King's POV 

I walked down the block and turned to circle to the alley. I know I saw someone back there, sneaking around. As I peeked around the corner, I didn't see anything but still decided to check it out anyway.

As I got closer to the alley next to Leo's house, I noticed the gravel was kicked around and cigarette butts were scattered about. There were quite a lot of them which seemed weird as I picked one up and looked at it.

The butt was tan with a silver ring about in the middle and burned down as far as it would go. I didn't smoke cigarettes unless drunk so I wasn't sure what brand it was as I put it in my pocket. Maybe Kiki would know. They looked all the same to me.

I looked around again but didn't see anything around that made me question as people walked around in the park across the way and kids played at the large playground. Whoever was here was long gone by now. 

I just hoped it was someone who lived in this apartment building and it was just weird timing when I looked over or a child sneaking around to smoke these cigarettes. Something still didn't feel right though.

———

I walked into the house not looking forward to my uncle bitching at me just yet but it would have been worth it. 

My uncle was sitting at the computer, no surprise there. He didn't look at me but I heard the loud sigh of frustration. "King, I can’t believe I have to say this to you but you don't ever leave Kiki alone with all that stuff in the car to deal with on her own. What if another gang decided they wanted to make a move and try to take us down? It's not safe to be alone, especially in the city, out of my territory. What the hell is wrong with you? What were you thinking?"

"I'm sorry. My friend needed some help," I told him truthfully. No point in lying about it. He'd just find out later anyway like he always did.

"And who is this ‘friend’ that so desperately needed your help that you left your own family alone and unguarded?" He asked in a smug tone as he turned around. He was pissed, I could tell.

"He's a classmate of mine from school. His name's Leo," I told him, getting a little defensive. "But he really needed-,"

He about jumped out of the chair looking completely shocked. "Leo? You mean Leo Turner? What happened?" He asked with concern and that really threw me off guard.

"You… you know him?" I asked cautiously and filled with confusion.

He looked down and scratched his chin. "Uh, well no. Not Leo personally but I know of the family. Now tell me, is he okay?"

"Yeah... I made sure he got home safe." I was still confused because he was acting weird. I've never seen him worried about someone that wasn't family before like he was just then.

He smiled a little with a low chuckle before mumbling, "To think of all people, it would be him." He then turned around in his chair again.

“Am I weirdly or secretly related to that kid?” I asked bluntly. Why else would he be so concerned about him like that? I started to feel sick just thinking about it but I needed to know.

He looked over at me and laughed a little at the horror that was all over my face. “No. Don’t worry, we have no blood or marriage connections to the Turner family. Anyways, you fight tonight. Don't forget about that." He changed the subject quickly and looked back at the computer.

"Sooo," I started not sure if I should jump back to me leaving Kiki alone but I didn't want him to be mad at me. "You still mad about-,"

"Just forget it. Go get some rest. I have money on you tonight so I don't need you tired."

I looked up thinking about it but then decided to just drop it like he said and walked into my room undressed down to my boxer briefs and laid down in bed to take a small nap. My stomach was still a little fuzzy from thinking that I was starting to fall for someone I was related to. That would have been weird but I was relieved when he told me we weren’t. It still raised a lot of other questions though.

———

Waking up to the sound of my phone ringing next to me wasn't at all a happy moment. The phone was the only thing that lit the darkened room.

I groaned angrily as I looked at it and saw it was an unknown number. I get calls like this often. Either Uncle or Kiki or someone else that needed something off a burner. It pissed me off.

"Yeah," I answered in a raspy, tired, and angry tone.

"King? Oh sorry. Uh, did I- did I wake you up?" The voice asked and I knew exactly who it was without asking. I jumped up quickly, sitting up in my bed.

"Leo! Hey. No, you're fine. I needed to get up anyway. Everything okay?" I asked concerned as I started to rub the tired burn out of my eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just wanted to thank you again for today. You have no idea what all you did. I really appreciate it." He sounded a little nervous but I could still hear that incredible, shy smile on his lips.

"It's not a problem Leo. You don't have to thank me at all. I was more than happy to do it. What are you doing?"

"Just sitting at home. Kinda wanted to talk to someone."

I stood up from the end of my bed to flick on the light so I could see while I started getting dressed in some MMA shorts and a black tank top to fight in. Leo and I talked about little things and what we did today as I got ready. It's been a while since I've been in an underground ring but I wasn't nervous. I was excited. Fighting felt so good to me, the rush of adrenaline was the greatest thing I've ever felt, but talking to Leo like this made me feel almost a whole different kind of adrenaline.

