Page 4 of Tico

My gaze goes back to the women just in time to see Viper and Luna touch gloves. I’m glad they at least gave them that kind of protection rather than just having them bare-knuckle fight like a couple of the previous fights.

Big Mike announces the start of the fight and Viper lashes out with a powerful strike as soon as he’s done talking. I try not to react, but fuck, watching Viper fight and dance back out of striking range is damn near fucking breathtaking.

Vaguely, I’m aware of Daemon giving quiet instruction or critique as he watches the women fight, but my focus is solely drawn on Viper.Chingar(Fuck), I don’t even know the woman and she has my dick harder than it’s ever been before.

Just who the fuck is this woman?

Chapter 3

Ember

Grabbingarolloftape off the counter, I start taping my knuckles and wrist. I know I don’t need to tape them since I use gloves when fighting in the pits, however, when I’m training, I don’t always use gloves. I’ve grown so accustomed to taping my hands that it’s part of my routine and on fight night, I don’t feel complete without the tape, so I use it.

Continuing to tape my hands, I try to tune out Dad and Uncle Ryan’s so-called ‘instructions’. I’ve heard their spiels countlesstimes—so much so that I could recite them in my sleep. The only thing that changes is specifics about who I’m about to fight in their pits—both legal and underground. Not that I need them to tell me about my opponents. I watch the videos of their fights alongside Reese, my trainer, and then again when Dad and Uncle Ryan force me to watch the videos with them. Instead of listening to their voices, I try to focus on the roar of the crowd filtering through the nearby doors that lead out to the tunnel, letting their excitement wash over me and add to my own excitement.

I’ve just secured the last bit of tape and grab my gloves when Dad gets up in my face.

“Are you even listening to me, girl?”

I bite back a sigh and nod. “Yes, Dad. Keep my guard up. Protect my head. Stay light on my toes. Strike fast but also keep my distance. Watch out for her left hook.”

I share a look with Reese over their shoulders. I have to bite my cheek to keep from smiling when I see him roll his eyes behind their backs at how they are acting. Reese has been my trainer for almost six years now. He moved to Thicket Grove about a year after Duncan, my best friend and a man I consider a brother, was able to get out of the same club my dad and uncle Ryan belong to, the Chrome Vipers MC.

The Chrome Vipers are one-percenters. Their clubhouse is located on the outskirts of Thicket Grove which is in the UP, or the upper peninsula of Michigan. The club runs the pits that I fight in and the gym that I train in. I think their gym, the legal fights, and their tattoo parlor might be the only legit businesses they have anymore.

The club is also tied to an organization that I despise to my very core.

Oasis.

I swear it’s like a fucking cult. They believe that women are on earth to please men and to do as they are told. That they have to obey their ‘master’. That women are only here to cook, clean, and be available to the men sexually whenever they want. Unfortunately, the Chrome Vipers believe the same damn fucking shit. They treat the women in the club the same way. I think I might be the only exception to that rule. Well, me and my sister. And that’s only because I bring money into the club in a different way than the other women.

It wasn’t always like this though in the club. Sure, the guys were possessive and in a weird sort of way, they thought of the women as property, but it’s nothing like the way the club treats women now. It was more like the cherished kind of possessiveness.

When I was six and Duncan was ten, everything changed in the club.

One of the members, Scooter, staged a coup with his cronies and killed Duncan’s parents. His dad, Snare, was the President of the club and after his death, Scooter took over as President. Duncan would have been killed, too, if his uncle hadn’t made a bargain to train him to be an underground fighter. After their deaths, everything went to shit in the club.

Looking back now, I know Dad was trying to groom me into that life even before Scooter took over, but once he did take over, Dad doubled down on his efforts. Hard. I fought him though, not wanting to change or give up the freedoms I had when Snare ruled the club. However, I quickly learned that path led to a shit ton of pain. In the end, I pretended to submit to them otherwise I’d endure constant beatings and prolonged periods of being starved.

That is, until the day a boy in town decided to bully my little sister, Pyper.

It was a rare day when my stepmom, Rochelle, was given a little bit of freedom and she took us to the park in town. I was twelve at the time and Pyper was five.

I was across the playground when it happened, but I had heard her scared cry of pain and ran toward the sound. Unfortunately, I wasn’t fast enough, and the boy had enough time to knock her down and kick her a couple of times before I got to him and proceeded to beat the shit out of the kid for hurting my sister.

When the kids’ parents demanded I apologize, I told them and the cops that I wouldn’t. Why should I have to apologize for stopping the kid from bullying and hurting my little sister? To top it off, the cop didn’t even reprimand the kid for kicking and hurting Pyper. When Dad arrived, I thought he would have punished me for hurting the kid, especially since the kid I’d beaten up was from a well-off family in town. However, for the first time ever, Dad had looked at me with pride when he saw how hurt the boy was and that there wasn’t a scratch or bruise on me.

That day changed the trajectory of my life.

Instead of continuing to be groomed into the perfect little submissive or sex slave, like most women that were born into the club, I was groomed to fight. At first, it was Dad and Uncle Ryan who trained me, but it quickly became apparent that they didn’t know what the fuck they were doing. That’s when Duncan and his Uncle Marcus, or Wrench as he’s known to the club, stepped in.

Duncan has always been like an older brother to me. Even though he’s four years older than me, he’s never treated me like a kid. He’s been my protector since before I can remember. Our moms were best friends, so we spent a lot of time around each other growing up. Duncan and Uncle Marcus became my first real trainers. It’s honestly thanks to them, and later, to Reese that I’m as good as I am.

Personally, I use the training to make sure I’ll never be late again to protect Pyper. I know that line of thought is completely illogical since I can’t be with her for every second of every day, but I used that day as motivation to become stronger, faster. I trained so that I could be her protector. To take the fights on that she couldn’t, nor shouldn’t, have to fight.

And it worked.

I’ve always been quick, but now, my quickness and footwork have become a part of what I’m known for in the circuits. That and how fast I strike. Hence the name, Viper.