Reckless Regrets
Chapter 51

Tyson

At 6:00 PM on the dot, I made my way to the cellars, where Blaze collected buy-in money for the first fight. I walked over and took a look at the setup. Three rings roped off at floor level, with seating circling each one. You could win your fight and quit for the night, or move up to bigger, stronger competitors until you made it to the third ring, which was reserved for the best of the best.

“How ya’ doin’? You wanna see how I do things down here or just get right to breakin’ each other’s faces?” Blaze asked me with a smile oozing southern charm.

“I don’t mind watching a few rounds,” I replied.

He nodded and walked us over to a couple of chairs and took a seat.

“I haven’t had a good fight in at least four years, so I’m in no rush to face off against you if I’m being honest. But money is money,” he said with a shrug of his shoulder.

While we sat and watched, I figured I’d make small talk; he seemed cool enough.

“So, I’m curious. How did you manage to toast Matilda when you can’t shift?” I asked him. I’d been itching to replace out how he did it when no one inside these walls could leave their human forms.

“I don’t need to shift to breathe fire; it’s a common misconception and advantage in a fight, that’s for sure. My fire, to me, is the same as your size and strength for you. It’s a part of the man, not the beast,” he replied.

“If you can still breath fire, why is Matilda the only one you lit up?”

“Yes, I’m a dragon who organizes bloody fights, but I’m a lover at heart. I don’t make it my mission each day I wake up to burn people; in fact, it’s the last thing I ever want to do. A dragon burn never heals as long as the dragon who gave it still breathes, so it’s a lifetime of torture. Every day for the rest of her miserable life, that woman will feel like she is on fire, and nothing will soothe the pain,” he stated.

We sat in silence for a few minutes watching two low-level werewolves go at it in ring number one. They were good fighters and had clearly been trained well. Their moves were clean and precise-

My critique was cut short by Blaze, answering my previous question.

“I can’t breathe fire anymore. Management found a way to suppress my flames after Matilda and I got into our disagreement. So I’m just a man now.”

I’d heard that dragons could live as long as vampires, sometimes longer, but since they were so rare, I’d never been able to know for sure. This was the perfect time to get all my questions answered.

“You can live to be a few hundred years old, right?”

“As long as I’ve got scales, I’ve got life,” he said, tapping the tattoos on his forehead.

“Those work too?” I asked, shocked.

“Nah, I’m lying’. It’s just my physical scales. But since I can’t shift, they stay hidden; so, I’m virtually immortal in here. I guess that’s karma, huh? By keeping me here and preventing me from shifting, Matilda is prolonging my life and her pain, indefinitely.”

An immortal dragon stuck in literally the shittiest place on earth. At least one of his captors got to suffer along with him.

But he seemed too good for this place.

“Why are you here? You don’t appear to be a d**k like most of the population here, so who did you piss off?”

He laughed and stretched his legs out in front of him.

“Antonio Cervantes. He’s a black market antiquities dealer specializing in the ‘rare and unobtainable.’ He asked me for something, and I refused to tell him where it was. Since he’s got the cash and the clout, I ended up here until I change my mind.”

“Okay? What is it that he wanted?”

I didn’t remember the last time I was this interested in a stranger, but there was just something about his unbothered and laid back persona that drew me in.

“It’s a long story, but I’m one of the last pure-blooded dragons in existence. I know the location of three fertilized but unhatched eggs, and Cervantes has Fiona, the last known living female, locked away somewhere. If he can get the eggs to her, he can hatch them and sell them to the highest bidder. I’m not trying to let that happen, so here I am.”

“Damn. That’s harsh, but I can’t say I wouldn’t do the same thing. Okay, one more question then I’ll leave you alone,” I said.

I felt like some nerd meeting their favorite superhero character or something, but it was painfully evident that I’d probably never again have the chance to talk with a dragon. This was epic.

“Okay, one more question; shoot,” Blaze said.

“What was the disagreement between you and Matilda about?”

“Short story? She’s a filthy w***e and b***h who doesn’t deserve her next breath. The slightly longer story, she’s the one who handed Fiona to Cervantes. Fiona was unlucky enough to get sent here a few years ago, and Matilda knew how rare my kind was. She also learned about the eggs and the fact that only a female dragon could hatch them, so she reached out to her dirty connections and sold Fiona off. When I arrived, she was more than happy to tell me how she made millions while also ensuring dragons extinction. And well, I lost my temper.”

“What happens with the eggs is they never get to Fiona?”

“Then they never hatch. And once Fiona and I lose our final scale, dragons will be gone forever.”

“If you ever get out of here, look me up. I’ll do whatever I can to help you out. Maybe we can get Fiona and the eggs someplace safe where she can hatch them and allow them to grow,” I told him.

“I see you’re a good guy like me. It’s always the big ones who so easily pull the wool over your eyes,” he said with a laugh.

“I’m Hades; there’s not a good bone in my body.”

“Sure. Well, you should look underground. Well, deeper underground than we are now. There are some old, out of commission, tunnels you can access under the prison that end a few miles into the desert. Use those to get out if you can; I’m rooting for you.”

I didn’t tell him anything about escaping and had no idea how he knew my plans. My defenses went into overdrive; somebody was talking who shouldn’t have been.

“Relax, man. I can sense your intentions; that’s how I know. It’s another little know dragon trait.”

“How do you mean?” I asked.

