Ryley's Revenge (Gloves Off #2)(61)

Next, we ventured over to the other side of the hall and I was afraid of what I would see. Would Ryley be in there looking ravenous like his brother? What I didn’t expect was to see him sitting there with his head down and leaning over on his elbows. I could only see his profile, but even then I could feel the rage radiating from him.

With my hand on the glass, a lone tear fell down my cheek and my heart broke. What if he didn’t win? Camden obviously wanted to have the advantage in this fight. It made me wonder what else he had up his sleeve.

“So have you decided which one you want to go to?” the bald headed guy asked.

Gabriella jerked in surprise, her gaze torn away from Ryley. “Oh wow, let’s see. I think I like that one,” she said, pointing at Ryley’s room. “He seems mysterious.”

“Yeah, we’ve gotten that from a few of the women.”

I bristled at the mention, but Paxton squeezed me around the waist before he spoke.

“Honestly, I think the dude’s going to have his ass handed to him. Don’t know what drove them to hate each other, but it had to be something drastic.”

“Who are most people betting on? If you don’t mind my asking,” I inquired curiously.

Bald guy looked down at his notebook and pursed his lips. “Most people are rooting for Striker—he’s grown to be a legend here.”

“Well, ladies, I do believe it’s time to go,” Pax announced. He nodded toward the bald guy who opened the door behind him and let us pass. It was another dark hallway, but this time the noise was deafening. There were shouts and screams, along with the sound of fighting, like metal clanging against metal. I didn’t like the sound of it at all.

Surely enough when we stepped into the doorway of the open room, my whole world came crashing down around me. There were dozens upon dozens of people surrounding the cage in the center of the room. It was a literal cage with barbwire circling around the top. If someone wanted to climb out, they couldn’t. My attention was then brought to the fighters in the ring, wielding what looked to be swords. Holy f*ck! I was speechless, frozen in place.

“Swords, Paxton? What the hell is this shit?” Gabriella protested. “Is Ryley going to have to do this?”

Paxton shrugged. “I don’t know. Camden is the one responsible for this fight, so it’ll be up to him. There’s no telling what he’ll come up with.”

The guys in the ring were bloody, gashes marring their skin. The room reeked of blood, making my stomach turn. Slapping my hand to my mouth, I turned away and swallowed over and over, hoping to keep everything down.

“Ashleigh,” Gabriella murmured, putting her hands on the side of my face. “Breathe through your nose. You can do this.” She watched the fight over my shoulder and we both winced when the guttural scream of one of the fighters echoed through the underground dungeon.

“What happened?” I asked, squeezing my eyes shut. The guy kept screaming until he was taken out of the room, and even then I could still hear his tormented cries.

Gabriella blew out a nervous breath. “The fight’s over. Let’s just say the guy’s arm is hanging by a thread.”

Oh, please God, don’t let Camden choose swords. “What happens now?” I asked, glancing up at Paxton. Turning my attention to what he was looking at, I saw two men rush into the ring to clean up the puddles of blood. One had a squeegee and was just slushing it off the edges of the cage. It was a scene from a horror movie. Again, I had to turn away for fear of throwing up.

“Right now, we wait until they clean the mat. Then all of the women who were auctioned off have to go sit around the ring. I guess you can say they’re the trophies to go along with the money. After that, it’ll be time for the fighters.”

“What if Ryley sees Gabriella?”

Paxton shook his head, his expression weary. “He’s not going to notice, Ashleigh. When you’re up in the ring, you can’t afford to lose focus. That’s when people get seriously hurt.”

“Have you hurt people?” Gabriella asked, standing before him.

Clenching his jaw, he looked away, the vein in his forehead bulging. “I have, but a lot of them deserved it. Maybe if you knew why I did what I did you wouldn’t think so horrible of me.”

Her expression narrowed. “What do you mean?”

I was interested in his answer too. Before Paxton could respond, the bald headed guy from the hallway approached us, heading straight for Gabriella. “All right, sugar tits, it’s time. Take your seat with the others.”

Huffing, she threw her arms around me. “Stay strong. I’ll be fine.” Letting me go, she didn’t get far before Paxton grabbed her hand and pulled her to him, his lips only a breath away from hers.

“Remember, don’t do or say anything when you’re up there. As soon as the fight’s over I’ll come get you.”

She nodded and slowly stepped back, her chest rising and falling with her breaths. Turning on her heel, she stalked off toward the ring and looked back once before disappearing into the crowd.

“Can you see her?” I asked.

“Yeah, she found a seat. I think it’s best if we stay as far back as we can. We don’t want him to see you. It would be disastrous.”

Two men strolled by rolling carts toward the ring. I couldn’t see what was on them, but judging by the look on Paxton’s face, it wasn’t good. “What’s going on?” I demanded, grabbing his arm. “What’s on those carts?”