Impact (The Fight for Life #2) (24 page)

He spat out some blood on the ground in front of me and swiped the back of his hand across his mouth. “If he’s in the final against you, can you do me a favour and throw the final punch for me?”

“Sure, mate,” I agreed. “It’ll be my pleasure.”

My next opponent was the winner of round two. He looked like a henchman from mafia movies. He was massive and had my number in height and weight with a huge square head and thick black eyebrows. This was more like it. Assuming he had any level of skill, I would need to bring my A-game.

The MC introduced him, but I missed his name. It sounded Russian. In my mind, his name was Lurch. He ignored the crowd completely and focused on me. I had a fight on my hands and I felt the adrenaline start working its magic through my veins. This moment. This exact moment was my bliss. The hairs on my arms raised and I shook out my body, releasing some of my excited energy.

My eyes zeroed in on his left leg and I immediately knew I’d spotted his weakness. He wasn’t limping, but he was definitely favouring his right leg and that was all I needed. We moved to the centre and tapped fists before retreating a few steps. Lurch moved slowly around me in a lame attempt to make me his prey, but I was having none of it.
I don’t think so, pal
. I went on the attack and Lurch didn’t even get a chance to raise his fists. When his weight was on his vulnerable leg, I moved my upper body in a quick bend, dropped my left knee and catapulted my left fist forward. I then doubled up with another feint combination, raising my right arm and executing a straight cross with blinding speed. Lurch would’ve had no idea what happened as his body dropped to the canvas, out for the count. Too fucking easy.

Just before I entered the cage again, Dam spoke to me in Thai and I felt transported back to Thailand where he had taught me his craft. “Why is Muay Thai referred to as ‘The Art of Eight Limbs’?”

I cast my mind back. “Muay Thai fighters use eight points of contact on the body to mimic weapons of war.”

“That’s right,” he confirmed with an intensity I’d only ever known from this man. “Now, tell me what they are.”

“One and two.” I looked at my hands. “My hands are the sword and dagger.”

Dam nodded.

I shifted from one foot to the other. “Three. Forearms and four, shins. They act as armour.”

“Five and six.” I bent my arms. “Elbows are a heavy mace or hammer.”

“And?” Dam whispered, surprisingly audible over the chanting crowd.

“Seven and eight. Legs and knees. They are the axe and staff.” My Thai felt rusty, but I was pretty confident with what I’d said.

Dam nodded, clearly pleased. He meshed his fingers together and held them up in front of me. “Eight points of contact working together for maximum efficiency, looking for weakness to go in for the kill.” He straightened his fingers emphasising his point. “Go in for the kill, Leo.”

I was pumped when I entered the cage. Mother fucking Reaper was already in there dancing on the spot. He held a grudge and was obviously thrilled to have a chance to exact his revenge. The bell rung, signalling the first beat of the last dance. I knew without a shadow of a doubt I was physically fit, in the zone and I was going to win. Memories of the Perth fight flashed through my mind, and instead of regretful, I felt energised. I had needed that blow to hit rock bottom, and it was from that solid base that I was clawing my way back up. I narrowed my eyes on Reaper as he did on me. We were the two kings of the cage, but there was only room for one tonight. I wasn’t being arrogant or blowing hot air up my own arse. It was fact. Reaper was about to be dethroned.

It wasn’t lion versus zebra. It was predator versus predator, and I was going to relish every second of taking him down. We both had the same idea at the same time and we moved quickly, engaging in a perfectly synchronised combination of jabs, hooks, uppercuts and straights. Reaper was a first class arsehole, but he was also a first class fighter. He met me head-on and, despite taking a few blows to the head, I fucking loved it. This was the challenge I had craved.

I knew I could win easily if my opponent was more interested in entertaining the crowd or if they were clearly inferior in skill. Reaper was focused solely on me and his skillset was impressive. My edge would have to come by anticipating his moves and capitalising with killer blows. Reaper was a worthy player and, if he wasn’t such a douche outside the cage, I would’ve actually had some respect for him.

It was time to lift my game, be smarter, fight harder and take this mother fucker down. The bastard had referred to Jules as a slut and spat in my face, and his mate had stuck a gun in my face. We’d been going at it long enough for me to start seeing a pattern in his movement, and he was no doubt seeing a pattern in mine. It was time to change it up and mess with the fucker’s mind. I needed Reaper unconscious.

