by Amity Cross
“Do you…” I began, my words failing me. “Do you think…”
“Liam and Viper have a bitter rivalry,” Faye explained, placing her hand on my arm to steady me. “Viper has always fought dirty. He watches other fighters, finds their weaknesses, and picks them off one by one. Manipulating them behind the scenes until they break in the cage. He’s had his eye on Liam for a while now…ever since he showed interest in you. Ali… I’m worried Liam’s focus will be split.”
I pulled in a sharp breath. “Over me?”
“He asked me to come here tonight and keep you away from The Underground,” she went on. “He wants to protect you from seeing the fight, but I couldn’t… I’m worried he’s going to do something stupid.”
“Over what?”
“All of this is for you, Ali,” she replied. “I could see it in his eyes. He’s fighting Viper to get him off his back, but it’s also because the snake used you to get to him. By struggling with his feelings for you so openly, it made him a target…and you, too. He’s trying to make it right. To make it safe for you.”
“By fighting a guy who might beat him to death?” I exclaimed. “How is that making it right?”
“It’s The Underground,” she said like it was that simple. “It’s how things are there.”
“No…” I muttered, trying to think of another way. There had to be another answer because fighting to the death was not the right thing. There was no shame in walking away from the cage when his life was at stake. There wasn’t.
“He won’t want your help,” Faye said gently. “Liam keeps everyone away because he’s always been let down. Always. It’s that simple, Ali. He’s just trying to keep you from getting hurt.”
“Then the answer is simple,” I said, grabbing my jacket and checking for my keys in the left pocket.
“You can’t go,” Faye exclaimed, rising to her feet. “Liam asked…”
“I’m pretty sure Liam isn’t thinking straight right now,” I shot back. “He needs someone to fight for him, Faye. Someone who cares. Someone who loves him. That’s what he needs, not fists at twenty paces.”
“It’s more complicated than that.”
“No, it’s not.” I stared her down, not afraid of standing up for what I thought was right. “I might not be all of the reason he’s in there, but I’m not letting him risk his life.”
Once, I would’ve just hidden under the covers and forgotten about all of this. Not anymore. It was time for Alison Anders to stand up and fight…for real this time.
“All of this is simple,” I went on. “He showed me I was worth something, that I was more than the pushover I’d become. Now it’s my turn to show him he’s worthy of love, that I’ll stick with him when it matters the most. That’s what this whole thing is about. We met at exactly the right moment. We both had something the other needed even though neither of us could see it. Everything has been such a mess since…” I sighed and slipped my jacket on. “All that shit blinded both of us. Now the skies are clear.”
Faye stared at me openmouthed as I grabbed my coin purse and zipped it into my right-hand pocket.
“What are you going to do?” she asked after a moment.
“Stop him from fighting Viper of course.”
“What if we’re too late?”
I couldn’t say it, but we both knew. I would likely see everything Liam was trying to protect me from. Carnage.
Deep down, I knew he didn’t expect to come out the other side, but if I was there, maybe he would realize he had something to fight for and give Viper exactly what he deserved. Maybe my presence at his darkest moment would make him realize I would never abandon him, that neither of us had to be alone anymore.
I opened the front door, but Faye was still frozen to the spot.
“Are you coming or not?” I asked. “We don’t have much time.”
Faye snapped to attention and grabbed her purse, hurrying out the door with me on her heels. We clattered down the stairs and piled into her car. When she peeled out onto the street, the tires squealing, I knew I was right to place my faith in her.
As we powered toward The Underground, I knew it was time to face my true self and do what I should’ve done from the beginning.
Stand up and fight.
19
Liam
The Underground was alive with electricity and bloodlust.
I’d done all I could to prepare. I’d trained, I’d sparred, I’d studied Viper’s movements. He was the same height as me and around the same weight, though it seemed he had a shorter reach. It could come in handy when I was striking. I would be able to get closer while his fists were still out of range.
