Beyond Control(59)

Well, shit. "You're a chatty drunk." Jasper eased open the door. "You always wanna talk about your damn feelings."

Dallas snorted. "Enjoy it while I've got 'em."

"Scratch that. You're a weepy drunk."

"I f*cking well earned it tonight," he grumbled. "I went for all and got nothing."

"Finally, you're starting to get it."

Dallas mumbled something incoherent--probably the last couple swigs of whiskey hitting his bloodstream. Sloppy drunk, all right, and all Jas could do was lead him down the hall to his office and dump him on the couch.

And fetch him a cup of water. Dallas swatted at it, so Jasper poured it over his head and listened to him sputter as he settled in for the night on the rickety lounge chair in the corner.





Chapter Twenty-Four



"How about this color?" Amira held up another small bottle, this one red with gold flecks.

Six eyed it with the same wariness she had the previous offerings, but Lex could tell she was trying for politeness when she shook her head slightly. "I don't know if red's my color."

The girl was still awkward and crap at socialization, but she'd get better. And most of the O'Kane women had taken note of Bren's fondness for her and acted out of their own fondness for him, making it their mission to put Six at ease.

It might work, if the overdose of sisterhood didn't give her a panic attack first. Six started when Nessa flopped down on the couch beside her, waving another bottle over her head. "I've got it, I've got the winner. She's a girl after my own heart, so she needs something dark." She dropped her voice to an ominous whisper. "Like our souls."

Noelle choked on her beer. Six was staring, her eyes wide, and Lex finally nudged Nessa with her foot. "You're scaring the piss out of her."

Nessa tossed her brightly colored bangs--purple, this week--out of her eyes and grinned. "Just lightening the mood until someone interesting climbs into the cage. Look here, Six." She held up her own nails, which were a shimmery black with golden sparkle. "It's the best of all worlds, right? It says, yeah, I'd cut you but also I like shiny things. Just let me try it on you."

Six extended her hand with all the enthusiasm of someone reaching into a bear trap, but the corner of her mouth tugged up a little. "Are there good fights coming up?"

Both of Amira's eyebrows rose. "Flash said something about Ace fighting the new guy. Bren's friend."

"Ace?" Noelle demanded. "Does he fight? I've never seen him fight."

"He steers clear of it. Usually." Lex leaned forward, distracted from her brooding. "What's up? Ace all mad that Cruz moved in on Rachel?"

"Rachel dumped Cruz," Six said abruptly. "While you guys were still in Sector Two."

"I heard it was right after she got her new tat," Nessa added without looking up from Six's nails. "And we all know that's been on slow boil just about forever."

Lex stared. "You're shitting me." How had she been so wrapped up in her drama with Dallas that she hadn't even noticed?

"It's true." Noelle dropped a hand to her shoulder. "At least, I know the part about them breaking up is. I meant to tell you, but things have been hectic."

"Jesus." Lex glanced over at Rachel, who was pouring drinks. She didn't look happy, not in the least. Certainly not like she'd been hopping on Ace's dick every night. "So she and Ace...?"

Nessa shook her head. "I don't think so. If he'd finally caught her, we'd all know, because we'd be watching it every time we turned around."

"That's the truth," Amira said.

Which meant something had gone horribly wrong. Lex should have been there, if only for moral support. Instead, she'd been too busy indulging her own pain.

"I should check on her," she said as she started to stand.

"Check on who?" Rachel shoved a mug of beer at Nessa, then drew it back. "You're not going to drink this before you finish painting people's nails, are you?"

But Nessa wasn't looking at Six's nails anymore. Her gaze had strayed to the cage. "Oh boy."

Lex turned to see Ace, barefoot and shirtless, stretching his tattooed arms over his head on one side of the cage as Cruz climbed in the other side.

Rachel dropped to the couch. Noelle rescued the beer, and Lex rubbed the blonde's shoulder as she stared at the two men in the cage. "This is so stupid," she mumbled. "What the hell are they doing?"

