Chapter 6

Lucas stood in the stands, listening to Isabella's near-insane terms, barely holding back the joy that was about to burst from his lips.

He stared down at the African male lion in the iron cage below, its eyes bloodshot with hunger, his own heart pounding wildly.

This was no tame pet. This was a genuine, blood-hungry beast.

What a pleasant surprise.

His original plan had simply been to use the Brown family to tie Mike down, to make life difficult for him in Chicago's power struggles.

Who could have guessed that Isabella was completely out of her mind?

A man fighting a lion bare-handed? The outcome couldn't be more obvious.

In a few minutes, Mike would be nothing but a pile of torn flesh.

Lucas laughed coldly inside.

This kill-two-birds-with-one-stone plan had worked out perfectly.

With Mike dead, he would not only secure his position as the Costa family's godfather for good, but also bury that secret about his origins once and for all.

Even better, he could use Mike's gruesome death as a perfectly reasonable excuse to go after the Brown family and squeeze out more compensation.

"Ms. Brown, isn't this joke going a little too far?" Lucas feigned shock, though a hint of barely hidden anticipation crept into his voice. "Mike is one of our people. If something happens to him here..."

"Shut up, coward." Isabella shot him a cold glance. "The Brown family has no use for dogs that only know how to bark. If he doesn't dare, he can crawl back to New York right now."

Mike paid no attention to Lucas's fake concern, nor to Isabella's mockery.

He stood quietly, watching the restless lion pacing in the cage, his deep eyes completely still.

"Bare hands?" Mike's voice was as calm as if he were asking about the dinner menu.

"Of course." Isabella raised an eyebrow, a bloodthirsty gleam flashing in her eyes. "Any weapon would be an insult to this beast. What's the matter — are you scared?"

"Open the gate." Mike accepted without hesitation.

The moment those words left his mouth, the entire arena fell into a brief, dead silence.

Even the armed guards up in the stands exchanged uncertain glances.

Lucas's heart lurched. He fixed his eyes on Mike, terrified he might back out. Go on, go and die! he screamed inside.

Mike slipped off his long black coat and tossed it casually over the railing of the stands.

Underneath was a well-cut dark shirt. As he moved, it hinted at the iron-hard muscle beneath.

He undid his cufflinks and slowly rolled his sleeves up to his elbows, unhurried and composed, as if he were getting ready for an elegant dinner rather than a fight to the death.

Mike walked down the stone steps one by one and onto the sandy floor below.

The heavy iron gate let out a harsh screech of metal on metal as it slowly dragged open on both sides.

A raw, bloody smell hit him in the face.

The nearly five-hundred-pound African lion let out a deafening roar. Its powerful legs exploded with force, and it shot out of the cage like a bolt of gold lightning, hurling itself straight at the living, breathing prey before it.

It was blindingly fast.

An ordinary person wouldn't even have time to blink before that massive, barbed jaw was right in their face.

Up in the stands, Lucas clenched his fists tight, eyes stretched wide, waiting hungrily for the blood and carnage.

"He's insane — fighting a lion bare-handed!" Some in the crowd couldn't hold back their cries.

"There are always crazy people when there's something to gain. So many men want a shot at marrying into the Brown family. If he beats the lion, he's set for life."

"How many people has that lion killed this year alone? Who does he think he is?"

Lucas listened to the chatter around him and felt himself relax more and more.

Right. How many had already died at this lion's paws? Why worry at all?

But Mike leaned sharply to the left as the lion came crashing toward him.

The claws raked past his shirt, close enough to stir the air. Mike loaded his right leg and drove his foot hard into the lion's soft underbelly.

A thunderous roar.

The lion lost its balance in midair and crashed down onto the sand, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Isabella's hand tightened on her riding crop, and a rare flash of surprise crossed her eyes. The smile on Lucas's face froze into disbelief. He didn't just dodge — he hit back?

The lion rolled to its feet, mane bristling, eyes locked onto Mike. It began to circle, lowering its body, hunting for an opening.

Mike bent his knees slightly, letting his hands hang loose at his sides, breathing steady, eyes fixed on the beast.

Then the lion launched again — mouth driving straight for his throat, both front paws cutting off any escape to the left or right.

Mike dropped both knees at once, his whole body sinking almost to the ground in an instant.

The lion's momentum carried it flying over its head. For one brief moment, the lion's belly was exposed directly above him.

Mike brought his right hand together, fingers straight like a blade, and drove them precisely into the soft underside of the lion's neck.