“You’ll see.”
He hesitates a long moment. “I can’t give it to you,” he says at last.
“I thought you might say that,” I admit, stepping behind him and cutting the ties on his wrists. “So let’s fight for it, fair and square.”
Royal tenses, his hands gripping the edge of the pit beside his hips, like he might jump down and intercept. I step around the chair and turn away from him to face his brother.
Baron rubs his wrists together and works out the kinks in his shoulders for a minute before stepping away from the chairs, into the dirt ring. “Rules?” he asks.
“No rules,” I say. “Fight ‘til knockout.”
He nods and raises his fists. I raise mine, and a spark flickers to life in my belly. I love the focus, the adrenaline, the clarity of a fight. I didn’t know how much I fucking missed this. When I land the first blow, the spark burns brighter, growing into a burning ember as I duck Baron’s first swing. It’s too hard, and I use the power against him, darting in to sink a knee into his stomach while he’s trying to correct himself. He curses but spins to face me instead of dropping to his knees. He’s breathing hard, his eyes alive behind his glasses.
I remember him saying we were alike, and maybe in a way we are, because I’m alive in this moment, too. We trade blows, and this time, he gets my jaw. But he pulls his punch, overcompensating for the last one. He’s learning fast, though. This fucker should be in the ring every Saturday night with Royal. I need to take him out fast if I want a chance.
I knock his chin with an uppercut, and he steps back, spitting blood onto the dirt floor. Then he swings, but when I block, he pulls back from it and spins to land a kick to my lower back. His foot hits me so hard I go flying, slamming into the dirt wall and bouncing off, hitting the floor hard enough to take what’s left of my breath. Unlike Merciless and some of the other girls I used to fight, I’m not a mixed martial artist. I’m a boxer. But Baron doesn’t fight here, so he doesn’t know the rules, and I told him no rules. Which means tonight, anything goes.
He comes over to me and reaches down like he’s going to grab my hair and knock me out while I’m down.
Fuck that.
If we’re fighting dirty, I have a few moves in my back pocket for when I fought dirty bitches in the pit before. Bracing my hands on the floor, I swing my body around, scissoring my legs around his and sweeping his feet from under him. It’s one of my only moves from the ground, but he hasn’t seen me fight long enough to know that. His knees land on the floor, and I roll away, jump to my feet, and deliver a kidney shot with my boot. Tit for fucking tat.
He falls forward onto his hands and knees, and I jump around, grab his hair, and pull his head up. I want to see his face when I deliver the KO. He swipes at me, sinking a fist into my ribs. Pain explodes through my side, and my torso folds that way, but I don’t let go. I use the momentum to slam my fist into the side of his head as hard as I can, and he crumples to the floor.
twenty-four
Harper Apple
I drop to my knees, breathing hard. For a minute, I can’t hear anything but the ringing in my ears from the pain. My kidney, my back, my side, and my jaw throb with fierce stabs of agony. I forgot how much it hurt to take a blow, and Baron’s stronger than anyone I’ve ever faced in the ring. I climb to my feet, roll him over, and pull out his keys. After tossing them to Royal, I step over to the chairs. I kick Dawson’s chair around so he’s lying on his side, and I press one foot down on the side of his neck.
“I don’t know you, but I know your sister,” I say. “I know how bad you want everyone to believe you have it all, but you don’t. It’s all a lie. You’re a fake, just like everyone in your family. You’re probably going to tell me you were faking this, too, that you’re a nice guy under it all. That you were just doing what you had to do so you could stay with the in crowd, following orders. But there comes a point when being a spineless little coward doesn’t make you pathetic, it makes you evil.”
I step back and deliver one swift kick to his nuts. It must be a good one, because he instantly vomits.
“Just because I didn’t report you, that doesn’t mean I can’t,” I say. “I may have looked like an easy target when your buddies pointed you in my direction, but I have buddies now, too, you little worm. One of them has a name even bigger than yours, bottomless pockets, pictures of that night, and a blanket he wrapped me in. I’m guessing it’s covered in your DNA, and from the comments you made that night, I’m guessing you know the implications of that.”
It feels like cheating to bring up someone else in a fight, to threaten him with power that belongs to the Darlings and not me. But it’s the same as using Royal’s name. And here’s the thing—I’ve been alone all my life. I’ve done things on my own, and this is where I ended up.
Rich people don’t get there on their own unless they win the lottery. I saw it with my own eyes the night Royal took me to Cliff’s. The Rose family and the Dolce family are woven together. They help each other instead of clinging to some stubborn individualism. All the rich families in town do each other favors, and they all benefit. If I’m going to be stuck in the webs of both feuding families, if they’re not going to let me go, then I’m damn sure going to get something out of it, even if it’s only power by association. They both used me. Now it’s my turn.
I bend down and look into Dawson’s deceptively pretty face, now blanched white. “I’m going to make a deal with you, Dawson Walton. I’m going to hold onto that evidence just like I held onto the secret about you being on scholarship. I’m not sure your whole family deserves the shame you’ll bring them. Since you already graduated, I’m assuming you’re going off to school somewhere, and I’ll never see you again. Make sure that happens. Understood?”
He nods, squeezing his eyes closed while he lies there in a puddle of his own vomit. “Got it.”
“Good,” I say. “You might think girls like me don’t go to the cops because your sisters didn’t when the Dolces hurt them. Your family might’ve swept it under the rug to keep your reputations intact, but I have nothing to gain by keeping quiet.”
He nods, his eyes still squeezed closed. I lean down over him. “You think guys around here get away with anything. You have the Dolces on your side, after all, and I’m an easy target. A girl like me has no support and no influence. But I’m smart, and I have allies, too. Unlike you, I’ve lived here all my life. I know which cop believes girls from the trailer park because he’s from there, too. I know which one will fight for me to be heard. Remember that when you come home to visit your family. Every time you set foot in this town, you’re inmyterritory. Tread carefully.”
I turn and walk away, over to the edge of the pit where Royal sits. He hands me a key and tosses the others onto Baron, who’s lying in the dirt. Only Duke remains standing, just staring at us with this lost little boy expression that makes my heart ache. I can’t help but feel for him, even after all he did. But that doesn’t mean I have to forgive him.
I reach out a hand, and Royal takes it and pulls me up before giving back my purse and the key. We don’t say a word as we pass through the aisles of boxes, walking side by side. When we step out into the sultry night and the door closes behind us, he turns to me. “That’s all you have for Dawson?”
I take note of the fact that he didn’t say anything while anyone could overhear us. Even though he obviously doesn’t agree with my decision, he didn’t question me in front of anyone else. He showed them that I had his full support in whatever I wanted to do or not do. Only when we’re alone will he voice his disagreement. His gift wasn’t just delivering my revenge, and tonight wasn’t just about kicking someone’s ass for what they did. It’s so much more than that. It’s about what he’s sacrificing for me, what he’s giving me to build me up after they all tore me down.
I shrug. “I know you think what he did is worse, but that’s only because he did it without your permission. You understand and love your brothers. You know why they are the way they are. I’m sure Dawson has his reasons, and he has a family that loves him, too.”
Royal scoffs. “He’s weak.”