Page 34 of Heads You Lose (Grim & Beast Duet 2)

CHAPTERSEVEN

Mutiny

BEAST

“Beast, look at you. You’re fucking fucked!” Connall announces as he shoves open the door into the changing rooms that’s set aside for the fighters of Tales, and nudges Joey out of the way, trying to get a good look at me.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, mate,” I retort, wincing as Joey tuts, continuing to dab the blood dripping from the cut to my brow. That last cunt I just knocked out managed to get in a pretty fucking lethal left hook. My head is pounding and my eye is rapidly swelling.

“Over the past few hours you’ve fought five men and won, but I’m telling you enough is enough,” Connall says.

“No!” I growl.

“Have you seen the size of that fucker out there?” he persists.

“I don’t give a fuck. I’m not backing down.”

“Beast, will you listen to reason!”

Joey tuts, shaking his head. “Let me deal with his wound, Connall. Then he’s going back out there and finishing this.”

“You’re not seriously encouraging him are you?” Connall asks, scowling at Joey who just gives him a stern look and applies some butterfly tape to temporarily hold the wound closed at my eyebrow.

“We all know he has to see this through. Now stop being such a fucking pussy, and give him the encouragement he needs to end this. Beast is the best of the best. Give him some fucking credit here.”

“Shut up you old dick, Beast is my best mate, and I happen to give a shit about him. If I think this has gone too far, I’m going to fucking say so.”

Joey drops the bloody rag in the bin beside his feet and rounds on Connall. “Now listen to me, and listen well,” he says, jabbing his finger into Connall’s chest. “Beastneedsto do this. If you don’t understand the reasoning behind that then you’ve never been a man in love.”

“Fucking glad of that if this bullshit is anything to go by,” Connall mutters, folding his arms across his chest like a petulant child. I would laugh if I knew it wouldn’t fucking hurt.

“There’s a lot at stake here,” Joey says, grasping my shoulder and giving it a squeeze. He knows I’ve got to do this. He gets it.

“But that won’t mean jack if he ends up a dead man,” Connall counters. “Besides, she's not even here.”

“Oh, she’s here,” I say, certain of that fact. Kate might not be in the crowd with the others, but I’ll bet my aching bollocks she’s watching from her office.

“Beast, come on man, if the truth wasn’t good enough for her, what makes you think that winning this fight will change her mind?”

“It’s complicated,” I retort, refusing to acknowledge what stings far worse than these cuts and bruises. Had I wanted her to run into my arms the moment she found out what really happened? I’d be a fucking liar if I said no. Do I understand why she didn’t? Yeah, I do. I’ve put her in an impossible position because in our world, the rules that apply to everyone else, don’t apply to the likes of us.

Ihaveto prove myself. There’s no way around it.

“It’s a test,” he counters.

“Of course it fucking is!” I shout back, losing my cool. “But it’s also a way in, and I’m taking it. You know the score, Connall. This is how we are. This is how ithasto go down. I’m not a fucking pussy. She lays down the gauntlet and you bet your arse I’m picking up that challenge and owning it.”

“Jesus, fuck. The things you do for that woman. The things you’ve done, Beast!”

“Shut the fuck up, Connall!” Joey snaps this time. “This isn’t just about proving to Grim that Beast is someone who will fight for her or to those tossers out there that he’s a force to be reckoned with. This is about Beast proving tohimselfthat he’s worthy of standing by her side.”

“Of course he’s fucking worthy!” Connall snaps back.

“I know that. You know that, and deep down Grim does too, but Beast can’t be the man he needs to be for her until he lets go of hisownbaggage. So stop giving him grief and start giving him some encouragement!”

Connall scrapes a hand through his hair, glaring at Joey before turning his attention back to me. “Fuck, fine…” His voice trails off as he looks at me with concern and a brotherly kind of love. “You sure she’s worth it?”

I try not to be offended by that question, and if it had come from anyone else my fist would’ve met their face for the sheer gall at asking, but I know Connall likes and respects Kate, he’s just concerned for his best mate and I appreciate that.

---