by K. J. Dahlen
“Your friends are more cowardly than you are.” Ana sneered. “They will fail you as sure as Joel and Martin did. That’s if they even try at all.”
“They will more than try,” Caleb warned.
Ana turned her back and began walking away when Caleb charged at the bars. Slamming into the wall between them, he reached out and tried to grab hold of Ana. He got hold of her hair and tried to pull her back to him but Ana turned with a blade in her hand and nicked his neck. It had been pressed up against the bars and was laid open to her blade.
Caleb screamed and let go of her to grasp his wound. “You dirty bitch!” he screamed as he moved away from the bars. “You cut me.”
Yuri and the others were frozen at the event that had just taken place in front of them. It had happened so fast and was over before they could even move.
Ana kept the blade in her hand and moved out of his range. She felt Sazon come up behind her but she wouldn’t take her eyes off Caleb. “You don’t get to touch me you bastard. You don’t ever touch me again, or I’ll cut your balls off and ram them down your throat.”
Caleb glared at her while blood seeped through his fingers. “Oh, I’m going to enjoy using you.” He growled.
“You’re going to have to go through me first.” Sazon stared at him.
“As well as the rest of us,” Yuri stated. “But I doubt you’ll get the chance.”
Just then, they heard someone coming down the stairs. Yuri turned and saw Sam escorting another man covered in bruises down the steps. He shoved the other man into the room and when he fell to his knees, the other man looked up at Caleb.
Caleb could see that Joey had been badly beaten. He was sporting two black eyes and a broken nose along with a bloody mouth and some missing teeth. His hands were tied behind his back and his breathing was shallow and raspy.
Then they heard someone else coming down the steps and another body was tossed into the room. Jethro had escorted this man down stairs. Caleb looked at the man down on the floor and this man looked worse than Joey had been. Orlando sported the two black eyes and broken nose that Joey had and his jaw was hanging funny but he had a bruise forming on his neck that was shaped like a fist. His shirt was torn there were bruises on his chest and ribs as well. His breathing was sporadic, as if he couldn’t get a full breath.
Jethro looked at the others and shrugged his shoulders. “He might have a pierced lung from a broken rib. I did hear a loud crunch when I hit him.”
“So you’re down to only two friends now,” Roman reminded him. “And soon, they will be here in this cage, right alongside of you.”
Caleb snorted. “But these two will kick your ass. Jason and Karl are true fighters. They won’t get caught as easily as they did.”
“We didn’t exactly get caught that easily,” Joey grumbled.
Yuri motioned for Caleb to step back. Then he opened the cage door and shoved both Joey and Orlando inside the cage. The space was filling up quickly.
When Joey laid down on the floor he asked, “What happened to Joel and Martin?”
“The bitch got them with her blades.” Caleb snarled. “They’re dead.”
All four men inside the cage turned to glare at her.
“When this is over she’s mine,” Caleb said softly. “When I’m through with her, we can all watch her bleed out.”
Ana threw back her head and laughed out loud. She continued to laugh for a long time then she chuckled as she looked at the beaten men.
“Stop laughing at us.” Caleb growled.
“But you’re so stupid, I can’t help myself.” Ana snickered. “You don’t know when you’re beaten but you still have to brag don’t you? You actually think you’re going to get out of this alive!” She looked around the room then turned back to Caleb and his friends. “Do you have any idea who these men are?”
Caleb snorted. “They are dead men walking. That’s who they are.”
Ana shook her head and took a step closer to the cage. “These men are not someone you can just murder and walk away from. They are Russian Bratva, and members of two MC’s. If you kill one of them there isn’t going to be a rock big enough to hide your bodies. If you do manage to escape this cage, they will hunt you down like the rats you are and they will make you beg for death. They won’t ever stop, not until they find you and give you exactly what you deserve, no matter how long it takes. They will hunt you down. As it is, they will make you disappear and the world will never know what happened to you.” She snapped her fingers. “You’ll just be gone.”
Caleb’s eyes were no longer cold and vacant. He glanced at his friends and even he could see the tinge of fear in their eyes. They had gone into this unholy pact thinking no one would ever catch them, let alone stop them. Now they had been caught and there was no way out. “Get out of here and leave us alone.” Caleb snarled. He looked at the men behind her, “You still have two of us to catch don’t you?” He glared at them all before he asked, “What are you going to do with us when you’re done?”
Roman smiled. “We’ll let you think about that for a while. Your group brutally murdered twenty three men and woman. Think about that while you wait.”
Everyone walked out leaving Caleb, Corey, Orlando and Joey alone in the dark.
“So what are we going to do now, you bastard?” Orlando snarled.
“Why am I the bastard?” Caleb asked.
“Because this pact was your idea. This whole harebrained idea was yours and you talked us into it.”
“You didn’t have to join in,” Caleb reminded the others. His rage was calming as new ideas popped into his head.
“So now what?” Joey asked.
“Well, I don’t know what you’re going to do but I’m getting the hell out of here and I’m going to kill that little bitch before I disappear.”
“You are fucking nuts,” Orlando stated.
