Strike to the Heart(22)

I continued through the concrete entrance into the seating area. The din was deafening. I kept walking, down, down, closer to the center. I wasn’t sure what to do. I wanted to catch Zane’s attention, but I didn’t want to distract him. What if he didn’t want to see me?

“Clear the aisle, ma’am.”

I was going to my seat. I was going to sit and I was going to watch. I loved Zane and this was part of his life. I needed to know if I could do this.

My seat was near the front. I pushed my way through the aisle, stepping on a few toes. People spread to make room as I reached my spot. I’d avoided looking, but now I did.

Zane and his opponent circled each other in the cage. Zane threw a left and the fighter moved to block Zane. Who was this guy? I turned to the person next to me. “Who’s Ryan fighting?”

The guy looked at me as if I had two heads. “Johnson? It’s their rematch.”

I nodded. “Ummm, not to bug you, but is it going well for Ryan?”

The man smiled indulgently. “First fight?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, they’ve been pretty evenly matched so far. Johnson got him on the ground in the first round, but Ryan slipped out pretty easy. Johnson has a longer reach, but Ryan’s technique is a little better. I think it could go either way.”

Johnson let loose with a flurry of punches and I gasped. A cut opened above Zane’s right eye and blood trickled down his cheek. “Will they stop the fight?”

“What? For that? No way. It’s nothing.”

It didn’t look like nothing to me. Something rose within me. Something primal. I wanted Zane to hit that guy back—hit him back hard in payment for hurting him.

Zane kneed Johnson in his side and I found myself cheering with the crowd. What the hell? I hated fighting, didn’t I? I didn’t want Zane to get hurt, but part of me trusted him to handle himself.

Zane and Johnson got into a clinch, both throwing punches before breaking apart. Johnson took a wide swing and managed to catch Zane on the jaw. He went down. As Johnson moved to jump on him, Zane rolled and was back on his feet. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Zane rushed toward Johnson, landed several punches, and jumped back. Zane’s leg swung up, catching Johnson on the shoulder. “That must have hurt.”

“No doubt. Ryan’s better with his legs. Johnson mostly wants to get his opponents on the ground and pummel them.”

I made a face. Pummeling didn’t sound good at all.

The round ended and Zane bounced to his corner. He took water and toweled the blood from his face.

In no time at all, they were back at it. Zane punished his opponent with a burst of punches to his chest, shoulders, and face. Johnson backed away and Zane’s leg came up, slamming into Johnson’s head. Johnson looked dazed, fell to one knee, and tumbled onto his side. Johnson rolled slightly, side to side, but didn’t rise.

It was over. Zane had won. I cheered with the crowd.

Zane thrust his hands in the air and jumped. I was right there with him. I screamed his name and his head jerked toward me. His eyes met mine and I knew that he’d seen me.

~ * ~ * ~

Zane

It was a knock out. I’d been certain I could win, but Johnson had surely tested that belief. I wiped the trickle of blood off my face. The crowd screamed and I yelled right along with them.

“Zane!”

It was Jo. I knew it was. My eyes scanned the crowd until I found her. Three rows back in the middle. What the hell was she doing here? Honestly, I didn’t care. I was just glad to see her. She was here. That was enough for me.

“Paulie. Jo’s here.” I pointed. “Third row in the middle. The blonde. Bring her back. Can you do that for me?”

“Sure thing.”

~ * ~ * ~

Jo

I recognized Paulie from the gym. He was the quiet type, it seemed. He didn’t say a word as he escorted me down the hall. He stopped before a door and pointed inside.

When I entered, Zane was sitting on a chair with someone applying a butterfly bandage to the cut over his eye.

My heart jerked. “Does that need stitches?”

Zane smiled. “Probably.”

“I came to see you. The fight was different than I thought it would be. It’s easy to get caught up in it.” The excitement of the crowd had been infectious.

“That’s what I’m told.”

“Congratulations on winning.” I was glad Zane’s injuries appeared minor. It would be hard to get used to, but I was determined to do it.

“Thanks.” Zane’s eyes bored into me.

“I didn’t see the whole thing. I’m sorry. I didn’t want to be a distraction. I didn’t know if I would be.”

Zane smiled. “You’re the best kind of distraction.”