Page 13 of Royal
I blow out a breath and rush over to my big sister. Words spill rapid fire from my mouth. “Benneti says he can give me a ride. Does that help?”
She turns, eyeing him with interest. “Are you going now? Because she’s our cage girl, and she’s gotta be there soon.”
“So, I heard, and, yeah, I’m leaving right away.” He runs a hand over his jaw, then back down, gripping his chin. “But I don’t have room for more than one in my car.”
Glancing back down at her phone, Freya’s eyes widen as she does another time check. “Okay, yes. Please take her with you. And can you show her where to check in at the cage girl dressing room?”
He gives a calm nod. “I can do that.”
Freya shoos us away from her. “Go. I’ll follow as quickly as I can. I was waiting for Zane, but maybe I’ll grab one of the girls. But everyone is supposed to be headed to the party.” She shakes her head. “Crap. Shit. Fuck, I don’t know. I’ll be there. Don’t worry, Echo. I’ll be there. I promise.”
“I-I’ll be fine.” Damn. She’s not making me feel great about this. I draw in a breath, looking up at Benneti. “You know where I need to be?”
“Yes. And you’re going to be more than fine. I’ve got you.” He gives Freya a wave, then tips his head to the side in the direction of his car before throwing an arm around my shoulders, just like he had the other night. “Come on, CJ, let’s go.”
“Her name is Echo,” Freya shouts from behind us.
He chuckles into the balmy night air. “Not to me, she’s not.” His head dips down next to mine as we cross the distance to his waiting vehicle. “This is going to be fun. You’ll love fight night. Guaranteed.”
Inside Benneti’s car, I have to admit, even though it’s probably close to fifteen years old, it’s well cared for. He folds himself into the driver’s seat, quickly shooting off a text before he fires up the engine. “Emory. Just wanted to give him a heads-up I’m on my way. I’m supposed to meet him there. There’s nothing like a good fight on a Sunday night.” He tears his gaze from the road for a moment to shoot me a wink. “He’ll be happy to see you again.”
The crazy thing is, whether or not I see another hot gay man tonight is the least of my worries. I can’t believe I’m going to be at this place without Freya and need to figure out how to strut my stuff in front of this crowd. I groan deep in my chest, then rest an elbow on the side of the door as we zip down roads I’ve never seen before.
“Almost there.”
A few moments later, we pull into a parking deck in a decidedly dark, seemingly uninhabited part of town. All the buildings near the parking area looked to be closed as we’d driven past. Yet, Benneti lets himself out and circles the front of the car before opening my door for me.
“Where are we?” I murmur, confusion infusing my words as I step out of the car. “Let me guess, you brought me here to kill me or something?” I’m joking. Sort of.
He chuckles. “Sorry, I’d have dropped you off right at the door, but since you have no idea where you’re going”—he pauses as another laugh bursts from his lips—“I figured we’d find a space, then I’d escort you to the dressing room.” He points at a creepy old warehouse dotted by windows that appear to be boarded up. “We’re headed over there.”
I frown. I still feel like I might die tonight. But whether it’s because this place looks as if it might fall down around our ears or from the sheer embarrassment of what I’m attempting to pull off, I don’t have a fucking clue. My throat goes dry as he takes my hand in his and leads me across the street.
At the large, rickety door, I’m suddenly glad for the way Benneti’s fingers have remained threaded with mine. Holding his hand makes me feel secure. Grounded. And that proves to be a good thing because as I look around, this is definitely not the kind of place I’m used to frequenting. The hallway is dark, except for a bulb above and smells… well, like a gym, which I suppose makes sense. I wrinkle my nose.
“What’s the matter?”
I’m no stranger to sweat, having run cross-country since I was about fourteen, but it’s not simply sweat I’m smelling. It’s also booze and smoke and I could be wrong, but… blood? There’s a metallic tang to the air that’s making my nose twitch.
We stop at a door with a trio of sparkly star cutouts on it—kinda like you’d see in a classroom on a bulletin board or something—and Benneti gives the wood a sharp rap with his knuckles. He’s ready to knock again when the door pops open. There’s a natural redhead standing there. Long hair, lots of makeup, and an outfit very similar to mine. I suck in a breath, ready to say hello, but find my brows raising instead as she slides her hand up the door, leaning her entire body into it as if it’s a… shit, like a stripper pole or something.
Well, all right then. I press my lips together while Benneti clears his throat behind me. “Hey, Morgan. Echo is here for SIN tonight, but Freya got held up. Can you give her the rundown on what she’ll have to do out there and when?”
I glance up at him over my shoulder and he’s definitely turned on the charm, and from the looks of it, his smile at this Morgan girl is practically enough to bring her to orgasm. Her cheeks have become distinctly pink under the blush that was already there.
She doesn’t even take an eye off him before nodding enthusiastically. “Of course I will. Anything for you, Be—”
He cuts her off, reaching out to pick up a long tendril of hair that’d been lying just to the side of her boob. She gives him a giddy smile, but he drops the lock a moment later before resting his hands on my shoulders. His lips brush my ear as he leans in to whisper, “Catch your act out there, Calamity Jane. Can’t wait to see what trouble you get into next.” He gives me a gentle nudge into the room, then, much to Morgan’s dismay, pulls the door shut, leaving me with her.
My throat is thick as I take inventory of the room. There are four small vanities set up, which I guess makes sense if there are two fights and four fighters. A couple girls seem to have just finished up. One’s in the process of removing makeup from her eyes with a wipe. She glances at us in the reflection of her mirror, but never turns around. The other girl hikes up a pair of joggers and bends to tie her athletic shoes. She’s friendlier than the first girl and, as she rights herself, she gives me a quick wave. “Have fun tonight, you lucky girl.”
Lucky girl.Interesting. Am I? I watch her go, then turn back to Morgan, but she’s wandered over to one of the other vanities and is sitting in front of a mirror, primping. I walk over to join her. “Um. So, what do I do?”
She smirks, her red lips twisting as she gives me a once-over. “It’s a little late for a boob job, so you’re going to have to make do with what you’ve got.” Her eyes wander down my body and then back up. “Nice legs, though. Pretty hair.”
I blink at her, wondering if she’s for real or if she’s just messing with me. Boob job? Frowning, I cross my arms over my average-size chest and decide for the moment to ignore her comment. “So, out there, I assume the fight is where all the noise was coming from at the end of the hall. And I… do what?”
Rolling her eyes, she flicks a hand in that general direction. “Yeah. You’ll want to greet your fighter. They like a little attention before they get into the ring, usually. Let him do what he wants. There’s a crowd of people, so I doubt it’ll be anything crazy, anyway.” She turns back to the mirror, running a finger lightly under the red lipstick, then picks up a bottle of some sort of fragrance. Sniffing gently at it, she nods her head. “Here, try some of this. They like it when you smell good.”
