Stolen Skye (Book One, The Skye Trilogy) (17 page)

I went inside, passed the others as they were finishing their meals, and lost myself i
n the pulsing crowd. I spied Raven dancing with Luca and a few other men. As I came close, she grabbed my hands and pulled me into her circle. She was aglow with perspiration and the radiance that unrivaled attention can give a beautiful woman.

“Evelyn, do you remember Luca?”
She clenched his arm with both hands and pulled him closer to me. Subtlety was not her strong suit.

“Yes, well, we met.”
I offered, smiling at him again with more confidence now that I knew I was nobody special to him.

“Fair Evelyn, this should make tonight very interesting.
You are staying for the match, correct?” Luca eyed me more as he waited for my response.

“Yes, I guess so,” I politely replied.

“Bravo.
I hope you’ll be cheering for me?” He pretended the balance of the whole world rested on my response.

“My bet, my secret,” I answered with a slight smile.

“Well done. We’ll just have to see. Ladies, excuse me, I probably need to go get ready as it seems the crowd is turning anxious.” We looked about us and all eyes were on Luca, waiting to see him leave the room, hinting that the fight would start soon. He kissed my hand and departed.

I noticed Ari glowering at me from the corner, flanked by young women.
I had hoped that look was gone for good. No such luck. Angering him seemed to be something I truly excelled at. He seemed to realize I was questioning his reaction and turned to the woman to his left, bending to hear her more clearly.

“Evelyn, I need air.
Come with me.” Raven locked her arm with mine and took me through the crowd, past Ari, and out to the kitchen where the others remained.

“What do you think of Luca?”
Raven got some water from the sink and waited for my opinion.

“You mean you like him?
You two would make an attractive couple, that’s for sure.” I was being honest. So beautiful, in fact, they would probably be hated the world over.

“He has flirted with me for years, but we ran into each other the day before yesterday when he got back in town.
I was thinking he may have waited long enough.” She sparkled as she smiled in her champagne-colored cocktail dress.

“He seems flirtatious.
Are you okay with that?” I had never seen a grown woman pout so deeply. Clearly, she was not okay with the idea of him paying anyone else attention. “What happened to Kierk?”

“He bores me.”
She dismissed him with a toss of her hand and moved away from me out to the bartender. Once most of the people were downstairs, we grazed a while longer at the buffet and then joined them. Luca was easy to spot in shiny red trunks as he hobnobbed with the crowd. After a couple of minutes, Ari appeared in simple black trunks and high tops. The right side of his well-defined upper body showed some faint black and blue markings. The rest of him presented very well.

I noticed many of the women become much more interested in the match at the sight of him.
Groups of people slowed his progress toward the ring. He seemed to be the crowd favorite, but more than one person looked more closely at his bruising. Brinks was off in the corner, with a crowd surrounding him, taking final wagers. Ari waved Finn over to him as he stepped easily into the ring. Finn left my side and went off to see what he wanted. Suddenly, I didn’t want to watch. I turned to Bounce for an understanding of the sport.

“What goes on in bare knuckle boxing?
What are the rules?” I asked nervously.

She looked at me intently before she answered, “Well, you can’t hit below the belt.
If someone goes down flat out or falls to their knees, you can’t hit them. You can only do a hold above the waist. And, they each need someone in their corner. Other than that, there are no rules.” She looked back toward the ring to understand what was happening over the din of the crowd. Finn stood over in Ari’s corner. Luca took his place with a man I didn’t know by his side. A couple of men helped Uncle Gheorghe into the ring, and he made his way to the center to address the crowd.

“Friends, welcome and thank you for coming tonight.
This has been a successful year for many of us and we have much to celebrate.” The crowd clapped and Uncle Gheorghe quieted them down before continuing. “Tonight, as tradition dictates, we have our current champion facing an opponent selected by the elders amongst us. Please join me in celebrating the strength and passion of our people. I present my two nephews, Ari Cameron and Luca Rudari. Gentlemen, give us a fair fight.” Uncle Gheorghe shook both their hands and stepped out of the ring with help from the crowd. Ari and Luca shook hands and then retreated to their corners.

