Page 107 of Falcon's Prey

We didn’t go to the line, not even the front. Instead, we went to the side of the club to one of the emergency entrances. Ren knocked three times, then once and three again.

“The first three knocks represent the three brothers. The lone one is for their one kingdom, and the last one is for the brother that is here and his twin sons.” Gideon explained the meaning behind the knock. Maybe because we all had been too quiet, and he wanted to break the tension.

The door opened, and there was a beefy tan man in a suit ushering us in. Gideon and Pam went in first with Ren and me behind them. Once in, the security patted us all down, making sure we hadn’t brought weapons. After he was content that we weren’t sneaking anything, he told us to keep going straight. We were in a dark hallway. The thumping of the music could be heard but not as loud as I would have thought.

“Good luck in there.” The guard nodded to Ren, and Ren gave a tense nod.

Gideon walked deeper into the dark hallway, where he made a slight turn. It was so dark that if you didn’t know it was a stairwell, you would have missed it.

“I take it you’ve been here before?” I asked.

“A few times.” He didn’t joke or tease.

The stairs curved down in a spiral motion. With every step we took, I felt like I was leaving the real world behind. Two red glowing lights could be faintly seen. They illuminated a black metal door. When we reached the last step, I had a sick feeling. I didn’t want to be here. I wanted to go back to the house, in the room with Ren. Back to our pretend world.

“You ready?” Gideon turned back to look at Ren.

I got the feeling he was talking about so much more than a simple fight.

Ren didn’t answer him. He spun my body around so I could face him. I could barely make him out with the red light, but what I could see scared me. He was all harsh at the moment. Nothing human about his appearance. He looked like he’d crawled out of the underworld, ready to wreak havoc.

His lips descended on mine in an instant. His hand came to the back of my head to keep me in place as he devoured my mouth. He pulled back, breathing heavily, and so was I.

“I’m going to make everything better, Ember.”

“I know you will…” I whispered.

In the back of my mind, those words that came to me yesterday wanted to crawl up again, but I swallowed them back.

Ren tilted my chin hard, forcing me to keep eye contact with him.

“Say it,” he rasped.

“W-what?” My lips trembled, hoping he couldn’t read me, and he didn’t want to say those words.

“Tell me.” His voice was strained. Dare I say, pained.

I opened my mouth, and I felt like crying. I closed it again, but I couldn’t do it. To say those words, it would give him the ultimate weapon against me.

“G…” Ren started to say.

“I got you” was all the tatted bad boy said. Then he turned around and opened the door.

Ren still held me close, even though I didn’t say the words he confessed he didn’t believe in. I didn’t know what I expected to find once we made our way down here, but this was not it. The place was dimly lit with walls covered in red paint, making the whole place look hellish, yet elegant.

It was spacious, the same as the nightclub, except this was happening right underneath the unsuspecting partygoers. People were standing around talking, some on couches, other on chaises that were placed around the room. Guards lined the walls, looking much like the one upstairs, in suits, with bored expressions on their faces. My eyes scanned the room and the people. That was when I noticed what was in the middle of the room: a big wired cage. It came down from the ceiling, creating a perfect octagon.

It fucking terrified me.

Was Ren going to fight in there? A guard made his way to us. Ren squeezed my hand, and when I looked at him, he brought my hand to his lips and kissed it.

“Falcon,” the man drawled. “Come with me.”

Ren moved to leave when I reached for his hand and pulled him back. Being in here, seeing it all, made it all too real. Slowly, I looked up at him. He regarded me with cautious eyes. I didn’t know what the night would bring, but when he was out there fighting, I didn’t want the words I’d left unsaid to haunt him. Slowly I rose on my tiptoes, my lips finding his, and spoke against his mouth the words I’d never told a man.

“I love you.”

The words were something foreign to me; they came out hesitant and unsure, but Ren didn’t care. He wrapped an arm around my waist and lifted me and gave me another bruising kiss.

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