“Let’s get to it then,” he yelled, and then retreated to the circle’s edge.
I stood alone in the circle, facing the muscled monster, his face passive and his eyes empty. I pulled off my shirt and stared him down, allowing my breath to calm, and my muscles to relax. The tattoos running up my arms and along my torso were living reminders, inked in blood and pain, that life was suffering, and only the strong survived.
I was the strong.
I was going to beat the living piss out of this stranger. I was going to beat him until he couldn’t stand straight, beat him with every ounce of energy I had in my body. I was going to pound his skull into the dirt for Darcy’s sake, and for my own.
We each took a few steps nearer to each other, and as the crowd reached a frenzied pitch, he lunged at me.
Chapter Sixteen
I stared at the door and imagined thousands of different scenarios for what was on the other side. It was Michael, it was Shane, it was the police, it was worse. Finally, I worked up the courage to look through the peephole. What I saw caused my body to tense with shock.
Rex gazed back, his brow bloodied, his right eye swollen, but his mouth grinning with a wild joy. I ripped the door open like it couldn’t move fast enough.
“Rex!” I threw my arms around him. He grunted in response.
“Easy,” he said. I caught myself, and looked him over. He was obviously hurt, but he was there and he was alive. I gently kissed his mouth, and he kissed me back.
“Where have you been?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Inside.”
I led him in and closed the door behind us, quickly securing the deadbolt. I turned and found him leaning against the wall, still grinning, but tired. He looked haggard and in pain, but his grin said he was in a great mood.
“What happened?” I closed the space between us and gingerly touched his swollen eye. He winced but didn’t pull away.
“Won my fight,” he said.
“Are you done?”
He shook his head softly. “Not yet, but close. I have one more to go, next week.”
“You’re fighting a week from now?”
“Yeah, and then it’ll all be over.”
“But you’re not going to be healed by then.”
He shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. I’ll be fine.”
“No, Rex. You need to see a doctor.”
He shook his head. His eyes looked sad. “I can’t see a doctor. They’ll ask questions, maybe bring heat down on me.” He paused, and looked at me seriously. “Promise you won’t tell anyone about this,” he said.
I sighed then kissed him softly again. “Of course. Get inside, on the couch. I’ll get you some ice.”
He grinned. “That’s the spirit. Be my sexy nurse.”
I smiled back. What an asshole. “Find me a costume and I’ll wear it.”
He moved away from the wall and hobbled over to the couch. “Don’t think I can’t make that happen.”
I went into the kitchen and took out a dishtowel. I opened the freezer and filled it with ice. I twisted the end and brought it out to him. I was a mess of conflicting emotions. I was terrified of Michael, I was afraid for Rex and his injuries, but more than anything else, I was beyond overjoyed to see him again. I realized that his absence had only stoked my fears, and that his reappearance made everything okay again.
“I absolutely expect that to happen.” I gently placed the ice against his eye, and his fingers brushed against mine as he took the bundle from me.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“What are you sorry for?”
He looked away from me, ice against his face. I sat down next to him.
“I know Michael was here,” he said.
I didn’t respond. I wasn’t sure what to say. It was true, but I didn’t blame Rex for any of it. I chose to be a part of his world. I knew what I wanted.
“It’s not your fault,” I said.
“It is my fault, damn it. I’m sorry.”
“I make my own decisions. Stop acting like you control what I do.”
He sighed. “God, if you weren’t so fucking sexy when you acted like a spoiled brat, I’d be pissed at you right now.”
I wrapped my arm gently around his shoulder and felt the muscles in his arms. I kissed his neck softly and breathed his smell deeply. He was sweat and blood and dirt, and it smelled perfect.
“You can’t always protect me. You said it yourself.”
“I can try,” he said. I believed that he would.
“So where have you been all this time?”
“Stayed with a friend of mine in Chinatown. This shitty, horrible basement. Did nothing but work out and rest.”
“How did you get out of trouble?”
He grinned. “Michael’s control of the gang has been shaky for a while. All I had to do was show up and call him on his bullshit. People supported me.”