She could hear the sounds of voices inside of the warehouse. Two large men stood at the door. They were dressed in plain black t-shirts, and dark gray slacks. They were well-muscled and enormous; people who would cow a grown man. The one to the left looked her up and down, the slow speed of his action making her feel violated. She fought the urge to tug on the hem of her short black dress. She wished that she was wearing clothing that covered her, but she needed for Lance to believe that she was coming to reconcile.
“Password?” he asked, a dangerous grin spreading across his face lasciviously. Laney fought the urge to gag with revulsion.
“Flakka,” she said, naming the rather nasty drug that Lance’s twisted sense of humor found to be entertaining to feed to his fighters before sending them into the ring.
“That one,” he said, “Is rather expired, missy.”
“But—” Laney began as the other bouncer turned, frowning. Surprise spread across the man’s features as he recognized her.
“Laney.” He smiled dangerously. “Lance has been looking everywhere for your hide. I’d hate to be there when he tans it.” He reached out, grabbing Laney roughly by the shoulder, but before he could drag her off, Laney yelled out.
“Wait! Stop!” he paused.
“What could you possibly say to make this go differently?”
“I’m here to make it up to Lance,” she lied, looking him in the eyes in a manner that she hoped was coming off as sincere. He looked a little doubtful, but he nodded, letting go of her shoulder.
“Let’s go,” he said.
~*~
Lance sat in the stands beside a large dirt circle that was enclosed in a metal cage. The stands were on a raised platform beside it, and there was a large standing room, full of rough-looking people dressed in dirty, ragged clothes milling about. The roar of voices was tremendous.
Lance was a large man, all muscle—he had a sharp jawline, and an outward attractiveness that had initially drawn Laney in. Before his attitude had become abusive, his size had comforted her, and his jokes made him seem warm. What girl wouldn’t want to be with a strong, handsome man? As a stray, she had wanted the attention, the power that had come with being seen as Lance’s girlfriend. She had found, to her surprise, that in becoming his girlfriend, she had lost any power that she had possessed.
He came across as cheerful and attentive, but underneath, Lance was a snake. He believed that his word and desire was law, and those who broke that law would live to regret it. Lance certainly made sure of that.
Looking at him in that moment, Laney could not see past his darkness. She recalled the black fury in his eyes as he had beaten her into submission the week before. She kept my hands balled at her sides to hide the fact that they were shaking. She needed, in that moment, to be strong—for Kyle.
When he saw her, Lance smiled. It was a crocodile’s smile: all teeth and cold, reptilian eyes. It was terrifying. She believed that he would kill her, if it suited him.
“Back now?” he said, his tone light. “Where has my little bird been all week?”
“I…I want to apologize, Lance.”
“You certainly should,” he said, beckoning. She walked over to him, and he grabbed her by the hair on the back of her head, kissing her brutally. She tasted blood, her lip having grazed her teeth. He let go, smacking her across the face with his hand. She held her cheek as tears welled in her eyes.
“I don’t appreciate playing games, chickadee,” he hissed. “You led me on. I hope that you have learned your lesson.” She nodded, shaking uncontrollably.
“Good,” he said. “And I thought today was a good day before. Now it's even better, now that I have gotten back what is mine.” He gestured for her to sit in an empty chair that was beside his own. She sat down next to him, and bore his caresses. They had pleased her at the beginning of their relationship. Now, they disgusted her. Periodically, he would pinch Laney when he felt that she wasn’t paying him enough attention.
The fight began; two large men entered the ring. They were dirty, unrecognizable. Her heart was in my throat, but she relaxed a little when she realized that neither one of the men was Kyle. The men went at each other, and the one had the other backed into the side of the ring. They scrabbled against each other, grabbing at each other’s throats.
One man went down, and the other took the advantage, throwing his body on top of the other and brutally pummeling his opponent’s face. Laney winced at the utter brutality before her, looking over at Lance to be sure that he had missed her pained look. He was fixated on the fight, leaning forward in his seat as the final blows were delivered.
