Hammer - Galactic Cage Fighters 5 (7 page)

Relief flooded Hammer. The tension left his body and he could actually breathe again. This female was turning him into some mindless bully. Zen had been his friend for years yet the thought that Zen had fucked Molly made him see red. He had to get this under control.

He nodded at Zen and walked toward the training center. He needed to release his tension and the best way of doing that was sparring with someone. He hoped Rage was available, he was about the only fighter who could match Hammer with strength.

*****

Molly sat across the table from her friend, Maya. She was glad Maya decided only to work part-time as a ring girl so she could spend time with the kids she had adopted. It also gave her more time to spend with her friends.

They were having lunch at one of the restaurants on the ship. She had avoided the discussion about her date up until that point. Now, she was sitting down and there was nowhere for her to hide.

“How was your hot date with Zen? I heard he has some real skills in the bedroom department,” Maya questioned, stuffing a forkful of salad in her mouth.

“I wouldn’t know about his skills.” Molly took a bite out of her baked potato.

Maya quirked an eyebrow up at her. “Was it a date from hell?”

“No! Nothing like that. We are just friends. He says he’s going to help me—” Molly stopped before she spilled the beans.

“Help you do what?” her friend asked, giving up on the salad.

“Nothing.” Molly stuffed more food in her mouth.

“Oh no you don’t, Molly Maynard. You are going to tell me all your secrets.”

“It’s nothing. Just some stupid idea Zen has.”

Maya stared her friend down. Even though Molly was almost a foot taller and weighed twice as much as Maya, the smaller woman was a force to be reckoned with. She caved.

“Fine! Zen seems to think that…Hammer is interested in me. He says he will find the right incentive to get Hammer to act on his supposed feelings.”

“But you don’t believe Hammer is interested?” Maya asked. It was very telling when Molly didn’t answer right away. “Is he?”

“He kissed me last night,” Molly blurted it out.

“Before or after your date with Zen?” Maya tried not to laugh but the situation was too funny. Here was a woman almost as shy as Maya herself, who always kept a low profile when dating. Now she had two men after her.

“After. I came home, Zen gave me a quick kiss then left. Hammer was waiting for me…in the dark.” Molly started to tell the events hoping it would clarify things in her own mind on what happened.

Maya leaned forward to listen better. “What happened next?”

“Hammer demanded to know if I had sex with Zen. I told him it wasn’t any of his business. The next thing I know, he had me against the wall and he was kissing me like there was no tomorrow.”

“Was he any good?” Maya asked with interest.

Molly blushed. She had never been one to blush much but remembering the way he touched her, kissed her, the way he made her feel was beyond anything she had ever experienced before. She felt uncomfortable talking about it. “Yeah, he is amazing.”

“Then what?” Maya asked.

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“Nothing. Kate had woken up from a bad dream. He let me go so he could go to her. I went to my bedroom. He went to his room. That was it.” Molly was as disappointed as Maya looked.

“What the hell?”

“I know.” Molly agreed.

*****

Molly and Maya finished their lunch and headed off to do some shopping. Zen had told Molly to be prepared for another date, just not with him. He wouldn’t say with whom but Molly had a feeling it was not going to be pleasant. She had only brought two dresses with her and the other one was more of a going to a funeral type dress. She needed something else, something with more oomph if she hoped to get a reaction out of Hammer.

She wanted that. She knew it was stupid, and she shouldn’t be pursuing her boss. But no man had ever made her feel the way he did. It wasn’t just about sex. The first few days they talked to each other, really talked. She had enjoyed his company. Somewhere along the way they stopped talking to each other, and she missed that. She was willing to try anything to see if there was a chance for them.

When they finished shopping, they both headed to pick up the kids. Maya’s adopted kids were attending the same school. When they arrived, Hammer’s nephew and nieces were waiting on her ready to go.

There was a giggle from Maya next to her. Maya leaned closer and whispered, “Pink hair?”

Molly fought back a smile. “Don’t ask. Let’s just say they got their just rewards.” She bent down to pick up Kate who was waiting with her arms stretched up. “Hey, Katie bug, ready to go?”

