“I love you,” I mutter, pulling away.

She lets her fingers trail down the side of my neck. “I love you, too.”

I’m proud of myself for not being as rough with her as my body and my mind wanted to be. I close my eyes, completely at peace. This is the most peace I will feel until after I defeat Don. The next two weeks are going to fly by in a blur. They’ll bring me nothing new, but after the fight, my world will change—for better or for worse…

And I’m praying to God—or whoever is fucking listening—that Don is finally pushed out of my life.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Olivia

Four weeks. I’ve been in Vegas four weeks and yet, I feel like I’ve only been here a couple of days. Everything has gone so fast, it’s like I blinked and whole days are missing. Nothing big has happened over the course of the four weeks, besides Seth proposing to me and winning his first professional fight. This fight, the one with Don tonight, is the first time in MMAC history that a professional MMA fighter will fight an amateur fighter in an arena of this scale. Mandalay Bay…I glance around the large arena. It seats twelve thousand people and I’m sure every seat is taken to watch the rematch between the two rivals. The air is heavy with anticipation. I can hear the laughs and giggles of spectators in my row. It crackles along the seats and vibrates my body. I’m not excited—not like everyone else is. There’s a flush of heat that pulses through me with every bout of nausea and my chest tightens anxiously.

Selena sticks a bag of chips under my nose and I recoil away from it with a shake of my head. The thought of eating right now churns my already violent stomach. The chair next to me shakes as a large man drops himself down next to me. I’ve never seen him before, but he’s wearing a black shirt that reads ‘DON’ and I decide, rather quickly, that I don’t like him. Anyone who would root for someone like Don is an idiot. I look down at my own shirt and smirk. I’m happy I packed my ‘SETH’ shirt. I haven’t worn it since his first fight in Portland, Maine and I figured he’ll like seeing it on me again. It might ease some of his anxiety, considering I couldn’t see him before this fight.

Darryl wants Seth to be wound up and on edge for this fight. Don’t ask me why, I have no idea. None of them share any of their thoughts about the fights with me, which I didn’t particularly mind, until tonight. Seth contested Darryl, refusing to leave his locker room until I came in, but Darryl still sent me away. He knows Seth won’t forfeit a match with Don Russell and he wanted to ‘kick it old school,’ having Seth wind down with boxing bags and skipping ropes…in order to warm up before the fight. If that makes sense…it doesn’t really make much sense to me, but I went along with it, regardless. I zone out as the announcer beings to speak, but the second a familiar beat begins to play, my body forces me to tune back in.

My blood bubbles and pulses through my body to the beat of the music and I subtly squeeze my sweaty palms together. I eagerly scan the crowd, waiting for Seth to appear and every second his song plays and I don’t see his fierce figure storming out here, the more my excitement melts into worry. Then, I hear the roar of the crowd as everyone jumps to their feet, sending my nerves reeling and my heart pounding. Here he comes.

The cheers grow nearer, the closer he gets to the stage and I can’t see him over the shaking, yelling bodies over the other spectators. I see the top of his black hoodie first and as he rounds the corner, his entire glorious body comes into view. His mouthpiece forces his lips to protrude, giving him a darker edge—not that he needs it.

His eyes scan over my row and my lips part as heavy breaths escape me. When his stare fall onto me, I cease to breathe.

With a twitch of his lips, he turns from me and shrugs out of his hoodie. Jackson throws it over his own shoulder and slaps him on the back as he bounds up the stairs and into the cage. My lungs ache and I release the breath I was holding as Seth does his usual circle of the ring, bouncing on the tips of his toes and shaking his wrists. There’s no cockiness to his movements, he moves with absolute purpose. Tonight isn’t a game. Tonight is Seth’s one chance to remove Don from his life—from our life.

Seth’s music cuts off and the announcer calls out Don’s weight, reach, and height before dragging out his name. A loud, metal song blast through the speakers and I cringe. So much anger and hate this guy has. I shake my head. The crowd cheers and claps, but the intensity of it isn’t like it was with Seth. The crowd respects Seth. Most of them follow his career and witnessed him beat his experienced opponent two weeks ago. Don tears around the corner, topless and eager. He’s determined to take back everything Seth took from him. Don’s eyes flick onto me and I scowl as he winks, puckering his lips at me over his mouthpiece.

