The Grace In Darkness (10 page)

“
Let
’
s try and keep the fights
inside
the pits, everyone.
”
River laughed.
“
May the fighting gods have mercy on your soul!
”

There was a loud blaring sound and Craze instantly came at me swinging. I was able to dodge his first swipe, but I wasn
’
t fast enough for the second and he caught my chin. I felt the pain as my lip split. I was thrown back a couple steps, and I touched my tongue to the rusty taste of blood. I used the back of my hand to wipe away the blood and spit.

Craze jumped side to side, grinning like an idiot, and then taunted me forward with his hand.

“
Come on, little Dare.
”

I stalked forward, ducking one swing and then another, and connected my fist with his cheek. I swung my other elbow forward, and it hit the opposite side of his face. The pain ripping through my hand made my head spin, but I was too damn stubborn to let it control me.

Craze groaned, bending over and holding his eye. Blood dripped down his face when he looked back at me.

“
You
’
re going to die!
”
he hissed, coming for me.

I expected him to come at my face again so he caught me off guard, aiming low for my gut. It knocked the breath out of me, propelling me forward, and he landed another blow to my face. The world spun around me as I tried to regain my balance. I could feel the effects of the shots clouding my head and tilting the ground beneath me. My moment of weakness gave Craze the momentum he needed and he came after me again.

He got the corner of my eye, one in my stomach, and then my face again. I stumbled back against the ropes, trying to catch my breath, and Sebastian was there.

“
Come on, Ryland! You
’
re not focusing. Let go of all the bullshit and kick his ass!
”

He was right. I wasn
’
t focused at all. So many things were running through my mind, bound to me by guilt, rage, hatred. The alcohol only managed to emphasize all those emotion until they blinded me. I could feel my face swelling, and blood and sweat oozed down my cheek. I took a deep breath and all I could hear was Mitchell
’
s words. All I could think about was J.D.
’
s actions and Careless
’
s betrayal. And all I wanted to see was Araya
’
s beautiful face. I could feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins, and I used it.

I looked up at Craze just as he came after me again. My fist blocked his attack and he fell back, dazed. It was all over after that. I hit him twice in the face and a low and dirty blow to the ribs. I hit him as hard as I could, bone on bone, and I heard the crack a second before Craze dropped to his knees, holding his side. I watched him as he screamed in pain, and then someone was at my side, yanking my arm in the air.

“
Winner!
”

Sebastian hit me on the shoulder, almost knocking me forward, and then he was holding up my other arm. Everyone was cheering, but it sounded like static to me. Craze
’
s people were trying to help him up, but he pushed them away, glaring at me.

“
You broke my fucking rib, Dare! I
’
ll kill you!
”

“
Don
’
t be a chicken shit, Craze.
”

I walked away, jumping from the pit and grimacing. Sebastian wasn
’
t far behind, and it wasn
’
t long before the crowd swallowed us. Guys slapped me on the back, congratulating me, and two girls surrounded me, kissing my cheeks.

“
First round
’
s on me, little brother.
”

Sebastian held a shot to my lips. The two girls had wrapped themselves around me and I wasn
’
t able to grab the shot myself. Sebastian barely gave me a chance to throw my head back before he emptied the liquid down my throat. It slipped from the sides of my mouth, but there was a warm tongue licking it up. I wanted to push her away- I
should
have pushed her away- but I didn
’
t.

I was slowly drowning and I didn
’
t care if I lived or died.

“
S
omebody turn off the goddamn sun!
”
I growled, rolling over.
“
Shit!
”

Unfortunately, I realized too late that I
’
d passed out on the couch and not my bed. There was no mattress to catch me and I fell face first on the floor. I deflated against the carpet, having no urge to move.

“
Well, good morning, sunshine,
”
Sebastian drawled, walking into the living room.

He must have just gotten out of the shower because he wore only a pair of jeans and he was towel drying his hair. He sat in the chair across from me, grinning.

“
Someone doesn
’
t know how to handle his liquor.
”
He made a tsking sound.

“
That
’
s because this someone doesn
’
t drink like a fish like his brother or... Fuck, my head hurts!
”
I groaned, flipping onto my back. I squeezed my eyes shut tightly and opened them wide.
“
What happened last night?
”

“
Rule number one, little brother, never drink so much that you don
’
t remember the night before. That can get you into a lot of shit!
”

“
Don
’
t you think
you
should have remembered that piece of advice
before
you continuously fed me shot after shot?
”

“
Thanks, boys.
”
My head flipped back at the sound of her voice and a small blonde emerged from the hallway. I didn
’
t recognize anything about her. When she reached the door, she turned back and blew a kiss toward us.
“
Last night was fun.
”

When the door closed, I lifted onto my elbows and looked at Sebastian.
“
Seriously, what the fuck happened last night?
”

Sebastian laughed out loud and got up, walking back toward his room.

“
Sebastian!
”
I called after him, but he just continued to laugh.
“
You better not have involved me in any of your kinky shit! We
’
re brothers, for Christ sake!
”
He was silent.
“
Sebastian!
”

His laughter died behind the bathroom door, and I was left with the urge never to drink again and to take a very long, very hot shower. Never again. It wasn
’
t worth the unknown.

The only thing I vaguely remembered was stumbling through the apartment at three in the morning. At least I think it was three in the morning. I didn
’
t remember the blonde, which gave me high hopes that she came into the picture after I passed out. That was my story and I was sticking to it.

