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“Morgan,” Duncan warned.

“Ready, mate,” Morgan yelled back, shaking his head slightly as he began walking backward towards the ring.

“Either back me up or get out, Duncan,” Morgan commanded before he got to the curtain, “but tonight I am not done until I say I am done.”

A clanging noise filled Morgan’s ears as he stepped into the ring. It shrieked alongside the roar of the crowd so viciously that he was unable to hear the name of his opponent. Not that it mattered. He zeroed in on the man that shared Luke’s features and let himself fill with rage. As the bell rang for the fight to begin, the clanging in Morgan’s ears ceased. In fact, all sound stopped and time slowed down as he rained blow after blow on his opponent.

He did not have to duck. He did not have to dive. His first attack was lethal and far too fast for his opponent. Metal cuffs were snapped onto his wrists and he was pulled off the broken man. Morgan roared as he slid in the large pool of blood he had created, and violently kicked the lifeless body.

“Back off, boy, you’re done!” growled the mountainous man that held Morgan’s left cuff.

“Get these off me,” he snarled, fighting the two mammoths that were carrying him away from the ring.

“Aye, we will, as soon as ye get yer arse together. Now calm yer sack or we’ll be forced to knock ye out in these chains.”

“Ye’re not under arrest lad, ye just need tae calm down,” added the large man to his right.

Morgan forced himself to take a steadying breath and willed his muscles to relax as he was seated in a chair. He shook his head and raised his hands in surrender. Inside him anger still raged so much so that his hands shook, but he forced an easy, innocent smile to distract them.

“Iamcalm, see?” he asked.

The two large men looked at one another, seemingly having a silent conversation. Now that Morgan could get a better look at them, he realized they were probably brothers.

“Take ‘em off, Norm,” the larger one sighed.

“Right, Norb,” Norm replied obediently, and removed the metal cuffs from Morgan’s wrists.

“Thanks so much,” Morgan said chipperly, rubbing his wrists. “Now, let us get back to the fights, yes? Who is next?”

“You don’t understand, boss,” the man called Norb said, shaking his head.

“Ye’re done fer the whole night. Maybe even the week.” Norm added, coiling up the chains.

The thin veil of feigned cheer that Morgan had wrapped over his anger suddenly loosened and he felt his body tense again.

“The hell I am,” he answered gruffly. “I want back out there!”

“And I want to be a lord, Clawhammer, but I ain’t to be one,” Norb replied, his protruding brow furrowing. He stepped in front of Morgan, blocking his path.

“You ain’t goin’ back out there, boss, and that’s that. What the owner says goes. You want to stay and watch, that’s yer business, but ye ain’t gettin’ back in that ring.”

“I shall buy you a beer, old chap,” Ezra offered, his usual nonchalant tone breaking the tension in the air. “Come along. You have won us enough money. Time to celebrate.”

For a moment Morgan did not move, his gaze locked with Norb’s. He briefly thought about fighting the man, but a small sliver of sanity and self-preservation formed in his mind, and he finally took a step back.

“Let us drink, then,” Morgan said gruffly, going to Ezra’s side. Duncan had also appeared, but he and Morgan refused to look at one another.

Begrudgingly accepting that his fights were done for the time being, Morgan dressed and joined Ezra at his table. Their pints were filled and he drank the brew down completely in just a few, deep chugs.

“Another,” he rasped, slamming down the empty tin mug.

“Indeed,” Ezra muttered, refilling both their cups.

He clipped his mug against Morgan’s without the effort of a verbal toast, and they both tilted their mugs back once more. Ezra was filling their cups for a third time when Morgan finally managed to look up at his surroundings. He froze, his stomach turning into a giant block of ice as he saw Luke Ayles seated at a nearby table chatting animatedly with two other gentlemen.

“What ishedoing here?” Morgan snarled, forgetting all about the beer.

Ezra and Duncan both followed Morgan’s line of sight and a look of confusion crossed their faces.