I snuck in to find a bunch of rowdy assholes littering the place as two guys fought in the middle of a boxing ring. I stuck to the shadows at first, knowing that these guys would never want someone from the university in their space—they’d see me as nothing more than an entitled dick. I knew they’d either recognize me from the shit the media posts about my family or just because of my age and the way I dress, and I was right. They took one look at me and declared me ‘one of those pretty kids from the university,’ but I kept comingback, and once I started fighting? Nothing about where I came from or who I was mattered.
They all know what I’m capable of, and sure, there’s probably people who hate me for being the entitled asshole that I definitely am, but I get that everywhere. And there’s no way they can blame my money on my skills, since I’ve proven myself in every single fight I’ve had. I think a lot of these guys had expected me to fight clean, the way some expensive trainer would probably teach me in the city, but that’s not me. I’m self-taught, and once they realized that I was genuine and not just some pompous prick here for an adrenaline rush, they stopped with the sneers and snide remarks.
Whoever came up with the idea for this place knew exactly what they were doing. They made it so different rooms were for different levels of what you want to see. The room you first walk into is your basic level. The amateur fights where it’s mostly just two guys who have a debt to settle and so on. The room to the right is where you’ll find your more advanced fights, with people placing bets between them.
And the third room? The only room I use? It’s the most advanced of them all. It’s a room where there are no rules, where you can do what you want, fight how you want, and for people who love to see bloodshed. It’s known as the black room, which is fitting, since the room is mostly cloaked in darkness, only a few lights spaced around so you can see what’s happening in the ring. There have been a couple of deaths in here over the years, according to a couple of the guys I’ve spoken to, but I’ve never seen one personally.
I enter the room, and the commotion ensuing has goosebumps pebbling on my skin.
Something’s different.
It’s so crowded that I can’t even see the ring, and because of the lack of lighting around the room, people are bumping into each other without a care in the world. I glare at a guy who steps into me, and it’s only when he looks into my eyes that he backs away.
“Hey,” I call out over the noise. “What the fuck is going on?”
He glances towards whatever is happening in the ring before looking back to me. “Tyger is fighting…” That’s not unusual, the guy is good. He’s the only one in this place who’s ever come close to beating me. “A girl,” he finishes, and my brows furrow in confusion.
For the three years I’ve been coming here, I’ve never once seen a woman in the place.
That’s not to say that women shouldn’t come here, or that women can’t fight. It’s just the fact I’ve never seen it here before that has my hackles rising, especially since I know how hard Tyger can fight, and whoever this girl is will have no idea what she’s getting herself into.
I walk away, not giving the guy a second glance, and head to the outer side of the room, climbing up onto a stacked set of pews so I can see what’s happening.
And once I do?
I can’t believe what I’m seeing.
I’m not sure if I believe my eyes or if they’re playing tricks on me, since the girl in question who is currently fighting the guy twice the size of her is none other than Lana James.
The silly girl is going to get herself killed.
You should stop it,a voice in the back of my mind whispers, but I wave it away. She got herself into this mess, she can get herself out of it. The only question that remains iswhether or not her way of getting out of it will end up with her being carried out in a body bag.
My jaw clenches as I take in the sight in front of me—Lana’s round ass bounces in her black workout leggings as she moves around the ring, her black hoodie doing nothing to hide the curves beneath it. Her blonde hair is wild around her face, and her face is free from makeup.
She looks like she belongs in a place like this, unlike me.
Tyger has the upper hand, and I watch as he throws a punch to her gut, not holding back. The fight continues with him throwing hit after hit, her seemingly not even trying to fight back, and she folds in on herself, her hands finding her knees as she bows her head, her hair covering her face so I can’t see her expression.
She’s in the wrong room.
If she were in one of the others, they would have stopped this already.
And then, like a switch has been flipped inside of her, she straightens up to her full height, her blonde hair flipping back on itself to reveal a feral smile curving her plump lips. Her eyes are blank, as though she’s not even here in the room with us. Like she’s in a world of her own and she’s completely dissociating.
She grins up at him and lets loose.
The roar of the crowd around me is drowned out as I focus on her and her movements. She moves with precision, like she’s done this a thousand times before as she lays into him. I’ve never seen someone move so fast, so in control of their own body.
It’s kinda hot.
She fights like she’s been doing this her entire life, and it only adds to the mystery that surrounds her. I knew there wassomething off about this girl, and the more I see, the more I need to know her secrets. I want to get inside her mind, take a look around, jumble everything up and break her from the inside out.
I’ve never wanted to ruin a person more than I want to ruin Lana James.
She’s exorcizing her demons right here for us all to see as she expertly pounds on Tyger. Blood falls from his mouth as she hits him right in the jaw, following it up with a kick to the ribs before she does some ninja move and drops him to the floor.
She straddles him and doesn’t relent her hits, pounding down on him like she has a personal vendetta against him, and all the while her blank eyes stare down at him without an ounce of emotion. She keeps going, not taking a breath, not even fucking blinking, and it’s not until he’s passed out cold and two guys manage to haul her away from him that she seems to come back to herself.
