by L. A. Casey
Branna laughed as she grabbed my hand. "Believe me, sweetie, I'm goin'. I'd kill your pervy little brother for doin' what he did to me little sister otherwise!" she growled.
I didn't get a chance to give Dominic the finger again or even rat off an insult in farewell because Branna pulled me away with her.
I hugged her when we were back at the dance floor. "Holy shite, Bran, you were amazin'. You punched Dominic in the face; I'm so jealous!" I gushed in awe and delight.
Branna smiled and hugged me tightly. "Nobody messes with my sister, especially not a pretty little batty boy."
She was brilliant, she seriously was!
I was about to ask her how she knew Ryder, but she cut me off by shouting, "Now, let's dance!"
I didn't need to be told twice; I let Branna lead me into the crowd of swaying bodies. I was a little nervous at first, but I literally just let go along with Branna, shoved my hands in the air, and got lost in the music. It was so much fun, possibly the most fun I had ever had.
I knew I needed to get out more, but this, being here right now, was a huge step from hiding behind my Kindle at home or behind my iTouch at school. It was progress, and I was happy about it.
After five songs and some serious carefree dancing, Branna and I were parched. She ordered me a small vodka and Coke because I didn't feel any drunken effects from the three glasses of WKD that I had already drunk. She was pretty buzzed by the time she finished her fifth glass of vodka and Coke. I was still on my first one, because it tasted strong; I was sipping it every few minutes instead of gulping it down like I did with the WKD.
Branna and I were laughing at a joke she told when lights from our right suddenly lit up the darkened side of the club, earning loud cheers and screams. The majority of the dance floor and bar area emptied as everyone ran towards the lights. I focused my eyes and noticed there was a round platform up a few feet in the air in the centre of the now lit up area. A single black line went around the edges of the circled platform that looked important, so I asked Branna what it was.
"It's just showin' the no cross point of the circle. If a fighter gets knocked out of it, it's an automatic knockout. It's a pretty big circle, so no strong fighter ever falls off; it's usually the weak fighters who get beat up so bad they unknowingly move backward makin' it easier for them to be knocked off," Branna explained.
I widened my eyes and pointed. "What about the people standin' around the platform?" I questioned.
Branna snorted. "They usually move back quick enough to avoid a body landin' on top of them."
I gasped. "That's horrible!"
"That's the sport." Branna shrugged. "It's a mixture of different things, the main things being hot, sexy, sweaty, dangerous, fierce men-"
"Oh, shut up," I muttered, making Branna chuckle.
"Ladies and gents, welcome to Darkness!" A deep voice suddenly blared through the speakers around the club where music was playing just seconds ago.
The voice caused loud cheers to erupt around the club.
"It's Friday night here at Darkness and you all know what that means…"
"Fight Night!" The crowd that surrounded the platform screamed out in answer, making the deep voice chuckle through the speakers.
"That's right, it's Fight Night, but tonight is a little different. Instead of our usual three fights, tonight we have four."
More cheers.
"The first two lads up are still newcomers so go easy on them, because they sure as hell won't go easy on each other. They have both fought a few of times over the past few weeks so you may recognise them."
Cheers and screams came from next to me, causing me to roll my eyes; Branna was so into this.
"Make way for our new boys, you all get to choose their fight names durin' the fight tonight so for now, welcome Nico and Drake!"
I widened my eyes.
No.
No fucking way!
"Bronagh, it's Nico, your Nico!" Branna gasped.
My Nico?
What the fuck?
"He isn't mine!" I bit out.
Branna waved me off because she was watching the show, so I turned to look as well and watched as Dominic pulled himself up onto the platform and sort of bounced on his feet while he shook his limbs out. He was shirtless, and even though I hated him with a passion, my mind automatically flashed back to when that shirtless body was pressed against mine, making me shudder before shaking my head and the thoughts away.
