Page 4 of Thunder

The fight was on and the chick just kept bouncing and trying the land that left, just as Cap said. Andy was getting tired just watching her. When she finally stilled long enough to set up for her shot, Andy landed a flurry of punches to her face. She recovered and came back swinging wildly.

This chick is crazy and undertrained. That was a deadly combination for a fight where there were rules. Because that meant one fighter would be following them, but someone like Sarah would not.

It was nearing the end of round two when Andy got caught in her own head and let her guard down. She was thinking about how to end the fucking fight before three so Ozzy would give her another chance and boom. The left temple tap. Andy stumbled and went to her knees. Before Sarah could punch her while she was down, the round ended. Thank God. She was practically seeing blue cartoon birds flying around her head.

“Shit. How many fingers am I holding up?” It was Cap’s voice. She focused on his blurry fingers, but all she saw was red. “You’re bleeding like a stuck pig.” He was dabbing at her temple, the one she’d cut. Or at least she felt like she had, but the memory was just out of reach.

“Fuck your fingers. Let me at her. She is going down.”

He was shining a light in her eyes and it hurt. “Not sure that’s a good idea. I think we need to get you looked at.”

Andy grabbed his wrist as he went to raise his hand to pull her out. “Please, Cap. Just give me twenty seconds into three. I promise I’ll go to the ER and say I was mugged as soon as I’m done, but give me twenty, that’s all I’m asking. What difference can less than half a minute make to anything now?”

It felt like it took him forever to decide. “Fine, but not a second more. If you don’t lay her out in nineteen seconds, I’m pulling you.”

He cleaned her blood again before she stood. Andy covered up her wobbles by bouncing around, which hurt like a bitch. Her head felt like it was in a vise and on fire.

As soon as three started, Andy didn’t hesitate or give her opponent a second to prepare, she sprinted across the mat and launched herself feet first into the other woman’s throat.

They both hit the mat, but Andy was the only one who got back up. Cap was at her side immediately. “You only needed nine. Good job, now, you’re getting changed and I’m driving you to the ER.”

By the time Cap walked her into the ER declaring she’d been attacked, she’d thrown up a few times. He said he didn’t see what happened but got there after. She felt fuzzy. Her skin was fuzzy, her brain was fuzzy, her hearing and vision too.

Fuzzy, fuzzy, fuzzy. She was rocking one hell of a headache. Something was tickling at the edge of her understanding, but she couldn’t really grab it. The nurses took her from Cap. He was a trainer at her gym, but she’d never worked with him. Maybe she was mugged outside of the gym or something.

“Ma’am, what’s your name?” they asked as they examined her.

“Andrea Marx.”

“Do you know the date?”

“May fourteenth unless it’s after midnight already.”

They cleaned the cut on her temple and stuck something to it.

“Can you tell us what happened to you?”

“Not really, no. But I have one doozy of a headache.”

Boy, did she. Especially with three people poking and prodding at her.

“I bet you do. What’s the last thing you remember?”

“Asking Lexi to look after Fern and not to wait up because I’d be home late tonight?”What did I have planned that I was going to be late? Oh snap, Ozzy called her that morning and gave her a fight.Did she miss it or was the attack a cover-up? She’d heard it from attending the fights as an observer. Mugging, carjacking, robbery, slip and fall. Well, she wouldn’t know until she talked to Ozzy or Cap. That would make sense why he was with her.Shit, did she win at least?

She had a strange feeling. One that was indescribable.

“Do you know what time that was?”

“It was around eight.” The nurses shared a look. Maybe one was a doctor. She seemed like the one giving all the orders. “What time is it now?”

“It’s just shy of one a.m. Sounds like that bump on your head maybe caused a little memory loss, but nothing major. I suspect you have a concussion; I’ve ordered some scans so we can know a little more, but we’ll be keeping you overnight. Do you want us to send in your friend before you’re admitted?”Overnight?Oh no. Lexi worked nights. Poor Fern had never spent a night alone since she brought her home. Oh, well, there was nothing she could do about it. Andy had taken care of her before she left, so surely one night wouldn’t be so bad.

“Yes, please.”

Thankfully, as they exited the curtained-off area, they dimmed the lights.

Cap entered the striped curtain and whistled low. “Shit, Andy, you look drunker than my ex. I told you that left temple tap would get you, but you only went to your knees. That bitch didn’t lay you flat. Nosiree.”

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