Page 61 of From Best To Bested

“Let’s finish this,” Ezra said while taking careful breaths.

“Lets.” Something inside Roman snapped at Levi’s announcement.

Roman waged Levi probably never wanted to share it because Roman was so delicate and broken. He wondered if Levi would tiptoe around him like this forever; he wondered how he even wondered about a life after Ezra. But he did. He could see it clearly now and craved it more than he’d been trained to crave Ezra himself. After every grueling effort made to break Roman’s spirits and teach him to behave, he finally snapped out of it.

After all, what was the worst Ezra could do? Roman sought death more days than not. Roman lived only to endure pain. Roman had been fucked and used in so many ways his brain couldn’t very well keep track of how much abuse his holes had endured for the pleasure of sadists.

There was nothing left to take from Roman at this point. Except maybe Levi. But if he didn’t act now, Roman would surely lose him.

“If you take one more step, you’ll have to go through me.”

Ezra laughed. He laughed so hard, he had to brace a hand against his aching ribs. “You? Go through the bitch I’ve broken in in every way conceivable? Honey, there’s nothing left to go through. You’re broken and cheap and just plain pitiful trying to look tough.”

“If you take a step forward, it’s me you’ll face.” Roman’s jaw clenched as he spoke slowly and enraged. “I won’t go easy on you for the sake of your ego. This isn’t a workout, after all.”

Ezra glared, making no effort to bring up his actual victories against Roman, his two wins that cemented his reign as champion. Roman considered this the closest thing to a confession he’d ever received from Ezra about the deceit.

“Fine, fine, fine.” Ezra shrugged. “But two on one isn’t very fair.”

“You’re the champion. Thought you could handle anything.”

“Come on, Roman. I’m not you.” Ezra smiled. “I can’t just take everything thrown at me, in me, on me.”

Ezra mouthed “slut” and Roman didn’t flinch. It was a tiny victory, but it helped Roman straighten his shoulders and stand taller. For the first time in a long time, he didn’t look up at Ezra.

Roman rolled his eyes at Ezra’s blatant posturing, then looked to the unconscious Levi, who served as the second fighter of the competition.

“Fuck it. Tag a friend.” Roman squared his shoulders and lifted his arms. “I’ll take both of you.”

Ezra snorted. “The number of times you said that to Jake and his crew.”

It should’ve unnerved Roman, should’ve filled him with shame and guilt well past his limit. He wasn’t truly ready to face what had happened to him that night, what Jake and the others had done, but for this fraction of a second, he didn’t blame himself for what they had done to him. And he thought of the worst thing ever.

“Well, hell, I needed someone who could fuck me right.” Roman smiled, daring himself to be ugly with his words. “I’m guessing that’s why Stacy screwed every person she could get her hands on, too.”

Ezra cut his gaze at Roman and shot him a look that, under any normal circumstances, would’ve made Roman collapse to the ground and beg for forgiveness. Now, though, it fueled him.

“Maxwell.” Ezra snapped his fingers. “Put this little bitch back in his place.”

The towering man who’d nearly bested Roman every time they crossed paths stepped through the crowd. Roman had barely beaten Maxwell King when at his best. He couldn’t fathom fighting this titan when he could barely stand on his own two feet.

“When I’m done with you,” Maxwell said, cutting his gaze to Levi, “I’m gonna finish him, too.”

With that, the world fell away, and Roman unleashed months of pent-up fury. He didn’t see his movements, didn’t feel them. Something in his body snapped, and he ignored it in favor of the thread of rage that led him forth.

Blood. Screaming. Pain.

None of it made Roman falter. He continued until his mind became his own again, and he stood over Maxwell’s crumbled, whimpering body. It made no sense. Roman couldn’t figure out what he’d done, even in a primal, blacked-out state, but he hoped someone might explain it later. Might explain it after he finally bested Ezra.

Ezra, who stood in shock and anger, was probably more insulted by Maxwell shaming him with such a loss than by Roman daring to speak up. The crowd had backed away a few steps, offering Roman and Ezra more space, their expressions wary perhaps for Roman’s actions or Ezra’s anger. Roman didn’t know for certain if he could still strike fear in others.

“Say the thing that’ll piss them the fuck off,” Stacy’s words came to him like a vision. “Once you got them by the emotional balls, you own that fucker.”

The memory was faded and random and weird. It didn’t make any sense at the time, her encouraging him to provoke someone over something petty. But now her words hit with purpose, with drive, like maybe she’d always known Roman would land here faced with Ezra in a dark basement surrounded by criminals.

“Seriously, I get that you were in love, but are you as bad at finding the G spot as you are at hitting my prostate?” Roman chuckled, forced and ridiculously loud, but it drew silence from the crowd. “Imagine swinging a dick that big and still lacking when it comes to hammering in a good fucking time.”

“Shut your whore mouth!”

---