SICK HEART by Huss, JA (nice books to read TXT) 📗

about Anya Bokori that these two powerful men care where she is and who she’s with?

Why did Lazar keep her for so long, only to offer her up as a sacrifice at the fights?

Why is Udulf here? He hasn’t come out to the Rock in more than a decade. Why now? Why this girl?

He’s walking down the steps towards the lower levels. He pauses at the training room. Not one bag. Two. But then he keeps going, clutching the dubious metal railing as he descends. Those expensive shoes of his are worse than being barefoot on the slick algae-covered metal steps. So he holds on tight.

If the ’copter wasn’t above us on the roof, I’d push him over the edge, jump in after him, cut his throat, and wait for the sharks. Then I’d watch. I’d watch until they ate every last bit of him.

Take a deep breath, Cort. You’re almost there. You are two days into your final sentence on the Rock, then you have one more round of training, and you’re out.

Obligations fulfilled. Free.

I barely understand the meaning of the word. But Rainer, Maart, and Evard are part of the deal and we’ll figure it out. That’s all I know. Once we’re fucking free, we’ll figure out how to deal with it.

Udulf stops at the landing and looks down the steps. Anya is waiting at the gate, clutching the chain link tightly, and for a moment her face has the look of hope on it. But she must recognize my father’s expression and come to a sobering realization, because that look of hope turns into despair.

Udulf just stares at her. I can’t see his face because I’m behind him, but this is abnormal behavior.

What is it about this girl?

Udulf turns abruptly. “Open the gate. I’m taking her with me.”

I glance down at Anya and watch her panic in real time.

My head shakes out a no. And then my fingers tell him to fuck himself.

He’s so lucky. So lucky he and I have never been somewhere alone together. His mercs didn’t follow him down here, but they’re on that helicopter. My father goes nowhere without his bodyguards. And he certainly doesn’t take meetings with me without them.

“Cort.” He sounds tired as he turns to face me. “Just… open the gate.”

It’s not gonna happen. I point to my chest with one hand and sign the word for ‘mine’ with the other. Then I jog back up the stairs to finish this conversation in private.

“None of them are yours,” he calls after me. “They are all mine.”

It’s mostly true. He’s taken every single woman I’ve won in these fights. Oh, he wants me to fuck them. I always have to fuck them. Because he wants them pregnant with my seed inside their bellies so he can breed more little fighters just like me.

But this wasn’t just any win. This wasn’t just another fight.

It was my last fight. My last prize.

I exit the stairwell on the training level and walk to the middle of the room. By the time I turn, Udulf is just reaching the landing. I sign to him, She’s mine.

He doesn’t follow me onto the mat. “You really want to fight this battle?”

I nod.

“Why?”

Why do you? I sign.

“Because what’s yours is mine. You paid for three extra people, Cort. Not four. She’s not going with you. You know this. And you’re not getting off this rig for months. You still owe me that.”

He’s stalling. I can tell. But why?

She’s mine.

“This is the hill you will die on?”

I scoff. Try it.

He huffs a laugh. His eyes dart upward, towards the top level where the helicopter waits. “You would lose.”

I might. I might not. But one thing’s for sure. I would take him out with me.

He runs his fingers through his hair and I know I’ve won. He only does that when he’s internally negotiating. “Tell me why. If you tell me why, then I’ll leave her here. But I will collect her at base camp when you return.”

I narrow my eyes at him. Did he give in too quickly? Did he not bring enough backup to fight this war with me today? Or do I just scare him?

I would like for it to be the last one. But I don’t know. I try hard to scare people. That’s why I do the things I do during the fights. Fear is everything in our world.

But I am not so full of myself to believe that Udulf is really afraid of me. He’s never been afraid of me, even when he should’ve been. If he were afraid of me, those mercs would be down here with him. They would have automatic weapons trained on my chest.

Udulf laughs. “This is a problem for you? Is it a secret, Sick Heart?”

Fuck you. I think it, but I don’t sign it. He’s gotten more silent words out of me today than he deserves. And I just want him gone. So I tell him what he expects to hear. I want to fuck her.

Udulf laughs. “Since when?”

Twenty-eight more days, I sign.

“Oh. Until Maart comes.” He draws in a deep breath as he considers my answer. Does he believe me?

Maybe.

He thinks Maart and I are lovers. We’re not. We fuck. But I fuck a lot of people. He’s no one special. Not in that regard, anyway.

We’re friends. Best friends. I love him, but more importantly, I like him. And he’s had my back since I was nine. He’s the only reason why I’m still fighting.

I have been in thirty-five Ring of Fire fights. But the prizes were small at first. Extra protein for a year. New training equipment. Hot baths. Girls—not the girls I won in the fights, girls for camp. And boys too, also for camp. In fact, I already won Maart, Rainer, and Evard in fights before this. But that wasn’t their freedom. It was just the right to bring them to camp.

But I fought for Maart again three years ago. His freedom is guaranteed,