The other man slumped to the concrete for a charged moment while Rafe danced back. He spread his hands to his sides, his lips moving in a clear taunt that the crowd swallowed up. Whatever it was got his opponent back on his feet, his face contorted in a snarl of rage.
“Come on, Rafe,” Nina whispered.
Rafe twisted out of the way at the last moment. The fighter couldn’t stop abruptly enough, especially when Rafe planted a hand at his back and helped him slam face-first into the cage. Knox tensed, because he knew what was coming next.
Boyd had told them to give the people a show, and Rafe delivered. He curled his fingers around the injector at the back of the man’s spine and tore it free with a roar. His opponent howled in agony and crumpled to the concrete, his body jerking.
Rafe held his gruesome prize above his head as the fickle crowd switched sides, screeching their approval of the violence and destruction. Even Boyd seemed pleased, grinning in his booth as he waved a hand like a king and gave them permission to clear the cage.
Knox was probably the only one who knew Rafe well enough to see the rage seething in his eyes. He’d given the crowd their show, but he would never forgive Boyd for forcing the brutal display.
Appreciative fans tried to mob Rafe when he stepped out of the cage. He kept his expression easy, and his charming smile probably fooled most of them. In moments, though, he’d extricated himself, strolling back to meet Knox’s gaze with all that anger and more than a hint of challenge.
“You didn’t have to take that many hits,” Knox murmured.
“I know.” Rafe glanced at Dani, clearly trying to raise one eyebrow and not doing a great job with his eye rapidly swelling. “You gonna critique me too?”
“Would you listen to me if I did?”
“Maybe. Where’s my shirt?”
“Talk to Gray.” Dani wiped a smudge of blood from Rafe’s cheek. “I’m not sure all your new fans want you wearing one, though.”
“Too bad.” Rafe tried to smile and winced as his split lip started bleeding again.
Boyd sauntered over from his booth in the corner. He climbed up onto a platform next to the cage, where two men were busily hosing blood off the concrete floor. He raised his arms, and a relative hush fell over the bar.
“You all know our undefeated champion.” He spoke with all the gravitas of a king addressing his court. “Every week—sometimes every night—you come here. You drink, you have fun, and you watch Diesel kick some ass.” The cheers rose again, deafening in their volume, until Boyd cut them off again. “Tonight, someone came here, thinking he could beat Diesel. A stranger.”
His gaze cut to Knox.
Heads swiveled in his direction. Knox let his emotions drop away, a ritual so familiar it might as well have been muscle memory. He shed his feelings as he shed his shirt, stripping it over his head without any particular concern for the heavy, hungry stares from the crowd.
They wanted his blood. His pain. They wanted a good show.
Knox had to give them one.
Nina turned to face him. “Knox—” Don’t do this. The words were unmistakable, blazing in her eyes, but she held them back. “Be careful. And…”
The soft worry on her face threatened to shatter his comforting blankness. “Yeah?”
“Remember what you’re fighting for.”
His gaze stole to Conall. Rafe stood next to him, making a face as Conall prodded his various injuries. The techie’s face was drawn, stress lines digging grooves into his forehead and around his eyes.
“I won’t forget,” Knox murmured. The crowd parted before him, and he stepped forward.
Nina pulled him back. She folded her hand around the back of his neck, her fingers trembling on his skin, and drew his mouth down to hers.
The shock of it shattered his calm.
Heat roared through him. Her lips were softer than he’d let himself imagine, warm and full and parting before his brain had time to catch up with what was happening.
His body didn’t wait. He took advantage of her offer on instinct, licking her lower lip to drag a small, muffled moan from her. He drove one hand into the tumble of loose hair at the back of her head and spread his fingers wide, and then it was his turn to groan as she licked his tongue.
Not shy. Not restrained. Her kiss was as bold as she was, fearless and intense,