***
Jayden
Just keep smiling Jay, don’t think about tonight. I keep chanting this over and over in my head as I watch Jack twirl Savvy around the dance floor. This wedding was truly the best I’ve ever been to and I’m glad I got to enjoy it… up until five minutes ago.
“Here’s to the old ball and chain!” I shout as me and my brothers pound back shots of tequila. We’re at the bar giving the ladies a chance to shake their asses with a bunch of their friends. Pulling Josh away from his new bride proved to be quite the challenge. He eventually agreed to one shot, no more.
Today has been fantastic. Getting ready with my brothers and shooting the shit, it’s moments like these I thank my lucky stars I was blessed with my family. I wouldn’t change a single thing about them and I’m ecstatic my brother got to marry the girl of his dreams today.
I feel a vibration in my pocket and pull out my phone. My blood runs cold when I see a blocked caller, one I’ve been dreading to show up for way too long. It’s been so long since the night Kyle got jumped and Georgie got kidnapped, I was almost hoping all was forgotten.
Zander eyes me and I shrug my shoulders and tell him Georgie’s calling. Stupid excuse I know seeing as she’s currently on the dance floor. As I jog through the house and out the front door to get some privacy, I answer the call.
“Good boy. I’m glad you learned your lesson.”
“Cut to the chase Skid.” I growl.
“Eleven tonight at the old Warehouse off of Perry. And Jay, if you don’t show up you won’t like what happens.”
“I’ll be there.” Then I hang up the phone and try to even out my breathing. Fuck me, today’s Josh’s wedding day. There’s no way I can tell him it’s going down tonight when he should be spending his wedding night banging his new bride.
When I turn around I’m caught off guard when I see Z standing in the doorway with his arms crossed leveling me with a look of sympathy.
“When?”
“Tonight.”
“Fuck.” He runs his fingers through his hair in frustration.
“We can’t tell him. I won’t do that to him on his wedding day.”
“I agree. We can get Kyle alone and break the news after we get back in there. I know you didn’t want him involved but I think having numbers on our side may be pivotal.”
“No, he needs to stay with Georgie in case something happens. What if Skid tries to pull a fast one and come for her?”
“I don’t like it, but okay. I’ll fill him in on what’s going on.”
I look down and try to take a deep breath. Physically I’ve got this. I’ve scouted the guy I’m fighting. He’s almost identical to me body wise, but where I’m technical he’s a loose cannon. There are no rules and, in my investigations, I’ve seen him use anything and everything to win his matches. He clocked some poor guy over the head with a 2x4 to win a fight. Cheating isn’t in my nature, but I am willing to do anything to get home to my girl. I had a vision of her walking to me on a beach in a gorgeous white dress earlier and I’m going to fucking get that.
“The wedding should be done before we need to head out, so we don’t need to worry about sneaking out. We just need to let the girls know what’s going on.”
“No, absolutely not. Georgie isn’t gonna know where I’m going when we leave. I’ll think something up, but she’s not coming with us. If we tell her, she’ll fight tooth and nail to come along.”
“That’s not going to go over well.” Zander rubs the back of his neck feeling uncomfortable with the idea.
“But she’ll be okay. I can’t be worrying about her when I need my head in the game.”
“I hear you. Okay, I won’t tell Georgie, but I will be telling Savvy. I’ll make sure she doesn’t tell your girl and I’ll even get her to distract her so we can get out.”
“Fine.” I’m feeling like a caged beast and I need to tamp down the crazy before I go back into the reception.
“I know it’s hard, but you need to shove thoughts of the fight to the back of your mind to get through this today. Josh is your twin, sometimes you guys freak me the fuck out. If you act weird he’s gonna know somethings up. I’m gonna head back in, take a few minutes to gather your composure.” He pats me on the shoulder and goes back into the room.
How the fuck am I supposed to push this to the back of my mind? Go in there and joke around. Dance the night away with the love of my life, all while knowing that tonight very well could be the last time I hold her in my arms.
