Page 40 of It Must Be Fate

“Quit while you’re ahead, Blade,” he suggests, his tone managing to remain even.

In a move that shows years of boxing have dulled Blade’s cognitive abilities down to that of a primitive cave person’s, he slinks over to where I’m standing and shrugs his robe off, dropping it insolently on the mat in front of me.

“A souvenir to remember me by, darling,” he swaggers arrogantly.

I throw him a disgusted look.

Nera emits a world-weary sigh, shaking her head pityingly. “We’re about to witness a murder.”

Blade crouches so his face is level with mine. His forearms rest on the ropes as he leans towards me.

Rhys puts a protective hand on my shoulder, glowering at the man in front of me, his stare daring him to come closer and see what happens.

But I know what this is.

It’s an intimidation tactic. Nothing more than a psychological trick from Blade to mess with Phoenix’s head before their fight.

This isn’t about me.

Phoenix watches the exchange silently, his entire body so tense it looks like it’s going to snap.

But he doesn’t intervene.

He knows I’m well protected and that nothing’s going to happen to me.

Blade continues. “Make sure to close your eyes, darling. I don’t want you to watch when I KO your boyfriend.”

I take a step forward, pressing against the ropes. I hear Phoenix hiss in warning, a sound that lets me know I have ten seconds to wrap this up before he does intervene.

“Enjoy your last few seconds of consciousness,Blade.” My gaze lifts to Phoenix and I give him a conspiratorial smile. “I hope you like bedtime stories because my husband is about to read you one.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Blade flinch. His gaze pings back and forth between us, taking in the way I look at Phoenix and the way he stares intensely, unflinchingly back.

He turns away, his steps markedly more uncertain than when he first swaggered over to me.

“Well,” Bellamy says, clapping her hands. “The good news is this is going to be a quick one, which means we can get food after. I’m hungry.”

“You’re hungry?” Rogue asks, alarmed. “What do you want? I’ll get it for you now.”

She places a hand on his chest. “Chill, babe. I can wait.”

“But you don’t have to. Tell me what you want. Noodles? Tacos? Fries? A Burger? What?”

“Seriously, I don’t—”

“Chicken wings?”

“Christ. Just pick something, B, you’ve set him off now. You know he won’t stop until he brings you food,” Thayer says with a sigh.

“Um… it’s random but,” Bellamy says, “I’m kind of craving strawberries and nutella.”

“Strawberries and nutella? Done,” Rogue answers, pulling his phone out of his pocket and typing as he starts to walk away. “Tristan.”

“I’ll look after her, mate,” Tristan answers without needing additional prompting.

The girls and I are laughing at Rogue’s over the top protectiveness when the sound of a first punch pulls our attention back to the ring. We watch as Phoenix unleashes a flurry of merciless hits on his opponent.

Blade takes a dazed step back, his eyes going unfocused. Instead of finishing him, Phoenix backs away.

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