REBEL: #4.5 The Beat and The Pulse (3 page)

I
was coming
at this from the wrong angle.

I needed hard evidence to bring to a judge, not hearsay. Not something I snuck into an office and stole. Anything I would’ve found, had I actually got into that office, would be thrown out of court immediately. Truthfully? Rebel had gotten into my head. Rebel and that whole place.

My mind drifted to him in the cage, his fists pounding against his opponent, the ease with which he knocked the guy down. Crowbar wasn’t a small guy, not by a long shot. Rebel had clobbered him as easily as a human swatted a fly. It was almost like he’d let Crowbar hit him for added effect.
Theatrics
.

Closing my eyes, I could feel the ghost of him pressing against my body, caging me against that brick wall like a hungry lion. What would his lips taste like? I wondered if he could kiss as well as he fought. A guy like him would’ve had a lot of practice—he was as handsome as he was deadly.

If there was one thing I took from my meeting the guy, it was that he was full of his own self-importance. He thought he could point a finger at me and that would be it? I’d strip naked and spread wide for him on the spot? What a dick.

Maybe one of those cage bitches would do it in the center of that ring for a live audience, but I had more respect for myself than that. I wasn’t easy. I was also a cop and if they found out I wasn’t going to be bought? Fuck, I couldn’t beat it into my head enough. I was walking a fine line between life and death.

If I was going to have any chance at busting this thing, I had to get inside. Rebel could get me in. I’d be using the guy, but he’d be using me. What was a little sex? Could I let it get that far? He didn’t seem like the kind of man who’d put up with teasing. Eventually he’d just take.

“Croft’s daydreaming about a boy.”

I glanced up with a scowl as three male detectives burst out laughing and made kissy faces at me. Sires, Howard, and Frommer. I should’ve known. They made it their life’s mission to give me a hard time, the chauvinistic assholes.

“Piss off,” I snapped, turning back to my computer.

“Boyfriend got you all worked up?” Former taunted.

“Na, she doesn’t have a boyfriend,” Howard added.

Rolling my eyes, I tried to tune them out. They’d be sorry when I wiped the entire floor with what was left of The Underground.

“Do you think she’s into chicks?” Sires asked.

Spinning in my chair, I scowled at the lot of them. “Why do you give a fuck? Want a front row seat?”

They stared at me, taken aback for a moment and then burst out into laughter. Awkward laughter, which covered the fact that I’d thrown them for a moment. Just a single second, but I’d gotten to them. They didn’t think they’d actually get a bite, the bloody cowards.
Power trippers
.

“Maybe if you put as much effort into your case work as you did demeaning me, then maybe one of you assholes would actually be Senior Sargent by now.”

Howard slapped Sires in the chest. “Oooh,
burn
.”

Turning back around to my computer, where I had a screen open with a map of Abbotsford, I shook my head. It was like getting through to a bunch of three year olds. How they made it to detective in the first place was beyond me. Actually, I could take a stab at it. Boot licking and ass kissing.

The sound of a door slamming open didn’t catch my attention until I heard my name being barked across the office.
Oh, shit
.

Glancing over my shoulder, I caught sight of Hunter, the take-no-prisoners boss of this whole operation.

“Croft.” The Boss wiggled his finger at me, a signal to come hither. “A word.”

“Oooh, Croft’s in trouble,” Sires taunted from his desk.

As I strode across the office, I gave the three idiots the finger.

‘The Boss’ was really called Thomas Hunter, and he’d been in charge around here for at least as long as I’d been a cop. He was tough, street hardened and drew a tough line. At fifty years of age, he’d seen a lot of action, and the lines on his face and the grey hairs were more like badges of honor than signs of age. I was partially afraid of him for a reason, and right now, I knew I’d done something.

“Have a seat,” he said, nodding to the chair at his desk as he sat opposite.

Perching on the edge, I knew it had everything to do with the files I’d accessed that morning. Computer usage was monitored and files had logs as to who had requested them. I should’ve used Sires’ login. I bet his password was
giantdick99
.

“I assume you know why you’re here,” Hunter said, watching me. “People usually do.”

I nodded. “Yes, Sir.”

“The case against The Underground is off limits,” he said simply.

“Why?”

“Because I say so.”

I rolled my eyes. At least he didn’t say ‘because it was classified’, that would’ve been a right pisser. “The only reason that place exists is because they’re paying everyone off.”