“No.” Caleb narrowed his eyes. “I’m not nuts, just determined. If I’m going to die, I’m taking her with me.” For a moment, his eyes glowed in the darkness. The glow was his mind slipping over the edge of sanity into the abyss of the unknown. He moved toward the door and began to search for a way to open the lock.
It was late afternoon before word came in that the last two men had been found and were on their way to the gym. Sam’s men had found them just outside of town. By the time they arrived, the two men were tied up and waiting for them. Not knowing how or who had caught them, they hauled the pair back to the gym.
Both men were roughed up just as bad as the others were but that was no consideration. When Sam opened the door to the cage room, something came flying out and when it hit him, he went down hard.
Deke saw his dad go down and ducked as the chair swung in his direction. He yelled for the others but while he was down on the floor he watched as Caleb ran over top of him. His shout brought boots stomping down the stairs and there were sounds of a struggle as Yuri’s security team re-caged the five men. Only when the crisis was over did they notice Caleb was missing from the group.
“Holy shit.” Sam gasped. “There’s one missing and he’s going to go after Ana.”
Kosta got on his phone and called in the threat to Yuri. Luckily, all the exits were covered and he couldn’t escape the gym. The bad news was everyone was still there, including Ana.
Yuri got the phone call while everyone was in Sazon’s office waiting on news of the last two members of the pack. When he hung up the phone, he looked carefully at Ana and Sazon. “Caleb escaped the cage and got out of the room when Sam went in to cage the last two men. He can’t get out of the gym but he’s still loose somewhere within these walls.”
“We can find him and take him out,” Roman announced to the group. “We have weapons and he’s got nothing.”
“No,” Ana whispered. “I won’t have you putting your lives on the line for me.” She turned to face Sazon and laid her hand along his jaw. “I finally know what this feeling is. It’s not just lust so it must be love. I love yo
u but this is something I have to do. I have to face this murderer and I have to be the one to stop him.”
Sazon surged to his feet. “NO, I will not allow it!” he shouted.
“Sazon.” She smiled. “You must have faith in me and God. Have faith that I know what I’m doing. Have faith that my grandfather and my brother taught me well and also that my guardian angel will protect me.”
Sazon felt defeated as fear took over his very being. “But I can’t lose you.”
“Then have faith in me because without that I can’t do what I now must do.”
Sazon felt tears roll down his face. Suddenly, he felt something in his heart growing but it wasn’t fear, it was the faith she had asked him for. He looked into her eyes.
She smiled. “I’ll need my sword and his too.”
Sazon got to his feet and went over to his safe. Reaching inside, he grabbed her sword and brought it out into the office. He went back and grabbed the sword they found at Caleb’s apartment.
Handing them both to Ana, he watched as she checked her blade and then checked the other. When she was finished, she looked at him and asked, “Is there a PA system in this gym?”
Sazon nodded and handed her a microphone.
“Caleb,” she called out softly. Her voice echoed in the silent building. “I know you’re free and that you’re looking for me. I’m willing to meet you. In fact, I insist we meet. No one else will stand in your way, or stop you. This will be a battle between you and me alone. In the ring. I’ll even give you your blade back to fight with. What do you say? Will you meet me or take the coward’s way out and run? I’ll be waiting for you in the center ring.” Ana shut down the PA and went to the door.
Everyone standing in the office got up and came to stand behind her.
She turned and addressed the whole group, “I have to ask that none of you come between us. You can watch but I beg of you to not interfere. This is between him and me.”
All the men grumbled but she held up her hand. “I know this is hard for you to swallow but I must ask that you do not interfere. The only way I can do this is to concentrate on what I must do.”
Yuri led the way to the center ring, then he and the others adjourned to the box seats. There they turned and watched her through the plate glass window, as she made her way into the ring.
She dropped the sword her grandfather made for Caleb at the front of the ring then made her way to the far end when she waited to see if Caleb would show.
A few minutes later, the door opened and Caleb came into the arena area. He couldn’t take his eyes off the ring and he watched her the whole time he made his way toward her. He stopped just inside the ring and the sword was in front of him on the padded floor.
He couldn’t take his eyes off her. He even smiled. “I have to tell you something.” He shrugged. “I was more than a little surprised at your invitation.”
“Why?” she asked. “This is where I hoped we’d end up all along.”
Caleb straightened his shoulders and drew himself up to his full height. “You do know you’re going to die here tonight, don’t you?”
“Well, one of us will,” she assured him.
“The battle is usually won by the strongest and I am stronger than you are.”
“Perhaps but I have more knowledge of the blades than you do.” She began pacing back and forth holding her blade toward the floor.
“I know enough. I’ve been practicing with this blade for months now and I’m pretty good with it.”
“Then you shouldn’t have any problems defeating me, should you?” She grinned at him hoping to throw him off his game.
Caleb cocked his head and gave her back a smile.
His eyes were different now and she could see it. He had fallen into the abyss of insanity and for him there was no coming back.
Ana wouldn’t let this throw her off her game though. She had to believe she could beat him or the game would be over and she would be dead. She cleared her mind like her grandfather taught her. She couldn’t think of anything right now, because there was nothing more important than winning this game.
