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I rolled my eyes and met Rhett when he reached out to me. He pressed a sweet kiss to my mouth which I fell deeply into, nipping his bottom lip.
“Don’t start something you can’t finish,” he murmured in my ear.
I chuckled softly and let him escort me out to the elevators and all the way down to the parking lot, where I climbed inside Rhett’s SUV with no issue.
Phantom slid in beside me. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked.
I sighed. “I’m fine. Please stop treating me like I’m a basket case.”
It was inevitable. Since Rhett brought me back to the academy, one, if not all of them had been waiting on me hand and foot. Yes, I was injured. Yes, I was still hurting and struggling with everything. But did that mean I needed them catering to my every want and need? Fuck no. I was still perfectly capable of fending for myself.
“You have to fight,” Rhett said as he shut the door, adjusting himself behind the wheel, staring at me through the rearview mirror.
“God damnit, Rhett,” Phantom erupted beside me. “You aren’t supposed to—”
“She needs to know,” Isaac butted it before Phantom could finish. “You’re gonna be facing a fellow recruit head on in battle.”
I nodded to that, honestly not surprised. I’d pretty much figured that out ahead of time when Isaac was testing me on how well I could defend myself. So far, this wasn’t any different than my second trial for the Outlaws.
“Okay,” I willingly agreed. “I can handle that.”
I saw it when the trio exchanged worried looks. Astoundingly, they kept their comments to themselves, and I was thankfully able to listen to the radio in peace for the rest of the ride.
“Wait,” I said when we pulled up to a massive warehouse about twenty minutes later. The building looked just as crappy as the chipped paint coated along the outer walls, and there wasa long line of people waiting outside like they were waiting to enter a club. “Wh-where are we?”
“This,” Rhett said, as he pulled into the parking lot, cursing as he drove around to find not an empty spot in sight. “This is one of our older weapon warehouses. The outside looks like shit, but we’ve been working on getting it fixed up. Hell, we honestly haven’t used it in years.”
Rhett paused, sighing as he circled around the parking lot again, having no choice but to pull out and park along the outer street.
“But that’s besides the point,” said Phantom. “Sharkey, his girlfriend Prim, and a few other Ravagers teamed together and managed to get the interior cleaned up and refurbished for the trial. You’re gonna lose your mind when you see everything. It’s quite amazing.”
“Don’t get too excited,” Isaac said next. “You’re not the one fighting tonight.”
“Maybe not,” he agreed with a dark smirk. “Doesn’t mean I won’t enjoy the show.”
The conversation was kaput by the time Rhett finally parked. He got out first, opening the door for me. Isaac and Phantom followed behind us.
“The rest of the recruits should already be here,” Rhett said as he lead us across the street and towards the entrance. “Once inside, we’re taking you straight to the locker room. Matches will be announced at random, so it’s better you’re dressed and ready just in case your name ends up being called first.”
I nodded, feeling the adrenaline slowly pumping through my bloodstream. Or maybe it was the pills finally kicking in. It was hard to tell.
“Are you nervous?” Phantom asked once we were in.
I glanced around, fucking dumbstruck by everything. To look so shitty on the outside,inside,this place was fucking beautiful.There had to be over a hundred people here, if not more, which made me suspect this trial was open to more than just the Ravagers. Bodies crowded both of the five-story benches set up on opposite sides of the boxing ring, which was planted in the heart of the room. On the left and right of the foundation were fully constructed bars with occupants filling each and every barstool available. Heavy metal blared through the atmosphere too.
And with the abundance of bodies still lined up outside, waiting to get in…
Fucking hell.
This was insane.
“Samara?”
Phantom nudged my shoulder, breaking my gawk away from the segment of lights implanted on the ceiling, barreling perfect spotlights down on the ring.
“Yeah. I’m good. This-this place is fucking insane!”
“It’s open to the public,” Rhett yelled from over his shoulder. “Well…somewhat.” He reached for my hand and tugged me along through the bodies blocking the way, Phantom and Isaac tailing behind us. “It’s a lot to explain, but Father decided we should take advantage of the opportunity and profit as much as we can.”
