Chapter 27 River #2
“Reaper? Oh, shit, maybe I should have bet on him instead…” Gabby catches my glare and winks. “No hard feelings, River. He’s been here longer than you, though.”
Reaper rolls his shoulders. “Let’s get this over with, so I can fight some real competition.”
He’s trying to get a rise out of me, but I’m not going to let him.
I’m already worked up enough.
“Let’s go,” I tell him, heading toward the cage.
There’s no real ref here, no one to stand close and make sure every blow is legal. It’s all free and brutal in a way boxing isn’t.
I get into a defensive stance, watching him.
Is he the type to attack fast, throwing punches before he thinks I can handle it? Or will he be slow and measured, testing my defenses first?
It doesn’t matter. I’m too ready to fight to get the measure of him before I launch into my first attack.
Reaper grunts and absorbs the blow like it’s nothing. He’s larger than me, at least ten pounds heavier. There’s no way we’d be in the same weight class if this was a legitimate boxing match.
Good thing this isn’t legit.
Reaper rams his body into mine, and I stumble backward into the iron mesh of the cage. Before he can punch me, I duck away. I kick him in the shin as I go, and I hear Reaper hiss, but he doesn’t go down.
He launches another punch at me. I take it to my stomach, but I grip his hair and yank it hard to get him off me.
Reaper snarls and tries to wrestle me to the ground, but I pull harder and he lets go enough for me to break free.
“Fucking pussy methods,” Reaper growls.
“No rules,” I counter, before lunging forward for another attack.
The crowd gets louder as we fight, cries of Reaper! and River! coming in regular cadences.
Only as we move, I get this nagging feeling in the back of my mind.
His fighting style feels familiar. Not because of his training, or because of the street fights. Something about how he moves.
A punch that clips me in the ear.
A growled, “Fuck.”
My eyes widen.
“You,” I hiss. “You were there that night.”
Reaper wipes his brow. “What night?”
“The night—” It’s not going to mean anything to him, even though it means everything to me.
Because that had been the night Franklin died.
This bastard is the reason he’s dead.
If it hadn’t been for him, everyone would’ve ignored Franklin.
My vision hazes over red, and I throw another punch. This one is less controlled but no less determined, and he sidesteps it.
“The attack on Kappa Alpha,” I snarl in between blows. “Or did you forget already?”
Reaper raises his arms to block my punches. “Oh. Yeah, I guess you were there.” He lets out a dark laugh. “Did you fuckers really think I would let what you did to my sister go unpunished?”
We’ll keep going until the entire world is blind.
That was what Pandora had said at the party.
I should concede the point, but it only inflames me even more. I’m not going to let this bastard beat me.
“Pandora stabbed the bastard who did it,” I counter. “How many times are you going to come at us for it?”
“All of you are responsible,” Reaper growls. “All of you fucking Chaos bastards.” He strikes me hard in the chest, sending me flying back against the cage once more.
I groan against the pain. I have to cling to the cage metal to get myself up.
“River!” a voice cries out, standing out from all the other shouts.
I turn my head.
Pandora. She’s standing on top of the registration table. Somebody is trying to pull her down, but Blaze and Asch are there to shield her.
“Fucking kick his ass, River!” Pandora shouts.
Oh, so she cares now.
I guess this is the sort of thing she lives for: no holds barred, no rules, blow for blow. No wonder she’s into it.
I grit my teeth, turning my attention back to the fight. My renewed vigor makes it easier for me to land blows on Reaper, who seems taken aback by my focus.
“Ri-ver! Ri-ver!” Pandora chants, and a good chunk of the crowd joins her.
Reaper is distracted enough that I get another blow in.
“Fuck.” He glances in Pandora’s direction. “Why’s she here?” He doesn’t wait for an answer before getting up and launching a kick at me again.
I grab his foot and shove him back, sending him off balance again.
I don’t care why Pandora’s here.
I’m just glad she is.
The adrenaline surges through me, and I get two more blows in.
But adrenaline can only do so much, and even if it was tame and toothless, I’ve already fought today.
My body flags at the wrong moment. Reaper punches me in the solar plexus, and I gasp at the pain. I fall to my knees, struggling to keep the bile down.
“Tap out,” Reaper growls as he grips my hair. “Show your brothers how much of a pathetic loser you are.”
I fight to get up, but he has the advantage.
Fuck.
Now I wish Pandora wasn’t here to see me lose, especially to Reaper. What’s she going to think of me?
He tightens his grasp on my hair, twisting, and keeps me down.
I grit my teeth. Sweat pours down my face. I grunt and grab at whatever part of Reaper I can reach. My hand ends up on his face, scratching his cheek, while Reaper tries to force my head to the ground.
I can barely hear the crowd anymore.
It’s nothing but my breathing, my heart, pounding and pounding and pounding in my ears.
Reaper punches me in the face, and I cry out. The smell of blood fills my nostrils.
I cough, gasping for more air.
Reaper gets my head onto the ground and presses his entire weight onto me.
I can’t lose here.
Not in front of Pandora.
But my body doesn’t cooperate anymore, and despite my struggles, I can’t get up.
“He’s out!” the ref calls.
Boos and cheers rise up around us in equal measure. Reaper releases me and steps back—then extends a hand to me.
It’s not something I expected, and while part of me wants to ignore it, I take it anyway. “Thanks,” I mutter, trying not to be a sore loser. “Good fight.”
Pandora won’t think so.
On the heels of a win she didn’t care about, she’ll see this loss as something else entirely.
Something weak.
I hate that I care.
Now that I’m standing, I can feel every single blow. My entire body is on fire with pain, my vision is fuzzy, and I wonder how I’ll make it home.
I step out of the cage as the next fighter steps inside. I get two more steps, then Pandora is right there, in my arms, kissing my jaw.
“So fucking hot,” Pandora says while she presses her body against me. “Fuck, River, when did you start doing this?”
I wrap my arms around her, ignoring the crowd as they focus on the next fight. All I care about is her; all I need is her.
Why?
I’d been so angry at her when I’d arrived.
I guess getting the shit beaten out of me did wonders for my attitude.
“A few weeks,” I tell her, then I narrow my eyes at her. “How did you know where to find me?”
Blaze pushes his way past somebody nearby, Asch on his heels.
“Fenrir told us,” Pandora says. She leans up to lick the blood from my cheek. “He was really mad too. Because you abandoned the team. You were supposed to go for drinks or something?” She wraps her arms around me. “I would have been your date, River! You should have said.”
Blaze rolls his eyes. “We already had date plans. Which…” He glances at his phone and shakes his head. “Restaurant is definitely off, but we could still go to the hotel.”
A hotel.
I’m battered and bruised, and I’m not sure I can handle walking or driving, let alone getting up to anything like what he has in mind.
Fuck it.
“Yeah,” I say.
Asch arches a brow. “You sure? You look like you’ve been through the wringer,” he says.
“I’m sure,” I tell him with more confidence than I feel.
Asch shrugs. “All right. Let’s get out of here.” He smirks at Blaze. “We might need the honeymoon suite this time.”
“I booked us the largest room!” Blaze protests.
Pandora keeps her head against me the entire way to the car.
I’m much, much too tired to complain.