Page 94 of Cruel Abandon (Fallen Royals 5)

They grapple in the center of the ring, and it appears Liam is going to come out on top.

“Scream,” Colt says, digging the knife deeper into my skin.

I’d rather choke on my own vomit.

The crowd chants the fighters’ names. They tumble, rolling around the floor, until Liam pops up on top. He slams his fist down, into his opponent’s face.

The knife disappears off my throat, and Colt wrenches my arm back. Pain erupts from my shoulder, and I yelp.

It does what Colt wants.

Liam hesitates, and Leroy doesn’t hesitate to flip Liam over his head. He lands heavily on top of Liam, delivering bone-crunching hits.

I cry out again.

Colt suddenly drags me backward, out of the room. We get halfway down the hall when something must happen.

The crowd surges, then hushes.

“No!” I scream, kicking at him.

I can’t see.

Panic fills me, and I batter against Colt. His grip loosens, and I fall on my face. I skitter forward on my hands and knees. I can’t let Liam get hurt.

RJ bolts toward us, but he’s jerked to a stop. Theo slams him face-first into the wall, holding him there. Colt’s hands grab at me again, lifting me off the ground.

“Let her go,” Liam demands, coming up behind RJ and Theo. He’s badly bruised, holding his side. His nose might be broken. “You’ve got about two seconds before I help you out.”

“Your reputation is ruined,” Theo says casually, pressing RJ’s face harder into the wall. “Who’s going to come to Howl when your fights end in thirty seconds and you charge double at the door?”

RJ struggles. “Double?”

“Oh, did Colt forget to mention that? Liam was the big draw—of course they were willing to cough up the cash.” Theo grunts.

Colt stops backing up, and I risk a glance over my shoulder. We’ve reached the end of the hallway.

The lights cut off, plunging us into darkness.

A second later, the red emergency lights flicker on, and an alarm wails. Liam is a hell of a lot closer than he was before, but Colt has apparently reached his limit. He gives me a hard shove, and I stumble forward.

Liam grabs my arms and lowers me to the floor, crouching over me.

“He’s running,” Theo says.

“I’ll be right back,” Liam says to me. He rises.

Panic seizes my chest, and I try to find purchase on his skin. “Don’t—”

He stops and looks down at me.

Weird déjà vu hits me, and I flinch.

His gaze hardens. “Theo will watch over you.”

I clutch his wrist with both hands. “No, please, don’t—”

He pauses and kneels next to me.

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