Dimitri pulls himself together, and manages to duck the next swing by Panther. He lunges forward, driving his shoulder into Panther’s pelvis, sending him hurling backwards. Panther stumbles on his feet for a second, but is soon launching back toward Dimitri, who has blood pouring down his chin.

Watching Dimitri like this, I can see a certain level of wild unleashed in his depths. He’s wound up, but more than that, he’s angry. His jaw is tight, he’s panting, and, if looks could kill, the entire room would be dead. He clenches his fists, and when Panther lunges at him again, he drives his fist upwards, smashing it into Panther’s nose so hard his skin splits.

I turn my head away. I’ve seen plenty of blood, but I don’t like it.

I hear screaming, I hear booing, and I hear people suddenly chant, “Dimitri, Dimitri.” I dare to turn my head again to see Dimitri lift his foot and kick Panther so hard in the side of the face, the man does a full 360 before landing on the ground with a thump. Dimitri reminds me of an uncaged animal; he throws his body onto Panther and he presses his forearm to his throat.

“One!” the crowd bellows.

My mouth drops open as Dimitri grins down at the man struggling for air on the ground.

“Two!”

God, he’s like a crazed beast.

“Three!”

I can’t look.

“Four.”

I have to look.

“Five.”

Panther is going slightly blue.

“Six.”

He’s gasping for air, and Dimitri isn’t budging. He’s not even bothered that a man is basically dying under his hands.

“Seven.”

God, he’s going to kill him. I’m sure of it. I rub my stomach furiously again.

“Eight.”

Panther is kicking like a sprayed cockroach. His body is flailing around under Dimitri’s, but even his big form isn’t enough to shove Dimitri off. He’s too clever. He’s picked the perfect way to hold him down, using his arm to lock him into place and cut his air supply off enough that his struggles are pointless.

“Nine!”

I press my hands to my face, peeking through my fingers.

“Ten!”

Dimitri lets go and stands, throwing his arms into the air and bellowing loudly.

Holy shit.

He’s a machine.

My mouth is hanging open and I’m still staring through my fingers when his eyes turn to me.

And he smiles.

Shit.

I shake my head, sure I didn’t just see what I did. Dimitri smiled at me. He doesn’t smile. He’s darkness. He’s Mr. Black. He doesn’t smile. Which tells me only one thing—fighting is his escape. It gives him a sense of freedom, a sense of control. It likely takes away his pain for a second, and when you’re in that kind of pain, you do whatever you can to make it go away.

“Time to go,” the guard behind me grunts, shoving me through the crowd.

I lose my footing twice, falling into sweaty, dirty men. It takes us a solid twenty minutes to get to the back room. When we do, Dimitri is already there, pressing a wet cloth against his split and extremely bloody lip. His jaw is bruising. He looks like he’s high on life, though. He’s bouncing still, from side to side. His eyes are bright and his chest is rising and falling heavily.

“Get your info, boss?” the guard asks.

“Got it, Luke.”

Luke, that’s what the darker-skinned guard’s name is.

“When do we go out?”

“Tomorrow morning. Get the ship ready.”

My heart hammers and I turn to Dimitri. “What?” I gasp.

He smirks at me. “It’s time we taunt your pirate just a little.”

My jaw tightens. “You won’t find him.”

“I’ve got leverage,” he grins, removing the cloth that’s now covered in red. “Of course I’ll find him.”

“He doesn’t deserve this,” I snap, sitting on an old, metal bench running along the wall.

Dimitri drops the cloth and comes walking over until he stops in front of me, then he kneels until we’re eye to eye. I lose my breath.

“Did I deserve to have my mother taken from me? Did I deserve to be beaten and left alone with nothing?”

I open my mouth, but he cuts me off.

“He was all I had. I believed in that fucker and he left me alone. He just ran away and left me without one person to depend on. He deserves every motherfuckin’ thing he gets.”

My jaw flexes and I bite the insides of my cheeks to stop myself from saying something I shouldn’t.

He narrows his eyes and his fists clench. “Your silence tells me you know I’m right.”

“You’re not right,” I spit, crossing my arms. “Do you think you’re the only person in the world who has been let down by someone? Shit, Dimitri, you’re not. Pull your head out of your ass and change your life, instead of chasing a sick dream of revenge that will only get you killed.”

I shove hard in his chest, sending him stumbling backwards. He lands with a thump on his ass. I get to my feet and shoot him a glare before turning to Luke. “I’m sure we can wait in the car.”

He looks at Dimitri, who nods briskly. He’s angry, I can tell by the way his jaw is flexing and his chest is rising and falling heavily with every breath he takes.

Luke takes my arm before he has a chance to say anything, and leads me out.

This argument will never have a winner.

CHAPTER SEVEN