“Then come. Show me this ring.”
He ghosted past me, leaving a whisper of a breeze on my skin.
I was powerless to the call to follow him to where Nash already waited by the door.
“You sure about this?” he said to Alexei. “I know you’re a fucking viper, but Eric is a bare-knuckle champion. It’s why we keep him around.”
“He is a sheep who cannot think for himself,” Alexei retorted flatly, barely sparing Nash a glance. “Is that what you want at your back? Or walking the same compound as the women you care about?”
Women. As if Nash had ever looked twice at any but Orla. As if Alexei hadn’t clocked that shit the moment he’d set eyes on either one of them.
I let my hand graze Alexei’s elbow and caught his gaze.He’s doing his job.
Alexei gave me a subtle nod—I know—then turned back to Nash. “If you do not want this to happen, speak. I will listen. But I will only ask you once.”
“I’m not trying to stop you, mate. Just making sure you’re walking into it knowing what you’re facing.”
“I do not need that privilege.”
“Fair enough.”
Nash led the way to the ring. Most of the membership who’d stayed to party the night away were already there, passing rum bottles around and throwing money at Rubi. Alexei’s story had stayed in the chapel. His reputation as a feared assassin between the council, the Sambinis, and the Crows he’d left alive. That Wheeler’s goon squad hadn’t got the memo told me they weren’t as disloyal as they were stupid. Alexei had vibes, man. Anyone who couldn’t see that didn’t deserve the cut of a Rebel King.
We reached the ring. Nash flicked the fairy lights on and let them dance as the noise level rose, the macabre carnival in full swing. The music got cranked again, more shitty metal, but for once it suited the mood.
Nash took his position. “You wanna toss for the corner?”
Alexei rolled his eyes. “I do not care about silly rituals.”
He’s impatient. An emotion I’d only seen in him when Cam was in danger.
Or naked behind him.
“We call south side,” Eric bellowed from behind me.
A growl rumbled in my chest.
Alexei’s hands twitched, as if he wanted to reach for me but couldn’t comprehend moving his limbs in any way that wasn’t violent until this was over. “Stand where you like. It does not matter to me.”
“You heard him,” Nash said. “Two minutes. Be ready.”
Alexei moved to the north corner. It was furthest from the clubhouse and statistically where most fights were lost—Rubi kept records. But as Alexei took his place and went so still he looked like a fucking vampire, I didn’t give it a second thought. I already knew this was gonna be a fight like no other, cos Alexei was a soul none of us had ever seen before. He wasn’t a man who fought in MC bars and pub car parks. He didn’t need the blood and drama to survive. He thrived on silence—on the fact that no fucker ever saw him coming until he snapped their neck and crept away with the tread of a wildcat. Eric was a beast of a man, but he was gonna eat dirt tonight.
“Do you fight in this ring?”
I blinked, Alexei’s murmured question catching me off guard. “Rarely.”
“Why is that? I feel like it would be good for you.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.” Alexei moved into my orbit and the noise around us faded out. “Is it because no one wants to fight you?”
“Maybe,” I hedged. “It’s not just me, though. No one wants to fight Cam either.”
“Do you fight each other?”
“Never. Do you want me to wrap your hands?”