Page 57 of Coyote
Shock roiled through my body. “Are you serious? That’s fucking barbaric!”
“Serious as a fucking heart attack. This is how we settle scores here.”
“Do you have any idea how fucked up it is to hand an innocent woman over to her rapist?”
Steel didn’t respond to my question because of course he didn’t. Twisted Metal was a one percent club with a history of human trafficking. They saw women differently and wrongly in my opinion. I turned to see what my club president was doing about this, but Storm and Breaker were deep in conversation.
Steel continued explaining, “Cyclops had my back when I was locked in this cage and fighting for my life. Affording him an opportunity to fight to keep his woman is the least I can do to repay him.”
Turing to Cyclops, he said, “You can either let the woman go, or fight for her. What do you want to do?”
“I’ll fight.” Cyclops didn’t seem too happy with that option even though he outweighed me by fifty pounds and had a reputation for knowing how handle himself in a fight. I saw only grim determination on his face.
Standing there staring at him, I realized that I hated this man for everything that he’d put Bethany though. If he wasn’t such a depraved fuck, I might have empathized with his desperate desire for her. She was beautiful, sweet, caring, and loyal, far superior to any of the women likely to be found in his orbit. Unfortunately, he was a rapist. Therefore, I would give him no quarter in this fight.
As we were talking, a crowd had started to gather, and someone went into the cage and began hanging weapons from the fencing.
Steel asked me, “Do you wish to challenge Cyclops to a one-on-one fight, winner gets the woman?
I glanced from him to the cage and back again. This whole situation was depraved and a little surreal. Before I could answer, Breaker and Storm pulled me aside.
Storm stated quietly, “There are some things you ought to know. First, there are literally no rules. It’s a two men in, and one man out type of situation.”
“Like the movie? I asked, still incredulous.
“Yeah, just like that, which means it’s a fight to the death.”
I tried not to look as pleased as I was at the prospect of killing a man. “To save Bethany from being raped again by this asshole, I’ll fight in their little cage and play by their rules.”
Storm asked, “Are you sure? You do understand that Cyclops is going to do his very best to fucking kill you today, right?”
Breaker added, “What Storm is trying to say is that he’ll use every dirty trick in the book, which means all the cards are going to be stacked against you.”
“I get that, but if I can take this guy out, Bethany won’t have to spend the rest of her life afraid of when he’s going pop up and try to abduct her or her child.”
Breaker leaned forward and told me, “Make no mistake, once you step into that cage, you are going to have to kill him in order to survive.”
Tired of my club officers trying to get me to understand what I already knew, I turned to Steel. “I accept the rules of engagement.”
Bethany started to panic. “No, babe. Don’t do this. I’ll stay if that’s what it takes, I don’t want to lose you, not now I’ve found you again, your daughter needs you.”
“Querida, you’ve always said you trusted me. Trust me now. I know what I’m doing, I have to do this, I can’t let him take you and Nessa.” Glancing at Steel, I asked, “Can’t you take her somewhere safe where she doesn’t have to witness the violence that’s about to take place?”
Cyclops bit out angrily, “She stays. I want her to see that I’m willing to risk my life to earn her love and respect.”
It was at that moment that I realized that this one-eyed bastard had more than a few screws loose. In what world was forcing the woman you love to watch you kill someone gonna make them like you better? Cyclops just didn’t get women at all, and it showed. I couldn’t let him have her, that meant I had to win. Anything else meant death to me, and possibly a fate worse than death for my woman and child.
Steel denied my request. “She belongs to Cyclops until you win the challenge. Whatever he says goes.”
I let out a long string of curses. I hated everything about this situation, Twisted Metal, and most especially Cyclops—even my club president for standing aside and letting this happen. There was nothing left to do but get this the hell over with and hope that the odds were stacked in my favor.
Before I went to the cage, Storm pulled me back and hissed in my ear, “I hate this more than you know, brother. But I swear on everything I hold dear, that man is not gonna take your woman. If shit happens, then fuck Steel, and fuck our truce with Twisted Metal—the Slayers will burn the fucking world down to get Bethany back and keep her and Nessa safe. You have my word on that.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Coyote
I stepped into the cage, knowing how thoroughly fucked up this was, but at least I knew that whatever happened, Bethany would be protected—even if it meant an all-out biker war between the Dark Slayers and Twisted Metal. I just hoped to God, it wouldn’t come to that. Once we were inside, the whole Twisted Metal crew surrounded the cage. Their eyes were alit with dark glee at the prospect of a fight to the death. This was clearly a spectator sport in their world. I felt like participating diminished my humanity, but if I was being honest, I didn’t have another choice.