Page 10 of Fighting the Darkness

Well, this certainly isn’t how I thought this night would go.

Chapter Five

Freya

Idon’tknowhowlong I stand there crying in Vicki’s arms, but eventually, the tears stop.

Vicki pulls back, lifting her hands to wipe away the tears dampening my face. “I need to know what makeup you have on because it didn’t smear one bit.”

I snort, unable to hold back my laughter, and Vicki grins down at me.

“What are you drinking? You definitely need one.” Vicki releases me and makes her way around the bar instead of launching over it again.

“Ummm... A Sex on the Beach?”

Vicki nods. “That’s easy enough. Give me just a minute to make it for you.”

I watch Vicki as she works. I know the drink isn’t that hard to make, but she makes it look exceptionally easy, even throwing the mixer around a bit before pouring the drink. She sets it on the bar in front of me with a flourish. “Here you go, Freya. Drink up. Give me a sec. I’m going to let the others know I’m taking a break.”

“Oh, you don’t—“ I break off, realizing she’s already gone. I don’t want her to waste her break on me—especially not after I fell apart in her arms sobbing. I feel like I’ve already wasted enough of her time tonight.

She’s back a few seconds later, standing beside me—though I never saw her move from behind the bar.

“Are you a ninja?” I blurt out, glad I hadn’t taken a drink yet, or it’s likely I would’ve spit my drink all over her.

Vicki laughs, and it’s a beautiful sound. “Sometimes. Come on, let me give you a tour.”

I trail behind her as she explains how the fights work. The two smaller cages house fights throughout the night, but the larger cage is for the big fights. She explains that usually there’s only one fight in that cage a night, but they’ve been known to do up to three. Those are the fights that bring in the crowds and the money. The smaller ones are just to keep people occupied until it’s time for the fight they’re really here for.

“As you can see, we have seating throughout, but once the main fights start, they clear out quickly. Everyone will be jostling to get as close as they can to watch the fight. Wilder’s one of the fighters tonight. He always brings in big crowds, no matter who he’s fighting. Freyr was the same way. You should’ve seen how crazy it was when the two of them were fighting one another. It was always insane.” There’s a wisp of sadness in Vicki’s voice, and I wonder just how close she’d been to my brother.

“Now, one thing you should know is that this place is filled with creeps, but they’re creeps who won’t hurt you—except maybe that shit stain who accosted you. You don’t need to worry about him again, though. I’m going to let the owner know, and he’ll be banned for life. We don’t put up with that kind of shit here.” Vicki pauses at the bottom of a set of stairs where a bouncer stands. “This leads to the VIP area. Usually, you have to put down big bucks to get up there, but because of who you are, this is where you’ll watch the fights any time you want to come. The boss is up there now—that’s where I’m taking you.”

“Oh.” Vicki is already heading up the stairs, and I hurry to catch up with her. “I didn’t realize I’d be meeting the boss.”

“Of course you are. Freyr was family, and that makes you family.”

I bite my lip. It’s hard for me to believe that they’re all going to welcome me with open arms just because I’m Freyr’s sister. That’s not how things work in my world, and maybe that’s why Freyr loved it so much here. It’s so unlike how we were raised and the friends we were forced to have. Maybe this could be the place where I figure out who I am without Freyr at my side.

Pain clenches in my chest, and I lift my hand to rub at it as if it were a physical pain. That’s the thing about grief that they don’t tell you—it’s not just emotional and mental pain you have to deal with. Sometimes it manifests as physical pain, or at least mimics it.

Taking a deep breath, I follow Vicki as she weaves through the tables until she stops beside one along the railing. A middle-aged red-haired woman sits there, her eyes lifting away from the fights to land on Vicki. “Vicki, is something wrong?”

“No. The exact opposite, actually.” Vicki grabs my hand, pulling me forward to stand beside her. “We have a visitor. This is Freya—“

“Freyr’s sister.” A smile blooms across the older woman’s face as she stands up, pulling me into a hug. I stiffen at the contact before relaxing into her embrace. She’s still smiling when she pulls back to meet my eyes. “Sorry, I’m a hugger. My name is Quinn, and I’m the owner of The Guillotine.”

“Wait. What?” I’m sure my shock is clear on my face.

Quinn laughs, moving to sit down once more and gesturing for me to take the seat beside her. “The shock never gets old. Most people expect an old white man to own a place like this, so when they meet me, they’re always surprised.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend—“

“You didn’t.” Quinn waves off my discomfort, shooting Vicki another smile. “I’ve got it from here. Feel free to come up and join us on your break, though. Because this doesnotcount as your break, young lady.”

Vicki nods, laying a hand on my shoulder and squeezing lightly. “It was really nice to meet you, Freya. I’ll definitely be back later.”

“Thank you, Vicki.” I wave at her over my shoulder.

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