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The anticipation rises again as I can see exactly where I want this to go.
He’s on his back now, and I’m on my knees between his legs. He lifts his leg to kick at me, but I grab it just as his foot makes contact with my ribs. My hand slides under his knee, and I spin, sitting on his hips with my back to his face. I grab his leg, hugging it tight to my chest, and lean to the side.
I feel him struggle against me, as he knows I have him in a kneebar. But God love him, he continues to try.
So I drop my shoulder to the floor, bring my arm under his calf to apply more pressure to that knee and just wait for him to tap.
And he does.
As we separate and I jump to my feet, my eyes land on Max at the side of the cage. He fist pumps the air and yells out to me, as my teammates cheer around him.
But then I see Ty leaning against the back wall, arms crossed with a small smile.
I give him a smirk and point to the sky.
Moon and stars, Tiger.
FORTY-TWO
As the ref pats me down, I keep my eyes on Josh Hens.
He paces the opposite side of the cage, glaring at me.
“Stay focused on the fight,” Max says. “He’s just trying to intimidate you.”
I turn my head to Max. “Not working.”
He smiles and pats my back. “Good.”
“All clear.” The ref steps back and gestures for me to enter the cage. I climb the steps to the sound of my teammates cheering behind me, but before the cage door closes, I do something I’ve never done before.
I take a glance back, finding Luca. He nods to me with a slight smile, and I nod back to him.
As I turn away, I feel a sense of comfort, and I fall into my usual pre-fight routine again. I stretch my neck, hop on my feet a couple times, and block everything out. My senses sharpen and focus on the cage, and the cage only. The sounds of everything else fades away, and all that matters is this moment, this fight, this opportunity.
I blow out a breath and raise my eyes to the ref.
He glances between us. “Ready?” he asks, pointing to me, and I nod.
He turns to Hens. “Ready?”
“Fuck yeah.” He taps his gloves together with a sly smile.
“Begin.” The ref gestures to the middle of the octagon, and excitement rushes through me.
I step forward, raising my gloves, watching him do the same. I hold out my hand for him to tap, and he holds his right hand out as well. But he immediately draws back with his left and clocks me on the unprotected side of my head.
I’m just about to step into this motherfucker and take him right to the fucking ground, when the ref steps in between us, a hand on each of our chests.
He glares at Hens. “You are aware I am in control of this fight, right?”
Hens huffs out a breath and nods.
“I’m not going to put up with any shit. You fight with respect, conduct your fighting and behavior within the rules, and we won’t have any problems.” The ref keeps his eyes on Hens.
“Yeah.” Hens nods, staring at me. “Got it.”
The ref looks at me, and I nod.
