Ruined: Loving An Alpha Male(77)
Chapter 13
Maxine
Even though I have practically grown up in the sport of fighting, I’m never prepared for the brutality it brings. We are in day two of the tournament, and Mason is doing quite well. It’s only me and Lou in his corner today, but I’m doing the best I can to take the place of Alex.
The tournament is pretty much set up as a no holds barred on fighting. There are twenty fighters, and each one fights to get into the finals. There are ten fights on Friday, which will leave ten fighters left. On Saturday, there will be five fights, and this is where the scoring comes into play. The top six fighters that score the highest will move on to the semifinal round. The two top fighters will be challenged to see who could take them off the throne. The first place fighter, which is the one with the highest score, will take on third and fifth place fighters. The second place fighter will take on the fourth and sixth place fighters. It’s a last man standing type of thing. Whoever the two fighters are that are left will battle for the title.
Trip was slotted last year to go all the way to the top and did make it to the semis. He was the second place fighter and got knocked out by the sixth place fighter.
Lou explained to Mason how important it is to make the most points you could on the first night. Of course, KO’s can give you the most points. But you get points for making a fighter submit to you. Plus, you get points by your savageness, skills, hits, and—most of all—takedowns. Mason was quiet. Alex said things to him that again I couldn’t hear, except when he would tell him not to waste any more of his time. This time he told him he had some partying to do with some hot Latina girl that’s been begging him to fuck her. Mason, as always, would laugh and shake his head; I, on the other hand, gave Alex a dirty look.
“What?” he said, looking at me? “It motivates him.”
Well, I wouldn’t put my life on it, but it seemed to have worked. Two and a half minutes later, the guy he was in the cage with was flat on his face and not moving.
Alex nodded toward Mason, who climbed from the cage.
“Was that quick enough for you?” Mason asked.
“Eh! I probably would have knocked him out in less time it took you. But hey.”
Mason and I laughed, and Lou shook his head.
“Holy shit, Reap. You still got it in you.”
We all turned to see Roland coming toward him. Mason went over to him, and I sat back and watched the exchange that went from joking to serious. Mason shook his head and looked over at Alex. I couldn’t hear what they were saying. But from Mason’s body language, he wasn’t happy. I started to help Lou get Mason’s things, and we headed toward the men.
That’s when I heard Mason say, “Man, I don’t think you should do this so soon. Seriously, why don’t you wait this one out? For the next one, I’ll go with you.”
“Reap, I’m more than capable of taking care of myself. I don’t need you around to babysit me. I’m doing this. It’s already been settled. Now, I know you don’t need me here, and I’ll be back before you fight in the championship,” Alex told him.
Mason shook his head.
“Damn it, Alex. I have a bad feeling about this. Man, how about neither of you go?”
Roland put his hand on his shoulder and squeezed.
“Reap, I’ve been doing this for a long time. Trust me when I say that this trip is a piece of cake compared to some of the other jobs we do. Look, Sal and Dom from our old units will be there. Don’t forget that. They’re with me, and they’re going on this mission. We’ve done this a thousand times. There is a small amount of danger. But, hell, Alex was just temporarily retired. He isn’t dead. He can handle himself.”
My eyes grew big, and my heart started to beat faster. I didn’t know what was going on, but I didn’t like the look on Mason’s face. Mason exhaled and looked at Alex.
“I can’t talk you out of this, can I?”
“Nope,” Alex told him.
“Alright, when do we leave?” Mason replied.
“What!” I yelled at the same time Alex said, “Hell no.”
“Alex, remember the last time we went on a mission without each other. I didn’t like it then, and I don’t like it now. I’m coming with you. You know I don’t need this shit. I won’t leave you hanging again.”
“Bullshit, Mason. You’re not going anywhere. You’re going to stay here and beat some ass tomorrow. Come Sunday, I’ll be back to see you get the title. It’s what we’ve been working hard to achieve, Reap. And it’s what I want. I can take care of myself. Trust me.”