Savage: a Fighter Erotic Romance Novella (8 page)

I muffled my scream by slapping my hands over my mouth.

Luke pulled back, grabbing at his jaw.  He pushed it back into place with a wince.

“Do you really think you can beat me, Stone?” Mitch laughed.  “Me?  I’ve been fighting since before you were born.  Before you were the greatest fighter in America, I was … and I
still
am.  I just let you do my dirty work for me.”

He stalked forward, gaining on Luke. 

“Do you really want to try to take me on Stone?  Knowing all that?”

Luke threw out another punch, one that Mitch easily ducked.  Mitch threw his own at Luke, and I was sure that it was going to bash his head in … but Luke ducked too.  Mitch’s eyes grew wide as he recoiled and Luke stood up straight.

“Yes,” Luke growled.

Immediately, before Mitch could react, he threw out a kick that landed squarely in his master’s stomach.  Mitch stumbled back, clutching at it, his eyes still wide.  He stared at his fighter for a few moments.

Then he threw back his head and laughed.

“Well God damn it, Stone,” he chuckled.  “Look at you, still fighting.  Hm.  And you’re good too.  Maybe I might let you live and keep fighting for me.”

“I’ll never fight for you again.”

Mitch snorted. 

“That’s what they all say.  And yet they still do.”

He threw another punch, which Luke dodged and answered with his own kick.  Mitch dodged that easily, and they continued to fight.  Their movements were fierce and powerful, but also perfect and practiced. 

It was like watching two dancers in a choreographed dance, but I knew it was far more serious than that.  After all, dances usually didn’t end with one partner dead.

After a few minutes of endless blocks, kicks, and punches, Luke pulled back.  His chest heaved as he desperately tried to catch his breath, and his face was splattered in blood.  His tight muscles were glossed in sweat, and I saw the determination (and fear) in his eyes.

“Are you ready to give in?” asked Mitch lazily.  He was just as battered, but he seemed to have an arrogant tint to his expression, as if he thought Luke would never seriously fight him.

“Never,” Luke whispered as he dove back in to fight him.

I watched them fight with wide eyes, feeling helpless.  What could I do?  There was no way in hell I could ever fight a monster like Mitch—even Luke, with his lifetime of experience, was struggling to keep up with him.  My hands shook as I clasped them against my chest, trying to quell my thundering heart.  I felt as if my world was falling to pieces around me.

After what seemed like ages, they parted again.  Luke and Mitch began circling each other, their footsteps heavy but uneven.  Luke seemed to have a limp, and Mitch was equally bruised and beaten.  I watched a drop of blood run down Luke’s feet and choked.  Mitch either didn’t see me or ignored me, keeping his eyes fixed on Luke as he stalked around him.

“Give up, Mitch,” Luke growled, his knuckles bleeding and his leg limping. 

His eyes were still burning and fierce, as if he could fight for a million more years despite his obvious wounds and weaknesses. 

I wanted to run over to him and embrace him, to wipe away the blood and sweat from his brow, but I knew I couldn’t do anything.  Not now.  This was between Luke and his old master.  I had to keep way, if I knew what was good for me.

“You know you can’t beat me,” Luke continued, limping towards to him.  “I’m the best fighter in this goddam country.  Even with a fucked up leg and blood in my eyes, you still can’t lay a finger on me.  Give up.  There’s no way for you to win.”

“You know, I was once the best fighter in the country,” Mitch said, his voice equally fierce as he rubbed his shoulder.  It looked dislocated, and I flinched at the painful sight of it.  “I can keep up with you far more easily than you think.”

“But you can’t beat me,” Luke spat.  “There’s no point if you can’t beat me.  Give up.”

Mitch gave him a fearsome smile, the blood coating his teeth and making him look like an absolute monster in the moonlight.  I could see a dark secret in his eyes, as if he knew something that we didn’t.

I shuddered, nervous at what was coming.  I wasn’t sure what it was, but I was sure it would be terrible.  Watching Mitch stalk toward Luke was like watching the rumble before a volcanic eruption—it felt as if everything was about to end in fire.

