Instinctively, my eyes watered.
He mouthed something to me. “I’ll win. I promise.”
When I inhaled a breath, it was painful to my lungs. There was nothing I wanted more than to go home with this man and for us to spend the rest of our lives together. Hearing a promise like that didn’t make me feel better; it only made me more afraid.
Afraid to lose that dream.
The MC turned to Liam. “Ready?”
I faced Damien again and mouthed back, “This doesn’t mean anything.” I got out of my chair and walked up to Liam. I had to make sure he lost, make sure Damien would have the best chance possible. I grabbed Liam by the arm and tugged him toward me.
He looked down at me, hostile because he was pumped for the fight. He was focused, angry, ready to rip my lover to shreds.
That was exactly why I was going to do this. “I’m sorry about what I said earlier… I don’t want you to die. I don’t wanna watch you die.”
His eyes were still guarded, impenetrable.
“Call the fight off. I don’t want either one of you to die tonight…especially not you.” I pressed my hands to his chest, right over his heart. “I’m sorry about what I said before. I was just mad, upset. I don’t want you to go in there thinking I hate you, because I don’t. I still love you…”
He began to soften.
It was working. I rose on my tiptoes and kissed him on the lips. It wasn’t soft and smooth like it used to be. I felt like I was kissing the dirt in a rocky desert. It was disgusting, like kissing a cousin. It was hard to swallow my hatred and do something I despised, but I believed it would make a difference when he walked into the ring. I pulled away and lowered myself to my chair.
Now, his macho energy was gone, and he wanted to stay there with me. He was snapped out of his focus, no longer the angry animal that wanted to take another human life.
Good.
“Let’s just go home. Let’s call this off.”
“You know I can’t do that.” He leaned down and kissed me again.
I had to suffer through it.
He gave me a firm hug before he turned away. “Wish me luck.”
I took a deep breath and forced myself to say the words. “Good luck.” And I watched him take the stairs and enter the ring. His shoulders weren’t as tense, and his skin wasn’t bright red because some of the rage was gone. His focus was disrupted now that he wasn’t the bloodthirsty animal he’d been just moments ago.
I looked across the arena to where Damien stood.
His eyes were still locked on mine, and instead of being hurt by what he’d just watched, he understood exactly what I’d done. He gave a simple nod of appreciation.
Then he took the stairs and stepped into the ring.
Twenty-Five
Damien
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried.
I stood in the ring, coated with oil, while the men in the stands cheered for us to begin the match. Liam was a large opponent, having more muscle density than I possessed, and coupled with the fact that he was undefeated, my odds weren’t the best.
I could hold my own in a fight, but I’d never participated in a match like this. I always had other tools at my disposal—guns, knives, and different objects in any room I could turn on my opponent.
All I had now were my bare hands.
I saw the way Liam was worked up on the other side of stands. He threw his fists around to get his blood flowing, and the crazed look in his eyes showed how pumped he was. It hurt to watch Annabella touch him, kiss him, but I knew she might’ve just saved my life.
She said something significant to him, to think about his love for her rather than my death, I assumed. She’d successfully toned down his rage, and when he stepped into the ring, he wasn’t behaving like an animal anymore.
I hadn’t had much time to prepare for this, and I knew that was by design. I would have to focus on him, watch him, be quicker than him.
And then kill him.
Liam shook out his arms as he stared at me, waiting for the buzzer to go off so he could attack me. There would be no mercy from him. The second he got me on the floor, he would crush my skull with his fists or his feet.
Whenever I was in extreme circumstances like this, my heartbeat was suspiciously slow. Right now, it was calm. Maybe that was an asset, or maybe it was a flaw. It allowed me to be more pragmatic, not to give in to the spikes of adrenaline, anxiety, and all the other shit that dumped into my blood.