Zara (6 page)

Trig stood to stretch his legs
.  He was thinking about grabbing a drink and some popcorn.  He spotted a man about five rows down from the VIP section that seemed strange to him.  This guy was wearing a hood and dark sunglasses.  He had shifted in his seat nervously.  Warning bells went off inside of Trig at seeing the guy.  He got the feeling this guy was up to no good.  He walked down the aisle slowly trying to get in all the details of the guy.  It was hard to see anything with the hood covering most of his face and the glasses protecting his eyes.  Trig passed him but the guy didn’t look his way.  Trig would have to keep his eyes on this one.

Trig returned to his seat in the VIP section a few min
utes later.  The guy with the hoodie was still there in his seat.  There were others throughout the crowd who looked similar to this guy, but his nervousness made him stand out.  The man fidgeted in his seat.  He was about to go have a talk with the man when the commentators announced the next match was about to start.  He sat back in his seat.

The Sledge Hammer was announced
as he walked out.  The crowd moved out of his way.  He was a big guy.  The lights gleamed off his shiny bald head.  Trig wondered if he shaved or if it was natural for most Biclops and Cyclops to be bald naturally.  The full Cyclops came lumbering out.  He was a few inches taller and wider than the Hammer.  This should be an even match.

Trig didn
’t see much of the fight.  He kept turning back to watch the guy with the hoodie.  The guy left a few times and came back to his seat, but he never had a drink or food with him when he came back.  The people around him would shout out or jump up whenever Hammer knocked the full Cyclops down, but this guy remained in his seat the whole time.  Before Trig knew it, the match ended with The Sledge Hammer winning. 

There was another small break
.  Trig got up and threw away his trash.  He intended to go talk to the strange man, but the guy was now heading out with the crowd for refreshments.  It would be nearly impossible to try to find him now.

Trig went back to his seat
.  The next fight would be Zara’s.  He didn’t want to miss that one.

“Welcome back to the GCFA circuit event.  We are broadcasting live to you at the North Eastern Delta Region.  This has certainly proven to be one exciting night.”

“
It has, Johann.  And it is about to get even more exciting.  Our next fight for the evening is a pair up match.  Two full Beastials will be fighting against Zara the Amazon and a newbie here for the GCFA, Roxy the Red.”

“
I don’t think Roxy the Red has ever fought in a sanctioned fight before.”

“
You’re right.  This will be her first.  Zara is going to have to work extra hard to pick up the slack for the new girl.”

“
Zara is not much of a team player from the rumors I hear.”

“
Let’s see how this one goes.”

Zara took a deep breath before following Roxy the Red out of the holding room. 
What the hell were the GCF officials thinking when they set up this match? 
Roxy was good, but she was not ready to go against full Beastials.  Shit, she would have been better off with Rachel the human or even by herself.  They were going to be slaughtered.

The crow
d went crazy when they stepped out and made their way to the cage.  Roxy was loving the attention.  Zara rolled her eyes.  She was pretty much the female version of Zen.  She was cocky, flirty, flighty, and nothing but trouble.  A true Felon halfsie.

Roxy
turned back to look at Zara.  “They love us!”

Zara growled at the girl
, “They love to see us get beaten and bloody.” The girl frowned and turned back around.

They climbed inside the cage and waited for their opponents
.  Heavy metal music beat and the full species yelled and clapped as the Beastial fighters made their way in the arena. 

The Beastials were Jade and Lim
.  They were similar in build, a little taller and a little bit bigger in size than Zara.  Lim had brown hair and Jade had dyed blond hair. Lim glared at Zara.  “You’re going down, halfsie.”

Zara flipped her the bird
.  Roxy tossed her red ponytail behind her back.  “You’re the one going down, Beastie!” Zara rolled her eyes at Roxy’s taunt.  God help them.

Zara was up first against Lim
.  The bell rang out for Round One to start. Lim opened with a hard leg kick.  Zara turned out and away.  Then she came back with punches.  She used
a front face lock with the near arm draped over Lim’s shoulder.  Zara hooked her opponent's near leg with her free arm and rolled over to one side, flipping Lim over onto her back hard. 

Lim twisted out from under Zara and stood back up
.  She looked for a takedown of her own.  They wrapped their arms around one another again, each trying to fight for a good arm and hip position so they could take the other down.  Lim punched at Zara’s face.  There was a crack, which meant her nose had been broken, again. 
Damn
.

“
Tag me!” Roxy yelled from the other side of the cage. 

Za
ra shook her head in frustration.  She was wearing down her opponent.  If she could keep her from tagging her partner, Zara might have a chance to put Lim out for the count.  She just needed to focus.

“
Zara!  Over here!  Tag me in!” Roxy was jumping around trying to get her attention again.  A distraction she didn’t need.

“
Shut up, Roxy!” Zara growled out at her.