My throat felt like the Sahara Desert and I knew I needed water in my near future. I could see a half-filled water bottle in the center of the of the glass table. It seemed like a million miles away, but I twisted and reached for it with the tips of my fingers.

“
Ahh.
”
I hissed and pulled back, holding my side. It was sore to the touch. Leaning back, I pulled up my shirt and bent over.
“
What the hell!
”

Jumping up, I ran to the bathroom and lifted my shirt to inspect my ribs in the mirror. I ran my fingers over the swollen skin.

“
Crazy shit, right? But Stitch did a pretty damn good job, didn
’
t he?
”

“
A tattoo? You had me get a tattoo! And by Stitch?
”
I tilted my head to the side and peered at it closer.

“
Me? It was your idea!
”

“
I was drunk, you fucking moron!
”

“
Okay, you were insisting! You threatened to break a beer bottle over my head if I tried to stop you.
”

“
You should have taken one for the team!
”
I growled.

“
Screw that shit. You
’
ve obviously never been hit in the head with a beer bottle. That shit hurts!
”

“
I
’
m not even surprised you know that.
”

He paused for a second.
“
I
’
m assuming this has something to do with the bl—
”

“
Don
’
t!
”
I snapped.
“
Don
’
t say it.
”
I glanced at it briefly once more before shoving my shirt down and pushing Sebastian out of my way. My phone buzzed in my back pocket, and I was suddenly reminded of how bright it was outside.

“
Shit.
”
Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out my phone.
“
Fuck! I
’
m late!
”
I groaned and slammed my bedroom door. Sebastian
’
s snicker seemed to echo off the walls.

Two hours later, I arrived at the factory halfway between still semi-drunk and somewhat hung over. I tossed the almost thawed bag of peas into the passenger seat and pulled the visor down to look at myself in my mirror. There was nothing I could do about my battered and bruised face. J.D. would have to deal.

Careless was the first one I ran into. She looked at me briefly, with every intention of ignoring me, but she nearly tripped over her own two feet as she did a double take of my appearance.

“
Oh my God, Ryland! What the hell happened to you?
”
She reached out to touch my face, but I pulled away from her.

“
I
’
m fine. Where
’
s J.D.?
”
I eyed the office, but he was nowhere in sight.

“
He
’
s getting ready for a conference call and he wants you there. What happened?
”

She wasn
’
t going to drop it until I told her.

“
I went out with Sebastian last night. I
’
m fine,
”
I repeated. And I actually was. At least for now, anyway. Last night had helped.

“
You were at The Underground with Sebastian? You were fighting?
”

“
Let it go, Careless. When
’
s this conference call?
”

“
In twenty minutes. You know he
’
s going to flip when he sees your face.
”

Yes, I did know that. There were bruises and cuts around my eye, cheeks, and lips, and they were definitely not business attire friendly. But I wasn
’
t here voluntarily so he could deal with it or fire me, and we all knew he wouldn
’
t do that. I sounded like a broken record- deal with it or fire me.

“
You know I don
’
t care, right?
”
Looking around, I noticed people were starting to stare. Damn. It would get to J.D. before I could see that twitch of loathing in his eyes.

“
Yes, Ryland, we get it.
”

My attention snapped back toward Careless, but she was walking away from me. Her tone, the look in her eyes, planted a seed of guilt in the pit of my stomach. I didn
’
t have time to dwell on Careless
’
s drama though.

Just as I suspected, J.D. didn
’
t skip a beat when I walked into the conference room. There were a few gasps and hushed whispers, but it didn
’
t go further than that. I sat next to J.D. and hoped this would go by fast.

There was another loud gasp and I looked up just in time to see Mitchell come through the doors. Fuck, he looked bad. The area between his eyes and nose was an angry purple. His nose was bandaged and he looked fucking pissed off. He pouted his way over to J.D. and set down some papers in front of him.

“
Nice nose job, Mitchell.
”
I smirked.

“
Go to hell, Ryland.
”
He sneered and his face pinched together.

“
Mitchell.
”
J.D.
’
s voice boomed and the room got quiet. All attention was on the three of us. Mitchell looked like he was about to piss his pants.
“
You will refer to Ryland as Mr. Dare. And you will not speak to him like that again, do you understand me?
”

J.D. wasn
’
t looking at Mitchell as he spoke, but he was well aware of the flush of embarrassment creeping up his employee
’
s face. He looked like he was about to explode.

“
Jonathan, I was-
”

“
Have I given you the impression that we
’
re friends, Mitchell?
”

Mitchell was squirming.
“
Excuse me, sir?
”

J.D. folded his hands together and finally turned toward Mitchell.
“
Have I given you the impression that we
’
re friends?
”
He spoke slowly, further embarrassing Mitchell.

I knew everyone in this room, including myself, wanted to leave. Part of me wanted to feel bad for Mitchell because I knew the worst was coming.

“
I… I…
”
Mitchell stuttered.

“
Let me make myself really clear, Mitchell. You
’
re my employee, my secretary, actually. I
’
m not your friend. I
’
m not your buddy. You will never refer to me as Jonathan again, do you hear me? I
’
m Mr. Dare. My son is Mr. Dare. Now say yes, sir, so I know you comprehend.
”

Mitchell swallowed hard and his fingers tightened into a fist.
“
Yes, sir,
”
he answered tightly.

“
Good,
”
J.D. said, stacking the papers against the desk like a judge pounds a gavel.

Mitchell had gotten a shitty sentence of karma.