Everest roared and lunged. I sidestepped before his hands connected with any part of my body and pummelled his kidney with a fist. One hard, fierce wallop. I relished in the slight twinge of pain in my knuckles. Give pain to receive pain. Receive pain to give pain. A lesson I would never be free of.
Gasping, he held his side. “You’ll pay for that! No one f**king touches me!” Everest snarled, revealing gold-capped teeth. “You better walk away, Fox, or I’ll deliver the ass-whooping of your f**king life.”
I let him rant and rage, basking in his anger, feeding on it, drinking it in.
“I’m done arguing.” My temper vanished; replaced with the coldness I lived with, the vacancy that I’d never been able to lose. “Get in the cage.”
The rows upon rows of high wattage spotlights boiled us from above. A trickle of sweat rolled down my lower back beneath my black shirt. The only embellishment was the silver fox on the breast pocket.
I pushed forward until we were almost nose to nose. Inhaling his cheap cologne, I wanted nothing more than to bite off his nose and go rogue on his ass.
My reflection gleamed in his black eyes: a vague outline of a man with no soul left and a raw scar disfiguring his cheek.
The scar terrified most people, but my eyes unsettled them more—so grey, they were almost colourless.
“I’m growing bored of your disobedience, Tony. Make me ask again and I can’t promise you’ll remain alive. You had your boy use a duster. I have proof. You can squeal and deny all you want. Evidence doesn’t lie.”
Leaning down, Everest entered my personal space. “Your little threats don’t work on me, Scarface. Everybody cheats.”
“Not in my club, they don’t.” I cracked my knuckles. “This is my club. And you obey my rules. If you disobey those rules, consequences must be paid.” Lowering my head, I glowered from under my brows. “I won’t tell you again. Get. In. The. Cage.”
For a large man who spoke like a killer, he took a pu**y step back. Finally a thread of apprehension filled his cocky gaze. “Fuck off. I’m not fighting a piss-ant like you.” His anger siphoned away, leaving a blathering idiot. “I’ll give you ten grand for the loss of winnings for whoever bet wrong on the fight.”
Oscar stepped forward, cracking his neck. The tension in his muscles sent more eagerness through me. “You can’t bribe your way out of this. Saying no to the boss of Obsidian is not an option. It’s in the rules. He wants you in the cage. You get in the f**king cage.”
I shuddered in pleasure.
Obsidian. That was mine. My creation. The one thing that gave me something to live for and focus all my inhumane cruel tendencies into. It was ironic that the one place I’d been running from all my life had become my future.
Thoughts raced in Everest’s eyes. Finally, he glared. “This isn’t the end of this, Fox. You may’ve won tonight, but I’ll pay you back with a whole lot of interest. Just remember me when someone pops a bullet in your brain.” Everest shrugged off his large shirt, uncovering a torso full of muscle blanketed in a layer of pudge. He used to be cut, but now he was soft around the edges. “I’ll make you pay, ass**le.”
I didn’t say a word. I didn’t need to. He’d dug his own grave.
“Boy, pass me those f**king gloves.” Everest held out his hand for the rookie to place a pair of blue boxing gloves in his grip.
I snapped my fingers. “No gloves. No boxing. Get in the cage.”
Chapter 3
I’d always prided myself on being strong enough to handle anything life threw at me. I promised that no matter what, I would win. And until three weeks ago, I lived that promise like a law. I achieved things that seemed impossible; I overcame things that seemed un-survivable, but then life decided to teach me a new lesson.
It taught me that prices must be paid and sent me reeling from strong to weak. My outlook on life went from determined and fierce to wallowing and negative.
But the moment I walked into Obsidian, the taste of violence rejuvenated me—reminding me I was a fighter, and I would win. I just wished I could’ve avoided the catalyst that destroyed me.
Him.
Obsidian Fox.
The bastard who gave me so much but stole everything.
“What’s going on?” I whisper-hissed into Clue’s ear. We hadn’t budged from the Muay Thai ring but the atmosphere in the club changed from well-mannered and excited to restless and electrically charged. I couldn’t tell what started the switch, but it built slowly until the room thrummed with excitement.
Clue’s eyes were glued on Corkscrew. He ducked and swung, looking part god as he easily overpowered his opponent. His match had begun a few minutes ago, but it seemed the audience was more interested in the men having a conversation by the boxing ring. Steadily whispers wafted on the warm air; people shifted excitedly in their chairs.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but doesn’t Ben look delicious all gleaming like onyx and fighting like a warrior?” She smiled. Her eyes glowing with an infatuation that’d doubled from interested into obsessed. They’d only had a few dates, but she’d skipped right back into the mind-set of a swooning woman lusting after a man who would no doubt claim her and mark his territory the moment the match concluded.
Tearing my eyes away from Corkscrew’s fight, I focused on the crowd crushing together, subtly drifting toward the boxing ring.
My eyes flickered over to the man dressed all in black, barely visible through the throng of people. I didn’t know who he was. Something about him unsettled me—further amplified by the force of danger he possessed. I wanted to keep my distance, but was drawn to him nevertheless.
He’d passed us not long ago and the moment his eyes fell on me, I’d felt a shift. A spark. An awareness. Call it fear or acknowledgement of a virile male, it caught me by surprise. My entire body shot into hyper alert—heart racing, breath quickening. My body prepared to either fight or flee. I didn’t understand why he invoked such a reaction.
When he prowled past, I had the opportunity to stare at his retreating back, and I wished I hadn’t. He was tall, moving with the elegance of a man who had almost regal bearing. His back flexed beneath a tight fitting shirt while dark, bronze hair gleamed under the spotlights. He carried an air of power, of discipline, and of certain unpredictability. Everything about him sent a frisson of heat racing into my stomach.