Lim was able to evade Zara while she was yelling back at Roxy
.  She got close enough to her team’s side of the cage and tagged her partner in.

Sh
it!
  Zara wanted to punch the daylights out of Roxy.  Lim’s partner came in swinging.  Zara was hit with a judo throw.  She stood swaggering a bit.  Blood oozed out of her broken nose.  She glared daggers at Roxy.  If the girl wanted to fight, she was going to let her see what it was like to fight a full Beastial.  She made her way to her team’s side of the cage and tagged Roxy’s hand.

Roxy tried to come out swinging but the Beastial easily maneuvered away
.  Roxy underestimated her swing and ended up slipping.  Jade took advantage with a choke.  Roxy hit at the hands gripping her in a useless attempt to break free.  Her opponent was too strong.  Roxy was about to be thrown to the mat but the bell rang at the last second, calling an end to Round One.  A few more minutes it might have ended the match too early.

Roxy stumbled over to her side of the cage
.  Zara stood there with her arms folded in front of her. 

“
Not as easy as you thought it would be is it?”

Roxy was breathing heavy
.  “That female has metal arms or something.”

Zara smirked
.  “Or something.  Don’t let her get her arms around you.  You are doomed if you do.”

“
Right.  Easier said than done.”

A few minutes later the bell sounded signaling the star
t of Round Two.  Roxy was to start the match since she was the last to be tagged in.  Nice back and forth action.  They traded punches and kicks.  Roxy managed to swing out with her leg and knock the Beastial onto the mat.  But Jade got back to her feet quickly. 

Roxy threw a lazy front kick and
was dropped on her butt.  Jade kneed her in the chin making a tooth fly out of her mouth.  She gripped Roxy’s red hair and slammed her face into the mat.  She stepped back.  Roxy had barely gotten to her feet before Jade had her in a guillotine.  Jade stood in front of Roxy and wrapped her arm around the top of Roxy’s neck and under the chin.  She applied pressure on the neck and throat.  With enough pressure on the neck, Roxy was soon rendered unconscious.

The referee, which was a mechanical arm, came in and counted down
.  The whole arena erupted into chaos.  They hadn’t made it past Round Two.  Zara was beyond pissed.

The healers came in to check on Roxy
.  Zara left the cage, making her way down the row leading out. 

She looked hot when she was fighting the full Beastial and
Trig had to adjust himself while he was watching the action.  When the referee called it in favor of the Beastials, Trig could not believe Zara lost a fight.  He had never heard of her ever losing a match before. 

Now that she was making her way out, he looked back at the strange man in the hoodie
.  He wasn’t where he had been sitting before.  He had moved up to the VIP section without Trig noticing it.  He stood like the rest of the crowd.  He kept his eyes on Zara as she made her way in their direction.

Just as Zara was passing the VIP section, the guy with the hoodie reached inside his pocket and pulled out a gun.

Trig acted withou
t thinking.  He rushed forward knocking the man down to the floor.  He reached over him and plucked the gun from the man’s hand. 

“
Gun!” a few people in the crowd yelled out.  It ricocheted through the whole place.  People started to stampede trying to get out of the arena.

Rachel, Rage, and the rest of security were there within a few seconds and half the security redirected the crowd of people out of the arena in a more orderly fashion
.  Rachel put handcuffs on the perpetrator’s hands that were pulled behind his back.  Security then lifted the man to his feet.  They began walking toward the holding room where the fighters waited.  Zara had been taken there by a few from security after the attempt on her life.

Trig pulled th
e man’s hoodie off his head.  There were gasps in the room by the fighters who were present there.  Zara glared at the man with recognition.

“
Why Tyk?” Zara demanded.

“
You know this guy?” Trig asked.

“
Yeah.  He used to be our trainer until I fired his ass the other day.”

“
Bitch!  You need to die!” the man spit when he yelled.

Rachel punched him in the stomach hard
.  “Shut the hell up!”

“
You can’t hit me.  You work for the IDJ.  I could have your badge!”

Rachel laughed and then hit him again
.  “I
used to
be an officer for the IDJ.  I don’t work for them anymore.  But I will send you to see them.” Rachel ordered the security guards to take Tyk out and await for the IDJ officers to come and collect him.

Tension
s were high and everyone kept asking Zara if she was okay.  Not really.  Someone just tried to kill her.  Someone she knew had wanted her dead. How were you supposed to be okay with that?  But one thing was perfectly clear.

“
You saved my life,” Zara whispered to Trig when they were left alone.  “Thank you.”

Trig nodded
.  “Let’s get you back to your room.  You need to take a hot bath and relax.” He escorted her out of the arena back to the GCFA.  A security officer met them and went with them up to her suite. 

“
Come inside,” she said to Trig. 

