Page 118 of Merciless

“Oh yeah?” I taunt. “What have you got to fight for? The one decent thing in your life has gotten up and fucked off, leaving you alone like the loser you really are.”

He roars in anger and flies at me, but I’m ready.

I’m always fucking ready.

I block most of his punches, letting him wear himself out, but it’s more than obvious he’s been training since we last butted heads. He’s loads better than I remember, and before long, he’s tripped me up and has taken the upper hand.

Blood and sweat cover both our bodies, spittle flies from our parted lips as we try to suck in the air we need as we bounce in front of each other.

“Take him down,” JD roars behind me. His is the only voice I can make out. The only one that matters.

With a feral roar, I fly at Mav, more than ready to end this bullshit once and for all.

I know I’ve won. I’ve got the girl he’s running around town trying to find. It’s about time he discovered that no matter how hard he tries, he will never fucking beat me.

Fueled by nothing but hate and anger, I turn it up a notch, and before long, before I’m fucking ready, he collapses into the crowd.

To my disappointment, he’s still conscious, and the second he’s on his feet again, he comes for me. But he doesn’t get very far. Razor’s arm darts out, stopping him from closing in on me.

He whispers something in his son’s ear that no one else can hear. Whatever it is has the fight draining from him instantly. And with a subtle jerk of his chin in my direction, he admits defeat and disappears into the crowd.

I stand there with the room spinning around me and my ears ringing from the number of hits I took. The high of the win surges through my veins and not a heartbeat later, my little fan club emerges from the crowd, and I’m surrounded by the best men this town has ever produced.

JD, Devin, Ezra, and Ellis all lead me to the bar and grab a bottle of whiskey off the top shelf to celebrate.

“Thought he had you for a moment there,” Ellis says with a knowing smirk.

“Fuck off, Bro,” Ezra barks. “Reid had that long before they even stepped into the ring. Ain’t that right, Boss?”

I nod as I lift the bottle to my lips and swallow mouthful after mouthful. It burns down my throat before warming my belly.

Hell to the fucking yes.

“Looks like you’re going to need someone to tend to those wounds,” Devin says, his eyes lighting up with excitement before he turns to scan tonight’s offerings. “What do you want? Blonde, obviously. Tall and skinny, short and curvy? You feeling a blowy or anal. That chick over there sucks like a fucking demon. You’d love her.”

A blonde, I think. But not one who is here.

“Shut the fuck up, asshole,” I grunt.

JD catches my eyes and winks. Motherfucker can practically read my thoughts and I fucking hate it.

“Uh-oh, look out. Seems you’re about to get a new one ripped by Daddy before we can find you a girl to kiss it all better.”

Victor’s shadow falls over us, but I don’t look up. Unlike every other cunt in this place, I’m not scared of him.

He wants to take me on, then fucking bring it. I’ll take him down without breaking a sweat. He knows it too. He trained me himself.

“You shot your load too early tonight, Son.” The way he growls that final word, like it actually means something, makes my spine straighten. “It’s going to cost you.”

Breaking the rules under his watch costs. But so fucking what? He’s already taken enough from all of us. What’s a little extra?

“Whatever,” I scoff, “it was worth it.”

My boys all mutter their agreement as I take another swig of my whiskey and get to my feet.My body protests at the movement, but like fuck am I going to let it show.

“I’m out,” I say, finally meeting Victor’s eyes.

His narrow suspiciously, but I don’t hang around long enough to figure out what he’s trying to read. If he wants to know something, he can fucking well ask. Then I’ll decide how honest I want to be.

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