33. Kai
Kai
T he crowd roars at the spray of blood that splatters across the concrete floor. My opponent, a guy with more muscle than brain, staggers before he drops down to one knee.
I don’t even need to hit him again. Not really.
There are no rules in this ring, aside from those limiting permanent disfigurement or death. So when I spin around, my foot slamming into him and sending him flying back into the ropes, the crowd only chants for more.
A screaming, frenzied mass. It’s fucking wild in here tonight. I’m already on my third fight, and the crowd keeps swelling.
River tosses me a bottle of water as I head to the corner, wiping my face off with the towel he hands me next. “Kai.”
Another guy ducks under the rope as my last opponent is dragged off, but River grabs my arm. “Enough. I’m barely holding him together. You’re getting tired. All it takes is one hit and he’s going to lose his shit.”
He’s not wrong. But the crowd is chanting my name. A group like this can turn on a fucking dime, and this isn’t the space for a mass brawl. We don’t have the men to manage it, for starters.
And another fight could double our takings for the night, between the betting and the drinks. Shaking my head, I brush River off. One more and I’m done.
I doubt I’d have another one in me anyway. He groans behind me. “I’m going back to the bar.”
But I’m already striding to the middle, bouncing lightly on my feet as I check my wraps. I glance up, catching sight of Jenson among the horde, sitting at a table with his arms crossed.
He doesn’t look happy. He glares at me. Get out of there.
I shrug. I want to do one more.
His irritation is better than the numb expression he’s been walking around with since I took Briar home.
Five days since I’ve seen her. Since any of us have seen her.
And Jenson still hasn’t reached out to her, losing himself in alcohol and work and every other excuse he can think of. He’s the only one who can fucking fix this.
I’ve never seen anyone so riddled with guilt but refusing to admit it.
Not that I’ve spoken to her either, aside from a few brief messages. And I can’t fucking call her. Although she’s not taking River’s calls either.
She’s hurt. I don’t fucking blame her.
I can’t fix that.
Can’t fix Jenson.
I can’t fucking fix anything .
But this, I can do.
My distraction costs me. A fist slams into my face, the hit more direct than I’d like. The crowd boos as I spin, nearly going down before I catch myself and spit blood from the inside of my cheek out onto the floor. But the heavy fucker catches me again, and this time I hit the ground, tasting iron on my tongue and trying to shake off the rattle inside my head.
Shit. I don’t dare catch Jenson’s eye as I drag myself upright. I flick a quick glance in his direction.
And I pause.
He’s pale, and he’s on his feet. He bellows something – and that’s terror on his face, as he points.
Whirling, I brace for the inevitable impact. But nothing comes.
Instead, a small, dark-haired figure darts in front of me. Getting in between me and the beefy, hazy-eyed fucker charging my way, her hands up to stop the fight.
But this isn’t a normal fight.
My soul just about leaves my damn body.
He’s not going to stop.
He’s too fucked up to care that he’s about to hit—
No.
I fling myself forward, physically shoving Briar out of the way and taking the full punch across my cheek. Pain explodes across my cheekbone as I spin, my body smashing into the thick, unforgiving ropes.
Shit, that fucking hurt.
But Briar . I almost launched her across the ring. I’m on my feet before the thought clears, searching.
What the hell are you doing?
Jenson is there – fuck . She’s fine. Unhurt. My fingers shake as I turn to face the man who would have fucking killed her if he’d hit her with that much force. Something in his tiny, beady eyes seems to get through that he’s in a world of shit, and he takes a step back.
I’m on him before he can do much more than blink, my shoulder pulling painfully as I slam my fist forward. His nose crunches. Again, blood flowing freely as I annihilate him.
His face is almost unrecognisable when I rise to my feet. I still feel unsteady.
But they drink it up, like they always do.
Enough. Tearing off my bloodied wraps, I toss them on top of his limp body and twist.
I storm up to where she’s squaring up to an absolutely livid Jenson. She doesn’t back away, barely an inch from him. And she’s yelling.
Dressed in a shimmering green jumpsuit and heels, she’s clearly here for the club. Or… my heart thumps. Maybe not.
The buzzing in my head clears, letting me hear exactly what they’re shouting.
Briar jabs a finger in my direction. “Why would you let him fight like that? Four times?”
Jenson is just as furious. “You’ve been here that fucking long? By yourself? ”
“Dove invited me. That’s not the point – he’s killing himself up there, and you’re letting him!”
I stop. She’s fighting with him… over me .
I touch her arm to get her attention. She slams one finger up in front of a wide-eyed Jenson before she turns to me.
This is what I do. I try to reassure her. It’s fine.
What I’ve always done, since I was old enough to climb inside a ring and realize I could earn good fucking money doing it.
This is all I can do.
Briar glares at me. Why?
Jenson’s voice is icy. “Because Kai is an adult . He enjoys it, and he decides what he does with his time—,”
“But he doesn’t enjoy it.” She whirls to me. “You don’t. I’ve been watching you. It’s just – it’s a job to you. Like you’re going through the motions because you feel you have to.”
Her brow crumples as she stares at my face. “And it’s dangerous, Kai.”
I know what I’m doing. You could have been hurt. Worse.
“Is that true?” Jenson’s voice cuts through the panic clouding my mind. And then ramps it up. He searches my face. “Fucking hell, Kai. She’s right. Isn’t she? You don’t even enjoy it. Why the fuck are you doing it, then?”
Because—
I stop, turning to Briar. How did you even know?
I’ve been fighting in that ring for years. And nobody has ever asked if I enjoyed it. Even Jenson and River assumed I did, when I kept going back for more.
But Briar watched me for one evening out of thousands, and she saw it.
She sees me.
Her eyes flicker to Jenson, who’s watching her too, before returning to me.
She gets it. And she doesn’t want to say.
“Kai.” Jenson lifts his hands. Truth. Please.
Fucking hell.
My movements are slow. Because we needed the money.
My fights bring in the majority of the income for the Diamonds, most of it under the table in cash betting. And that money funds the jobs for the men we do have. It helps to fund the work Jenson is nearly killing himself trying to do, to get our part of the city up to scratch even after a decade.
This is something I could do , I say finally. To give back.
To him. To lighten the load on his shoulders.
We’re not there anymore. Jenson is pale. We got out of it. And I never expected that of you.
I know. I wanted to help.
I glance between him and Briar. She’s intentionally not watching us, trying to give us privacy. Are you going to talk to her?
She nearly hurt herself. His eyes blaze. We’re not done talking about this.
Tomorrow. I indicate. Fix this. Please.
And he nods.