Forever (Betrothed 7)

“He’s fine…for now.” Hades sat in the chair with his chin propped on his knuckles.

Catalina stared at me, no longer comforted. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

My initial annoyance with Hades faded away because this conversation was inevitable. I couldn’t go down to the ring without telling her I might not come back. “This is going to be a lot to take in, just so you know.”

“I know Anna is missing. And I know Liam took her.” With her arms crossed over her chest, she stood in a white halter dress with a jean jacket.

I assumed Sofia had told her. “Well, a mutual friend just called me and invited me to fight Liam directly in the ring.”

“Who is this mutual friend?” she asked. “The Skull King?”

I didn’t realize she and Sofia talked that much. “Yes.”

“Fight in the ring?” she asked. “What does that mean?”

“It means Liam and I will fight to the death. Winner gets Annabella.” It was a lot of pressure on my shoulders, because if I lost, not only did I lose my life, but I lost my woman too. She would be a prisoner to him for the rest of her life. “I can’t lose.”

Catalina watched me as if she expected me to say something else, to elaborate on this insane plan. When I was quiet, she expressed her skepticism. “Fight to the death? That’s barbaric. Are we in ancient times?”

“That’s just how it is.”

“Can you just show up and shoot him?” She turned to Hades, as if she expected him to agree with her. “Or I could shoot him. I have good aim.”

“No,” I answered. “That’s dishonorable.”

She rolled her eyes. “This whole thing is dishonorable. So, you’re really going to do this?”

I expected her to be more difficult about it, to beg me to change my mind. She was oddly understanding of the whole thing, which was even weirder because she knew nothing about my world. “I don’t have a choice.”

She looked down at the floor for a few seconds before she lifted her gaze once again. “You have to win. Alright?”

“I know.”

“He’s never fought you before?”

I shook my head.

“Then you can catch him off guard. I kicked his ass in that restaurant because it took him so long to process what was happening. He’s big and slow. Be unpredictable. Be fast. That’s how you’ll win.”

Did my little sister just give me fight advice? “I appreciate your support in this. I figured you would beg me to walk away.”

She shrugged and ran her fingers through her hair. “I know how much she means to you. I know you can’t walk away and leave her.”

“You’re right. I can’t.”

“So, you need to win. You have to.”

“I know.”

Twenty-Four

Annabella

My brain wanted to disassociate from reality because it was such a burden to think about Catalina locked away, to think about how worried Damien must be, to think about my own horrible fate.

It was too fucking much.

Tears were stained on my cheeks, and my eyes burned because they were completely dry. Every time I took a breath, my chest ached because I’d been hyperventilating on and off all day. He’d captured Catalina, my closest friend, and either she would die, or I would never be free.

I really wished Liam were dead.

Liam didn’t knock before entering my bedroom.

I already hated him, but now my feelings were much more intense. The energy in the room was totally different, very much kidnapper and prisoner. Our past relationship no longer existed in my mind. He was just my tormentor now, the man ruining my life and the life of everyone else’s I cared about.

He faced me in silence, waiting for me to look at him.

I refused. I sat on the bed with my knees to my chest, my gaze focused out the window.

Liam grew impatient and spoke. “I released Catalina.”

I turned to him, my eyebrows raised. “You did?”

He nodded. “I released her yesterday.”

“Why?” Did he have a change of heart? Did he realize his behavior would never get him what he wanted?

“Because I have a better idea.”

Hope drained from my body again.

“I challenged Damien to a fight. Tonight. Winner takes all.”

I didn’t even process everything before I reacted. “What? Are you insane? We aren’t animals, Liam. Why would he agree to that when you’re the professional fighter?”

He shrugged. “Well, he did.”

No. God, no. I crawled out of bed and got to my feet so I could face him. This was the closest I’d been to him, because I always stayed on the bed or kept an obstacle between us. “Please don’t do this…”

“I’m not making him do anything.”

“But you know it’s not a fair fight. You know you’ll win.”

He smiled at my misfortune. “Yeah, I know.”

“Please don’t do this. Let’s just move somewhere and start over. Forget about him.”

He shook his head. “I’ve learned that neither one of us can live a full life while the other is still alive. He’ll always come after me, always look for you, and as long as he’s breathing, he’ll remain in your heart. One of us needs to die, and it’s not going to be me.”