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And I’ve got to be ready.
24
JAXON
I’m pissed as hell at Winter for showing up like that. Part of me almost hopes she hung around long enough for Cayde or Dean to see her, so she could get what’s coming to her. But I can’t afford to linger on that. Athena is up for her bout, and I need to pay attention to what the fuck is going on.
I don’t have high hopes that I’m going to find anything more out than I did last time, but we’ve got to try. Right now, we’re going into tomorrow night blind, and that’s the worst possible scenario. Anything, even a crumb, would be better than nothing.
I can hear the cheering as the girls in the ring gear up to fight, and I want to watch. There’s something in my gut telling me that something is wrong, and I know better than to ignore it. The last time I had a feeling like this, the woman I loved wound up dead in the street, bleeding out on the asphalt while her murderer drove away.
The last time I had a gut feeling this bad, I lost everything I loved.
I’m not picking anything up. None of the conversations around me are about a single fucking thing I care about, just club business and strippers and who is betting on who in the fights. I push my way through the crowd, jostling for a view of the ring. There’s a huge guy in front of me, taller than me and twice as wide, and it takes a minute for me to push around him, but when I do, I have a clear view of the ring.
And the moment I see it, my heart stops.
The girl opposite Athena in the ring isn’t a muscled fighter like the girl last time. She’s even smaller than Athena, thin and petite, scrappy looking with black hair and a septum ring that twinkles in the warehouse lights.
Pixie.Fucking Pixie.
I shove my way forward, not caring about the crowd or if they realize that Athena and I are together. I’ve got to fucking stop this. “Athena!” I yell out her name, hoping that she can hear me. I’ve never seen Pixie fight, not even once. If she’s in that arena, there’s something else going on.
Winter’s voice echoes in my head.
I wanted to tell you good luck at your fight tonight.
I know a lot more than you think I do.
When you’re as rich as I am, you can pay someone else to fight your battles.
“Athena!” I shout her name again, practically screaming it, but the crowd is frothing for the start of the fight, and there’s no way she’s going to hear me. I try to push through to the very edge of the ring, because I’m on the verge of going under the ropes and dragging her out bodily myself, but I can’t get that far. And the fight is about to start.
Right as they call the first round, Athena’s eyes flick sideways, and they meet mine, finding me in the crowd.
She’s pale, and I know she knows.
She nods once.
And then the fight is underway.
Fuck. Fuck.I grit my teeth, watching. Athena is a better trained fighter, but now the flip side of her last fight is occuring. Pixie is small and quick, and more than that, she’s not there for a real fight.
She’s there to hurt Athena. And she’s not going to stop.
Athena isn’t prepared for that. She’s prepared for a real fight, for trained moves, for punches and kicks and grappling. She’s not ready for Pixie to launch at her, clawing and grabbing, ducking under Athena’s punches. Athena tries to turn, regaining her balance, but Pixie launches towards her, getting a handful of Athena’s hair and dragging her head back.
Her nails rake down Athena’s cheek, and I hear Athena cry out.
Fuck this. I shove forward, trying to get to her, but the crowd is like a brick wall. All I can do is watch as Athena wheels around, yanking herself out of Pixie’s grasp, and then she kicks out, sweeping Pixie’s legs out from under her and sending the petite girl down to the mat.
“Yes!” I almost scream it, jumping into the air. “Fuck her up! Shit!”
But Pixie isn’t going down that easily. She’s up from the floor of the ring in a second, flying at Athena again, but this time Athena is ready. She swings at her, sending the other girl sprawling.
It goes on like that for a few minutes, and I watch them, nails biting into my palms as my hands fist at my sides, my jaw clenched. Pixie flings herself at Athena again, and this time, as she manages to get Athena off balance, she brings her down to the mat, landing atop her.
A few of the men around me start cheering, yelling lewd comments, but I hardly hear them. Because I see something they don’t.
