Malachi hadn’t slept since he left Fresno. He couldn’t get the thought of Kiran being there out of his head. The resemblance was uncanny and it had slammed into him as he watched him on the street, jogging.He really was losing his mind. He knew he was seeing Kiran everywhere because he wanted to see him. He wanted him to still be alive and be somewhere, but the truth was, Kiran was dead, he was just slow in accepting it.At the airport, Malachi pulled his phone from his jacket pocket and dialed Jessica’s number. He was already walking towards the exit with Quentin next to him. “You’ve reached Jessica’s phone. She has no surname at the moment but she does have a cat.”Malachi chuckled. She never failed to make him smile, even in dire times. “I’m leaving the airport now. I’ll be home in about two hours.”“I’m sorry, you must have the wrong number,” Jessica said.“Order some food, I’m starving,” Malachi said instead.“Are you really at the airport?” she asked him.“Would I lie to you?”
Jessica shifted on the bed and cocked her head to the side. It wasn’t that Jessica didn’t miss Kiran, she dealt with sadness differently. She poured all of her emotions into her work and kept the sadness locked away. Malachi worried about that as well.“James isn’t really helping Adara with the healing process. After he leaves, then she’s all excited because Kiran’s out there,” she said.They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes and Malachi stretched out onto their new bed. It would be Malachi’s first night in the house even though Jessica had been staying there for a week already, there were still unopened boxes everywhere.“Where’s the cat?” he asked her suddenly and she started to laugh.“I decided to give you one more chance,” she said and he laughed. She crawled towards him on the bed and sat astride him as she looked at him.“I like this,” Malachi murmured.“But now that you’re back, you’re going to have to think of a way to make it up to me, you know you can’t leave me
I laid down on the bed as Phil, the tattoo artist, started working on my new ink. Josh was on another bed adding to the sleeve on his arm. My tattoo was half of a wolf’s face in a Samoan design with the caption ‘Fight or Die’ underneath it.Josh had phoned some old friends he still had and had arranged for an introduction to the man that ran the fight nights in California. We went to the first one and just watched. The place was packed and I felt sure that I could have taken that night’s fighters easily.We had been participating in fight nights all over California and Marcus wasn’t very happy with us when we both handed in our resignations on the same night. He yelled and then offered us more money.We had been fighting two fights a night three times a week and we stayed in cheap motels and traveled to the next city or town as the fights moved locations. We had both started out with twenty grand, worked out our expenses for meals and accommodation and in two months’ time we had alrea
It just felt natural when I got into that ring, the next move and the next one. I just knew how to counter and block and what to do to win. Losing was never an option with me and I wondered if I had always been that way.I loved the adrenaline rush as my opponent stepped in and I watched him. In my head I would calculate what type of fighter he was, size him up and know exactly what to do. Josh had laughed the first time I had switched sides and led with the left instead of my dominant right.Tonight, though, I would be fighting some guy from Europe, their best against our best. Sort of like a semifinal round if this was a competition, which I guess it was sort of, we had worked our way through California and packs from other states had started attending and I had beaten them all. Josh called me a celebrity in the underworld of fight nights.We had heard rumors of this guy I was fighting tonight, he only did death fights in Europe and this would be his first tap out fight. I had never
Malachi sat in his new study, everything still felt new and he was getting used to the layout of the new house. They had invited Adara over for dinner with the twins and James and Shoran had been invited as well.The weeks had passed agonizingly slow, and Kiran had been missing for ten months. It was hell and Malachi still felt the pain as fresh and clear as he had that first day. He still couldn’t get himself to accept that he was dead. He didn’t have a body to mourn over, hadn’t set his son’s spirit free and without that he’d never give up that last sliver of hope he still clung to.James had also come over a few times and they had trained in the new gym room built to one side of the house. He tried to keep the bonds alive between everyone but as time dragged on he was afraid that the fragile bond might break.Without Kiran, things seemed meaningless to them. It had been months with no word, no sign except the few times his imagination had run away with him and he had seen him in ev
Malachi walked down the hall, hoping that John wasn’t sending him another tribunal email. He was tired and he wanted to spend time at home. The kids were changing so much and every time he came back from a trip it felt like he’d missed something new they were doing.Adara was doing her best and she really was a terrific mother. Those two kids wanted for nothing. She read bedtime stories to them, told them stories about Kiran, they were healthy and well looked after.He could hear them all laughing in the sitting room as he closed the door to his study and switched the laptop on. He waited for it to switch on and then accessed his Council encrypted email and typed in his password.The email was from John with a video attached.“Malachi,I hope you’re sitting down while reading this. I received this video from a California Alpha, he always sends me these when new talent steps onto the scene for consideration as Council Zetas.Good luck,John”.Malachi frowned at first. They didn’t need
