Dean took my chin between his thumb and finger, redirecting my gaze to his. “Regardless of whether I win or lose this, they still get paid. If I don’t fight at all, there will be a lot of angry people.”
Joe started announcing Dean, but I couldn’t hear it or refused to accept it was happening. I shook my head. My voice wavered. “This is— This is wrong.”
“It’s business.” He took a deep breath and slowly straightened, closing his eyes again when the dizziness overcame him.
The crowd roared again.
I had missed Joe calling his name but didn't care as I watched Dean move down the entryway. The embodiment of the calm before a storm; a front he pulled off well as his feet staggered again. The crowd didn't notice, and neither did Antonio or his wealthy friends. They were all too busy anticipating how much money Dean was about to make them as they chanted his nickname.
“Are you sure you want to watch this?” Seb asked, stepping up beside me as I stood at the doorway.
I nodded, speechless, unable to take my eyes off Dean.
It wasn’t until Seb pulled an arm around my shoulders that the weight of the situation truly set in. Dean wouldn’t come out of this victorious, not when he swayed as he stepped out into the pit.
I curled into Seb’s side, closing my eyes as the bell rang.
Chapter 61
Dean
“You really don’t look good at all,” Murphy taunted.
Pain burst across my left cheek, and I staggered back. Nausea rolled deep in my stomach as I blinked slowly through the daze. But I couldn’t shake the unfocused blur that was my peripheral vision. The crowd was a smear of bright lights and blank faces, yelling at me to get to my feet. I wasn't even aware I was on my knees until the floor warped closer. I splayed my palms against it as a drop of blood fell from my mouth.
I pushed back, standing on unsteady legs. Every movement was delayed and heavy. Like cement had been poured beneath my skin.
Murphy struck again. His fist slammed straight into my bruised rib.
A yell ripped from my lungs and I twisted in agony, curling forward as pain shot across the damaged skin and through my chest. I was left winded as the air was knocked clean from my body.
Murphy was taking his time. He circled the ring, riling up the already frustrated crowd, before coming back for more.
I managed to evade the next swing. Straightening quickly, even if it sent my head spinning and more pain radiating through my ribs until he swung a leg out.
My head cracked against the floor, rattling my brain against my skull. The crowd wasn’t happy with this — with me. Booing and slamming their fists against the barriers, they demanded their money’s worth. The clanking of their chairs against the metal made the ringing in my ears worse.
As I rolled onto my chest, frowning at the sudden double vision, I spotted Murphy marching straight at me.
“Fuck,” I murmured, struggling to lift myself before he stomped his heel into my side. Nothing came out of my mouth except a choked wheeze and more blood as I gaped. They weren’t broken, not yet.
“You’re making this too easy,” Murphy panted.
I winced and carefully got up, choosing to stay on my knees as he circled me again. My hands shook where they hovered above the bruise.
“You cheated,” I growled under my breath. “Of course, it’s gonna be easy, dipshit—”
The punch was fast, hitting my right cheek this time. My head snapped to one side and all I saw were black dots. The ground tilted up but stopped inches from my face before my head was yanked back.
Murphy gripped me by the scalp, holding on firmly as he tore me back up into a kneeling position. Pain radiated across my head where hair was ripped from the root.
Murphy slammed my face into his knee and white hot pain obliterated my senses as my nose cracked. The impact reverberated deep through my skull and left me blinded for several seconds.
Blood poured from my nose as Murphy tipped my head back, exposing my throat before he brought his face down beside mine.
“I always hated how straight your nose was,” he hissed.
I clenched my jaw, breathing through the pain as best I could. The damage to my nose, and a possible rib fracture, didn't help ease the struggle. “Is that...what this...is about? My nose?”