Lance clapped his hands, grinning and proclaiming loudly.
“It looks like things are going well,” she commented, keeping her eyes on the ring.
“Better than well, my dear,” he said. “I have a big lead in on something amazing.”
“I heard that there was going to be a big fight today.” she was treading on thin ice here.
“Yes,” he said, as two men entered the ring. “Later. You should see the one guy. He’s an animal.” He laughed, looking around at his cronies, who laughed, as well, happy to be in on the joke.
"There's big money in animal sales,” he added.
"But he's a person, isn't he?” she asked, overplaying her confusion. Lance did not need to know how much she knew. “You're not doing dogfights are you?”
“No, no, Chickadee.” He waved his hand in the air as though to clear it of her stupidity. “This is something better. You can see if you want to. You came back at just the right time. We are going to be rich."
He paused, frowning as an idea came to him. He looked at her with the quickness of a cobra, striking without warning. His voice was thick with suspicion.
"Speaking of which, why did you come back today?" She shook her head, smiling beatifically.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Lance.” He blinked, and then laughed; using a hand to wave away the thought, clear the air.
“You are too stupid to know anything,” he said, leaning in and kissing her. She laughed in response, pretending to agree and reciprocate his false affection. When he finally pulled away, he chucked her on the chin and she smiled at him seductively.
“Can I see the animal?” she asked.
“Oh, yes, baby,” he replied. “You will see it all.” He clapped his hands, turning to demand a drink. He entwined his fingers in Laney’s hair, tugging it as he ordered liquor to be brought to him. Laney’s stomach squirmed anxiously at the dread of a drunken Lance.
~*~
It seemed as though days passed, but it was mere hours, before the final fight. Lance had progressively drunk himself into a blithe mood the entire time. While he was in a good mood, alcohol tended to make his moods unpredictable, and tended to spur violent outbursts. Laney made sure to speak less and less as he grew more intoxicated so as to draw less attention to herself. She did not need to give Lance any extra reasons to want to kill her.
Laney watched as Kyle and another man entered the ring from opposite sides. Lance’s drunken joking with his cronies faded into the background. The focus of Laney’s entire world shrunk down to Kyle Danner, wearing only a pair of worn jeans.
Lance’s hand clapped Laney on her back, drawing her back to the real world, where she was in the company of her dangerously drunk ex. She felt as though the force from his hand had almost ejected her from her seat.
“There he is,” Lance crowed.
“Who?” she asked her heart was in her throat. Everything hung on the tiniest, thinnest of threads at the moment. Everything—her entire future, Kyle’s life—hung in the balance.
“The animal,” he explained. “You’ll see—this is going to be good.” The two men were facing each other down, sizing each other up. The bell rang, and Laney watched as Kyle sprung toward the other man, both of them shifting. The other man was a large bear—it seemed as though the fight were unbalanced in favor of the part-bear, until Kyle res
olved into his dragon-form, rearing up onto his hind legs, and let out a shriek. He was beautiful in his strength, graceful in form.
The half-bear flew at him, and Kyle deflected him with a swipe of his forelegs. The half-bear was cast against the far side of the ring. It got to its feet, stunned, but not out yet. Regardless, Kyle didn’t waste the advantage that the stunned half-bear’s fumbling to make another foray gave him. Kyle arched his neck, letting a stream of fire shoot forth from his jaws. It was brilliant, lighting up the darkened area of the warehouse. Cries of awe at the heat and size of the flames echoed from the crowd.
The half-bear reared through the flames, raking his massive claws across Kyle’s underbelly. Kyle shrieked, snapping at the half-bear with his lizard-like maw. He clamped down on the half-bear’s throat, tearing it out. The fight was over in a matter of minutes.
~*~
The standing room began to empty as the spectators filtered out. Lance stood, and Laney followed him. Lance placed his arm around Laney’s shoulders. It was heavy and bulky. She felt bowed beneath its weight, suffocated.
