Men that took an innocent child as collateral were not to be trusted, and she didn’t trust them, not one bit.
“You look like fucking shit.”
She looked up to see Ben, one of the men who’d taken her baby from her, standing near the door.
Belle didn’t say a word. She simply waited.
“One fight to go. You’ve been on fire. A little sloppy at times, but I guess after having a baby, that shit all goes south eventually.” He clapped his hands together looking mightily excited. “You hear that crowd. They’re after a good show.”
She stared at her hands. Her knuckles were bruised and cracked. They hurt so much. The fights were bare knuckled, no way of having any protection.
Her stomach was also bruised, and if she moved a little too suddenly, she felt the pain in her ribs. There was probably a crack or two there.
Bruises covered her face, her lip was split, and there were also finger marks around her neck from where one of the fighters had gotten her on the floor and started to choke her. She’d been close to passing out when the fighter had moved, and she’d been able to get the upper hand, and win that fight.
“Are you going to give us a good show?” Ben reached out to touch her, but she swatted his hand away.
The last thing she wanted was this bastard’s touch on her.
“Oh, you don’t like that, do you, little girl?”
“You don’t get to touch me, ever.”
Ben smiled. “I wouldn’t be too sure of that. You know I always used to watch you fight. Our fathers shared that passion in that regard. They liked to watch their kids fight. I remember you being this little fat kid. You would whimper and cry as they hit you. Then one day you came into the ring, and you were on fire. No longer the little fat punching bag but something a lot more.”
She gritted her teeth, and found the strength to stand up without showing the pain she was in. She had to be strong and do this for her little girl.
Her baby was the only one that counted to her.
“You ready?”
Belle stared at him, waiting.
“You’re going to love this one. I don’t think they’re going to be as easy as the other fighters I’ve faced. The odds are a lot higher now. Instead of a couple of grand, we’re up to a couple of hundred grand.”
She listened as she followed him toward the noise. Whatever was about to happen, it wasn’t going to help her. This crowd, it sounded like they wanted to be entertained.
Belle hated fighting. She hated this life and had tried to find a new one far away from all of this.
Her little girl wouldn’t grow up having to train or fight, to take the hits. Belle had done all of that, and once this was done, this last fight, she was gone. No more city living. She was getting far, far away from here. No one would know who she was. There would be no more risks.
She had it all planned out, and all she had to do was win one more fight.
One more fight.
Belle kept repeating the same words over and over in her head, hoping that she could find the courage that she needed.
You can do this.
You’ve done all this before, and keep on going.
Win this for her.
Your little girl.
Entering the ring, she watched as Ben held his hands up and the crowd went wild. She wanted to run, to hide, to get her baby, and leave.
“As you all know, ladies and gentleman, tonight is indeed a special night. A celebration if you will. Belle is our queen. She’s been in this world for a long time, and we know she is a warrior.” Another eruption of applause. “Now, we need to end tonight with a bang, guys. You know this is our last night with Belle, so let’s make it count. Are you ready to meet her opponent?”
Her heart pounded as silence rang out through the crowd.
“He’s undefeated and is known to break his enemy with a single strike. He’s bigger, faster, meaner than any other fighter we have. Let’s hear it for Deadman!”
****
Drago hadn’t been to an underground fighting ring in a long time. He didn’t even know why he was there now, but one look at the woman who stood there, looking beaten down, and his heart raced.
He knew Belle, remembered her well, and he couldn’t believe she was here now. Something had to have gone wrong.
“What do you know?” he asked Carlos, his friend and confidant. They had been in the system together. Both of them had been forced to fight, but Drago had been sure to make Carlos his assistant. People left him alone once he did that.
No one would question him, not once.