Page 72 of Saving Blood

The bell rings, and Maya lunges. I step to the side, easily avoiding her—too easy. Maybe I’d have to work a little harder to make my defeat look real. I set up for a roundhouse kick and purposely miss her. She winds up for an overhand punch, and I let it land. I stagger slightly ‘cause, shit, her fist is like a jackhammer.

“Maxie, get in there,” Diesel yells from the bleachers.

I strike again, just grazing her jaw, and she counters with a solid hit to my temple. It scrambles my brain for a second, but I recover with two short jabs connecting on both sides of her face. She lowers her arms for a millisecond, an opportunity I would’ve taken to secure my win, but instead I bounce on the balls of my feet until she gets her footing.

BLOOD

Maxine dances around the other woman, her heels never touching the mat. Her grace and effortless agility awe me. The way she commands and controls her body makes it easy for her to make near misses look real.

“What’s goin’ on?” Diesel nudges my shoulder and leans in. “Last time she annihilated this chick.”

Maxine could’ve easily ended this ten minutes ago, but instead she’s biding her time, purposely missing opportunities. Like she’s putting on a show. Making it look just real enough to fool the crowd—but not me.

“She’s leaving herself wide open,” Diesel grits out between his teeth. “What the fuck is she doin’?”

I know exactly what she’s doing. I saw the answer in Hector’s smug expression. He got in her head in the locker room and put her fear of him over her trust in me. It’s not a surprise after all those years under Hector’s thumb. Him possessing her through fear and intimidation.

Diesel jumps out of his seat and bangs on the cage yelling, but Maxine zones him out, concentrating on making this pseudo fight look real.

MAXINE

“Maxie, wake the fuck up,” Diesel yells with disbelief and a touch of anger. He saw the opening Maya left as clearly as I did.

The crowd cheers and jeers, but it all blurs together. My speed usually prevents me from getting hit, but I want this to be over, so I lower my left arm a few inches, giving Maya the perfect opening. Her eyes narrow, telling me she is about to pounce, and I let her deliver a crushing blow to my cheekbone.

Shit, she hit like a goddamn freight train. The pain radiates through my head and down my spine. The cage spins at a dizzying speed. The crowd roars when my knees buckle. I hit the mat hard. Nausea twists my gut, but it has nothing to do with Maya’s punch.

I focus on the ref counting over me. Just a few more seconds, and it would be over.

“Maxine!” The metal cage rattles next to my head, and I shift my gaze.

The ref hovers over me. “Six, seven . . .”

Blood locks eyes with me, willing me to get up. “Lie to others, babe, but never yourself.”

“Eight, nine . . .”

“Do this for you,” Blood screams over the crowd.

I push up onto my hands and knees, and the crowd erupts, “Maxie, Maxie, Maxie!”

Their cheers and Blood’s words buoy me. I bounce to my feet, adrenaline jetting through my veins. Maya’s eyes widen, and I wind up with another roundhouse kick, aimed perfectly and delivered, followed up by a short jab to her temple. She attempts a left hook that only grazes me, and I easily sweep my leg, knocking her off-balance. When she staggers to the side, I connect with the other side of her face, then drive my knee into her gut. She stumbles on rubber legs, her knees cave, and she drops to the mat like a stone.

The ref hustles over, counts down to ten, then declares me the winner.

The crowd goes wild as Blood bangs on the cage chanting my name.

Our eyes connect.

I’ve just signed his death certificate.

BLOOD

Hector jumps out of his seat, but Smoke and I surround him while Ricky, Bolt and Manny flank Pedro and the other bodyguards.

“She won’t get away with this,” Hector hisses, his face red with rage.

“Looks like she already did,” Diesel sneers.

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