The crowd was deafening and the energy was electric as we both jogged on the spot, waiting for the moment to end this one way or the other. I knew he felt it too. One of us was about to go down, and I was determined it wasn’t going to be me. I saw his eyes flash with excitement. Then we both exploded in a frenzy of kicks and punches. His head tilted back in such a small movement, I could’ve easily missed it, but my instincts anticipated a head butt was coming my way. In a split second I raised my elbow like a hammer and smashed him in the face. I’d taken him by surprise, but I wasn’t done with Reaper yet. My final move required flexibility, technique and training as well as the perfect set up. I had all those bases covered.

When Reaper locked his eyes on mine, I broke his gaze and looked down at his feet, giving him the impression I was going for a low leg kick. His eyes naturally followed mine, but by the time he realised his mistake, it was too late. I executed a killer high kick, pivoting on my standing leg while my shin and ankle did the work of knocking Reaper off his feet. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and his whole body appeared to freeze before crumpling to the canvas.

“Congrats, Leo.” Nick appeared at the door of my change room after Dam had left. “You were incredible.”

“Thanks, mate.” I rubbed my head. “He landed a few good ones in, but I reckon he’ll have a headache tomorrow.”

Nick laughed. “I reckon you might too.”

I shrugged. “Probably.”

“You heading home now?”

I nodded, standing up and grabbing my bag. “Sure am. I have a beautiful girl waiting for me in bed. Why would I stick around here?”

We walked out to the carpark and parted ways. “See you ’round, Leo.”

I waved and turned towards my Jeep, parked at the far end of the lot. The lighting was terrible, and I had to allow my eyes to adjust to the darkness. As I reached in my bag to grab my car keys, I felt a jab in my upper arm and then a heavy blow to the back of my head before everything went black as my knees gave way.

When I woke up, my room was light and I was alone. I sat up and rubbed my eyes, looking at the empty place on what had become Leo’s side of my bed. My stomach turned with worry. This wasn’t like him. I reached for my phone and saw a message from Nick. He’d sent it just after midnight.

Leo’s with me.

I released the breath I was holding and tears pricked my eyes. I had been terrified for his safety and the relief was overwhelming.

Everything okay?
I replied.

His reply came back.
He took a nasty blow to the head. I wanted to keep an eye on him.

I sent Nick a text back, thanking him for letting me know and then I sent one to Leo asking him to call me when he could. I let him know the time I’d be training with Zac.

I cleaned my apartment like a woman possessed. When I was worried about something, I became borderline obsessive compulsive. At eight thirty, I changed into my gym gear, put my headphones in and let P!nk once again meet my mood head-on as I jogged through the city to the gym. I was glad I could unleash on Zac the worry that had built up in my system.

“What’s going on, Jules?” Zac asked when he stumbled backward, having held the pads up for me to punch in my warm-up.

“Nothing.” I slammed my gloved fist into the mat, gritting my teeth.

“Come on. I know you pretty well by now. What’s going on?”

I stopped and bent over, resting my lower arms on my knees. I’d already exerted too much energy, but it had felt really good. When I stood back up, I looked into my friend’s concerned face. “Leo went to fight night last night and he wouldn’t let me go with him, and then I woke up alone. It wasn’t a good feeling, even when I found out he was okay.”

Zac scrunched his face up. “Have you spoken to him today?”

“No. I guess he’s still asleep.”

Zac chuckled. “He’s protective of you, Jules.”

“I’m not made of glass.”

“Well I know that. In fact, I’ve signed you up for another amateur fight night.”

“Oh. Really?” I didn’t want to take it any further, but as a hobby, I really enjoyed it. Between my training with Zac, the occasional competitive fight and the monthly car racing supersprints, I was one very happy adrenaline junkie.

“Come on. Let’s get back to it and I’ll buy you a coffee afterwards to tell you more about it. I know Juni would love to see you too. She’s meeting me down the road after this.”

“That would be awesome. I’ve really missed her and Sia.”

I had skyped with Sia a few times. She was enjoying London and things were going well with Matt. I was so happy for her, but I missed her desperately.

