Trigger swallowed, letting a slow smile grace his bust-up face as the Nav behind him guided him back to his feet. His body swayed as the aftershocks of my attack rattled through him.
That’s right, motherfucker. Feel me in your bones. There’s more where that came from.
He leaned into his brother and whispered something, following it with a wink before Travis turned back to me and tapped his fists together.
“Okay, Tucker. You’ve shown me your strength. Can feel it in my damn balls, brother.” He laughed roughly. “No more performances. Now it’s time to fight how real men fight.”
I had no idea what the fuck he meant. I could hardly see anything, and my head felt like it was about to roll off my body, the lightness of it making the room spin around me. My feet seemed to move of their own accord, and I stumbled to the side, forcing my shoulders back and my chest out in a bid to stay upright.
Every Hound around me grew louder, their voices one big sound of noise I could no longer decipher, and when Trigger stood toe-to-toe with me, I saw my short future playing out ahead of me.
But only one voice stood out.
One voice I hadn’t heard in a very long time.
Pete:
“A true leader looks their enemy in the eyes and he says, ‘I’m never gonna back down, no matter what you throw at me and no matter how beaten to the ground I am. If you want to win this fight, you’re going to have to kill me.’ Do you get that? There’s no in between. Nomiddle ground. No negotiations. This is do or die. A leader—a true leader—they’ll do whatever it takes to make things go their way.”
The memory of him was so real that I had to blink hard to refocus on the world in front of me.
My body swayed as I widened my eyes to stare back at Trigger.
“You with me, Drew?” he asked in a whisper, taking a controlled step forward.
Widening my nostrils, I inhaled and exhaled slowly, watching as his eyes taunted mine.
“I’m not a man of honor, and I’m not ashamed to admit that. What I am is the real deal. I’m a real man, and real men do whatever they have to do to win,” he whispered at me, taking a final step closer until there was nowhere else to go.
He stared into my eyes, holding them hostage.
And then I felt the nick of something sharp slice through my skin, just under my ribs.
Wincing, I pulled in on myself, scowling up at Travis, who simply stared at me with no emotion.
I’d been cut, deeply, my head spinning from the pain.
The noise of my brothers grew around me, but I was locked in on my enemy. The rest of the world was fading to nothing.
“Fuck you,” I spat as bile rose in my throat.
“See you on the flip side, brother,” Trigger breathed, and in a strike so powerful, he rained his punches down on me, one after the other, after the other, after the other.
I brought my hands up to fend him off, my body not giving in just yet, and I fought back, ducking and weaving, despite everything being on fire while the icy fingers of death trailed its finger down my spine at the same time.
Scars were being reopened.
Skin was being torn from my chest.
Sweat mingled with the blood.
Stars appeared in front of me, mixing with red and blackuntil I wasn’t sure where I was or who I was with anymore.
With one last swing, I lunged forward, hoping to connect with something that felt like flesh and bone. Instead, I missed, and my legs gave out from under me.
I fell, my body straight and uncooperative, sailing to the cold, rough ground with a thud, my cheek hitting the deck and bouncing back up before hitting the concrete once more.
The sound went off, the silence piercing and painful in my ears.
The taste of warm metal collected in my mouth.
And when I tried to open an eye, my whole world tilted, with Ayda’s blurry face scrunched up in the distance.
I love you, darlin’. I failed you.
Then the pain stopped, and I closed my eyes, letting myself sink into the black.
