Warped (Dueling Devils Book 4) (8 page)

He
left his room and prowled down the hallway looking for a distraction. The sound
of cheers out back drew him to the back door. The semi-circle of people told
him they were hosting an impromptu bare-knuckled fight. Now and then, they put
together events to earn paper, but this was a way to blow off steam. He pushed
his way through the crowd and watched as two of the prospects exchanged blows.

Equally
matched, both Taco and Flash had tall, lean builds and stood just under six
feet tall. Flash caught Taco with a hard left. Blood flew from his mouth. Taco
stumbled back. His eyes glazed. Flash seized the moment and dug into him with a
left-right combo. He finished him off with a vicious uppercut that lifted
Taco’s body off the ground. The crowd
oohed
. Taco hit the ground with a
thud and lay still.

Loco
stepped over his body and grabbed Flash’s wrist. He lifted it up. “And the
winner is, Flash.”

Cheers
rose up around him. Monster stepped up. “Now, who wants to challenge me?”

Silence
fell. He balled his fists, itching to relieve some tension and fight his demons
the only way he knew how…with violence. He beat the voices away with his fists
to flesh.

“I
will.” Rock stepped up. Shaved bald, the brown-skinned brother was named for
his solid, six-foot-two inch frame.

“Bring
it, brother,” Monster said rolling his shoulders.

Rock
tilted his head from one side to the other.

The
sound of crackling bones broke the hush. Boots stomped on the ground. Roars of
approval came from their brethren.

The
prospect had been around about a year and was now on the verge of being patched
in. He was steady like his name. Dependable in a pinch and pretty mellow in
temperament, he was the kind of person you were happy to have at your back.  

“Holy
shit boys. We got ourselves a real battle. Get your money ready,” Loco yelled.

A
few prospects ran out, helped Taco up, and led him away, effectively clearing
the ring.

“Bump
fists gentlemen. You know the rules. No below the belt,” Loco advised.

They
bumped fists, and Monster lifted his hands to his face. They began a dance as
old as time, circling one another. He shifted his weight, keeping his body
loose, the way his father taught him.

Rock’s
fist flew out and clipped his chin.

He’s
fast.
Monster countered with two blows to the body.

They
jumped apart and circled once more.

Rock
threw a punch and Monster stepped into it, relishing the feel of a fist meeting
the bones of his face as he began to pummel Rock’s body.
Break down the
body, bring down the man.
It’s not like my face can get any worse.
Rock
hit him with an upper cut that rattled his brain. He stumbled back. Rock lunged
forward, but the movement was sloppy. Monster stepped to the left. When Rock
turned back around, he was ready for him. Monster worked his body again.
Ignoring the blows raining down around his ears, he delivered another rapid
succession of hits to his stomach.

They
continued their back and forth.

His
right eye swelled. Blood dripped from his split lip.

Rock
was looking ragged too. His lip was puffy along with his left eye and Rock spit
out blood.

Monster
grinned. Hungry for release, he stalked toward Rock, ready to unleash his
reserves. He hit Rock with a wicked right hook. The giant faltered and he went
in on the attack, like a shark that’d scented blood in the water. Rock threw a
few half-hearted punches. Monster swatted them away like flies. With his rage
unbridled, he was a beast.

A
few minutes later, Rock fell to his knees.

Monster
put a vise grip on the angry creature inside him, and let Loco call it.

“Winner
and undefeated champion, Monster.”

“Monster,
Monster, Monster.” The crowd chanted his name.

It
was an empty victory, yet it appeased his anger. His bloodlust was sated, but
he found no relief in their adoration. He shuffled toward the entrance and
froze.

Two
sets of eyes were glued to his. One a fathomless blue, and the other a
hazel-colored pair, wide with what looked like fear.

His
stomach lurched.
Fuck, what is she doing here?
Things were going from
bad to worse. “Enjoy the fight?” Monster asked.

“Looked
like you made out better than Rock,” Chase replied.

“That’s
the point, to be the last man standing,” he answered Chase’s question, but his
gaze remained locked with Symone’s.

“Why?”
Symone whispered.

“Sometimes,
a man has to work things out.”

“Yeah,
it’s called talking. You should try it sometime. It’s a lot less painful,”
Chase quipped.

“Women
talk, men use their fists.” Monster shrugged. “The way of shit.”

“Uh-huh.”

“You
come here to bust my chops?”

“You
wish I cared that much about you?” Chase shot back.

He
smirked. The girl always gave as good as she got. He’d give her that.

“I
wanted to see you,” Symone said.

“You
did?” he asked.

“I…”
She glanced around.

“You
want to talk somewhere more private?” Monster prompted. He searched her face
for signs of fear or discomfort.

She
nodded.

 “Alright,
my room is this way.” He took her hand and began to lead her away. “Alright,
Chase, we’ll meet up with you in a few.”

The
blonde opened her mouth and closed it. She turned on her heels and walked away.

They
reached his room and he opened the door, allowing her to enter first. “I
would’ve straightened up if I knew you’d be in here.”

“It’s
okay. I—I won’t take up too much of your time.”

“Why
did you come? You made it pretty clear I wasn’t welcome earlier.” He leaned
back against his door and studied her.

“I—I
wanted to apologize.”

“For?”

“I
said things that were out of line.”

“No,
you spoke your mind. Don’t apologize for that. I don’t want blind obedience and
submission.”

“What
do you want?”

“I
thought I made that clear. You…any way I can have you.”

“You
said something that didn’t’ sit well with me. You said you were a monster. I
didn’t mean to make you feel like that. It’s not a problem. I’m fucking
terrified of the way you make me feel, and nothing about that feeling is—monstrous.”

