I make my way to my corner where Rossi is already standing there fuming. “Why the fuck didn’t you warn me you were hurt?” he hisses like he wasn't informed. Like he didn't inform the other girl.
“I did,” I snap. “You said you didn’t give a fuck.”
"Not this fucking hurt, you didn't," he accuses.
I scoff. What the fuck kind of hurt did he think broken ribs meant?
I drink a small sip of water and catch my breath the best I can. The minute-long reprieve isn’t enough, but I have no other choice when the bell rings again. “Don’t fuck this up,” Rossi taunts as I make my way back to the center of the ring.
I continue to dodge, block, and duck every swing and kick she throws at me for the first few minutes of the next round. I see thirty seconds on the clock up above the ring. I can do this. I can make it through this round.
That’s what I’m thinking when her right hook clocks me in the temple. I go down and she’s on me. I maneuver myself into the defensive position to block her incoming hands the best I can. I’m not even sure how but I manage to land a couple of blows myself before the bell rings again.
I bring myself to stand but just barely. The room spins violently, and my vision is doubled. I barely make it to the corner.
Rossi is back in my face as soon as I’m sitting. He grips my face forcefully looking at me. “Fuck,” he hisses. “You better get your shit together and win this. You don’t want to know what happens if you lose.” He can see that I’m struggling to focus on him or his words and tightens his grip even more, sending more pain through my body from the force.
My eyes scan the crowd, but everything is fuzzy. I can barely make out the girl across the ring from me much less anyone else. Panic fills my already burning lungs when I realize how much trouble I’m in. I don’t know what will happen if I keep going at this for another five minutes.
“I can’t keep going,” I wheeze out when Rossi lets go of my face.
Hisface turns to absolute stone. Hard with clenched jaws and cold eyes, he stares at me. “You’re not only getting back in there, you better fucking win. I have a lot of goddamned money riding on this.”
The bell rings again. I’m stumbling back to the center of the ring. My movements are sluggish and my vision blurry. I manage to avoid every swing once again. Tomorrow I may look back on all of this and wonder what all the hype about this girl was about. Or maybe I realize how damn lucky I was because logic is defied when I manage to get her in a triangle choke. The pressure performing the submission is putting on my ribs is fucking killing me, but the pain is probably just as painful for her. She swings a couple of wild swings into my ribs threatening the hold. I’m pretty sure I’m in more pain than she is. I tighten my legs around her even more praying it’s enough pressure for her to tap because I can’t keep it up much longer.
I’m not even sure when she taps or even the bell rings. I just know the ref is pulling her away from me. I turn over onto my belly and crawl to my corner. The ref is trying to help me to my feet so he can raise my arm in victory, but I swear if he touches my arms, I’m going to punch him right in the balls.
Fortunately for him, he’s well aware of the amount of pain I’m in and leads me to the corner. Rossi, on the other hand, grabs me by the arm and begins pulling me toward the back like the building is on fire causing me to cry out in agony. I have a feeling what he’s in such a hurry to get away from is much worse than a fire.
“Get your goddamn fucking hands off of her,” I hear behind us except it isn’t the voice I expect. It’s the voice of the person I’ve been trying so hard to keep away from all of this.
Zane
Rory and Bastian are on the other side of the arena from us making a beeline for Stephano Romano. Jax and I are on our way to Rossi. Christian and Trinity have already taken care of the auction along with a few of Matteo and a few of his guys.
The plan to let Matteo get them went to shit the minute they started to run. Rossi – and DeLuca - must’ve been tipped off about what’s going on because he has Tori trying to drag her away as fast as he can. And he’s hurting her. I know it wouldn’t take much to do it right now considering her injuries during the fight.
I still can’t believe she won that fucking fight. I saw the pain and the difficulty breathing she had after taking a couple of blows to the ribs. That blow to the temple nearly knocked her out. I could see from where I was standing in the crowd how her eyes glazed over. When her Rossi gripped her face, it took every ounce of willpower and control I had left to stay in my fucking seat. No, it took Jax. If Jax hadn’t been next to me, practically restraining me, I would have been down there in a flash.
Rossi stops in his tracks when two people who are not supposed to be here call out to him. “Who fucking told them?” Jax hisses.
I shake my head because they don’t have a damn clue. They are going to get themselves or Tori killed.
When we reach them, Rossi’s eyes flash to Jax and I with a smirk. His identity isn’t so vague to us anymore.
“Let us handle this,” Jax says.
Dane turns around with fire in his eyes, glaring at Jax. “Fuck that,” he spits. “I’m not going anywhere without my sister.”
Jax places a hand on his shoulder. “Cara needs you right now. Let us handle this.”
I lean forward to Maddox. “Get him the fuck out of here before he gets her killed,” I hiss quietly.
Maddox turns to see me. His eyes flash with anger that I haven’t seen in a long time. But more than that, I recognize the signs that he’s high. I can’t help but wonder when he fell down that rabbit hole again but don’t have time to ponder it right now. “Why the hell didn’t you tell us what was going on?” he hisses right back.
“Because she didn’t want y’all to know. Now get the fuck out of -.”
Gun shots begin to go off. Three fire in rapid succession and the people remaining in the arena begin to scream.
