching me with interest. The few females in here looking at me curiously.

“I don’t know who he is, but if he asks you to be on his team, I’d think long and hard about it. Teamwork to him means something else entirely.”

“Jesus, calm down. He’s a guy. It’s what they do. It’s just a joke,” a nasal-sounding voice complains. I turn in search of its owner and see a pissed-off-looking Diamond lying on a bed not too far away.

“That’s pretty fucking sad. It’s shit like that, the justification and brushing it off with the boys-will-be-boys mentality that stops change from ever happening. But you do you. You want to fuck him for your spot on their team, be my guest. Personally, I’d rather earn my spot with my fists instead of my pussy.”

“Bitch,” she hisses as the asshole climbs back to his feet and reaches for me.

Another guy grabs him first and holds him back.

“That’s enough, Torch.”

“Fuck you Thorne. I decide when it’s enough.” Torch fights against him.

“Actually, I do. No means fucking no. Now I suggest you get your hand fixed up and your nose looked at, or your team will be looking for a replacement.”

“You little whore.” He lunges for me again, but the Thorne guy behind him punches him in the head, knocking him out cold.

I snicker. “Thanks, you’re now my new best friend.”

He smiles and shakes out his hand. “Fucker has a hard head. And it’s me that should be thanking you. He was a late addition to our team. We wouldn’t have known what a dickhead he is without seeing him in action. Unlike him, I do have sisters and a daughter. He’s lucky all you did was break his fingers and nose.”

I chuckle at that and lie back down.

“I’ll send the doc your way. He’s just about finished stitching up my friend.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.”

I shut everyone out until the doctor hurries over to me a few minutes later. He checks me over, cleans me up, and pops in a couple of stitches before moving on to the next person who needs patching up.

The place begins to empty as I wait, the noise level dropping enough that it’s not aggravating my growing headache. But when I hear one of the women suck in a sharp breath, I know it’s my guys.

I open my eyes and spot Law and Vega near the doorway looking for me, scanning and dismissing the other fighters as I sit up. When their eyes land on me, they both prowl toward me in that don’t-fuck-with-me way they seem to emanate.

I scan Law as they get closer and see the bruising beginning to darken across the left side of his face, but otherwise, he looks okay.

“How did it go?”

“Are you doubting my skills, woman?” Law teases.

I roll my eyes. “It was just a question. I didn’t realize your ego was so fragile.”

He scoops me up, making me laugh as he growls. “You and that mouth. How about we find a better use for it, like congratulating the winner?”

Vega grins at me from over Law’s shoulder.

I sigh. “Well, if you insist. Any idea where he is?”

That earns me a slap on the ass, my laughter ringing out around the room as he carries me out, all three of us oblivious to the other fighters watching.