Free Something Fierce [The Underground 1] (Siren Publishing Classic) by Jenika Snow

to ask her where they were going.
    “My boyfriend is going to be there tonight, part of the main event.” She all but jumped up and down.
    “The main event?”
    The girl nodded vigorously. “Yeah, I’m just glad I didn’t miss it. Oh boy, would he have been pissed.” She smiled again and stopped in front of the door. The beast of a man stared down at the two of them and Tristan felt herself shrink from his gaze. His skin was as dark as night, yet his eyes were an eerie blue color. Tristan listened to the girl ramble off something, never once taking her eyes off the man. She was too confused by what was going on to even understand what the pixie of a woman had said. Whatever it had been pleased the bouncer, because he nodded once and opened the door for them. A set of stairs was revealed and Tristan was all but dragged down them by the woman.
    “Oh my God. I can practically feel the rush. Can you feel it?” She turned big eyes toward Tristan. All she could do was nod. “Yeah, this is making me so wet.” It was clear the woman didn’t have a filter. The farther they descended the louder a noise became. Tristan couldn’t pinpoint it, but it was like a bass. When they reached the bottom, the girl turned to her once more.
    “Ready?”
    The bass and thumping noise was right behind that door. She should just run back up the stairs. Whatever was behind that door was buried in the bowels of this building and required security so only a select few could enter. Saying no would have been wise, but Tristan found herself nodding instead. The woman smiled brightly and pushed the door open.

Chapter Twelve
     
    Tristan’s eyes widened at the mass of people on the other side of the door. The girl still had a hold of her hand and started making her way through the thick sea of bodies. That loud bass-like noise had been the shouting and cheering of everyone in this room. It was lit brightly, and the closer they got to the center, realization set in. A crude caged ring was constructed in the center of the basement. The people surrounded it, beers and liquor in their hands, and drunk, excited expressions covering their faces. Off to the side was an equally crude bar where the fans were buying their liquor and getting drunker by the second.
    The girl stopped a few feet from the cage and shouted loudly. “Woo-hoo, come on Jackson, kick some ass.” She grinned at Tristan. “Pretty exciting, huh?”
    Tristan didn’t know much about fighting, but she knew one thing. This was a freaking illegal cage fight.
    “Any minute now, my baby will come walking out those doors.” She pointed to a door in the far corner. “He’s been training day and night. This fight will make his career.”
    “Career?” These people made careers out of beating the shit out of each other?
    The girl gave her an incredulous look. “Um, yeah, hello. If he wins tonight, he’ll be set for life.” She bit her lip and looked slightly nervous. “The guy he is fighting is pretty hard-core, though. A real badass if you know what I mean.”
    No, Tristan didn’t know what she meant.
    “Are you motherfuckers ready for the fight of the year?”
    Tristan winced at the loud voice. She looked around the room but couldn’t pinpoint where the voice came from. The crowd went wild, deafeningly wild. Tristan’s ears rang and she forced herself not to cover her ears. She would definitely look out of place then. This was why these people came here, to be shocked. The noise, the atmosphere, all of it got their juices flowing, got them hard and aroused. Hell, the girl still holding on to her hand had confirmed as much.
    Tristan looked around the packed room, wondering if she would see Kash. She had sworn it had been him, but she knew the odds of it being him were pretty slim. There was no way she could have found him in this place even if it had been him.
    “We have a contender with the hopes of winning the title tonight. Do you think this underdog can succeed?” The