CHAPTER 12
Jimmy Salters stood beside a ring, geared up and ready to go. So, at least he didn’t try to hide. Point to him.
The only point he’d score tonight.
“No mouthguard,” Lucky said. “We’re gonna talk.” Understatement. Lucky planned to do all the talking.
The red-haired thorn in Lucky’s side removed his mouthpiece. “I already know what you’re gonna say.”
“Like hell you do. Even if you did, I’m still saying it.” Lucky crawled into the ring. He’d not been here often in the past few years, except to teach Ty how to box. Not as much tension to work off, though he and Rett still sparred on occasion. If he had to lose a sparring match, he’d rather lose to Rett than an SNB rookie.
Or Salters.
He bounced in place, waiting for Salters to get into position.
“You sure you really want to do this?” Salters shuffled, swinging his arms and loosening up. Not his first rodeo then.
Hell, Luckyownedthe rodeo. “Oh, yeah. We are so doing this.”
“You know if we kill each other your sister will bring us back from the dead so she can kill us herself.” Another point in the guy’s favor for appreciating Charlotte Lucklighter’s ass-kicking abilities.
“You stubborn-assed, mutherfu …”Yeah, Lucky could hear her now, punctuating each word with a below-the-belt punch or kick. The mere thought made him cringe. Nothing equaled a pissed-off Lucklighter. “Okay, so we stop short of death.” Lucky’s gloves didn’t fit quite the same with his two fingers missing. Wouldn’t slow him down none.
Lucky’s grinning opponent made a big show of limbering up.
Posturing. Lucky hated posturing. “Quit stalling. I gotta get home to dinner.” He might have to explain a bruise or black eye,ifSalters possessed enough skill.
Salters rolled his shoulders and swung his arms.
Lucky glowered. “Are we there yet?”
“Ready?” Salters pulled his helmet down with gloved hands. A few men gathered outside the ring to watch. Must be a slow night.
On the one hand, if Lucky kicked ass, Salters might go away and leave Charlotte alone—then Charlotte would kick Lucky’s ass. On the other hand, at least Lucky knew this guy’s past. Oh, right. Knew his past mistakes landed him in the SNB. Sounded familiar. What if they wound up staring at each other over family dinners?
Brr…
He hadn’t been happy when Charlotte married a two-bit conman. Then again, he’d never found anyone good enough for his sister. Too much thinking made Lucky’s head hurt. He moved to the center of the ring and jabbed; Salters ducked. Okay, quick reflexes. Might be a worthy opponent.
Salters danced out of reach. “You said you wanted to talk to me, so talk.”Shuffle, shuffle, jab.
“I want to know about you and my sister.”Jab, jab, jab.Oh, nice punch there. Too bad Salters moved too slowly to catch Lucky.
Sidestep.“What about us?”
Lucky lunged backward out of reach. “You know good and well I didn’t want you near her.”
Salters spread his hands, realized his mistake, and barely missed Lucky’s right hook. “She’s a grown woman. She can do as she pleases.”
Lucky ducked below Salter’s arm and landed a cross blow to Jimmy’s kidney. That’d hurt come morning. “In case you haven’t noticed, she’s expecting.”
Salters grabbed his back, falling to his knees on the mat. “I noticed.” He grimaced and added, “You sonofabitch,” while wobbling to his feet.
“That’s Boss Sonofabitch to you!” Lucky jabbed, Salters easily deflected.
Salters paused, hands on his knees. “You know, it’s not easy playing twenty questions and having to watch footwork too.”
“You mean you can’t do two things at once?” Lucky swung again; Salters skipped away. “How did you meet her? Did you look up my address in my personnel file?” Lucky’s method of preference.