Page 77 of Stand: Part One

But I needed to face reality. After my meeting with the general, play time was officially over. It was time to get Jaden back on her feet, and she was only too eager to make it happen practically over night.

And thank fuck for that because my urge to fuck her harder, longer—to make her scream was well past its prime, and I was ready for my due. So when I noticed she had been spending the majority of her time in her gym, I didn’t disturb her. We were now essentially on the same page as far as her recovery was concerned, and I didn’t want anything to disrupt her progress.

Now that Miguel had finally shown his face, things were heating up again, and I needed a stronger outlet than my fist to fuck my rage into. The fucker was a mousy little shit, afraid to come out of his hole and handle his business, but I’d find him eventually. That, or I’d just make him come to me. Doing things on my own turf always had its advantages.

“You seem distracted,” Scott commented as we circled each other in the caged ring.

I cocked a brow, a smirk forming in the corner of my mouth. “Like that’s going to help any of you.”

Scott then struck his fist out, almost colliding with my jaw before I shifted my chin an inch to the right, dodging his blow. All at once, my two other additional opponents, Greg and Andrew, quickly engaged, following Scott’s lead.

Ducking low, I veered out of the way, using my momentum to lift my leg and slam my foot into Greg’s ribs, kicking him straight to the ground. Andrew advanced then, swinging his fist out, but he was a bit slow.

Catching his wrist, I twisted it around, trapping his arm in place to bring his torso down and slamming my knee into his nose twice. The second he went limp, I whipped him around to toss him on top of Greg just as he was starting to rise to his feet.

Scott lunged at me then, knocking me into the barriers of the cage. His fists struck my side twice, the blows hard enough to make me shift out of the way before he could do more damage. Twisting my hips, I swung my elbow out, clocking him along his orbital socket, causing his face to jerk to the left.

Just then, Greg was back on his feet, but the second he lifted his arm to strike, I kicked my leg out to catch him square in the gut and then again at the back of his knee, sending him doubling over. Andrew then lunged at me from the other side, forcing me to maneuver Scott in his direct path so he took Andrew’s kick straight to his back.

I stepped out of the way and let Scott take his fall, kicking Greg in the head again before Andrew began lashing out with a series of punches and kicks that he couldn’t even hope to land. Snatching his wrist midair again, I turned my body and hauled him forward and over my shoulder, slamming him down onto the ground just as Greg landed a kick at my chest.

“Where are we with finding Kayla?” I asked Scott as Greg slammed his shoulder into my gut and knocked me back into the cage.

Wrapping my arm around his neck, I lifted my leg to slam my knee into his stomach three times and then tossed him away from me while dodging Andrew’s latest attack to my face. Lifting his leg, he kicked out, making me shift to the right so his foot hit nothing but the cage. A swift strike to his jaw sent him fumbling to the ground.

“Facial recognition picked her up at the Tucson International Airport two days after she sold the ring,” Scott answered. He then swung his fist out, nearly clipping my nose in the process before I tilted my head to the side. “She boarded a plane to Luxembourg. The path went cold there.”

I scowled. “The fuck would she go to Luxembourg for?” I asked as my fist connected with Greg’s chin.

Scott shrugged as he allowed Andrew to surge past him so he could swing an elbow at the side of my head and miss.

“She has no connections there that we’re aware of,” he answered as I trapped Andrew in a headlock and hook-kicked Greg across his face, knocking him out completely. “Could just be a place she’s passing through, though. We’ve been reviewing security footage of all the train stations, but facial recognition hasn’t picked her up yet.”

I clutched Andrew’s neck tightly in my arms, cutting off his air supply while he struggled to break free. “Put out a missing person’s report throughout Europe. We might get lucky that way,” I said as I yanked Andrew down to his knees. When his body finally went limp, I tossed him away, piling him right next to Greg.

“Will do,” Scott said with a nod and then attacked. He and I exchanged a series of strikes and counterattacks until we were both winded, neither one of us willing to end the fight until the door to my gym loudly slammed shut. The echoing sound caused Scott to glance over, giving me the opportunity to grab his arm and haul him over my shoulder, slamming him onto the ground with a hard thud.

Turning to the source of the noise, I found Jaden standing in front of the door, her hands on her hips and her eyes staring me down.

Someone has an agenda.

“Need something, sweetheart?” I taunted.

Scowling, she folded her arms across her chest. “Yeah, I want my rematch,” she stated. “Right now.”

My lips curled as pride swelled in my chest. “Are you sure about that?” I asked as I turned and helped Scott up off the floor.

“Oh yeah,” she replied confidently. “I’ve devised a new strategy I’d like to test out.”

“Really?” I asked as I stepped out of the cage, moving toward her. “Now, that’s intriguing.”

“I thought you might think so.”

“And what exactly are you prepared to sacrifice when you find it doesn’t work?”

She shot me an irritated glare, not caring for my teasing dismissal.

“I suppose I could watch Ella a second time,” she offered with a shrug.