Finally, the man Loveless was choking went limp.
Loveless let the lifeless body crash to the floor. The eerie quietness thickened as Loveless pointed at the other man. “Fight outside the cage again and I’ll put youinthe cage with the most dangerous men I own until you’ve taken your final breath. Got it?”
The man nodded furiously, one apology after another spilling from his lips before Loveless flicked his hand in disinterest, giving the man permission to leave. The man turned and rushed away as two large guards came to lift the dead body from the floor.
Vail’s wide eyes watched with interest.
“Well, we should take our seats,” Fionn said.
We said our goodbyes to the Ukrainians and found the reserved seats for us over on the other side. The moment we sat down, Lor entered, his long legs moving quickly as he headed straight toward us. He had on a hoodie, which was unusual for him, and he ducked his head as Vail stood and waved his hand enthusiastically.
When Lor reached us, he mumbled “hello.” Vail had invited Lor to the event, and while I wasn’t sure if it was his thing, I’d agreed he could come. It was unusual for him to wear a hoodie because usually he loved showing off his black hair with a white streak, but I didn’t question his attire decisions.
“Where have you been?” Vail demanded, waving Lor toward a seat at his side. “I said you could ride with us. We would’ve taken an SUV. You missed the action. Someone actually died.Died, Lor.”
Lor mumbled again.
“What?” Vail asked.
“Sorry.” Lor didn’t sound right, and the hair on my arms rose. I watched him carefully, but he kept his head down.
“Lor?” Vail grabbed the hoodie and tugged it off, revealing Lor’s face.
Shock slammed into me, stealing my breath for a moment. His usual wavy black hair with a white stripe was gone, leaving behind a buzz cut. Fionn made a sound beside me, but I wasn’t sure if it was in amusement or surprise. Fionn didn’t like Lor, even though they were technically cousins, but it was easier to list the people Fionn did get along with.
Vail gasped. “What happened to your hair?”
Lor shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged. “Wanted a change.”
“Change?” Cillian grunted out, shifting forward in his seat to get a better look around Vail. “That’s more than a wee change. Ye cut it all off, kid.”
Something passed across Vail’s face and he smiled in sympathy. “Are you sad about Sloan going to jail?”
Lor blinked owlishly. “No, I?—”
“I’m sad, too. So is Conall and Fionn and everyone else.” Vail stroked Lor’s shoulder in comfort before he gripped Lor’s forearm and dragged him toward the spare seat. “Don’t worry. We understand, and we support you.”
Lor sighed and sent Vail a small smile, one that said Vail was wrong but he was agreeing because it was easier than arguing.
“We should all shave our heads!” Vail said, sitting down, then bouncing in his seat. I’d been around him long enough to realize that once he got an idea in his head, it became an obsession. “In solidarity!”
“No,” Cillian said, not missing a beat. “Love ye, firebug, but no.”
My heart gave a sharp, hard tug and I pressed my lips together tightly until I was sure they were white. This should have been me and Sloan, laughing and joking and telling the other we loved them, even though we hadn’t said the words yet. But instead, he was in jail and I was here, listening to otherpeople be in love. I didn’t resent them for their relationship, they deserved it, but why couldn’t Sloan be beside me, too?
I ignored their conversation and focused on the cage in front of me. The spotlights gleamed on the fighters and the music booming around the small stadium lowered until the sound disappeared. The show was about to begin.
I closed my eyes and thought about Sloan. We’d been to a couple of fights together and it was nice. Peaceful. I’d joked that it was a date night, and Sloan hadn’t argued. Not many people thought a date to a brutal underground cage match was fun or romantic, but I did. The raw masculinity and strength that came from these men was powerful to watch, but more than that, it was hot. After the fight, Sloan took me home to fuck me roughly. Tonight, I didn’t have that.
I rubbed my chest as a streak of pain fired across it and I let out a sharp breath.
“Conall?” Fionn’s concerned voice broke through the haze of memories. “Are you okay?”
I snapped my eyes open and smirked at him. “You worried about your papa, son?”
Fionn groaned. “Forget I asked.”
I laughed and nudged his shoulder with mine. “I’m fine. Stop stressing. I’m not going to keel over any time soon.”
