The fight was the single most horrible experience of Alyssa’s life. It was even worse than attending her parents’ funeral. At the very least, their death had been an accident. This was an orchestrated affair, and it made her sick to her stomach. She seriously came very close to fainting more times than she would care to admit as she looked around at the cheering crowd. They were screaming at the men in the ring. They were screaming at the men to kill each other. They wanted to see death. They thought it was a game. They didn’t know that it was Alyssa’s whole life.
Standing in the first row beside her, Anna’s eyes were wide as saucers. She looked as out of place as a lamb amongst a pack of wolves. She was trying to be brave and not comment on it and not make things worse for Alyssa, but it was all too clear that she thought this was folly and she had just landed amongst madmen. Alyssa didn’t blame her; in fact, she thought the same.
Lynn was handling it a little better. She had never been to one of these fights, of course, but she had known more than she cared to about them, and at the very least she had come prepared.
Rick was, of course, the one who was handling it better than all of them. He had spoken a few words with Prince before the fight began, probably giving him technical advice. Now, his eyes were fixed on the ring and on everything that happened. He followed both men’s movements like a hawk. His whole body was taut with the same tension that was eating Alyssa up from the inside.
On the opposite side of the ring, Bennie Lenday enjoyed the whole experience. He was drinking it all up as if it were the very nectar that gave him life. Alyssa suspected that it kind of was. The man was Satan himself; there was simply no other explanation for the malicious glint of pleasure shining in his dark eyes. Even from a distance, even through the ropes of the ring, even through the competitors’ legs as they danced around each other in their mortal dance, Alyssa could spot the evil glint in Bennie’s eyes.
Dark eyes, dark soul, she thought. It was something she thought—whenever she was faced with that excuse of a man.
Their eyes met across the ring, and he nodded at her. Alyssa felt sick. She turned away and forced herself to look back at the ring.
She wished she could hide somewhere and not come out until it all was said and done. Prince was holding his own, but Taylor “The Jack” Jackman was a mountain of a man. More than that, Taylor “The Jack” Jackman was a killer. Alyssa could tell from the way he moved, eagerly and studiously at the same time, like an animal stalking his prey. There was a beastly glint in his small, dark eyes. (Dark eyes, dark soul.) A fiendish grin had been plastered on his sweaty, ugly face since the fight had begun, and it was yet to go away.
Alyssa wondered if Taylor Jackman may not be that ugly underneath all that fury and animalistic rage. It was impossible to tell. His features were permanently contorted in a grimace of fury and ferocity. The man thirsted for blood. He gave Alyssa the creeps.
“Oh God,” she choked out when Jackman managed to land a kick home, his foot hitting Prince hard in the ribs.
Beside her, Anna took her hand and held on. Alyssa squeezed back just as strongly.
“It’s going to be okay, Lyssa,” Lynn tried to reassure her. “He’s a great fighter.”
“Yeah,” Alyssa said, unconvinced.
“That son of a bitch,” Rick bristled, his eyes glaring in the general direction of Bennie Lenday. “Look how fucking smug he is. He really thinks Prince’s going to lose.”
“And is he?” Anna asked, unable to stop herself.
“No,” Rick said immediately. “Trust me, ladies, if anyone can beat that monster, it’s Prince.”
Alyssa was very much unconvinced.
She didn’t know how long it lasted. It felt like it last forever. It felt as if her heart was slowly stopping, and the air was slowly leaving her lungs. It felt like she was dying. By the time it was all over, she was a shaking mess. It was all she could do not to fall to her knees and sob right then and there. But she knew that she couldn’t do it. She knew Prince would never forgive her if she gave Benedict Lenday what he wanted. She knew Prince would never forgive her if she gave Benedict Lenday her sorrow.
*****
It was a miracle that Prince was even alive. But he was. He had survived, somehow. He had won. And he had not killed “The Jack”; everyone had been shouting at him to, but Prince had not. He had knocked him out—God only knew how he had managed—and when he had been declared winner he had collapsed right next to the man who had been ready to crush the life out of him with his bare hands.
Prince had lay unconscious in a hospital bed for two days. He had woken up to his friends standing around in his room and with the woman she loved sitting next to him. Now, five days later, he was standing with Alyssa and Rick in the Devil’s Fighters’ meeting room. Only Bennie Lenday was present, and he was watching them all with interest.
“So, you’ve made it,” the man said, his voice and expression unreadable.
Prince stood as tall as he could, given his cracked ribs and his generally bruised self. “I’ve made it,” he said. “And now you have to keep your word.”
Even though he had seen Lenday keep his promises before, he was still on guard.
Bennie stared at them for what felt like an eternity. Finally, he nodded. “Fair enough. You’ve made us rich. You’re all free to go.”
Prince did not move. The words took a long time to register. It all felt like a blur. It felt like a blur to leave his leather vest on the table in the meeting room. It felt like a blur to shake Benedict “Bennie” Lenday’s hand, as they parted ways for real, for good. He would have never wanted to shake that hand, but it seemed stupid to risk jeopardizing everything he had fought so hard for with a disrespectful gesture.
It felt like a blur to walk out of the Devil’s Fighters’ headquarters. It felt like a blur to drive back to Alyssa’s house and later on to Lynn’s diner. It felt like a blur to celebrate with them all.
He was free. He was truly free.
*****
Alyssa said her goodbye to Lynn with tears in her eyes and a smile on her face. She managed to extort a promise from her friend that she would visit them in Vancouver soon—there was simply no way in hell that either Alyssa, Prince, or Rick would ever return to Pinebrook.
