Seeing the opening he needed, Lance took him up on his invitation and swept in with a powerful uppercut underneath the chin. Everything around him slowed as Kelvin’s head snapped back. The man stood there for a second before he fell backward. The canvas thundered under the crash of his body.
Stunned silence followed for a fraction of a second before the entire place erupted in fury.
The referee lifted up Lance’s arm, yelling, “Winner.”
People were cussing and tearing up pieces of paper. His gaze swept the room and found Gabe and Mitch leaning back against a wall. In unison, they clapped and gave him a nod of respect. Satisfaction rolled off the two men, confusing Lance. Hadn’t they wanted him to lose?
He looked around at the commotion from those attending.
It hit him. The McNealys had gambled, too. They had deliberately put him up against someone larger, but not to make him fight for free. To get people to bet against him. Those two had just made a small fortune off his win, and Lance was now five grand closer to being out of debt to them.
The sooner he paid off that debt, the better off he’d be.
As he exited the cage, his gaze went to Kelsey’s office. The door was open this time and she was standing inside the doorframe with her arms hugged around herself. An intense, puzzled expression marred her features, then she stepped back and closed the door.
How had she felt about the fight? For some insane reason, he wanted to impress her the same way she awed and impressed him, and that only confused him more.
…
Thank God this night was over.
Over the last three hours, Ella had stitched up three head wounds, treated two others with butterfly bandages, and cleaned up an assortment of other injuries. Luckily, none had been severe enough to warrant a trip to the hospital, even though some of guys had been downright gruesome as they were brought back to her area.
Blood was part of her job, she was used to it, but knowing that fighting had inflicted every one of the injuries she’d treated had taken its toll on her tonight. Not to mention the fights she’d forced herself to watch between patients. After her panic episode, she’d been determined to stand there and see what was in front of her and not get caught up in her past. Unfortunately, she’d kept slipping into her nightmare and having to fight her way back to the present.
The end result was complete and utter exhaustion, both mentally and physically. The physical she could deal with. The mental just beat her down, and she hated feeling like that.
She finished sterilizing the room, making sure everything was disinfected, and that any used instruments were placed in hazardous material containers. The cousins had supplied her with everything she’d needed to do what they referred to as simple procedures. She even had Lidocaine.
As she backed out of the room, she flipped off the light then closed the door. The only light left was dim emergency lights. So many shadows. So many places to hide. Her stomach twisted hard as her heart began to pound. At least right now, there was some light. Once she got outside, it would be complete blackness. God, she didn’t want to walk to her car. There was an unnatural silence after all the yelling. She was alone. No one was here—including the cousins.
They’d come in about forty-five minutes after she’d finished checking out the Goliath Lance had fought and tried to hand her a wad of cash. She’d refused it. She wasn’t taking any money from this place. They’d merely shrugged and said their goodbyes. She hadn’t been shocked that they’d leave a woman out here in the middle of nowhere by herself, and as much as she hadn’t wanted to be left alone, she wasn’t going to ask them to stay.
Ella jiggled the handle to make sure the door was locked then turned around.
“Thank God. You took for fucking ever.”
At the sudden masculine voice, she screamed and jerked her head in the direction it came from, slapping a hand over her heart. Lance was leaning back on one of the metal chairs, arms crossed over his chest.
“Don’t do that.” She leaned over, placing her hands on her knees, and took in a long, slow breath. She was real close to passing out from the fright.
“Jesus, I’m sorry,” he said and jumped to his feet. “I thought you knew I was out here.”
“Well, I didn’t,” she snapped. “I thought I was alone.”
Lance laid his hand on her back and rubbed up and down her spine. The motion soothed her, and she became more aware of Lance touching her than she was of her surroundings. The masculine, woodsy scent of his cologne wrapped around her—she closed her eyes and inhaled.
As she straightened, she noticed his incredulous look. “You actually think I’d leave you here by yourself? Damn, woman. That says a lot about what you think about me.”
“Oh, chill out. I’ve been closed off in my own little world for the last hour. Nothing against you, you big baby.”
A sudden grin came to his face, and her heart fluttered. So much for hoping this whole McNealy business would stem her attraction to him. It seemed she was fighting in every aspect of her life right now, her past, present, and future. God, it was draining.