“Fucking hell.” Selena chuckles under her breath. “That guy has a death wish.”

Seth sees Don look at me and I see his fingers clenching at his sides. He rolls his neck over his shoulders and as Don bounds up the stairs and into the ring, Seth steps forward, getting right in his face. My heart races as the crowd goes berserk, fueling the already tense relationship between the two fighters. The referee is on them immediately, ordering them to their corners. As they separate, the crowd sighs in bitter disappointment.

“There’s a lot of animosity in the cage tonight, ladies and gentlemen—can you feel it?”

The crowd explodes with cheers and applause. They can’t wait a second longer for the fight to start. They want bloodshed and they want it now. The camera crew and the announcer leave the cage and I start chewing my fingernails. If only Dad was here right now…he’d know the right thing to say to ease me into this fight. I need him to assure me that Seth is going to win. I need to see the excitement on his face when the bell dings and Seth gets the first punch.

“Don’s got this,” the large guy next to me mutters. I turn my head to look at him and he smirks at me.

“If you think so.”

His bright blue eyes flare. “I know so.”

I roll my eyes and turn my attention back to the cage. I really hope Seth wins now so I can rub it into the stranger’s big, fat face.

The referee calls the two fighters to the center of the ring. Each referee is different. Some prefer them to touch gloves before the bell rings, others prefer them to touch after the bell rings. Either way, the fight cannot commence until they touch gloves.

Don and Seth meet in the middle. I see the referee’s lips move, undoubtedly telling them to touch gloves. Neither fighter moves. There’s a silent war going on between them and the crowd watches in silence…waiting for war to break out.

I swear I can hear the rapid heartbeat of every spectator, mine included, and a crackle of excitement flows over us as Don extends his hand first. Seth smacks it away and a unanimous sharp intake of air is heard throughout the arena. The referee steps between them, sending them back to their corner. He points at each and they nod their heads. Then, the bell rings and my vision wavers with the ringing. I take a long, slow breath and close my eyes in an attempt to calm myself. Olly, relax. It’s just a fight, I tell myself, pretending it’s Dad’s voice. Nobody is going to die.

The thought makes me feel better and I open my eyes to see Seth coming in quickly, ducking and dodging Don’s swings and punching him wherever he can. With every fist that connects, the crowd gasps and cheers. I chew my bottom lip, counting down the seconds of the round. Don throws a counter punch, going for a quick left jab and to everyone’s surprise, Seth dodges the punch, responding with his own left jab, followed by a quick right uppercut to Don’s jaw. You can tell Seth is in the game—all of his movements are planned and precise. It’s almost like he knows Don’s moves in advance. Seth is absolutely dominating this round and despite how much I don’t like watching people fight…I know I’ll enjoy watching Don fall.

Hit after hit they exchange, neither of them growing tired of smacking the other. Two minutes into the round, when both Don and Seth are bleeding, Don takes the plunge and dives at Seth and the two become a swamp of flesh as they roll around, trying to get the drop on the other. I feel my hands creep up my neck and over my mouth as they each struggle to dominate the other. As the round draws to a close, Seth gets the upper hand. He straddles Don, pushing down on his chest. Seth drops an elbow on his face and I gasp, feeling the blood drain from my face as Don’s own blood pours from his eye. I hate Don, everyone knows that, but I still can’t enjoy watching him suffer like this. It’s not okay. I sink my teeth into my bottom lip and cringe as Seth drops another and another, splitting Don’s brow wider. There’s so much blood, but the ref doesn’t call the fight.

I feel Selena lean into me. “I’m going to the bathroom and I’ll probably miss the rest of the fight, so I’ll meet you in the locker room after Seth wins.” I nod my head, sparing a glance in her direction. She winks at me and the big guy beside me chuckles under his breath. I peer slyly at him, but he gives no indication that he heard what Selena said, so I turn my attention back to the fight. Seth has this in the bag, Don’s face is almost purple, but he refuses to tap out. Seth chokes Don harder with his own arm and the crowd goes mental, cheering and begging to kill Don. I bounce my legs and tap my fingers against my jeans. It’s the only way I can express my anxiety and excitement without jumping up and down and actually looking like I support the violent sport.