I studied the rest of Dominic; he had on black shorts that ended a little above the knee, and wore padded fingerless gloves. His hair was pushed back out of his face; I guessed there was some gel in it now because it stayed the way it was pushed back, making it look messy.
I widened my eyes as I got sight of his right arm and back when he bounced around. I had seen his back in his room when I was running away from him, and it was only partial curled at the shoulder with a tribal tattoo. Now, though, there was more detail on his shoulder, and his sleeve was complete.
"Nice tat," Branna mused.
I growled, "We hate him, remember?"
She shrugged. "Yeah but that doesn't mean we can't say he has a nice tattoo, because he does."
I huffed. "It's new, the sleeve wasn't complete a few weeks ago."
Branna side looked at me. "Yeah, you got a good look at his body back then, didn't you?"
I growled at her, making her laugh as she reached for her vodka and Coke. I reached for my own and gulped it down. I welcomed the burning in my throat and chest since it took my mind off Dominic. Well, until I looked back up at him that is.
I blew out a breath when another lad the same height and build climbed up on the platform. He was wearing the same thing as Dominic except his shorts and gloves were a dark blue.
"That Drake kid is hot," Branna gushed.
I looked him over and agreed with her; he was hot. He had a sexy lean body, blond hair, and I could only guess that he had pretty blue eyes to match.
"Here we go," Branna beamed as she pulled me from my seat and towards the crowd.
I went with her without protest and laughed when she screamed, "Kill him, Drake!"
Drake heard this and grinned around his mouth guard, while Dominic quickly glanced down. And out of everyone, he made eye contact with me and glared like he thought I had said that to Drake.
Whatever, I was thinking it.
Dominic returned his focus to Drake and attacked him when a loud beep sounded. I gasped when Dominic landed a solid punch to Drake's face; it reminded me of when he beat up Jason and Gavin. How he fought then should have given me some indication that he did this a lot, and the fact that he rolled into school some days with bruises on his face and swollen bits of flesh everywhere. But it didn't, which was why I was still surprised to be watching him in action now.
"Come on, Drake!" I cheered, making Branna whoop and some people around us chuckle.
There was a low chant of Drake that somehow turned into The Destroyer, and that got the announcer's attention.
"Seems as though Drake has got his fighting nickname, he is The Destroyer," the voice boomed getting loud screams in return.
We started to chant 'The Destroyer'.
Drake seemed to get a boost of confidence from our chanting because he speared Dominic to the ground and began pounding on him.
"Woohoo," I cheered and clapped my hands together.
Every punch Drake landed on Dominic, in my mind, was payback for all the bullshit he had put me through since he first started school with his brother.
My smile was wiped from my face when Dominic got his leg up under Drake and kicked his body off him. Dominic jumped to his feet and kicked Drake to the floor when he tried to stand back up. Dominic pounced on him then and unleashed a series of bullet fast punches to Drake's guarded head and unguarded chest and stomach. I had seen him like this before when he fought with Gavin in school, it was like he lost it completely and went crazy with punches and other hits.
"Whoa! N
ico is goin' on a bit of a rampage here, this might be over quick folks!" the voice stated.
The chant 'Rampage' was heard then, and I instantly knew that was going to be Dominic's fight nickname. It made me scowl, because it was a good nickname that suited him.
I glared hard at Dominic's back that was now covered in a layer of sweat. One punch later, and the same beep that started the fight, ended it.
Dominic got off Drake and turned his body in my direction; his eyes found me, and he glared hard at me while smirking at my shocked expression. I couldn't believe he just destroyed The Destroyer!
"Rampage wins; The Destroyer cannot continue. Give it up for, RAMPAGE!"
I scoffed while everyone around me went crazy; Dominic lifted his arms above his head in victory as he continued to smirk down at me.
I gave him the finger and mouthed, "Fuck you!"
He winked at me, which I scoffed at again then turned to Branna, who was looking between myself and Dominic with wide eyes.
"What?" I asked her.