It wasn’t much of an advantage, especially when there was no such thing as rules here. Not in the traditional sense at least. Like the movie Fight Club, the first rule of The Underground was you don’t talk about The Underground.
Wrapping my hands and securing the Velcro closure around my wrists, I flexed my fingers, testing the resistance.
I noticed Rebel hovering in my peripheral vision, but I ignored him, stretching out my muscles. I couldn’t allow his last minute begging for me to reconsider fighting take my mind out of the game.
I couldn’t think about her, either. Ali. No matter what we said or did the other night, it was over between us. I’d made sure of that. There was no going back.
I had to make myself numb to everything, even my cock…and especially my heart.
“Blade!” I glanced up at the sound of my name and saw one of the referees gesturing for me. “You’re up.”
Slamming my locker shut, I padded out of the change room, straight past Rebel and Goblin, and entered the warehouse. Hands slapped me on the back, strangers and familiar faces offering me well-wishes, as I made my way to ground zero. It felt a lot like my last march, the end of an era, the unpredictability of what was about to happen almost blindsiding me.
Stepping into the light, I flinched as the cage door closed behind me with a bang, rattling the chain link.
Viper smirked from his side of the line as he paced back and forth, his expression full of loathing. He was itching to get started, his bare feet pawing the ground like a starving predator.
“Ready to eat shit, Blade?” he asked, looking for a bite.
I remained silent, not buying what he was selling.
Focusing on him and the fight ahead, I ignored the announcer and the catcalls from the crowd. This was it. Death was staring me in the face, and it was up to me to survive, no one else.
Then the bout began.
Raising our fists, we circled one another, oblivious to the chaos outside the cage. We both knew the score, and nothing else mattered but fucking each other up.
This ended right now.
Viper struck, his right hand sailing over my defense, and he clipped me on the side of the head. The blow glanced off, hardly bothering me, and I weaved to the right as he backed off. We danced again, testing each other’s strength before Viper struck with a series of aggressive punches that pushed me back against the fence. He finished off the set with a high kick that sailed right toward my teeth, but I ducked at the last second and grabbed his ankle and pulled.
Viper fell flat on his face, the crowd letting out a collective “ooh” as he slapped against the concrete. I launched myself at him, my fist slamming into the back of his head. He let out a roar and bucked, throwing me to the side, and he twisted, landing on top of me.
A knee collided with my groin, and a fist connected with my face, pain tearing through my body. I was stunned, unable to move, and Viper struck again, pummeling me with all his strength. Left, right, left, right…
Stars burst in my vision, blinding me as blood poured out of a cut over my eyebrow. My teeth cut the inside of my cheek, filling my mouth with a coppery tang. Viper had the upper hand already, and anger welled inside me. Fucked if I was letting him end me so easily.
Bucking underneath him, I pushed up with all of my strength, knocking him of
f me. Rolling, I propelled my body off the concrete and landed a fist directly on his face. The sound of shattering bone reached my ears, and I sneered as blood began to pour out of Viper’s nose. Broken.
He roared in pain but recovered quickly, pushing himself forward. His arms hooked underneath my shoulders and we grappled, falling back onto the ground in a heap. Rearing his head back, Viper smashed his forehead against mine in an attempt to blind me. Hissing, I managed to tear an arm free and elbowed him in the ear.
We were locked in a desperate battle for dominance, and the referee did nothing to step in and break us apart. Usually, if fighters were stalled, they would restart the fight but not tonight. They knew the score and had been ordered not to step in. The true colors of The Underground were showing, and they weren’t in Technicolor. Nope, it was black and blacker, the primal battle for life and death staring us right in the face.
No one was coming to save me. At that moment, all I had was myself. Everyone and everything had abandoned me. I’d pushed everyone who’d ever cared for me away.
I was alone.
