I felt the vomit rise in my throat. No. Jesus, no. He couldn’t mean—
“Go ahead,” said Rick, stepping away. “I’ll tell you when to stop.”
Lowell started towards me. He didn’t even bother to raise his fists.
I backed away, looking around me for an escape route. Rick andone guard blocked one of the exits while the other guard blocked the other. There was nowhere to run.
“I can’t—I can’t fight a guy!” I yelled desperately.
“No,” said Rick in a conversational tone. “No, I don’t suppose you can.”
Lowell was almost on me, now. I swung wildly, trying to remember everything Aedan had taught me.Keep her at a distance. That’s where your advantage is.But it wasn’t aher,it was ahim,and that changed everything. His fists were massive and scarred from years of fighting. One good hit from one of those and I knew I’d go down. And once he had me on the floor—Jesus, Rick couldn’t really mean for him to...did he?
His fist caught me on the arm and it went instantly numb. I was completely on the defensive, backing away and letting him push me around the whole circumference of the pit. All of the intimidation I’d learned had evaporated as soon as Lowell had stepped into the pit. That primal fear a man instills in a woman had swept it away.This isn’t fair.
Of course it wasn’t fair.Fairwasn’t the way Rick did things. This wasn’t going to even be a fight, not really. It was just a prelude to the main event, when he’d get me down on the floor and—
I heard a clicking sound. Rick was taking photos on his phone—to send to the people he’d invite, I realized. Thereallyrich ones, the ones who’d pay thousands just to see a man fight a woman. Fight her and—
Lowell hunkered low and came at me with his arms widespread, growling like an animal. I got in a couple of good hits to the face, but he barely seemed to notice. He just stormed on towards me and I couldn’t back up fast enough and—
I went down heavily on my back, Lowell on top of me. His legs immediately pinned mine to the concrete so that I couldn’t kick him. His hands grabbed mine and slammed them to the floor, the concrete scraping my knuckles. I cried out in pain.
Lowell bent his head so that he could whisper in my ear. “Ihaven’t had a really good fuck since I’ve been out. I’m going to wait another couple of days so I can bang the hell out of you.”
I heard Rick’s phone goingclick click click.Lowell’s chest was mashing against my breasts, the heat of him horribly intimate against my flesh. I wanted to be sick. He leaned down and tried to kiss me, but I kept my lips tight closed and strained my head to the side. Jesus, he was so heavy! I writhed, but I couldn’t move even an inch. Tears welled up in my eyes, horror at what was about to happen and frustration at my own weakness.
His tongue toyed with the line between my lips, pushing against it. Forcing them apart.
“Enough,” said Rick.
Lowell ignored him. He used his elbow to grind one of my hands into the floor, freeing up a hand to grab at the hem of my top, hauling it up, baring my stomach—
Rick’s guards pulled him off me. He stumbled away, grinning and panting and staring right into my eyes.
“Good,” said Rick. He looked at me dispassionately. “Try to make it last a little longer on the day, though. It’d be good if you can hold him off for at least a round or two before you...have your fun.”
“You can’t do this!” I yelled, my voice breaking. “This isn’t fighting! It’s—someone will call the cops!”
“Not the ones I’m inviting. Some of these guys might act like gentlemen when they’re buying companies and drinking at their private clubs, but guys—allguys—are just fucking cavemen, really. You heard them cheering, when Jacki tore your top off. You and I both know what theyreallywant to see.”
I pushed past him and ran for the bathroom. I heard them leave as I bent over the bowl and threw up.
45
AEDAN
I was goingcrazy when she walked in the door. I’d gotten home a little while before, expecting her to be there, only to find the apartment empty. As soon as I saw her ashen face, I didn’t have to ask if something was wrong. I only needed to know what.
She slumped down on the couch. I could see the concrete dust on her face and knew she’d been to The Pit. I could see the lines her tears had cut through it and my insides tightened down into a cold, hard knot.
I took her hands and, between sobs, she told me.
I thought I’d felt anger before. I thought the red rage that descended on me during a fight was anger, or my frustration at how Rick had used me was anger. But I was wrong. You have to have someone in your life you care about more than yourself. Only when someone threatens that person can you really, truly know anger.
I told Sylvie that everything was going to be okay. I made her soup and cuddled her up in some blankets and turned on the TV. And then I called Charlie.
Charlie’s job is to process the guys the patrol officers drag in, which means he knows everything that’s happening locally and he’sgot access to the police computers. Exactly what I needed right now...except I’d long since used up all my favors with him.
