Protect & Serve(130)

I finished him off with a left hook. It was the punch I’d been known for. Nobody in the world of mixed martial arts had a left hook as devastating as mine.

When it landed, his eyes rolled back and he collapsed on the floor, a broken man.

“Oh, shit! What the hell, Luke?” yelled one of the other guys who was watching, cage side.

“Yeah,” said another one. “What are you doing? This is sparring dude.”

I spit out my mouthpiece.

“He’s the one who started throwing full force… I think this might be a good little lesson in humility.”

The cage door burst open and a handful of people scurried inside. They ran to the downed fighter and started fussing over him. His face was already swollen and turning black and blue.

I made my way out of the cage. The rest of the guys were looking at me in stunned silence. You weren’t supposed to go that hard during a sparring session. Especially with a guy who was so clearly outmatched. I didn’t care, though. Fighting was a dangerous sport. I could spar with someone all day without leaving so much as a damn bruise, but if someone was going to step into that cage and try to make a name off me I was going to make him pay for it.

“What the fuck is everyone looking at?” I barked. “Go back to work.”

This girl had been on my mind way too much lately. It was time I do something about it. I was scheduled to go out on a two-week press tour and the thought of being away from her again didn’t sit well. I didn’t want to blow the good thing we had started. It was against all of my rules, but I was considering asking her to come with me.

When it comes to my fights, I’m all business. She was different, though. I thought she could do it without being a problem. Plus, she would be a great distraction at the hotel room each night. That girl knew how to fuck the stress right out of me.

I stood in front of my locker and made the call.

“Hello?”

“What are you up to, cutie?”

“You wouldn’t believe the day I had. It felt like it was never going to end.”

“Sounds like you made it, though,” I chuckled.

“Barely. I picked up a bottle of wine on the way home. If I had a corkscrew with me I would have considered popping it open on the interstate.”

“Bad girl. You know, if you needed to relax you could have just called me.”

“I know. I would have, too, if I had the energy to get off my couch.”

“I make house calls, you know. I could be there in fifteen minutes.”

She hesitated. I could tell she was struggling with it.

“Okay, okay,” I said. “Not tonight. But I did have something I want to ask you.”

“Really? What is it?”

“You know I have this press thing I have to do, right? It’s this tour we go on to drum up excitement for the fight. We hit the big cities and hold a press conference in each. New York, Los Angeles, Miami, you know, the big ones.”

“Wow, that sounds crazy,” she said.

“Yeah, well, it’s a whirlwind. This guy I’m fighting isn’t too bright so I’ll have to sell the fight pretty hard. I mean, there’s already a ton of interest. The people have been wanting us to fight for years… But I think I can’t put it over the top by talking a lot of shit. Make it a grudge match, you know?”

“I guess so. But won’t that make people hate you? Won’t they think you’re a jerk?”

“The fans eat that stuff up. They’ll love having a fighter they can get behind. The more polarizing you can be, the better. Some people will hate me but a lot more will love me. This is how you play the game…”

“Oh…”

“You don’t really know what to think of all this do you?”

“I guess not,” she said. “I’ve been reading a lot about it though. MMA is blowing up. There are a ton of articles about you online.”

“That’s the point. The more people we can get talking, the better. We’re aiming to set a record for the number of pay-per-views this time. And that equals more money in my pocket.”

“So, you get paid by the number of people who watch?”

“Something like that. Anyway, about that press tour… I was wondering if you could make the time to go with me.”

“What? Travel with you while you do your interviews?”

“That’s what I’m asking.”

“Are you messing with me?”

“Nope. You could hang out in the room during the day, go to the spa or whatever, and then at night we could hit the town. Go to all the best night spots in each city. What do you say?”

“Luke, I don’t… I couldn’t possibly get away from work. Not on such short notice.”