"He purposely looked at you after he kicked the shite outta that lad. I think he has a thing for you."
I rolled my eyes. "He just wanted to make sure I saw him win. He is a cocky bastard like that," I assured her to which she shrugged in response.
When Dominic and a battered Drake got down from the platform, the voice announced two more fighters that looked older than Dominic and Drake. It continued like this for two more fights until all the fights were over. I was shocked that I was cheering and screaming when whoever I was rooting for won or lost. It was exciting in a twisted sort of way; I mean I was getting enjoyment out of lads kicking the shite out of each other but so was everyone else here. I wasn't alone; they were all just as sick and twisted as me.
When the fights were over, it was past two in the morning because aside from Dominic's fight, there were no knockouts until twenty minutes or more into each fight. Yeah, that's right, these things actually went on that long.
My vision was making me see double and my head was dizzy so I got a glass of water from the bartender before Branna and I started to leave. I came to the conclusion that I was drunk when I fell walking up the stairs of Darkness and then burst out laughing. Branna was drunk as well, but she seemed to be walking fine and only laughing a little when I did or said something stupid.
"Come on, let's get home," Branna announced when we got outside.
I waved to Skull, who didn't look so much like a serial killer to me anymore with his smiling, happy face. "That was deadly!" I shouted to him.
He laughed and waved. "Get home safe, ladies."
"We will." Branna waved back to him.
Branna had her arm around me as we walked down the path with people in front and behind us.
"Hey babe," a voice said from my left.
I looked to the voice and instantly beamed.
"Drake!" I shouted. "You're The Destroyer! I saw you fight tonight; you were deadly!"
His face was pretty busted up but he was still smiling, which meant he couldn't be hurting that bad. "I got me arse handed to me but thanks, I'll get better once I get a decent practice routine."
I nodded my head. "I bet you will."
He grinned at me and glanced to Branna. "Do you and your friend wanna come to a party?"
Branna perked up. "A party? Where?" she asked making Drake chuckle.
"In Upton, Nico is havin' a party to celebrate his win tonight."
I instantly scowled. "We can't go."
Drake frowned. "Why?" he asked.
"Because Dominic and I hate each other plus me sister here punched him in the face earlier tonight so we won't be invited," I snorted then cracked up when Branna cackled when she remembered what she did.
"I'm sure Nico won't mind you comin'," Drake continued as his eyes flicked over my shoulder.
I was chuckling now. "No, seriously, he would mind a lot."
"I wouldn't mind at all, pretty girl."
I froze.
Why did he appear at the most unnecessary times?
Seriously, he was like fucking herpes.
"Go fuck yourself, Dominic."
Drake raised his eyebrows as he looked over my shoulder and asked, "She your misses, man?"
I erupted into laughter like what he said was the funniest thing ever.
"His misses? In his fuckin' dreams-"
"Yeah, she's mine."
Drake nodded his head, though he didn't look happy anymore. "I'll catch you around then, babe. See you back at yours, man."
"Yeah bro, later."
I spun around, taking Branna with me, to face Dominic… and all his brothers.
I glared at all of them, except Damien, and then lifted my free hand that wasn't wrapped around Branna and pointed it into Dominic's red and slightly swollen face while he folded his arms across his chest and looked at me with a raised eyebrow and smirk playing on his swollen lips.
"Listen here, y-you little cock suckin' cunt, I am not yours. I am n-not anythin' to you and if you so much as hint t-that I am again, I'll kick the shite outta you and then stab you in the e-eye with a pen-"
I cut myself off when I heard Branna heave and felt her body droop.
"No Branna, don't do this. Don't you p-puke on me or die, I can't carry you home; I'm w-weak as shite!"
When I heard the lads laugh, I looked up and growled.
"Fuck all of you, except you Damien, you're n-nice," I said, making Damien laugh and Dominic growl.
"Give me her, I'll carry her back to the house."
I looked at Ryder when he spoke. "Eh, no, she thinks you're a p-prick - as do I - and will punch you if she realises you're w-with her."