He nodded
.  He figured she was pretty shaken up and might need him to stay until she calmed down.  The security officer remained outside of her door.

As soon as they were inside her suite
, she slammed him up against the door.  She kissed him with a fire and desperation she didn’t know she had.  She could have died tonight.  She wouldn't have had a chance to find Angel and she wouldn't have gotten a chance to finally find out if being with Trig would be different from all the other men she had had.  Life was too short not to go for the things she wanted.  And she realized at that moment—she wanted Trig.

She ripped his shirt open exposing his smooth dark skin
.  He was warm and she felt his heart beating rapidly as she ran her hands over his chest. 
Yummy
.

“
Whoa!” Trig grabbed the hands that were reaching for his pants.  “We need to slow this down.”

She paused and looked at him with frustration and confusion
.  “You don’t want me?”

Trig snorted as he pulled her close enough so she could feel his arousal through his pants
.  “Me wanting you is not a question, but the timing is off.”

“
I don’t understand.  You want me, I want you.”

“
Why now?  You just had an attempt on your life.  It is too soon for us to be together.”

Zara looked shocked
.  “Are you turning me down?”

“
For right now, yes.”

She reached down
, grabbed his throbbing manhood, and squeezed him, causing him to moan.  “I have never had a male say no to me.  Ever.”

Trig gulped
.  Fuck he wanted her so badly, but he needed to do the right thing.  She just suffered a trauma.  He pushed her hand away.

“
If you still want me in the morning, I’m all yours.  But until then, I will leave you so you can rest.” He opened the door and stepped into the hallway.  The security officer gave him a shake of his head.

“
Man, you are an idiot,” the security officer told him.

“
I feel like one.” Trig walked back to the elevators so he could go to his own suite.  He needed a cold shower—badly.

*****

What the hell? 
He left.  Zara stared at the door for a while.  The male left her, turned down her offer of sex.  That had never happened to her before.  Normally males fall at her feet wanting her to ‘conquer’ them in bed.  She usually hated it when the males she did take to bed were weak.  She liked them strong, stronger than her.  What female wants a weaker male?

But for her to offer to be with a human and he turn
ed her down, it made her feel unsure.  She didn’t like the feeling at all.  A knock at her door had her turning in hope.  Maybe he changed his mind.  Well, if he did, she would have to tell him that she had changed hers too.  She opened the door on the verge of telling him that, but it wasn’t Trig at the door.

“
Wow, you look really happy to see me.” Rachel didn’t wait to be invited inside.  She walked past Zara into her suite.

“
Rachel.  What are you doing here?”

“
I thought you’d like to know that Tyk has been taken into custody with the IDJ.  He’ll answer for what he did.”

“
Thanks.”

“
Are you okay?”

Zara walked around her suite feeling restless, needy, and horny
.  She didn’t have a lot of friends.  Maya was as close to a best friend that she had.  She needed to talk to someone, human.

“
He didn’t want me.”

“
What?” Rachel asked, looking at her with confusion.

“
Trig.  I kissed him and was taking his clothes off but he said no.”

“
What the hell?”

“
That’s what I said.”

“
Usually it doesn’t take much for Trig, a wink or a wiggle of a woman’s ass and he is up and going.”

Zara growled at hearing Trig
’s easy manner with other women.  “He wanted me, I felt his arousal.”

Okay
.  “What did he say exactly?”

“
That I have been through a lot and that if I still wanted him in the morning, he would be all up for it.”

Rachel nodded her
head with a smile.  “He was trying to be honorable.  He wants you, but he wants you when there isn’t a trauma that just occurred.”

“
What should I do?”

“
In the morning, if you want him, go after him.”

*****

Rachel had stayed another fifteen minutes before she left. The security officer would be there until morning.  Zara knew there was nothing else to do so she went to take a shower. 

She wondered if Rachel was right
.  What if he was trying to be all noble and stuff and letting her recover?  She wasn’t used to males being that way, especially humans.  That was what was infuriating to her, it made her want him even more.

She got out and put on a pair of loose fitting plaid pajama bottoms and a muscle shirt with no bra
.  She had never been a lingerie type of woman.  She looked in the mirror and combed out her black hair.  Her hair was getting long.  It was almost to the middle of back.  It needed a trim and she liked keeping the bangs too. 

Did Trig like females in lingerie
?  Did he prefer females with long hair or short?  She snorted.  From what she had seen of him and from what Rachel had told her, he liked all females.  He wasn’t too picky.  Except when it came to females experiencing trauma.  Damn his sense of nobility.

She went to her bed and pulle
d the covers down.  The image of Tyk holding that gun on her played in her mind.  What if Trig had not been there?  What if Trig had been shot when he took Tyk down?  The thought of him being hurt made her feel…worried.  What the hell?  She reached for the light switch near her nightstand and turned the lights off.  She needed to get her mind off Trig altogether.