I stood in that back room and wondered about the Council member’s presence. Everything that Josh had told me about them was terrible. They were rich old men using the system to their advantage, getting rid of packs that irritated them and executing people as they saw fit.He wanted nothing to do with them and neither did I. I had enough things on my plate to worry about their presence. Josh and I weren’t interested in becoming Council Zetas, no matter what they offered us.I shook my head and I took my shirt and shoes off. I had to get my head in the game. Tonight’s fight would probably be the hardest one by the look of my opponent. He was ready for me. I closed my eyes and centered my energy.I saw the fight play off in my head, in slow motion, punch for punch, kick for kick. This guy was a street brawler, I decided. His punches would hurt and he could get a knockout on the jawline.He wasn’t fast but he was strong and usually won his fight after a few punches, where he would then sn
It felt like I got tunnel vision until I could only see him, moving in the ring. I was focused and I saw the plan forming in his mind. He was going to move me until he had me on the ropes and then deliver his killer punch. I saw it happen in slow motion.“He’s going to come from the right and then the left, the punch to your jaw will be a right hook,” the voice said clearly in my head and I dropped my hands as I stood up right in shock. I couldn’t move my head as George’s fist hit me so hard I felt my jaw dislocate.I was on my back, coughing up blood and the crowd was going wild. Josh was right there by my head. “What the hell happened, why’d you drop your arms man?” He was yelling at me and the announcer bent over me.“Ten count then the fight continues, unless you tap out.” I shook my head and started to get up.I pushed my jawbone back into place and I felt it start to heal. I looked up at the Council members sitting there and somehow I knew that the older man was speaking to me i
I looked intently at Josh. Everything he said was true and a sudden idea occurred to me. I wasn’t going anywhere with these people alone.“Come with me then, help me figure this out. You have no pack, but you have me and I have a pack, a family, a home. I would never just leave you,” I said to him and he nodded at me.“Fine, let’s go ice-skating or shit,” he said and smiled at me.“I’ll go with you on one condition,” I said to Malachi.“Yes?” Malachi didn’t seem worried about my condition, he only wanted me to leave with them.“Josh goes with me, I’m not leaving him behind,” I said to Malachi and he nodded.“Of course. Gather whatever you want to take. Our flight back leaves in three hours,” he said.He walked towards the door holding Jessica’s hand. James turned to look at me and I could tell that he was sad. I could feel it deep within myself.“Do you feel that?” he asked me and I looked at him.“I feel your sadness,” I answered him.“That’s one of the things you can do. You can fee
“We don’t care what you selling, bargaining or want. We ain’t interested,” Josh said as he closed the door behind me and stood next to me. I had an uneasy feeling about this and I was glad that I wasn’t alone.The older man looked at me with curiosity and I wondered what he wanted from me. His gray eyes seemed to search for something in mine and I couldn’t look away. It was almost like he was trying to read my mind.“He doesn’t recognize us,” the older man said to the younger man and woman with him.“Am I supposed to know who you are?” I asked the older man.The younger man stepped forward. His eyes held sadness and he looked intently into mine. He put both of his hands on my shoulders and squeezed lightly. It all felt too surreal like I was supposed to know him.“My name’s James,” he said and then he hugged me tightly. I just stood there with my arms by my sides not knowing what to do. He let go of me after a while, sighed deeply and then looked away.“I think you might have me confu
It felt like I got tunnel vision until I could only see him, moving in the ring. I was focused and I saw the plan forming in his mind. He was going to move me until he had me on the ropes and then deliver his killer punch. I saw it happen in slow motion.“He’s going to come from the right and then the left, the punch to your jaw will be a right hook,” the voice said clearly in my head and I dropped my hands as I stood up right in shock. I couldn’t move my head as George’s fist hit me so hard I felt my jaw dislocate.I was on my back, coughing up blood and the crowd was going wild. Josh was right there by my head. “What the hell happened, why’d you drop your arms man?” He was yelling at me and the announcer bent over me.“Ten count then the fight continues, unless you tap out.” I shook my head and started to get up.I pushed my jawbone back into place and I felt it start to heal. I looked up at the Council members sitting there and somehow I knew that the older man was speaking to me i
