Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 116875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 468(@250wpm)___ 390(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 468(@250wpm)___ 390(@300wpm)
“This isn’t happening,” I say. Despair is leaking out with every tear, but my mind is flitting around from possibility to possibility. There are so many ways out of this. So many poisons.
Kaiser isn’t going to die.
He’s mine.
“We have to find another way,” I say to Jaeger and Elodie. “You have to help me.”
Jaeger shakes his head, looking hopeless. Elodie puts a hand on his chest, and he covers it with his own.
“What can we do?” she asks in a steady voice.
A plan pops into my head. I have to think through all the consequences, but if I’m right, they’ll only fall on me. “I know what to do.”
40
Bella
The night of the fight, Jaeger escorts me and Elodie into the dark underbelly of New Rome, down an elevator in Club Empire, and into a long tunnel that smells like the subway. I’m blindfolded, breathing the wretched air. Jaeger leads me to the fight space, and I hear the distant buzz of voices. The closer we get to the fight, the louder the voices become.
When he removes my blindfold, I blink, even in the dim light. We’re in a vast space crowded with all sorts of people. Men in suits, smoking cigars. Bikers in leather jackets with neck tattoos and black helmets hiding their faces. Muscle men with no necks. People with sun-worn skin and unwashed clothes, their big smiles showing their black and missing teeth. Yuppies stumbling around, a drink in either hand. Too-skinny teens selling all sorts of goods—soda, peanuts, packets of white powder—to anyone who has cash to pay them. The noise—and the smell—is overwhelming.
In the center, on a sort of stage, is a roped-off ring surrounded by blinding lights. This is where they’ll hold the fight.
I look around, holding my breath, waiting for a glimpse of Kaiser. I haven’t seen him since our fight in the living room. He’s stayed away for over a week, working with Atticus to heal enough to be ready to fight. He’s called a few times, but all I did was shout at him until tears ran down my face.
He left me. The big, beautiful idiot. He thinks he’s saving me. Freeing me.
But without him, I can’t be free. Look what happened to my dad when he lost my mom. He hasn’t really been living. He’s in prison.
I’m going to fix this, and then I will make sure Kaiser never leaves me again.
“There he is,” Jaeger says, pointing across the room. Kaiser is behind a group of men in skull masks. The blond hair on his head has grown into stubble and glints in the low light.
Across the room are the Vesuvios. They’re all in green and gold, with pentacles hanging on oversized chains around their necks. Some of them are in golden masks with horns like a bull. The Bulls. That’s their house mascot at Unitas University.
The Giant is there in a bull mask, towering over the rest.
“This is a terrible idea,” Jaeger growls. “Kaiser will never forgive me if anything happens to you.”
“I’ll be fine,” I say, but looking at the Giant, I’m not so sure. “Is this even legal?”
“No,” Elodie says. Her face is bloodless, which makes her freckles stand out even more. “But no one cares what happens down here.”
I remember the fight videos Kaiser and Jaeger were reviewing. “You’re like gladiators.”
Jaeger doesn’t confirm or deny it. He looks grim and hasn’t smiled since he told me Kaiser was going to fight. I used to think he smiled too much, but now I miss it.
He leads me to Kaiser’s side. I stare at him like he’s a stranger. He’s shirtless, with a satin robe draped over his shoulders. The picture on the back is a roaring lion.
Then he looks at me, and I feel everything. I can’t stop my feet from hurrying to him. I stop in front of him, not touching him. I missed him so much. The big, beautiful idiot. I want to slap his perfect face, then cry and make him hold me.
“Bella.”
I have one more chance to stop this, change his mind. My guts are twisting like I’m gonna puke. “You don’t have to do this.” If he’s willing to listen to reason now, I won’t have to go through with my plan. “You can throw the fight.”
“No. The Vesuvios don’t understand anything but brute force. I have to fight.”
“You don’t have to be willing to die for me just so I’ll be happy.”
“This will fix everything.”
“Kaiser, please. Don’t make me beg.” I bite my lip. I’m not going to cry. Not here. “Please, you don’t have to protect me.”
“But I do. That’s what a good husband does.” He cups my face in his large, calloused hands. I rise to tiptoe, but he only kisses my forehead. For a long moment, he breaths in my scent.