“No, Stone,” Mitch said.  “Of course not.  I can see now that it’s quite impossible to
really
hurt you, isn’t it?”

“Yes.  So?” Luke asked. 

His voice contained a note of fear.  He knew something terrible and clever was coming, something that he hadn’t prepared for.  I could see it in his eyes.

He glanced at me, and suddenly his eyes grew in horror.

Before I could react or ask what was wrong, my arms were grabbed from behind.  I tried to scream, but a hand slapped over my mouth and another grabbed my chest so hard I couldn’t breathe.  I was suddenly surrounded by men in leather coats, all of them obviously working for that son of a bitch Mitch Vera.

I fought against them, but they were too strong, easily pinning my arms and restraining my kicking legs.  I recognized the stench of one of them, and my heart sank as I realized they were the men from the bar, the ones who had first taken me to Luke back at the motel.

Mitch gave Luke a smirk.

“But it’s quite possible,” he spat as he strolled towards me, “to hurt your little whore.”

LAST CHANCE

☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼

“Let her go,” Luke said in a low voice.

Mitch strode to me and held up my chin.  He turned my head from side to side, inspecting my face.  His mouth curved into a frown. 

“Hm.  Not very pretty.” 

I tried to jerk away from him, but his hand was strong and held me there.  He pulled me chin up and made me look into his eyes. 

There was something in his eyes.  Something that reminded me of my stepfather, Jeff.

I shuddered as I realized what it was. 

Oh God, he was getting off on this.

I bit down hard on the hand covering my mouth and the man screamed, pulling it away. 

“You’re disgusting,” I spat in the moment I was free. 

Mitch’s eyes widened in admiration, and he laughed again. 

He took my face in his hand and smiled wide.  “And she’s got a spirit!  It will be fun to break that, won’t it Stone?” 

I saw him raise his hand and squeezed my eyes shut before the blow.  It didn’t protect me.  The second his skin connected with mine, I heard a sharp slap and saw stars.  If Mitch looked strong, it was nothing next to how powerful he truly was.  Under that silk suit was decades of fighting experience and hardened muscle.  I saw now why Luke couldn’t beat him.

“Stop—” Luke shouted. 

I sensed a note of weakness in his voice, and Mitch sensed it too. 

He turned his wide grin on Luke.

“Are you sure, Stone?” he asked casually.  He ran one finger down my neck and hesitated right above me breasts.  Slowly, he dragged it down into my cleavage.  “I’d love to have some fun with this one.  Are you very sure I can’t?”

“I—I….”

“You know what I want,” Mitch said in a hard voice.  His hands ran down to my stomach, caressing my hips.  “Choose.  Either your life or hers.  Come back to me, fight my fights, win me money, and be an obedient little fighter like you’re meant to be.  I’ll let this girl go free, and maybe I’ll even let you see her again if you’re good.”

He took a step forward, looking Luke in the eye.

“Or I’ll beat you down anyway, drag you back, and make sure the rest of your life is a living hell.  And this little lady—I’ll make sure she’s taken
very
well care of.”

Luke’s chest rose and fell raggedly, the sweat dripping down his forehead.  His eyes flitted from Mitch to me, his fists shaking and the vein in his neck pulsing.

“Don’t worry,” Mitch said coolly, keeping his eyes locked on Luke.  “If you choose not to come with me, you can see still her again.  I’ll make you watch when I’m fucking her nice and slow….  I’ll let you see her put my cock in her mouth and suck it like the little whore she is.  I’ll make sure she looks you in the eye when I push her over a desk and make her mine.”

I clenched my jaw.  He was a total psychopath.  I had never hated someone so much as I hated him at that moment.  I longed to reach out and tear him limb from limb.

Luke’s hands shook furiously and I could practically hear the steady, deafening pump of his racing heart.  Mitch waited silently and patiently, like he knew what was coming.

“If I give in,” Luke said slowly.  “You’ll let her go?  She’ll be safe?”