I’m taken from my thoughts when I see Georgie walking towards me. Awe slams into my chest at the thought that this gorgeous woman is it for me. She chose me and thank Christ for that. She’s my world, my motivation.
“Hey stranger, is this seat taken?” She winks.
“I was waiting for my beautiful girlfriend, but you can have the seat.”
“Your girlfriend huh? I thought Jayden Cage didn’t do girlfriends?”
“I didn’t until she crashed into my life.”
“Suck up.”
I pull her into my lap and wrap my arms around her. “How are you dealing with everything? Your mom being in town?”
“Okay. I’m not going to worry about it until I hear her out.”
“Liar.” I bite at her ear. “What are they odds that I can talk you into letting me eat your pussy over by those bushes?” I point to a shrub set back in the yard.
“Not likely. I know everyone here.” She giggles then promises me to get down to business later, which I know can’t happen as my thoughts drift to my fight.
“Do you know what I thought the first time I ever saw you?”
“What a weirdo?”
I laugh. “No. The first time I saw you was at Josh’s surprise birthday party when you first showed up in town.”
“You were there? I guess everything was so hectic, that whole day was a blur to me.”
“I was forced into decorating and then you appeared. I couldn’t take my eyes off you. I over filled a few balloons making them pop. Zander was getting so annoyed with me.” I laugh. “You were the single most gorgeous thing I had ever seen and you knocked me on my ass that day. Something spoke to me and I knew I needed to get to know you. It freaked me the fuck out, but I’m glad we’re here today.”
“That’s completely making the butterflies flap around in my belly, but there’s no way that was your first thought of me.” She laughs and it shows how well she knows me.
“Fine, I was hoping you were one of the wait staff for the party so we could role play in the back office. Sexy waitress and disgruntled customer. Shit, I’m getting hard. Stop wiggling. Oh, and your tits were almost visible through the thin white top you had on. Definitely wanted to suck on those bad boys if I’m being honest.”
“I love you Jayden Carlisle Cage.”
“And I love you Georgie Francis McNamara.”
As I glance down at my watch I realize I need to make my exit. Sneaking outs for the best. Georgie will only worry and there’s no way she’s coming with me and Z. After excusing myself to the bathroom, I look back at my girl one more time trying to soak her in.
Here we go.
CHAPTER 25
Jayden
As I walk through the door into where the fights set up, I’m met with a deafening roar of cheers. They aren’t for me, oh no. They’re for the underground legend Serge Volkov. A man rumored to fuck up every opponent he’s ever come across. Too bad that ends tonight because no way am I walking out of here a loser.
Z walks with me to the ring as Read Me My Rights blasts through the ancient sound system. Brantley Gilbert gets me pumped the fuck up. It was comical they asked for an intro song to come out to, as if this is a legitimate fight in a prestigious league.
As we come upon the octagon it almost makes me laugh when my eyes spot it. It’s a bunch of chain link fence matched together and bound with chains. There’s no flooring, just the cold hard concrete to break the fall should I end up on the grou
nd. Serge’s already in the ring staring at me as I walk in front of him. Let him stare, I know he’s going to try and intimidate me. Too bad it won’t work. There’s too much on the line for me to cower to anybody, let alone a pussy that uses cheap weapons to beat his opponents. He’s known to hide shit under the tape on his knuckles. Let him, I’m ready for it.
A few spectators are cursing me out, telling Serge to fuck me up. All I do is look at them and smile. They can wish for that all they want but it ain’t fucking happening.
Once I’m in the ring I look behind me and give a nod to Zander, acknowledging I know he’s there. Then I turn back towards Serge and put on my game face. Body wise we’re identical, other than his hideous tattoos covering every square inch of his skin. He matches my 6’2” height and I’d guess he’s within five pounds of my 210. I wonder if he’s even trained half as hard as I have.