They stepped toward the side of the ring, where Kyle stood, his hands in his pockets. He had a large wound across his chest where the bear shifter had raked its claws across him during the fight. As she looked on, Laney saw the cut begin to close. She was trembling in fear. This was going to have to be played on point if Kyle were going to get out of here alive. She had given up on herself, she realized. As soon as she had seen Lance, she had known that he would never let her go. She was here to save Kyle. Lance’s arm dropped from around her shoulders.
“Danner! My man! Good show,” Lance’s jovial voice boomed. Laney kept her expression blank and cool and her gaze on the ground to the left of Kyle’s feet. She inhaled, looking upward and directly into Kyle’s eyes. She silently willed him to believe that this wasn’t a betrayal. Kyle’s eyes were large, confused. He frowned at her angrily as Lance shook his hand. Stepping back, Lance clapped him on the shoulder.
“Well, let me get you that prize money,” he said, placing a hand on Kyle’s shoulder. “Come into my office.” Kyle kept his eyes on Laney, who tried to give him a subtle shake of the head, hoping that he would understand, and run immediately. Her heart sunk as he turned, following Lance to the office.
Laney began to follow, but pretended to trip. As Lance’s gang followers scattered to get out of her way, she grabbed the knife out of her boot. She got up slowly, pulling it into her sleeve. She glanced around the quickly emptying room.
Four men stood out—they were dressed well, in finely tailored suits. Laney frowned. Most of the spectators were grubby, dressed in jeans and t-shirts. She noticed a glint of metal in the hand of one of the men—it was a collar, she realized. It was a dragon’s collar. Laney turned to Kyle, who was still headed toward the office.
“Kyle!” he turned at the sound of her voice. “It’s a trap!” Noticing the men, he shifted, his form resolving into the shape of the dragon, large and dangerous in its wrath. Another two well-dressed men emerged from the office, focused entirely on Kyle.
Lance, on the other hand, whipped around, running toward Laney. He grabbed her with force, his hand clamping down roughly on her arm, causing it to jerk painfully. He grabbed her by the throat with his other hand. She tried to bring her hand with the knife up to stab him, but he was choking her. She did the only thing that she could think of, and stomped down on his foot with the heel of her boot. His grip on her throat loosened as he bellowed in rage and pain.
Meanwhile, the hunters were surrounding Kyle, chanting in a foreign language. Kyle struggled, attempting to breathe fire, but he seemed to be choking, unable to release his flames. He tried darting toward the edge of their circle, snapping with his fanged jaws, but they stood their ground. He seemed unable to get through.
Taking full advantage of Lance’s weakened grip as he shouted curses at her, Laney broke free, sprinting full-tilt at one of the hunters. She screamed as she stabbed him in the back. He fell face forward, breaking the hunter’s circle. Kyle attacked, ripping two into shreds—one with a claw, and the other with his teeth. Rearing back, he opened his mouth, shooting flames at the remaining hunters, who cried out in rage and pain.
Laney was caught off guard as she watched Kyle overtake his would-be captors. Lance’s hands clamped down on her arms, turning her to face him. He glared in her face.
“Were you with that animal all week?” he hissed. Laney responded by spitting in his face. He wiped it off. “You will regret that you bitch.”
Laney tried to free herself, fighting against his iron-tight grip. She struggled in vain as he brought his large, beefy hand back, slamming it into her face. The world faded to black for a second as Laney was almost knocked unconscious. She heard a loud ringing, and her left cheekbone throbbed with a painful heat.
With a vicious snarl, Kyle leapt at Lance. The dragon shifter brought the large man down with a single strike of his claw, darting his lizard-like head in and striking like a snake. Kyle tore Lance’s throat out easily.
Kyle shifted back to his human form. His eyes were wide with fury, as he turned and raced toward Laney. She dropped her knife, which she felt was useless. Kyle grabbed her, pulling her close to him.
