“Yeah?” The shifter he was talking to moved so close that Dave couldn’t understand why Christian hadn’t punched him. But for some reason, he allowed it. Maybe he was showing respect. Or maybe it was the sense of menace rolling off the guy and the way the other three were circling around, reminding Dave of nothing so much as wolves closing in on prey that had been hunted down but not yet killed.
He dropped his bag and moved to stand at Christian’s shoulder, earning a swift glance from Tony.
“You were going to explain running out on us and nearly losing us ten grand, were you?”
“What?” Christian’s shock was obvious. “How the hell would I have cost you that much? It was one fight.” He took a careful breath. He wasn’t as calm about Tony’s closeness as he seemed. “Listen, I’m sorry about last night, okay?”
For Christian, that was a huge admission. The problem was, to any who didn’t know him, it sounded like a grudging, piss-poor excuse for an apology.
“Dave was hurt up on the cliffs and I needed to get to him before dark.”
Tony’s gaze flicked again to Dave and this time rested on him, dark eyes narrowing in apparent thought.
“That’s okay, Taylor,” he said. “Just pay us the ten grand you owe, and you and your boyfriend can be on your way.”
Christian’s nostrils flared, the first sign of temper. “I haven’t got ten fucking grand,” he said. “And there’s no way I owe you that much.”
There was movement behind Dave. Before he could turn to meet the threat, he was shoved forward, his chest and cheek slammed onto the sun-hot hood of the SUV.
The impact stole his breath, and then his legs were kicked apart, sharp pain radiating up from his ankle like lightning. Sickness roiled through him and he closed his eyes to control it as his ankle throbbed angrily.
“You fucking—” Christian’s voice was raw with fury, but he cut himself off, evidently not wanting this to spiral completely out of control with Dave so vulnerable.
“You want to tell me that again?” Dave couldn’t see the speaker, his face pressed to the hood, but the voice sounded like Tony’s.
“Isaid, I haven’t got ten grand.” He could hear what it was costing Christian to try and sound calm, when every instinct was telling him to fight until those who were threatening him were neutralized. He would have, if not for Dave being at their mercy. “What the fuck do you want from me? I said I was sorry.”
“Sorry don’t pay the bills.”
Dave could hear Christian’s breathing, faster than usual, and the whisper of footsteps on asphalt as the other two hyenas kept circling.
“Tell you what, Taylor,” Tony said at last. “You come and fight for us today and you can be on your way.”
A long silence fell. Dave couldn’t see Christian’s face, but he felt his gaze on him anyway. And then the guy behind Dave yanked his arm up higher behind his back, sharp pain exploding down to his fingers. He bit his lip, hard, to stop the sound that wanted out. The metal hood burned under his cheek.
If not for his ankle, he might’ve tried something. But as it was, he’d crumple before he made it a step, and Christian would get himself torn apart trying to save him.
“And if I don’t?” Christian asked, so evenly he might’ve been asking about the weather.
“You won’t want to find out,” Tony said. The threat in his voice was like storm clouds rolling in. “Our town, our rules. And who the hell’s gonna miss a piece of shit like you?”
The silence that followed wasn’t long, not objectively, but itfeltlong. Like that breathless, endless moment when something had cracked but had yet to fall apart.
Dave could hear Christian breathing, and then something changed. As if he’d pulled all the fight in him inward, to hold it there until it was time to let it out.
“You made your point,” Christian said. “I’ll do it.”
The words were flat and final. Dave closed his eyes. For a second, he actually felt bad for the guy Christian would end up fighting.
But that faded fast, burned away by something colder. Because what stuck in his head now was the image of Christian shoved into a cage, bloodied and snarling, forced to keep fighting until some sadist in a black SUV decided he’d suffered enough.
A cold weight settled in Dave’s gut. It was a beautiful, clear day, the sun beating down from a cloudless sky, but he was shivering. He wanted to say something, to tell Christian not to do it, that it wasn’t worth it. That they’d find another way. But even as the words formed in his head, he was being hauled upright, like a trash bag being dragged out for collection. His ankle screamed as his weight shifted, and his arm burned from the wrenching grip still holding it.
He was helpless, and they both knew it. If Christian refused... they might not walk away from this.
So he said nothing, clenching his teeth as he tried to ride the pain. He’d have to trust Christian to get them through. Trust the stubborn, reckless will to win that lived in his bones, whatever it cost him.
CHRISTIAN
