I took a shuddery breath as I sat next to Rubio. His club was more like an arena. The octagon was in the middle, and people were seated around it. There had to be at least a thousand people in here. Rubio and I were in the VIP area, and there was a small table with drinks in between us. Our chairs were huge, like thrones, with high backs and soft red padding. The armrests were ornamented with wolf heads.
“Welcome to my temple of entertainment.” Rubio laughed as he turned toward me. He was wearing dark blue jeans and a tight black shirt that showed off his strong muscles. His blond hair was messy as if he’d just gotten out of bed, and his light blue eyes were sparkling with excitement.
“Thank you,” I said coldly. “But I prefer cozier clubs.”
Rubio laughed softly as he waved a scantily clad woman over, and she took a bottle of wine and poured some in his empty glass that was on the table. Across the room, I could see more VIP areas like this one. Men in suits were sitting there, surrounded by semi-naked women.
“You look radiant, as always.” Rubio’s gaze lingered on my purple and black lace corset. I ignored him, and instead adjusted my hair, which was tied in a ponytail.
“You don’t want to talk to me,” Rubio said, a hint of annoyance in his voice.
“I came here to watch a fight, not to chit-chat with you.” I gave him a pointed look.
“That’s okay. You couldn’t keep up a conversation with me anyway.” He took his glass and downed its contents. “Maybe you’ll change your mind after you see your lover lose. Honestly, I’m quite impressed. Who would’ve thought you’d get your hands on The Deadly Sin?”
I blinked, unsure what the hell he was talking about.
“It’s a good thing you picked him, though. People were ready to tear each other apart to come in here.” He grinned. “Everyone’s heard whispers of The Deadly Sin, but to see him in person... Well, that’s something unique, especially since he hasn’t been seen for a while. You should’ve told me. There could’ve been even more people watching the first fight.”
I froze. Rubio had uncovered something about Seth’s past, hadn’t he? Maybe Smasher was planning to use that info against Seth, but Seth would be ready for that. He had to be. The lights in the room went dark until only the one above the octagon was shining as brightly as possible. People cheered as a man holding a microphone stepped forward to announce the fight.
“Or maybe you didn’t know.” Rubio’s gaze was entirely on me.
“Do you really think that?” I turned toward him with a wide smile on my face. “It would’ve been stupid of me to tell you who he really was. I’m sure that if you knew, you would’ve picked a different fighter and not one of your goons.”
Rubio’s lips twitched. “Have you been spying on me? Smasher’s one of my best and most loyal men. He’s been fighting for years too.”
“Please. As if you haven’t done the same.” I was really glad he didn’t seem to know about Seth and me snooping around his office. Maybe his guards used those key cards all the time and no one had bothered to check the logs since nothing was missing. Then again, maybe whoever had lost his card convinced the others not to tell their boss about what had happened. I was sure Rubio wouldn’t appreciate an incident like that. “It’s no wonder Smasher’s your best fighter. All the other ones don’t get enough time to become the best since they die too quickly.”
“You don’t know the true beauty of all this until you see a good fight to the death. Nothing’s as exciting as that. Your boy could tell you all about it. I’m sure he enjoys that more than this.”
I looked away from Rubio and focused on the octagon. Seth and Smasher were already standing in the middle of it, facing each other. They were only waiting for the signal to begin. The crowd was already at the edge of their seats.
“Do you see them?” Rubio said, pointing toward the crowd. “Just imagine how the third fight will do.”
“There won’t be a third fight.” I shot him a glare.
“Oh, come on, Vix. I was aiming for entertainment and profit. Why do you think Smasher let your boy win? Nobody’s undefeatable, and neither is The Deadly Sin. I admit it was hard to obtain videos of him fighting, but not impossible. Smasher knows his every move.”
I didn’t like the satisfied smirk on Rubio’s face. Clenching my fingers so Rubio wouldn’t see they were shaking, I looked at Seth. The fight had already started, and Seth was swinging at Smasher’s face, but Smasher successfully blocked his attempt and delivered a punch to Seth’s side.
