brushed mine in the barest ghost touch. In the dim light of the patio, his eyes appeared black like bottomless pools. I felt the ridiculous urge to run my fingernails over his dark buzz cut, then slowly down the myriad of tattoos adorning almost every inch of his upper body. He wasn’t attractive in the conventional sense. His face too harsh, too many sharp angles and foreboding scars, and yet he oozed raw sexuality that called to a part of me forced into dormancy by the traditional rules of my upbringing.
Sucking in a sharp breath, I backed away, even if he had already passed me and stepped into the cage. My pulse galloped in my veins, a mix of animal fear and exhilarating rush. The referee threw the door of the cage shut with a resounding metallic clang that made me and half of the crowd jump.
He stepped between the fighters, explaining the rules. Then he left the cage, lifted a gun above his head and shot.
What happened after turned my insides to ice. The crowd screamed madly, calling for more blood.
Killer was more monster than man, and I had come here to ask for his help.
CHAPTER TWO
Killer
The cage had always given me a sense of belonging. I was born to fight, to stand inside this metal cage. Others called it a death pit… I called it home.
I made my first kill at eight years old. In a cage.
I won my first fight at eight years old. In a cage.
And I had never lost a single fucking fight since then. I had a love and hate relationship with this cage.
I loved it because it gave me a purpose.
I hated it… because it was a reminder that I was an addict.
The underground ring… this death pit called to me. My blood sang with the need to maim, to fight… to spill blood. To kill. They were right to call me a monster.
I owned this ring, I lived it, I breathed it.
The moment I stepped away from the shadows, the crowd scattered to make way for me. A path to the underground ring. My arena.
The cheers were loud, almost too loud… it was deafening. The crowd chanted my name.
Killer. Killer. Killer.
The men thumped their chests with their fists, roaring. The women screamed, wanting to be heard… craving my attention.
They knew I’d pick one of them tonight. After my fight, after my win.
Fighting in this arena built up tension. Adrenaline that would course through my veins for hours, even after a bloody, well satisfied fight. A good fuck usually helped with the tension surging through my veins.
Tight pussy. Round ass. Pretty tits. Yeah, that usually did the job.
The women handed themselves over on a silver platter. Fuck, they crawled to me… with pleading eyes, begging for my cock.
The chants grew with an intensity as I got closer to the cage. The metal door opened and I stepped inside my arena. He was there already. My opponent.
He was big, but I was bigger.
His face looked like someone had fun with a burnt blade. His flesh didn’t heal properly, the scars looking like melted skin had been stitched together over his bones. He was an ugly motherfucker as he grinned, showing me his razor-sharp teeth. There was a look in his eyes, a look that told me… this man was absolutely deranged.
My lips twitched and I fucking smiled.
Yeah, this was exactly what I needed tonight. The last few fights, I had a bunch of pussies as my opponents. They barely lasted thirty seconds and they begged for mercy before I spilled their blood.
I eyed him, feeling my muscles tense. My fingers curled around my knuckle duster. My vision became a red mist. My blood roared and my heartbeat echoed in my ears.
My brain stuttered and I exhaled my humanity.
I inhaled…death.
The gun fired; he rushed forward and I grinned. He lunged, going for my throat.
I side-stepped him and elbowed his side. He growled, furious that I got him first. My opponent had skills… but he was slow.
I ducked as he aimed for my head and my knuckle duster slammed into his rib cage. I felt his bones crack. I swung my left fist and got him in the face.
We danced around each other and I dragged the fight out longer than I should have. He got a few punches in. My face felt swollen, but he was worse.
He got me in the stomach next and I felt my rib cage caving around my lungs. I stumbled