Dragon's Blood (Black Planet Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

over six feet tall.
    And Annie was locked inside a cage with her.
    Old rickety spotlights illuminated the cage. There wasn’t a huge amount of space, but Annie figured she could utilize the walls and maybe even the roof. Zelda Bernova was too heavy to do the same.
    Her gaze flicked to Aiden. He looked grim but worked the crowd, getting the money flowing, bringing up the odds. Those odds were heavily against her, and he stood to lose big if she went down too quickly. So the longer she stayed on her feet, the better. If she won, that was best.
    She’d learned that while Aiden was an active high stakes fighter, he also managed and trained some of the up-and-comers. So he made a cut off of his own wins, bigger cuts off of his stable. And she was now his dark horse.
    Across the ring, the blonde monster was strutting, thwapping meaty fists together. Chen had warned her that this one would go for severe injuries. Zelda was on the tough climb up out of the alleys and was building her rep.
    So she was to fight carefully, adding a bit of flash when she could. If she couldn’t win, at least hang in long enough to give the crowd their money’s worth.
    No problem. Annie smiled grimly. One way or another, there was going to be blood.
    When the bell rang and the blonde woman charged, Annie was no longer there. She’d leapt for the mesh at the top of the cage, kicking viciously at the other woman’s head. Bernova went down hard, flailed and grabbed Annie’s ankle in a brutal grip. Zelda dragged her from the roof, struck at her hard and hit concrete instead of flesh, shattering bone while Annie rolled and came lightly to her feet. She bounced back and forth lightly, taking a boxer’s stance. She gestured to Bernova, and grinned wickedly.
    Blood dripped from Zelda’s shattered hand. The crowd roared.
    And thus began Annie’s career as a cage-fighter.

    * * *
    “ S o how was that ?”
    Annie looked up at Aiden and he struggled to show no emotion. She nursed a swollen cheek and a deep abrasion on one arm. A chunk of satiny black hair straggled down her cheek, clinging to the drying sweat on her face. He ignored the trembling in his gut and considered more important things. Money had been made and lost on the fight and news of Aiden’s new fighter had started it to spread. After collecting his winnings and her cut from the organizer, Aiden had whisked her away into the alley passages. They’d climbed up a series of ladders before finally coming to a halt on a broad ledge.
    She was buzzing more than the bundle of live electrical cables that snaked above their heads.
    “Well, next time you manipulate the fight like that, don’t finish it dead center.”
    “Longer? Shorter?”
    He shook his head, letting a rueful grin escape. “I’d like to say finish when you know you can win, but then there’d be no action!”
    She was practically hopping from adrenaline, but soon enough, she’d come down and start feeling the pain. And there would be a world of pain. Zelda was out cold but when she woke, she’d be good to go right away. Annie would need several days of down time.
    Annie shivered. “Are you like this after? What do you do to cope?”
    “Always. That’s part of the appeal. And to cope? Either drink or fuck. Both will work.” That shut her up. She’d no doubt noticed some of the sleek city females who liked to prowl the circuit, looking for sweaty meat. Generally, after a fight, he’d let one take him to an alley, where he’d take the edge off with a blow job or a quick and dirty fuck. Then he’d drink and carouse the night away, dragging himself home at dawn.
    He couldn’t see Annie Tanaka doing that. He couldn’t bear thinking of her doing that.
    “Come on, we need to get you home.” He headed off, not checking to see if she followed. He moved quickly. If he kept her busy, she might not be able to find her way back to his place later.
    “This isn’t the way home.”
    “It is for me. My place is closer.” He felt