Page 11 of Fighting the Darkness

Quinn wears a sad smile when I turn back to her. “She’s been a bit broken since your brother’s death, I’m afraid. It’s nice to see a genuine smile on her lips.”

“Oh?” I ask, raising my eyebrows.

“You didn’t know they were dating?” Quinn asks with a frown.

I shake my head. I certainlyhadn’tknown that my brother was dating someone. “No, this is the first time I’ve met her.”

“Yeah, they were together for about eight months or so. We all thought they were endgame—get married, have kids, all the good stuff.” Quinn shrugs. “Unfortunately, life doesn’t always work the way we think it will or should.”

Freyr had not only been dating someone, but his friends thought they’d get married? And I knew nothing about it? Sure, I’d suspected that he might be seeing someone, but not to that level of commitment. How had I not known this? Had I really known my brother at all?

My heart cracks, hating that there was so much about him I hadn’t known.

“How are you holding up?” Quinn’s hand closed over mine, squeezing.

My eyes fill with tears again, and I’m so ready for them to stop. But when was the last time someone had asked me how I was holding up? My parents just want me to get over it. None of my old friends bother talking to me anymore, and obviously, Wilder doesn’t care enough to ask. I’ve just been so alone in my grief, and I hate it. Maybe that’s why I blurt out exactly how I’m feeling.

“Not great,” I admit. “I’m a mess. I feel broken—like I don’t even know who I am without him.” Something about Quinn tells me I can trust her. I don’t know if it’s because she knew my brother or what, but I just want to spill all of my truths to her.

“I can only imagine what it feels like to lose a twin.” Quinn sighs. “I lost my sister to cancer a few years back, and it devastated me. Plus, Freyr always said how close the two of you were, even when you found different paths in life. He liked to regale us with tales of how you both knew when the other was hurting or in trouble. How you’d run to one another’s rescue. I loved hearing those stories the best.”

I nod because I’d always thought we were close. “We did, but now I’m wondering if it was real or not. I didn’t know anything about his life, apparently. I definitely didn’t know he was dating Vicki or that it was serious. So how close could we really have been?”

Quinn tuts. “Maybe he just hadn’t figured out how to tell you there was another woman in his life.”

“I would’ve been happy for him.” I can’t meet her eyes, choosing to pick at my cuticles instead.

“I’m sure he knew that, but it also meant that you would no longer be the most important person in his life. Maybe he wasn’t ready to tell you. Or maybe he just wasn’t ready to share the two most important women in life with one another.”

“I guess that could be possible.” I sigh, letting my eyes scan over the club once more before turning back to Quinn. “At least the decor makes more sense now. I was surprised that a man could do all of this.”

Quinn laughs again as I gesture to where we sit. Black booths line the walls with gold and red curtains hanging off of them that can be closed for privacy. Each of the booths seem to have a large television that is broadcasting the fights below. There are also tables interspersed throughout the center of the large VIP area, and a huge television is mounted above the bar, showing the same broadcast.

“Just because The Guillotine is meant for blood and violence, doesn’t mean it can’t be elegant,” Quinn says. “I have a liking for the finer things in life, and I didn’t see any reason I couldn’t have thatandthe other love of my life.”

“I guess you wouldn’t open this place if you didn’t love fighting.” I glance over the railing, realizing just how well I can see the fights from up here.

Quinn hums. “It’s more than that. I used to do MMA professionally. But we can talk more about that later. I’m curious about what’s brought you here tonight.”

I shrug. “Freyr loved it here. He would talk about it all the time. He invited me at least once a month to join him, even if he wasn’t fighting, but I was a different person back then. Superficial. Stuck up. Honestly, just not a good person, which is why I didn’t come. It didn’t matter that he loved it. It wasn’t in my wheelhouse, so I didn’t care. I was selfish. I should’ve come sooner.”

“That might be true, but you’re here now.”

I scoff. “Yeah, but he’s not.”

Quinn nods slowly. “I can tell you not to beat yourself up so much until I’m blue in the face, but I don’t think that’s what you need right now. You came here to see what it was about this place that your brother loved so much, right?”

I nod slowly. “I wanted to feel closer to him.”

“And maybe see if you’ll end up loving it as much as him?” Quinn hums at my nod. “Well, there’s only one way to find out, isn’t there?”

Chapter Six

Freya

“Idon’tknowhowmuch Vicki told you about the club while she was showing you around, but these fights,” Quinn gestures to the two fights going on in the smaller cages, “are our little fights. The big one will be later in the evening. It gives us plenty of time to get everyone in and pumped for it.”

She sighs as she looks down at the cages. “I really do miss fighting. My dad used to run these fights, and things were a lot more rundown back then—it didn’t even have a name when he owned the place. When I couldn’t fight anymore, I took over for him, spruced the place up a bit, and gave it a name.”

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