Page 58 of The Two Halves of My Heart

And now I had to leave, for my biggest fight yet, and I had no idea if I should expect her there or not. It fucking sucked, and it pulled my attention from where it should be—on smashing whoever was against me later tonight. That was how this worked. The guys running the show had several people, all like Zuri, all after their cut. Fights were scheduled, bets made, winnings taken. Rinse, repeat. The fighters got to move through the ranks as they proved their worth. Bigger, better, harder.

Leo met me around the back and helped me to get prepped. He was another of Zuri’s finds and fought just like me. We’d hit it off, and he was fucking brilliant at helping to psych me up.

And I needed to get my head in the fucking game. Right now. Shit.

“What’s up, Mads. Come on, dude.” He smacked me around the head and punched my shoulder a couple of times. It registered as an annoyance and stirred the anger that was never far away.

“Again. Seriously, man. I need you to make me see red.” I looked up at him. He didn’t understand, although not many did. I was just hardwired that way and had been since I could remember. Having Oliver as a brother had helped because I had someone to take it out on. This abundance of energy only grew darker and more explosive as I grew up. It became harder to control, the smallest thing, set it off, like a living thing mixed in with my blood.

“Mads, come on. I hate all that shit. Can’t you just take it out on the poor guy in the ring?”

“Do you want me to take a beating? Or do you want me to knock this guy’s head off? Just, throw some punches towards me. Keep me focused on you.”

We wrapped my hands—a methodical process that I only tolerated because it saved my knuckles. I’d tried to go without during a training session once. Big fucking mistake. But I didn’t have the patience, and Leo did. For a fighter, he was seriously fucking relaxed.

Leo stepped back and let me shake out my bad mood. We circled, throwing punches to warm up. It was all a ploy. I knew Leo would pick his time and strike me properly. That’s what I’d asked him to do, and he was no lightweight. He matched me well, but we’d never have to face off in the ring. Zuri put us forward for others to fight, not to break each other.

A few more moves left and right before he hit me. Then we were grappling with one another. It was what I needed to focus and kept my mind on the fight and the ring. As we continued to mess with each other, the din seeped through the building, drowning out even the music until the cheers were all I heard. My blood rushed through my veins, knowing what was going to come.

“You got this.” Leo grabbed my head and rested it against his forehead, gritting out the words through his teeth. “You got this!” I broke off and shook my arms loose, trying to stop my mind from wandering.

Some guy dressed in black and looking like he belonged on the door rather than back here, nodded in the direction of the corridor that led out into the ring. This was it. I slammed my fists into one another, and Leo shoved my mouth guard at me. “Say cheese, mother fucker. See you on the other side.”

The noise thundered around the club as the doors opened. It was deafening and only fuelled my adrenalin further. I wanted this.

I’d own that ring. Grace or not.

As I took my steps out onto my stage, I kept my head down, my eyes focused, just like before. I let the bellows fuel my rage, imagining they were against me, and that my next actions would prove them wrong. I was fitter, stronger, punched harder, and I’d show every fucker in here who Maddison Ray was.

I made my way to the ring and stepped up to the caged walls. As I waited, I cast my gaze around; unable not to look for the girl I needed to see. The disappointment would hurt, but hey, I was about to step foot inside a locked cage to fight a guy, with one purpose in mind—knock the fucker out cold. Pain, I could deal with.

My eyes raced to search for her familiar silhouette. All my life I’d been watching for her on the pitch, and I’d got pretty damn good at recognising her in a crowd. I zeroed in on the spot she’d stood last time, and to my surprise, she was there.

She was fucking there.

Alone.

Fuck.

My head snapped to where Leo stood with Zuri. No fucking time. It was too late for him to reach her. The thought of her up there, unprotected, with guys sniffing around, sent my teeth clamping down into my gum shield like I wanted to crack the thing in half.

“Arghhhh!” I howled, ready to get this done and get to her.

The crowd roared and cheered in another wave as my opponent finally made an appearance. I bounced on the balls of my feet, stretched my neck out, and rolled my shoulders, all while keeping Grace in the peripheral of my sight. She held all the power over me. Always had, always would and the fact that she’d come, despite everything, just made it all the sweeter. This guy, he was going to regret ever taking this match.

The stale smell of beer and sweat stuck in my nose as I inhaled and forced the air into my lungs. This sport didn’t have many rules, which was just the way I liked it. I could finally let myself off the leash.

We both nodded, the only signal we needed. Fight on.

He launched at me like a fucking rocket, taking me off guard and pile-driving me down into the mat. The impact winded me, and I was slow to respond. But I wrestled him off and made it back to my feet and started swinging. I might be limited in the training I’d had, but I made up for it with size and sheer force of will.

My fist made contact, reverberating through my arm to my shoulder like a mini shockwave. But I didn’t stop. I repeated and repeated, alternating my arms, my direction of strike, and my target point. Until the guy was pinballing from one hit to the other. He was so disorientated that he was like a rag doll. My feet moved back, giving him a breather before I decided to end this. This fight was meant to be harder. A bigger opponent. A challenge. Right now, I was somewhere between pissed off and bored. He hadn’t even landed a punch.

I waited, double-checked to see if this guy really was on the ropes, and then went in for the kill. One, two, three. A combination of strikes that sent shudders through my own body as they landed on his torso, jaw, and face. He fell to the mat as the club exploded.

I turned around and looked directly to where Grace was. I saw her and beckoned for her to come down. The need to reach her and check she was safe, overrode everything else rushing through me. The adrenalin, the energy, the endorphins—none were a patch on my need for her.

She had a stubborn look on her face, and for a second, I saw her turning away, but she didn’t. One of the lads opened up the way so she could come down. I exited the ring and went to meet her, ready to sweep her up like the last time and wrap her in my arms.

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