Staring at his brand-new opponent, Drago got to his feet.
“You will fight me,” he said.
Ben entered the ring, and Drago glared at him.
“My man will take Belle, and then you and I are going to have a talk.”
“That’s not the deal,” Ben said. “She knows what she’s got to do.”
Drago stepped forward. “You want to run that deal by me again, fucker?”
“Ladies and gentlemen, it looks like this fight has just gotten interesting.”
While Ben dealt with the audience and the change in fight he moved toward Carlos. “Get her out of here.”
“I can’t. No. My baby,” Belle said. She was gasping, clutching her stomach.
He cupped her cheek, tilting her head back. One of her eyes was already swollen shut and the other was getting there.
“I’ll get your baby, Belle. Do you remember me?”
She frowned and nodded, then winced.
“Carlos is my friend. He’ll take care of you. That I promise you. I’ll get your little girl back, and this business will be settled.”
He nodded at Carlos and waited for the man to leave before he turned back to the fight. Deadman and Ben were talking.
Rolling up the sleeves of his shirt, he stared at Deadman. He’d been hitting Belle repeatedly, hurting her, blow by blow, and he was fucking done with monsters like this. He was going to make this fucker pay, and then he was going to deal with Ben.
He listened for the sound of the gong, the urge to kill running through his bones. He had to do this to protect her.
The gong sounded, and he charged. Slamming his fist against the fucker’s face, Drago allowed himself to release the beast within him. All it took was picturing Belle’s broken body for him to hurt Deadman. Within seconds he had his opponent on the floor, and he kept on hitting him until Deadman collapsed, tapping his hand out.
When he was sure the man wouldn’t get back up again, he focused on Ben.
“It was an all or nothing fight,” Ben said. “Kill him or you get nothing.”
Drago took a step toward him. Ben made to step back, but Drago caught him by the collar, pulling him up against him. “I want her kid, and I want her now. You want to take me on, Ben, try me. I know you. You try to hide from me, I will find you. I will kill you, but I’ll make it hurt first. Do you understand me?”
“This is not your fight.”
“It became my fight the moment you entered her in it for the death. You were going to kill her, and what, groom her kid to take her place?”
“That bitch made a fucking mint when she was younger. A lot of people like to see kids beating the shit out of each other among other things.”
Drawing his head back, he slammed it forward, knocking Ben out. He’d get Belle’s kid back, and then he’d make it his personal mission to destroy every last one of these assholes.
Chapter Two
Belle slipped in and out of consciousness—drifting, floating, unable and unwilling to wake. She savored this realm, one void of pain and suffering. Maybe she’d stay here forever.
Her fantasy was short-lived.
The car jolted to a stop, forcing her into the waking world. She licked her cracked lips, every inch of her body screaming at her. At least one rib was broken, probably worse by the amount of pain she was in. The last thing she remembered was the bright lights in the ring blinding her, but now it was all darkness. Had she died and gone to hell? It was as much as she deserved.
A man opened the rear passenger door and reached for her, but she shoved his hands away. “Don’t touch me!”
“Awake, I see.” It was Drago’s friend. Everything came back in a rush, and her world halted to a stop.
“Take me back. You had no right to interfere with my fight,” she said. Now that she was fully conscious, she had to deal with her cold, hard reality. She’d worked her ass off to win her last nine fights. Only one more and this nightmare would be over with and she could get her baby back.
Carlos braced his forearm on the roof of the car, leaning partially inside. She could make out the goofy grin on his face, even in the shadows, and she wanted to wipe it off.
“You must have a selective memory. From what I saw, the fight was over before it began.”
She glared at him, adjusting up into a seated position. Pain sluiced through her body, stealing her breath. She stifled a gasp, taught never to show her weaknesses. “You don’t know anything.” She ran her tongue along the inside of her cheeks, the metallic taste one of her constant companions lately.
“If you’re worried about your daughter, don’t be. Drago said he’d get her back.”