I couldn’t believe my eyes.
Just as the man said it, a figure stepped into the circle. Black boots. Blue jeans. A black t-shirt hugging thick muscle. A face like stone, a statue chiseled to perfection.
The man turned and when he saw the figure, he fell to one knee.
“What in the fuck…,” Fiore muttered next to me. “Is that…”
I fought the urge to smile.
But I did nod.
Yes… it was… the figure… the man… it was Finn.
43.
(Finn)
It took everyone a few seconds to realize what was happening. I’m not going to lie - I enjoyed waiting for the right moment to walk into the circle. Just as my death was announced and the fight all but canceled, there I was… alive and ready to fight.
The man slowly rose back up and looked around.
The crowd was going wild.
I put my fists out, showing I was ready. I looked at him, knowing the guy was one of Fiore’s guys, and I smiled.
Right then, I had some power.
Fiore was somewhere close, probably right above me, staring down in disbelief. I wasn’t supposed to look for him, or for Shayna. I just needed to be there and be ready to fight. I was the ultimate diversion. Fiore had trusted his men to ensure my death. And it wasn’t like they fucked up, right? They found a body in the cabin. Hell, Cormac’s drunken truck ride had actually saved my ass. He had crashed his truck in the woods, leaving it hidden. So Fiore and his guys never saw another truck near the cabin.
“Jesus Christ,” the man said, staring at me.
“I’m here to fucking fight,” I said. “And everyone else is here to see me fucking fight.”
“You’re supposed to be dead,” the man said.
I walked up to him, bumping my chest into him.
The crowd loved that. They started to cheer. I put my hands out and waved them, getting everyone louder. I knew how to work a crowd. I knew how to keep them jumping and screaming.
I curled my lip and stared at Fiore’s guy. “I’m not saying it again. I’m here to fucking fight. So if I don’t get my opponents, I’m going to crush you.”
The man stepped back and away. He put his hands up. “Fair enough, Finn. Have a nice fight.”
A second later, two men tackled me to the ground.
~
I should have known it was coming.
I was standing and then I was on the ground. On my hands and knees, my head tucked between my shoulders. They could crack my ribs, whatever, but I needed to protect my head and face.
“There they are!” Fiore’s guy yelled over the crowd cheering. “The deadliest combo in fighting… Mikey and Malley.”
They were punks. Guys with gym muscles and a dream to be some kind of superstars of violence. Their fists and arms were heavy, like hammers as they attacked me. But they kept going for the same move over and over, hitting my back. I flexed my back and stayed with them. I controlled my breathing and didn’t panic.
I had one guy on each side of me. I locked my elbows straight and waited for my opening. It really never came, but I didn’t have the time to waste. Me getting my ass kicked was not going to do a thing to help anyone.
So I started to stand.
The crowd cheered.
I quickly threw an elbow into Mikey’s gut. That left me exposed to Malley, who swung and got me good with a left to the side of my face. I groaned and spit, a chunk of blood splattered on the ground.
Malley came right after me. See, the guy was a meatneck kind of fighter. That meant he was big on muscle but not on brain. Mikey and Malley were used to being matched up with smaller guys to just destroy them. That was the entertainment value in them. They could bench press a car but they couldn’t cover their faces.
So Malley walked at me with his hands at his sides. He was so open, I had ten places I could hit. But I wasn’t here to entertain these people. I was here to end this fucking fight and get to Shayna.
I spun and cocked my right fist back. My feet were planted like cement to the floor. As my fist flew forward, I knew it was going to knock Malley out. He never saw it coming, or he never thought my fist would do what it did.
The sound of my fist hitting his face was like someone stepping on a bag of potato chips. Malley stopped walking and he started to shake. He then toppled to the left like a falling statue.
Mikey was already on the move. He swung hard and fast, powerful punches, but he had no aim. I simply just walked back and let him have his fun. I kept my hands up and waved my fists at him, pissing him off. When he finally lunged at me, I ducked, slid by him and then I was facing his back. I got him in the lower back with a one, two punch that left him reaching back and falling to his knees. His head fell back, mouth open as he gasped for air.
I then took a couple steps back and ran forward, letting my knees smash against the back of his skull. That sent Mikey forward and to the floor.
Two down. Two out.
Just like that I had won the fight. Not that it was really much of a fight.
I quickly spun and looked up, finding Fiore and Shayna.
He stared at me.