Fall and Rise of the King (Kings Duet)

by Ruby Wolff

  “When do we have to leave?” she asks.

  Vinny’s told her that she has to come with us. That pissed me off. I don’t want her even a mile close to that place. Chess is all about the opponent doing something that puts their opponent off balance, and tonight, I plan to get the king and kill him.

  “As soon as I talk to the family.” I give her another kiss and stand her up with me.

  We make our way to the family room. Everyone stands up when they see us and looks at me for answers. I let go of Alice, and she walks over to Ellie, Drew, and Gwen. I shove my hands into my pockets and look at my family. I stop on Pike, and I can see that he’s ready, ready for whatever comes tonight.

  “Tonight… Tonight, there’s going to be a fight I didn’t want, but a fight that I have to take.” I stop for a moment to think of the words I want to say to them, but there’s nothing I can say. “I’m going to fight. I’m going to fight to the last breath. You all know that, but—”

  “No buts, Angel. I’m bringing my son home tonight. Alive,” my dad interrupts.

  I just nod my head. I light up a cigarette and lock gazes with my dad for a moment. I want to tell him that I’ll fight to do everything I can to come home alive, but Uncle Ronnie’s told us about how things are down there. We’re going in blind. I have no idea who I’m fighting, or what the rules are. For all I know, I could be made to fight five men. This is a fight I have no control over.

  “If things go wrong, the only thing you have to do is get Alice out. She does not go to Harvey. I’ve called some families who owe us, and they have people down there. If they help, their debts are cleared. If they betray me, Pike, the list of the families is in my office. Kill every single one of them. They all know I’ll kill them, so I’m not worried about them betraying us.” I look over at Pike. He watches me carefully. He’s watching to see if I’m hiding anything.

  “How about we stop talking about the bad—”

  “You know me well enough, Pike, to know I’m not a man who doesn’t have a plan for both outcomes. The only thing I care about is you getting Alice out of there. Are we all clear about that?” I ask them all. My gaze stops at Vinny for a moment, and I nod to tell him to follow me.

  Walking outside to the garden, I shut the door behind us to make sure no one can hear us. “I’ve spoken to Max. I have enough money set aside for Alice and the babies. I’ve also put enough for you there. Max knows what he has to do.” I stop and light another cigarette. “The only thing I can say to you is thank you for looking after Alice all this time. If something happens to me, you might have to be there again to look after, but you won’t be alone. My family will stick with you to protect her. I know they’ll—”

  “Angel, you need to stop,” Vinny says. I walk to the side and let the smoke escape. “You have everything set in order. Robert told us that you would. I don’t want you to stand here in front of me and talk like you know you’re going to die.” Vinny walks over to me, but I turn around and lean on the bar. I look inside at my family. “I’ll look after Alice. She stays here with your family, and I’ll stay with her. You just make sure you fight.” He pats my shoulder and walks back into the house, leaving me outside alone.

  I smoke the last of my cigarette and walk back into the house. “Everyone ready?” I ask as I walk over to Alice. Everyone holsters their guns, including one in an ankle holster. While the family gets ready, I turn to Ellie. I walk over to her and wipe away her tears. “See you when I get back.” I kiss her head and walk away. If I’ve learned one thing from living this life is, sometimes it’s better to say nothing than to say too much.

  ***

  As we walk further down the corridor, Alice’s grip tightens. I don’t blame her. This place would give anyone the feeling of hell. The smell of rotten blood hits you as soon as you walk through the door. Then there are all the bloodstains. This is what I’d say hell looks like. I squeeze her hand, letting her know I’m right here with her.

  We stop in front of Carl. I got Max to give me as much information on him as he could the moment we left the underground. My grandad started something with them. I wanted to know everything.

  “The Queen of London.” Carl looks at Alice, and I promise myself that one day, I’ll burn that fucking smile off his face. His gaze shifts to me. “The devil has a good one.”

