Boarlander Silverback (Boarlander Bears #3)(44)

Layla came out of a stall a couple down, wiping her eyes with the back of her hands, and that small gesture ripped Alison up on the inside. Maybe Layla wouldn’t want comfort from the woman who was taking one of her family group, but she couldn’t just stand here watching her sniffle and look heartbroken.

“Layla?” she asked.

Layla smiled slightly and shocked Alison to her core when she pulled her into a tight embrace. “It’s okay. This is a good thing. Good for Kirk. He deserves happiness after everything he’s gone through. Come on. We’ll watch together, and afterward, everything will work out.”

“Will it?” Right now, she felt like nothing was okay.

Layla gripped her shoulders and gave her an emotional smile. “It will. Kong and Kirk have work to do tonight, but they’re the best men I’ve ever met. They’ll be okay.”

Layla took her hand and led her toward Bash, who, for the first time since she’d met him, wasn’t smiling.

“What’s wrong?” she asked him as they finally made it to the front.

“Clinton and Mason hurt each other.” His soft green eyes flicked to the corner where, sure enough, Mason and Clinton were both doubled over against the wall, surrounded by people preforming first aid.

“Do you want to go to them?”

“Can’t. My bear won’t let me leave you and Layla now, and besides, Harrison said wait here.” His dark eyebrows arched high, and worry pooled in his eyes. “Ally, Kirk will get hurt tonight. He’s my second best friend.”

“He’ll be okay, Bash Bear.” Alison wished with all she had she felt as confident as she sounded.

The crowd was banging against the ring boards and stomping against the platforms in a steady rhythm that was gaining volume. The pace got faster as Judge stepped into the center of the ring. He held up his hands and spun in a slow circle, expertly quieting the onlookers. “Tonight, my friends, you’re about to witness history. For the first time ever, two mature silverback shifters will go head-to-head in the ring.” Judge gestured grandly to the opening at the corner of the ring. “You’ve seen him fight before. You know his brute strength, his deadly accuracy, his monster reach, and he’s here tonight to defend his crew. The Kooooooooong!”

The crowd erupted as the dark-headed silverback strode into the ring, hitting the air, warming up his muscles. He clapped Judge on the back and lifted his hands into the air as he reached the center. He was a wall of solid muscle, and a smile twisted his lips but didn’t reach his glowing green eyes.

“It’s okay,” Alison muttered to herself to settle her nerves. She gripped the wooden rails and blew out a sharp breath. All around them, bystanders were screaming at the top of their lungs, phones lifted, videotaping. Kong was a natural showman, revving up the crowd as he stood on the bottom slat of the wooden ring and cupping his hand behind his ear.

Layla looked sick beside her, and she knew the feeling. Alison shouldn’t have chugged that beer.

“And the challenger tonight,” Judge yelled over the noise. “One crew, two silverbacks, and this titan wants out. And there will be blood! Kirk Slater!”

The crowd went mad, shaking the wooden rails, stomping on the ground, screaming at the top of their lungs as Kirk sauntered into the ring, twitching his shoulders side-to-side with mellow air punches as he glared at Kong with pinpoint focus. He’d removed his shirt, and his body looked like a weapon. Massive shoulders that tapered to a V-shaped waist, abs tensed, the creases between each set of muscles deep. He flicked his damp hair to the side so the crowd could see his yellow-gold eyes. As he bounced from side to side, his muscle mass moved with the movement. His holey jeans sat low on his waist, and his arms were huge. Oh, she’d seen him without clothes, but he’d never had a reason to be tensed up and puffed out around her before. Here, in the blood-stained ring, slowly circling Kong, her mate looked like a terror-inducing, rip-roaring, badass beast.

Kirk slid his blazing gaze to her, then pointed to Bash. “You keep them out of the way.”

Bash nodded jerkily and crowded Alison, and she had no doubt Bash could get her and Layla out of the way in a blur if he needed to.

“You know the rules, boys,” Judge said, backing slowly out of the ring with an excited, gap-toothed grin. “There are no rules.”

Kong and Kirk circled each other, tensed like cobras about to strike.

“Fight!” Judge yelled.

Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit.

Kong and Kirk charged each other immediately, each with their dominant arm reared back. When they connected with each other’s jaws, a sickening thud rattled the air. There was a blur of hits too fast for her human eyes to comprehend, and she clutched Layla’s hand when the woman beside her gasped.

Kirk was lethal, keeping up the pressure. Hit, hit, ribs, ribs, jaw. Kong was blocking, ducking, looked surprised by the pace Kirk was setting, but he adjusted, dodging a big hit and putting a shoulder in Kirk’s middle, tackling him to the ground. They slid across the ring, and Kong reared back, one hand around Kirk’s throat as he pulled the other fist back to blast it into Kirk’s face. As he dropped the hammer, Kirk shoved Kong’s wrist and jerked his face out of the way just in time, and Kong’s fist splintered the wood right next to Kirk’s cheek. He bucked and swung his way out from under the Lowlander, but they were fighting too close now, and Bash yelled at the crowd behind them to, “Back up!”