“We’ve investigated The Underground thoroughly, Croft,” Hunter said. “We’ve found no evidence that suggests widespread bribery.”

“That’s a lie,” I declared.

“Excuse me?” he asked, his eyes widening.

Talking back to a superior wasn’t exactly the thing I was known for. In fact, I’d never ever done it.

“I think that’s a lie, Sir, and you know it.”

“Croft—”

“You and I both know that place runs because they line everyone’s pockets. Cops, judges, politicians—”

Hunter held up a hand to stop me, his expression hard. “I’d stop right there if I were you, Croft. This is dangerous ground you’re treading on. We’re well aware of The Underground and the players. You need to back off. Your investigation is unsanctioned.”

I rose to my feet, thoroughly pissed off. “But—”

“If you think you can single-handedly take down an operation of that size, you’ve got another thing coming. You’re a good cop, Croft, I’d hate to see you out because of something stupid like disobeying a direct order. This is your first and last warning,” he barked, his eyes cold. “Drop the case or you’re suspended.”

“Suspended?” I gasped. The thought crossed my mind that he was being paid to keep it quiet, too.

Hunter leaned back in is posh leather chair and adjusted his tie. “Now, get the hell outta here, Croft, before I change my mind to termination.”

Turning sharply on my heel, I pushed out of his office, letting the door slam behind me. The boys began to laugh, talking amongst one another. Ignoring them, I sat heavily at my desk and began rummaging through the drawers, pulling out my keys, badge, and phone.
Assholes
.

Hunter would
fire
me? Fucking hell it made me mad. It also made me more determined than ever to prove them all wrong.

We’d see about being the weak little girl. They’d choke on it when they find out I’d cracked the hardest nut in town.

I’d wipe the floor with the lot of them.

C
harlotte didn’t turn
up to The Underground last night.

Nobody knew who she was and nobody remembered even seeing her. It seemed like a hard stretch considering how fucking beautiful she was, but maybe she was trying to keep a low profile. It was hard to say why she was there at all, but something deep inside me wondered if I hadn’t been a part of her equation.

I had eyes and ears out, so if she turned up again, someone would let me know. Didn’t mean I had stopped thinking about her…or palming my cock while doing it.

Opening the posh glass doors to the newest gym in the neighborhood, Pulse Fitness, I stood inside the door, scanning the inside for the mate I was meeting here. This was his regular and it was a hundred steps up from where I was used to training out in the suburbs.

Running my gaze over the equipment, I could smell the stink of cash. Everything was the best of the best, but I’d expect nothing less from an ex-Underground fighter. Those guys knew quality and had the coin to spend on it.

Pulse Fitness was the gym that the guy from The Underground had opened. In the cage, he’d called himself Maverick, but out here, he was Ash Fuller. He’d never cared who knew his real name and that gave him huge balls in my book. The guy was kinda my hero.

Glancing around the gym, I could see I had a lot to live up to. The place was un-fucking-believable. He had a goal and a purpose—I was still trying to work mine out. First, I had to get my hands on the cash, and then I could think about what I wanted to do with it.

Spotting my mate Ryan over on the mats, I made my way toward him, my hands shoved firmly in the pockets of my hoodie. I’d known the guy for a long time, him and his mate Cole. We’d butted heads on the wrong side of the tracks a few times, and now they were trying out for the Australian Ultimate Fighting Championships, otherwise known as the AUFC. Their coach was none other than Ash fucking Fuller. Assholes.

“Kane,” Ryan called out as he saw my approach.

I didn’t mind Ryan using my real name out here in the real world. I didn’t really want to go around advertising that I was Rebel. At The Underground, fuck yes, but not out here where I could easily become a target. Kane Sturgess was just another deadbeat unemployed scum sucker…nothing special about him.

Slapping my hand into Ryan’s I shook, thumping him on the back. “Sup?”

“You finally made it,” he replied, letting me go.

“You know how things are.”

“How are things down under? Raking it in?”

Ryan knew I fought at The Underground, and he was smart enough not to let on that he knew. He had brighter, more regimented aspirations than I did, so he was never interested in slumming it, even if the money was good. Anyway, if the AUFC found out, he’d be kicked before he even got to fight a qualifier.

“Great,” I replied with a grin. “Bloody brilliant.”

“I see you’ve still got all your brain cells, so that’s a bonus right there.”

“Asshole,” I said with a laugh. “Where’s Cole?”

“He’s out today, so it’s just me. You wanna stick around for a session?”