  I know he’s trying to get under my skin. He’s fucking stupid if he thinks this is the first time someone has tried to use my love for my family against me. “I’m not here to talk,” I say. I let go of Alice’s hand and take a step closer to Carl.

  “No, you came here to die,” he replies.

  The man has confidence. Uncle Ronnie said Carl is the frontman for the man behind him, and that’s the man I want to see. I want to know who really runs this place.

  “Where is he?” I ask. I need to focus on the man I’m fighting today. The man behind Carl is for another time.

  Carl snaps his fingers, and my gaze shifts to the shadow moving behind me. I see the man I’m fighting and stare. I thought Craig was a big guy, but this one is a fucking beast. He’s double the size of me and inches taller. But, sometimes, size doesn’t matter. My grandad always told me that to win in chess, sometimes the smaller pieces are the ones that give you the strength to fight as the king.

  “Harvey?” I ask. I want to make sure he’s close enough for my family to get him when I win.

  There the fucker is. The man I’m going to enjoy killing. Slowly. I want the Midlands to die. They’ve been breathing fresh air this long because I’ve let them. I want to see Mitch’s and Bruce’s faces when I kill Harvey in front of them.

  “You have fifteen minutes,” Carl says and walks away.

  “Angel—”

  “I know, Dad. I know,” I interrupt.

  This isn’t going to be an easy fight, but we already knew that. That man is part of a family who’s known for unthinkable things. Murder of women and children, rape, and everything in between. My family had a long fight with them, and that’s the reason most of them are down here. I told them I’d kill any one of them I saw, and I didn’t care if it was outside of London.

  “Angel. Now, you know I normally don’t ask, but…” Alice’s voice trails off.

  I turn around to face her. “Nothing to worry about. Just some bad blood,” I tell her. The worry in her eyes is making me sick to the stomach. I need her to know everything will be okay, but I can’t.

  “I love you.” Alice stands on her tiptoes and gives me a kiss.

  “I love you too,” I say.

  Pike pats my shoulder, and I know it’s time to get ready. After giving Alice another kiss, I walk away. I stand in front of Pike, and I begin to take off my jacket.

  “There are two ways to fight this, get the shit kicked out of you so he’s tired and you can fight when he’s weak, or try to kill him fast,” Pike says as I give him my jacket.

  I pull off my shirt and tie, and I look around at the crowd.

  “I never knew there were this many people down here who hated me,” I say.

  “They fear you—that’s why they're here,” Pike says. I look behind him at Warren. “He doesn’t know what to say. He’s been quiet since we got back. He won’t talk to anyone.”

  I knew Warren would shut off, but he's keeping it together.

  “If—”

  “Nothing’s going to happen, so shut the fuck up and show them all why they call you the devil.” Pike looks at me, and I can see how serious he is. I nod, and I make my way to the middle of the ring made up of the crowd.

  Chapter 32

  Alice

  Vinny takes my hand, and I look up at him. No doubt he can see the worry and fear in my eyes. My body’s tense as I wait for the fight to begin.

  “It’ll be okay,” he says.

  I shift my gaze back over at Angel as the noise from the crowd escalates to the point that I can’t shut it out anymore. My gaze refuses to leave him now. I watch nervously as he sizes up the guy he’s about to take
on. He’s massive, the size of a fucking tank. Worry pours into me.

  Angel’s opponent starts talking. I can see his mouth moving, but I can't hear what he’s saying to him. I think he’s trying to set Angel off and make him do something rash and stupid, but Angel only smiles at whatever he said. Then, Angel takes a quick step back, right as the guy lunges forward to punch him. His heavyweight threatens to topple him when he misses, but he’s incredibly agile and regains his balance faster than I would’ve expected. He even manages to throw his left fist into a punch as he centres himself.

  Angel ducks, barely avoiding the hit, and punches the guy in the ribs with lightning-fast hands. He lands several rabbit punches that make his opponent grunt before having to pull back and put his defences back up. Despite being impressed by how quickly Angel moves, I fear for the one time he might not dodge fast enough. This gigantic man squaring off with him can, no doubt, do terrible damage with very few hits.

