Page 93 of SINS & Temptation

He grabs me by the neck, hoisting me up until my feet dangle. It’s a move we’ve practiced a dozen times. His voice drops to a whisper, concealed by the roar of the crowd. “Look terrified.”

“I am terrified.”

“The entire routine. We need to play it all out now.” Regret is etched in every line, every glance. “You’re gonna get hurt.”

“And then what? The man said one of us has to die.”

Defeat washes over his face. “We keep going until I figure out what to do.” Without another word, he hurls me against the cage.

And, as usual, he was right. It hurts like hell, knocking all the wind from my lungs.

He kicks me in the side. To him, it’s a gentle tap. To me, it’s agony. I recoil in pain.

“Move!” he barks. On command, I do. Like a petrified jackrabbit fleeing a hungry wolf.

The cage is small, and our pre-orchestrated moves quickly lose steam. “Well?” I ask, breathless, as he throws me into a headlock.

“I’m thinking. I’m thinking,” he mutters, tossing me over his back. I land in a tuck and roll, coming up on my feet.

As a desperate last resort, I kick him in the nuts. I mouth sorry as he doubles over, slowly sinking to the ground until we’re eye to eye. “How long does it go on?”

His face drops. “Until one of us is dead.”

We start to stall, and the crowd jeers every second we do.

“What if we just stop? Call a truce?” I suggest, my voice barely audible over the growing boos.

His eyes darken with resignation. “Then we’re both dead. Two guards are just itching to shoot us down.” He grabs me by the back of the neck. “Brace yourself.”

I do, but when my entire body slams into the floor, bones crack, and the taste of metal floods my mouth. All I can think is, he’s going to do it.

Mullvain has to kill me.

I’m about to die.

When a gun lands next to my hand, with the initials AD etched into the handle, I don’t think. I grab it.

The roar of the crowd swells like a wild animal, bloodthirsty and demanding more.

Heaving and gasping for air, I struggle to my feet, the gun pointed at Mullvain. Tears blur my vision, making it hard to see what I’m aiming at. “I won’t do it!” I scream to Uncle Andre.

“Then you’re both dead.” My uncle casually points to two guards high in the stands. “I thought you were ready.”

I shift my aim to his fucking face. But the second I do, Mullvain grabs the barrel and shoves it against his chest. “What are you doing?”

“They’ll kill you, kid.”

“Let them! I don’t care. I’m dead anyway, and I’d rather take him down, too.” But when I glance back, my uncle is gone, vanished behind the thick wall of people.

He smacks my face. Tears fly. “What are you waiting for? Do it!”

“I can’t,” I beg, crying.

Mullvain’s grip tightens on my face, not in pain, but to lock my attention onto his eyes. “She’s my heart, lad. They both are. One day, remind them of that.” I don’t need to ask who he means. His daughter. Two daughters. Our pact. Our secret. Fight Club.

The gun slips from my grasp into his. I don’t hear it go off. I only see his eyes, filled with a plea.

Then, the weight of his body crashes into me, and the world blurs.

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