“Could we stop at the shop on our way home?” Lauren asked, trailing behind her with her brother beside her.

“The shop is three levels down. What do you need from there?” Molly played clueless but she knew.

“Come on! You know we put the pink dye in your shampoo because you did it to us. Enough is enough,” Tomas said angrily.

Molly kept walking down the corridor without commenting. She was waiting them out. They finally broke first as they reached the elevator.

“We’re sorry okay. We were being brats. Please take us to the store so we can get this stuff out of our hair.” The teenager looked absolutely dejected.

“No need.” She threw a bottle to Lauren who caught it.

“What’s this?” Lauren asked. Tomas moved closer to take a look.

“It’s a dye remover. I went by the hair salon and this is what they recommended to safely remove the dye from your hair.

Tomas looked at the bottle suspiciously. “How do we know this won’t make things worse? It might turn our hair green or worse, it might remove our hair altogether.”

Molly shrugged her shoulders. “You don’t know. That’s where trust comes in. You have to trust that I am not going to do anything to hurt you.”

Tomas looked at Lauren. He still had doubts, but Lauren was desperate to get the pink out. Tomas asked her, “Would you allow Kate to use this?”

“If Kate had pink dye in her hair, then yes, I would.” That answer seemed to pacify them. At least they trusted her with Kate’s safety. That was progress.

Chapter Eight

“We have to do something else. Plan A and B didn’t work out,” Tomas told his sisters as he dried his hair and sat on his bench near his bed.

“Maybe we should just accept that she is here to stay. She’s not soooo bad,” Lauren commented.

“What? You want to just…give up?” Tomas looked at his sister as if she had lost her mind.

“I like Molly,” Kate said as she twirled the teddy bear she had confiscated from Molly on day one.

“Come on, guys, I thought we were in agreement. We don’t need a nanny to watch over us. We can take care of ourselves.” Tomas could not believe what he was hearing.

“Look, I don’t want to get into trouble with Uncle Hammer. He’s been so stressed lately and with Molly here taking care of us, he’s not as worried looking.”

“Whatever. You guys give up but I won’t. I will find a way to make Nanny Molly leave yet.” Tomas was even more determined.

Lauren sighed. Her brother was going to get himself in trouble and there wasn’t much she could do about it. It was times like this she really missed her mom. Her mom was always the one to discipline them and she kept a tight ship. Living with uncle Hammer had turned her world upside down in more ways than one. They had to leave their home to come stay with Hammer on the ship. They had to change schools and leave their old friends behind. It was hard making new friends here. She had a few. Her best friend was surprisingly Zara’s daughter, Angel. They were the closest in age. Kate took to all the changes like it was nothing. Tomas was the only one truly struggling. He just couldn't let go of the past. He wanted it to be like it was when they were with their parents. Just wasn’t going to happen. You can’t bring dead people back.

*****

Hammer felt horrible. He hadn’t spent a lot of time with the kids while Molly was around. He wasn’t ignoring them, he was trying to avoid being alone with Molly and avoid having to face the feelings he was developing. He was going to have to face these emotions and deal with them, just not yet.

He headed to the dining hall where most of the fighters go to grab breakfast, lunch, and sometimes dinner. Everything was served buffet style. To be honest, Molly was a much better cook. He just didn’t think he could sit across the table from her without reaching for her and taking another delicious kiss. One would not be enough. And that was a problem.

“Why are you here?” Zen came up behind him in line.

Hammer didn’t look at Zen, just piled food on his plate and kept going down the line. “What do you mean?”

“You have a female up in your suite, which you have expounded on how great a cook she is and you come here to eat instead? That’s a bit insulting to Molly don’t you think?”

Hammer felt a tightness in his chest. Had he insulted Molly by not staying to eat? She did have a sad expression on her face.
Fuck!

He carried his food over to the table but he seemed to have lost his appetite. He didn’t want to hurt Molly. She was a sweet and funny female and she was great with the kids. Even with the kids giving her a hard time, she was tough and kind, which was exactly what they needed. It was kind of what he needed too. What the hell was he thinking?

Zen sat down across from him and stared at him as he started to eat. Hammer tried to ignore his friend. He really didn’t want to talk about anything. Finally, Hammer looked up.

