Double Dare (Devil's Fighters MC Book 3) by Evelyn Glass Read Free Book Online

if you lose?”
     
    “I’ll die, probably,” he finally admitted. “This fight is to the death.”
     
    Alyssa stared at him. She was hearing the words, but for some reason they weren’t registering. Finally, she blurted out, “No.”
     
    Xavier blinked, taken aback. “No?”
     
    “No,” Alyssa repeated. “Absolutely not. You are not getting into a fight to the death. We’ll find another way.”
     
    “There is no other way, Alyssa,” Xavier argued. “Don’t you see? If I refuse, they’ll never let me go.”
     
    “And if you do it and you lose, you’ll be killed. Since when do the Devil’s Fighters allow fights to the death, anyway?”
     
    Again, she didn’t know much about the motorcycle gang and their way of life, but she did know that they saw their fighters as a source of income, and therefore they generally tried not to let them get killed. She wasn’t naïve enough to believe that some morals might also be involved.
     
    “They don’t,” Xavier confirmed. “But this guy, the one I have to fight…he…uh…he’s kind of famous for killing his opponents.”
     
    Alyssa stared at him in disbelief. “Are you kidding me? You want to fight such a monster?”
     
    “Yes,” Xavier said, his face hardening as it always did when his mind was set and he didn’t want to hear arguments against whatever decision he had made. “I have to. No one has ever defeated this guy. If I do, the Devil’s Fighters will get so much money from this fight that they can all retire if they so wish.”
     
    “I see.” Money. It was always about money. And blood. And violence. Alyssa felt sick to her stomach. “No,” she said again. “I’m not going to let you do this, no matter what the stakes are.”
     
    “So what would you suggest?” Xavier retorted. “Just run away? They’d hunt us down and kill us before we even reach the border. Even you must know that.”
     
    Alyssa’s eyes flashed. “What’s that supposed to mean, even me?”
     
    “It means that you know nothing of how things work when it comes to dealing with these people. They are far more ruthless that you can even imagine. You think I don’t go against them because I like living like this?”
     
    “Of course not. I never—”
     
    “You think I do it because I’m afraid, because I’m a coward?”
     
    Alyssa was looking at Xavier with wide eyes, speechless at his sudden anger. Part of her knew it was pent-up anger, eight years old, rushing forward. But the other part of her wanted to yell back in his face. She took a calming breath, knowing that a screaming match would scarcely work towards solving their problems.
     
    “No,” she said. “I don’t think any of that. I’m just saying—”
     
    “Well, don’t,” Xavier growled. He had stood up and was towering over her, a tall pillar of barely contained fury. “Don’t say anything. I’m doing this, and that’s final.”
     
    “I can’t let you—”
     
    “I’m not asking for your permission, Alyssa,” he snapped. “This is the first time in eight years that I get the chance to take my life into my own hands, and I’m not passing it up. You think this is the first fight I’ve taken for us?”
     
    Alyssa frowned, her insides growing even colder. She definitely didn’t like where this was heading. “What are you talking about?”
     
    “Why do you think Bennie let you stay after he threatened to harm you if you didn’t leave town?”
     
    “I…I don’t know,” Alyssa admitted quietly. Truth be told, it was a question she had asked herself a million times, but she was too afraid of the answer. “Why?”
     
    “Because I struck a deal with him. If I took on more fights, he’d let you stay.”
     
    “Why?” Alyssa repeated.
     
    “It’s more lucrative for them if I fight more often,” Xavier admitted. “I have a certain fame in the rings. I’m one of the best.” There was no trace of bragging in his voice as he said this, and Alyssa could tell