Page 219 of Repairing the Wreckage

“Jesus Christ.” Remy shifts to the edge of his seat. “Magic’s just standing there like a fuckin’ zombie eating shot after shot.”

Magic ducks and covers his head, but Griff’s relentless, pouring on the punches.

The ref calls time. Griff calmly walks to his corner, hands on his hips, while Magic staggers over to his stool and falls onto it.

While I can’t hear what Underhill and Eraser are saying to Griff in his corner, their animated gestures seem positive.

As the second round starts, Griff’s confidence must be soaring. He’s lighter on his feet, almost taunting Magic.

“Don’t get cocky, bonehead,” Remy mutters.

Magic lowers himself and rushes Griff, flipping him onto the mat. My stomach jumps as the hard thud of their bodies hitting the canvas reverberates.

“That was a mistake,” Remy says. “Griff will finish him.”

“Now who’s cocky?”

Remy chuckles and hugs me to his side.

Our whole row’s screaming as Griff and Magic grapple on the floor. The crowd starts chanting “Stonewall!” and I think it’s almost over when the ref sends them to their corners again.

Heart pounding wildly, I jump to my feet, trying to see Griff better. The coaches and another person surround him in his corner. Did he get hurt?

The third round starts. Griff’s just as bouncy and eager as he was in round one, while Magic seems to drag himself over the canvas.

Please finish this soon.

Magic ducks, like he’s preparing to take Griff to the mat, at the same time Griff lifts his knee. Face and knee collide. Blood sprays from Magic’s mouth and he staggers backward.

“Yikes, he gonna knock his own ass out!” Shelby yells.

The knee to the face was an accident, I think, but Griff uses Magic’s disorientation to his advantage. He lands several body shots, steps back, then throws a punch straight to Magic’s jaw.

Magic’s arms fly out to his sides, he staggers backward, then crumples to the canvas.

“Done!” Remy jumps to his feet.

“Yes!” Shelby squeezes my hand. Everyone in our row explodes out of our seats.

I run over and hug Ella. “He did it! He did it!” she squeals in my ear.

Trinity gives me a big hug. “I couldn’t breathe through the first half of that!”

Wrath’s standing so close to his wife that I move from hugging Trinity to giving him a hug too. He freezes for a second, then pats my shoulder. “He did good,” he bellows.

“He did! He did! Oh my God.”

Remy’s big hands curl over my shoulders and he steers me toward the cage. “He wants you in there!” he shouts.

I can’t even see Griff with all the people blocking our path. “Get behind me.” Remy takes my hand, pulling me along behind him while he muscles his way through the wall of people.

I scream at the top of my lungs with pure joy.

Rooster and Jigsaw meet us near the cage steps. Together with my brother, they form a protective semi-circle around me.

“You proud?” Jigsaw asks me.

“Damn right!”

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