After about 20 minutes of talking, Leo sighed, "Well I should go. I need to get some stuff done before I go to sleep."

"Okay. Yeah, I need to get going too, I have a… job to do for my uncle. But I'll talk to you soon?"

"Okay. Talk to you soon. Well, umm, good night King."

"Yeah, okay," I said, smiling like an idiot at the floor. "Good night." I heard him hesitate before hanging up the phone. It made me smile even more as I shook my head and pulled the phone away from my ear. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face.

"Wow. You look like a love-sick dove right now." I jumped, dropping my phone on the ground, and looked over to see Kiki standing in the doorway. When did she open the door?

"I'm not in love with him. I just care about him... as a friend," I said a little too defensively.

"Oh, so was that the adorable little puppy from earlier then?" She asked with a knowing smile as she teased me.

"Shut up Kiki. Leo is just a friend."

"Whatever you say but that smile totally says otherwise. Anyways, let's go before we're late."

"We’re?" I asked her confused but glad for the change of subject. 

She knew I was bisexual and didn’t care who I was with but this was different and I didn’t want her to know just yet my feeling for Leo. I didn’t even know if they were going to go anywhere with Leo either.

"You're not the only one who makes extra money fighting King. Gyms and training aren't enough for me anymore. I need the real thing."

I had no idea she fought too. I've never seen a bruise on her or signs she was fighting. I guess I'll see when we get there how good she really was.

———

"The Red King wins!" The man who was hosting the fight announced over the speakers.

The place soon filled with a heavy mix of cheers and boos as money got passed around. It was a rush like no other as I watched a few guys drag off my opponent who was still knocked out cold.

After I got cleaned off and someone patched up the cut on my cheek, I found Kiki at the bar and we both drank to our wins. She took down two guys that were twice her size. It was hard to watch at first but they couldn't land one punch on her and that made me rethink my cocky attitude toward her pretty quickly.

We didn't pay for the next few shots and beers and I was starting to feel it. I'm a big guy but I don't drink often. I don't like the feeling of not being in control of myself just in case something happened but I felt like celebrating tonight.

"King Rubin," a man said behind me in an amused voice.

I turned around after taking my shot with Kiki to see a short but stout older man in a nice black suit smiling at me.

"Can I help you?" I asked, looking at him curiously. I had no idea who this guy was.

"Mr. Scott. Working for Ben you should know the name. Yes?"

Kiki choked on her beer as she put it down and turned quickly to see him with wide eyes.

Mr. Scott was the biggest drug lord in this area. I’d never seen him before but everyone that was in the drug business feared that name. He's also one of the richest men in the city. I pictured him taller, more intimidating looking though.

Next to him were two large guys that looked like high-end and expensive bodyguards but peeking out from between Mr. Scott was a younger boy, maybe 10 years old, with jet black hair and large dark looking eyes. The boy looked at the floor as soon as I looked at him so I didn’t get a good look at his face before looking back up at Mr. Scott again.

"Yeah, I know the name but that still doesn't answer my question," I said as I grabbed my beer and took a drink. I don't care how powerful he was, I'm not one to kiss anyone's ass.

A man next to him stepped toward, me and Kiki stepped toward him in return but Mr. Scott put his hand up with a smile. "Straight to the point I see. I watched your fight earlier. It seems Ben picked a good one to be his new muscle but what would you say if I doubled your pay and you come to work for me in the city?"

That took me off guard completely but I already knew my answer to that. "Thanks but no way I would leave blood to work for anyone else. Plus I'm not even out of high school yet," I said with a smile.

"I see a coldness in your eyes kid. Once that little bit of light is gone and you want more freedom than running around doing the shut-in’s work, I'll be waiting. Enjoy your night," he said and put a hundred-dollar bill on the bar before everyone moved out of his way as he walked out of the door. The boy had a slight limp but followed close behind him without looking around at anyone, almost like a shadow.

Kiki leaned forward. "Damn, that was intense."

I just shrugged my shoulders. "Whatever. You ready to get out of here?"

"Uh, yeah that's fine."

As we started walking out I started getting the feeling of someone watching me and looked around the room. People were everywhere between the bar and cheering on another fight but I shook it off and walked out.