Page 27 of In the Light of Sin

Tyrant barked out a laugh before looking down at me. “Stay close. It’s easy to get lost here.”

I nodded before grabbing the back of his black t-shirt. Tyrant led us while Knight stayed close behind me. Passing the man Tyrant just knocked over, he delivered a swift kick to the side of the head, knocking him out, and cackled as we stepped over him. I heard a grunt, so I assumed that Knight stepped on him when he passed him.

With each step down the dark hallway, impending doom hit my stomach like a punch. What was this place? They killed a man and knocked another one out and will face no consequences? Obviously, this is a shady place kept hidden from the general public for a good reason.

“Is the rest of the club here?”

“Nah,” Tyrant knew where he was going when we came into a fork in the hallway going right, “Just Knight, Sarge, and I. Victoria wants to come—“

“She’s not fuckin’ allowed.”

I twist my neck to look at Knight, whose face looks menacing at the mention of Victoria. Their relationship was weird. He was always where she wasn’t, but she had never uttered a bad word about Knight. She just said he didn’t want to be around her, and while it hurt, she said sometimes personalities just don’t mesh. They’ve made it work thus far. She didn’t know how to change it.

“Do you love Victoria or something?” He refused to be around her when her personality was like a gravitational pull.

“No. Don’t love her, haven’t fucked her. Nothin’ like that.” He shook his head adamantly. “None of your damn business, Joslyn.”

“Chill out Knight,” Tyrant scolded. “You don’t get to be a dick to anyone you want. Sarge hears you talk to her like that? You’ll be his opponent tonight.” I halted, causing Tyrant and Knight to stop. “What’re you doing?”

I gulped. “Opponent?”

“This is an underground fighting ring.”

Blood. Fists pounding against flesh. Cries of anguish and begs of stopping…

“I…” My heartbeat picked up, my brain fogging itself to protect me from whatever I was about to see. “Can you tell me what we’re going to see before we get down there?”

“Gotta see to believe, sweetheart.” Tyrant grabbed my wrist, forcing me along. “This is a dangerous place for everyone, especially for a girl like you.”

“Then Sarge—”

“He’s one of the top fighters. Don’t worry about him.”

I worried about everyone, but Sarge was at the top of that list.

He led us to a staircase that went well below the foundation… I guess that explains how they get so many people to fit in here.

I held Tyrant’s shirt as Knight’s hand grabbed mine while we pushed through the crowd to the VIP section. There were no seats, standing only. I looked around at hundreds of people standing, waiting for the brawls to happen. “What is this place?”

I tried to adjust my hearing aids as I strained to listen to Tyrant and Knight over all the other chatter. Tyrant grinned. “Welcome to the Catacombs.”

“Sarge really fights down here?” I settled in the middle of Knight and Tyrant, assuming it was for my safety.

“Yeah. He’s fuckin’ great too. One of the only two who hasn’t lost a match.”

I looked at Knight curiously. “Who’s the other one?”

“His name is Dai.” Well, that’s ironic. “Think he’s a bit more unhinged than Sarge is, but his fights are always electrifying.”

“He and Sarge never fought each other?”

Knight shook his head. “No, Sarge and Dai are the top dogs down here. Sarge doesn’t do death matches. Dai does.”

I swallowed hard. “Death matches?”

“Exactly as it sounds, sweetheart.” Tyrant’s grin was devilish. “Two go in breathin’, one comes out alive.”

“What type of matches does Sarge do?”

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