Rea's stride was swift. He entered the room with his head held high and back straight. Karma followed him, and she recognized the huge training room. The massive room had only a mud floor, but the ceiling was cement and at least twelve feet high.
She looked up at the columns that held up the giant chamber. Karma let her eyes pass over the different things going on around her. On her left, near where they entered, two shirtless men were fighting with jagged-looking knives. On the opposite side, a group of men practiced with some type of club and shield. The center of the room was only a big ring. The area wasn't occupied, but all the way around the circle, men stood as if waiting for someone to enter. The ring in the center was familiar. She remembered Rea being beaten to the floor while everyone stood by watching. A part of her knew this wasn't the exact same ring, but the area was so recognizable a feeling of helplessness swamped her.
To banish the raw memory, she looked at all the different sizes and shapes of the men around her. Every male was fit, but they were as different as light and dark. Some were brown-skinned, some of Hispanic descent, and some were Asian or Indian. Tall, short, and medium, the room was a collage of sturdy warriors. All of them were intimidating and well-built.
"I want you to stay close to me. Don't talk or draw attention to yourself. You already look too damn sexy. These men haven't been around a woman for a few months. Dad says women are a distraction and shouldn't be around during training. Especially not a hot woman like you."
"You think I'm sexy?" she purred.
"I said don't talk," Rea groused, but Karma couldn't help but smile anyway.
"If women aren't allowed on the base because they're not safe, then why did you let me come?" Karma knew she shouldn't ask, but she couldn't help herself. She hated that she didn't have the ability to recall even the simplest information.
"We'll talk about it later." Rea brushed her off again. Karma wanted to be offended, but she wasn't. She could tell Rea wasn't happy about bringing her near a bunch of men while they were in training mode. If Rea hated doing this so much, he must have had an excellent reason to have asked her along. He wasn't the kind of man to jeopardize her safety or cause problems for his men.
Even though he told her not to say a word, that didn't matter. Her presence caused enough of a stir that she might've shouted at all of them instead of meekly walking behind Rea.
"Boss-Mac got a hot chick?" someone in the back called.
"I thought he was gay," another man remarked loudly.
"I heard that, Essie," Rea yelled over his shoulder as he kept striding forward.
A few other men gave out hoots and whistles behind her.
"Now we know why he slept in." A man to her left gave out a sharp bark of laughter at his own comment.
"Did you bring us a prize to fight for? I heard your dad used to do that. If we get to do her when we win, then I'm first up to fight." A large man to her right spoke. His eyes raked her body like she wasn't wearing a stitch of clothing.
He adjusted the small pistol on his belt so he could grab his balls and wink at her.
The vulgar way he looked at her made Karma's blood run cold with rage she didn't know she had inside of her. She thought she wasn't a violent person, but the idea of grabbing his gun off his belt and beating him over the head filled her head.
"I'm up for fighting this morning if she's the prize," a shorter blond with a big nose called out from the back of the crowd. "Hell, I'd even marry her."
Karma felt like a piece of meat thrown at dogs. She quickly assessed what other weapons were around the room and which ones would be easiest to steal.
"Hey, Boss-Mac," a brawny brunet man spoke up. "You said if we're late for training then we have to be in the ring first thing to fight you. So who do you fight if you're late?"
Karma studied Rea. His face looked like it could've been carved in granite. He seemed like he didn't care if anyone had sex with her or if he had to fight in the ring with all of them. He took bored to a whole new level. Karma couldn't believe this was the man she'd fooled around with last night. When he was with her, he was so expressive and caring. Now he looked like an icy stranger.
"First off, I'm the Water Base Boss. I get the women around here. If you guys want to get laid, then become better fighters. Learn the rules to make this base secure. After it's safe, you can chase as much trim as you want. You can also bring your girlfriends and wives here once this is fully operational." Rea walked in a circle. "Second, as the boss, I can be late. However, to honor the rule, I'll step into the pit. Who is first up for me to beat?"
Rea strolled into the center of the ring without looking back at her. Karma found her hands going up to her hair. She began swiftly pulling the strands into a tight ponytail. She didn't know why she was doing it, but the action was as if it was ingrained in her to have her hair out of the way.
From behind her, she heard some of the men grumbling about fighting Rea. She could tell from his overpowering confidence he wasn't worried about sparring with any of them. She recalled a bandage near his rib cage that she'd seen last night. She couldn't believe he would fight with an injury. He didn't appear concerned about any of it.
As he stood casually in the center of the mud, he waited like he had all the time in the world. His body was hard and muscular, with strength radiating off him. Karma's body felt like her insides were winding up. As if someone was twisting her internal organs. She could feel the heat of the men pressing in. A deeply rooted battle cry was trapped in her throat. She wanted to fight all these men. She wanted to defend Rea even though he stood so mighty before her. She didn't want him to be alone.
