Page 19 of Ruthless

“Y-yes,” she stutters.

“Who says I’m not? Watching poor Gregor here get pummeled in your honorwillpunish you. Won’t it,coniglietta?” I smile into her hair when she shivers. “Leo!” I bark a moment later. “You’re with Gregor. Show him how it’s done.”

Sara squirms to free herself, but it’s too late. Gregor bounds into the cage, and the door slams shut.

“Dante—”

“Pay attention.”

The two men circle one another, each of them seeking an opening. Gregor tests the waters, sending out a jab here and there to gauge how Leo will react.

Leo does nothing until I signal him. Then he unleashes a flurry of attacks at Gregor’s poorly protected face and chest. With his longer legs and arms, his fist easily connects with Gregor’s left eye, whipping the other man’s neck to one side with a painful snap.

Gregor lands face-first on the mat. Leo follows him down, intent on ending the bout with an armbar. Gregor saves himself with an elbow to Leo’s chin, and both men leap to their feet.

Pissed now, Leo holds nothing back. His punches connect with maximum force, eliciting pained grunts from Gregor. Leo continues the relentless assault until Gregor’s strawberry blond hair is stained a vibrant red and the room stinks of sweat and desperation.

I let the fight go on longer than I normally would, and even I have to admit that Gregor endures a brutal beating as a result. He has the potential, just not the experience, and Leo drives that point home with a vicious double-leg takedown.

I keep one eye on the fight and the rest of my attention on Sara. Her cheeks get blotchy, and she keeps blinking back tears. With every strike, she flinches, almost as if she’s absorbing the hits herself.

Seeing other people suffer always caused her just as much pain or more. It makes me wonder, then, how she could rat me out the way she did. Did playing her part in my torture not kill the empathetic part of her? Or maybe her empathy was only ever for show.

I suppose now’s as good a time as any to figure that out.

Gregor is better at grappling than hand-to-hand, but a kick to the ribs leaves him disoriented and unable to shield himself. Each blow causes Sara to wince and press her body closer to mine as if searching for solace.

After another jab, a spray of blood arches across the mat. The other men in the room cheer, crowding the cage walls and rattling them until the clink of metal hinges joins the soundtrack of Gregor’s beating. Sara sobs and finally hides her face.

I grip her chin and turn her back toward the fight.

“Don’t be rude, Sara.” I drag my cheek against hers, enjoying the way my stubbled skin scrapes her raw. It feels good, no longer having to pretend to be something I’m not. “Leo’s putting on this demonstration just for you.”

She pivots in my arms, her blue eyes still bright with tears. “Stop this and let me treat him. He might have a concussion!”

Her body continues to jerk with every hit that Leo lands.

I smile as an errant tear paints a line to her mouth. “No.” The refusal tastes sweeter than candy on my tongue.

Pain contorts her features, along with…disapproval? Anger?

When she whirls back toward the cage, I stare at the back of her skull and the rigid length of her spine before lifting my hand.

Leo backs off.

“Nikoli, you’re up next.”

A man with short brown hair and massive arms jumps at the chance to replace Leo in the ring. Gregor’s barely keeping his feet this time, but Nikoli doesn’t hold back. He knows that if he does, I’ll run him through drills until he collapses from exhaustion. And then I’ll make him do it again.

Normally, I would monitor the fight and direct the men on their form and technique, but I can’t tear my eyes off Sara. For two years, I tried to protect her from this brutality, and now it’s on full display. I’ve often fantasized about this moment. Envisioned how she’d break down so many times that the images are branded into my psyche.

“I always thought you were too soft for this world, but I discovered the truth the hard way, didn’t I?” Bitterness threatens to choke me.

While I’ve learned my lesson, remembering how easily the woman I loved sold me out to enemies hits like a freight train every single time.

Her forehead crinkles, her nose scrunching up in innocent confusion. She’s a damn good actress. “Too soft? You always told me that’s what you loved about me. That I was different from the other people you surrounded yourself with.” Sheswivels back to the men clashing in the ring. “I can see now what you really meant.”

Leo’s fist meets Gregor’s flesh again, and Sara’s entire body twitches.