by Stella Night
***
“Sadie!” Dimitri yelled, struggling against his bindings to break free and go to her.
Her face contorted in pain. Her mouth opened in a silent scream, like she couldn’t force the air from her throat. Tendons stood out on her neck like thick cords.
Then she slumped in the chair, shivering, sobbing, and breathing harshly.
Conrad clapped his hands together. “Excellent,” he exclaimed. “She survived.”
“What do you mean she survived?” Dimitri demanded.
“Well, full disclosure. There was a chance it killed her instantly, her being human and all. Of course, that was a chance I was willing to take.”
“I’ll kill you for that,” Dimitri growled.
“I’m sure you would. Too bad I’m her only chance of survival now. You kill me and you’re killing her, too.”
Dimitri looked at Sadie, slumped over in the chair, held up only by the ropes wrapped around her. Seeing her in pain was like a knife to his heart. He would give anything to trade places with her. Anything to take the pain away.
He turned to the man who’d put them in this situation. The man who had caused them both so much pain. Hatred burned in his soul, hotter than the sun. Every instinct told him to fight. To kill.
All the years of fighting seemed to lead up to this moment, but at the same time, he couldn’t fight his way out of this. No amount of violence would save the woman he loved.
This time things were different. He had to be different. He had to fight the urges inside himself, suppress his warrior impulse. He had to do something harder than fight. He had to surrender.
“Alright, Conrad, you win. You win. Just make sure she’s not in any pain.”
Conrad looked down at him triumphantly. “That’s the spirit. I promise you, you’ll find that working with me instead of against me is the more rewarding path.”
“So how does this work? We’re your slaves forever?”
“No, not forever. Eventually, once you’ve proven your loyalty to me, I can give you both the antidote. I can set you free. Until then, I give you my own brand of treatment, to keep the poison from finishing you off. I suspect my concoction is more effective than Ms. Fisher’s.”
“Like you’ll ever trust me. After all the things you’ve done to me. To us. You’ll never set us free.”
Conrad spread his hands. “Perhaps not. Time will tell. But either way, I’m looking forward to a long and beneficial partnership.”
“So that’s it? You just untie me, and I’m one of your goons?”
“Not quite,” Conrad said, shaking his head. “She’s already shown me what she can do. You have not. And while I’m confident you’ll be a welcome addition to the team, I need to make sure.”
Conrad left the closet and returned with several armed men. Garrett was among them, but Dimitri noticed he wasn’t armed. And two of the men were holding his arms, as if he was being detained.
“So here’s the deal,” Conrad said. “I have a problem. I value loyalty above all else. But Garrett here has obviously been less than discreet.”
“What are you talking about?” Garrett asked. “I’ve been nothing but loyal.”
“Well, that can’t be the truth, seeing as how Dimitri here showed up looking for you. And that has caused me a whole mess of problems. But like I always say, every problem is an opportunity. So here’s your opportunity to win my trust back.”
“I don’t understand,” Garrett said.
“Of course, you don’t. That’s why I’m the boss and you’re just muscle. Garrett, you and Dimitri are going to fight. To the death. Garrett wins, he’s back in my good graces. Dimitri wins, he’s passed his job interview. Either way, one of you has to die.”
***
The words cut through the fog of pain in Sadie’s brain. She looked at Dimitri, seeing the shock and hurt on his face. The man may have killed people, but he wasn’t a murderer. Forcing him to turn on his friend seemed like forcing him to betray everything he believed in.
Sadie wanted to say something, but she felt too weak to speak.
“I’m not going to kill Garrett,” Dimitri said. “I’ll work for you. I’ll do whatever you want. But there has to be another way.”
“No,” Conrad said, shaking his head sadly. “This is the only way. It’s a win-win for me. If Garrett wins, he proves he’s more loyal to me than to old friendships. If you win, you show me the same thing, and you prove that you can follow my orders. No matter how distasteful.”
“Boss, I’ve done everything you’ve ever asked of me,” Garrett said, his voice choked with emotion. “But I can’t kill my friend.”
“Hmm, I thought you might say that,” Conrad said, tapping a finger to his lips. “Fine, I’ll sweeten the pot. Now that I’ve gotten the idea in my head, I really want this to happen. Garrett, if you win, if you kill the man you call your friend for me, I’ll give you this.” Conrad pulled the little black case out of his inner coat pocket. He removed another syringe from it. This one was filled with blue liquid.
“Is that the antidote?” Garrett asked, his voice shaking.
“It is, indeed,” Conrad said merrily.
Sadie was starting to see that Conrad was insane or close to it. He seemed to be taking great delight in torturing all of them. Playing mind games to force friends to turn against each other. Manipulating his enemies to work for him. Having two men fight to the death for his own amusement.