I stood in that back room and wondered about the Council member’s presence. Everything that Josh had told me about them was terrible. They were rich old men using the system to their advantage, getting rid of packs that irritated them and executing people as they saw fit.He wanted nothing to do with them and neither did I. I had enough things on my plate to worry about their presence. Josh and I weren’t interested in becoming Council Zetas, no matter what they offered us.I shook my head and I took my shirt and shoes off. I had to get my head in the game. Tonight’s fight would probably be the hardest one by the look of my opponent. He was ready for me. I closed my eyes and centered my energy.I saw the fight play off in my head, in slow motion, punch for punch, kick for kick. This guy was a street brawler, I decided. His punches would hurt and he could get a knockout on the jawline.He wasn’t fast but he was strong and usually won his fight after a few punches, where he would then sn
Malachi walked down the hall, hoping that John wasn’t sending him another tribunal email. He was tired and he wanted to spend time at home. The kids were changing so much and every time he came back from a trip it felt like he’d missed something new they were doing.Adara was doing her best and she really was a terrific mother. Those two kids wanted for nothing. She read bedtime stories to them, told them stories about Kiran, they were healthy and well looked after.He could hear them all laughing in the sitting room as he closed the door to his study and switched the laptop on. He waited for it to switch on and then accessed his Council encrypted email and typed in his password.The email was from John with a video attached.“Malachi,I hope you’re sitting down while reading this. I received this video from a California Alpha, he always sends me these when new talent steps onto the scene for consideration as Council Zetas.Good luck,John”.Malachi frowned at first. They didn’t need
Malachi sat in his new study, everything still felt new and he was getting used to the layout of the new house. They had invited Adara over for dinner with the twins and James and Shoran had been invited as well.The weeks had passed agonizingly slow, and Kiran had been missing for ten months. It was hell and Malachi still felt the pain as fresh and clear as he had that first day. He still couldn’t get himself to accept that he was dead. He didn’t have a body to mourn over, hadn’t set his son’s spirit free and without that he’d never give up that last sliver of hope he still clung to.James had also come over a few times and they had trained in the new gym room built to one side of the house. He tried to keep the bonds alive between everyone but as time dragged on he was afraid that the fragile bond might break.Without Kiran, things seemed meaningless to them. It had been months with no word, no sign except the few times his imagination had run away with him and he had seen him in ev
It just felt natural when I got into that ring, the next move and the next one. I just knew how to counter and block and what to do to win. Losing was never an option with me and I wondered if I had always been that way.I loved the adrenaline rush as my opponent stepped in and I watched him. In my head I would calculate what type of fighter he was, size him up and know exactly what to do. Josh had laughed the first time I had switched sides and led with the left instead of my dominant right.Tonight, though, I would be fighting some guy from Europe, their best against our best. Sort of like a semifinal round if this was a competition, which I guess it was sort of, we had worked our way through California and packs from other states had started attending and I had beaten them all. Josh called me a celebrity in the underworld of fight nights.We had heard rumors of this guy I was fighting tonight, he only did death fights in Europe and this would be his first tap out fight. I had never
I laid down on the bed as Phil, the tattoo artist, started working on my new ink. Josh was on another bed adding to the sleeve on his arm. My tattoo was half of a wolf’s face in a Samoan design with the caption ‘Fight or Die’ underneath it.Josh had phoned some old friends he still had and had arranged for an introduction to the man that ran the fight nights in California. We went to the first one and just watched. The place was packed and I felt sure that I could have taken that night’s fighters easily.We had been participating in fight nights all over California and Marcus wasn’t very happy with us when we both handed in our resignations on the same night. He yelled and then offered us more money.We had been fighting two fights a night three times a week and we stayed in cheap motels and traveled to the next city or town as the fights moved locations. We had both started out with twenty grand, worked out our expenses for meals and accommodation and in two months’ time we had alrea
Jessica shifted on the bed and cocked her head to the side. It wasn’t that Jessica didn’t miss Kiran, she dealt with sadness differently. She poured all of her emotions into her work and kept the sadness locked away. Malachi worried about that as well.“James isn’t really helping Adara with the healing process. After he leaves, then she’s all excited because Kiran’s out there,” she said.They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes and Malachi stretched out onto their new bed. It would be Malachi’s first night in the house even though Jessica had been staying there for a week already, there were still unopened boxes everywhere.“Where’s the cat?” he asked her suddenly and she started to laugh.“I decided to give you one more chance,” she said and he laughed. She crawled towards him on the bed and sat astride him as she looked at him.“I like this,” Malachi murmured.“But now that you’re back, you’re going to have to think of a way to make it up to me, you know you can’t leave me