Aiden
My stomach churned with nausea as I watched Knight enter the cage with a scary, scarred dude who bared his teeth, looking as dangerous as any shark circling its prey.
Maybe more, because there was a calculation to his eyes as the two men sized each other up. He was planning the best way to hurt my man.
I made an involuntary noise of distress. They hadn’t even started yet, and I was freaking the fuck out. My heart hammered, and my chest grew too tight.
I’d spoken boldly to Knight, needing him to believe he’d win, but what if he didn’t? What if they hurt him so badly I couldn’t save him?
Flynn wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “It’s okay if you can’t watch.”
I sucked in a breath. “No, I have to see. Not knowing would be worse.”
“He can do this.”
I nodded, my voice barely audible through my fear. “Yeah.”
Both men were shirtless. They’d wrapped their hands with tape, but it wasn’t like boxing. There were no gloves. I could tell Knight had some sort of mouth protector in so that was something.
His opponent—announced as Theo Thunder—lunged at Knight. I flinched, and beside me, Joyride sucked in a sharp breath.
Knight easily evaded him, fast and graceful for a guy his size. Theo whirled and threw a fist at Knight’s head.
Knight blocked him and landed a jab to his ribs. Theo bounced back, snarling.
“He’s got this,” Tex said. “Look how cool under pressure he is.”
“He’s a pro,” Hollywood agreed quietly.
As if they’d jinxed him, Knight wasn’t quick enough to dodge Theo’s next move. He caught Knight with a kick to the knee, sending him down, then grabbed his head and kneed him in the face.
“Oh god,” I cried, and despite what I said, I buried my face in my brother’s chest. “I can’t.”
“It’s okay,” he soothed. “He’s shaking it off. He’s back in the fight.”
Flynn rubbed my back as I trembled against him, not with fear but with rage. I wanted to rush into that cage and kill that fucking man with my bare hands.
I’d never felt this kind of anger before. Not even when my father used his fists on me.
“Yes!” Tex yelled.
I turned, eyes drawn back to the fight, just in time to see Knight give Theo a brutal headbutt that sent him staggering.
Jesus, I’d be on concussion watch tonight, if nothing else.
While Theo was off-balance, Knight rushed in, and I suddenly saw why Puck had said it was beautiful. It was awful and violent, but awe-inspiring too.
Knight’s body became a weapon, sharp and lethal. He punched Theo in the gut, then when he curled over, he landed a second blow to the side of his head.
I added broken fingers to my mental list. There was no way he hadn’t busted his hand with that powerful hit.
Theo lashed out, but he was like a cornered animal, no precision to his strikes. He caught Knight in the shoulder and the thigh.
Knight didn’t even stumble. He brought his elbow down on Theo’s back, forcing him to the ground.
The crowd was going wild. The Serpents were hooting and hollering, claiming him as one of theirs.
But he wasn’t. He was mine.
Theo grabbed Knight’s ankle and jerked, bringing him crashing down. My heart stopped as Theo rolled on top of him and grabbed his head, slamming it into the floor.
No, no, no!
Flynn tensed next to me. Tex started swearing up a storm. Even Ghost growled.
I broke away from Flynn before he could stop me. I ran right up to the fence and grabbed it.
“Keep fighting, Knight!” I called. “You can take him!”
Joyride joined me a second later, rattling the fence. “Come on, Knight! You got this!”
“Kick his ass!” Tex growled.
The guys crowded around me at the fence, cheering Knight on. I had no idea if it was helping, but I wanted him to know—even if he never got up—that we hadn’t abandoned him.
That we had his back all the way to the end.
And if those Serpent fuckers thought they were gonna hurt him after this, they’d have to go through me and my needles loaded with ketamine. I wasn’t about to let Knight go, no matter what anyone thought.
Knight bucked under Theo’s weight, but he couldn’t shake him. He tried to roll, only to be forced back. Just as it seemed hopeless, he got an arm free and punched Theo in the throat.
Theo made a choking noise and grabbed for his neck, toppling backward.
Knight shoved him off, rising to his feet. He was swaying, a little unsteady. Those hits to the head had been hard.
Blood ran from a cut in his forehead—probably from that head butt—and trickled into his eyes. He used an arm to swipe it away.
Theo was on his knees, still clutching his throat. He staggered upright, and Knight met him with an uppercut that sent him down.
The crowd erupted, chants filling the room.
“Finish him! Finish him!”
Knight turned to the guy and said something. I couldn’t hear him over the crowd noise, but it looked like he might have said, “Stay down.”