I can’t believe there’s a ref for this fight. It’s comical. This is a no holds bar underground fighting league. There are no fucking rules. It’s all about appearances. The people here spending money want to believe it’s legit. I hope that asshole isn’t stuck in the ring with us because something tells me this is gonna be one hell of a fight.
Skid stands up from the balcony he’s on. This guy really thinks he’s god up on his perch. He gives me a sinister smile and clears his throat. Everyone immediately shuts up listening for what he’s about to say.
“Thank you all for coming tonight, it should prove to be one of the best fights you’ll ever see. Most of you know Serge…” The crowd goes crazy for him and he eats it up strutting around like he already won. This is only fueling the fire, wanting to get in there and prove everyone wrong.
“And his opponent is new to the circuit but in no way should he be underestimated. For his first match, we have Jayden Cage!” I’m met with boos and I could care less. I’m not here to impress these people, I’m here to win this fight for my girl.
“Alright gentlemen, I don’t want a clean fight, the dirtier the better… am I right?” He yells to the crowd and they go crazy. “You hear that gentleman? Don’t disappoint me. On the bell, you better bring everything you’ve got!”
Not once have I taken my eyes off this asshole who keeps making kissy faces at me. It’s clear to see he’s underestimating me and I welcome it. Let him think I’m nothing, it’ll blindside him when I rip his fucking head off.
The bell rings and we’re on each other in an instant. I pull him down to the ground and wail on his mid-section with a series of punches. He counters by getting a hit in on my temple and rolling me off him. When we’re both on our feet we circle each other a bit. Each of us trying to figure the other out.
I go in for the attack again but he catches me, slams an elbow into my ribs and throws me into the cage. When I bounce back he lands a kick to the side of my head. Jumping back, I shake my head trying to fight off the haze. Damn that was a hard kick.
When he gets close enough I punch at him, my fists met with air as I miss my target. He whirls around and jumps on my back. As he throws his arms around my neck, his legs wrap around my waist locking in a hold that’s leaving me breathless. I have no choice, I fall backwards and hit the concrete with a thud. Luckily, Serge was there to break my fall.
“Go for his legs!” I hear Zander yell and I do just that. I fly on him before he can get off the ground and get him in a tight hold causing him to call out in pain. His ankle is bent at what I would guess is an excruciating position as I wrap my legs even tighter.
He starts rolling, gaining momentum, and I’m stunned when he rolls and ends up on top of me once again. He starts hailing his fist down on my face over and over. I’m trying to block him and kick at him with my legs. Finally, after taking several blows to the face, my legs latch onto his shoulders and slam him backwards into the concrete of the floor.
He gasps for air as the wind gets knocked out of his body. Time for me to capitalize. My legs straddle his waist and I begin punching him in the face. Straight on, and his nose starts gushing after my third or fourth hit. I’m so in the zone I don’t notice something flying through the air over the fence barrier. I also don’t notice Serge reach over and grab something before something cracks me in the head and I’m rolling off him.
Motherfucker, what was that? As I look up a 2x4 is coming down on my ribs. Once I grasp the severity of the situation I try to get to the other side of the ring and jump to my feet as fast as I can. The pain in my ribs is horrendous but I push the pain into the furthest point in my mind and try to figure out how to disarm this asshole.
He holds the piece of wood over his head and when it comes down I block it with my wrist. I have immediate pain shoot up my arm and I know something bad just happened. Fuck! As the wood comes down again I manage to get a good grip on it with my good hand and shove him backwards to the floor. As I look at the loot in my hand I debate using it to my advantage. Damn my mama for instilling morals in me. I can’t do it, so I throw it back to where it came from.
“You could have warned me bro.” I shout to Z.
“I did, you were too busy punching the shit out of him.”
“Touché.”
Serge moves to the middle of the ring and starts bouncing around, trying to throw me off from what move he’s about to make. My injured wrist is tucked into my body, the good one out ready for attack. Something else flies through the air and Serge catches it in the air. A fucking pipe! Really?