I see Don’s resolve finally give way and his fingers twitch toward Seth’s arm. This is it! My heart levitates in my chest, hovering dangerously close to my throat and threatening to fly up and out. Seth deserves this. He deserves this win over Don. As I shift in my seat, I feel the unmistakable pressure of a large hand sliding over the top of my thigh. I jump up and away from the guy next to me.

“What the—” He follows, grabbing at me and pulling me into him. He pins my arms to my side and holds me against his body. I struggle against him and get nowhere. No one steps in to help me and I realize it’s because we look like we’re a couple hugging. What the hell?

“Let me go!” I shout, but no one hears me over the roar of the crowd.

I look at Darryl and Jackson, but they’re too consumed in the fight to pay me any attention. Is this seriously happening? Damn, Selena. I wish she never went to the toilet. Out of panic, I look to Seth and I startle when I see his eyes on me. My heart beats in my chest as he lets Don’s arm go.

“No!” I shout, at the top of my lungs for the first time ever. “What are you doing? Get the tap out and then help me!”

Without a second to catch his breath, Don shoots to his feet and takes Seth down. There’s a fumble of arms and legs before Don straightens Seth’s arm out.

“No!” The whole crowd is yelling with me now and all I can feel is the vibrating laughter of the asshole holding me. Tears well in my eyes as Seth’s face becomes strained and his elbow begins to bend in the opposite direction. He won’t tap out. He’d rather Don break his arm than submit to him and admit Don is stronger. Don is the weakest person I’ve ever met. He’s sneaky, arrogant and asshole-ish. He knew Seth would beat him…he planned this. He planned to distract Seth, knowing he could never beat him. And it worked…worst of all, it fucking worked.

***

Seth

I have his own arm around his neck. Nothing is more embarrassing than choking yourself out in a fight. All of this is being recorded and I hope it haunts him for the rest of his life.

“Your girl.” Don chuckles, his voice barely audible.

I frown at him and pull his arm tighter. He tries to laugh and uses his free hand to point to something outside the cage. Out of curiosity, I look up.

Through the black metal cage I see her. My blood begins to boil at the way the huge brute holds her. I recognize him immediately as one of the large guys that jumped me outside my gym a while ago. I see his white knuckles and fingers as he presses them into her flesh. He’s a dead man. Out of nowhere, my back slaps against the canvas as Don throws himself on me. I try to fight him off and get out from under him. This isn’t about the fight anymore. I don’t want to kick the shit out of Don, at least, not as badly as I want to kill the man holding my woman. Don wraps a leg over my chest and yanks on my arm, straightening it out over his hips and pulling downwards. Pain shoots from my elbow, radiating through my body and making me cringe. Shit. Fuck! He has me in an arm bar—a fucking arm bar!

I will not tap out.

Not to Don-fucking-Russell.

I angle my head and peer through the cage’s wires. Color has drained from Olivia’s face and even from here I can see the tears welled up in her eyes.

She’s calling out to me, but I can’t hear it under the protest of the crowd. I feel two pops in my elbow and I cringe as Don straightens it further. My heart slams into my lungs and my whole body is taut, fighting against Don’s strength. I don’t take my eyes off Olivia, who is desperately begging me to tap. I can’t.

I can’t tap…

I’m prepared to let him break my arm.

Then, I see the one thing I never want to see flash over Olivia’s countenance—disappointment. My heart dips, deflating into nothing as my stomach churns. I can’t believe I’m about to do this. I can’t believe I’m about to do what I told myself I’d never do. I grit my teeth against my pride and without a second thought I slap my hand down onto the canvas.

The bell rings.

The pressure on my arm is released.

… and I’ve lost the fight to Don Russell.

Don…fucking…Russell.

Don leaps up and thrusts his arms in the air.