Cole
Iwound the wraps around my wrist and thumb. I wanted to secure my wrist but keep my knuckles free for maximum impact.
Through the walls, I could hear the low roar of the crowd reacting to the warm-up fight. I sat on the chair in one of the back rooms, my duffel bag at my feet. I’d already changed into my black boxing shorts, my chest bare.
My focus was laser sharp.
I couldn’t lose tonight.
Anger stirred in my gut, but I kept a chokehold on it. It didn’t pay to lose your cool in the ring. Especially in a fight where there were no rules. That could get you dead.
My thoughts turned to her.
My anger bucked. Yeah, I was pissed they’d put her up as the prize for this fight. She was a fucking woman. A young, innocent one.
She didn’t deserve this.
I’d seen Lili Armstrong around, and in the crowd during my fights. We’d talked a few times. Mostly, she’d done the talking since I wasn’t much of a talker.
She was so damn pretty and so damn young. Gorgeous brown hair with an undertone of earthy red, clear skin, and huge, brown eyes. They reminded me of sweet, melted chocolate.
A few times, she’d slipped into my locker room before fights while I was doing my wraps, talked about fighting. Her father was an asshole who trained some of the fighters. He also treated his daughter like dirt.
Lili didn’t belong in a place like this. She was smiles, innocence, and light. This place was darkness, blood, and demons.
I didn’t know what the fuck was going on or why she was the prize tonight, but I knew it wasn’t something she would have chosen.
When I’d heard the news, and that fucking Kamensky was hungry to win her, I’d tossed my hat in the ring. That had included a huge buy-in.
I didn’t give a fuck how much it cost. I’d fight.
I’d win Lili and set her free.
The idea of Kamensky putting one finger on her made my jaw tighten. Not happening.
I finished the wraps and stood. I’d already warmed up by jumping rope, but now I focused on a few stretches.
Through the walls, the crowd roared. I guessed the fight before mine was over. I pulled in a breath, my focus narrowing.
Oh yeah, I was ready to pound on Anton Kamensky. The guy was a thug, who didn’t put much thought into his fights. He believed his size and brute strength alone was enough.
I flexed my hands. He was wrong.
My dad had taught me to fight, and my uncle had helped. They’d both been former military men turned mercenaries. Dad hadn’t taught me rules, or etiquette, or fighting fair. He’d taught me to survive, to win.
I’d gone into the Army for a short stint, then joined my Dad’s mercenary outfit. Delta Team Solutions had provided security for companies doing business in less-safe countries, hostage recovery in hellholes, and done a few off-the-books jobs for the military.
Dark memories crowded in.
Dad was gone now, so was my uncle. My mom was a distant memory. She hadn’t stayed long enough for me to be speaking in full sentences. The men of my family were incapable of keeping a woman happy. My aunt had left, too. All I remembered about her was that she screamed a lot.
I’d done shit. Dark shit. Shit that never left me alone.
The worst was the people I’d lost. Not just Dad and Uncle Heath. They’d both died of age and hard living. It was the brothers I’d made working for Delta Team: Green, Ramirez, and Zillman. We’d been the company’s best team. The four of us could handle any job.
Fuck, we’d been cocky. We’d believed there was nothing we couldn’t handle. Dad had sent us in to do the jobs everyone else said were impossible.
I’d been a different man then, and those three men always had my back. Without question. And I’d had theirs.
Until one job…when Green, Ramirez, and Zillman hadn’t come back.
My eyes narrowed and I scraped a hand across my stubbled jaw. My finger snagged on the rough scar on my left cheek, and I breathed through the heaviness that sat in my chest. That’s why I fought in places like this. To purge the darkness so it didn’t get too big. Didn’t drag me under.
So I could get revenge on the man who’d sold my team out.
I shoved all of that away. Right now, all I had to focus on was the fight. On beating the shit out of Kamensky and ensuring Lili got away from this shithole.
There was a knock at the door. “It’s time, Black.”
I tilted my neck side to side, then headed for the door.
I walked down the corridor, my focus fully on the fight. I could hear the boom of the announcer’s voice.
“Give it up for Anton ‘Rampage’ Kamensky!”
There were cheers and stomping feet.
I stood in the shadows and caught a glimpse of the packed stands. It was wild tonight.
Most of the warehouse was wreathed in shadows, but the lights were aimed on the ring.
