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Then the running commentary started.
“Oh! Beautiful little bow.”
No, it wasn’t. There was nothing beautiful about that man’s elbow getting a jab at Hector’s head.
“Great Muay Thai move by The Beast.”
Mary was really beginning to loathe the microphone voice. When Mick kicked Hector in the stomach, her nails latched onto Kristoff’s skin. He didn’t even flinch.
“How can you stay so calm?” she snapped.
“Hector’s got this.”
Thatwas his big consolation?
“What if he doesn’t?” She knew she should have more faith in him, and she did, but there was this swirling vortex in her stomach that sucked in every positive thought.
“If he doesn’t, I’ll wipe that Irish fucker from the face of the earth,” Kristoff said, as if that were a given.
“Don’t worry, doll,” Angel said from behind her shoulder. “If shit hits the fan, I’ll protect you. We have the place surrounded.”
“But what about all these people?” There were over a hundred people in here who would get hurt in a crossfire.
“What about them?” Kristoff remarked.
She was learning that his mind was very singular. The world seemed divided, into people he cared about—a very select few—and, well, the rest of the world. And he couldn’t care less about the latter group. She didn’t have the illusion that she could change his mind. She could never be like that, and now had another reason to hope Hector would come victorious out of that cage.
“And the Beast takes another kick in the stomach.”
“He’s bleeding. Why isn’t he fighting back more?”
“It’s the calm before the storm. You haven’t seen him fight like I have.”
“When have you ever seen him fight?” When his lips thinned, she understood. “You watched him from afar when he was street fighting.” He didn’t say anything, and he didn’t have to. Yet another clue that Kristoff had never really been out of Hector’s life. Not that her stubborn husband would believe her if she told him.
“You should think less about me and more about your own hide, dearnevestka.”
“What does that mean?”
“Nevestkameans sister-in-law.”
She rolled her eyes. “Not that. The other part.”
“You put yourself in danger tonight. Scared the shit out of him. A man like Hector doesn’t deal well with fear. It makes him angry. It makes him draw out a fight, so he can get rid of his pent-up rage.” He looked back at the cage pointedly.
“Are you telling me that he’s letting that guy hit him, so he won’t be so mad at me anymore?”
“Da.”
“You’re wrong. Hector’s not mad atme. Surely he understands why I couldn’t just leave my sister with those men.”
A part-cheer, part-groan went through the crowd and Mary’s eyes shot back to the cage.
“Flying knee! Wow… There we go. Here we go, peeps. This is the savage Beast of old.”
“Perhaps,” Kristoff conceded, though his tone suggested she was wrong. “Then again, you could have let them take her, and called Hector. He’d have come for her without you getting in harm’s way. If you were my woman, I’d make sure you wouldn’t be able to sit for a week.”
“Well, luckily for me, Hector is far more civilized than that.”