Beyond Promise (9 page)

“He’s a body puncher,” Jason whispered
softly. I could barely hear him over the crowd.

“I’m assuming that was something Ayden
trained for with the software.”

Jason gave a nod, his eyes not leaving the
ring. I returned my eyes to the ring and saw Ayden’s gaze become
crazed as he threw a flurry of punches at his opponent. It was as
if his stamina was refueled, and the energy running through his
veins had supercharged with each new punch landing on Viktor’s
cheeks and jaw.

“Ayden’s turned into a headhunter,” Jason
muttered.

“By the looks of it, I’d say that’s a good
thing,” Brandy almost yelled.

Viktor’s head was hanging as he attempted to
evade each punch thrown by Ayden, and as I looked into the ring,
the voices inside my mind finally quieted. Watching Ayden throw jab
after jab at his opponent with such vigor and power showed me why
Ayden would win this match and any other match in front of him.

Ayden had heart. It was Ayden’s heart that
brought his opponent down time and again. He was absorbed in the
act of fighting. Dynamism drove every punch, every jab, and the
intensity only grew as time went on. My pulse picked up speed at
the sight of him dodging Viktor’s punches. It was an art form, of
sorts, as these two swayed in and out of one another’s range, but
it only took a second to realize how quickly it could change.

Viktor delivered another blow into Ayden’s
side, but Ayden took a step back and dismissed the infliction of
pain as if it were nothing more than a fleabite. The crowd was
getting antsy as it became obvious who was going to win the fight,
but I wouldn’t allow myself to get my hopes up. Things could change
on a dime. It only took a fleeting second where the smallest
distraction could change everything.

I blinked and opened my eyes to see Ayden
hook Viktor in the jaw with such raw force that Viktor spun toward
the ropes, bouncing from one to the next until his body slammed
onto the mat, but he scrambled to his feet immediately.

The sparring turned into a ritualistic dance
between these two fighters, but the power continued to shift toward
Ayden. It was undeniable. Ayden had been a student of the game,
always learning, striving to do better, and here he was excelling
in a warehouse full of people who wanted to see him fail. Needed to
see him fail to get their money back.

I was engrossed with what I was seeing in
front of me and knew I’d made the right choice by letting him step
into the ring. If I’d asked him to not to step into the ring, he
would’ve respected my wishes, but then he wouldn’t have left the
circuit knowing he was truly the best. There was no fighter capable
of beating Ayden Rhodes, and now everyone fully understood
that.

Ayden landed a punch across Viktor’s nose,
and the infliction of pain could be felt in the crowd as the blood
trickled down Viktor’s face. I slowly let out a breath as I watched
Viktor unleash a punch with such devastating power that when it
landed on Ayden’s jaw, his entire head flew backward. I jumped on
my toes as fear pummeled my system. Ayden took a few steps back. It
was like slow motion as I watched Viktor soar across the ring
attempting to connect his fist with Ayden’s chin once more.
Something I’d never done before erupted from my gut as I screamed
for Ayden to come alive.

And come alive he did.

Ayden arced his body away from Viktor’s fist
and landed his own punch right in his opponent’s gut, and it didn’t
stop there. I watched a rapid-fire assault take place on Viktor’s
already abused body. Ayden landed a right hook, followed by a
straight punch into Viktor’s jaw, a power shot like no other.
Viktor attempted to steady himself, but it was too late. Ayden
landed a haymaker into his opponent’s jaw. The unnerving amount of
force behind Ayden’s punch sent a chill up my spine as the pain
radiated from Viktor’s gaze. The quick-fire assault of Ayden’s fist
as he jabbed and grabbed Viktor to finish him off gave me hope that
the fight would end soon.

Viktor’s stamina was running out. The fight
had taken its toll. There was no denying the hazy look sitting
behind his expression as he attempted a couple missed swings that
resulted in nothing more than slaps. Boxing was a science, and it
seemed all the fights leading up to this one were Ayden’s
experiments.

The smacking of skin on skin echoed through
the air as the crowd quieted down to an astonished murmur as Ayden
threw his final punch. Viktor’s head lolled about before he took
one step back and fell to the mat. Ayden had floored him again, but
this time there was no getting up for Viktor.

The world around me fell away as I watched
Ayden declared the victor, the MC holding up his arm. Everything
around me was nebulous as I watched the man of my dreams fulfill
his own, and I was here to experience it. Ayden’s gaze buzzed with
excitement as he scanned the crowd.

His eyes found mine, and excitement ran
through me as I saw the look in his eyes. His hunger for the fight
had been sated. But truthfully I wasn’t sure how long that feeling
would last for him.

Ayden bent under the top rope and left the
ring almost unblemished. His gaze connected with mine as he climbed
down, and a flurry of emotions ran through me. I wanted to hug him,
kiss him, and never let go. The fight had been grueling, but the
victory had made his spirit soar.

In my haze of staring at the winner, I
hadn’t noticed how unruly the crowd had gotten until Mason grabbed
Ayden’s arm and shook it. I saw the two trade glances, and my pulse
quickened with the realization that a lot of people had lost a lot
of money. There was always security at every fight, and this event
was no different. I watched the men descend from all corners of the
building and quickly create an aisle for us to exit. I glanced
behind me toward the ring and saw Viktor, now standing, glaring at
us as we left the makeshift arena. We climbed the stairs quickly
and guards stood post at each door.

“You were like a machine out there,” I
whispered to Ayden when we reached the top of the stairs. “You were
amazing. Incredible, really.”

“Thank you, babe,” Ayden said. His intense
gaze locked on mine as he pushed the door open, and I wished that
we were alone.

The excited chatter from Brandy and Gabby
broke our silent moment as everyone piled into the room, amazed at
what they just witnessed. Everything we’d worried about earlier was
absent, leaving us all relieved and excited for our future, any
future.