Seth backed away and they circled each other again. Smasher came at him and threw a quick one-two-punch combination, then tried to land a leg kick. Seth easily deflected and evaded the kick. I gripped my chair as I leaned forward, watching as Seth lunged at Smasher and caught him in the stomach. Twice. Smasher’s blow to the side of Seth’s head wasn’t strong enough to do any damage, and Seth laid another punch into his opponent’s gut, sending him stumbling back.
“Come on, Seth.” I hadn’t even realized I said it out loud until I felt Rubio’s glare on me, but I didn’t have time for him now. What I wanted was for Seth to win this thing. And he was doing great so far.
“Just wait until Smasher shows his full potential.” There was an undertone in Rubio’s voice that made me look at him. His shoulders were relaxed as he leaned back in his seat, as if what he was seeing wasn’t interesting enough. What the hell?
A loud roar from the crowd brought my attention back to the octagon. Smasher was lying on the ground and Seth was on top of him and raining blows on his face. Something shiny caught my eye as Smasher lifted his hand toward Seth’s side. My heart skipped a beat, my breath getting stuck in my chest. No. No. No.
Seth jerked back, reaching for his side, but I knew what had happened even before I saw the blood. I jumped to my feet, baring my teeth at Rubio.
“We agreed,” I yelled. “Your man just cheated! He broke the deal!”
The crowd was on their feet and cheering as loudly as possible.
“Cheat? Seriously? And why would you think that?”
“He has a fucking blade!”
“A blade? Where? In his knuckle padding? Come on, he would’ve hurt himself. I think you’re seeing things.”
“Stop the fight. Now!” I glanced at Seth, who was trying to block Smasher’s blows. “You can’t pretend you can’t see the stab wound.”
“It’s probably an old injury that has opened up. The ref would’ve seen if there was anything odd going on. I can’t believe you’re accusing me of this. And in front of everyone. Or are you afraid you’re going to lose?”
A commotion on the other side of the arena caught my eye, and I saw Chiara and Levi with a few of the others trying to rush past the guards and reach the octagon. They were all yelling and protesting. I was sure they’d seen the blade too.
“Stop this. Now. You broke our deal,” I said. “And I’m sure we can prove it.”
There was a change in the air, as if an invisible current had spread through the arena. The crowd went completely wild, and I focused my attention on the octagon again. Seth had gotten on top of Smasher again, and he was bringing his fists down on his head over and over again.
I stopped breathing when I saw the blood covering the floor. Despite all the noise, I could hear the crack of bone and... I covered my mouth with my hand.
Someone had finally gotten inside the octagon and pulled Seth away from Smasher, who was lying unmoving on the floor, his face a bloody mess. I couldn’t see whether Smasher was still breathing. Seth fell to his knees not far away, clutching his side, blood seeping through his fingers. Chiara and the others had been forced back, Rubio’s guards pointing guns at them. Shit. All I could hear now was the thudding of my heart in my ears.
Rubio got to his feet next to me. “My, my. How unfortunate. Your man couldn’t control himself.” The guy who knelt next to Smasher touched his neck, then shook his head. Fuck.
“If he hadn’t cheated, this wouldn’t have happened. You broke the deal first. Everyone knows it. You can’t deny it.”
“Oh, really?” Rubio picked up something that had been next to his chair, and I realized it was a microphone. “Silence,” he said, and the room echoed with his voice. Everyone went quiet. He set the microphone down on the table between us. “My dear Vix claims Smasher cheated. Did any of you see that?”
Some shouted yes, some shouted no. I looked at Seth, my throat constricting. I had to get to him and help him. If he was seriously injured... But armed men already surrounded Rubio and me, and I couldn’t get past them.
“Don’t worry, guys. We can settle this like adults. Everyone lower your weapons, please. We’re not animals,” Rubio said with a smile. “So Smasher may or may have not cheated, but the fact is, he’s dead. As you all know, we agreed there wouldn’t be any deaths this time. The way I see it, the rules have been broken on both sides.”
