And the fight began.
Jacki started to circle around to the side and I did the same, walking like a crab, hands raised to guard myself in case she suddenly came at me.I’m not ready!My heart was thumping in my chest and Icould actually see my hands shaking as I held them in front of me. This wasn’t like the ring I’d trained in—at all!There was no bounce in the floor, no give. If I even slipped and went down, it was going to hurt. If I was knocked down and hit my head...it didn’t bear thinking about.
Jacki suddenly came at me in a zig-zagging, erratic run. Her hands weren’t up in fists. They were more like hooked claws, ready to grab and pull and tear.
I backed up, trying to keep my distance. Immediately, she moved faster. It was obvious which of us had the upper hand, right from the start. I was scared of her but she wasn’t scared of me.
She suddenly snaked her hand out and I blocked instinctively. But she wasn’t trying to hit me. She grabbed my hand andpulled,using the full weight of her body to swing me around. My feet skittered under me and my stomach lurched. The wall came up to meet me, too fast—
I crashed into the concrete, feeling the gritty surface chew at my exposed arm and shoulder. My hip banged hard against it and my leg went numb.
The crowd cheered.
I tried to get away from her, but I was staggering, now, and didn’t have the speed to get any distance. All I could do was retreat, backing up along the curving wall, praying I didn’t trip over my own feet. If I went down, it was all over.
I didn’t dare take my eyes off Jacki’s cruelly grinning face. But then I saw the door to the side room behind her and, in it, Aedan. He was screaming at me.
Screaminghit her.
Before I could take it in, she grabbed me again. This time, she pulled me towards her and—
Pain exploded in my face. I tasted and smelled blood. And suddenly it was fountaining out of me, splotching onto my top. I lifted my hands to my face and they instantly turned red. Jesus, what had she done to me?
The pain dulled a little, centering on my nose. I realized she’d head-butted me, and my nose was bleeding.
For the first time, I started to pick out voices in the crowd.
“Get her on the ground!”
“Shove your foot up the bitch!”
“Fucking finish her!”
She was coming at me again, hands raised, leg drawn back.
Hit her.
She was going to grab me and kick me.
Hit her.
She was going to get me down on the ground and smash my face into the floor, just like she promised.
Hit her.Behind Jacki, I saw Aedan screaming it.
I can’t!And then Jacki shouted and came at me hard, hands grabbing for my waist—
I lashed out and two solid weeks of muscle memory snapped into place. There was a sickening crack as my fist hit Jacki’s jaw. Her head snapped to the side and she staggered. The crowd cheered even louder. Apparently, it didn’t matter who got hit, as long as someone did.
Jacki put her hand to her face and winced, then looked at me, her eyes narrowed. I was looking at my own fist in wonder. My knuckles were throbbing, my wrist aching.Did I really just hit her?I realized I’d dropped my guard and started to lift my hands again.
Too late.
Jacki shoulder-charged me and bore us both down to the floor. I landed under her, gasping as the air was knocked out of me. Jacki’s expression was vicious, now, her lips drawn back from her teeth in an animal snarl.
I lifted my head, only to have her punch me. It wasn’t as strong as one of my punches—it seemed like she was used to grabbing and throwing, not hitting. But it sent my head towards the concrete and I only just managed to hold it away, my neck muscles screaming. She hit me again, on the other side, and this time it hurt more.
“Tear her clothes off!”screamed someone in the crowd. There was a sudden roar of approval from all around the room.
