and swollen face is there, but so is the determination.
His blue eyes are like a balm to my soul, the same soul that the troupers tried to stomp out. I can feel Cliff feeding me with confidence, shoving away the shadows of incapacitating doubt. But I can also feel his love.
I swallow hard, wishing time could hold still right here, with Cliff looking at me like that and Jericho at my side. I want to hold onto this moment and keep it safe in my chest, where Kaazu can’t take it.
Cliff gives me a single nod. The same nod he gave me when I ran that night. The nod that speaks volumes. The one that says all the things that Jericho just spoke.
Memories flash in my mind of all the times Cliff’s been there for me. All those times when I got dragged off stage after losing a fight, or when I had a brutal training or endured a harsh punishment. Cliff was there, every time, reminding me that I can get through this.
And if Cliff can still fight...if he can still pull out the will and help me, after all he’s been through, then so can I. He’s using every ounce of the strength he has left to give me the confidence I need, and I’m not going to fucking waste it.
Jericho showed up tonight, he risked everything to be here, reminding me who I am, and I’m not going to let him down by giving up.
I’m not going to let either of them down.
I roll over to my side, cursing the whole time while my body screams in protest as I get up. Shaking, I put my hands beneath me, and Jericho uses his weight to evenly distribute the square. With several hisses of pain, I manage to make it to my feet. Everything fucking hurts, but I’m standing.
“I knew you could do it,” Jericho says, but I swear, it sounds like Cliff too.
“You shouldn’t have come alone. I can’t believe you fucking came here alone like a fucking idiot,” I grumble as I test my exhausted and injured body, determining which parts of me are worse off. “You shouldn’t have rushed in like a goddamn hero with a cock complex, you ass.”
“And you shouldn’t have lied to me,” Jericho counters before leaning in, acting like he’s brushing the hair out of my face. But really, it’s just a way to move his lips closer to my ear. “And Jetta? I’m a misfit. Misfits have each other’s backs. Or haven’t you learned that yet?”
Frowning, I open my mouth to ask what he means, but the audience is on their feet, applause deafening, and I know Kaazu is doing the final countdown.
Jericho stands at my side and tips his head. And even though I’m still outnumbered, and even though I’m still in an impossible situation and I have no hope of making it through his night alive, I find myself nodding back at him. Because Jericho and Cliff buoyed my soul. They refuse to back down or give up, and so do I.
“You got this?” Jericho asks.
I nod slowly and swipe some blood off my split lip. “I fucking got this.”
He grins wolfishly. “Damn straight.”
The bell gongs to start the fight, and I’m ready, but a rush of unusual noise comes from the audience that has everyone pausing as pandemonium suddenly erupts in the crowd.
I look over to Jericho in question. “What’s that?”
He grins over at me, right before throwing himself at the troupers. “Our pack is here.”
28
Jericho
I see a moment of shock cross her eyes, but that’s all she has time for.
Despite what I know is going down in the bleachers, the troupers attack, but I’m fucking ready for them.
When I approached the stage and saw her lying there motionless and bloody, I nearly lost my fucking mind. The fact that these people—the ones she’s worked and trained and lived beside all her goddamn life would do this to her without a thought makes my vision go red.
So the five males that come for me? Yeah, they’re better trained and better experienced. But they are outfuckingmatched when it comes to my rage.
I grab the smallest one of them and use him as a shield, his back to my front. Keeping my arm cocked beneath his jaw, I crane his neck up, making it very fucking clear that if he struggles even an inch, I’ll snap his goddamn neck.