On the house? Gah. Is he for real?
I wasn’t going to ask what that wink meant. Instead, I followed the three of them down to the main floor. We got our drinks, then headed to a set of seats in the front row, where the view of the fight was—unfortunately, unobstructed. Maya squealed in delight at how close we were. Me, on the other hand…
We were so close that I could see the blood splatters on the edges of the gray mat in the cage. And were those broken teeth? My stomach churned up, and I quickly looked away. I wanted to get the hell out of there. Even more than I had earlier.
I swallowed down the acrid taste in the back of my throat, along with some of my Southern Comfort and soda—heavy on the Comfort, thank God. I welcomed the burn. All the while, I attempted to ignore the brutal fight that was taking place in front of us, where one fighter made mashed-meat of the other fighter’s face.
We sat boy-girl, and, for some unlucky reason, I got stuck between Jess and Kane. I wanted to tell Kane to move over since he was practically glued to my side. During the two minutes we were sitting there, however, he scooched even closer and then Jess did the same. I was literally sandwiched tight between two men I had no desire to know. For Maya’s sake, I clamped my mouth shut, kept my eyes straight ahead, and slowly sipped the rest of my drink.
I wasn’t a person that got off on watching two people beat the shit out of each other for money—I didn’t find it the least bit titillating. Actually, it turned me off.
Maya though? I hadn’t known she was so bloodthirsty until she was cheering as the bigger boxer railed on the smaller fighter, who stood there and took every blow.
I couldn’t watch this—neither the fight or the people around me hyped up on booze and blood. “Where’s the bathroom?” I asked Kane.
He pointed to the far side of the wall through which we’d entered. I nodded and got up, and Kane stood up too.
“I can go to the bathroom by myself, Kane,” I said with barely-there civility.
“This is a dangerous place for a beautiful, single woman like you. Appease me, sweetheart,” Kane said with sugar lacing his tone. Like that was going to make me cow to his whims. Not.
“I’m not your sweetheart. And I can take care of myself.” I didn’t wait for his reply and stalked off toward the bathroom. Luckily, Kane didn’t follow me.
The bathroom was bare bones, with two stalls and a single sink. Though, it had the privacy I needed and no view of the fighting.
At least there’s toilet paper.
I took my time and did my business. Even though the thick concrete walls dampened the shouts and yells from the crowd, the echo of noise still jabbed at my nerves.
I stepped out of the stall, went to the chipped sink to wash my hands and noticed the other stall in the mirror Its door was wide open and a woman in it was snorting something. Our eyes met, and she smiled. “Want some? It’ll help take the edge off.”
Edge off of what?
“No thanks.” I shook my hands and walked out. As much as I dreaded returning to my seat, I’d rather deal with Kane than be caught with drugs like cocaine. That was idiotic thinking on my part, though—there was no way cops would be here at an illegal underground fight just to bust people for narcotics.
When I got back to the seats, Kane was absent. In fact, Jess wasn’t there either. With a quick glance at the cage, relief washed over me that the fight was finished.
I dropped into the seat next to Maya and scowled at my friend. “I’m leaving. Are you coming with me or not?”
Maya opened her mouth, but she was cut off by the announcer’s voice booming through the sound system. We both swiveled toward the cage and I immediately spotted Kane and Jess, standing with a huge beast of a guy in black shorts and a white robe that hug open and exposed a chest covered with hair and his black shorts. The fighter was jabbing his meaty fists in the air in quick succession.
Before I could repeat my question to Maya, the cage announcer spoke again.
“All eyes to me, ladies and gentlemen,” he said, and then he patiently waited for the noise to die down. “We have a special treat for you tonight. First to walk into the cage is none other than Forest Sulley, the current UGF middleweight champion. With six consecutive knockouts, two first round knockout wins, and a total of twelve straight wins.”
The roar of the crowd was deafening. Maya was bouncing in her seat while I put my hands over my ears until the noise ceased. My eyes darted from my friend to the announcer, wishing I was home in my bed instead of here with her.
“His competitor is no stranger to the world of fighting. With seven knockouts, five first round wins, and a total of twenty wins under his belt in the underground circuit, let’s welcome middleweight competitor, Krew Matthews.”
My entire body stiffened at the name the announcer had spoken. Krew.
That wasn’t a name parents typically chose for their sons. The last name wasn’t familiar either. Or…
“No. That can’t be,” I whispered and immediately stood. Facing the cage, my eyes swept the interior, and the other fighter was gone. I asked Maya if I heard the announcer correctly, but she was screaming at the top of her lungs and paid me no attention.
Then I caught sight of a tall, not-so-lean fighter, striding toward the cage. He had on a black robe, with the hood pulled forward, it covered most of his face. I couldn’t determine if it was Krew. My Krew.
“Regi.” I heard Maya calling my name, but I was so focused on seeing this other fighter’s face that I didn’t realize I moved and was standing at the cage. My fingers clamped onto the fencing, my face mere inches from the links.
