I smiled at her sweet, overwhelmed expression. “Now you look nervous.”
She glanced to the doorway, and then back at me. “I don’t have a good feeling about this, Trav. Not about the fight, but . . . something. This place gives me the creeps.”
I couldn’t disagree. “We won’t be here long.”
Adam’s voice came over the horn, starting his opening announcement.
I touched each side of Abby’s face, and looked into her eyes. “I love you.” A ghost of a smile touched her lips, and I pulled her into me, holding her tight against my chest.
“. . . so don’t use your hos to scam the system, boys!” Adam’s voice said, amplified by the bullhorn.
I hooked Abby’s arm around Trenton’s. “Don’t take your eyes off her. Even for a second. This place’ll get crazy once the fight starts.”
“. . . so let’s welcome tonight’s contender—JOHN SAVAGE!”
“I’ll guard her with my life, little brother,” Trenton said, lightly tugging Abby’s arm for emphasis. “Now go kick this guy’s ass and let’s get out of here.”
“Shake in your boots, boys, and drop your panties, ladies! I give you: TRAVIS ‘MAD DOG’ MADDOX!”
At Adam’s introduction, I stepped into the main room. Arms flailed, and the voices of many boomed in unison. The sea of people parted before me, and I slowly made my way out to the Circle.
The room was lit only with lanterns hanging from the ceiling. Still trying to keep a low profile from nearly getting busted before, Adam didn’t want bright lights tipping anyone off.
Even in the dim light, I could see the severity of John Savage’s expression. He towered over me, his eyes wild and eager. He bounced from one foot to the other a few times, and then stood still, glowering down at me with murder in mind.
Savage was no amateur, but there were only three ways to win: knockout, submission, and decision. The reason the advantage had always been in my favor was because I had four brothers, who all fought different ways.
If John Savage fought like Trenton, he would rely on offense, speed, and surprise attacks—which I had trained for my entire life.
If he fought like the twins—with combinations of punches and kicks, or switching up his tactics to land blows—I had trained for that all my life.
Thomas was the most lethal. If Savage fought smart, and he probably did, judging by the way he was sizing me up, he would fight with the perfect balance of strength, speed, and strategy. I’d only traded blows with my eldest brother a handful of times in my life, but by the time I was sixteen, he couldn’t defeat me without help from my other brothers.
No matter how hard John Savage had trained, or what advantage he thought he had, I had fought him before. I had fought everyone that could fight worth a damn before . . . and I had won.
Adam blew the bullhorn, and Savage took a short step back before powering a blow in my direction.
I dodged. He would definitely fight like Thomas.
Savage got too close, so I pulled up my boot and launched him back into the crowd. They pushed him back into the circle, and he approached me with renewed purpose.
He landed two punches in a row, and then I grabbed him, shoving his face down into my knee. John stumbled backward, got his wits about him, and then charged again.
I swung and missed, and then he tried to wrap his arms around my middle. Already sweaty, it was easy to slip from his grasp. When I turned, his elbow met with my jaw, and the world stopped for less than a second before I shook it off and answered him with a left and right hook, landing one right after the other.
Savage’s bottom lip split and splattered. Drawing first blood heightened the volume in the room to a deafening decibel.
My elbow reared back, and my fist followed all the way through, making a short pit stop at Savage’s nose. I didn’t hold back, purposefully stunning him so I would have time to look back and check on Abby. She stood where I’d asked her to, her arm still hooked around Trenton’s.
Satisfied she was okay, I focused on the fight again, dodging quickly when Savage threw a wobbly punch, and then threw his arms around me, yanking us both to the ground.
John landed under me, and without even trying, my elbow rammed into his face. He put my body in a vise grip with his legs, locking them together at the ankles.
“I’m going to end you, you fucking punk!” John growled.
I smiled, and then pushed off the ground, lifting both of us. Savage struggled to take me off balance, but it was time to get Abby home.
Trenton’s voice erupted over the rest of the crowd. “Slam his ass, Travis!”
I fell forward and slightly to the side, slamming John’s back and head against the concrete in a devastating blow. My opponent now dazed, I reared back my elbow and shoved my fists into his face and the sides of his head over and over until a pair of arms hooked under my mine and pulled me away.