Alyssa was nervous. It had been two days since she had gotten the news from her clinic in Vancouver, and since then she had been constantly feeling like the clock was ticking—which it was. The pressure was mounting within her, and she felt more and more powerless with each day that went by. She lived in a constant state of tension. Her heart was racing constantly within her chest.
Now, Prince had texted her saying that he would come over and that they “needed to talk.” Whatever it was, it couldn’t be good; nothing that was accompanied by the sentence “we need to talk” was ever good. Alyssa had tried to keep herself busy while she waited for him, but eventually she had spent hours glancing repeatedly and obsessively at every clock in the house—the one on the wall in the kitchen, the old grandfather clock in the living room, her wristwatch, the clock on her phone. Time seemed to stretch and pass unbelievably slowly.
When Prince finally rang the doorbell, Alyssa was already waiting for him at the door. She waited a few moments before opening the door, though, so as not to let him know just how anxious she had been. What she saw when she finally did open the door and let him in, however, wasn’t very reassuring at all. Prince’s usually open face was dark, and his green eyes were stormy. He all but pushed past her into the house. There was no greeting kiss, which also contributed to increase her worries.
“We have to talk,” he said, walking to the living room.
Alyssa hurried after him, dumbfounded at his urgency. “You said that.”
“And I meant it.” Prince turned around and watched gravely. “Sit down.”
Too scared to even argue, Alyssa complied and went to sit on the couch, watching as Prince sat down next to her.
“You’re scaring me,” she admitted quietly.
Prince sighed. “I don’t mean to, but it is serious. I thought about not saying anything to you, but the more I thought about it, the more wrong it seemed.”
“You can tell me anything,” Alyssa said sincerely. “In fact, given the situation, I think you shouldn’t hide anything from me that is connected to the Devil’s Fighters.” She hesitated. “Because it is about them, isn’t it?”
“Sort of,” Prince said. He took a deep breath. “I talked with Bennie earlier today.”
Alyssa frowned. Already she didn’t like where this was heading; few names could give her the chills like Bennie Lenday’s. In fact, his name was probably the only one that elicited such a strong, hateful reaction in her. “About…?”
“Us,” he said. “Our predicament. I told him I want out.”
Alyssa’s eyes widened. She felt herself grow very cold inside. She didn’t know much about Bennie Lenday—and she didn’t want to know—but she had the feeling that one of his best fighters planning to split on him wasn’t one of the things that made him happy to hear.
“Why did you do that?” she said, her heart galloping within her chest. “Why would you tell him? I thought we were waiting.”
“That’s the thing, though,” Prince argued, “we don’t have the time to wait anymore.”
As realization hit, Alyssa felt even worse. “You did this because of what I told you about my work?” she asked incredulous. “Prince, you didn’t have to. We’ll find a way—”
“No, we won’t,” Prince interrupted her sharply. “I know that now. Waiting won’t solve anything, it will only get us tangled up further. The circumstances will never be ‘right.’ Maybe your boss giving you a deadline is a blessing in disguise; it made me realize that I have to act now.”
“What do you mean, act?” Alyssa asked carefully. She was very afraid of learning the answer. “What did you do?”
“I have a way out. Bennie offered it to me.”
Alyssa watched him incredulously. “Bennie Lenday offered one of his best fighters a way out of the rings?” she asked skeptically.
“Yes. I have to fight one more fight. If I win, he’ll let me go. And Rick, too.”
“He’ll let you go? Just like that?”
“He gave me his word.”
Prince sounded so confident that Alyssa had to do a double take to make sure she was hearing him right.
She gave a loud, rude snort. “Because Bennie Lenday’s word is so trustworthy,” she said sarcastically.
“As a matter of fact,” Prince said, “it is. He may be a scumbag,” he explained when Alyssa looked at him as if he had just gone mad, “but every time I’ve heard him give someone his word over the years, he’s always kept it.”
“How can you be sure?”
“I told you, I’ve seen it happen.”
Alyssa was silent for a few moments, allowing herself some time to let it all sink in. “So if you win this last fight, he’ll let you come with me without any repercussions?”
