He motioned to the assistant at the club, who nodded toward Ripley.
“Excellent. Then…” He handed each lady her coin and the two shook hands before they gripped the coins. “Fight!”
Finn leaned forward, holding his breath as the two women began to circle, their hands raised, fists clenched. As his shock faded, he truly took in the Hellion. She was more relaxed than her opponent, at ease with the ring. When Betty Lightly swung on her, she stepped back, blocking the blow with one hand while she threw her own with the other and connected with the other woman’s midsection.
The crowd around him let out a little cheer and he jolted. He kept forgetting that he was in the middle of a room full of practically drooling men. Even the ones who had complained about bringing women to exhibit were leaning forward, eyes wide as they ogled. He frowned and then put his attention back to the women.
The Hellion threw another punch and connected, this time with Betty’s chin. It sent her spiraling back a step and she sneered before she lunged and the two grappled for a moment. But the Hellion seemed unbothered and threw her off to bounce off the ropes around the ring before they reset in the middle of the space to circle again.
The men were settling as the fight continued, becoming more interested in the battle than the women. When the Hellion landed another punch square on Betty’s jaw, a cheer went up and when Betty regained her footing and lunged forward to land her own punch on the Hellion’s midsection an impressedohhhhhwent through the crowd.
All through it, Finn kept his gaze firmly on the Hellion. She was powerful and elegant in her moves, almost like she was dancing rather than plodding forward like her opponent did. But when she punched, it wasn’t playful or light. That was borne out when she hit Betty again and this time the other woman stumbled to the mat on her backside and the coin she clutched in her fist came bouncing out onto the surface.
Finn joined the crowd in a roar as Ripley rushed in and picked up the coin. “The Hellion takes the first point!” he declared.
Betty was cursing up a storm as she and the Hellion went to their respective corners. The Hellion had a slender blonde woman on her side who gave her a sip of water and wiped her brow. They talked for a moment, strategizing, it seemed and then Finley rang the bell and returned the coin to Betty.
The Hellion rolled her neck and shoulders as she approached the center of the ring. Betty came forward with more malice this time, clearly annoyed that she had been bested for the first coin drop. But her anger was not her friend. Finn found himself twisting along with the Hellion, using his body to will her to dodge as Betty threw her weight into the first punch. The Hellion stepped out of the way with ease and managed to land a punch in her opponent’s side.
They grappled again and he could see the annoyance in the Hellion’s expression at the stall tactic. An annoyance that only increased when Betty shot out a leg and kicked her hard in the shin.
“Oy, we don’t do that here,” Ripley called from the side. “This ain’t the street, Betty.”
It seemed the Hellion didn’t need the intervention, though. She shoved Betty back and then landed a hard shot to her cheek, then another to the other side. It was evident Betty was stunned by the blows, for she staggered, though she didn’t drop the coin.The Hellion threw another punch, snapping Betty’s head back and she fell, hitting the mat. She was stiff and still, but her fist was still clenched on the coin.
“Get her!” someone from the crowd shouted. “The fight’s not over.”
The Hellion shot an annoyed glare toward the person who had said it and motioned to her still opponent. “She’s out,” she said to Ripley.
“She didn’t drop the coin!” another man from the group yelled.
Northfield’s body tensed beside Finn. “The woman is clearly unconscious. I hope she won’t pummel her more.”
So did Finn, but the Hellion was coming toward Betty. He waited for her to rain down another punch, but instead she leaned in, unclenched Betty’s hand and let the coin slide from it to the mat.
Ripley jumped in and raised her hand. “Our winner!”
If the crowd had wanted more violence, they still seemed appeased by the fight. They cheered wildly as Betty’s corner came in and got her sat up. She was awake again, shaking off the cobwebs. The Hellion leaned in and offered her a hand up and Betty took it. They shook before the Hellion made for her corner.
“Hellion! Hellion!” the men were chanting and Finn joined in, impressed by his mystery woman’s talent, as well as her sense of right and wrong at the end of the fight.
She smiled toward the crowd and waved before she ducked out of the ring and headed toward one of the small rooms in the back of the club. Finn nodded toward Northfield.
“It was a good fight,” he said.
“Indeed,” Northfield agreed. “They’re both impressive, but the Hellion is very talented.”
“Very.” Finn glanced toward the room where she’d gone. He very much wanted to speak to her, to see what she would doif she saw him again, this time without a mask. Would she acknowledge she knew him from the club?
Would she explain why she’d addressed him asmy lordlike she knew him. Would the heat between them be the same when they weren’t at a notorious sex club?
“Excuse me, will you?” Finn asked.
When Northfield nodded, he slipped away, moving through the surging, excited crowd around the ring. It was quieter in the direction where she’d gone and no one seemed to notice as he ducked behind the curtain Ripley had set up for the introductions and started down a short hallway toward the rooms in the back.
Esme drank deeply of the draught of cold tea that Jane had set before her and grunted as her friend rubbed her shoulder muscles roughly to keep them from locking up after the fight. The mask she had removed from her face bounced on her leg as Jane did so.
“That bitch kicked you,” Jane said with a laugh.