Most of the crowd seemed to agree and approve. They probably wanted another fight.
“You all agree?” Rubio repeated, and the audience seemed to be unanimous this time. Shit. What was he planning to do now? “Good,” he said. “Then we can conclude this fight isn’t valid. However, since my fighter’s dead and Vix’s is still alive, I feel there’s some imbalance...”
One of Rubio’s men stepped forward and walked into the octagon, pulling out a gun and pointing it at Seth’s head. Bile rose in my throat, and I looked at Rubio with wide eyes.
“Rubio, you can’t...” I started to say, but he lifted his finger.
“I’m sorry, Vix. I know you care about the guy, but I cared for Smasher too. This is the only way we can settle this, unless...” His eyes met mine. “Unless we make another deal. As compensation for this. Your man gets to live and I get something in return.”
“What do you want?” I asked, aware that everyone was listening to us. He was going to ask for the club. I was just sure of it. Shit. Seth’s life or the club? It wasn’t really a choice now, was it?
“You,” Rubio said, and I stared at him, unsure if I’d heard him right.
“What?”
“I want you, Vix. Your fighter gets to live, but I get you... Don’t worry. I’m not going to use you as a replacement for my fighter. Just want your company for the rest of your life.” A wicked smile spread across his lips. For the rest of my life? Shit.
“No!” Seth shouted as he lifted his head. “Take me! Kill me. Just don’t... Vix... don’t! Don’t!”
I gritted my teeth as Rubio’s man stepped closer and jabbed the barrel of the gun into the back of Seth’s head.
“It’s a fair deal,” Rubio said. “You want your fighter to live, fine. Become mine, and you’ll have it. If not, he dies, and everything’s settled. We’ll have another fight with new fighters to fulfil our first agreement. I always honor my deals. Everyone knows that.”
“Your man cheated. He got what he deserved,” I spat out.
“Oh, come on, Vix. The man’s dead. What more can you possibly want?”
“Justice for John.” I made a step toward Rubio. “I know what you did.”
He laughed. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Either accept the deal or don’t. But if you don’t give me an answer in thirty seconds, my man over there is going to shoot your fighter’s brains out and decide for you. Tick tock.”
The world slowed down as I watched the crowd cheer. Rubio knew his audience well. They wanted bloodshed and they’d think his offer was fair. What did they care whether Seth lived or died or if I agreed to the deal? This was just fun for them.
I looked at Seth, who was shaking his head. I didn’t even know what Rubio meant. Would I be his slave? Did he really think that would work? Rubio’s eyebrows were raised in expectation, and I knew I didn’t have much time.
“Okay,” I finally said. “I agree to your deal, but all of my people, including Seth, get to walk out of here alive, and the deal’s off if anything happens to them or if you let Seth die.”
“Agreed.” A sickening glint filled Rubio’s eyes.
The man who’d been pointing his gun at Seth pulled back, and Seth roared in fury. He clambered to his feet and went after the man, trying to take the gun from him, but the man hit him in his injured side and sent him to the ground. The crowd was booing now.
“If he keeps doing that, I can’t be held accountable if he dies,” Rubio said.
“Allow Chiara and my people to get to him,” I said, and Rubio signaled to the guards across the room. They stepped aside, and Chiara rushed toward Seth.
The microphone was still on, so I leaned toward it. “Chiara, get him and everyone else out of here. Don’t worry about me. Just go. Text me once you’re safe. ”
Chiara looked up at me and gave me a nod. I sat back in the chair and ran my hand over my face. Rubio would find a way to break this deal too, or twist it in some way. Maybe he’d planned for this to happen, although I wasn’t sure how he could’ve done that.
“You’re mine now, babe.” Rubio traced his finger up and down my bare shoulder.
“Not until I know everyone’s safe.”
“Of course, but come with me. Now. And take that thing off.” He nodded toward my claw ring.