I slackened as my fear manifested in my mind, and Viper broke free. Gaining the upper hand, he forced me down onto my face, ramming a knee into the base of my spine. His hand was in my hair, and before I realized what was happening, he pushed with all his strength.
My head collided with the concrete, and everything blurred. I didn’t feel any pain, I was completely numb to it, shock beginning to overwhelm my body. The crowd chanted Viper’s name, their feet stamping against the bleachers, their screams tearing through the air. They wanted blood…and they were getting it.
“Liam!”
As Viper lifted my head again, I saw her. A fucking angel had come to take me away. The light at the end of the tunnel shit was here to claim me, and my life was flashing before my eyes. That’s what this was.
“Liam! Fight back!”
Ali?
Her fingers were curled through the chain link, her expression full of fear, her beautiful face was wet with tears, and I blanched.
“Liam!” she shrieked, shaking the fence with blind desperation. “Get up!”
Viper’s grip tightened in my hair, and I sucked in a breath, the taste of blood thick on my tongue.
She was here. Ali was here. She’d come…
A deep, guttural, roar burst from my chest, tearing through my body, and I heaved upward. Suddenly, the weight was gone from my back, and I rose to my feet and turned.
Viper was on the ground, staring up at me with wide eyes. Overcome with a feral energy, I kicked, my foot colliding with the side of his face. He spat, blood erupting from between his lips, and fell on his front, his face hitting the floor of the cage.
Sinking down, I pinned his stunned body in place, my right hand fisting in his hair. Grinding his cheek against the concrete, I snarled, giving him a chance to end this fucked-up fight before it got any worse.
“Tap,” I growled through clenched teeth. “Don’t be a fucking hero, Viper. No one gives a fuck about a piece of shit like you.”
“Never,” he said, struggling beneath me. “I’ll fucking kill you.”
I knew he wouldn’t stop. This would never be over for him, so there was only one way to make sure he would never come after Ali or me again. It crossed my mind to do what he was planning to do to me, but I wasn’t like him.
Here, on the precipice of taking another man’s life, I saw everything. Even as I likened my actions to Viper’s in the lead-up to the fight, I could finally see myself the way Ali did. The storm had passed, and the skies were clear. It was the strangest sensation I’d ever experienced. Completely fucking insane.
All at once, I just…understood.
“Pull yourself together,” I growled into Viper’s ear, “or you’re going to die in this place.”
Letting go of his hair, I raised my fist and struck. My knuckles collided with his temple, and he slackened. Holding, I made sure he was out cold, and then I stood, my head spinning.
No, I wasn’t like Viper at all.
Completely dazed, I was hardly aware of the moment the referee grasped my wrist and held my hand up in the air, declaring me the winner by knockout. Wrenching my arm away, I turned, searching for the angel who’d shown up at exactly the right moment.
Ali…
The world spun, my ears rang, and as the cage door opened and shadows moved forward to check Viper, I almost threw up. Wiping my forearm over my forehead, it came back smeared with red. That knock to the head had really done a number on me… Concussion? Likely.
Unable to hold my balance any longer, I fell to my knees, my head throbbing. Wheezing, I sucked in as much air as I could, trying to catch my breath.
Hands cupped my face, and through the haze, honey colored eyes met mine.
“Liam,” Ali said, on her knees in the filth in front of me. “Liam, I’m here. You’re not alone. You’re not alone.”
“You…” I gasped, swaying. “You didn’t leave.”
Her honey eyes blazed. “Never.”
“But I hurt you,” I said in a grating voice. “I fucked it all up.”
“Listen to me,” she said, ignoring the crowd outside the cage and the chaos inside of it. “I’m never going to abandon you, and you’re never going to abandon me. From now on, it’s you and me. Got it?”
“You and me,” I repeated.
“You helped me at my darkest, you know. Whether you realize it or not, that’s what you did. A word of kindness meant the entire world to me. That’s when I fell for you, but it was only a small piece of why… I fell for you, Liam, not what you did for me. I’ve fallen for you.”
