Huxton's green stare was pure, unfiltered conviction.

He wanted to fight Reese.

I just prayed that when this was over with, the man I loved would still hold the same strength in his beautiful eyes.

- Chapter Sixteen -

Huxton

My left eye burned. I didn't know if it was from blood or sweat. The cut from the last fight still seared my nerves; pulsing, trying to distract me. But nothing would distract me. Not with Reese mere feet away.

I'd been praying for a chance at taking him down. It was cruel that the chance had come now, at the end of a long row of rough fights. I wasn't stupid. I knew Nehro had arranged all of this.

Swaying on my feet, I shook myself. Exhaustion demanded that I let my muscles give in. My body was so eager to collapse on the ground.

I couldn't.

The bell rang, but neither of us moved. Reese was observing me, the edge of his mouth trying to decide if it wanted to smirk or not. The bastard was happy, he was sure he had an advantage. Of course, he did; he was full-throttle, I was half-empty.

Inching his foot forward, he started to move. I let him, saving myself for when I had to actually use my muscles. The world was crafted from screams and howls. When he was close enough to be heard, Reese grinned. “How you feeling?”

Tensing my legs, ignoring how they cramped, I said, “Fucking fantastic. I see your nose is better. Just in time for me to break it again.”

His eyebrows crunched together. “I'm so happy I get to destroy you. What a great day this is.” Done with banter, he dove right at me. His fist was easy to spot, but not his leg.

His foot caught me in the ribs, sending me rolling to one side. Flashes of yellow filled my brain as I tumbled. My body was demanding that I give up.

I could tap out. Nehro had never told me that was an option. Now that I knew, it was the smart thing to do it. The thing is, I wanted Nehro to see that I was bigger, stronger; better. He couldn't break me with a line of men. I'd shatter all of them.

Perhaps he knew I wouldn't tap out, anyway. He'd promised me a break if I defeated Reese. I didn't need temptation. This was a man I wanted to fight.

How could I back down?

Reese stalked my way, diving at me on the cement. I twisted to catch him, but his arm got under my chin and began to constrict. Scratching at his wrists, I went foggy—pieces of my brain throbbing, ready to explode like balloons.

Slamming my elbow back, I nailed him in the guts. It was enough to get him loose, my weight shoving him off of me. Stumbling to my feet, I got my hands up—but he came at me too fast.

That headbutt sent me sprawling. The sea of people became a dull ringing. Gasping, I inched backwards, standing as far from Reese as I could. He was fucking me up, and the wild grin on his face said he knew it. He was beating me.

Breathing deep, he shook the sweat from his hair and laughed. “This is perfect, this is what I wanted.” Looking above me, he studied the faces that reveled in our destruction. His hand went up, a small wave.

Peeking sideways, I saw Zoe—pale and distressed.

He took a step towards me and said, “I want her to watch you fall. To see that I was better—that I am better.”

Clenching my hands until the cords of my arms burned, I waited for him to get close. “You're pretty caught up on a girl you abandoned, Reese.”

His whole face darkened. “She abandoned me! I did everything for her, and she couldn't forgive me for one fucking mistake that was her fault in the first place?”

On the balls of my feet, I focused. I channeled every memory I had of my days fighting on the street. The purple diamonds on my hands were solid reminders of each win I'd had, a tally I kept for myself. One of them meant five wins in a row... and I'd managed to cover every fucking knuckle.

I wasn't some rule-trained MMA fighter. This place, the Dog House, was as familiar to me as the other underground rings I'd battled in.

Reese thought he knew what he was up against...

But he didn't. He couldn't have.

Laughing cynically, I nodded at him. “It was her fault you fucked someone else? Nice logic.”

“She'd become boring, man.” Two steps, three... he was so close, almost there. “The bitch stopped being the girl I'd first met. It was her job to remember what I'd done for her!”

There; it was time.

Not winding up, giving him no time to prepare, I jabbed my fist straight into Reese's mouth. The skin wrinkled, his head jerking with the momentum. I expected him to be more shocked, but he took the hit and slammed me back, sending me flying over the ground.

Grunting, I buckled down, hands on my thighs. The ringing had dulled, but my blood kept sloshing in my veins. Right then, my voice was stronger than the rest of me. “Zoe doesn't owe you anything.”

Wiping his mouth, he looked at the streak of red. “Of course she fucking owes me.” He curled his fingers, slapped his chest. “I saved her god damn grandmother. Zoe was too fucked up to drive, or didn't you know that? How much our 'sweet girl' was hooked on dope?” He threw back his head, snorting. “She couldn't have driven that night! I had to!”

My heart thumped, then began to shrink.

What did he just say?

Crouched there, I looked down at my hands—the blood that had soaked through the wraps—and just stared. He'd said Zoe couldn't drive that night—that he'd had to? He'd been so factual. Spoken from his own memory of the event. Did that mean...

With great slowness, I looked up at my approaching opponent. “It was you,” I whispered, making myself stand. Rage had formed in my bones, turned them to steel. It numbed my pain and gave me strength. “You were driving that night, not Gram.”

Reese froze in front of me, it was astounding that he'd heard me over the noise around us. His panicked stare, red veins spider-webbing around the whites...  his reaction said volumes.

Pressure throbbed behind my eyeballs.

That was what Gram meant... when she'd told me not to go too fast. She thought I was him. She'd called me Reese. Some part of her broken mind remembers that night.

It was him.

He was breathing severely, lips red as raspberries. I'd split the skin with my punch. I had every intention to do it again.

The entire reason Zoe blamed herself... tortured herself... was because she thought that by not going with her Gram, she'd been responsible.

But it wasn't her grandmother who'd been driving. She hadn't been behind the wheel.

“You're incredible,” I hissed. “You made her hate herself. Zoe thought this was her sacrifice to make because you fucking lied to her! You piece of shit! You motherfucking piece of shit!”

Boiling with disgust, I let myself give in to my base desires. I wanted to claw the skin from this man's face. I wanted him to feel so much pain, to understand what Zoe had gone through.

Reese... he was the root of it all.

Causing the crash.

Introducing her to Nehro.

Making her feel like she owed him for 'saving' her grandmother.

All along, he'd been responsible for everything.

Knocking Reese to the floor, I jammed my fist into his cheek. The sound was satisfying. Again and again, I pounded him like I'd harassed so many gym bags. But this wasn't canvas, this was flesh and bone.

Reese caught me by the throat, strangling me, shoving me off. Coughing, I went for him again. I didn't see the knife, not until it sliced cleanly through part of my forearm.

Stumbling away, I looked down at the cut. It welled with blood, dripping to the floor and causing a cry of dismay from the crowd.

I heard Zoe's scream. It cut deeper than the knife had.