Chapter 74
Piper
It’s hard, but eventually I manage to pull myself together and get to my feet.
I’m frozen. My limbs barely cooperate, but somehow I make it back inside the car.
I’m shaking, and I don’t know whether it’s from the cold or everything else.
I find a bottle of water and a packet of gum and thank whoever left them here.
The water helps me rinse the taste of vomit from my mouth, while the gum eases some of the nausea that still sits at the back of my throat.
I pull back onto the road, and by the time the satnav announces that I’ve arrived at my destination, I almost feel human again.
I look around. I’m in town.
The building in front of me looks like a club. A few men stand outside smoking, there’s nothing out of the ordinary about the place.
I climb out of the car, shut the door behind me, and make my way towards the group.
I know enough to realise that an illegal fight won’t take place in an actual nightclub, and certainly won’t be hidden behind a door anyone can walk through.
“Good evening,” I say to the men.
I feel my shyness threaten to surface, but I shove it back down.
I need to look strong. Like I know exactly what I’m doing.
Even though I’m shattered, anxious… broken.
I know my eyes are puffy from crying, but I keep my spine straight and my head held high.
The men study me with a mixture of caution and curiosity. Not unfriendly, exactly. More puzzled than anything else.
“What do you need?” one of them asks.
I waste no time.
“The Pit. Can you point me towards the entrance?”
They look surprised for a brief moment.
One of them whistles low as his eyes travel slowly over me.
I know exactly what he sees.
A girl who looks completely out of place here.
The dress, the makeup, the sparkly nails. Everything about me screams shy, sheltered, and feminine.
I am about as girly as they come.
A flirtatious smile appears on his face.
“And what would a lady like you want with a place like that?” he asks amused. “Trust me, sweetheart, it’s not exactly the sort of place you’d enjoy. The men down there are animals.”
“Do you or do you not know where the entrance is?” I ask with more confidence than I actually feel.
The larger of the two studies me through narrowed eyes before finally giving a curt nod and pointing towards a narrow set of stairs tucked away at the side of the building.
I hadn’t even noticed them.
I glance back at him.
“Thank you.”
He gives a single nod in return.
Perhaps I have no survival instincts whatsoever.
For all I know, the man has just pointed me towards a place where no one would hear me scream before following after me himself.
Yet I go anyway.
I make my way down the stairs and push against the door at the bottom.
It doesn’t budge.
I knock, having absolutely no idea what I’m supposed to do next.
This is so far outside my comfort zone it’s almost laughable.
I rarely go out.
Illegal underground fights definitely aren’t part of my usual evening plans.
A few seconds pass before the door finally opens and a man sticks his head out.
He looks at me sceptically.
He seems young, though the beard makes it difficult to tell. One moment I think he’s in his twenties, the next I add ten years to that estimate.
He wears casual clothes, sports a long beard, and has tattoos all over his face. Piercings too. Lots of them.
“Are you fucking lost?” he asks.
Judging by the way his hand tightens on the door, he’s already halfway to closing it in my face.
“Markev.”
The name stops him.
His eyes narrow for a fraction of a second before he opens the door wider and looks past me.
“In.”
I don’t waste the opportunity.
Stepping inside, I find myself grateful that he doesn’t ask any more questions.
The corridor beyond is dimly lit.
I follow the noise deeper inside as the shouts, screams, and grunts grow louder with every step.
My heart beats wildly.
I’m actually a little scared.
Truth be told, I’m a lot scared.
When I set out, I thought I might find him in some club. Yet Isaak gave me an address, told me the entrance wouldn’t be in plain sight, and said that if anyone stopped me at the door, I should give them his name.
I expected this.
An underground fight.
I make my way slowly through the mass of people towards the front.
By the time I finally reach the ring and slip past the last person blocking my view, my heart nearly stops.
“Hunter.”
He’s down. He’s on the ground, and he’s not fighting back.
My heart breaks.
I don’t even realise what I’m doing.
I just move.
The other man’s fist connects with Hunter’s head, and his grip on consciousness slips.
Yet the man keeps hitting him.
Hunter isn’t even conscious anymore, and still the blows keep coming.
Tears blur my vision. I swipe them away with the back of my hand.
“Stop!” I shout with everything I have, my fingers curl around the ropes.
The man turns towards me and sends a sneer my way.
Then he pulls his arm back, clearly intent on hitting Hunter again.
“I said stop!” I cry.
“And why the fuck would I listen to a little thing like you?”
“Touch him again and I swear you’ll have the Bellantis, the Markevs, and the Reyes Cartel on your doorstep before the night’s over.”
He laughs.
I have the overwhelming urge to punch him in the face.
I manage to climb into the ring and take a step towards Hunter.
The man rises to his feet and sneers at me.
“Get the fuck out. Or what? You want me to rough you up as well?”
His eyes travel over me and a disgusting grin forms on his face.
“Personally, I’ve got a few other uses in mind for you. But if it’s a punch you’re after, I’m more than happy to oblige.”
He comes straight for me, and I hear several gasps from the crowd.
The man is enormous. One punch and I’ll be unconscious.
And after that?
God knows what he’ll do to me.
I need to move fast because I am no match for his size.
He lunges before I have the chance. His hand tangles in my hair and yanks hard.
Pain erupts in my scalp.
Damn it.
For a moment, all I feel is despair.
But then instinct takes over and I drive my heel between his legs with every ounce of force I have.
A strangled sound leaves him as he doubles over, and I don’t waste the opportunity.
I slam my forehead into his face.
Pain explodes through my skull and for a second my vision swims, but the crack that follows tells me I hit my target.
Blood immediately pours from his nose.
While he struggles with the pain, one hand between his legs and blood running down his face, I take advantage of the opening he has given me.
I hit him between the legs a second time, and he finally drops to one knee.
I know I don’t have long.
He is bigger, stronger, and the only reason I am still standing is because I caught him off guard.
The second he recovers, this is over.
I throw myself at him and lock my arm around his neck.
Two seconds.
That’s all I have.
Two seconds to find the hold before he throws me off.
He fights immediately, his hands grabbing at my arm as he tries to tear me away.
I tighten my grip.
One. Two.
His movements begin to weaken and his grip loosens.
A second later his body goes slack beneath me.
Relief hits me so hard my knees almost give out.
“So at least you didn’t lie about that.” The voice comes from behind me and my heart immediately begins to race.
“You hate violence, but when the situation calls for it, you can put a man on the ground.”
I swallow and turn to face him.
Hunter is standing there, looking at me with an intensity that steals the breath from my lungs.
“My father’s in the army. We’re allied with the Cartel and the Italian mafia. Of course he insisted on self-defence lessons,” I reply simply.
He nods.
His eyes burn with the same heat they’ve always burned with when he looks at me.
Only now that heat is mixed with hatred too.
And I get it.
I really do.
Before I can react, he closes the distance and lifts me off the ground. My legs wrap around his waist as he steps through the ropes and drops from the ring.
Then he’s carrying me through the crowd towards the back, in the direction of what I assume are the changing rooms, as people scream bloody murder.