"Blowing off manly steam." Nessa finished painting Six's last nail and closed the bottle before patting Rachel's leg. "You can't stop them, so pretend this is some ancient arena and they're... What did they call them? The guys in the metal suits?"

"Knights," Noelle supplied. "But only men think a duel over a woman is actually about the woman."

Lex sighed. No, this was about ego. The bell rang, and the two men circled each other slowly. "Nessa's right, Rach. Let them beat each other stupid like a couple of little boys. No harm, no foul."

"Unless Cruz breaks Ace's fingers," Nessa whispered too softly for Rachel to hear.

From the first jab, it was clear that Ace's fingers were the last thing on his mind. The two men clashed with matching snarls, Cruz's power and speed only partially countered by the fact that Ace fought dirtier than anyone Lex had ever seen.

Cruz was dangerous. He was good. He was pissed.

But he was holding back. Maybe out of respect for Ace's place in the gang, or maybe because he really did think Dallas would shut him out if he injured their artist's precious hands. Cruz checked his strength more than once, hesitating with a kick, pulling a punch.

And Ace took advantage of it. Mercilessly.

Lex couldn't hear them over the shouts of the crowd, but words were being exchanged. Ace ducked an unsteady punch and came up under Cruz's arm, slamming into him and ramming them both back against the bars. His mouth moved in some incomprehensible taunt, and Cruz roared and flung Ace across the cage, seemingly more enraged by Ace's smug little smile.

They crashed together again, locked face-to-face, arms straining, muscles bulging, teeth bared in matching growls, and Lex wasn't the only one who saw the pressure begin to shift. Nessa reached blindly for a beer and ended up grabbing Noelle's arm instead. "Uh, is it just me, or is it hot in here?"

The two men were steaming up the cage, all right, exuding a palpable sexual tension that had people staring as the fight went on. The crowd buzzed, with more than a few curious gazes landing on the couch--on Rachel.

Judging from the flush creeping up her cheeks, she knew exactly what people were saying.

She stood suddenly. "I need to get a few more bottles from the storeroom. I'm just--yeah."

"I'll go with you." Amira climbed to her feet more clumsily, one hand around her pregnant belly.

When they were gone, Noelle scooted into Amira's spot, her gaze never leaving the cage. "I know I'm still pretty new at this, but that looks a little bit like foreplay."

"Yeah. Someone better get them a do-not-disturb sign for the night."

"Someone better get us all one," Nessa retorted, flinching as Cruz got his arm around Ace's neck and ended up elbowed in the side for his trouble. "See, Six? This is what makes life worth living. Men who don't know if they wanna fight or f*ck, but will climb into a cage to figure it out in front of everyone in the sector."

Six squinted and tilted her head. "Ace fights dirty. No rules, no mercy. And he's got a nice jab."

"A nice jab?" Nessa shook her head. "Oh, honey."

Noelle took a sip of her beer to cover her smile and leaned closer to Lex. "I think I see why Bren's fond of her."

Lex's answering smile faded as she caught sight of Trix across the room. The redhead had covered the discoloration with makeup, but there was no mistaking the swelling around her eye. She had one hell of a shiner--and, unlike Cruz and Ace, no reason for it. "What the hell happened to Trix?"

Noelle's brow furrowed. "I don't know. I hadn't seen her all day until just now."

"Jesus Christ," Nessa whispered. "Dallas can't have seen that yet, or someone would be dead."

"Someone's about to be. Stay here." Lex elbowed through the crowd.

Trix saw her coming and turned away, angling her face down to cover her cheek, but Lex caught her arm and shook her head. "That's not how it works, honey. Who was it?"

Trix's eyes widened. "Tell Dallas I'm not trying to cause trouble--"

"I need a name." A name Lex could connect with a face, which she could then connect with her boot.

She didn't answer, but her gaze skittered tellingly to the corner, where Dom was holding court with a handful of the punks who came to fight in the cage, hungry for a little of Dallas's attention.