Page 78 of Body Lock

Pulling away, I brought my lips to her ear. “This will be over.” Brushing a loose strand of hair from her face, my palm embraced the flushed apple of her cheek. “I love you, and I love our unborn child, that's why I'm doing this. For both of you.”

The words flowed out effortlessly, that woman had been meant for me. She made my chest hurt, she sent sparks across my nerves.

Cadence gave me a reason to exist, and I loved her for it.

Tugging my shirt over my head, I placed it over her shoulder. “Here, I'll need this later, don't use it like you did the other day,” I said grinning, climbing under the ropes.

Meeting her gaze from inside the ring, Cadence blushed three shades of pink, her lips parted as she mouthed,'I love you too.'The voiceless sentence hit my core, fueling my desire to just finish this.

For the first time in forever, I felt clear. My mind opened up to my surroundings, to the realization that Louis couldn't really own anybody. I signed a fucking piece of paper, that was it. A piece of paper that held no weight.

He ran an illegal ring, he was taking bets to shed blood. What could he do with my John Hancock?

Nothing.

And his daughter... He lost her when I came in.

Kicking my shoes into the corner, I straightened my back, stretching my spine as high as it would go. Wriggling my fingers, I glared at Louis, watching the empty abyss of his eyes take in my stance.

My arms dangled by my side, body glazed in the dampness of sweat, and a broad smile rested across my face.

The Macro's lip curled down, a single fist clenched by his hip. I knew he had expected to rock me, shake me up with our conversation, that's how he worked. He tried to dig his nails into your emotions and make you weak.

That was his secret to success. Tug at the things you found most precious, then once he had you wrapped like a boa constrictor, he squeezed, suffocating you into doing what he wanted.

The mass of people surrounding the ring began to scream. The deafening yells drew my attention to the other side of the square where Big D was sliding inside.

I looked him up and down, sizing him up. He was a large man, thick, vascular muscles crawled across his biceps. His shoulders were draped in black tribal tattoos, a small soul patch rested in the center of his chin.

It was hard for me to tell just yet if he had any real training, or if he was just another dirty bar brawler trying to seem tough.

Bringing the microphone to his lips, Louis said, “You both know the rules.” He shot me a sideways glance. “Let the blood bath begin!” Screams followed his announcement, a bell chiming off in the background.

Big D eyed me from across the ring, his meaty hands came up, resting beside his ears. Stepping forward, he swayed side to side, watching my face, waiting for me to come in.

Here we go, asshole,I thought to myself, stepping to my side as we circled each other.

I watched his chest, the pace of his breathing, looking for the hint of him coming in to strike. My first teacher had spent a lot of time on the body movements of your opponent. You could read them, see where they were going to go, when they were going to make their move.

That small lesson, it helped in more ways than one. When it came to women, I could read them like a fucking handbook.

Now, all I wanted was to fill my library with Cadence. This was going to be the last time I would ever need that trick.

I watched his eyes and where they went, his fists and where they were placed. I looked for a twitch, a heavy inhale, all of it would help me stay one step ahead.

Big D shook in his left leg, suddenly he lunged in my direction, his leg coming up in a high kick. On reflex, I ducked and swiped his stable leg out from beneath him. Hitting the mat hard, he grunted in surprise.

Stepping back, I let him pick himself up. I could have jumped on him, gave him some quick jabs to the head, but I didn't want to lose it like last time.

Glancing over at Cadence, she watched nervously, arms folded snugly into her ribs. A hand came up and twisted a strand of hair in a spiral, bound so tight, the tornado shaped strip reached her scalp.

The floor began to vibrate, Big D had started to charge in my direction.

Well, I guess he hadn't seen that coming.

He bowed out his elbow, trying to drive it into my head. Dipping to the side, the thick mass crashed into my shoulder. A throbbing pain shot down my arm. His once thin lips curled up in a smile.

In one swift motion, he spun around, his knee raised high, ready to meet my back. Jumping forward, I avoided the blow. Spinning on my toes, my leg flew up, shin connecting with the muscle of his neck.

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