The Ring - An Alex Dorring Thriller
Page 29
“To make sure you don’t run away.”
Dorring walked into the middle of the Pit. Stood amongst the blood, the teeth and the straw. He began unbuttoning his shirt.
“You gonna fight fully clothed?” he asked Lloyd as the latter sat gazing up at him with a dumb expression.
“Is this a joke?” Lloyd asked.
“No,” Dorring said as Maria stopped about ten yards away, the barrel of her gun on Lloyd. “Me and you are due a fight. If you win, I’ll let you off. If you lose, I won’t stop. You’ll be dead. So”—his eyes glared into Lloyd’s skull so that he knew how serious he was—“you’ll be fighting for your life tonight.”
“Why? What’ve I ever done to you?”
“Jess remembers everything about the day she was taken from her parents,” Dorring said as he stripped his shirt from his sinewed body.
Lloyd went completely white. He began shivering. He glanced about himself. He had a terribly sorry look on his face. He looked at Maria, as if she could somehow help him. Then his eyes flittered back to Dorring.
“How long have you worked for Frank Jordon, Lloyd?” the latter asked.
“Long time,” Lloyd said.
“I hear that you’re paid five times more than any of the other men in your position. I heard you use the money to run these fights. I heard you’ve got a villa in Spain what would make the Queen blush. I heard you’re retiring to it in a year’s time. How many farm supervisors do you know that can do that?”
“Whoever told you I had anything to do with this is a liar,” Lloyd said.
Dorring leaned forward so that their eyes were level.
“Are you calling Jess a liar?” he growled.
Lloyd was completely white.
“‘The man with the scarred face,’ she said,” Dorring went on. “‘The man that worked with my father.’ How many little pricks with scarred faces do you know around here?”
“I didn’t know he were gonna do bad stuff to her,” Lloyd cried out. “He said he wanted to adopt her. Give her a better life.”
“That usually how children are adopted? Stolen off the side of a road? Frank Jordon locked her in a dungeon and raped her. How she ever survived is a mystery to me. Now stand up!” he shouted.
Lloyd turned around at Maria.
“He’s crazy,” he said. “I can’t fight him. I’ll go to the police. Right now, I’ll confess.”
“The man wants to fight you, Lloyd,” Maria said. “If you don’t face him, I’ll shoot your legs and you’ll have to fight him on your knees.”
Lloyd turned back to Dorring.
“I promise,” the latter snarled, “if you win, you’re free.”
Lloyd stood up from the bale. He was struggling to stand. Listlessly, he came into the middle of the Pit across from Dorring and began to ease into a stance.
“How many men have you watched beat each other half to death in this ring?” Dorring asked.
Lloyd didn’t answer. He merely glanced over his shoulder at the barrel of the rifle Maria held on him. Then he turned back on Dorring. Shaking his head at the stupidity of the action, he lurched forward and went to grab him. It went bad. Dorring skipped back from him and Lloyd almost landed on the floor. As he went by, Dorring landed a jabbed punch to the back of his neck. It finished the job and slammed him down onto his front.
Dorring waited patiently while he got up. Then the dance began again, Dorring easing the fight towards the ultimate end, dancing about him, letting him come at him, tiring him out so he could enjoy taking him apart, hitting him with nothing but counters. Lloyd landed the odd punch, because Dorring let him. He wanted the child kidnapper to think there was a chance. He wanted to shine a glimmer of hope in his eyes so that he would be blinded into putting more heart into it. None of the blows did much more than smart, of course. And when it was Dorring who landed his own blows, they hit the desired spot and ricocheted through the skinny man, more often than not flooring him.
Maria stood at the edge, the gun lowered, and watched the fight. Eventually, Lloyd tired so much he could hardly keep himself up in the Pit. Dorring broke some ribs. Lloyd was wheezing heavily, lowering half his guard so he could hold the busted side. Dorring worked a leg next, scooping Lloyd up in a hold and then twisting his legs back as they grappled on the floor. A loud snap like a dry twig echoed in the room and Lloyd screamed as his ankle bone split apart and came bursting through the skin. Dorring got up off him. Grabbed an arm, clamped it within his elbow joint and twisted it apart. Lloyd screamed again. Then Dorring was on top of him. Rabid fury burst from him. It was no longer a beautiful dance. It was raw animalism. Savagery at its finest point.
He was pummelling Lloyd in the face. Repeatedly smashing punches into his skull, his scarred, one-eyed face unrecognizable, being bent and twisted and thumped into grotesque shapes. When Dorring’s fists made it all the way through the skull, Maria came behind him and took his shoulder.
He stopped, breathing heavily, and for the first time noticed his fatigue. He glanced up at Maria.
“Time to go,” she said.
“All of this… started with him,” Dorring said breathlessly.
“I know. But he’s been dead some time now.”
Dorring stood up. He left the Pit, stumbling as he climbed over a bale of straw, his body feeling terribly weak from the fight, his fists humming with pain. Maria placed an arm around his shoulder and helped him out of the barn.
Outside, they stood under the moonlight and gazed up at the starry sky.
“What now for Dorring?” she asked.
“I don’t know. I have two teenage girls with nowhere to go. I have a list of names of men I’ve sworn to myself to kill before I die. And the only man I could ever call a friend has either turned on me or is in terrible danger. Possibly already dead.”
“So you have taken these burdens on yourself?”
Turning to her, so that his gray eyes met hers, he replied, “I guess I have.”
“Then I wish you all the luck in the world,” she said.
They hugged and then she watched him get onto a black V4 RR Norton superbike that was parked at the edge of the concrete lot they stood on.
“Be safe, my love,” she called after him.
“You too, Maria,” he called back as he roared the engine into life. “You too.”
Then she watched him motor away down a country lane until he was out of sight, wondering exactly what would come of Alex Dorring.
WANT TO BE KEPT IN THE LOOP?
If you sign up for my VIP mailing list, and I'll be sure to send you a quick heads up whenever my next book is released! Your email will be kept 100% private, and you can unsubscribe any time. You'll only hear from me when I have a new book finished and that's it. If that's something you'd be interested in, then just tap here and sign up!
WHAT'D YOU THINK?
First of all, thank you so much for giving my work a chance. If you enjoyed this adventure, then I would be extremely grateful if you would consider writing a short review for the book online. A good review means so much to every writer, but means even more for self-published writer like myself. As it allows new readers to find my books, and ultimately allows me to spend more time creating stories that I love!
You can do so directly down below:
US Review Link
UK Review Link
CA Review Link
AU Review Link
READY FOR THE NEXT MISSION?
If you are ready for the next adventure in the series, then you can continue reading right now by clicking here.
COMING SOON.
ALSO BY VINCE VOGEL
Up to date books can be found on my website: www.vincevogel.com
JACK SHERIDAN MYSTERY SERIES
A Cross to Bear (Book 1)
The Clay House (Book 2)
Into The Woods (Book 3)
The End is Nigh (Book 4)
A Step Into The Dark (Book 5)
Holier Than Thou (Book 6)
/> Streetlight City (Book 7)
ALEX DORRING THRILLER SERIES
Agent 192 (Book 1)
The Hitman's Death (Book 2)
The Wrong Man (Book 3)
Who Dares Wins (Book 4)
The Highwaymen (Book 5)
The Ring (Book 6)