Theo tried to get up.
Knight hit him again, this time right against the temple, and it was lights out.
Theo hit the matt and didn’t move.
Applause rang out and a gate on the other side of the cage opened. A man wearing Serpent patches entered, wearing a big smarmy grin. This had to be Hector, the president. He grabbed Knight’s wrist and raised it, celebrating the win.
Knight’s gaze met mine, so intense it burned right through me.
He broke away from Hector and came to the fence. He pulled out his mouth guard and tossed it to the ground. Blood poured down his face, and his entire body glistened with sweat. He was a gory mess, and yet, he’d never looked better to me.
“Angel, can you help this guy? I think I hit him too hard.”
I didn’t want to help him. He’d tried to take Knight from me. Come too close. But I was a doctor, and Knight was a good man who didn’t want a death on his hands.
I nodded and ran around to the gate. After a pause, they let me in. I wanted desperately to kiss Knight, to reassure myself he was still whole, but Theo was in far worse shape and this crowd would probably murder us for being too gay.
I settled for meeting his eyes. “Are you okay?”
My gaze drifted from the cut on his forehead to the red splotch bruising his shoulder to his bloody knuckles.
He tucked his hands behind him. “Yeah, still standing.” He nodded toward Theo. “More than I can say for him.”
I took his cue and went over to the unconscious man. I dropped to my knees beside him and opened each eyelid, doing a quick assessment. His pupils were sluggish. He might have some head trauma. There was nothing I could do for him there, though.
I checked his larynx because Knight had landed a damaging blow there. There was some swelling, but he was breathing.
He stirred with a groan.
“Fight’s over,” I said. “You lost.”
Knight chuckled behind me. “Nice bedside manner you’ve got there.”
Theo blinked hazy eyes. “What…”
“I’m a doctor. I recommend you go to the ER. You’ve got some swelling from that throat punch. If it worsens, you may experience trouble breathing.”
He pushed upright with a grimace. “I’m fine.”
“You’ve got signs of head trauma.” His eyes widened with fear. “Go get a scan. You don’t want to fuck around with swelling on the brain.”
“Uh, okay.” He looked bewildered. “Thanks?”
Knight lowered a hand to me and I took it and stood, shouldering my med bag.
Hector smirked at us. “Maybe you should bring him to all the matches. We can bandage guys up and send them in for another around.”
Knight bared his teeth. “He’s never coming back here. Neither am I. We’re done.”
“You fought like a champ, tonight. You could make me a lot more money.”
Knight approached Hector, towering over him, the force of his anger like a physical blow.
Hector’s smug grin slid away. “Touch me and the Serpents will end you.”
“Try to stop us from leaving, and I’ll kill you,” Knight growled. “I don’t really care what happens after that.”
Hector’s eyes flashed, but then he laughed, looking a little unhinged. “I wish some of the new guys had your fire, Knight. But hell, a deal’s a deal. You made me my 50k. Go. Live your mundane life. Look me up when you get bored.”
Knight led me out of the cage, crashing into the arms of the other guys, all waiting to congratulate him.
He winced as Flynn squeezed him in a hug and I pushed in. “Okay, enough. Let me treat him.”
“Let’s get out of here first. Can we do it in the car?”
“Yeah. Let’s go.”
We got outside, the fresh air cool on our skin, before I realized Knight was still bare-chested.
“You left your shirt.”
“Forget it.” He hauled me against him and kissed me with enough passion to power a small city.
“Oh, shit, there’s that adrenaline,” Tex said with a laugh. “Maybe you better let me drive them home, Flynn.”
Flynn coughed. “Uh, yeah. Good idea.”
Knight broke the kiss. “I fucking love you.”
I smiled, feeling whole in a way I hadn’t ever thought possible—especially after watching such brutal violence. Strangely, it hadn’t triggered me. I’d been too focused on Knight to even think about me. And the cage match was nothing like what went down with my father. I’d been a helpless kid. Knight was an experienced fighter.
It had been terrifying, of course. The thought of losing him killed me. But I was so damn proud of him—both for the way he could fight, and also the way he chose peace instead.
“You’re a good man, William Knight,” I said. “I love you too.”
We loaded into the cars—Tex driving Flynn’s Buick this time. I guided Knight into the backseat and slid in beside him.
“Let me clean you up,” I said, opening my med bag.
I dug through my supplies, pulling out alcohol wipes and bandages, while Knight unwound the tape from his battered hands.
