I woke up only to realize I was on the couch in the living room at home. Rubbing my eyes, I tried to remember what happened. I got really tired at Miles' house so I came home, and apparently, I didn't make it upstairs. I sighed. This whole being tired all the time thing was starting to piss me off. How long did I sleep this time? I pulled my cell out of my pocket and checked the time. It was two o’clock. Shit! I grabbed Hades, jumped into the Blazer and took off for the Rec Center.
I parked, shut off the truck, and ran inside. By the time I reached the payment table, the lobby was empty. One of the fights must have started already. Shit! I got my ticket and hurried in. The MMA cage was in the center of four large bleachers full of people. I looked for the guys and spotted Zeke’s giant frame in the bleachers on the far side of the ring.
Careful to keep Hades beside me, I moved around the ring and officials until I was near the side of their bleachers. Zeke spotted me coming. He said something to Asher who was by the edge. Zeke was a little further down. Ethan and Miles were sitting behind them. Asher turned and spotted me. I looked up at them and the packed bleachers, wondering how we were going to get up there.
Asher moved his feet and reached down to me. “Put your foot on the ledge, Ally.”
Getting an idea of what he was doing, I reached up, took his hand, braced my foot and did a one leg jump. Asher pulled me up and stepped back a little towards Zeke.
“Get your ass out of my face,” Zeke growled. I looked up and met Asher’s warm eyes. It was a couple of heartbeats before I could pull away.
“Thanks, Ash.” I moved up the bleachers to sit between Miles and Ethan. It was the only safe thing to do right now. Asher made room, Hades managed to jump up and squeeze between Zeke’s knees.
“So, did I miss him?” I asked as Asher sat back down in his spot.
“Nah, but Jordan got his ass kicked,” Ethan informed me. Ouch. Yeah, Jordan hit on me and couldn’t take a hint, but ouch.
“What happened?” Miles asked, his voice hushed.
“I, uh,” I turned to him, “I fell asleep.”
His eyes filled with understanding as a tall man with a microphone moved out into the cage. I recognized Isaac’s shoulders and he walked through the bleachers to the cage. Another guy followed not far behind.
“In the red corner, weighing in at one hundred and seventy-three pounds and standing five feet ten inches tall - Isaac Turner!”
We cheered as Isaac moved into the cage. He continued shaking his arms and legs to keep them warm.
“In the blue corner, weighing in at one hundred and seventy-five pounds, and standing six feet tall - Michael Bower!”
Everyone applauded. I watched Isaac, my stomach already in knots. I could watch a guy I was in love with get the shit kicked out of him. Right? Oh fuck.
Isaac and his opponent moved to the center of the ring. They touched gloves and circled each other. I took Ethan’s hand and tried not to squeeze it too tight. Bower moved in first, throwing a series of punches. Isaac blocked, slipped to the side and got him with a right hook. I winced as Bower backed off a little. They sized each other up. Bower moved in again, feinting a blow to the head and then landing a blow to the ribs.
They went at it, throwing punches and shooting out kicks. It wasn’t long before Bower got his arms around Isaac. Then he pushed Isaac and took him to the mat. Isaac landed a nice punch to Bower’s jaw. The guy tucked his chin and it turned into a grappling fight.
“Come on, Isaac!” I cheered as loudly as I could, hoping he’d get Bower in a lock.
The ref broke them apart. They got to their feet and each moved to a side of the cage. A strange shadow crossed Isaac’s face. I blinked and looked up at the lights to see what was causing the shadow. I looked back at Isaac again. The shadow was gone. I started bouncing my knee.
This time Isaac went after him. And I mean went after him. Isaac changed in a second. He knocked Bower around the cage, landing punch after punch. He didn’t miss a kick, he didn’t miss an opening. He tore into Bower. Bower’s right eye swelled. A cut opened on his face.
When the ref went to break them apart, Isaac brushed him off and almost looked like he was going in for more. But he got up and turned to go back to the other side. That shadow moved up his throat to his ear then disappeared. That was strange…
When Bower was good to go the ref stepped back. There was no circling this time, there was no sizing up. Isaac tore into Bower, beating him. It went on and on until Isaac got him to the mat. Isaac drove his knee into the guy’s gut, then punched him four more times before the ref pulled Isaac off an unconscious Bower. And I mean pulled Isaac. Isaac swung around with his fist raised as if he was going to clock the ref. That shadow ran over his face again, down his neck and down his chest.
Or… at least it looked that way. Dread filled my heart as the ref checked on the unconscious Bower.
“Medics!” the ref called. The paramedics hustled into the cage. Isaac walked out and headed for the locker rooms without looking at anyone. I watched the medics work.
“Did that feel off for anyone else?” I asked them carefully.
“Yeah, that was fucking off,” Zeke snapped as he turned to look back at us. “He was on the verge of illegal.”
“That was disturbing,” Miles said carefully.
“What the fuck was he thinking?” Ethan snapped.
“He didn’t even check on Bower,” Asher pointed out. “He always checks if he’s knocked someone out.”
And then there was that shadow… I looked over the ceiling at the lights, for flags, looking for anything that might have caused it. I didn’t see shit. That knot of dread in my chest grew bigger.
“I think I’m going to go talk to him,” I said as I got up. I braced myself on Asher and Zeke’s shoulders so I could step down between them to their level.
“I’m knocking his head off,” Zeke growled as he tried to get Hades out of the way.
I turned back to him. “Zeke, give me five minutes. I think something’s wrong.”
Zeke met my eyes and we had our usual staring contest. This time he sighed. “Five minutes exactly,” he told me.
“Got it,” I told him as I started moving sideways on the bleachers. I had to slip by Asher, who was sitting down, his face a little above boob height. Yeah, that wasn’t awkward at all. I jumped down as the medics started taking Bower out on a stretcher.
I opened the men’s locker room door. “Girl coming in; cover your junk!” I called before waiting a second. There were a few chuckles.
“Everyone’s already dressed!” a guy’s voice shouted back.
The locker room wasn’t full, thankfully. A thick silence hung in the air as several muscular guys wrapped their hands and ankles as they got themselves ready for their fights. I looked down the first row. Isaac wasn’t there.
“You looking for Turner?” A guy who looked to be in his twenties with short, dark, cropped hair asked. I nodded.
“He’s down two aisles,” a familiar voice offered. Jordan got up from the bench. His face was bruised and cut, at least from what I could see around the ice. “Heard Bower took a beating. How bad was it?”
I met Jordan’s one open eye. “He’s on the way to the hospital,” I said quietly.
The older man straightened, his brow drawn. “Well, shit.”
I walked two rows over and found Isaac sitting on a bench in the middle of the wide row, unwrapping his hands. Even from here I could tell he looked like shit. The bags under his eyes were dark, his face was pale.
“What do you want?” he growled, his voice boiling.
I walked over and stood next to the lockers. “Are you okay?”
“Fine.” His voice was short and clipped.
“What the hell was that out there?” I asked, keeping my voice down.
“Fighting.”
“Isaac, he’s going to the hospital,” I told him, very clearly. “You just put a guy in the hospital.”