Worth Fighting For | Book #1

Chapter 58

The air was a lot colder than what I was used to. I'd opted to wear a simple sweater and jeans, knowing that a jacket over the top would've been a much smarter choice. I stuffed my hands into the warmth of my sleeves, hoping to somehow circulate it down through my body and into my toes where I was sure frostbite was nearing.

For living in California, some nights seemed to possess a specific yet unpleasant chill, acting as if the heat during the day would no longer follow on through to the night. Everyone around had made the very correct decision in clothing, leaving me to regret my very choices that led to this moment.

It had been a while since my tires had made the dreaded trip up onto these fields, including the trip I was currently making through the mudded grass.

I kept my eyes down, not wanting to attract unnecessary attention given the fact that I was walking alone. The crowd of people were grouped in their usual spot, giving me a clear view of the destination I was heading to.

The ruffled dark hair and beard was already becoming familiar as I made the dreaded steps over to the back of a very significant truck. Josh had pointed it out once or twice, but I'd chosen to ignore him, not thinking that I'd be making my way over to it at any point like I was doing right now.

A series of obnoxious laughs sounded from the back of it, now only a few steps away from where I was standing. Three men were seated, holding beer bottles from an opened crate and sorting through a hefty load of cash, right in front of everyone.

"Excuse me?" I attempted, yet my voice was easily drowned by another chorus of laughs and teasing between the three of them, "excuse me?" I spoke a little louder, gaining the attention of just one of them.

He wasn't the man I'd thought to be in charge of it all, yet he still reeked of authority, his greying hair catching my eyes as someone around my fathers age. His lips teased a crooked smile as he shoved the other two to look over at me.

I stood with hidden dejection as they grimly lingered their eyes up and down my covered body and licked their lips. A shudder ran through me with disgust, but I knew that it was simply the first wall I'd be breaking down in getting these men to agree to what I was planning to say.

"How can we help you miss? Lost your boyfriend?" The same greying hair man joked.

Another laugh rolled through them, to which I attempted a smile to pretend that I appreciated their loose form of banter. "Actually, I want you to put my name down on that list of yours."

I pointed over to the papers between them, ones I'd seen before when they'd announced the fighters for the night. And then the repetitive laughter sounded.

If anything was going to cause me to walk away from these men, it wouldn't have been anything to do with the way they spoke to me, it would be to get as far away as I could from the sinful hysterics they believed to be funny.

"And what makes you think we'd be adding a skinny girl like you to our list? If you haven't noticed already, there's very little pussy punchers around here," I cringed at the greying hair man as he spoke.

The man in charge had yet to speak but instead was watching me with an obscure sense of calculation.

"You'll be adding me to that list because I've asked you to," the man in charge seemed to lean forward slightly at my words, "I have the money to register and I can fight, so I think I'd rather ask why you wouldn't be adding me to your list?"