Page 13 of Rematch
The younger boy danced around each one, moving so quickly his opponent couldn’t lay a single hit on him.
I caught on to his strategy as the older man’s strikes began to slow down. Tire them out, and then make your move. It was one of the oldest tricks in the book.
But, it worked to his advantage. With his opponent running out of steam, the boy was able to throw, and land, his own punches.
Each jab caused more and more smoke to come out of the other man’s ears. Frustrated, he charged towards the boy and wrapped his arms around his torso. He lifted him up off his feet and slammed him down onto the ground.
The boy’s head bounced off the mat and he grimaced from the pain.
Above him, his opponent started laying harsh, quick punches at his face.
In the new position, he had nowhere to run. He held his forearms up over his head, temporarily blocking some of the blows.
The crowd roared at the sudden turn.
A hint of nausea rolled through my stomach as I watched the man beat on him. I looked at the referee and wished he’d call it already. But, I knew he wouldn’t. This was exactly what the crowd wanted - what they’d come here for. Assuming from the amount of cheers, most people already had their money set on the other guy. All they needed was for him to follow through with the knockout.
The only problem was the kid refused to give up. Despite the odds, he still fought, timing his punches for the moments when the man’s arms were low. He caught him a few times in the chest and in the face. One was hard enough that it briefly stunned the man, and his punches momentarily paused.
A few seconds was all the boy needed to turn the tables. He hit the guy in the jaw, sending him sideways, and rolled them over. Now straddling him, the boy threw merciless blows at the man, punching him over and over and over again. His face, his chest, his stomach - any open area he could find. With each leg set firmly on both sides of his torso, the older man had no wayof escaping. A few clean punches to the face later, and he was knocked out cold.
The crowd, astonished by his win, quickly changed their tune and cheered for him.
As he got off his opponent, he glanced around the room and a small smile tugged at his lips.
“Damn,” Wesley murmured. “Mini-Max got heart.”
I grabbed a handful of his shirt. “Call him that again and I’ll rip your tongue out,” I threatened.
“Whoa, whoa. Sorry, I didn’t mean to-” He stopped himself short when I shoved him away.
“Grab his ass and bring him to me.”
Nodding, he and Tysir rushed from my side and headed towards the stairwell.
I headed in the opposite direction towards the small office in the corner of the hall. While I waited for Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum to fetch him for me, I leaned against the desk and contemplated the words to say. Come to think of it, I’ve never said much of anything to him before. There was never a time I needed to. Hell, I didn’t have to say anything to him now, but I couldn’t shake the feeling I got when I saw him step into the ring. For once it wasn’t anger or resentment. It was fear. For what, though, I had no idea.
Faint sounds of bickering echoed through the hall. “Just give me my fucking money,” an voice echoed through the hall. It was eerie how similar it was to mine.
“Gotta talk to the boss first,” Wesley said.
“I don’t want to talk to that asshole. Get the fuck off of me!”
All three of them appeared in my doorway. He was standing between Tysir and Wesley, both of them holding an arm, with a scowl on his lips. He struggled in the grasp, desperate to break free. “Let me-” He started, but stopped when he locked eyes with me. The scowl transformed into a glare. “The fuck doyouwant?”
“Leave us,” I commanded my men. “Distribute the money.”
They shoved him inside and closed the door, providing us unwanted but necessary privacy.
“What the hell are you doing here, Jayden?” I asked, crossing my arms against my chest.
He scoffed. “Like you give a damn. Do you have my money or not?”
“I’m not going to ask you again.”
“Or what? You gonna beat my ass? I’m not scared of you.”
“From the looks of it, you’re not scared of anyone. I saw how you did down there.”