“What were you thinking?” he yelled at her, over and over. Laney was unable to answer, her throat sore and raw. She found herself sobbing, large tears against Kyle’s hot dry skin. He kissed her on the top of her head.
“Hey. Hey. Look at me,” Kyle said, placing a hand on her cheek. She looked up at him, remembering when he had touched her on the cheek in the alleyway. He was looking at her like she was something precious.
“We need to get out of here,” she rasped. They looked about them. They were surrounded by the horribly mangled or burned corpses of all of the people who had chosen not to run.
“Man, you went from dating one monster—” Kyle began, but Laney wouldn’t let him finish.
“You’re not a monster,” she said. “You’re perfect. There’s money in the office.” Kyle placed his hand on the small of her back. He wasn’t forcing her; he wasn’t directing her—just reassuring her that he was with her.
Once inside the office, Laney walked to the metal desk. She opened the center drawer, pulling out the envelope where Lance kept his petty cash. She opened it, counting the wad of bills.
“Couple of thousand,” she said. Kyle gestured toward the safe in the back corner of the office, cocking his eyebrow questioningly. “I don’t know the combination.” Kyle shrugged in response, letting his right hand shift into a claw. He ripped off the door easily.
Inside, the safe was packed with money and drugs. Leaving the drugs, Laney filled a paper grocery bag with the cash. They left quickly, Kyle picking up articles of clothing off of the dead hunters as they went. They never looked back.
~*~
The house was cream-colored, with butter-yellow shutters and a red door. There was a wraparound porch with chairs. All around the house was a vast garden, filled with sunflowers, forget-me-nots, violets, roses, and daisies. In the back, there were rows of vegetables, which they sold to the day hikers.
There were large fields, where they kept their animals, their tiny farm backing up to a large national forest. It was quiet except for the calls of the birds and cicadas, and the wind in the trees.
Laney was on her knees among the tomatoes, her gloved hands covered in dirt. She loved the smell of the rich soil and the ripening vegetables. She leaned back, straightening her back to get out the crick in it from working. She wiped her forearm across her face, wiping off the sweat that was beading there.
Arms wrapped around her waist from behind. Kyle kissed the back of her neck as she cried out in surprise.
“I didn’t hear you!”
“Surprise, darlin.’”
“Oh, you.” She turned, kissing him deeply and passionately. They both fought to contain their smiles. She pulled away, looking at him happily. Kyle was shirtless, wearing only a pair of
rugged blue jeans. Laney ran her hand over his sun-warmed skin. She looked up at him lustily.
He scooped her up in his arms, carrying her inside of the house and into their sun-filled bedroom. Laney giggled as he threw her down on the bed, trailing kisses along her neck and sternum. She returned the attention happily. He unbuttoned the chambray shirt that she wore whenever she was gardening, kissing her skin as he revealed more of it. Laney closed her eyes, letting herself enjoy being slowly undressed by her lover.
He paused, and she opened her eyes. He was waiting for her. She grinned widely.
“Don’t stop,” she plead joyfully.
“Yes, ma’am.” Kyle entered her, making her inhale with pleasure. The friction between them was electric. They made love frantically and passionately, hitting crisis at the same moment. They lay side-by-side afterward, Laney’s hand clutched in Kyle’s over his heart. Laney looked over at him.
“That was lovely.”
“Quite.”
“Do you want to go for a walk before lunch?”
“As you wish, milady.”
“You’re horrible.” Laney smiled. She was still as much in love with Kyle as she had been at the beginning of their relationship. She couldn’t believe how lucky she had been, for a former foster kid. They got dressed and left their house, making their way while holding hands through their sun-drenched fields.
The forest loomed over them as they paused to inspect one of their fences. The post was beginning to look a little worse for the wear.
“I’ll have to replace it,” Kyle said, pushing on it to see if it would break.
“Hello?” The couple turned to find a girl, just barely beginning her teens walking out of the woods beside them. She had a ragged and battered backpack on, and she looked tired and hungry. “Um. Does Kyle Danner live here?” Kyle frowned, but nodded.
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