“That’s right. And Rick, too,” Prince said. “He’s agreed to let him go, as well.”
“And if you lose?”
Prince’s face darkened. Alyssa could tell he was struggling with whether or not to tell her the truth.
“Prince,” she said, pointedly, “what happens if you lose?”
“I’ll die, probably,” he finally admitted. “This fight is to the death.”
Alyssa stared at him. She was hearing the words, but for some reason they weren’t registering. Finally, she blurted out, “No.”
Prince blinked, taken aback. “No?”
“No,” Alyssa repeated. “Absolutely not. You are not getting into a fight to the death. We’ll find another way.”
“There is no other way, Alyssa,” Prince argued. “Don’t you see? If I refuse, they’ll never let me go.”
“And if you do it and you lose, you’ll be killed. Since when do the Devil’s Fighters allow fights to the death, anyway?”
Again, she didn’t know much about the motorcycle gang and their way of life, but she did know that they saw their fighters as a source of income, and therefore they generally tried not to let them get killed. She wasn’t naïve enough to believe that some morals might also be involved.
“They don’t,” Prince confirmed. “But this guy, the one I have to fight…he…uh…he’s kind of famous for killing his opponents.”
Alyssa stared at him in disbelief. “Are you kidding me? You want to fight such a monster?”
“Yes,” Prince said, his face hardening as it always did when his mind was set and he didn’t want to hear arguments against whatever decision he had made. “I have to. No one has ever defeated this guy. If I do, the Devil’s Fighters will get so much money from this fight that they can all retire if they so wish.”
“I see.” Money. It was always about money. And blood. And violence. Alyssa felt sick to her stomach. “No,” she said again. “I’m not going to let you do this, no matter what the stakes are.”
“So what would you suggest?” Prince retorted. “Just run away? They’d hunt us down and kill us before we even reach the border. Even you must know that.”
Alyssa’s eyes flashed. “What’s that supposed to mean, even me?”
“It means that you know nothing of how things work when it comes to dealing with these people. They are far more ruthless that you can even imagine. You think I don’t go against them because I like living like this?”
“Of course not. I never—”
“You think I do it because I’m afraid, because I’m a coward?”
Alyssa was looking at Prince with wide eyes, speechless at his sudden anger. Part of her knew it was pent-up anger, eight years old, rushing forward. But the other part of her wanted to yell back in his face. She took a calming breath, knowing that a screaming match would scarcely work towards solving their problems.
“No,” she said. “I don’t think any of that. I’m just saying—”
“Well, don’t,” Prince growled. He had stood up and was towering over her, a tall pillar of barely contained fury. “Don’t say anything. I’m doing this, and that’s final.”
“I can’t let you—”
“I’m not asking for your permission, Alyssa,” he snapped. “This is the first time in eight years that I get the chance to take my life into my own hands, and I’m not passing it up. You think this is the first fight I’ve taken for us?”
Alyssa frowned, her insides growing even colder. She definitely didn’t like where this was heading. “What are you talking about?”
“Why do you think Bennie let you stay after he threatened to harm you if you didn’t leave town?”
“I…I don’t know,” Alyssa admitted quietly. Truth be told, it was a question she had asked herself a million times, but she was too afraid of the answer. “Why?”
“Because I struck a deal with him. If I took on more fights, he’d let you stay.”
“Why?” Alyssa repeated.
“It’s more lucrative for them if I fight more often,” Prince admitted. “I have a certain fame in the rings. I’m one of the best.” There was no trace of bragging in his voice as he said this, and Alyssa could tell that he would have preferred to be “the best” at something entirely different than fighting in a ring.
“I don’t understand,” Alyssa admitted.
“I’ve made it so that your staying in town would be an advantage for them.”
Alyssa stared at him. The more Prince spoke, the more confused she felt. Emotions began mounting up within her, a mixture of feelings so strong and powerful that she almost felt sick with the force of it all.
“So you’re telling me that all the fights you’ve been in since I came back were because of me?”
Prince paused in his anger. He seemed to realize what he was saying for the first time. “No, Aly,” he said gently. “They’ve been for you. And for me, too. To have you with me.”
