“We need to find someone,” I said.

“I’m sure we can come to an arrangement. Who is it?”

“We need an audience with a woman named the Apothecary. Alia.”

Damian’s brows rose once more. “I’m afraid I can’t get you an audience with her—she determines that for herself. But I can tell you how to find her.”

“And in return?” I asked.

“A fight.”

I felt Eve stiffen next to me, her confusion palpable.

I wasn’t surprised. Damian liked a good bout in the ring. And like me, he had a hard time finding a proper opponent. We’d gone up against each other several times, and our record was even.

“Do I need to win?” I could, given the proper incentive. Though our record was fifty-fifty, this was proper motivation to ensure a win.

“No.” Damian smiled. “I’m not bothered by who wins. We’ll both end up beat to a pulp, either way.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Eve demanded.

I nodded toward the ring behind me. A roar from the crowd happened to go up at the same time. “A bit of that. For fun.”

She looked back and forth between us, horrified. “How is that fun for you?”

I rubbed at the back of my neck and shrugged. “Just is.”

9

Eve

 

I stared at the two men, aghast. They were insane.

Officially insane.

But if this was what it took to clear my name, then by all means, they should be allowed to beat the shit out of each other. Weirdos.

Damian smiled and stood. “Shall we?”

Lachlan rose, and I followed suit. “Where to?” he asked.

“That basement, I think.” Damian skirted around the table and led the way through the crowded bar.

Was the basement an extra-exclusive club? Members only?

The crowd parted to let us pass, and we reached a dark door in the corner. It was unguarded but locked. Within seconds, the same bartender who had arranged for our meeting appeared. He unlocked the door, and we climbed down the metal stairs. Bare lightbulbs illuminated the way, and when we reached the bottom, Damian flicked on several lights.

Yeah, this definitely wasn’t an exclusive, members-only club.

It was just a basement. There was a ratty old ring in the corner, some of the side ropes stripped of the padding that normally protected them.

“You two are serious about this?” I couldn’t help but ask.

Neither answered, so I found a rusty folding chair to sit in. The two men strode toward the ring, taking their shirts off as they walked. Both were magnificently formed, and I hated the way my eyes strayed toward Lachlan. Damian was gorgeous, no question about it, but I couldn’t look away from the raw intensity in Lachlan’s eyes. It took my breath.

I could see the wolf inside him, desperate to come out. His eyes flared a more brilliant green, and he clenched his fists.

Damian grinned, then climbed into the ring.

Lachlan followed.

There was no one to call the start of the match, but they didn’t need it. Damian struck first, so fast and hard that I was shocked Lachlan managed to dodge.

He did, however, and landed a glancing blow to Damian’s side. The fallen angel was quick and managed to avoid most of the hit, returning one of his own.

Immediately, I understood why Damian had wanted the fight. Lachlan was surely one of the few who could give him a fair match. The memory of Lachlan fighting four men back at Pandemonium came to mind.

Who the hell was going to win this one?

The hits came harder and faster as the match progressed. I flinched each time one of them made contact with the other’s face, but neither ever seemed like they wanted to quit. Rather, it seemed like they enjoyed it. Not just landing the hits, but taking them.

I knew what demons Lachlan was trying to exorcise—his dead brother, at the very least—but what about Damian?

As the fight progressed, it didn’t take long for me to start rooting for Lachlan. I couldn’t help it. He was a bastard, a cruel one who’d made my life miserable, but as he took hit after hit—and delivered just as many of his own—I felt my fists clenching and my heart racing.

Come on, just knock him out.

I wanted this to be over with, for fates’ sake. Blood was dripping from a cut on the right side of Lachlan’s brow, and his sides would be brilliant with bruises in a few hours. Damian didn’t look any better. The fallen angel would have at least one black eye tomorrow—maybe two.

But they just kept going.

It got to the point where I hated seeing Lachlan take a hit. Something clenched inside me every time Damian landed a punch.

Eventually, they began to slow. Lachlan favored his right side, and it seemed like something might be wrong with Damian’s hand.

Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore and surged to my feet. “Enough!”

They ignored me, continuing to hurl blows at each other. It was almost as if they’d entered some kind of meditative trance, and maybe they had. Hell, this hadn’t been a hardship at all for Lachlan. He was enjoying it.

I wasn’t, though. There was too much blood from split lips and split brows. Too many bruises waiting to form. If Lachlan was laid out for too long, we wouldn’t be able to find the Apothecary.

Enough was enough.

I climbed into the ring, wriggling between the ropes, and got right up next to them to shout, “Stop!”

They both jerked, then turned to me, blinking. Surprised to see me.

“Get out,” Lachlan growled, his eyes brilliant green with his wolf.

“No. You’re going to stop now. You need to be fit enough to help me find Alia, and this isn’t going to help.”

He drew in a shuddering breath and stepped back, eying Damian. He jerked his head to the side, indicating that Damian should step away from me. “Get out of the ring, Eve. We’ll stop, but it’s dangerous to charge in here.”

“Yeah, yeah.” But I could see the worry in his eyes.

It’s not like they were going to snap now that I’d pulled them out of their trance, but he had a point. One of them could have thrown the other onto me, and that would have sucked.

Quickly, I climbed out of the ring.

A few moments later, the two men followed. Both looked like hell, but I ignored it. I also ignored the fact that I was worried about Lachlan. It was stupid.

I glanced at Damian. “Well, where is the Apothecary?”

He looked from Lachlan to me, finally seeming to settle on the idea that it was over. With a sigh, he grabbed his discarded T-shirt from the ground and mopped the blood off his face. He looked more like a fallen angel than ever, with his swollen lips and dark eyes. “You can find her here, in the Midway Dens. At the top of the old bottling building. But I suggest you wait until early morning. Her guards should be less alert then. It’s the quiet hour.”

“Guards?” I asked, watching Lachlan out of the corner of my eye. He’d bent to pick up his shirt, and he was moving gingerly.

“She takes security seriously,” Damian said. He looked at Lachlan, sizing him up. “You only want answers, correct? You won’t hurt her?”

Lachlan nodded. “I give you my word.”

“I could try to call her and tell her you’re coming, but I don’t want her knowing it was me who sent you. So keep that to yourself.”