Jab (Fighter Romance) (Las Vegas Series #2) by Marie York

Chapter 1
    Knox
    My body smacked into the floor with a loud thud, the weight of my attacker heavy on top of me. I resisted for only a second, but the minute my eyes landed on Mackenzie’s, everything I ever promised went out the fucking window.
    I always swore to myself, and Coach, I would never use my strength and skills outside of the cage. But, I wasn’t in my right mind. I was crazed with anger, and I needed answers dammit. The guy was probably triple my size, but size meant shit when you knew how to fight.
    I went for the sweep, taking the security guard’s balance away until I was on top. He reared up, using his size to try and overpower me. And, without a moment’s thought, I jabbed him right in the nose.
    His hands instinctively went to his face as blood poured down his chin. “Sorry,” I mumbled as I got back on my feet. I locked eyes on Mackenzie again, who stood with her mouth agape as I stormed the stage.
    Another hand grabbed me, this time my wrist, but I pulled the guy forward, and headbutted him. He fell to the ground, and began to snore.
    The crunch of the other guys nose was still fresh on my knuckles, but I didn’t fucking care about that or the fact that both lied in heaps of clothes and limbs on the floor.
    “I got this,” I heard Julius say, but he could’ve been on another planet for all I knew.
    I jumped on the stage and grabbed Mackenzie, Mila’s little sister, who wasn’t even old enough to get into an R rated movie without a chaperone, and dragged her off the stage. She yanked and twisted her arm, trying to make me loosen my grip, but I was afraid if I let go, she’d go right back to that fucking stage. Or worse, into the arms of one of those fucking disgusting perverts out there.
    I dragged her into a back corner, away from prying eyes, and flung her around to face me.
    “Let me go!” she screeched, and ripped her arm out of my hold. .
    “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I demanded. “Are you out of your goddamned mind?” Anger surged through my veins, causing my blood to boil.
    She ran a hand through her hair as if we were having a casual conversation in her living room. Unlike Mila, she didn’t even bother to cover up her identity. Her dirty blonde hair and green eyes were out for the world to see, along with other body parts. But, I refused to look below her face, though I could see her fidgeting with her arms, trying to cover up what the slivers of material didn’t.
    “It’s really not that big of a deal.”
    “Not that big of a deal?” My temper got away from me and, when she flinched, I reeled it back in. “It is a big fucking deal. You’re sixteen goddamn years old. You’re a child.”
    “It’s just a number. Besides, I’m not a fucking child.” She stood there, defiant in her words, but her confidence was waning. She shifted from foot to foot, and kept nervously running a hand through her hair.
    “Do you have any idea what your sister would do if she found out?” She didn’t answer, only shrugged again with that cocky condescending look.
    Mila took her clothes off to keep her sister safe from having to do the same. She was doing everything in her power to protect Mackenzie from the life Mila was thrust into. If Mila knew, it would tear her to fucking shreds. Not that she would show it. Heartbreak and disappointment weren’t emotions Mila showed. She was too damn proud to allow such weak emotions to threaten her strength. But it would. She would mask the pain with anger, yelling and screaming, but there would be no mistaking the anguish in her eyes.
    It would be there, down deep, hidden from everyone else, except for me, because I could see past the façade she hid behind. There was a girl beneath the tough exterior that she didn’t want the world to know existed. A girl who hated having to use her body to make a living, but did it anyway because she had no other choice.  A girl who was vulnerable and caring but chose to hide the best parts of