Alyssa was horrified. The thought that she had been responsible for even a part of the horrors that littered Prince’s life with the Devil’s Fighters—as indirect as her responsibility was—was more than she could handle.
“And you never thought of asking what I would think of all of this before you went and made deals with the devil?” she demanded. Under any other circumstances, her choice of words would have been melodramatic. Not so under these circumstances. As far as Alyssa was concerned, Bennie Lenday was Satan.
Prince opened his mouth and then quickly closed it again. It was all too obvious that no, he had not thought about it. “I just didn’t see any other option,” he finally said. If anything, he had the good grace to look slightly ashamed.
“I would’ve left,” Alyssa said. “If my staying here meant that you had to fight more, I would’ve left. I would’ve gone back to Canada, and I would’ve worked on getting you out from a distance. Somehow, I would’ve found a way to make it work,” she snapped when she saw Prince was about to protest. “I never would have wanted this. And I sure as hell don’t want you fighting a guy who’s known to kill his adversaries.”
“It’s too late,” Prince said. “I already told Bennie I’d do it.”
“Change your mind,” Alyssa said brusquely. “Tell him it’s not worth it. Tell him you’ve come back to your senses. I don’t care; tell him anything. You can’t do this.”
“I have to do this,” Prince repeated. It was clear from the angry but also lost and frustrated expression on his face that he didn’t understand how Alyssa did not get it. “Please, Aly. You have to understand.”
“Well, I don’t.” Alyssa stood, too, the mounting tension within her finally getting the best of her body; she just had to work the energy off somehow. “I don’t understand, Prince. You went off and put your life in horrible danger because of me, or for me, as you say. Do you have any idea how this feels?”
Prince swallowed visibly. The anger was slowly flowing out of him, and now he just looked at Alyssa in pain and confusion. “I thought you’d be happy.”
“Happy?” Alyssa replied, incredulous. She could not believe what she was hearing. “How could I be happy with this?”
“I’m doing something, Aly,” Prince said fervently, his green eyes shining. “For the first time in my life, I’m actually doing something. I’m taking action. I’m taking matters in my own hands. I’m offered the chance to decide for my life myself.”
“Don’t you see? Don’t you understand?” Alyssa retorted. “Bennie hasn’t offered you a chance. He’s offered you a death sentence.”
The realization had hit her during one of Prince’s speeches. It had hit her with the force of a punch in the gut. It had hit her like something inescapable, and it now clung to her clothes and skin, refusing to let go.
“I believe he thinks he has,” Prince conceded. “But he’s in for a surprise. I’m going to win.”
Alyssa watched him skeptically. He sounded way too confident for someone who had just been set up to fight against a notorious killer. “How do you know?”
“I know,” Prince said. He walked up to her and took her hands in his. His green eyes were ablaze. “I have too much to lose, too much to live for. I have you, Aly. I’m not going to lose. I can’t lose.”
Alyssa was already shaking her head before he had finished the sentence. She could feel tears forming in her eyes, and she did her best not to let them fall. “Please, don’t do this,” she begged, her voice breaking despite her best efforts. “I can’t lose you.” Again, she added quietly in her mind.
She had lost Prince once, all those years ago when she had left for college and he had not followed. Now that they had found each other, the thought of losing him again and in such a definite way made her physically ill.
“You won’t.” Prince reached up with one hand and cupped her cheek. “I promise you, Aly. You won’t lose me.”
Alyssa leaned into his touch. She smiled sadly. “You can’t promise me that, Prince,” she said quietly. “No one can.” My parents couldn’t, either.
Suddenly it was all too much. The pain from the loss of her parents was still a searing, living thing inside of her, and the devastation brought on by all that she had learned tonight was overwhelming.
“I can’t do this,” she said, choking on her own voice. She pulled away from him.
Prince frowned worriedly. “You can’t do what?”
“I can’t stay here and listen to this.”
Before Prince had the chance to stop her or say anything else, Alyssa pushed past him. She all but marched through the house, snatching the car keys off the hook on the wall by the entrance without even slowing down. She slammed the door on Prince and all of his words.