“What?” he demanded.

“You’re an ass.” Zen then stood and left the room.

Yeah, he was an ass
.

*****

Jerry tapped the window of the shuttle he was in. Molly had been avoiding his phone calls. The bitch. He was going to have to start taking drastic measures. The loan shark was not going to wait forever. He needed the money and soon.

One of his old gambling buddies referred him to a guy who would handle difficult situations. Molly was definitely a difficult situation. He was on his way to meet this guy to see what plans could be made.

If Molly won’t see reason, he’ll forcer her hand.

*****

The GCFA ship arrived at the next spaceport and there was a Friday night event. Molly was given the night off and tickets to VIP seating to enjoy the event. The kids had a babysitter for the night. Molly had to go by herself because Maya was working as ring girl.

She was looking forward to it, though it wasn’t really what she liked to watch. Hammer was fighting tonight. She was all excited in anticipation of seeing him. He had been keeping to himself the last few days. She would make breakfast only to have him say he'd grab something downstairs with the other fighters.

The kids were acting strangely toward one another. She knew something was up with them, but she didn’t know what that was. If Hammer was talking to her, they could discuss it. Instead, he left her on her own to try to figure things out. It was getting frustrating. The least he could do was pay attention to what was happening with his nieces and nephew. As soon as she got a chance, she would have a serious talk with him about spending time with the kids. They needed to know he cared about them. But tonight, she was concentrating on having a good time.

*****

“Welcome everyone to the beautiful sports arena here at the North Western Alpha Region. I am Poland and this is my fellow commentator, Johann. We are coming to you live at the Galactic Cage Fighters' circuit event.”

“Poland, what is in the line-up for this evening?”

“First up, we have the newest member to join the GCFA, a Voltan halfsie called Torch. We have a few matches set with the armature league. Then Hammer is up against a full Beastial.”

“It looks like a fine line up. Stay with us for what could prove to be an exciting evening here at the GCFA.”

*****

Molly sat in the VIP section. She wore a black halter dress she had purchased earlier that day just for tonight. She had second thoughts when one of the attendants handed her a towel. Did this mean there was going to be blood everywhere? She felt a little queasy.

She looked around her but no one else seemed to have a problem with the thought. The other women in the VIP section were all young and gorgeous. With perfect skin, perfect hair, and perfect size two figures. Was this what Hammer was used to? No wonder he lost interest in her. How could she compete with petite beauties like them? She felt sad but her attention was redirected when the announcers began the event.

Molly cringed through the entire first few fights. She actually thought about leaving. But she didn’t want to leave before Hammer had his fight. She was grateful for the small breaks they had in between. She used that time to refresh her face and steel herself for the next bloodbath. She was ready when they finally announced Hammer’s fight.

*****

Hammer made his way to the cage. The crowd went crazy as soon as the music started. He glanced toward the VIP section. Molly was there watching him. He knew this wasn’t really her thing, but he appreciated that she made an effort. He gave her a smile. He motioned to one of the VIP attendants to come forward.

“Yes, sir?”

“The tall brown haired female in the VIP section is my special guest. Whatever she wants you give to her. Make sure she is escorted to the banquet afterwards.”

“My pleasure.” The attendant walked off.

Hammer turned his focus back to the cage. He needed to clear his mind. He climbed in and waited for the Beastial to show up. It didn’t take that long.

Round One: The Beastial opened in a surprising southpaw, and landed a jab right away. He managed to take Hammer to the mat with a takedown immediately. Then the Beastial tried for a mounted guillotine, but Hammer threw the Beastial off him and got to his feet. Hammer took the Beastial in a clinch, but the referee separated them. Hammer landed an uppercut as the Beastial tried to get Hammer against the fence. The Beastial relented after Hammer landed a few hard elbows. Hammer twisted positions and managed to get the Beastial against the fence. The full species fought to get out of Hammer’s hold. He tried to crack Hammer with a hard knee but Hammer was a Biclops halfsie, it would take more than that. The Beastial jabbed and kicked until he was finally off the fence. The bell rang out announcing the end of the first round. Both fighters went to opposite sides of the cage.