Claiming The Prize (20 page)

She stirred beneath the blankets, and
he went to her.

“
Dubre rano,
good morning
,” he
whispered.

“
What time is it?”
she
asked sleepily.

“
It's early, milovany.
Sleep if you like.”

“
But you're awake,” she
laughed softly.

“
I'm going down to the gym
to run.
Stay and rest, Gracie.”

Kissing her shoulder, he pulled the
covers about her snugly before heading to the gym.

* * *

Drago sparred with Guy on the ten by
twelve mat in his room keeping his muscles loose and limber before
his fight.

Grace's father had been
correct in his predictions concerning the media.
A week after their
wedding, photos of them departing the reception had been splashed
across
InsideOut
,
the popular tabloid magazine with the yellow journalistic headline
reading,
Antolini Heiress 'Graces'
Slovakia With Her Happy Nuptials
.
Not to
be outdone, their rival,
Updated
, featured a spread on the
bride arriving at the cathedral with her father.

From then on, the competing magazines
had churned out a number of pieces ranging from happy wishes for
the newlyweds after an outing to Bratislava Castle was documented
on camera, to feigned concern over the reason for the couple's lack
of travel to the United States.
But Grace had taken it all in
stride.

Now, an hour before his bout, Drago
thanked God that her strength had helped him get to this moment.
He
would not let them down.

* * *

Sitting among the crowd in the vast
MGM Grand Garden, Grace wore a relaxed expression.
St.
Clair and
Yves were with her, discussing the changes taking place in the
AMMAO in between the running commentary on each successive bout
while she listened.
It was easy to fall back into familiarity with
the men that were like family to her, and Grace was thankful to
have them at her side.

She knew the decision to let Frentz
and Gabriel corner Drago was the right one.
Still it was difficult.
In her heart, she knew the best hands her husband could be in were
her father's.
But that was an issue she was not willing to force
upon him.
Drago would rise through the ranks of contenders, and
before his title fight Grace would have him back at First Strike.
It wasn't that she didn't love their life in Bratislava.
On the
contrary, she preferred it.
But Drago wanted to become the world
light-heavyweight champion, and to achieve that he needed Guy's
experience and team Anto-Engage.

Timing, she knew, was
everything.

Disturbed's
Indestructible
brought
Drago Zadrovec and team Spar-Slava into the arena.
Packed with
fans, the Grand Garden throngs' roars almost drowned out the
deafening song until the Slovak took his place inside the caged
platform.
When the Brit entered, tension crackled in the air
between them.

The build up to this fight had been
charged with animosity.
Sayre Mainn's interviews were laced with
disrespect toward his opponent, and when asked to reply in his own
interview, Drago had answered, “This man talks much when he should
train instead.
He will need it.”

If the previous morning's
weigh-in was indicative of the tone of this fight, it would be
nasty.
Mainn had taunted Drago throughout the formality, causing
Grace to fear it would come to blows when the man had drawn his
fingers across his throat in a mock death sign.
But Drago only
promised flatly, “Mozem byt' velmi neprijemny,
I can be most unpleasant, be warned
.”

Refusing to touch gloves, Mainn
grabbed his crotch crudely and backed to the metal cage's side.
True to form, Drago remained expressionless.
At the call to fight,
Drago advanced, ready to answer the Brit's taunts – but not with
empty words.
He moved, testing the responses he would encounter,
protecting himself well in the knowledge that his opponent's reach
equaled his own.
Throwing his jab, Drago sought the target range
that would allow his hands to inflict punishment.

In between his forays into striking
distance, he began his assault on Mainn's lead leg.
Methodically,
Drago pressed in with the jab, only to retreat as Mainn attempted
to counter, taking advantage the moment the Brit placed his weight
on his lead leg to throw the short, powerful kicks that would
quickly erase the spring out of a man's step.
Frustration showed in
Sayre Mainn's face, and Drago used it for the rest of the round,
picking the man apart before his corner could change his
strategy.

At the bell, respective corners rushed
to tend to their fighters.
Gabriel quickly grabbed Drago's
attention.

“
You're doing great.
When
you're throwing that low leg kick, he's starting to counter.
Go
ahead and pivot your hips like you're going to throw it again, but
instead, throw high.
Mix it up to keep him unsteady on the lead
leg.
He's not liking that kick right now.
Believe me.”

Spitting the water from his mouth and
standing, Drago heard Frentz add, “He knows he took a beating in
that first round.
He's gonna come out like a raging bull for the
first forty-five seconds or so.
Don't give him an in.
Hands up!
Move!
He'll discourage easily.
He's tired.”

