Fighting for Flight by JB Salsbury (easy readers TXT) 📕

fog and focus on Raven. My muscles twitch with unbridled fury.

“What do you want, Dominick? For Raven? I’ll give you whatever you want in return for her freedom.”

Dominick leans back and props his expensive loafers onto the desk.

“Whatever I want, huh? Don’t think you have anything I want, Mr. Slade.”

“Name your price.”

“You don’t have enough.”

“Try me.”

He stares at me in silence while spinning his gold pinkie ring with his thumb.

“Ten million dollars, cash.”

Shit. That’s a lot of money. My chest constricts. This is a lost cause. I can’t afford that. If I sell my house, my cars, everything I have in savings . . . dammit, that’s still not enough.

“Or,” he looks at Blake then back to me, “we could make this interesting.” He taps his bottom lip with his finger.

I’d give anything to bust that lip open.

“I’ll tell you what. You want to win my daughter? Throw your title fight.”

His words suck the air from my lungs.

“Fuck me,” Blake whispers.

“You boys must be aware of the odds in this fight. You’re the favorite to win. If I put enough money on Del Toro, and he wins, I could become a very rich man. You lose that fight, I’ll release Raven.”

“Done.” My answer bursts forth without hesitation. I would give up anything for her, including my life’s dream. She’s my dream now.

“I have one stipulation. The fight must go three rounds. You can’t just walk into the octagon with your hands at your side. Make it believable, as if you’re fighting to win.”

Blake steps close and Dominick’s bodyguards follow suit. “That’s impossible. He goes out there to fight. Del Toro’s down.”

Dominick’s eyes stay focused on mine. “That’s what makes it a challenge. Are you up for the challenge, Mr. Slade?”

“I’ll do it.” I can do anything if it means being with Raven.

Blake murmurs a string of foul words while depraved satisfaction shines in Dominick’s eyes. He reaches out to shake my hand. I hesitate.

Rage rides me hard, and I know if I touch this man I may lose it. I picture Raven’s smiling face and take a deep breath. I force my hand forward and shake his, harder than necessary.

“It’s a deal,” he says. “Are we done here?”

“No, one more thing.” I place both palms on the edge of the desk and lean forward, looming over Dominick. His bodyguards step up close, flashing their weapons under their suit coats. “You stay the hell away from Raven. I don’t want you to contact her, threaten her, or even think about her. You got someone on her, you call them off. She’s mine. I’ll do whatever it takes to protect her. Whatever. It. Takes.”

The all-consuming buzz has me shaking with the need to fuck this guy up. Blake reaches from behind me and pulls me back by my biceps. I lean forward on pure instinct.

“Come on, man. You got what we came for. Let’s get outta here.” Blake drags me backwards, my piercing scowl locked on Dominick.

Yeah, good idea, before I kill this bastard.

I rip free of Blake’s hold and leave the room.

“Good night, gentleman.” Dominick’s cackling laughter fades as we walk down the hall.

I’m a bomb, live and loaded, ready to rip the shit out of anyone that looks at me wrong. My muscles coil, pulse racing.

I shove the front door open and hear the satisfying smack as it slams against the exterior wall of the club.

“Easy, man,” some douchebag college kid says standing with a group of his pissant friends.

I stalk over and step right up in his face. “The fuck you say?”

“Nothing. It’s cool.” The kid shifts and steps back into the safety of his friends, unaware they’ve all backed up a good ten feet.

My lips curl. I advance a step.

“Come on. Don’t make the poor bastard crap his pants in front of his friends.” Blake’s tone is joking, but he doesn’t move to touch me. He knows better than to put a hand on me when I’m this close to lighting shit up.

Dropping the little punk will make me feel better. Nothing satisfies the beast within like a good street fight—until recently. There’s one thing that works even better.

I turn away and hear him exhale a “Thank you, Jesus” as I head to my truck.

“Breathe, brother.” Blake’s voice comes from behind me.

“Raven. I need her. Now.”

Sixteen

Raven

In shock, I stare silently as Eve tilts her head, smiling with affection to the man at her back.

“Raven, this is the guy I was telling you about, Vince. Vince, this is my best friend, Raven.” Eve introduces us like we’re at a dinner party.

Vince leans forward, sucking Eve’s earlobe into his mouth. Her eyes flutter closed and a soft moan escapes her lips. His eyes lock on mine as his lips peel back over his teeth, and he sinks them into her ear.

Eww.

“Nice to meet you, Raven. Eve has told me a lot about you.”

That’s why he looked at me so familiarly yesterday. He’s been feeding information about me to Dominick. No doubt Eve has told him everything. I groan as I think of all the things I’ve told her, things I confided in her about my life.

I bet he’s the one who told Dominick that I had fallen in love with Jonah, that I was staying with him every night, that I was a virgin.

Vince is Dominick’s Ass-In-The-Hole.

He had this planned: having Vince stalk me, violate my personal life to gain leverage against me, taking advantage of my best friend, her loving heart and beautiful body, to spy on me. I lock eyes with Vince, but talk to Eve.

“I just needed to make sure you were okay. I hadn’t been able to get ahold of you and I worried.” The words flow without emotion. My mind churns, processing how wrong this is. “I’ll let you guys get back to it.”

“Wait, are you sure you’re okay?” Her words come out on a moan as Vince cups her breast right in front of me. I have to get away from here.

“Yeah, I have