Page 71 of My Revenant
I’d promised Dex I wouldn’t get involved, but I don’t know how I could be expected to keep that promise if the fuckhead really did anything beyond glare in disapproval at him.
Becca was beside me, cheering Dex on. The alcohol Raven had fed her loosened her up enough to enjoy herself. She still monitored me, though, and yanked me back if I tried to step into the fighting ring. Which happened only when Dex received a particularly hard blow. I moved without even thinking about it, just like the first time I’d watched him fight. When it came to Dex, I could hardly think logically, and that was only stronger now we belonged to each other.
Dex and whatever his fucking name was tumbled into the sand, Dex on top, raining down punch after punch until the fight was called and he basically had to be dragged off the guy. I hated him. Hated that Dex had been all over him, even in violence.
It wasn’t a surprise when Dex was called the winner, and then not even Becca could hold me back as I practically attacked him, throwing myself at his sweating, bloody, shirtless body with enough force I almost took us both to the sand again. His arms wrapped around me, and he kissed the side of my head.
We pulled away from each other, only just enough to walk, heading to where the others were waiting so the next fight could be called. Toby—Jackal, as the Strays called him—was up next. The crowd parted to allow Dex to leave.
Becca stepped backward as we passed, into Toby, who was right behind her.
“Fucking watch it,Bennet!” he snapped as he shoved her, sending her into me.
There was a moment of silence, Becca’s eyes wide as we processed what had just happened, her expression morphing from shock to hurt. I saw red.
I turned to glare at Toby, but before I could even move in his direction, his face was on the receiving end of a punch so powerful his neck was whipping backward and he was dropping back into the sand. Dex was on him. Fists with knuckles already busted landed hit after hit so quickly all Toby could do was grunt like a wounded animal and try in vain to shield himself from the attack.
People scurried back, trying to get out of the way of the unexpected brawl, no doubt fearing a repeat of the complete battleground this beach had devolved into the last time. But this fight wasn’t between opposing gangs, and no one quite seemed to know what to do with it. Stray-on-Stray violence… even their own members seemed hesitant to throw themselves into the fray. Bryce stood next to Becca, right next to where Toby had been standing only a moment ago, his features pale.
“Coyote!” A voice shouted above the commotion, a figure shouldering their way to the front of the new ring forming around us. Archer made it through, grabbing Dex and attempting to haul him off Toby’s prone form, but my devil was set on destruction, pulling out of every hold and attempt at restraint to deliver more pain. “Hound!” Archer shouted, calling for backup.
I turned to see who Hound was, my eyes landing on the far more intimidating half of the terror twins. He didn’t even need to push his way through the crowd; they just moved for him as if they were afraid to touch him.
Henrik took in the situation. His eyes scanned from Archer pulling at Dex, to Dex beating on Toby, to Becca clinging to me like a life raft in a storm, then to Bryce pale as a ghost, and Raven glaring down at Toby, her hand finding Bee’s back in a soothing gesture. He reached his own conclusion, standing tall, arms folded over his chest.
“Hound!” Archer yelled at him again. Henrik still didn’t move. His silence made it clear whose side he was taking in this fight.
It was Reaper who ended up pushing his way through to help Archer pull Dex off the now sobbing Toby. It took both of them to pull him back, and even then it was a struggle. Reaper helped Toby to his feet as Archer made himself a physical barrier between them to stop Dex from going at him again.
“Enough!” Archer warned Dex, but he was having none of it, adrenaline still pumping through his system as he stood up to the man in front of him, stepping closer until his chest barged Archer and the man had to brace himself so he wasn’t pushed backward. “Stand down, Coyote.”
“Or what?” Dex snarled.
A vein bulged in Archer’s neck. “Or I’ll make you.”
“Will you? Think you could? Try it, Wolf. See what happens.”
“That’s quite enough of that, I think.” Henrik finally spoke up, placing a hand on Dex’s shoulder that he attempted to shrug away, only Henrik didn’t budge. “Wolf will deal with Jackal. Won’t you, Wolf?”
Even in the dim light, it was clear Archer’s face was turning red. I knew rage well enough to know it wasn’t all Archer was feeling. Two of his own gang had fought with each other, and Dex had challenged him in front of the crowd—all completely fucking silent so they could hear every word.
“Stand. Down,” Archer said again, and Dex stayed right where he was, jaw and fists clenched, aching for more violence.
It wasn’t possible to stop a hurricane with physical force, or by command, but I knew if he wasn’t stopped there’d be more destruction to himself as well as everyone else around him. I didn’t care about anyone else, but he’d taken enough damage for one night.
“Devil,” I called out to him, and my voice reached him more than the hands grabbing at him. His eyes found mine, the storm within them explosive, wild, raging. It needed to be acknowledged. Witnessed. Seen.I see you.
I reached my hand out to him, watching the conflict in his features. He wanted the violence and the pain, but he wanted me as well, and he didn’t want to mix the two. He had to choose one. He chose me.
His hand found mine as he stepped away from Archer, and I laced my fingers between his, pulling him to my side.
Archer took a deep breath, giving him a final stare down before shooting me a glare full of hatred—like any of this was my fault. Then he was pushing his way back through the crowd to stalk off.
The edge of Henrik’s lips pulled up in a grin as he looked at Dex, then me… then faded as he stepped forward, a large hand cupping the back of Toby’s neck as he pulled the man along with him back through the crowd that parted for him as if he were on fire and they didn’t want to get burned.
Reaper lingered, staring at Dex. I saw something in his eyes that called to the beast caged inside me, made it thrash at my ribcage with the urge to get between them. Protect him. Then he huffed and turned, following Henrik.
“I… I’m sorry, Becca. He didn’t mean it, I’m sure. Sorry.” Bryce bobbed his head in apology before he was slinking his way back through the crowd to seek his bloodied best friend.