“Luke, no!” I screamed, thrashing wildly against my captors.

“Shut the fuck up,” Mitch said quietly, not even turning his head to me.  He kept his eyes fixed on Luke, waiting for his surrender.  The arms around me clamped down, forcing me to be still.  I could feel tears running down my hot cheek.

“And you won’t go after her?”

“Not unless you ask me to, Stone.”

Luke’s jaw clenched.  The veins in his neck popped and I could feel the blood rushing through his body along with the adrenalin.  “I….”

“Luke, please no!” I screamed again.

Mitch whirled on me, his face furious.  He struck me again. 

“I said shut that whore mouth of yours or I’ll give you something to put in it,” he screamed.  His face had contorted.  No longer was he the suave, cold psychopath from a few moments ago.  Now he was insane.  A total demon.

His true face.

He turned back to Luke.  “You have five seconds, Stone.  Give in now or I swear to God I’ll tear both her and you to bits.  The only things they’ll find left of you are those pathetic fists.  I’ll hang them up in the fucking town square to let everyone know—it doesn’t matter if you’re the greatest fighter in the world, if you cross me, I will fucking end you.  Now choose!”

Luke swallowed, the fury draining from his eyes.  He looked at me one last time.

In a dry, hollow voice, he finally said: “Fine.  I’ll do it.”

His voice was weak and quiet, the firm and vicious threat he had used a moment ago missing from it.  My head fell, and I could no longer support myself.  I felt weak.  Everything felt weak.  Their grips on me loosened a little, and it was all I could do to cross my arms over myself again, desperate for any kind of comfort.

“Luke,” I whispered.

Mitch turned to me, his expression happy and victorious.  He clapped his hands together happily, his grotesque grin nearly wrapping around his head.

“Well, dear,” Mitch said, “it looks like your lover had made the right choice.  Don’t you want to go thank him?  Maybe on your knees?”

“Be quiet, Mitch,” Luke growled.

“Come on, sweetheart,” he said, approaching me.  “Let’s have a show, hm?  I think you need to thank me too for being such a good owner.”

“Mitch, you fucker,” Luke yelled.  “You said you’d let her go!”

Mitch frowned. 

“I did, didn’t I?  What a shame.”  He snapped at the men who held me back and made a gesture at them.  “Let her go, then.  She’s quite useless to us.”

My arms were released.  I grabbed them back to me, rubbing the sore places where they had held me and my twisted my arms in unnatural positions.  Luke watched me recover with pained eyes. 

The men turned to him and approached.  I saw him tense up for a moment, but he did not fight back.  He let them take his arms and pin them behind his back.

It made me shudder to see the light go out of his eyes.

“Come,” Mitch ordered his men, turning from me.  “Let’s go.  We have some punishments to mete out.”  He turned on his heel and began walking away.

I couldn’t handle it.

“Wait!” I shouted at them as they started to leave.

Luke looked over at me with a pained expression, but Mitch just smirked. 

He tilted his head at me with a disgusting smile. 

“Yes?”

“Come back,” I growled.

His smirk grew wider as Luke yelled at me to run.  Mitch strolled forward easily, a bounce in his step that was too lighthearted for the life-and-death situation that was going on.  He locked eyes with me as he approached, stopping only an inch or two from me.

“And what do you have to say, dear?”

I glared at him with my most murderous face.

“You can’t leave with him.”

Mitch and his men erupted into thunderous laughter.  Luke’s face grew even more pained, and I could see him begging me to run with his eyes.  But I couldn’t move. 

I had to do this.  It was Luke’s only chance. 

It was
my
only chance.

“Because you forgot something,” I said weakly, pulling myself up to my full height.  Mitch gained an amused expression, leaning forward so that he filled every inch of my space.  I could feel his disgustingly hot breath on my neck and remembered what he had said before.

It made me hate him even more.

“And that would be?” he asked lazily, putting his face so close to mine that our noses were just a millimeter apart.

I looked him in the eye, suddenly unafraid.

I was going to do this, I realized.  I had nothing left to lose.