“Do you think I tell everyone my business like I just did with you? In the entire year I’ve been here, you’ve been the only person I’ve told my story. And the reason is that all of the other d***s who asked had ulterior motives for replaceing out.

Dragon scales are worth a premium and witches and warlocks will do damn near anything to get their hands on ‘em for their f****d up potions. The moment you approached me upstairs, there was nothing malicious about you. You wanted to fight to work off some frustration, nothing wrong with that. Then you sat with me and asked my story. You were curious, and again, nothing wrong with that.

Then you told me to look you up. Why would I need to do that when you’re locked up a few floors beneath me? ‘Cause you don’t plan on being here, that’s why. You’re here for The Duchess, and the pretty little cleaning girl, and the easiest way to get those ladies out is through the tunnels,” he stated.

“Uhh.”

He laughed out loud and slapped his meaty hand on my back, actually making me wince.

“Don’t worry about it; your secret is safe with me. I’d never expose someone trying to do the right thing.”

Looking at him, I felt that he was 100% genuine, and somehow, I trusted him.

“But wait, if you know about the tunnels, why haven’t you left yet?”

“Because as long as I’m here, those eggs are safe,” he said in a hushed voice.

He patted his stomach like he’d just had a huge meal, and winked.

“Are they…?”

“Well, I didn’t swallow them, but they are tucked away safe and warm. I can live forever, or as close to it as possible, and keep them hidden in the process as long as I’m here. It’s a sacrifice I’m more than willing to make.”

***

Talking with Blaze felt like some strange therapy session; I felt lighter and more focused as I made my way back to my room. I needed to check in with the guys to see if they could replace any details on these tunnels and lead me to an opening.

As I rounded the corner, I realized that this “therapy session” completely distracted me from the fight. That sneaky son of a b***h, this was probably his plan all along, I thought with a smile.

I walked into the room to replace the girls passed out on the bed. I’d somehow forgotten that they would be here all day and night, but my bank account wouldn’t forget. I stepped into the bathroom and turned on the shower to drown out my voice then took a seat in the corner.

“Alright, guys. I’m guessing at least one or all of you heard and saw that, so, what have you found?” I asked.

“Holy s**t! A dragon? That was insane, and I was getting serious Game of Thrones vibes,” Alexi excitedly yelled out.

“Yeah, yeah. What about the tunnels? Are they there, and can we use them to get out?” I asked.

“Oh, right. There is a void beneath the prison that could lead to a tunneling system, but because these would have been added in secret, they wouldn’t be on any plans. My gut says that Blaze is legit, but it’s up to you if you want to trust his word or not. You and the girls would be walking for an unknown number of miles before you saw daylight, and I can’t tell you if you should take that risk or not.”

“I can. Take the tunnels. If your tech is as good as we know it should be, we can still follow your location. Just shift as soon as you’re far enough away from the magical inhibitors; your bear and their wolves can run a few miles in minutes,” Xander stated.

I was about to ask if they had any way of replaceing out what the tunnels were used for when I heard a knock on my room door. Looking at the time, it was probably Ronnie.

I walked out of the bathroom to replace Marisol naked, with the sheet pulled up to her chin and Gabby wiping down the window.

“We’re playing the part; you don’t want anyone to get suspicious, right?” Marisol asked when I raised an eyebrow at her.

“Whatever.”

I opened the door, and just like I suspected, it was Ronnie who pushed his way inside.

“Whoa! I didn’t mean to interrupt, I didn’t think you’d still have the energy since she’s been here since yesterday,” he said when he saw the state of Marisol in the bed.

“Don’t worry about my energy, did you get it or not?” I asked.

He reached behind his back and pulled out a small pouch with an assortment of tools that would ensure an easy escape. It was perfect.

“Thanks, I owe you big time for this. Name your price, and it’s yours,” I told him.

He looked from the bed to the window and licked his lips.

“Can I have some time with one of your ladies? I can smell that the cleaning girl is still pure; I’d love to make her into a woman.”

From the corner of my eye, I saw Gabby shrink back and try to hide behind me. Who did this guy think he was?

“First of all, you called it right. These are ‘my ladies,’ and I do not share. The purity of one of them is not your f*****g business, and if you ever think to proposition them again, I’ll crush your skull. Are we clear, Little Bear?”

“Yes, we’re clear,” he replied as he took a cautious step back towards the door.

“Good, now get the hell out. I’ll have $5,000 wired to your account by the end of the day.”

When he shut the door, I turned around to see that Gabby was still trembling with fear.

“Don’t worry about him or anyone else in here. You’re safe with me, understand?”

“Yes, Gamma, I understand. It’s just hard to see someone look at you like you’re a piece of meat. It’s unsettling,” she replied.

“I’m sure it is. But we’re almost home, so hold on just a little while longer.”

She nodded then went back to the bed where Marisol was getting dressed. After I’d learned to cook for Taylor, I could no longer eat just anything, so I had no intention of going down for dinner. I made myself comfortable in the corner of the room and shut my eyes while I listened to the guy’s chatter about possible escape routes and which would be the easiest.

All I knew was, at 9:00 AM tomorrow, Whalen was going to replace his wife literally with her pants down, and we’d be in the beginning phases of getting out of here. Plan A was the tunnels, Plan B was the HVAC system, and Plan C was the sewage lines. I prayed we didn’t have to go that route.

I’d shave my f*****g head as soon as we got out if we did.