Page 105

DAEMON

The blood and brutality does help to settle me as I stand at the edge of the ring in the venue Mickey managed to score for the night.

We’re right on the edge of our territory. Just about as far from the Italians as we can get.

It’s still a risk. But it seems that there are plenty of us willing to put that aside for a night of pain.

Almost all of the younger Cirillo Family members are here, along with a few of the elders. Although it seems that all the capos are missing. It makes me wonder if Damien has stopped them from coming. Or, if they’re all outside keeping watch. Probably more likely.

The Italians are nowhere to be seen. After they fucking destroyed our last fight venue, they’ve been blacklisted.

These nights are meant to be a neutral event we can all enjoy. Some bloody, yet good-natured fun. But they fucked up when they followed Jonas’s fucking orders and torched the place in the hope of hurting Stella.

So while they’re banished, the invitation has been opened up to the Wolves instead. With Luis no longer at the helm and Archer now leading his men, it seemed right to have them here.

“How’re things in Lovell?” I ask Archer and his two boys, Dax and Jace, when the two guys in the ring have been dragged off. It’s been a few weeks since we helped them take back control of their territory, and as far as we’ve heard, all is good.

“Yeah, man. Things are quiet, and business is good. Shit is looking up.”

“Glad to hear it. And Jesse?” I ask. “Sara?”

The reality is, I know the truth. Emmie and Stella kept Calli up to date with everything that was going on back here while we were away, so I know that she’s still in the coma in the hospital.

“He’s a mess,” Archer says, rubbing at his chin anxiously. “He’s barely left her side. Fucking breaks my heart to see him in such pain.”

“Sorry to hear that, man.”

Archer blows out a pained breath as he thinks of his brother.

“What about you? Shit’s been getting serious, from what we’ve heard.”

“It’s nothing more than we can handle.”

The roar of the crowd stops me from saying anything else, and when I look back toward the ring, I find Xander, one of the Royal Reapers’ best fighters, shirtless and ready for his opponent.

Movement behind Archer catches my eye, and when I focus, I find Jace pulling his hoodie off.

“Is he going up against Xander?”

“Sure is. And he’s gonna kill it. Ain’t that right, bro?” Archer says, clapping Jace on the shoulder.

“Hell yeah.”

“He’s good,” I warn.

“Well, good thing I’m better then, huh?”

I nod, impressed with his confidence and hoping that he’s as good as he believes he is.

“Jace is unbeaten in Lovell. He needs this challenge.”

Archer turns toward the ring, our shoulders brushing as Alex appears with beers.

I take a pull, keeping my eyes on the ring as the crowd goes wild. Mickey steps up and introduces Jace and the cheering gets louder. Apparently, he’s got quite the fan club in Lovell.

And it turns out it’s for a good reason, because Jace is something fucking else. We probably should have been including them in these Circuit fights before, because Xander hasn’t seen an opponent like this in a while.

But as good as it might be, watching their fists fly and blood coat almost every inch of them, it doesn’t stop my phone burning a hole in my pocket, or the ache in my chest that seems to have taken up permanent residence.