Chapter 3
ROSEMARY
“It’s time to go. Are you ready?”
I slowly turn to face him and let out a heavy sigh and answer, “I’m ready.”
Or I was as ready as I was going to be. I’m still feeling it from the last fight.
The past two weeks went by in what feels like a blur.
Granted, time really has no meaning to me.
Not while he holds me captive. However, I did learn his name in the time thanks to overhearing two of his men talking.
His name’s Dominic, and supposedly, he’s one of the top dogs, only second to someone they called Enyo.
“Good,” Dominic remarks and stares at me with lustful need.
“Come.” Reaching out, he ushers me toward him.
I do as he wants, and he grips the collar at my neck in order to latch the leash to it.
“You have been such a good girl, doing as you’re told.
” Dominic touches my cheek, leans in, and inhales deeply.
“Tonight, once you win, you’ll be in my bed. I’ll reward you greatly.”
Nausea churns my stomach over at his words. Please no. I don’t want to die tonight, but I also don’t want to end up in Dominic’s bed. That’s nearly worse than dying.
Sucking in a breath to keep myself from puking, I move with him as he takes me to the SUV, pulls out a blindfold, and covers my eyes. As always, I’m not to see where we’re going. I won’t even be able to see anything until he’s ready to take the cloth from over my eyes.
I do my best to push what Dominic said to the back of my mind. I can’t let what he informed me of happen. If he does, it’ll break me. I can fight. I’ll keep fighting, but if he takes me to his bed and rapes me, that will destroy me in ways a fight never could.
Time passes, and I listen to Dominic speak on the phone for a few minutes before he gets off.
He shifts and rubs a hand across my bare thigh.
Tonight, he’s got me in a pair of workout shorts that fit perfectly and comes just below my ass.
My top is cropped and also form-fitting.
It keeps my breasts in place, keeping them from popping out of the top that comes far too close to revealing a lot of cleavage.
The vehicle comes to a stop, and Dominic lifts his hand from my thigh only to wrap his fingers around my wrist. “Time to go win yet again for me,” he remarks. Outside, he releases my wrist, removes the blindfold, and tugs on the leash.
I keep quiet and follow as I’ve always done into the building, glad he at least took the blindfold off early enough for me to be able to see where I’m walking.
Inwardly, I cringe at the sight of the men and women leering at me.
Some with lust, others I can’t quite describe. Regardless, it’s cringeworthy.
Dominic pulls me behind him until we’re near ringside where he’ll be sitting.
He takes his seat and instead of leaving me to stand behind him, he pulls me onto his lap.
“You can sit here until it’s your time to get in the ring,” he says, brushing his lips against the shell of my ear.
I don’t know if he does it on purpose or by accident, maybe even chance, due to the loudness around us.
“I appreciate it.” I nod, not wanting to be sitting on his lap. This whole thing is making me nauseous.
Three matches later, it’s my turn, and I’m not looking forward to it.
Dominic stands, and I follow suit, coming off his lap.
He tugs on the leash, taking me to the ring, stopping just in front of it.
Unclipping the leash, he takes a moment to stare at me before stepping away, a smirk playing on his lips.
I slowly turn toward the ring, ignoring the cheers and shouts in the crowd.
Going up the stairs in one of the corners, I grab the top rope and bend to go between it and the middle one.
In the ring, I take in my opponent. She looks beaten and determined.
I see it in her eyes. This isn’t going to be easy for me.
The two of us circle each other, sizing one another, deciding which move to best start with.
The bell sounds, and I’m ready for when she launches herself at me.
I dodge her move after move. She’s going to need to do better than that.
I know the instant she changes tactics, it’s time actually to fight.
I watch the way she moves, she’s good. But not good enough.
I see it and know she’s not going to win. I won’t let her. I can’t.
She throws an uppercut, landing a solid one on my jaw.
I give as good as I take, going for a knee to her stomach, causing her to double over and slamming my fist to the side of her head.
She crumples to the ground. It’s supposed to be easy and done, like I’ll beat her, but it’s not. I have to end her life.
Straddling the woman, I start wailing on her, punch after punch, slamming my fists into her face. I don’t let up until her face is unrecognizable. Only then do I get to my feet, my chest rising. I stare at my latest victim, feeling another part of my soul leaving me.
Dominic joins me in the ring, raises my hand as the victor, and shouts, “Our champion remains holding the title.”
For the first time since the fights started, I glance toward the crowd, and I swear I must be seeing things. I have to be. There’s no other way to explain it. I have to be hallucinating. There’s no way they could be here. That he would be here. All of them.
I’ve spent so much time trying not to think of any of them, and now, I’m seeing them. But it’s not really them—just wishful thinking.
Dominic drops my hand and turns me toward him, grinning at me just before he slams his mouth on mine.
I want to shove him away. Push him off me and get as far away from him as I can.
Unfortunately, I can’t do it. He’d punish me for it in ways I don’t want to think of.
I’ve seen him do it firsthand. I watched him beat a girl in front of me to teach me not to cross him, to do as he says, to be his good girl.
I swallow the bile, burning the back of my throat with its acid as he pulls away and attaches my leash to the collar around my neck.
“Time to go home where I’ll reward you for this win,” he announces and pulls me from within the ring as two men come to clean up the mess I made of the woman I beat to death.
My heart lurches, and I shove back the thought of crying. I want nothing more than to cry for the women I’ve had to kill. Why do people enjoy this sport?
Once I get free, I’m going to find somewhere to live away from all this and not think of anything to do with violence. I make it out of this, I won’t ever fight again. Not unless I absolutely have to.
Following Dominic, we walk through the crowd, and I glance in the direction I’d looked earlier and meet eyes that I’ve dreamed about, and I know it’s not a hallucination.
He’s here, and from the glint I saw, he’s pissed.
I haven’t spoken to him since Jade was taken.
I knew to keep my distance. He made it clear what we had was a one-night thing.
I thought I was okay with it, but he rocked my world.
I don’t know how to explain it, but he marked me that night.
Back then, he was called Fist, but since he’d done something for the club to earn the name Kevlar. It suits him.
Dropping my gaze, I shake my head, denying the truth of him being in the crowd or that any of them were there. It’s not like they can save me. No one can.