Page 173 of Caught in the Crossfire
“Anyone else have an opinion that doesn’t matter?” Cas asked.
Ryuji flipped him off.
“Leona,” Obi said, drawing my attention. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
I smiled. “A bargain is a bargain, right? Does everyone agree to the terms?” They all reluctantly nodded. “Great. Obi or Ciel, one of you two will be the ref. I don’t trust Ryuji or Wynn to be fair.”
“That’s because I wouldn’t be fair,hanii.”
“I will be referee,” Obi said, pinching the bridge of his nose while he sighed heavily.
“First one to knock the other to the mat wins,” I said.
Cas shrugged. “Fine.”
I nodded. All right. I could do this. As soon as Obi signaled we could begin, I would rush him and surprise him. It would be easy.
I had barely turned back to face off with Cas when he appeared right in front of me. He grabbed my wrist, spun me around, and yanked my arm up against my back. I screeched. “Hey!”
He kicked my feet out from under me, and I plummeted to the ground. My face smacked onto the mat. With a breath, he pinned my arms behind my back.
“What the fuck!” I screamed. “That’s not fair! Obi hadn’t even started the match!”
I struggled, but he held me tight.
“Ref, what do you think?” Cas asked.
Obi crouched beside me. His face was serious. I expected him to call it and make us start again. “It looks fair to me.”
Ryu went to my other side, watching while I thrashed. “Yeah, this is fair. Clean match.”
Wynn and Ciel also did nothing. Rage burned through my body.
“You okay there, princess?”
My cheek stung from where it smacked the ground, but I was otherwise fine except for the eternal fury I was about to unleash on every single of them. This wasbullshit.
“Fuck you all!” I shouted. Cas didn’t budge. This wasn’tfair. “Fucking cheaters!”
Cas’s weight was heavy on my back. I couldn’t see his face, but I could feel his hands holding my arms in place and his hips across my back where he straddled me. My lungs had more than enough space to suck in air, but I couldn’t breathe.
“This doesn’t count!” I gasped.
“It does,” Cas said from behind me. “The referee said so.”
“If you think I’m going to talk now, you’re sorely mistaken,” I seethed. “Fuck your fucking tricks. This wasn’t the bargain.”
Hands on my back. My face in the cold, hard ground.
I squeezed my eyes shut. Tears pricked at their corners.
“I can wait here all day long,” Cas said. “What about you guys?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m good.”
“We’ve got water in the fridge, plus free entertainment. I’m set.”