When I returned to my locker, thoroughly spent after an awesome session, my phone was ringing. I grabbed it hoping to see Leo’s number on the screen, but was disappointed.

My parents’ home number was flashing. I hit the green circle and held the phone to my ear while I slung my backpack over my shoulder and headed out.

“Hey, Dad.”

“Hi, Juliette. Are you busy for lunch today?”

“I’m not sure yet. Why?”

“Your mother and I have something very important to discuss with you and we hoped you would come by the house today.”

I cringed. “That sounds ominous.”

“We have some news and it impacts you. I really don’t want to talk to you about it over the phone.”

“Okay. Sure.” I figured Leo would go straight to the farmhouse from Nick’s so I might not see him until much later anyway. “I’ll be there in a few hours.”

“Thanks, sweetheart.”

After a quick shower, I changed into my favourite long flowing dress cinched in at the waist with a belt. Sitting on the change room bench, I pulled on my gorgeous long-heeled brown leather boots then headed out to meet Zac.

“Where is this fight you’ve signed me up for?” I asked, pulling on my short denim jacket as we started in the direction of the café.

“Footscray. Is that okay it’s local?”

“Absolutely.” I smiled knowing I no longer feared my mother’s reaction.

“It’ll be very much like the Lilydale fight, but you’ll be matched up with a more experienced fighter given your win last time.”

“Do you think I’m up for it?”

“Absolutely, Jules.” He slung his arm around my shoulders. “You’re the ballsiest girl I’ve ever come across.”

I chuckled at his comment. “Thanks. I think.”

“It’s a compliment. Hold your head high and accept your awesomeness.”

I smiled, grateful for his friendship.

When we entered the café, Juni stood up and waved from a table by the front window. When I reached her, she hugged me and I found myself clinging to her. “It’s so good to see you.”

She held me at arm’s length. “You too, Jules. How are you?”

“I’m great.” I was feeling so much better after my training session, but I really hoped Leo would’ve called by now.

Zac went to the counter to order our coffees while Juni and I made ourselves comfortable on the cushioned window seat.

“I spoke to Sia early this morning.”

“God, I miss her,” I said, sighing. “How is she?”

“I told her she was going to be an aunt.” She rubbed her flat stomach and winked.

Elated, I glanced at her hand. “That is so fantastic. Congratulations.” My face felt like it might split from the grin stretching across it.

“It’s made Sia want to come home though. She says she is craving sister time and doesn’t want to miss my pregnancy or the birth.” Zac arrived with the coffees and sat down opposite us. Juni leaned down to her bag on the floor and pulled out a packet of choc banana Tim Tams and placed it on the table. Without skipping a beat, she continued. “I just don’t want her to give up her chance of happiness with the wonderful-sounding guy she met.”

“Matt divides his time between Europe and Australia, so I doubt it’ll be a problem, and what’s with the Tim Tams?”

“Cravings.” She winked. “I’m blaming the cravings.”

“Perfect. Choc banana though? Ugh.” I made a face and stuck my tongue out. “You can’t mess with the original.”

“I agree, but I’ve become obsessed with them. Anyway, Sia said Matt’s brother, Charlie, is already here.”

I cringed. “He is. I saw him earlier this week.”

“Sia didn’t elaborate at all, but she might’ve hinted Charlie was pretty eager to chase you back to Australia.”

I grimaced. “I’m with Leo. Charlie and I are just friends. Nothing more.”

We spent the next hour chatting about their honeymoon and plans to move to a bigger place before the baby was born. It was wonderful to be around a couple so completely in love and making a future together. I wasn’t jealous. I was inspired. Leo and I would get there in the end. I was sure of it.

“I better get back to the gym,” Zac said regretfully, tapping his watch.

“I better go too,” I said. “I’m having lunch at my parents’, which is always good fun.” I was sure they hadn’t missed my sarcasm.

In the time we’d been sitting inside the cafe, the weather had deteriorated dramatically. Dark clouds had moved in and the temperature had dropped from fresh to straight up cold. I pulled a cream scarf from my bag and double looped it around my neck. I was very glad of the denim jacket I’d shoved in my bag at the last minute, but I still shivered as I said my goodbyes to Zac and Juni, promising to catch up with them again soon.