  The guy glares at Angel and takes a step back. He shakes his head, relishing the way the crowd howled with displeasure at Angel’s attacks. They’re getting louder and louder with every second, shouting abuse at Angel.

  Angel, however, only seems to get more fired up by their hatred of him. He grins as he swings hard and slams his fist into the guy’s jaw. I can hear the sound of its impact even through the noise of the crowd, and it stuns me.

  “Fuck,” the guy roars as he straightens himself and lashes out. His vicious punch slams into Angel’s chest, knocking him back a step. If Angel’s surprised by the force, he doesn’t show it. He only narrows his focus on the man and draws his hands back up into a fighting stance.

  His opponent seems surprised the blow didn’t do more damage to Angel, but it doesn’t slow him down. He darts forward and throws a massive hook that lands on the side of Angel’s face. My breath catches, and I grip Vinny’s arm. Angel stumbles under the impact and shakes his head to clear his vision.

  Clasping my hands together, I hold my breath as I watch him try to stay standing. He gasps in a breath and squares his shoulders before releasing it slowly. That punch must have taken more out of him than he was expecting. That scares me, and I plead for the fight to end soon, for Angel to find a way to crush his opponent.

  The guy begins stalking Angel, forcing him to keep taking a step back every time he takes one forward. I silently urge him to move faster, but he can’t keep up while still trying to recover from that last hit. Another punch slams into Angel’s stomach. He shouts in pain and struggles to stay upright. My stomach drops at the sound of his pain. I feel completely helpless, desperate to do something but stuck uselessly on the sidelines.

  “Kill him!”

  “Rip off his ear!”

  The crowd has become animalistic, shouting out the horrors they want to see dished out to Angel. I want to hide from it, cover my ears and block it all out. At the same time, I can’t stand the thought of missing a single second. I have to know what’s going on. If I miss a chance to do something or help Angel, I’ll never forgive myself.

  Vinny’s big hand closes gently around my arm as though he can read my thoughts. I’m seconds away from jumping in there and stopping all this. Glancing around at the crowd and seeing them enjoying the fight and cheering on the torture of another person makes my stomach twist and roil. I don’t know if I can make it through this without getting sick.

  “Don’t worry, Alice. The devil won’t die that easily.”

  I turn toward Pike as he reaches for me and pulls me closer to him. All the guys have kept to themselves all night, away from the maniacs in the crowd. I don’t think anyone really knows what to say to anyone. I know it isn’t any easier for them to watch this than it is for me. Warren has been the quietest out of them all. They’re all scared of what might happen, but he seems to be handling it worse than the others.

  The sound of another punch landing pulls my gaze back to the fight. They’re both throwing punches at each other, and the frenzy makes me cringe. Angel has a cut lip, and it’s dripping blood down his chin. The other guy has blood on his face as well, but I can’t tell if he’s hurt or if it’s Angel’s blood.

  Another hard punch lands on Angel’s ribs, making him spit out blood when his breath is knocked out of him. It seems to be a sign for his monstrous opponent to let loose. He keeps punching Angel as he falls back. I gasp, my body lurching forward to run to him. Pike’s sudden grip on my arm stops me. His free arm wraps around me, pinning me to his side.

  I watch helplessly as Angel tries to get back up. I can’t stop the cry of horror that bursts from my lips as the guy kicks him in the stomach over and over again. Tears roll down my cheeks as I watch a thick stream of blood escape from his mouth.

  I hear a whistle from the side of us, and the guy walks over to where it came from. All I can do is watch Angel trying to get up, holding his stomach as he spits blood from his mouth.

  My hands claw at Pike as the guy stalks over to Angel like a tiger ready to make his kill. The crowd goes silent as Angel suddenly throws a brutal uppercut into his chin. The force of the blow makes his opponent stumble backwards, and Angel takes full advantage. Two jabs land, followed by a cross, cutting the skin under his eye.

