Page 44 of Ignite
Viper struck, his right hand sailing over my defense, and he clipped me on the side of the head. The blow glanced off, hardly bothering me, and I weaved to the right as he backed off. We danced again, testing each other’s strength before Viper struck with a series of aggressive punches that pushed me back against the fence. He finished off the set with a high kick that sailed right toward my teeth, but I ducked at the last second and grabbed his ankle andpulled.
Viper fell flat on his face, the crowd letting out a collective “ooh” as he slapped against the concrete. I launched myself at him, my fist slamming into the back of his head. He let out a roar and bucked, throwing me to the side, and he twisted, landing on top ofme.
A knee collided with my groin, and a fist connected with my face, pain tearing through my body. I was stunned, unable to move, and Viper struck again, pummeling me with all his strength.Left, right, left,right…
Stars burst in my vision, blinding me as blood poured out of a cut over my eyebrow. My teeth cut the inside of my cheek, filling my mouth with a coppery tang. Viper had the upper hand already, and anger welled inside me. Fucked if I was letting him end me soeasily.
Bucking underneath him, I pushed up with all of my strength, knocking him off me. Rolling, I propelled my body off the concrete and landed a fist directly on his face. The sound of shattering bone reached my ears, and I sneered as blood began to pour out of Viper’s nose.Broken.
He roared in pain but recovered quickly, pushing himself forward. His arms hooked underneath my shoulders and we grappled, falling back onto the ground in a heap. Rearing his head back, Viper smashed his forehead against mine in an attempt to blind me. Hissing, I managed to tear an arm free and elbowed him in theear.
We were locked in a desperate battle for dominance, and the referee did nothing to step in and break us apart. Usually, if fighters were stalled, they would restart the fight but not tonight. They knew the score and had been ordered not to step in. The true colors of The Underground were showing, and they weren’t in Technicolor. Nope, it was black and blacker, the primal battle for life and death staring us right in theface.
No one was coming to save me. At that moment, all I had was myself. Everyone and everything had abandoned me. I’d pushed everyone who’d ever cared for meaway.
I wasalone.
I slackened as my fear manifested in my mind, and Viper broke free. Gaining the upper hand, he forced me down onto my face, ramming a knee into the base of my spine. His hand was in my hair, and before I realized what was happening, he pushed with all hisstrength.
My head collided with the concrete, and everything blurred. I didn’t feel any pain, I was completely numb to it, shock beginning to overwhelm my body. The crowd chanted Viper’s name, their feet stamping against the bleachers, their screams tearing through the air. They wanted blood…and they were gettingit.
“Liam!”
As Viper lifted my head again, I saw her. A fucking angel had come to take me away. The light at the end of the tunnel shit was here to claim me, and my life was flashing before my eyes. That’s what thiswas.
“Liam! Fightback!”
Ali?
Her fingers were curled through the chain link, her expression full of fear, her beautiful face was wet with tears, and Iblanched.
“Liam!” she shrieked, shaking the fence with blind desperation. “Getup!”
Viper’s grip tightened in my hair, and I sucked in a breath, the taste of blood thick on mytongue.
She was here. Ali was here.She’dcome…
A deep, guttural, roar burst from my chest, tearing through my body, and I heaved upward. Suddenly, the weight was gone from my back, and I rose to my feet andturned.
Viper was on the ground, staring up at me with wide eyes. Overcome with a feral energy, I kicked, my foot colliding with the side of his face. He spat, blood erupting from between his lips, and fell on his front, his face hitting the floor of thecage.
Sinking down, I pinned his stunned body in place, my right hand fisting in his hair. Grinding his cheek against the concrete, I snarled, giving him a chance to end this fucked-up fight before it got anyworse.
“Tap,” I growled through clenched teeth. “Don’t be a fucking hero, Viper. No one gives a fuck about a piece of shit likeyou.”
“Never,” he said, struggling beneath me. “I’ll fucking killyou.”
I knew he wouldn’t stop. This would never be over for him, so there was only one way to make sure he would never come after Ali or me again. It crossed my mind to do what he was planning to do to me, but I wasn’t likehim.
Here, on the precipice of taking another man’s life, I saw everything. Even as I likened my actions to Viper’s in the lead-up to the fight, I could finally see myself the way Ali did. The storm had passed, and the skies were clear. It was the strangest sensation I’d ever experienced. Completely fuckinginsane.
All at once, I just…understood.
“Pull yourself together,” I growled into Viper’s ear, “or you’re going to die in thisplace.”
Letting go of his hair, I raised my fist and struck. My knuckles collided with his temple, and he slackened. Holding, I made sure he was out cold, and then I stood, my headspinning.
No, I wasn’t like Viper atall.
