I kissed the top of her head and gently squeezed her. “You want to get out of here?”
“No, I don’t want to leave. I was having fun; the news just caught me by surprise. I’m fine, really,” she insisted.
“The entire club will probably head to Croftridge tomorrow to see the baby. You can come with us if you want,” I offered even though I knew she wouldn’t want to go.
Her forehead scrunched and she shook her head. “Why would the whole club go see my brother’s new baby?”
“Because he’s married to Ember, who is the daughter of the President of the Original Chapter, who happens to be Copper’s and Bronze’s first cousin. Ember’s mom, Annabelle, is also Layla’s sister,” I explained.
“Okie dokie. You guys have fun, but I’ll pass. I have to work tomorrow night anyway.”
“Oh, and River, you call me Judge again and I’ll spank your ass. I’m Jonah to you.”
“Yes, Your Honor.” With that, she opened the bathroom door and sashayed her way back to the table with Batta and Kennedy.
“Is everything okay?” Kennedy asked as soon as we reached our seats.
“I wasn’t feeling good all of a sudden, but I’m fine now. Guess I drank a bit too much too fast,” she lied.
I leaned back in my chair and subtly shook my head hoping Batta and Kennedy understood to drop it. But it was a moot point when, once again, the music stopped and Copper was standing in the middle of the room.
“One more thing—”
“Do we have to find the snakes again, Prez?” Batta shouted causing River to stiffen while Kennedy’s mouth dropped open.
“He’s kidding,” I lied.
Copper glared at Batta. “No, dickhead. My girl and Judge managed to get a projection screen installed a few days ago so we can all watch Nathan’s fight tonight!”
The room erupted in cheers as the screen began to descend on the far wall. “We should probably go ahead and grab a seat if we don’t want to be stuck in the back,” I suggested.
“Who is Nathan?” River asked.
“He’s Copper’s cousin,” I said and then leaned down to whisper in her ear, “And he’s Ember’s younger brother.”
She nodded but didn’t seem affected by my words. “So, why are we watching him fight?”
“He’s a professional MMA fighter,” I explained.
We spent the next few hours watching the preliminary fights leading up to the main event featuring Nathan in his first televised event.
Silence fell over the room when it was time for the main event, but erupted in cheers when the announcer called, “Nathan ‘Night Night’ Davis!” Nathan burst from the locker room with his entourage surrounding him. I was not at all surprised to see Wave and Token flanking the trainers all the way to his designated corner.
River leaned in close and asked, “Why do they call him ‘Night Night’?”
“You’ll see.”
I hadn’t seen Nathan in well over a year, and I was shocked to see how big he had gotten. “Damn, Batta, you and Carbon might not be the biggest ones around if he gets much bigger.”
Batta snorted, “No shit, man. I can’t believe that’s the same boy we helped rescue last year. Ain’t nobody gonna get the drop on him now.”
And he proved that statement to be true when he knocked his opponent out a little over halfway through the first round. The fight was called, and like the good man he was, Nathan waited until his opponent was awake and sitting up before he allowed them to thrust his hand into the air to celebrate his victory.
Wave appeared beside Nathan in the center of the ring and whispered something into his ear. Nathan nodded, kissed two fingers, and held them up in the air while looking directly at the camera. “For Ember and Raven,” he shouted.
River flinched beside me, but quickly hid her discomfort by clapping and cheering along with everyone else in the room.
“Well, that was interesting,” she said. “I’ve never watched an organized fight before.”