Page 46 of Stealing His Christmas Present

He let out a sigh. “I was imprisoned for three years.”

“Imprisoned? Where? By who?” I furrowed my brow.

“My boss found out that I let you go. I didn’t know my phone was bugged and had a tracker on it. I thought they sent me after your sister because they trusted me, but I was wrong. There was someone else watching too... They figured out I was in the right place at the right time, but you escaped anyway.

“There were some other accusations against me, but they were all lies. Some other gang members used the opportunity to blame all the shit they’ve done on me. I had no one on my side. No one to speak out in my favor. So they captured me and threw me in a cell in the dungeon where they kept and tortured their prisoners.”

I stared at him in shock.

“Days and nights blurred together. I lost track of the number of times they came for me to beat me up. It was fun for them, a way to blow off some steam when they were pissed off about something. All I had to pass the time was a small rock I’d found on the dirty floor of my cell. It was my only friend. I even talked to it sometimes, when I wasn’t too tired to do it.”

I looked across the room at his rock collection, my eyes filling with tears.

Oh god.

Why?

“Most of the time, I didn’t know where I was. I was just hungry, thirsty, and cold. I wanted to die, but they didn’t let me. One time they wanted to shatter all the bones in my hand because I caught a mouse that had been scurrying around and wanted to eat it.” A smile curved his lips as he glanced at me. “Don’t look so horrified. I was desperate.”

“It’s not the mouse... It’s everything,” I whispered, my eyes wide.

“Anyway, there was this guy, Sancho, who stopped them. He was impressed that I managed to do it, and he offered me a deal. If I wanted to fight in his underground fight club, I’d get things when I won. But first, I had to prove myself in a fight against another prisoner, who was in an even worse shape than I was. I didn’t want to fight him because it felt wrong, but I still did it. I defeated him, and I got an actual meal for the first time in what seemed like forever.”

I pressed myself even closer to him as a tear slid down my cheek. How had he survived through something so horrible?

“It made me sick because my stomach wasn’t used to food anymore, but it was still worth it. Sancho took me with him. I was in a different cell. It was a little better, but not much. Still, I got some food and I got to train. When I was finally ready for my first fight, Sancho told me that if I won, I’d get a bed.

“I’d never fought so hard in my life. I won, and I liked it. Every time I won, I got something. Better food. Blankets. Clothes. Books. Beer. But then one time, Sancho told me to lose. I liked the thrill of winning and the crowd cheering for me, and yet, he promised me a reward if I did as he asked. And if I failed him, he said he’d take away all the things that I’d fought so hard to win.”

“What did you do?”

“I lost, and the crowd booed. I think they realized I’d done it on purpose. Sancho didn’t care. He placed a huge bet on me losing through his guys. Then later, I had to win some fights and lose some, and I was getting more and more disillusioned with it all. Fighting used to make me feel like I was in control, but he turned me into his pawn. When he told me that if I won the next fight against his biggest competitor’s star fighter, I’d be free, I believed he meant he was going to kill me.”

“So you lost?”

“No, I won. I made my peace with it. I thought there was no way out. There were so many guards everywhere all the time and so many hallways I wasn’t allowed to go anywhere near, and I couldn’t expect help from anyone.

“Imagine my surprise when they just dumped me in the middle of an alley. But I saw it as a chance to start over. Only, I couldn’t. I kept seeing everything that had happened to me, and there was only one thing I wanted. Revenge. I wanted to make everyone pay, and I did. I wanted to take my life back.”

“You killed your tormentors and your boss.”

He nodded.

“I’m so sorry,” I said, gently rubbing his shoulder. “I’m sorry something so terrible happened to you. It shouldn’t have.”

I could understand now why he was so angry. Why there was darkness and torment in his eyes.

Was that why he’d kidnapped me? Because, if it hadn’t been for me, none of it would’ve ever happened.

He’d spared my life, but in exchange, he’d almost lost his.

He’d lost a part of his soul.

I didn’t know what to say to him because no words could make any of what had happened to him better or fix it.

I was about to ask him why he’d kidnapped me, but he extracted himself from my arms. His face grew serious as he headed to get his clothes.

His guard was back up.

Shit.

If only I knew the right thing to say.

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