Rags to Riches. Really? (1st book of Really? Series)

Chapter 14

The man was getting more tired and angrier the longer he had to face me. He still had that stupid snarl on his face because I had only been throwing punches here and there, testing his skills and see how far his anger would get the best of him.

"Would you fucking fight now?" some guy yelled in the crowd. "I think he is ready for some ass-whooping."

I grunted out my response and nodded my head. A small smirk appeared on my face, hidden from the man's view because of my hood. I caught his hand when he threw a punch at me and kicked him in the side before letting go.

The male grunted out in shock and turned towards me. He wasn't prepared for me to punch him in the face and took a step back. "The fuck?" he asked.

"What? Surprised that this girl knows how to fight dirty?" I asked, all but purring. I didn't give him time to answer as I punched and kicked him, letting out all the anger and annoyance that I had felt over the course of several days.

Loud cheers filled the air as I pushed him near the edge before backing up as he shoved me back. The bets kept being raised higher and higher as we fought longer, neither one of us backing down.

"I am going to kill you," the male roared, brandishing out a knife. He started to attack me with it, and I ducked underneath it.

"D-"

"Shut up, I got this," I said, interrupting the referee. I grabbed the arm that had the knife when he attacked me with it again and ducked underneath the arm, and the arm moved back and stabbed the knife into his leg.

The man howled out in pain and lashed out at me with his other hand, and I ducked underneath it. He grunted when I kicked his knee from behind him and fell. "You stupid bitch," he snarled, glaring at me.

"Ya and?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "You were the one that had that had decided to use a knife on me."

"You should have thrown it away," he all but growled out, taking the knife out of his leg. He lunged at me again, and I rolled my eyes and shook my head before I stepped out of his way.

I took hold of the hand that had the knife again and stabbed him in the other leg before kicking his feet underneath him. I moved onto him, placing my knees on his shoulders, and held the knife to his throat. "Don't make me," I warned, narrowing my eyes at him. "I will kill you or make you bleed to death. I have done it before."

"Go ahead and do it," the male snarled. "I am not tapping out."

I shook my head and clucked my tongue. "You really should have tapped out when you had the chance," I said. I stabbed the ground near his head before grabbing his hair and lifted it closer to my face as I leaned down. "Next time, you will do what they say." And with that, I slammed his head on the ground, leaving him unconscious before standing.

"Winner!" the ref called, holding up my arm. "Red McCowell."

The crowd cheered as a worker came with some money for me in a satchel that I'll have to return. "Red! Red!" they exclaimed, and I nodded in thanks. A lot of people were cheering, all of them happy that I had won and was back.

"Who will fight next?" the ref asked, and everyone became silent and looked at each other. "I am sure that Ms. Red will not mind doing double or nothing, or shall we have a different fight and let her keep the money?"

Again, they were silent before looking around to see if anyone would wish to fight me. "D-" one began before being interrupted by someone else.

"I will fight her," someone said in the back, and it became eerie quiet.

The crowd parted, and Ramont walked forward, his shoulders back and him looking tall. His gaze was on me, and I couldn't help but wonder if he knew that it was me or had a feeling. "I will fight her," he said again, and I groaned silently.

The crowd looked at each other and then at him. They then looked at me where I was holding the satchel before looking at him again. There were a couple of hesitant chuckles as if they were thinking that he was joking, but he didn't laugh along with them.

The chuckles turned into coughs as they waited for me to say something or do something.

"Are you sure, Old Man?" I asked, making sure that my voice was still deeper. "I ain't as easy as them dogs. Could get hurt worse than just a small scratch from an old dog."

"I am sure," Ramont said, coming to the area where we had our fights. He looked at me, his face an unreadable mask. "I mean, we don't have to, unless you are scared."

I bristled and pursed my lips. I was glaring at him, but I knew that he couldn't see. "Me? Scared?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. I pointed to the area where they had taken the man. "He just attacked me with a knife, and you are saying that I'm scared?"

"Yes."

I huffed and handed the bag to the ref. "Double or nothing. Winner takes all the winnings. Deal?"

"Deal."