Then he lunged.
His fist collided with Kevin’s shoulder, knocking the smaller man backward. But Kevin’s knife caught Liam’s arm as he moved away. Blood sprayed across the mat in a sickening arc.
I wished Liam would pick up his knife. Confidence might be sexy, but this was insanity. I pushed closer to the edge of the ring. Adrenaline surged through my veins, fueling the fear pounding in my chest. Yet beneath it, something darker stirred.
The chain around my neck snapped.
My fingers kept a death grip around the small horn. The talisman was a lifeline.
Time lost all meaning as my gaze was glued to the fighters. I was in a freaking trance. My focus was captured by the raw display of masculinity. Pride burned in my chest at the primal force of my husband. Part of me even wished I was in that ring beside him.
My hunger for the dark no longer shocked me.
Liam unleashed a brutal combination of punches. Kevin staggered but retaliated, forcing Liam to block hard. Liam’s knuckles were already bloody. Those bloodstained hands finally wore their true color. His brutality was controlled. Kevin’s was explosive and desperate. Unless his cousin got lucky, Liam’s beautiful violence was going to win.
I felt it in my bones.
Still, I whispered another prayer. I brought the horn to my lips, the broken chain dangled against my arms. If it reachedheaven through the roaring crowd, I couldn’t say. But I didn’t just want Liam to win. I wanted him to dominate.
It wasn’t only for me. It was for the men leaning forward around the ring, for the gamblers exchanging bets, for the cheers erupting every time flesh slammed into flesh or steel sliced skin.
They were watching their king fight for his throne.
Any doubt about his rule had to die here tonight.
The fight dragged on. There were parts of this brutal dance where I couldn’t breathe. Pain was traded back and forth. Then something shifted.
I didn’t see the opening.
But Liam did.
He exploded forward.
Kevin swung wildly with his knife, but Liam overpowered him. His fist smashed into Kevin’s elbow, bending it the wrong direction.
Kevin screamed.
Liam didn’t stop. He wrenched the joint until it popped out of its socket. Then he drove his knee into Kevin’s face.
It cracked.
Blood sprayed across the mat—this time not Liam’s.
That was all it took.
Liam forced Kevin to the ground, pinning him on his stomach, one arm twisted behind his back. The other hung broken.
With brutal efficiency, Liam snapped Kevin’s wrist.
Then the other.
Screams echoed through the suddenly silent room. No one dared protest. If there had been any doubt among the mobsters, it was gone now.
“Mercy,” Kevin sobbed.
The word sounded strange on Liam’s tongue. “Mercy? Is that what you want, little cousin?”
Voices erupted around the room. Some cursed. Others chanted for Kevin’s death.