“You’ll polish right up for the wedding,” I
teased, touching a slight cut above his brow. “Nothing a little
Neosporin won’t fix.”

“My ribs might be a little sore so I might
not be able to carry you over the threshold on our honeymoon,” he
laughed.

“That might not be the only reason,” Mason
teased.

I gave him a dirty look but had to
agree.

We wandered over to the window that
overlooked where the match had been only moments before. The crowd
was clearing out quickly and there was no sign of Viktor. I saw a
group congregating near one of the exits, and my stomach tightened
as I watched them survey their surroundings.

“That’s weird,” I said, tapping Ayden and
pointing to the group.

Ayden nodded. “Probably nothing.”

“It pays to be the underdog,” Mason blabbed,
coming up behind us. “Our take is turning out to be insane.”

Never once had Ayden been the underdog.

“How so?” I asked.

“The odds were against us and the pot grew
and grew.”

“That might make the sting of this whole
thing hurt a little less,” I teased. I knew he didn’t do it for the
money, but come on. Getting some certainly didn’t hurt anyone’s
feelings.

“And just when I’m ending it all, you get
the hang of this promoter thing,” Ayden joked with his brother.

Mason rolled his eyes. “Tori’s got our table
waiting at the pub.”

“I’m starved,” I announced.

“I never would’ve guessed,” Brandy
teased.

“I’m gonna rinse off, and I’ll meet you all
there,” Ayden said, pointing at the small washroom.

“Nah. We’ll wait for you in the parking
lot.” Mason shook his head. “Probably not the wisest of ideas to be
wandering around alone after you cost a lot of people a lot of
money.”

I nodded in agreement. “He’s got a
point.”

Ayden smiled and shook his head as he
wandered toward the washroom. Gabby and Brandy’s expressions were
free of worry as they trundled my direction.

“You look like the weight of the world has
been lifted,” Gabby said, reaching for my hand.

“It feels like it has.” I smiled.

“Do you believe he’s through?” Brandy asked.
“Like really finished?”

“I’d like to believe he is, but seeing the
look in his eyes when he lands those punches…”

“I know.” Brandy pressed her lips together
and shook her head. “But let’s pretend he is and enjoy what’s to
come in the next few weeks.”

“Let’s drink to that,” Gabby said, holding
up an imaginary glass.

Mason and Derek caught my eye over by the
window. They were looking down below, talking about something in
hushed voices.

“What’s going on?” I asked, almost shouting
to get their attention.

Derek turned around and smiled. “Just
listening to the reports from the security guards. A couple of
fights broke out in the parking lot.”

“Oh, great,” I mumbled.

I’d been to plenty of fights since I started
dating Ayden, and there’d never been one fight in all those
times.

Mason caught the worried expression running
through my gaze and smiled. “It’s nothing to worry about. Security
has already cleared out most of the lot.”

Ayden walked out of the bathroom. His hair
was still wet, and he looked squeaky clean in a pair of jeans and a
flannel shirt. Most wouldn’t even be able to tell he’d just been in
a grueling match if it weren’t for some pinkness along his jaw, and
how he walked carefully, protecting his bruised ribcage. He came
over to me and slid his arm around my waist. I immediately melted
in his arms as relief flooded through me. My shoulders instantly
unknotted, and my body felt like a wet noodle as the tension
finally flooded out of my system. I thought I’d done a good job
keeping the anxiety at bay, but I was obviously quite wrong about
that.

Mason walked over to the door and swung it
open. “Let’s get going, or my girl will think we abandoned
her.”

I hid my smile. Mason had fallen completely
head-over-heels for Tori, and it was fun to see. Jason, Gabby,
Brandy and Aaron all filed through the door. We followed behind and
Derek and Mason turned off the lights and shut the door behind us
while we all trundled down the stairs.

The place had really cleared out. I heard
the clangs and bangs of the ring being dismantled in the other
room. A few more minutes and no one would even know a fight had
taken place here.

We walked into the crisp air, and the metal
door closed with a thud behind us as we made our way through the
almost empty parking lot to our cars.

“Let’s get our undefeated fighter some
grub,” Gabby said, giving me a quick hug. “We’ll see you in a
few.”

Brandy gave me a hug as well and then
climbed into her car. Ayden rested his hand on my back and rubbed
it softly as we watched our friends climb into their cars and start
the ignitions. I took a deep breath in, finally feeling free of
stress, and I turned to face Ayden.

He flashed me a devilish grin and brought
his lips close to mine.

“I love you, Lily,” he whispered.

He took a step back and from out of nowhere
I watched in horror as Viktor landed a punch to the side of Ayden’s
head. I saw the pain flash through Ayden’s gaze before he fell
unconscious, his body crashing to the pavement. My heart stopped as
I tumbled to the ground with him, screaming for help, and begging
for Viktor to stop, but he didn’t.

Viktor’s expression was primal and
animalistic as his fist continued to pummel Ayden’s cheek. He
attempted to drag him away, and I instinctively threw my body
across Ayden’s as my sobs and screams grew piercing. Mason and
Jason pulled me off Ayden, while Derek and Aaron attacked Viktor,
but I refused to release my grip from Ayden’s hand. I would not let
go no matter how far my arm was stretched.

Brandy’s cries surrounded us, and I slowly
crawled closer to Ayden the moment Mason went to help Derek and
Aaron take care of Viktor. The world went into slow motion as Gabby
called 9-1-1. Jason tried to hold me back, but I squirmed away and
made it next to Ayden. The tears stung my lids, but I refused to
shed any. Ayden was going to be okay. He’d been knocked around
before.

I slid my shaking finger along his neck,
feeling for a pulse.