Page 34 of Breaking the Habit

Everything else faded to black as Levi re-entered the ring, looking somehow dewy and fresh. It was probably the gel they’d swiped onto his cheekbones, but still. She’d take it as a good sign.

The bell rang, and the two fighters pranced and hopped around each other, both more cautious now that they’d felt the full brunt of the first round. Levi swiped and missed, and his opponent came in fast, landing a solid punch to Levi’s chest.

Levi stumbled backwards—rocked off the defensive—and the other fighter dove in headfirst, taking Levi down to the mat with a hardthud. Everything happened so fast then: the endless punches to Levi’s face, the butt-clenching few seconds where she thought Levi had actuallypassed out,followed by a few ineffective swipes from Levi, grazing open air as he received the brutal beatdown.

Riley went rigid, fear and desperation snaking through her, and it was only when Levi managed to hook his ankle around the guy’s waist and maneuver himself to a better position that she remembered she needed to take pictures. The whole point of being here.

Emotion pressed at her chest as she snapped away, sending up a silent prayer each second that he would come out on top. He had to win this round.He had to.

It wasn’t because her job was on the line.

It was because she believed in Levi. She wanted him to succeed. Even if she disagreed with his aspirations for fame, she believed he was a good guy and that hedeserved it.

Levi finally escaped the hold he was in. Whether by miracle or sheer expertise, Levi wriggled out like a snake and turned the tables in the blink of an eye. Riley whooped with relief as he maneuvered himself on top of his opponent, unleashing a lethal spray of punches.

The arena filled with cheers. Tears pressed at her eyes, and she rummaged in her camera bag for a different lens. As she was in the middle of screwing on the new lens, the asshole on the right jabbed her—hard. The old one went flying and cracked right down the center.

“Sorry,” he snarled.

Riley gaped at the broken lens. Anger bubbled up, and she ripped out a gruff cry and tightened the new one on. She’d deal with that shit later. She lined up the shot, which took a few extra seconds because this lens took tight-cropped images. It was hard to keep more than their heads in the shot, but she knew the payoff would be greater. Especially now.

She barely breathed as she clicked through the shots. The apprehension of the moment—would she make it, would they turn out okay—kept her throat cinched tight.

The ref called the round. Levi released his iron grip around his opponent’s neck, and the two staggered away from each other. Riley bent down to pick up her cracked equipment, and while she was down, a hand came down on her ass.

She whipped up to search out the offender. Surrounded by men, this already reeked of a losing battle.

“Keep your fucking hands off me,” she snarled at the asshole to her right, who watched her with a smarmy look.

“Never had ‘em on ya.”

Anger zipped through her. Bottling it up wasn’t an option. “You know I work for him, right?” Her index finger flew toward Levi, who was currently being administered water by Travis. “All it takes is one word. You break another lens, he’ll break your face.” God, it felt so redeeming to threaten this guy. She relished how good it felt—how much she actually believed her own words. “You wanna fuck with this guy? After what you’ve seen here?”

The rush and call of the arena swelled as the fighters returned to their posts. The asshole photographer grinned at her, licking his lips.

“Don’t worry, sweetie. He’s not gonna last. I’ve been coming to these fights longer than you’ve been alive. Let him show up to my office. I’d love to have him.”

“Fuck off.” Riley jerked back around, angling her right shoulder in front of this guy, trying not to let him steal her focus. This was the last round. The one that decided it all. Still, her heart hammered in her chest, the blatant disrespect of this man—and probably all the other photographers around her—weighing heavily on her mind.

The final round was a good distraction. Levi landed an uppercut and then attempted to choke out his opponent. The choke failed, and after a slight scuffle, Levi brought out the ultra-fast boxing moves, the ones she remembered Travis mentioning. His opponent was knocked out before the round was over.

Cheers swelled until the arena became thunderous. And distantly…but distinctly…she heard the chant forming.

“LE-VI-LEAD-FIST.”

“LE-VI-LEAD-FIST.”

Chapter 11

The dressing room was pure victory dance when Riley made it back. Lex hooted his congratulations while Travis shoved his fists into the air. The league doctor was already bent in front of Levi, checking out the damage.

Levi looked spent. But utterly happy.

“That fight?” Riley shut the door behind her, leaning against it. “Was fucking incredible.”

Levi’s heartbreaker grin stretched from ear to ear. “I knew you’d turn into a super fan.”

“Wasn’t it though?” Lex jumped in place a few times, doling out punches to imaginary foes. “That’s my Levi Lead Fist!”

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