He
ducked down to meet her gaze. “You’re not afraid of me?”

“Not
in the way you’re thinking. I haven’t known a lot of kindness from men. What
you offer and make me feel. It’s new and I don’t—I can’t trust it.”

“I
don’t hear you denying it.”

“No,
I’m not the type of woman who believes in living in denial. It never changes
the truth.”

“I
don’t want you to fear me, babe. We can take it slow. I told you that.”

She
glanced up at him. “I don’t know how to be what you want. I—I don’t even know
who I am anymore.”

“Then
we can find out together.”

She
laughed. “This is crazy.”

“What’s
crazy?”

“You,
this.” She gestured with her hands.

“Why?”

“Because
it’s not anything I would’ve expected. How can you be so, so...?”

He
arched an eyebrow.

“Unpredictable.”

“Sure,
let’s go for that. I mean, it’s not exactly the persona you portray.”

“Babe,
this is only because of you. For you. I see something I want for the first time
in years and I’m dead set on getting it.”

“I’m
not an
it
.”

“No,
babe, you’re everything.”

“You
don’t even know the can of worms you’re opening with me,” she whispered. “I’m
two steps away from insane.”

“I
like crazy.” Sensing her imminent surrender, he pushed away from the door and
stepped in her space to cup the back of her head. “You’re not going to dissuade
me, Symone. You and I are going to happen, babe. It’s just a matter of time.
You want that, don’t you?”

She
tilted her head back and peered up at him. “I want it.”

“Then,
that’s what you’ll get.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I need to take a
shower babe.”

“No.”
She gripped his cut. “Not yet.”

He
wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her body to his. He inhaled her
sweet tropical scent. She was curvy and soft in all the right places. The
contrast felt right. This was a miniscule move toward where he wanted to be
with her, but he knew damn well every journey started with a single step.

Symone
cleared her throat as her body began to stiffen.

He
loosened his hold, allowing his arms to fall to his sides.

“God,
I don’t know why I did that.”

“Don’t…”
He shook his head.

“Don’t
what?”

“Cheapen
what happened by taking it back.” She’d given him the world, showing up like
this. Having her deny him once more would be a harsh blow to his already
battered psyche.

She
smoothed back her hair with her hand and remained silent.

Monster
snatched up the small victory like a greedy child and held it close to his
chest. “Why don’t you take a seat while I shower and change?”

She
gestured toward the door. “Chase is waiting. I should join her.”

“Chase
is under protection. You don’t go wandering the club alone, you understand?
Misunderstandings happen fast and I’d hate to have to crush a motherfucker’s
skull over it.”

Her
jaw dropped.

“You
feel me?” he asked.

“Y-yeah,
I feel you.”

“Good.
The remote to the television is in the nightstand.” He walked to his closet,
grabbed a change of clothes and continued into the bathroom with more
confidence than he felt. The authority she responded to was an act. She made him
grasp at straws and struggle to remember the dominant alpha male he’d once
been. The pain, scars, self-loathing, stares, and unveiled disgust from women
had put a stranglehold on the confident, cocky teenager he’d once been. Every
time he fought to form a connection between him and Symone, he battled his
instincts. Being invisible had become something he was damn good at. For
Symone, he’d make himself seen and heard. There was no happiness in this life
without pain and sacrifice. A lesson he’d learned over the years. It was a
matter of what meant more. She was the light at the end of a dark tunnel. He wouldn’t
give her up without one hell of a fight.

Clean
and freshly clothed, he re-entered the room.

Symone
sat perched on the edge of the bed.

A
smile pulled the corners of his lips upward. “Something good on?”

She
jumped. “Oh, I guess. The TV is watching me more than I’m watching it.”

He
snickered. “You ready to go out and mingle?”

“Whatever
you want to do.” She placed her hands in her lap and bowed her head.

He
watched her retreat into her shell. “Fuck that, babe. It’s about what you
want.” He stalked over to the bed and kneeled down. “You don’t have to do
anything to please me. Here, you do what you want.”

She
shifted her weight on the bed.

He
gripped her chin and forced her to look at him. “Who did this to you?”

“It
took a lot of someone’s, Monster. I wanted to wait to tell you, because it’s
going to kill me to watch the light drain from your eyes when you learn the
truth.”

“What
are you talking about?”

“I
was a whore for hire. From the time I was sixteen, I worked in the most
exclusive chattel in my neighborhood. It’s all I’ve ever known, and for the
most part, I liked it. I played a role, provided a service and in exchange, I
was well taken care of. Then one of the girls left and I started to want more.
Gia and I, we—we plotted, planned, and waited for our chance to escape. When it
came, we took it. She got away and I didn’t. Our madam, Mylandra, never let me
forget that.” She touched her face. “These were a permanent reminder of my
greatest failing. I’ve prayed many times over for death since that day, but it
never came. We come here and I see Gia thriving, happy, and so fucking
beautiful it makes my heart break. I love her and hate her at the same time. It
fucks with my head daily. This is the first time I’ve ever been on my own. I
don’t know what I’m doing. W-Who I am, or how I should feel. So, you can
understand why I don’t think I can be the woman you need.”

“That’s
where you’re wrong. You already are.”

“You
don’t even know me,” she hissed.

“I
know enough. Your story makes me want you more. You’re a survivor like me. You
know what pain and loss are. I’m a broken man, but for you, I’ll try. See, I
have a bad track record. People who depend on me get hurt. The way I look is my
reminder of how much I failed my mother, my father, and my brother. I got him
out that night and I let my mother burn. I knew this was my punishment, and I
accepted that and all that came with it…until you.” He swallowed down the lump
in his throat, relieved to voice the words out loud for the first time. The Dueling
Devils didn’t exactly do the shrink thing.