"I'll take you on, Boss-Mac," a stranger with a thick accent called from behind her.
Karma turned slightly to look at the tall, husky, curly-haired man casually striding toward the ring. He stopped when he came to her. Something about him seemed recognizable. He smiled at her, but the flash of teeth wasn't friendly.
"How about you watch a real fighter?" Curly spoke as he walked up to her. He spoke loudly enough for Rea to hear from where he waited.
She glanced at Rea to gauge what he wanted her to do. Once Curly had Rea's attention, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to him.
"Playing a damsel in distress, Karma?" he whispered before he nuzzled her neck. No one seemed to hear what he said, and she had no idea what that meant.
Disgust filled her at his smell and touch. She tugged away from him. He only laughed at her squirming, but he let her go and slapped her ass. Karma restrained herself from striking him, but her muscles tensed to do so.
The slap was loud in the space. Although it only took seconds for him to touch her, it was as if time had slowed down. She saw Rea's eyes darken only slightly, but he kept his face as an unreadable mask.
"Quit messing around," Rea barked. "Let's go."
When Curly entered the ring, Karma could tell he was slightly shorter than Rea but just as fit. The two of them looked evenly matched. Karma's heart dropped to her stomach. Curly was a good fighter. He was dangerous. She didn't know how she knew that, but she did. She trusted her knowledge.
As soon as the two men faced each other, Rea's eyes narrowed. Karma started to study Curly as if she was going to enter the bout with him herself.
"Who are you?" Rea asked as they eyed each other.
"My name's Nash," Nash spoke with a slow drawl. "I'm new."
"I don't remember seeing your name on the roster." Rea's voice was flat.
"I transferred here from another base. I showed up yesterday around the time you kicked out Charlie and Josh. I heard about what went down. Guess I can't blame you. If I were tapping an ass as fine as that, I wouldn't be sharing either."
Rea's anger swelled noticeably. He threw the first punch.
Nash blocked Rea's fist. He landed his elbow straight into Rea's gut. Rea bent over with the hit. The crowd of men cheered. The room filled with noise all the way up to the ceiling. Rea got back up as his eyes flashed with rage. He threw his entire body at Nash, wrapping his arms around the other man's waist. They wrestled to the floor. More cheering followed.
Karma moved closer to the ring. Rea's eyes caught hers for a moment. She shifted slightly through the men. The group was now captivated by the spectacle before them. They cheered and shouted. None of them even noticed her any longer.
As Karma wove through the crowd, she had the urge to call out the command for Rea to focus on what he was doing. He needed to stop looking for her.
Biting her tongue, she moved until she stood on the opposite side of the ring. She followed Nash's movements even though she didn't know why. As she moved, the two men exchanged hit after hit. Nash pounded at Rea's injured side. Blood could be seen smearing across his shirt.
She thought she should be appalled at the blood that splattered on the dirt or at the crack of bone hitting bone, but she found the fighting dull. She was resigned, bored even. An odd jaded feeling filled. She shifted her weight to the balls of her feet. She was waiting for something. Even though she waited, she didn't know what she was looking for.
The air crackled with unexplained discord. What did she expect to happen? It was the way Nash moved. The way he glanced at her. His actions spoke silently to her. She trusted her instincts.
Everything happened so fast Karma wasn't sure why she did what she did.
As she saw Nash pull a sleek steel dagger from the side of his boot, she turned and grabbed a handle-heavy throwing knife off the belt of the man next to her. For some reason, she wasn't happy with his knife selection, but that idea came like a bolt of lightning. She balanced the rusted blade on her palm. The action was as if she'd done this a thousand times.
With ease, she threw the cumbersome knife with practiced grace. The throwing knife lodged in Nash's hand. Swiftly, she moved again between two more men. Nash hollered with pain and surprise. His eyes shot to her. Her actions startled the man next to her, but she slinked away from him around the circle. None of the men moved quickly enough to stop her.
Stepping to the edge of the circle, Karma assessed what other weapons were within arm's reach. The dagger Nash had held fell to the ground, forgotten. The knife was stained with mud and splattered blood. The blade had never reached its intended destination.
Nash swore at her in a fury.
Rea stumbled backward. Shock etched into his features as he rotated his head toward her.
Nash brought his hand, with her knife stuck between the bones, down to his middle. With a concentrated effort, he pulled the oxidized blade from his skin. Dark, rich blood spurted in all directions.
Now that he had the old throwing knife clutched in his good hand, Nash turned to her. His eyes blazed in outrage.
"Screw you, Karma. I knew you switched sides."
The entire room stilled collectively as if they held their breath.
Nash charged her. In a flash, she felt the swipe of the knife at her belly. Karma jumped back before the next swing of Nash's weapon. Warm blood and ripped cloth fell to the ground. Her body reacted even as her mind went blank.