I disinfected his forehead and cleaned up the blood the best I could, then applied a butterfly bandage to hold the cut shut. “You bled a lot, but it’s a shallow wound. I don’t think you’ll need stitches.”
“Good,” he said. “Uh, Angel, what are all those syringes for?”
“Oh, those,” I said innocently. “Nothing.”
Tex glanced back over the seat. “Syringes? Filled with what?”
“It’s ketamine.”
“What?” Knight yelped.
“Liliana helped me get it,” I said with a shrug. “If those assholes tried to take you, I wasn’t going to let that happen.”
Knight gaped at me, shocked, while Tex busted up laughing. “Oh shit, I can’t wait to tell the guys!”
Knight was less amused. “Angel, that would have been incredibly dangerous.”
“I know. I was going to let the other guys help me, obviously.”
“Jesus,” he muttered. “I’m glad it didn’t come to that. I’d hate it if you were hurt.”
“I hate it that you are hurt,” I shot back as I turned his head to prod at his skull. He flinched. “You should probably have a CT to be safe.”
“I’ve got a hard head. I’m fine.”
“I’d feel better if—”
Knight dragged my hand to his dick. “I’m hard everywhere, Angel. I’d feel better if you took care of this pain.”
“Do you think you’re cute?” I demanded.
He grinned. “Yes.”
Fuck it. He was cute, and he knew it. He was fucking irresistible. He’d fought for his life tonight and won. If he wanted a reward, who was I to argue?
I barely thought twice about Tex in the front seat. He had to be prepared for a show. It was why he’d offered to drive, after all.
I shoved aside my med bag and pulled him in for a kiss. Knight pressed me back across the seat, blanketing me with his body and grinding against me.
I moaned as his lips latched onto my throat. I caught Tex’s eye in the rear-view mirror.
“Maybe he’ll learn something,” Knight murmured into my ear.
Arousal flooded me, my cock stiffening in my jeans.
“Eyes on the road,” I ordered Tex.
Tex chuckled. “No worries. I’m just gonna turn up the music and focus on driving. You two do whatever you gotta do.”
He cranked up the music and Knight ripped open my jeans and fisted my dick. Oh, shit. I was already on edge.
I pushed my hands down the back of his jeans and squeezed his ass, bucking up against him. There was too much friction, and there was no lube to be had.
“Let me on top.”
“So bossy,” he murmured, but flipped us so that he was under me. I scooted down, jerked open his jeans, and swallowed his cock.
He groaned and grabbed my hair in two fists, holding me in place while he bucked his hips, fucking my mouth in fast, short jabs.
I held my breath until I grew lightheaded and thought I might have to tap out.
My cock throbbed with need and I rubbed against his leg, getting closer and closer to the edge of coming.
“Fuck, yes, Angel, your mouth is so good,” Knight growled. “You suck my dick so good, baby.”
Heat suffused my body, thinking of Tex possibly hearing it. It was a turn-on, just as it had been in the club in Omaha. Perhaps I was a little more of an exhibitionist than I ever realized.
Knight had playfully teased me with the fantasy of someone hearing us before, but never like this. With someone we knew just a few feet away.
I gave a strangled cry and came in my hand, his cock still crammed down my throat. Knight erupted a moment later, gasping and shuddering.
His grip on my hair loosened, and he stroked me lightly as I withdrew to catch my breath. I pulled a few extra alcohol wipes from my bag and used them to clean my hand.
“Handy bag,” Knight said with a chuckle.
I smirked. “It has its uses.” I pulled out some Tylenol and salve. “This should help with the aches and pains. Will you be a good patient for me?”
“Oh, I’ll be the best.”
“That’s some top-tier doctoring you got back there,” Tex called over the music.
“I know,” Knight said smugly. “But don’t get any ideas. He’s mine.”
“Judging by the ketamine in his bag, you’re his too,” Tex said.
“Damn right,” I agreed, dipping two fingers in salve and smoothing it over the bruise forming on Knight’s shoulder. “You guys aren’t the only ones who can be possessive, you know? This is my man.”
Knight grinned. “I like the sound of that.”
“Good. Because you’re stuck with me now.”
I’d already decided that the traveling doctor program called to me in a way surgery never would. Once I could set aside the idea of what I thought I would do and really considered what I’d wanted, the answer had been easy.
I wanted to see patients, preferably while they were conscious. I wanted to help people who too often went unnoticed. And I wanted Knight and my family.
As luck would have it, they were all in the same place, the last place I thought I’d ever be.
The place I had been so sure was a sign of my failure.
How lucky was I that fate had other plans in store for me?