Page 99 of Shadowman
He winks, then pats me on the back. “Good.”
Stomping away with the slam of my bars, he leaves, and I’m filled with a sudden morbid sense of thrill, effectively distracting me from that irritating argument with Ren.
Maybe it’s unhealthy to crave beating someone bloody this much, but fuck it. I haven’t sparred in months. Haven’tfoughtin even longer.
Not only is the prospect of getting out some of this aggression I seem to have piling up inside me like a game of Tetris thrilling, but also the much-needed change of scenery. Since the lockdown, things have been next-level boring up in here.
Man, Dash really jacked things up. I love the kid, but he’s like a walking earthquake. Still, I miss that chaotic little dumpling.
My mind drifts to the night of the storm, but I shut that shit down quick and refocus onfighting.
I decide to spend the rest of the night training. I do one-hundred push-ups, then one-hundred sit-ups, then one-hundred pull-ups off the top bunk. My muscles are straining, and I’m breathing heavily, but I love it. Not that I don’t do this stuff constantly as it is, but right now, I feel like Rocky.
I’m humming “Eye of the Tiger” while I jog in place and throw practice jabs at nothing, the adrenaline inside me thrumming. I guess I’m doing this for hours, because eventually the lights go off in the row. And finally, Linetti shows up.
“Let’s go, 62,” he says quietly.
Fuck yes.
He brings me and a few other inmates down to thebasement, a silent march through the darkness under strict orders not to make a sound. When we walk into the rec room, Brenner’s already there, collecting cash from the other guards while inmates are fucking around, stretching and gathering up in a big circle.
Inhaling deep, I let it out slowly.Fuck, I missed this…The zeal that rushes up my spine. The lust for violence that sets my teeth on edge.
The adrenaline of doing something you’re not supposed to wakes me up. A pungent punch to my senses, like a whiff of smelling salts.
I’m ready.
“Hey.” Linetti grabs my arm before I can make a beeline toward the bags to see if Joy’s and my supplies are still over there. I turn to glower at him. “This goes without saying, but if I find out you’ve got another cellphone stashed down here, you’ll be shitting your teeth out for a week. Got it?”
I can’t help how my lips twist in amusement at his threat.That’s cute.“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
He rolls his eyes, shoving me forward. “Don’t disappoint tonight, Kung Fu Panda.”
Bite me, asshole.
Striding away from him, I go for the tape.Thank fuck it’s still here.
I’m wrapping my knuckles as a tall form appears in my peripheral. Glancing up, my eyes widen.
“So, underground prison fights.” Trevel Fenwick sighs, looking around the room. “I suppose that’s one way to pass the time…”
“What are you doing here?” I ask, baffled by this turn of events.
Why would they bring him?? Does he even fight?
“I honestly have no idea,” he huffs out of amusement. “That large one over there—”
“Brenner,” I interrupt, and he shrugs.
“Sure, why not. He barged in, disrupting my beauty sleep, and dragged me down here without a word.” His eyes fall to my knuckles. “Should I be doing that?”
“Do you…” My voice trails, and I blink. “Are you a fighter?”
He rubs his chin. “I’m not sure how to answer that…”
My eyebrow cocks, and he grins.
“Let’s just say, I’ve been around the block. But I don’t believe that makes mea fighter. I simply… do what I must. To survive.”
