She wasn’t sure what it meant for the two men duking it out in the cage, but nothing good ever came from that kind of a look. She’d seen it over and over again on her stepfather and it had never led to anything remotely good.
Taking a deep breath, she tried to relax, telling herself Jackson knew what he was doing.
At the moment, Danny had Jackson under him in what she’d learned was called full-guard, when the guy on top was between both legs of the guy on the bottom. The guy on top had the goal of trying to gain more power through half-guard—where he straddled one of the other guy’s legs—or full mount, which meant he managed to completely bypass both of his opponent’s legs and sit on the guy’s hips. All while raining down punches to the head and body.
Unfortunately for Danny, Jackson was just too good. Even with Frank coaching Danny, barking out ways to get around Jackson’s moves and gain the upper hand, Akana never even managed to get to a half-guard position.
Vanessa’s hands clasped together in a viselike grip in her lap as she watched Jackson sweep Danny’s legs to one side as he pushed up with his hips, rolling them over until Jax was now on top in a full mount.
Danny immediately spun under Jax to try and push himself up to a standing position.
Frank’s face turned red as he shouted, “No, Akana, you never give up your back! Turn around and get him into your guard!”
But it was too late for Frank’s order. Jackson already had one strong forearm wedged against the front of the kid’s neck and proceeded to pull his clenched fist toward him with his other hand. Danny’s face flooded with darkening shades of red. It wouldn’t be long before Danny passed out.
This particular scenario had happened once before already, and Danny was supposed to either get out of it or tap out so Jackson would release the hold and they could stand up and start over. But this time Danny wasn’t tapping, and it wasn’t possible to get out of it; Jackson’s arm was in too tight for an escape.
Jackson turned his head to the side and spit out his mouth guard. “Come on, kid, tap and we’ll call it a day.”
But Danny didn’t answer and he didn’t tap as his face grew redder than a tomato. Jackson looked to Frank with a questioning brow and received a single nod in response. Jackson released his hold immediately, and Danny took in big choking gulps of air.
Slapping him on the back, Jax said, “Way to show heart and not give up, kid. I’m impressed. Better luck next time.”
Standing up, Jax turned to her, breathing heavily and dripping sweat as he approached the black mesh of the cage. He hooked his fingers through the holes and smiled. “You ready to get out of here, gorgeous?”
She stood and crossed to the octagon, keeping eye contact until she had to tip her head back. “I’m not afraid to admit when I’m wrong. You’ve proven yourself several times over. So get cleaned up and we can head back to Mau Loa. The day is young and we have things to do.”
Technically those “things” were cake tasting and reviewing the menus for Friday and Saturday, but she let her eyes tell him she meant much naughtier things than that.
Smart man caught on instantly, if the way his pupils swallowed the amber irises was any indication.
“Don’t have to tell me twice. I’ll be right there.”
Before he had the opportunity to turn around, Vanessa caught sight of Danny getting to his feet in the center of the ring. He muttered something to himself, but with all the noise of the weights clanging and the guys yelling to one another back and forth, she couldn’t hear what he said. But his wild look said plenty.
Her eyes flew open wide. She shouted Jackson’s name. But the warning came too late.
Everything slowed as though someone had paused the world and now clicked through time frame by frame. Danny cocked his hand back and struck at Jackson like a cobra uncoiling.
Jackson turned around in time to see the fist slicing through the air. He reacted by weaving to the left, but it wasn’t fast enough to avoid Danny’s right hand. What looked to be a jab intended for Jackson’s nose ended up as a glancing hit to his cheek. The impact spun him back to the fence, but he was quick to right himself to keep the threat in his sights.
With Jackson’s back now to her, Vanessa moved over several feet, her fingers clutching the fence, to get a better look at his face. Her stomach turned inside out. A gash below his right eye wept crimson blood and spilled over his jaw and onto his chest.
Jackson pushed off the cage and narrowed his eyes on the man who sucker punched him and now had the gall to get in Jax’s face. Vanessa didn’t know a lot of the technical aspects of fighting, but anyone with a lick of common sense knew that a guy getting up in another guy’s grill was a non-verbal invitation for a good old-fashioned brawl. Exactly the thing she wanted to avoid witnessing.