I watched Kamensky climb through the ropes. The asshole was huge. Several inches taller than me, with a massive, hairy chest, and a shaved head. He looked like the thug he was. His biceps bulged as he posed for the crowd, roaring at them. He wore red shorts and jumped around the ring like an idiot.
Ignoring him, I let my gaze scan around. I spotted Brock Armstrong. Lili’s father was in Kamensky’s corner, his rugged face grim. I saw him glance to the left.
That’s when I saw her.
Lili was standing on a platform near the ring, the announcer standing beside her.
Her face was a mask of terror.
She was wearing a slip of a black dress that bared so much of her creamy skin.
Her red-brown hair was up on top of her head, with a few tendrils falling around her pretty face.
Her face was stark white, and she kept tugging on the hem of the dress.
I knew they’d made her wear it. I’d never seen her in anything like that before.
I’d watched her a lot. She probably didn’t realize how much. I was good at hiding in the shadows. After the man I’d been had been killed with his team in a bloody field in Mexico, I’d reinvented myself.
As Darkwolf.
A hitman.
I’d changed my name and turned into an assassin for hire. I’d learned how to kill. How to hide. How to get information.
All so I could eventually find out who’d betrayed my team. Who’d set us up for an ambush on a night-drenched field in Mexico.
Soon, I’d get my revenge.
It had taken me some time to work through the tangle of companies that had hired Delta Team, but a few months ago, I’d found the man.
My gaze swung up above the unruly, amped-up crowd, to the glass of the VIP boxes above.
Where I knew Chadwick Goodyear was sitting.
I ground my teeth together.
It was him.
He’d issued the order to kill my team.
Oh, he hadn’t pulled the trigger himself, but after a lot of time and digging, I learned he’d considered us expendable. Now, I was slowly putting my plan for revenge into place.
Killing him would be too quick.
I wanted him afraid.
I wanted him broken.
I dragged in a deep breath. And tonight, I’d win this fight against his fighter and get Lili free. That would be a nice little dig at Goodyear.
“Annnnd, our next fighter is no stranger to this ring,” the announcer called. “Welcome to the fight, the Wolf.”
The crowd thundered and whistled. I ignored them. The more I did, the more they loved it.
I was always cool, never played to the crowd. I was here to fight.
In the stands, I spotted a man watching me intently.
What the hell was he doing here? Landon Bradshaw—once a black-ops assassin known as the Blade—was watching me, his face serious. He had dark skin, a neatly trimmed beard, and a muscled body. He was no longer an assassin, and instead, wielded his knives for good as a doctor. He was also my friend.
The crowd shifted and that’s when I noticed Alessio Rossi sitting quietly beside Landon. Alessio took dark and intense to a new level. He had bronze skin, dark hair, and more tattoos than I did. He’d once been the New York Mafia’s scariest enforcer.
I hadn’t expected any of my friends to be here. A group of us, all former assassins who’d left the business, had sort of found each other. We all lived at the Avernus Casino.
This afternoon, our friend Bastian Thorne—who owned the casino—had gotten married. He’d finally tamed the little assassin who’d been out to kill him. I’d explained why I couldn’t stay for the celebrations afterward.
Landon and Alessio should be eating and drinking with the others at the casino, not here.
Landon nodded.
They had my back.
Emotions hit my gut. I’d spent years alone, thought I’d never have a team again. I nodded in reply, then climbed into the ring. Now my gaze moved to Lili.
Our eyes connected.
Her gaze clung to mine and I saw it all: terror, panic, hope.
She knew I was her only chance of getting out of here unscathed.
I wouldn’t let her down. I gave a tiny nod and saw relief flood her face.
“Both our fighters are extra motivated tonight. They’re fighting for the ultimate prize.” The announcer waved a hand at Lili, like she was a car on some game show.
She didn’t move or wave.
A suit-wearing goon behind her gave her a nudge. I knew he belonged to Goodyear. She defiantly glared at the crowd.
“Yes, this pretty little thing will go to our winner. Good luck, gentlemen.”
I turned to face Kamensky.
He was looking at Lili too, and I didn’t like what I saw on his face. Lust and hunger.
No. No fucking way.
Kamensky swiveled my way and grinned.
I stared back impassively.
The bell rang.
“Let the fight begin!” the announcer yelled.