Ryder smirked and looked down to Branna as he said, "I'll take my chances."
I rolled my eyes and swayed a little because the movement made me feel dizzy again.
"I got you."
I felt the weight of Branna's body leave my arms, and I forced my eyes open and glared at the silver ones staring down at me. "Let. Me. Go," I growled.
"Okay," Dominic said and let me go, only to grab me again when my knees buckled from under me.
He laughed as he lifted me up and held me against his hard body. "Looks like you need me, pretty girl."
I hated when he called me that, it was a stupid nickname.
"I don't even look p-pretty," I replied, groggily overlooking the comment about me needing him, there was no way in hell I would admit to that. Ever.
Dominic's reply was a chuckle as he hoisted me into his arms and carried me off somewhere. My last coherent thought before everything went black was that Dominic was going to cut me and my sister up into little pieces, and his brothers would help.
Except Damien, because he was nice.
Pain.
That was all I could feel in my head and body as I blinked my eyes open only to squeeze them shut seconds later. It wasn't bright; my room was actually dark indicating the curtains were pulled, so that wasn't what hurt my head. No, the pounding in my head was caused by my own doing, and the nasty taste in my mouth pretty much confirmed I did this to myself.
Alcohol, I thought, and almost wished bad things upon Branna for taking me out last night.
I relaxed into my bed, stirring a little but carefully sat up.
"Branna?" I called.
The last thing I remembered from last night was Ryder offering to help me with her. I remembered Dominic talking to me but then things went black.
"Lie back down, I wasn't done cuddling that body of yours yet," a husky male voice said, making me scream at the top of my lungs.
I scrambled off my bed only to fall from the bed and land arse first on the floor. I cried out in pain but quickly got to my feet with my arms raised ready to fight off my attacker.
"Are you actually planning to fight me with your eyes closed?" the voice asked, sounding amused now.
I forced my eyes to fully open, and when they landed on the owner of the voice, I gasped and then screamed again.
>
"What… what am I… what am I-"
"You're currently stuttering which is making it hard to understand you. Your accent is thick as it is, add stuttering to the loop, and you're practically speaking Chinese."
I was offended.
"Fuck you," I snapped. "What am I doin' here? In your house, in your room, in your fuckin' bed?"
Dominic grinned, and my stomach lurched at the sight.
"Please, don't tell me we… we… did… it."
"It? What would it be, pretty girl?" Dominic asked as he raised both his hands behind his head and grinned at me.
I hated that my eyes flicked down to his chest; I could see his arm muscles flex as they were raised behind his head and also the tattoo that curled from around his back onto the side of his waist, up to his shoulder and down his right arm.
"Enjoying the view?"
I snapped my eyes up to Dominic's and glared. "Did we have sex?" I growled.
Dominic fully smiled. "No, we didn't. If we did, you would remember it because you would have been fully sober during it."
I let out a huge breath of relief.
I didn't have sex with him, thank God.
"Thank you, Jesus," I said to the heavens then looked back down and snarled at Dominic, who was sizing me up with his eyes.
"How dare you put me in your bed when I wasn't in me right mind? How fuckin' dare you-"
"How dare I?" Dominic suddenly snapped and jumped from the bed to his feet and stalked towards me.
I was pissed at him, but I noticed he was in just his boxers and that he had a couple of bruises on his chest, shoulders, and his face. They were all obviously from the fight last night.
"You were the one who was so drunk she couldn't stand. You were trying to help your sister when you could barely stand yourself. And just so you know, bitch, you wanted in my bed instead of partying downstairs with everyone else. You told me you wanted me to sleep with you and hold you. You asked for that, not fucking me."
I was wide-eyed by the time he finished speaking; my throat felt a little dry as I swallowed.
"I don't believe you-"
"Well, you better start because it's true!" he growled as he got in my space and lowered his head to mine, scaring the crap out of me.