She saw me? She truly saw past the muscles, the tattoos, the money, the fighting—the blood, sweat, and filth—and saw my heart? I believed her. She was always this quiet, thoughtful, little thing… If anyone knew, it would be Ali.
“Ali?” I asked, burying my hands in her hair. “I think I might love you.”
She smiled like she’d known all along.
“I know,” she said. “So do I.”
20
Alison
I would never forget the night I saw Liam lying bloody and bruised in that cage.
When I stood on the other side of the chain link and saw Viper slam Liam’s head onto the concrete floor, I almost collapsed. Fearful I was too late, I’d lost control of my inhibitions and screamed at him to fight back. Nothing else had mattered. Nothing.
I was terrified that one more hit and he would be gone.
Afterward, I’d taken him to the hospital and slept by his bedside. Faye came too, but she soon left us in peace. We had a great deal to talk about.
That night, we’d laid everything out—the complete truth of our pasts, voiced our fears, confided our dreams—and made a pact.
Together to the end.
We’d spent every moment we could together in the days after the fight, and while Liam recovered, I was glad to fawn over him and job hunt all at the same time. One of those things was going a great deal better than the other. Rent was due tomorrow, and I was completely broke.
I’d just endured a night without Liam—he’d said he had some things to do, like the mundane task known as laundry—and was dreaming fitfully when furious knocking at my front door roused me.
Sliding out of bed, I padded groggily through the apartment. Unlocking the deadbolt, I eased the door open and found Liam on the other side, bouncing from foot to foot, looking too energetic for my liking.
“What time is it?” I muttered, flipping the latch on the security door.
“Six thirty,” he replied. “Did I wake you?”
Not waiting for an answer, he burst into my apartment, his eyes ablaze with excitement. He caught me around the waist and pulled me close, twirling me around once before setting me down.
Laughing, I asked, “What’s the matter with you? Got ants in your pants?”
“Figuratively speaking.” He kissed me on the forehead and smoothe
d my tangled hair behind my ears.
After everything we’d been through—the mess, the misunderstandings, the fights, the makeovers, the one-night stands—being with him, touching, kissing, talking…it was all natural. I wasn’t shy, I didn’t hesitate, and I certainly enjoyed being vocal in other areas.
I was pretty sure Liam knew it, but he was the one who’d reignited my thirst for life and love. He was the catalyst I’d been waiting for all these years. He’d shown me the way, and now I was taking the path. Talk about an epic metaphor.
And Liam? He was walking the talk right beside me. So far, we were doing perfectly. Partners in crime.
“Are you horny?” I asked, pressing against him. “Or are you here for something else?”
“Something else, but I can be here for that, too.”
“You’re insatiable.”
“Greedy more like it.”
“It’s not greedy if I’m offering,” I retorted.
Cupping my face in his big hands, he smiled. “I’ve got a proposition for you.”
My eyes widened, and I felt a trickle of sweat begin to bead on my forehead. Proposition? He had the crazy eye right now, and I wasn’t sure what he was playing at. It could be anything, but the first thing that popped into my mind was ‘wedding,’ and I felt like puking.
“Don’t piss yourself, Ali,” he said with a chuckle. “Just listen for a moment…”
I nodded as his thumbs brushed over my cheeks.
“After everything…” he began, his voice taking on a serious tone. “After all the bullshit… I’ve realized something. I’m your person now. No matter what happens, you’re not going to be alone anymore, you hear?”
I frowned. “I thought that was a given?”
“It is,” he replied. “That’s why I want to take you away. Leave everything behind and start somewhere new. Just you and me.”
I froze, not understanding where this was coming from. Hardly any time had passed since his last fight at The Underground, and his face and body still bore the marks of Viper’s attempted murder. Because that was what it was. No need to beat around the bush about it. If I hadn’t shown up when I did, this story would’ve had a different ending.