With that, the men were gone
and the second round commenced.
Mainn came out aggressively,
desperate to land a heavy blow, to gain momentum, and he managed to
catch Drago with a few strikes.
Circling, Drago maneuvered to add
separation, and sensing the distance correctly, he delivered a
brutal kick to the body.
He followed with a jab and uppercut
combination, returning once again to Sayre Mainn's lead leg, which
glowed red on the spot that had absorbed the worst damage.
The kick
was checked.
Capitalizing on Mainn's expectations, Drago swung his
hips.
Mainn pressed in viciously, sure he would catch the Slovak,
but his advance only added to the impact of the left head kick
Drago landed, and a rocked Sayre Mainn staggered to Drago's
right.

Instinctively, Drago knew the Brit was
in serious trouble and pounced upon him, gaining a full mount.
Smothering his opponent as he secured the dominant position he
postured up, leveling Mainn with a full swing hay-maker before
raining down one hammer fist after another.
In desperation, the
Brit turned over in an attempt to protect himself, giving up his
back.
Sinking his right arm across the jaw and bringing the left
under the chin, Drago locked up a Rear Naked Choke.
Squeezing his
elbows together, the choke tightened, incapacitating his adversary.
As Mainn flailed his hand in the sign of submission, the ref
intervened, pulling Drago from the suffocating choke he continued
to hold.

Caught in the intensity of the moment,
it took a moment for Drago to realize it was over.
Mainn slumped
forward unconscious to the mat as Drago released him.
Rising above
his opponent, Drago Zadrovec let out a barbaric roar.
Frentz and
Gabriel rushed into the ring, embracing Drago in the thrill of
victory.

* * *

Together in bed, late in the night,
Drago broached the subject he had been wrestling with since Derrick
Sloba had visited his locker room after the fight.

“
I fight again in fourteen
weeks, Grace.”

Her silence was deafening.

“
Derek Sloba came to me
after the fight.
I have to do it.”

“
I know, love.”

Grace warred with the conflicting
emotions in her heart.
After the six months of training, she had
looked forward to a few weeks of reprieve from the demanding
schedule, a time to have her husband to herself before it consumed
him again.
But it was not to be.
Inwardly, she chided herself.
If
not for the events of earlier tonight, she knew she wouldn't be
taking the news so hard.
She longed to pour her heart out to Drago,
to tell him what really troubled her, but she would not.
He needed
her to be strong so that he could focus on this sudden, upcoming
fight.

Kissing his shoulder, she reassured
him.

“
It's all right.”
She
smiled up at him.
“You know, you were amazing tonight.”

Feeling her disappointment, he pulled
her closer, wanting to comfort her as they drifted into sleep
together.
His breathing slowed as he fell into the deep sleep of
exhaustion, leaving Grace alone with her thoughts in the darkness.
Even with Drago's warm body beside her, she felt alone as she
relived the evening.

The crowded ballroom pressed
in on her from all sides as she stood with the Friar.
Guy and Drago
had not yet arrived, and she realized that without Drago beside
her, she felt small and alone.
Even the ever steady presence of the
Friar paled in comparison to the security Drago impressed upon her.
She had never enjoyed crowds, but tonight the feelings were
intensified, perhaps because of the quiet existence of the last six
months.

Distracting her from her
thoughts, Yves pointed out Danny and Iris McGovern.
Smiling, she
waved, and Iris hurried to hug her kindly.

“
You look lovely, Grace.
How are you?
I haven't seen you since you married.”

“
Thank you, Iris,” she said
sweetly.
“Things are wonderful.”

“
Congratulations!”
Mac
boomed.
“Even if it is long overdue!
That husband of yours sure put
on a show tonight.”

Jostled in his bear hug,
Grace laughed, and her timid thoughts vanished among
friends.

“
So, Grace, when will we
see Drago make his move to team Anto-Engage?
The industry is abuzz
with rumor.”

“
That's a question you'll
have to ask Mr.
Zadrovec!”
she teased evasively.

“
Enough of this talk of
business,” Iris interjected.
“Let's see your ring, Grace.”
Holding
Grace's hand she cooed, “Stunning!
Just stunning!”

Iris was interested in
learning the sights she'd seen in Bratislava, and the women chatted
amiably.
Beth and Stephen DuFois joined them, causing Grace to
answer again the questions all newlyweds endured, but she didn't
mind.
As the ladies were about to seek out a table, Carson and
Savannah came over to the group.

“
Khaler,” DuFois said
stiffly, offering his hand.
“Scouting the Brit tonight?”

“
Yeah, I'll fight him next,
so I wanted to see how Zadrovec fared against him.”

Grace was shocked at the
sight of Carson and his fiancee.
His complexion was pasty, and he
had lost weight.
But what wrenched her heart was the rounded belly
of the obviously expectant Savannah.
Dressed in a gorgeous,
sky-blue, satin dress, she should have looked radiant, but her bony
shoulders and glossy eyes left only a shadow of the beautiful young
woman she had been.
Grace could not force her lips to speak, so
overwhelming were the emotions raging within her.

Carson's eyes were too wide,
and they shifted unnaturally as they lit on Grace's
face.

“
Hello there, Mrs.
Zadrovec,” Carson greeted coolly.