Page 139 of Theirs to Ruin

“What?” I choked out. My head whipped toward Kage, who was frowning and looking in the direction of the ring. Who had challenged him? Ty?

I tugged on his hand and he looked down at me. His expression was hard but softened when he looked at me. “It’s okay, Camille,” he said, but then he called out, “Who, exactly, is my challenger?”

“Phillip Hermes.”

I was vaguely familiar with the name but didn’t immediately remember who he was.

“Who is he, Kage? Why would he challenge you?”

“Let’s just say Phillip didn’t like the answer I gave him when he asked how I could live with myself after fucking you. Come on, let’s go,” he said.

Relieved that he wasn’t going to accept the challenge, I walked by his side a few more feet before the mic reverberated with feedback and suddenly a male voice with a slight French accent called out, “Is the lauded Kage O’Hare a pussy or just whipped by pussy? Everyone agrees that Camille must taste really, really good for Kage to forget his loyalty to his sister.”

Phillip’s taunts, rather than eliciting cheers, were met with stunned silence.

Kage’s jaw clenched as he focused his murderous eyes on the ring. Slowly the crowd parted, revealing Phillip, even taller and more muscular than Dexter and Apollo.

Kage looked down at me. Not for permission. But understanding.

I wanted to scream my refusal, but I was a realist. After what Phillip said, he couldn’t back down. I nodded.

“Go,” he said.

I frowned and shook my head. “No way. I’m staying. Beat his ass,” I said.

Kage suddenly grinned then kissed me hard. “I fucking love it when you own your vicious side,” he said.

Kage shed his jacket, handed it to me, then grabbed my hand. On the way to the ring, he led me to where Samir and Silas were at the front of the crowd. “Don’t take your fucking eyes off her,” he ordered.

His friends nodded.

The audience was cheering now, hollering their encouragement. Clearly, most of the crowd’s support was for Kage. It turned out dating me hadn’t been enough to relieve Kage of his golden boy status.

Kage climbed into the ring and took off his shirt as did Phillip. Though Phillip was larger they seemed well-matched, their heavily muscled bodies rippling with menace. As soon as the ref called the fight, they lunged at each other with the unrestrained ferocity of wild animals.

Kage landed the first punch, one so powerful it splattered Phillip’s blood across the sweat-slicked floor. Then Kage punched Phillip two more times, his movements a mesmerizing dance of skill and strategy.

Suddenly, Phillip dodged, got Kage in a grip around his waist then body slammed Kage to the ground before Kage started landing his own punches again.

"Fucking destroy him!" someone roared, their voice raw with fervor.

Kage punched Phillip then kicked him away, quickly getting to his feet. They immediately grappled, both seeming impervious to pain as they battered each other. Soon, blood smeared their bodies like a grotesque badge of honor. It turned my stomach, but I found myself unable to look away.

I needed to make sure Kage was okay.

I needed to see him win.

In a brutal round of punches, Kage absorbed a punishing combination of blows, his face contorted in pain, but he retaliated with a powerful uppercut that sent Phillip reeling.

"Come on, Kage!" I screamed. “End this!”

I felt movement beside me, and jolted at the sight of Ty. He had a bloody lip and a cut above his right eyebrow. Silently, he watched the fight and I vaguely wondered if he was there because he wanted to protect me from the crowd whose enthusiasm seemed to border on the sadistic.

Just then, Phillip swept Kage’s leg out from under him. Their bodies collided with bone-shattering force, and the impact sent shockwaves through the makeshift ring.

My heart pounded in my chest, and I glanced at Ty again, who didn’t look bothered. He shook his head. “He’ll be okay,” he said. “Look. He’s got him.”

Kage, his face a mask of fury, got Phillip in a vice-like grip. He started to choke him out.

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