After a couple minutes, another gentleman rang a bell and they were off like a shot, circling each other with lethal prowess.
The crowd’s enthusiasm multiplied. Raven joined us and we three stood together silently. Luca threw the first punch right into Ari’s bruised side and I cringed along with him. Rather than fearing he had hurt Ari, he looked grossly satisfied with himself as he danced around him to his other side.

Ari recovered quickly and reengaged Luca, making some jabs at his face and throwing him off balance.
Luca countered with another blow to Ari’s side. Ari was slower to straighten this time. Finn edged closer to him. Before Luca could land another shot, Ari threw a right hook and knocked him clear back toward the ropes. Luca was stunned and had to shake off the hit. The bell rang, signifying the end of the first round. Finn grabbed Ari around the back of his neck and brought him down to him to whisper something in his ear. Ari drank some water and poured some on his knuckles, toweling them off. The runoff of water was pink from the blood, making me feel sick.

“How does someone win this?”
I turned to Bounce, desperate to understand what to look for.

“House rules are that you win when the opponent goes down for a ten count.”
She showed some worry on her face as well. Raven had been animated like the rest of the crowd, yelling excitedly at the ring. It barely surprised me she was cheering for Luca.

The bell rang out clearly and the two fighters stepped back to the center, taking their positions.
Luca came out fighting quickly and Ari was immediately put on the defensive. After being peppered with a series of blows, he began fighting back; getting one solid punch through Luca’s onslaught and knocking him back toward his corner. Luca straightened and rushed him, getting an arm around him. He began hitting him repeatedly in his side. Finn began to step into the ring, but Ari got out of the hold and knocked Luca twice to the chin, causing him to fall to his knees. His man in the corner came out and began counting down from ten. Slowly, Luca got up and that was the end of round two.

“I don’t think I can watch any
more of this. I’m going to wait upstairs with the bartenders.” Raven tried to convince me to stay as the dreaded bell announced round three. I broke free of her and started making my way through the crowd. I heard the sound of flesh striking flesh and then a body hit the mat. I had to look. I stepped up two stairs to see clearly over the crowd. Ari was on the mat with Finn counting him down, growing more concerned with each number. Ari struggled to get up and once he was on one knee, Finn turned to go back to his corner. Before Ari was completely upright, Luca punched him hard in his side one more time.

Enraged, Finn leapt from his corner and lashed out at Luca, knocking him to the ground with a solid punch that echoed through the room.
The man from Luca’s corner attacked Finn and the bell started going off repeatedly as Uncle Gheorghe pulled himself back into the ring, putting a stop to the struggle. Both Ari and Luca slowly got up.

“Everyone.
Everyone, quiet down. Back to your corners, both of you.” He gestured angrily to Finn and Luca’s partner. “Luca’s hit was fair. Ari had come up off both knees. With Fintan’s interference, I name Luca this year’s champion.” He held up Luca’s hand and the crowd roared with both approval and anger. After basking in the glory, with no glance toward Ari, Luca went over to his corner and took a long drink of water, pouring some over himself and toweling off his tanned, sweaty physique.

“Now, as is tradition, Luca, please tell us who you would like to heal you this night.”
Uncle Gheorghe waited for Luca to make his way back over to him. I noticed Luca begin scanning the crowd as he wiped his face one more time and threw down the towel. Ari had made his way over to Finn, clearly favoring his side. Luca caught my eye and released a lecherous grin, moving in closer to Gheorghe. I was frozen to the step. “No, please… do not say it,” I pleaded quietly.

“I choose Evelyn.
She could bring me back from the dead.” He laughed and pointed at me. Ari and Finn both shot him looks that could kill, but the most deadly came from Raven. The crowd began chanting and cheering me on. Two men took my hands and walked me over to the ring. Finn looked like he was going to throw another punch, while Ari stared at the floor. Uncle Gheorghe held his hand out to pull me into the ring as the other men hoisted me up. I just stood there, not sure what it was that I was there to do.