When the plane took off from New Orleans, Alyssa’s heart and soul soared with it. It all felt very surreal. She still could not believe they had succeeded. She still could not believe they were free. She still could not believe they had done it—well, Prince had done it.
She turned her head and watched him as he stared out the window in disbelief. It occurred to her then that Prince had never been on a plane before, and for some reason, that notion tore at her heart. She reached out and took his hand. Prince squeezed her fingers and turned to look at her. His green eyes were wide with wonder. Whether that amazement stemmed from being on a plane or from his shackles having finally been broken, Alyssa could not tell for sure.
“Are you all right?” she asked. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine.”
“Sore?”
Prince shrugged and hissed at the movement. He seemed to keep forgetting that he had cracked ribs. “A little,” he admitted.
They lapsed into a companionable silence then. Alyssa had almost fallen asleep like she always did whenever she was flying when Prince spoke again. “Is this really happening?” he asked quietly.
Alyssa was instantly awake again. She tightened her hold around his hand, which was still in hers. “Yes,” she said forcefully. She locked gazes with him, making sure he was really hearing her. “It’s really happening, Prince. We’re going home.”
Prince seemed to relax then, as if a reassurance from someone else was all that he needed to hear. “Home,” he repeated, trying out the word in his mouth.
Alyssa hesitated before asking the next question. “Prince?” she called carefully.
“Yes?”
“Do you regret not saying goodbye to your father?”
Prince had been adamant about not seeing his father before they left for Canada.
“Hell, no,” he said vehemently. “His debt is paid in full and then some. I’ve done all I could for him.”
“I’m not talking about what it could have done for him to say goodbye,” Alyssa said gently. “I’m talking about what it could have done for you.”
“It could have done nothing for me,” Prince said. There was no hate in his voice; he was merely stating a fact. “Trust me, Aly. It’s better this way.”
He smiled reassuringly, and Alyssa nodded. She relished in him calling her Aly, something she had hated to hear coming from his mouth when they had first found each other again after eight years apart.
“I love you,” she said again.
Prince kissed her immediately, as if those words elicited an almost automatic response from him. Alyssa sure as hell wasn’t complaining.
“I love you too,” he said sincerely.
Alyssa settled back in her seat and watched as Prince did the same. Not long afterwards, he was asleep. She craned her neck to shoot a look behind her and saw that Anna was reading a magazine and Rick was also out for the count. They shared a knowing smile over the sleeping men; both Prince and Rick were probably letting go of tension that had been in their bodies as a constant companion for almost a decade.
Alyssa didn’t let go of Prince’s hand. She would never let go of him again.
“Is this really happening?” Prince had asked.
The thing was, Alyssa could hardly believe it herself. The past two months had been a roller coaster that she had more than once suspected she would not survive. Instead, here she was. Here they were, unharmed and more or less whole. There was still work to do. It would take time for Prince’s emotional scars to heal. Alyssa would be there through it all. There had been a time when she had wondered whether she would be strong enough to take on the load of Prince’s emotional baggage. Now she knew it was not a load; it was an honor. Prince did not trust easily. In fact, with the one exception of Rick, Prince did not trust. Period. That he had trusted her and was continuing to put his trust in her was something Alyssa was not going to take for granted, no matter what kind of past they shared.
The more she thought about this man, the more she looked at him, the more her love grew. Alyssa had not thought she could love so strong and so deep. She had never thought she would be able to devote herself to someone so completely. But then again, Prince wasn’t “someone.” He had been so much more than “someone” ever since they were kids.
Alyssa had to smile. It was funny how life worked. They had been through everything together. They had loved each other and hated each other. They had adored each other and resented each other. They had lost each other, and they had found each other again. Alyssa had lost the two most important people in her life, her parents, only to find someone who filled her life again. It was cruel and bittersweet and ironic, and she wondered if her parents had anything to do with it. Had they manipulated her life from above somehow? It sounded like something her parents might do, especially her dad, who had always liked to tease her and meddle in her love affairs.
Alyssa shook her head. It was nonsense, of course, but it was still a good thought to think; it filled her with warmth. For the first time since she had lost her parents, that loss did not burn so fiercely. It still hurt, of course. It was still a gaping hole within her. But for the first time since it had happened, she was able to think about her parents without feeling like she wanted nothing more than to curl up in a ball in some corner and cry herself to sleep. For the first time, she was remembering them.
Prince shifted in his sleep and rested his head on her shoulder. Alyssa looked down at him and smiled, deeply touched by his letting himself go completely whenever around her.
Alyssa looked over his shoulder and out the window. They were passing through clouds, thick and white. As childish as it was, Alyssa liked to think that they were a little closer to her parents. She let her mind wander. She thought about Vancouver, the ocean, and the killer whales that could be spotted sometimes, early in the morning and late at dusk, when walking on the seawall. She thought about the bridge in the forest. She thought about Stanley Park and its towering trees, and the peace that filled you as you walked amongst them and breathed the Earth in. She thought about coffee shops and the colors of Davie Street. She thought about the theatre. She thought about the lights that littered the streets and adorned the tress on English Bay during Christmas time. She thought about how friendly the people were. She thought about the fireworks at the end of July.
She thought about it all, and she thought about what it had done for her, how it had healed her. She could only hope Vancouver would do the same for Prince and Rick. She thought about showing it all to Prince and living it all with him. And she smiled, because those were the best thoughts she had had in a while. She smiled because they were no longer fantasies, and she could give herself into them completely now.
She smiled because they were free.
THE END
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