The gym was about two blocks from the diner on Dotter. It looked like an old firehouse that had been under attack. Maybe it had. In this part of town, you never know. I hesitated on getting out of the truck, watching the building. I couldn't see inside but I had a feeling that it was full of people. What? You're never afraid of the unknown? Or heck, making a fool of yourself?
I'm good at making a fool of myself and that fear has never stopped me from charging ahead blindly, but I was stressed out and I didn't feel like myself. Maybe it was just sharing space with Mia or that Deedra was in danger or that Andy was in the center of it all and that I had a protective instinct when it came to him. Maybe it was that I was dating a man that was in constant danger and it was better not to think about what he was doing at this moment. I'm the Queen of Denial but even I had to admit that something was off in Steph-land. My insides weren't jiving and my mood seemed to be set to bitchy. Whatever it was, it was making me hesitate.
"Really, beautiful, they don't bite." Lester was waiting patiently for my move. I had a crazy urge to whine to him and say something childish, like what if they don't like me? Or what if I'm not good enough? I fought the urge and since I was already fighting to ignore my instincts, I yanked open the door and did the whole charge ahead blindly thing. Lester caught up with me easily and led me in; neither of us said a word.
We walked up the front steps to the large brick building and he opened the heavy steel door, walking through first and leaving me to follow. We walked down a dark hallway that led to a large, open well-lit room. It seemed to be mostly lit by the huge windows all around the room. I stopped in the entrance and had to orient myself to all the activity. There was couple of thick mats along one side with a couple of men sparing easily on one of them. There was a three-lane track that ran around the large room and some weight machines on the far side. What drew my attention, along with most of the room was the boxing ring in the center of the room.
Two men were really going at it. They had wrapped knuckles with bare feet and it seemed like it was an anything goes match. I could distinguish some smooth martial arts in the smaller man's moves and I think the larger man must have been a boxer. He relied on his punches a lot and he put a lot of force into them.
"The small guy is Bobby Raven. He's a pretty good guy but he's too honorable when it comes to street fighting." Lester filled me in as we watched the men move. The littler guy was getting pounded, but he was quick to rebound.
"Too honorable?" Yes, I sparred and did the whole Tae Kwon Do thing, but I didn't know much about street fighting. It looked dirty, but both men still seemed to be following a discipline, Bobby Raven more than the other.
"He doesn't go in for the kill. He's still following the whole hurt but do no harm thing and Donny Masters doesn't care about ethics or his opponent. That's what makes him a good fighter and a total ass. He's just playing with Raven now." Judging by Lester's tone, I'd say he thought very little of Masters. The hurt but do not harm thing is a basic in most of the martial arts. It means that doing permanent damage is a no-no. Like, I could put painful pressure on someone's arm to defend myself, but breaking that arm crosses the line. From what I did know, in street fighting, anything goes. If you have to break someone's arm, then do what you have to do to win, because winning is sometimes the difference between life and death.
Guys all around the gym were shouting at the fighting pair. Some were cheering on Bobby, some were booing Masters and a few were shouting for him to just end the damn match. The two men continued circling. Bobby had blood flowing down his face from the last blow to his nose and he was stumbling around a little. Masters was covered in sweat and had a steady stream of blood flowing out of a cut on his cheek but he seemed to be much more coherent. He finally listened to crowd and sent the smaller man to the floor with a knock out punch. A couple of guys jumped in the ring to check out Bobby Raven and helped him out of the ring.
"You idiot! Do you always have to be a show hog?" An old black man jumped Masters when he hit the floor. The old man kept up the shouting as Masters moved to his bag and started wiping off the sweat. He pressed the sweaty towel to his bloody cut and turned to the old man with an insolent and uninterested gaze. "This is my gym, you will follow my rules. That was over the line." He ranted for a few more minutes then asked if Masters understood. The big man nodded and old man moved away. He spotted Lester and me and walked over.
"Lester!" He greeted him and shook his hand, clapping the other shoulder. "Good to see you." The old man's eyes light up when they fell on me. "And you brought your girlfriend!"
"No, no…" Lester waved his hands. "This is Stephanie Plum. Steph, this old coot is Gino Simmons."
"Just Gino." Gino offered me his hand and I took it with a smile. "I must say, I've heard a lot about the Bombshell Bounty hunter. Nice to finally meet ya."
"Heard from who?" I was close to wincing. I didn't know that the rest of Trenton was as knowledgeable about my blunders as the 'burg was.
"Oh, you know, the guys around here. The Rangeman crew has a lot to say about you." I elbowed Lester and he dodged me.
"That was some fight." I remarked, moving the focus. Gino shook his head and looked over his shoulder at Masters.
"He's a bully. He enjoys hurting other people."
"Is he Rangeman?"
"Nah, most of these guys aren't. Masters is an up and coming boxer that lives in the neighborhood. Gino lets him train here because he's friends with his manager."
"That's not going to last for long. From what I hear, Tom's ready to dump him because no one will take him. He has a reputation for fighting dirty." Gino shook his head and turned back to us. "So, what brings you here?"
"Steph needs place to workout." Lester said simply. Gino gave him a look that I couldn't begin to read. "Oh come on, Gino. She's Ranger's girl."