He had seemed so normal before. Yeah, he’d seemed like a creep, but pretty regular. But underneath that veneer was a sick sadistic heart. A man who cared nothing for human life. Too dangerous to exist.
Sadie had never truly believed in evil, but seeing the true face of Conrad, she believed in it now.
Garrett eyed the antidote hungrily. Raw desire burning in his eyes. This was a man who had suffered under the crushing boot heel of this sadistic psycho for too long. A man without hope. But that syringe seemed to look like the only ray of light in his dark existence. Sadie knew what he was going to say even before he spoke.
“I’ll do it,” Garrett said. “I’m sorry, Dimitri. But I’ll do it.”
“Garrett, no,” Dimitri said.
Conrad ignored him. “Splendid! See? Garrett is on board. Come on, Dimitri. Where’s that fighting spirit?”
“Please don’t make me do this,” Dimitri said.
“I’m not making you do anything. The beauty of this arrangement is that I only need one of you to agree. You can choose not to fight your friend. By all means, feel free to just stand there and die. It’s of little consequence to me. Either way, my new business partners will get a hell of a show.”
“What are you talking about?” Dimitri asked.
“I’ve got a big shipment in. Tonight, very soon, I’m about to sell that shipment to a cartel I’ve never worked with before. I want to show them who they’re working with. Make sure they understand what kind of muscle I’ve got working for me.”
“So this isn’t a test at all? We’re just supposed to kill each other so you can show off?”
“A little of column A, a little of column B.” He turned to one of the armed men. “Untie him and bring him into the main area. And bring the woman, too. I’m sure she’d hate to miss the show.” He clapped his hands together gleefully. “The games are about to begin!”
Chapter 15
Sadie stood in the main area of the warehouse, watching Dimitri square up against Garrett in the center of the space. They stood opposite each other, silent and staring, preparing for a fight that only one of them would walk away from.
Two groups of tough-looking men stood on either side of the warehouse. On one side was Conrad’s gang, all slick and in their tailored suits. On the other side was a group she’d never seen before. They weren’t nearly as well-dressed as Conrad’s guys, but the pistols they held were just as deadly.
Conrad strutted around the center of the makeshift ring like a proud peacock. He looked like a circus ringmaster, ready
to kick off the festivities. He seemed to feed off the buzz of energy in the building, becoming more animated by the moment.
“Gentlemen,” he announced, spreading his arms grandly and flashing his shark tooth smile at his audience. “I have a special treat tonight. For your entertainment, and to see what kind of power I have at my command, I present to you a battle to the death, unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. Two warriors stand before you, thirsty for blood. But these aren’t just any fighters. They are beasts in the truest sense of the word. Truly at the the top of the food chain.”
He turned to address the two men. “Time to shift. Make me proud boys.”
Dimitri looked at him, horrified. “You want us to shift? And expose our secret?”
Conrad leaned in. Sadie could just barely hear him. “Damn right you’re gonna shift. They have to see what my people are capable of, and the only way to do that is to shift. While I sense your hesitation, just know that if you don’t shift, my boys will gun you down where you stand.”
Conrad stepped out from between the two fighters. “Fight!” he yelled, lifting his hands.
Sadie saw Dimitri holding back, but Garrett didn’t seem to share the same reservations. The air seemed to shimmer around him like a heat mirage. The man disappeared. His clothes fell into a heap on the warehouse floor. In his place stood a vicious looking bear.
The bear lifted its slavering jaws and let out a mighty roar that shook the walls of the warehouse. Conrad’s men cheered. The other men looked shocked, their hard demeanors shattering in their surprise. They looked like children watching a magic show, gaping at the impossible.
The bear took a step toward Dimitri. He shook his head. Then he shifted. His mighty black lion shimmered into existence, almost as big as the sandy colored bear in front of him. The spectators went wild, excited about the prospect of blood.
Sadie just felt sick. It wasn’t just the toxins coursing through her, making her weak. She couldn’t bear to see the man she loved forced to fight like some kind of gladiator. She knew how weak he was in shifter form right now because of the poison. She could see the pain in his eyes.
Garrett didn’t seem to share the same weakness. Maybe it was like Conrad had said. His version of the treatment was better than the elixir she’d cobbled together.
If the way she was feeling was any indication, Sadie was amazed at how well Dimitri had been holding up under the influence of the poison. Her entire body ached and her limbs felt like jelly. If he felt even a fraction of what she was feeling, the man was truly stronger than she could have imagined.
But now, in his weakened state, he had to face off against a monstrous beast. And Garrett looked fresh and spry compared to her wounded lion. She said a quiet prayer to her guardian angel, begging for Dimitri to make it through this.
“Seraphina,” she whispered, putting every ounce of emotion into the single word.
Conrad came to stand next to her. “I told you when we first met we’d work well together. Let’s just hope your man is up to the challenge.”