  Angel takes a wild swing, but the brute wraps his hands around Angel’s neck and starts laughing. His muscles bulge as he picks Angel up. He tosses him against the wall as if he weighs little more than a child, then picks him up again and flings him back into the wall a second time. Angel’s body collapses into a heap.

  My eyes blur from the tears pooling in them. This monster is too big to take down. I begin hoping Angel can simply survive with no major injuries. I wipe the tears away and see the man is now sitting on top of Angel and punching him repeatedly. Blood splashes across Angel’s face before his tormentor starts punching his ribs. I gasp at the force of the impact, begging him not to break Angel’s ribs.

  When he’s finally had enough, the man stands up and looks down at Angel’s motionless body lying at his feet. I stare on, barely restraining myself from running to Angel as the guy walks away. My eyes follow him, terrified he’ll come back to finish him off, and I see Harvey smiling at me, clearly enjoying the devastation we just witnessed.

  Pushing Pike’s hand off me, I run over to Angel. I want to gather him in my arms, but I don’t dare touch him. I know the rule. No matter how much I hate it at that moment, I force myself to follow it. If I don’t, Angel will die with a bullet in his head. Pike and Vinny are shouting my name, but I ignore them. I collapse to the floor, inches away from him.

  “Angel, you have to get up. You have to fight. You can’t leave me, please! You have to show all these people why they fear you, why you are the king of London. Get up and show them that the devil is alive,” I shout at him, pleading. He has to fight this. There’s no other way. I wipe the tears away, clearing them from my dry lips. “Listen, Angel, please. You have to get up, I know you’re in there somewhere, and you can hear me, so hear this. I love you more than anything, and I can’t imagine my life without you in it. I may live on the outside for our babies, but on the inside, I’ll die knowing I’ll never see you or hold you again. I can’t live a life without you in it.”

  I pull back as Angel suddenly gasps for air. I want to throw my arms around him, but before I can say or do anything, Pike yanks me away.

  “Do not leave my side,” he growls.

  I nod quickly and look back at Angel as he finally opens his eyes and starts to move sluggishly.

  I stare on as the hulking man walks over to Angel. He watches as Angel struggles to get up, grinning as he appreciates how much damage he’s already caused. He rears back to kick him in the face. I gasp, and my hands cover my mouth to stop me from screaming.

  Angel lurches up awkwardly, and Pike holds me even tighter as my body begins to shake. Fear of what is about to happen drenches me.

  Angel straightens, clearly in pain, but determined to fight and throws a wild jab right into the guy’s face. It doesn’t land
hard enough to do any real damage, but it was something to show he isn’t done yet. He throws another punch, then another, surprising his opponent. He tries to push Angel away, but Angel’s fighting hard now.

  I don’t know where Angel’s finding the strength to fight, but he lands a punch hard enough to knock the man back. Seeing an opening, Angel grabs a handful of guy’s shirt and punches his face over and over again. Blood sprays the wall behind him.

  Angel screams out loud while the crowd goes silent. I freeze, not understanding what’s happening. Angel screams again, and then I see it. I see the blade being pulled from his stomach, and Pike walks away from me.

  “No weapons! The rule was no fucking weapons,” he shouts.

  Horrified, I can’t take my eyes off Angel as he gets stabbed again.

  “Rules can change,” Carl replies, his tone icy cold.

  “Fuck,” Warren growls behind me.

  The guy throws Angel on the floor, and I watch as his breaths slows until he simply lies there.

  “Come on, get up! Get up!” Robert shouts.

  How the fuck is he meant to fight when he’s been stabbed three times? Why is this continuing? My legs lose their strength, and I fall to my knees. The sick feeling running through me has stolen all my strength. I stare with bated breath as Angel tries to stand and fight.

  My head drops when I can’t bear to watch anymore. I close my eyes and let the tears run free. The crowd cheers viciously, knowing that the man who stopped them is no longer in control.

  Mum, Dad, Ben, anyone up there. Someone give him strength. Give Angel the fight he needs to walk out of this alive. I’ve lost enough in this life. Don’t let me lose him, too.