“It’s not a good idea. And it’s not…glamorous. You’d hate it.”
“How do you know what I’d hate?” I retort. “You barely know me, remember? Besides, I can handle it.”
“Can you?” he asks with a glare.
“I handle you just fine, don’t I?”
His face morphs into a sly smile.
“Fine. You really want to see it? You really want to watch me beat another man senseless, get covered in blood and sweat and who knows what else?”
I hold his gaze.
“Yes.”
He shakes his head, but I see the corner of his mouth twitch.
“You will let me fuck you in front of everyone?”
“What?” I ask in shock.
“When I win. You will get on your knees and suck my cock like the perfect wife. And then you will beg for me to fuck you in front of everyone there. That’s the prize I'll fight for."
My stomach drops. He can't be serious? In front of everyone? He’s calling my bluff, I just know it. He drums his fingers on the table, silent, like he’s waiting for me to back down.
“Fine,” I grin, like I’m not secretly feeling like I might puke any minute. He’s not serious. He’s just messing with me because he doesn’t want to drag me along with him.
He grins back and something in his face tells me I might have made a mistake but it’s too late to back down now.
“Deal,” he says and his eyes sparkle with amusement.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Liana
We pull up to what looks to be an old strip mall with a rundownPaydayloan and a vape shop. I see a couple of broken-down sedans, a Jeep with a giant “who’s your daddy” sticker in the back window and a line of motorcycles glinting in the streetlamp’s dirty orange glow. Rio drives around the side of the building and a fence opens up revealing a large parking lot. My mouth drops at the expensive looking cars that are parked around the lot. Rio doesn’t say a word as he parks, but I can tell from the way he’s bouncing his knuckles on the steering wheel that he’s amped, barely holding in his energy. I’m not amped though. I’m terrified and more than a little curious.
We get out and I start walking toward the building, but Rio reaches out and grabs my hand hard, making me flinch.
“Stay by me, Datura.”
The front door isn’t even marked. There’s just a guy standing in front looking bored as hell. He scans us as we walk up and his gaze zeroes in on Rio like he knows him.
“Principe,” he says and nods.
Rio nods his head back and pulls me through the door acting every bit the royalty that man thinks he is.
Inside is even wilder than I imagined and the stench is horrible. Sweat, cigarettes, cleaning supplies and blood. You can’t mistake that smell even with everything else permeating through the air. People are everywhere. There’s sounds of people speaking blasting from overhead speakers but you can barely hear them over the yelling of the crowd. The whole place is built around a giant metal cage. It’s about the size of a small living room placed right in the middle of the space like an altar. The chain-link is battered, even bent or broken in a few spots, and I see splotches of rust and darker stains I’d rather not think about. There are benches and ratty old couches lining the walls, and every one of them is packed with men who look like they either have money or know a way to get it. The women all look like they dressed for a night in a club with cleavage and legs on full display. I am completely out of my element.
It’s complete chaos, but it seems organized. Rio keeps me close, his hand still gripping mine, as the crowd parts for him. I see people notice him, whispering and nudging their friends. The women watch him hungrily, their eyes lingering in a way that makes my stomach twist with jealousy. Clearly, I should have worn something…sexier? I don’t even know. I’m the only girl here in a sundress and I feel like I’m glowing in the dark.
‘What was I thinking and why didn’t Rio tell me to change?’
I press closer to Rio, suddenly uncomfortable with the amount of eyes on us both. We stop near the edge of the cage, right as a new fight is starting. The two men are shirtless and barefoot. One is really fit, lean and muscular and the otheris built like a brick house. A woman in what I would consider lingerie signals for the fight to start and they go at it.
The sound of flesh hitting flesh is louder than I expected and it makes me grit my teeth. These guys aren’t even using gloves or anything and I can almost feel the pain of every hit radiating off of them. The crowd howls as the bigger guy takes a cheap shot, elbowing the other guy in the face. Blood spatters onto the mat making me flinch and look around. Nobody else bats an eye. They all just keep screaming.
I sneak a glance at Rio who’s not even cheering. He’s not smiling or anything. He’s just watching the fight with his lips parted a little. He looks intense, like he’s hungry for the danger. Both men trade blows back and forth while the crowd goes wild, booing and then screaming. Rio tugs me away from the crowd towards a small group of men. At the center of them is a guy who looks eerily similar to Rio. He’s tall, olive-skinned with dark almost black hair and his eyes…the same green I see in both my nightmares and reality. They could easily be related. The only difference is he has no tattoos or at least none I can see. He notices Rio instantly, and the smile that stretches his mouth seems friendly.