"That doesn't mean anything and you know it." Gino scowled back at him and I looked between the two. What? Women weren't allowed at Gino's gym?
"It's a stupid tradition and you know it isn't necessary."
"No can do, Lester, she has to fight or she can't get in."
"Fight?" I stared at the two in shock. What like a gang initiation or something?
"It isn't as bad as it sounds. You don't have to win, just show us what you've got. It's kinda a way to get over your stage fright, you know? Everybody does it." Gino tried to sooth me and Lester dropped his face to his palm. I looked around and realized that I had quite a few people's attention. Hunh.
"So, who do I have to fight in this joint?" I asked, trying to be brave. Inside, my organs were rearranging.
Gino looked at me regretfully. Uh oh. My stomach, which was around the area of my upper right lung, did a flip. The old man turned and looked over at Masters.
"Oh, hell no." Lester disagreed.
"He's the newest. Besides, the other guys wouldn't want to hurt her."
"That's a good thing, Gino." Lester glared.
"Lester, do her a favor and let her take this match." Gino grabbed me by the shoulder and guided me to the center of the room. He gave my shoulder a small squeeze before walking over to Masters and explaining it to him. I turned away from his malicious look, trying to figure out what I was doing. Lester walked beside me.
"You don't have to do this, girl." He said it in a low voice. My head was a little cloudy and my knees were about to start quaking, but I kinda sorta wanted to do this. Chalk it up to mild insanity, but I felt some confidence in my body that I hadn't had a year ago and I thought I was up to the challenge.
"I think I do." I shrugged but Lester could see my uncertainty. He went into coach mode, telling me that I could kick his butt and all that. Then, he started giving me some basics in street fighting. I was a little overwhelmed, but I think I must have absorbed his words.
"Look, girl, he's going to fight dirty and you can't just fight with a belt, okay? He's bigger but you have to have something he doesn't." Lester tapped the side of my head. "Be smart." I nodded as the others signaled that Masters was already up in the ring. I was trying desperately to remember the moves that Lester had told me and tried to ignore the strong need to run. I pulled my boots and socks off, noticing that he kept his socks on. I raised an eyebrow. I guess I wasn't much of a threat for him. Imagine that. Despite myself, I felt annoyance.
I climbed up into the ring and circled away from him. He followed and we moved around the thin mat. I was still getting my bearings when he punched me on the chin. I fell and against my basic instincts, I went limp so I didn't injure myself when I landed. I managed to stumble back to my feet unharmed because my opponent was walking around the ring, facing away from me. The jerk must have realized that the stupid chick that got in the ring with him was standing and back to circling, because he fell back into step with me.
He shot out another punch and this time I managed to block. He shot a kick to my shoulder and connected, but I rolled out of it before he struck me solidly. He went for another powerful swing and I kicked him in the stomach, effectively ducking back and pushing him back at the same time. He lost his breath and fell back into our circling.
Obviously, this had gone on to long for his ego. He rushed me, swinging. I ducked out a little and jabbed him in the throat with my four fingers on one side and my thumb digging into the other. He fell back a little and I caught sight of Lester. No fight was fair when your opponent meant to hurt you.
I kicked his lower thigh without remorse the next time he came back at me to try to take my head off, knowing exactly what would happen. Masters crumpled to the floor, shrieking. His knee popped out of place and when he came down on it, he must have torn quite a few muscles. He wouldn't be walking anytime soon, let alone fighting.
A couple of guys rushed onto the mat and tried to help the cussing boxer. I was surprised that he hadn't passed out yet. At first, he swung at them, then he seemed to lose some of his fight. He allowed the men to help him off and they disappeared. Probably to the hospital. I sat down on the mat in disbelief. I couldn't believe that I was here, let alone that I had just crippled a boxer. I felt pretty horrible, but my mind was clear for the first time in a month.
My jaw was throbbing and my conscience was digging at me, but I felt the endorphins rushing through my bloodstream, replacing the adrenaline. I stood shakily and stepped through the ropes. When I jumped down, Lester pulled me into a hug and swung me around. When I was back on my feet, Tank and Bobby were busy patting me on the back all three of them laughing. I grinned at their enthusiasm. I didn't wonder why they were there instead of on a takedown with Ranger until I turned around and came face to face with a grinning Ranger.
"Good work, babe." He tugged me into his arms and kissed the side of my head.
"When did you get here?"
"About the time you got knocked on your butt." He chuckled.
"You're still alive." I murmured, holding him tight. I hadn't thought about Anders for hours, trying to keep my overactive imagination from running away with me. He just held me tighter until the guys somehow pulled us apart, going on about me creaming Masters. I blushed and Ranger's cell phone started ringing. He pulled away from the group and I followed.
"Andy." He flipped the phone open. "Yo." There was a pause as he listened to Andy. "She's with me." He listened then held the phone out to me.
"Hey," I said in a shaky voice.
"Jeez, Steph, where are you?" He sound harried and I could here activity in the background.
"A, uh, gym. Where are you?"
"My office." Not only did he sound harried, he sounded like he was shook up.
"Does it always sound that hectic?"
"The police are here." He whispered. "I've been trying to call you for the last ten minutes."
"What's going on?" I had images of Andy being arrested.
"I found a body in my office."
"Shit, we'll be right there." I hung up. I grabbed my stuff and walked out with Ranger.