She watched Caleb. Saw how he walked, how he moved. She took note of his injuries and still, she kept watching him. Her grandfather taught her to study her opponent until he made the first move and that’s what she did right now.
Caleb picked up the sword and swished it back and forth. He faked a few jabs and rolled his neck. She heard the pop of his neck bones and cringed at the sound. That sound always gave her the willies.
“Are you ready?” he asked her.
Ana nodded. She didn’t dare look into the box seats, she couldn’t. One look at Sazon and she might now be able to do this. She did send up a prayer that the men with him would hold him back while she fought for the right to live.
He paced one way and for the moment, she paced the other. When they both made a full circle, she was ready for him. When he stepped forward to rush her, she stepped aside. When his blade came down on hers, the clang of steel meeting steel rang in the silent warehouse.
He stepped away and smiled. His eyes watched her now. It was creepy the way he watched her but she shut her mind down and concentrated on the match.
He would strike and she would counter.
For the next half hour, they danced their way through it. Then something changed in Ana’s eyes and the next time she jabbed, she made it count. She sliced his arm from shoulder to elbow.
Caleb screamed at the pain but was able to shut it down quickly. “First blood to you,” he snarled. “But now it’s my turn.” He jabbed at her abdomen but she was able to block his sword.
Then she pounced with several short jabs each one making good. Caleb was now bleeding from six short shallow cuts to his shoulders and chest. He took a step away and peered down at his body. Looking back at her he snarled, “You fucking bitch. I’m going to enjoy killing you!”
Ana waited and watched as he threw out another jab and missed. Her blade came up and rang against his as she blocked several more attempts by him to get to her.
He broke away from her reach and by this time, he was slightly winded. His broken ribs were hurting but it was a pain he could over look. His mind was on the prize. He knew his blade was a little longer and heavier than her blade but his strength was waning and he knew he needed to end this soon. His strength was waning due to lack of blood. He surprised her by charging toward her swinging.
Ana held her place until the last minute then faked a left turn and when he went to follow, she turned in a complete circle and sank her blade into his chest. Her sword was buried so deep they stood face to face for a long moment then she took a step back.
Caleb stood there staring at her then his gaze dropped to the sword in his chest. He was surprised by it because for the moment he felt no pain, no pain at all.
Then Ana reached for her sword and when she pulled it out of his chest he felt every centimeter of the blade. First, he fell to his knees and then to his face down on the floor.
Ana hung her head for a moment then unexpectedly, Caleb turned onto his back and thrust his blade up at her. Ana felt the disturbance in the air and dodged out of the way of the blade. She then made a slashing movement and brought her sword down and laid it across his throat. In one fell swoop, she severed his head from his shoulders.
It took her a moment to move and when she did, she felt Sazon’s arms pulling her away from Caleb’s body. She planted her face into his broad chest. He picked her up and carried her out of the ring. He carried her all the way to his office where he sat down behind his desk with her in his lap. He took the first deep breath he could since she’d agreed to face Caleb. “Are you hurt anywhere?’ he whispered.
Ana shook her head. “Is he dead?”
Sazon snorted. “I think you could say that he is most definitely dead.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks and she couldn’t speak for a long time. Her tears wet the front of his shirt but Sazon didn’t mind.
&nb
sp; He just held her closer. He clasped the back of her head then held it to his chest and let her cry. When the others joined them, they stared at her for a moment then waited for her to finish.
Finally after a moment of silence, she looked around the room. She met their eyes and received nods from each of them before she turned her head back to Sazon’s chest.
One by one the other men left the room, finally it was just the two of them.
Ana raised her head and stared into Sazon’s eyes. “I love you,” she whispered.
Sazon couldn’t even speak. He just covered her mouth with his and kissed her into oblivion. When he broke the kiss neither of them said a word. Then he patted her hip and said, “Come on let’s go home.”
Ana got to her feet but swayed with exhaustion.
Sazon lifted her up into his arms and carried her out to his car.
A short drive later, he pulled into a driveway and Ana raised her head to see where they were.
The house itself was a one story house with a wraparound porch. It was a southern style home made of brick and stone but it suited Sazon. When she got out of the car and went to the front door, it felt warm and inviting. When he opened the door and they walked inside, she could see the muted colors and the soft leather furniture.
The open floor plan let her see into the kitchen and the living room. Both rooms melded together seamlessly. She could appreciate the effort he put into making this house into a home.
Sazon took her hand and led her down a short hall and into a bedroom.
There, he carefully began stripping her inspecting her body for any cuts or other injuries. When he found none, he couldn’t believe it. He gathered her naked body to his and just held her close to him for a moment. Then he carried her into the bathroom. Sitting her on the toilet, he turned to the shower and turned on the water. When he stepped back, he shed his own clothes and gathered her in his arms and they both stepped into the water.
Sazon grabbed a bar of soap and began rubbing it all over her body. He couldn’t help the tears that ran down his own cheeks and he felt the joy in his heart that she was still alive. Laying his forehead to hers, he finally whispered the words she needed to hear, “I love you.”
