Page 77 of Doubts of the Egoist
Rick didn’t even stagger. He spun and swung at Yugo, delivering quick, smooth blows, followed by controlled exhalations.
Every blow buzzed through Yugo’s bones as he took one step back after another, blocking, blocking, blocking. His shins burned from deflecting a few low kicks Rick threw in an attempt to break his stance and slow him down. Rick’s increasing speed didn’t give him time to regain the initiative for more than a few strikes. Still, he hoped that sooner or later, this fucking gorilla would make a mistake.
When Rick leaped back and lashed out with a crescent kick to his neck, Yugo ducked under his leg. Arms wrapped around the smooth, sweaty torso from behind, Yugo threw his weight forward, tripping Rick’s pivoting leg with his own.
The man turned in his fall, and crushing pain shotthrough Yugo’s leg where Rick’s hip landed on his knee. Unable to find a grip, his fingers slid across the bare, sweat-soaked chest. Pinning down the writhing, clammy body was like catching an eel with bare hands. Yugo cursed as Rick stood on all fours in an attempt to prop his foot and get up.
“Stay down, dog…” Yugo’s teeth clenched in effort as he relocked his slipping grip. He kneed the back of Rick’s knee, trying to knock him off balance and throw him back down.
Yugo’s jaw dropped as muscles bulged under his grip. Slowly, Rick pressed one foot to the floor, then the other. A little more, and Rick would be standing with Yugo hanging on his back like a weightless monkey.
Fucking gorilla, what do you eat for breakfast?Playing dirty, Yugo slammed the toe of his shoe into Rick’s Achilles tendon, causing his legs to shake. He used the momentum to pull backward, throwing them both to the floor again.
Every vertebra in his spine shrieked, bruising against the hard floor, as more than two hundred pounds crashed down on his chest. The blinding pain made him want to hug his ribs.
They rolled on the ground, hissing and snarling. Rick tried to shake Yugo off, elbowing back, but his swing wasn’t wide enough to do more than a dull thud to Yugo’s flank.
Wheezing, Yugo wrapped his legs around Rick’s torso. His arm locked across the clavicles in an attempt to lift Rick’s chin. His free hand grasped his other forearm and pulled it tight.
Iron fingers dug into Yugo’s wrists, trying to pry them off. Rick’s neck reddened, blue veins swelling and pulsing, threatening to burst as Yugo managed to slip his forearm under his chin and finally secure a rear naked choke.
Rick rolled onto his back, then onto his stomach, hoping to break free, but each attempt was slower than the last. The grappling drained both of them of energy, but Yugo’s resources were already low, or maybe the man was too strong, because the choke failed to send Rick into quick oblivion.
Rick didn’t claw at Yugo’s hands in the helpless rage of a novice; instead, he grabbed his wrist with one hand and his fingers with the other, ripping them off from behind his head. The world tilted as the former soldier pushed to his knees, and one of his feet found the ground again.
Bloody hell… How strong is he?
Rick staggered to his feet and stumbled toward the kitchen counter with Yugo still hanging on his back. In his rival’s shoes, the Black Duke would be fumbling for a knife to finish him off. The thought alarmed, flooding his veins with pure adrenaline.
Yugo groaned, tightening the choke. Every muscle in his body flexed. His teeth gnashed, and a nerve in his cracked molar jolted with a mind-piercing pain that radiated through his skull.
The rapid drumming of Rick’s pulse echoed through Yugo’s bones, awakening something primal in him. His head swam in the blinding euphoria of a bloodthirsty predator. Every cell in his body recharged, as if he were draining the life from his prey.
If he squeezed any harder, Rick’s windpipe would snap, the light would fade from his black eyes, and the lifeless body would collapse with a satisfying thud at Yugo’s feet. Temptation blinded, but he controlled his breathing, hoping the man would pass out before he succumbed to his inner demons. “Get down, dog. Let’s not upset Kuon with your death, hm?”
Rick’s stubbornness and strength inspired respect and doubt as the kitchen counter slowly loomed closer. The purple face showed drastic signs of asphyxiation, but a ragged breath escaped through his constricted throat as Rick managed to shift Yugo’s grip a fraction.
Slowly but inevitably, with the inhuman force, Rick wrenched two of Yugo’s fingers from the back of his head. A second longer and his digits would be twisted out of their sockets.
Yugo half-turned to look for something to support his case when a black movement stole his focus. He turned his head, catching a hammock swaying a few feet away, disturbed by their struggle.
Heel to the floor, Yugo jerked Rick to himself, applying even more pressure on his trapped throat. Rick’s foot squeaked against the floor. He slipped on a puddle of water and staggered backward, dropping his weight on Yugo.
Drenched in sweat, Yugo growled. His free hand stopped struggling to relock the choke; it darted back, grabbed the black net, and wrapped it around Rick’s head. Yugo tightened the cords with all his might, forcing his burning lungs to take slow, controlled, and deep breaths.
Rick’s expression darkened as the fishnet sank into his face, rippling his skin in a diamond pattern. Black eyes flashed white as gnarled fingers hooked into the net, mouth flapping for air. Yugo pulled harder, tightening the hammock.
Seconds ticked by as the purple face turned bluish and the eyes rolled back, revealing bloodshot sclera. Yugo let go, leaving the motionless body on the floor. He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, donned his jacket, and headed toward the lastbedroom.
Trying to filter through the adrenaline fog, he gripped the handle and yanked the door open. His fist slammed the light switch, and white, clinical light purged the darkness.
CHAPTER 21
Yugo’s mind stalled. The pups kept barking, their thin voices fading into the background as the tranquil scene filled his head with heavy heartbeats—each like a headshot.
BANG.Swathed in an air of serenity, Kuon lay on his back on the bed, arms and legs spread, head turned slightly to the side.
BANG.The duvet covering his hips left most of his body exposed,tantalizing, beckoning to be ripped off.
