and frowning as a door opens and a horde of evil looking guys with baseball bats charge into the ring.
“And now, presenting!” the announcer booms as the lights begin to flash dramatically. “El perro! El diablo! The one and only, Beast!”
And then, I hear it. It starts down in the cheap seats, as a murmuring chant.
“Hush.”
“Hush.”
“Hush. Hush. Hush. Hush. Hush!”
I turn to Elena again. “They’re really having one guy fight ten armed guys?”
She makes a sour face and turns to raise a hand at the bartender across the room. “Tequila,” she mutters thinly before turning to me. “You want one?”
I shake my head and look back at the ring. I want to look away, but I can’t. The idea of him fighting all of them…
I pale, biting my lip.
They’re going to kill him. No one can fight ten armed attackers by themselves, that’s impossible.
The crowd keeps chanting his name, and suddenly, the door opposite the one the ten guys came through swings open. The crowds go wild, and suddenly, from out of the shadows, there he is.
My beast.
I blush, feeling a thrilling tingle tease through my body, through my core to send heat between my thighs. His face is blank, but gorgeous. He’s shirtless, all muscles and tattoo ink. And he’s freaking huge.
He steps into the ring, eyeing the guys across from him and then turning to scan the crowd. I stare right at him, barely breathing, my hands clenched tight. But then instantly, like he knows somehow, his eyes dart up to the box until he’s staring right at me. I gasp sharply, but he just holds my gaze.
And he grins.
I shiver, and my heart flips. Heat pools between my thighs, and a raw desire burns inside of me.
…Something is very, very wrong with me.
The bell rings, my beast pulls his eyes away from me, and then, it’s on. The beast—Hush Hush—turns once more, and again, his eyes find mine. He holds them, raw fire blazing in those captivating dark pools even from way up here. The men start to advance on him, but he doesn’t turn away. He doesn’t blink, up until the very last second.
And then, silent as always, he turns towards his foes, and the crowd roars.
Chapter Three
Hush
My vision swims. My head weighs a million pounds. Blood trickles into my eyes, half blinding me.
…Okay, ten might be pushing it.
Seven already lay dead or crippled at my feet. The other three are hurt, but so am I. Five of the ten had blades, and a few have found their mark on my body. The pain in my side burns hot, and I know that’s a bad one—right between the ribs. The bat to the head didn’t help, making me foggy, and slow.
Don’t look. Don’t look at her.
But I do. I lift my eyes to that glassed-in VIP box up above the stands, and my gaze burns into her again. Strength roars through me, and I turn back with a growl to the other three.
Fuck this waiting game.
I charge first, barreling right towards them like a fucking train engine. The first one screams, and when I grab his knife hand and twist sharply, he screams worse. He won’t use that wrist again.
I slam an elbow into his face, and the lights go out. I turn, growling as the bat slams into my shoulder. It swings again, and this time it fucking splinters over my back, and God fucking damnit that hurts. The darkness closes in, and I know I’ve got seconds left.
Kill or be killed. It’s the only way I’m walking out of here tonight.
A week ago, even, I’d have admitted that this was the end of a long, broken road—that this was the last ride. But with her up there?
No.
This will not be the end. Because I haven’t claimed her yet.
My desert rose.
Snarling, I turn, grab one, pick him up in the air, and throw him at the second. They tumble in a heap, and I’m all over then. I roar like a lion as I slam into them, grabbing them both up by the necks. My muscles tense, my jaw clenches, and with a sickening crunch, I slam both men together. The lights snuff out, and the crowd lunges to their feet as I toss the two men’s bodies down at my feet.
Death smiles on me.
…Fuck you, death.
I manage to open my eyes once more as the darkness closes in. I look up, and I see her. I see my angel, and I know it’s the