Page 26 of Bright Like Midnight (Savage U)

“Mad uncomfortable,” Marco muttered.

Julien shook his head. “You definitely didn’t deserve that lemon bar.”

My fists tightened. This was finished. It was time to spill some blood.

Reno ran fights in his warehouses. They were big, hyped up, and mostly illegal. Like the rest of his businesses, he’d inherited the fights from our uncle, along with the cops he paid to look the other way. That wasn’t to say he hadn’t been raided—he absolutely had—but evidence managed to get lost, and charges were always dropped. Illegal fight rings were the least of Reno’s crimes, and they weren't a high priority for Savage River’s law enforcement.

The first time I stepped in a ring had been by force. When I was sixteen, Reno had been pissed at me for something trivial, and my punishment was going head to head with a thirty-year-old wall of solid muscle. I’d gotten my ass handed to me. My nose still didn’t sit right, and my jaw creaked when I opened my mouth too wide, but I fucking loved the rush of it. I’d gotten addicted, even having the shit pounded out of me. Since that first fight, I’d trained, and had gotten stronger and faster. Now, I chose my opponents and when I fought. Tonight was my first in a month.

I needed it.

Cold fury had settled in my belly, and nothing I did would dissipate it. My limbs were jittery, needing action. My muscles were primed for exertion. Walking inside the warehouse, which was now an arena, and smelling the familiar scents of bodies, dirt, and old, coppery blood got my head swimming.

Julien and Marco were slightly in front of me with Zadie tucked between them. Julien had his hand on her shoulder. Touching my pet. Maybe it was in a friendly way, but friendly was unacceptable, especially after the way he’d been bucking against my ownership of Zadie over the course of the week.

“Zadie,” I barked, and her shoulders jumped. “Come here.”

She tipped her head up to Julien, as if asking his permission, and that was not acceptable. He very much fucking knew that, which was why he pushed her toward me without sparing her a glance. I took her hand in mine, the softness of it making a crack in my anger. Once I had her and Julien didn’t, I held her gently and slowed my pace so she didn’t have to scamper in her heels.

“I’m fighting tonight. Your job is to help get me ready, show me your pretty face while I’m fighting, and be there after I win to cool me down.” We trailed around the ring, which was nothing more than a roped off diamond in the center of the room. When a fighter went down, he ate concrete. It’d been a while since I’d tasted it, but it wasn’t easy to forget.

It was early, so the stands hadn’t filled, but there were already people around. Some stopped to greet me and my boys, others nodded with respect. Marco went off to talk to someone he knew, and Julien stayed on the other side of Zadie. I wasn’t happy with him, but at least I could be certain he’d keep her safe while I was in the ring.

“I have to watch the fight?” she asked.

“Yes.” I peered down at her. She’d put on makeup for this. Lipstick a shade or two darker than her natural color. Something gray swept across her eyes, making them unnaturally big and bright. Something shiny above her cheekbones, pink on her cheeks. It was pretty, sexy, classy, and I had to fight the unexplainable urge to grab a towel and wash it all off. “That’s part of why I brought you here. I want to hear you cheering for me while I fight. I want that sweet voice to get as loud as I know it can.”

Her hand stiffened in mine. I only held her tighter. “Shut up, Amir.”

I chuckled. “That wasn’t so sweet, little mama.”

“I’m not always sweet,” she replied.

“Good. That’s mine.”

On the other side of the arena, behind a set of bleachers, was an entrance to what had once been offices but were now makeshift dressing rooms. Mine was empty, with only a couple chairs, a table, a stack of clean towels, and a few bottles of water.

A couple of the other fighters took my appearance as an invitation to come inside and socialize. It was normal for me. I never had a problem with it. But Zadie was with me tonight. I wanted her to have space from the hardened men who took part in Reno’s fights. Men like me. I let her move away from me to take a seat in the corner of the room when I got into it with a pair of guys I’d fought and defeated multiple times. They were decent fighters and always presented a challenge. Got me just the right amount of bloody, but not enough to win.

“Yo, my boy.” Reno sauntered into the room, his two guards at his back.

I moved forward, clasped his hand, and patted him on the back. “S’up, man. How’s it looking out there?”

He nodded, the ice in his ears glinting in the light. Reno had taken to wearing custom-made suits and oversized diamond stud earrings. He looked good, but incredibly douchey at the same time. Probably because he was all of twenty-four with snakeskin loafers he wore without socks. It was a look…or something, but I wasn’t a fan. The Reno I grew up with, the soccer playing, grubby punk kid, would have taken one look at grown-up Reno and laughed his ass off.

“All good, man. How’re you feeling, brother?” He raised his brows, and I heard the real question. Was I going to win him a shitload of money tonight?

“Feeling loose and ready.” I rolled my shoulders and flexed my fingers. I had some time, but yeah, I’d be ready.

“Good, good. Just don’t take him down too early. Let him get in there. Give them a show.”

He was asking me to take some hits so the fight wasn’t over too soon. It was an easy request for him to make when it wasn’t his body taking the blows. But I’d never minded a little bit of pain, not in the ring or out of it.

“I can make that happen.”

With a sharp nod, Reno’s focus shifted to a spot in the room behind me. From the glimmer in his eyes, I knew exactly what he was seeing.

“Who’s that sweet little thing you’re hiding in the corner, Amir?” he asked.

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