Page 71 of Saving Blood

“Right.” I rock on the balls of my feet, but my brain fast-forwards to after the fight.

“Remember, keep eye contact at all times. Her eyes will tell you her moves. You’re a winner.” He smears Vaseline over my forehead and cheeks. “You got this.”

One of the trainers sticks his head in the door. “Maxie, you’re up in two.”

Adrenaline rockets through my bloodstream, but I force myself to settle. First the fight, then the escape. Blood would hate my plan, but giving me the passport makes it much easier. I secure the fabric flap over the inside pocket, making sure the Velcro is secure and it’s tight to my body.

When Black Sabbath’s“Iron Man” pounds over the sound system, Diesel claps his hand on my shoulder. “Showtime.”

BLOOD

The fights before Maxine drag on torturously slow. Keeping up cordial conversation with Hector is a new brand of hell, and after a while, I fall silent and let Smoke throw the bullshit. He is better at it than me anyway.

Finally, the ref announces Maxine’s fight, and my heart jacks up. He introduces her opponent, reads off her stats, and she enters the cage.

Black Sabbath blares through the speakers, and the crowd goes wild. Guys pounding on the bleachers, clapping and high-fiving each other. Women yelling Maxine’s name, saying she’s the best. Fuckin’ crazy.

I shoot a look at Smoke. “I’ll be right back.”

Hector follows me with his eyes, but I don’t give a shit. I have to see Maxine before she goes in the cage. Have to assure her all is good.

“Now, the fighter you’ve all been waiting for,” the ref shouts over the din. “Moves like a panther, hands as fast as a cobra. The fierce, the magnificent—Maxine.”

I cut around the back of the cage where they enter and see her coming toward the cage flanked by Diesel and another bouncer from The Tropics. They literally have to push guys back and away from her as they cut a path to the cage. With all the commotion, she doesn’t see me at first, but when Diesel and I make eye contact, he nods.

The ref announces her stats, but it’s all white noise to me. She draws closer, and when she reaches the stairs, she pauses and stares at me, her face an unreadable mask.

I step in front of the metal stairs, blocking her way, with Diesel and the bouncer at her back. “You know you got this, right?”

“No matter what happens . . .” She bites her lower lip. “I want you to know?—”

“Maxie, c’mon, you’re up,” the ref yells from inside the cage, and the crowd roars louder.

“Comes a time when you gotta stop lyin’ to yourself.” I grab her taped hand. “When you gotta reach past the fear.”

“Maxie, get up here before they tear this place apart,” the ref shouts again.

I step aside, and she jogs up the metal steps, throws open the cage door, then waves her arms over her head. Drinking in their chants and applause like a champion. Wild, untamed passion. A scared little girl wrapped up in a ferocious warrior.

Diesel falls into step with me and nods toward the cage. “She all right?”

“She’s doubting herself.”

“About winning the fight?”

“Nah, about me wanting to protect her.”

Diesel stops short. “Shit, did you straighten her out?”

I shoot a look at Hector, then his muscle. “I sure the fuck hope so.”

29

MAXINE

I wave my arms over my head, absorbing the crowd’s loud applause and admiration. It’s the only time I feel alive, the only time I’ve felt loved until?—

I swagger to the center of the cage and size up Maya, my opponent. I’d only fought her once before, but I remember her moves. The advantage of having a photographic memory. I have a few inches on her, but what she lacks in height, she makes up in overall bulk, from her muscled neck down to her thick thighs. My long reach, agility and the precision of my hits assures me I can take her down, but because we are evenly matched, no one would suspect when I tap out in the end.

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