Before I had time to say anything, Luca grabbed me with commitment and crushed his lips to mine.
I was startled, but that was my only response. There was no passion in me for him. After an infinite moment passed and the crowd’s cheering waned, he pulled back from me and searched my eyes for any potential fire. Seeing none, he stepped away and pretended he was healed, staggering with his hand over his heart, entertaining the crowd once again. Ari took my hand and brought me over by him and Finn. Uncle Gheorghe eyed our trio with strong curiosity. The match was over and people began retiring upstairs as the band struck up the music.

“Are you okay?”
I turned to look more closely at Ari. He was battered and bruised, but his knuckles concerned me most. They were so swollen it looked like his hands could be broken. He assured me they weren’t as he tried to put on a smile. Bounce, Raven, and Brinks joined us over in his corner.

“Finn, nice right hook,” Brinks exclaimed, slapping him on the back.

“He deserved it.
Sorry I cost you the fight, Ari.” He looked at him with true apology in his eyes.

“Finn, don’t ever apologize for having my back.” He bowed his head to him in thanks and the rest of us looked at each other with some hope.

“Now, Luca’s a dead man.”
Finn was off to challenge him now that the crowd was thinning. He pushed at his shoulder. “Luca, so good to see you again. I would have expected dirty fighting from Marko, but you? How disappointing.” Luca’s friend stepped between them, keeping them separated.

Luca only smiled at first and finished a long pull from his water.
“Yes, well, I believe the punch to my chin communicated your opinion of my performance well enough. Evelyn, thank you for the kiss, it was… rousing.” Finn did his best to get closer to Luca, but Raven grabbed his arm, pulling him back to our corner.

Raven whispered, “No, Finn, leave him to me.”
Her pride was hurt and that was going to cost Luca someday, I thought. I tentatively placed my hand on Finn as well, and he quieted. With a huff, he went to help Ari.

I turned to Raven, feeling badly for upsetting her.
“Raven, I’m so sorry. I probably just caught his eye by being on the staircase.” I tried to gloss over why Luca would have chosen me. Clearly, it was an attempt to toy with Finn. It had worked well.

“Oh, Evelyn, Luca will probably kiss ten women before he lays his head down for the night.
He hasn’t been taught any better. It isn’t your fault.” She waved her hand like she did when a topic was over, but she never took her eyes off him. With Finn’s help, Ari left the ring and climbed the stairs to the bedrooms, while we joined the rest of the crowd on the main floor. With the party in full swing, he was expected to make an appearance, showing everyone he was okay. Soon, Finn came back down and got some ice out of the freezer. We just looked on with concern as he went back upstairs to tend to his friend.

“Well, one good thing has come out of Ari getting his ass handed to him repeatedly this week
— he and Finn seem on the mend,” Bounce laughed. Honestly, it was good to see an improvement in their relationship. Nobody likes to be the reason friends turn from each other, and I had felt like I had been one for the majority of my stay. Raven continued to pout, despite the throngs of men that gathered around her by the dessert table. I did not see Luca anywhere, which suited me just fine.

When Ari came back down, with Finn at his side, the group cheered over the music.
Brinks circled the room, handling various amounts of money. I thought to myself that next year, I would stick by the buffet during the fight portion of the evening. It didn’t bother me when I caught myself making plans to be with my new friends in the future. I couldn’t explain it, but it felt like I belonged with them, and it had been a long time since I felt that I belonged anywhere.

The band leader, dressed in what I ass
umed was more traditional Roma attire, asked us all to quiet down for a solo performance. An older woman dressed in black with a short veil that covered her face, stood at a microphone as violinists circled her. She began singing in a rhythmic language I couldn’t understand. The rise and fall of the sweet music and the emotion in her voice combined into a powerful performance. I didn’t know the words, but, as she escalated to a crescendo, I felt like crying. As I surveyed the room, I watched others become equally affected.