Page 97

Rage

We’re scheduled for five three-minute rounds. It’s not exactly regulation but close enough. And Bronco opens the fight with a spinning back kick, but his foot barely glances off my abs after I angle away from him. He resets his stance and comes right back, trying to take me down by shooting for a single leg takedown, but I’m ready for it as I sidestep away. I’m about four inches taller and my arms are much longer, so he’s at a disadvantage in that department because his underhooks aren’t nearly as effective.

He’s strong and fast, though. I catch his speed as with a quick, explosive burst of energy Bronco gets back to his feet before I can punish his takedown attempt. I feel it when he catches me in the ribs with a hook after he feints with two jabs and a cross.

Normally, I work on the body first and then go for the head but now I’ve learned his timing so I fire back hard, catching him in the side of the face with a hook hard enough to make him stumble. He shakes it off and comes at me with a flurry of blows that end with an upper cut that’s hard enough to take us both down to the mat. Somehow, we manage to stay standing.

With him so close in my guard, his elbow is vicious as it batters my ribs and arms. Nothing I can’t handle, but I really have to end this. I bring up my knee, catching him in the ribs, and he winces.

Interesting.

In all fairness, I was mostly testing the waters—I didn’t put a lot of weight into it.

Maybe this will be easier than I thought.

I circle to create some distance as he recovers, the swing twice, a left hook, followed immediately by a right upper cut, backing him against the side of the cage. He kicks out forward with his right leg trying to stop my advance, but I easily move within his guard as I counter with a low jab into his ribs, followed immediately by a cross to his solar plexus, with a hook that’s searching for the knockout.

His elbow comes up and blocks my hook, making it a glancing blow. He responds with a jab, but I bob out of the way and counter with three quick hooks to the side of his ribs I haven’t hit yet. If I can keep him where he is, it’ll make his life so much more difficult. As long as his back is against the cage, he won’t be able to generate any real power to fight back. Which is exactly what I want.

“That all you got?” Bronco grunts, blocking my next punch with his forearm.

“You don’t want all I got,” I snap.

He smiles. “Yeah. I do. Let’s get this done.”

Does he want me to beat him?

Before I can process that, he pushes me off of him and I instinctively bring up my leg for a kick to the head. He’s visibly shaken, teetering back a few steps after it connects, so I follow it up with a roundhouse kick specifically to the ribs I tendered up earlier. I can almost see the air leave his lungs as my kick knocks the wind out of him. There’s a small gasping sound and then Bronco hits the mat hard.

I can smell the defeat radiating off of him.

I follow him down, pass his guard, and manage to get side-control, where I rain down my elbow on him. Once. Twice. By the third time, I know it’s over, but I don’t stop. I pop up to knee-on-belly, and then pummel him with my fists, throwing some elbows in for good measure. Until the ref pushes me off him and I get to my feet, lifting my arms in the air even though I don’t feel much triumph.

My eyes immediately go to the chair next to Courtney—it’s still empty. Courtney’s eyes meet mine and I see the worry there. I spin to look at Grim, motioning to him.

“Where’s Luna?” I yell over the roar of the crowd.

“I don’t know. She never showed up.” I can’t tell what he’s thinking, the look in his eyes inscrutable.

“God dammit.” I jump over the wall of the cage and onto the ground.

“What’s going on?” Metal is right there, handing me a T-shirt.

I pull it over my head and motion to Daniil, who manages to push past the crowd of people trying to get my attention.

“Where’s Luna?” he asks me.

“That’s what I want to know.”

All of us stand there for a beat.

“We had a…disagreement,” I mutter. “I asked if she wanted to talk about it and she said no, that we’d talk after the fight. It wasn’t serious enough for her to not show up.”

Was it?

“She was talking to Jonas at…” He looks down at his phone. “Around eight thirty.”

“She was talking to who?” I stare at him.