“Z, I think it’s time you start helping me out here.”
“On it!” I hear some commotion and quickly glance over in time to see Zander kicking someone out of there chair before slamming it against the floor. He picks up a leg that broke off and throws it in the air at me. What the hell is this gonna do?
“He’s not a fucking vampire! Do you want me to stake his heart?” This would be comical if I wasn’t about to be on the pipe end of a beating.
“It’s all I could get.”
I’m going to need to make this work. He charges at me and when the pipe connects with the chair leg it flies out of my hand, no match for a solid piece of steel. I’m gonna have to get old school and think of how to get this thing away from him.
He runs at me and I duck when he swings for my head. It misses me by millimeters I’m sure. With the momentum, it took for him to swing I take advantage and kick him in the ribs numerous times causing him to drop the pipe. It rolls to the corner and I run for it. He has the same idea because we collide and he takes me to the ground. I’m stuck on my stomach as his arms wrap around my neck, squeezing. I try to move my arms but there’s no leverage, nothing to grab onto.
“Jay, you have to get out of it! Fight god damn it!”
Does it not look like I am? I’m trying with everything in me to get out of this hold but he has me locked in tight. I’m immobile and I feel my resolve getting weaker and weaker. My movements become jerky as I’m finding it harder and harder to breath.
“Fucking fight!” Zander roars from the other side of the cage. But, I can’t. There’s nothing left in me.
“Jayden!”
It sounds like someone’s yelling my name and that’s when I see her. Georgie is running down the aisle in my sights coming for the cage. She doesn’t stop until she’s right in front of me shaking on the fence.
“Fucking fight!”
“Get out of there!”
“Jayden, you have to fight!”
Their comments are in and out, my head feeling hazy. I can’t believe I’m actually going to lose.
CHAPTER 26
Georgie
As I look around the reception, worry starts taking over. It’s stupid to feel that way but a sense of dreads taken over my body and won’t ease up. It could be from running into my mom, but something feels off. Where the heck did he go?
Kyle’s at the bar so I decide to see if he knows where my boyfriend went. As I approach him, his eyes widen and he looks down at his shoes. He knows something.
“Kyle, do you know wher
e Jayden went?”
“Hmmm… Jayden? My brother?”
“Is there another one here? Of course, your brother.”
“Nope, haven’t seen him lately.” He’s not telling me something.
“Kyle, where is he?”
“Don’t worry about him he’s fin…”
I reach forward and grab Kyle by the nuts. I’m usually not this aggressive but I know somethings wrong and he needs to tell me what.
When he yelps, I squeeze tighter. “Tell me where the hell he went.”
“Fine! He’s at the fight, he left 40 minutes ago.”
It’s like someone just threw a bucket of ice on me. My whole body runs cold and my ears begin to pound. The room starts spinning and I hold onto the top of the bar.
“You have to bring me.” I demand.
“He told me not to.”
“Kyle, you take me or I swear to god you’ll be leaving here without your man parts.”
He stands there staring at me like he’s not going to budge. If he won’t give me anything I’ll find someone who will. I run out of the reception, mindful to try and not catch anyone’s attention. Kyles trailing closely behind me, I can hear the pounding of his feet every time they connect with the ground.
Once I’m in the house I seek out my cell phone. When I locate it, I try to pull up a number I swore I’d never use again. Skid’s.
“What are you doing?” Kyle questions.
“Calling Skid, if you won’t tell me I know he will.”
Kyle reaches over and plucks my phone out of my hands. “Fine, I’ll take you. But you need to listen to me and stay out of the way. The last thing Jay needs is to see you and lose his focus.”
“Alright, let’s go!”
Then we’re in the car heading a few towns over. The car isn’t fully stopped yet as I sprint for the front door of the old building. I can hear Kyle shouting for me to stop but I don’t, my feet keep running and stop only when we reach someone stopping me outside the main door.
Bound By Cage Box Set (Complete Series Books 1-4) : MMA Romance Page 59