“Sure.” Didn’t see anything wrong with hanging out with a mate in a state of the art gym. No problems at all.

I unzipped my hoodie and tossed it on the floor against the mirrored wall before kicking off my shoes and tossing my T-shirt onto the pile. Ryan heaved up a medicine ball, ready for some warm ups.

“You should come and train here,” he said, assuming the position. We’d toss the thing back and forth a few rounds before moving onto other stretches.

“Here? I don’t think they’d let me.”

“Why not? Coach fought at The Underground.”

I shook my head. “And now he’s affiliated with the AUFC and you guys. Don’t think it’d fly if he knew.”

I caught the ball and wondered if I were a little more straight-laced like Ryan, maybe Charlotte wouldn’t have run away like she did.

“Just keep your mouth shut. If no one knows, then no harm, no foul.”

My lip curled. Chicks loved the bad boy, but they never took them home for more than a night. Did I want more than a night? Training in this place felt like trying to date a classy woman. You didn’t just mess around with it.

The medicine ball slipped through my fingers and landed between my feet.
Fuck
. I picked it up and tossed it back to Ryan.

“What’s up with you?” he asked, catching the ball. “You’re off with the fairies, mate.”

“It’s nothin’.” I didn’t want to tell Ryan, of all dudes, what my problem was.

“C’mon, it’s a chick, right?” I threw the ball back a little too hard, and he caught it with a laugh. “It’s a chick. Never thought I’d see you wound up over some bird.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Neither did I.”

“Who is she?”

“Charlotte.” Just saying her name had my dick stirring.

“Who’s Charlotte?”

“Dunno.”

“You don’t know?” he scoffed. “How does that work?”

“She was at The Underground.”

“She saw you fight?” he asked, straightening up. “For real?”

“She was right there.” I held up my hand, pointing to the floor right in front of me. “Then she was gone.”

Ryan grimaced. “In over her head?”

I shrugged, it was the same conversation I’d had with the chick from the bar, Lori. “Maybe.”

“You’ve got it bad,” he said, cracking a smile. “You never drop the ball. And for a chick you don’t even know, for fuck’s sake.”

I grunted, tossing the medicine ball. He caught it easily but that was the point. I wasn’t into hurting another dude and ruining his chances at pro just because he said something I didn’t like. That would make me a dick.

“I want out,” I said. “The Championship is in a few weeks, and I’ve got a good shot at being in it. If she doesn’t come back before then…”

“What do you mean? I thought you were making good money there.”

“I never wanted to stay there, mate,” I said. “I just wanted to make some money to start over someplace else. That Championship is worth a couple of mill.”

Ryan let out a slow whistle. “Fucking hell.”

“It’s already becoming more trouble than it’s worth.” The Underground was always rough and full of bad news, but there was tension between the ringleaders and that always meant blood, guts, and fighting over money. Any one of those things was trouble, but all at once and with the amount of cash that place turned over? The whole operation was teetering on the edge of an epic turf war if someone didn’t step up soon.

“What do you mean?” Ryan narrowed his eyes. He knew the stakes as well as I did considering we grew up in similar circumstances. Dickhead kids on the wrong side of the law.

“The head ref, Max, is having trouble with one of the other guys,” I said. “Looks like it could blow out.”

Ryan shook his head. “Keep as far away from that as you can, Kane.”

“I know. Last thing I need is to get on the cops’ radar.” With my record, there’d be no asking questions. They’d slap a number on me and chuck my ass inside. Guilty as charged.

“There are better things, you know.”

I stilled, holding the ball. “Like what?”

“Try out for pro, mate. You’re more than good enough.”

I snorted. Try out for the big leagues? In what universe would I be able to find a sponsor who’d stoop to throwing their lot in with a criminal? Not this one.

“Ash could help you out. He knows a lot of guys.”

My lip curled into a sneer. “I’ll fight my own fuckin’ battles.”

Ryan shrugged, turning away from me. “Suit yourself, bro.”

The straight and narrow had never suited me, at least where fighting was concerned. I was all about the freestyle and taking it to pro? There was discipline, and then there were rules. I lived in the ‘rules were made to be broken’ camp. Disqualification and a bad rep was what awaited me in the AUFC.

I just had to stick it out at The Underground until the Championship and fingers crossed I would end up with the title and the girl.

Charlotte had to come back. If she’d felt one iota of what I did when we were in that hall, then I knew she would. It was just a matter of time.

I just had to wait it out.