She did her best to ignore him. All her attention was on Dimitri. He stood motionless as the bear shuffled toward him. There was something proud and regal in Dimitri’s demeanor, even though he was in so much pain. Even though he was staring into the jaws of death.
The men watching around them were cheering and shouting. She heard them placing bets on the winner, like this was just a game to them. None of them cared that the man she loved was out there, about to bleed. About to suffer.
Even if he won, he wouldn’t come out unscathed, both physically and mentally. Despite everything that had transpired that night, Dimitri still considered Garrett a friend. Killing his friend would scar him forever. It was a wound from which he might never recover.
Just then, Garrett charged, swiping a meaty paw at Dimitri’s head. The claws looked sharp and deadly. Eight inches of murderous rage propelled by the mighty weight of the bear. The fight looked like it would be over before it had even begun.
Dimitri ducked his head at the last second. The claws sliced through the air above his face, ruffling his mane but leaving him otherwise untouched. He sprang away from the bear, his movements graceful and powerful.
Garrett pressed the attack, all rage and raw power. Dimitri avoided the attacks, with grace and agility. They were two very different animals.
But Dimitri wasn’t attacking back. He dodged around the bear’s slashing blows and snapping jaws. Barely avoiding fatal blows again and again.
He looked like he was getting tired. Meanwhile, Garrett’s energy seemed to be ramping up. He moved faster than a beast his size should move.
Sadie’s heart sank. It was only a matter of time before one of the strikes hit home. If Dimitri refused to fight, his fate was sealed.
***
Dimitri’s breathing was ragged and his heart was pounding in his chest. It was hard to think. Hard to to do anything but avoid the onslaught of attacks.
Still, he wracked his brain for a way out of this mess. He didn’t want to fight his friend. It went against his very nature. They’d been through hell together. It couldn’t end like this.
Dimitri had killed before. But every life he’d ever taken had served some greater purpose. That fact made those terrible acts more bearable. He might never be able to fully forgive himself for the people he’d hurt, but at least he could live with himself.
But this was completely different.
This wasn’t a noble fight. It was a cheap display of power for the sadistic Conrad. This was murder for sport. He couldn’t bring himself to do it.
Even if he could bring himself to fight, he didn’t know if he could win. Garrett was strong. If they’d been on even footing, Dimitri probably could have taken him. But he was hurting. Tired. Dying.
He glanced over at Sadie, her face drawn with worry. It broke his heart to see her that way. She was such an amazing woman. It scared him how much he cared about her. But all he’d done is cause her pain and trouble since the first day they’d met.
He’d meant what he said earlier. She would have been better off if he’d never shown up at the Sanctuary. He should have let the poison do its work and drain the life from him.
But he hadn’t, and now she was in this mess as deeply as he was. Even now, he would let Garrett kill him if it meant helping her, but his death would serve no purpose. She wouldn’t be better off. Sadie would be stuck working for this psycho bastard and she would be all alone.
He couldn’t let that happen. And that meant he couldn’t lose this fight.
Garrett came at him with another barrage of attacks. Dimitri danced away, just out of range. But just barely.
If only he could talk to Garrett. Get him to stop this madness. Together, they could fight their way out of this mess. But they couldn’t talk in shifter form. Dimitri would have to shift back.
But he didn’t dare. Not when Garrett kept pressing the attack. Dimitri was much more agile in his cat form. In his human form, he’d be ripped to shreds in seconds. He had to be smart. Had to think of a strategy to get in close so he could talk to his friend.
First, he had to put Garrett on the defensive.
Dimitri lunged at Garrett, using every ounce of speed to slip through Garrett’s claws. He swiped at the bear’s head like a cat batting at a ball of string. Only this cat had paws the size of dinner plates. He kept his claws retracted, but the blunt force from his blows was enough to make the bear pause and fall back.
Garret cocked his head sideways to look at Dimitri. Dimitri prayed his friend had understood his silent message. By not using his claws, he was telling his friend he didn’t want to kill him.
He couldn’t tell if Garrett understood. It wasn’t easy to gauge the facial expression of a bear. They weren’t the most emotive of animals. Still, he thought he could sense the wheels turning in his friends head, like he was trying to understand.
That was a start.
Dimitri bounded towards the bear. Garrett sw
iped his claw out, but Dimitri dodged and made it behind his friend. He pounced at the bear’s exposed back, shifting back to human form in midair. He wrapped his arms around the bear’s neck and held on for dear life.
Garrett reared up on his back legs. For a brief moment, Dimitri wondered just how absurd the scene looked. A naked man clutching onto a floundering bear in a warehouse surrounded by cheering men. It was like something out of a bad fever dream. He would have laughed if he wasn’t fighting for his life.
Dimitri struggled to get his mouth close to Garrett’s ears. He needed the bear to hear him over the clamor of the crowd.
