by an inch. Rolling, I move away from under him just enough to barrel a right hook on the corner of his jaw. His fucking face is apparently made of steel, but at least I caught him off guard. He stumbles back, and I use that small window of opportunity to give him all I’ve got.
My knuckles hurt, but I push it away and keep hitting him. Punch after punch, I strike him over and over again. Head, chest, gut, back, head. Anywhere I can hit him, refusing to let him get even one shot on me.
All it takes is one last punch to the side of the head, and he slumps over, his body falling face-first into the ground. Shocked, I stare down at him while Franco counts to ten, giving the fucking beast a chance to get up and fight again.
Thankfully, he stays down, completely unmoving. Sweat drips down my aching body, and all I want to do right now is get the fuck out of this ring, grab Kennedy, and leave.
As soon as I’m announced as the winner, I climb out of the pit and head straight for her. The crowd erupts around me, threatening to swallow me whole, but I push through the masses to get to her. People rush past her to get to me, almost shoving her to the ground to congratulate me. Anger ignites deep in my gut, and when I reach her, I wrap a hand around her wrist and tug her to my chest.
The way she’s looking at me, like a helpless little bug, it makes me want to save her and squish her at the same time. There is way too fucking much going on around us. I can’t think straight.
Heading for the doors, I wrap an arm around Kennedy and drag her along beside me. Once outside, I can think, breathe, my mind becomes less foggy, and I drop my arm from Kennedy and instead take her wrist into my hand.
Her small legs can barely keep up with me as I practically run across the parking lot toward my car, wondering how and why she came.
“How the hell did you get here? Did you drive?” I ask. I’ve never seen her drive anywhere, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have a car. The other option is that she came with someone, and if that’s the case, it better not have been a guy. Because if she came here with some dude, I’ll kill him.
“I walked,” she announces. She walked? That’s, that’s like five miles.
“You walked here? All the way from campus?”
“Yes, took me a while, but I did.” She sounds almost proud.
“Why? Why the fuck did you come here?” Better yet, how the fuck did she know where the pits were and that I was going to be here. Talon. Talon was spreading the word about the fight. She must’ve overheard someone talking about it. That still doesn’t really explain why she was here though.
When she doesn’t answer, I speak a little slower, “Why-did-you-come-here?” I’m tempted to shake the answer out of her. I’m tired of her making stupid choices and putting herself in danger, a danger that she acts as if she doesn’t see.
“I–I… well. I overheard someone talking in class, and they said you were in danger. So… I came here to warn you.”
The words trickle slowly into my brain, almost like I’m having a hard time understanding them. “You’re fucking joking, right? What do you think this is?” I motion between us.
“Nothing. I just… nothing.” Her face falls, and her eyes drop to the ground. “I shouldn’t have come here. This was a mistake.”
“Damn right, you shouldn’t have, but now you’re here, and you’re coming with me,” I tell her, and unlock the SUV with my keypad on the door.
“I’m not going anywhere,” she replies, her voice stronger now, “and I’m definitely not getting into a car with you.”
Of course, she isn’t. I roll my eyes and open the passenger side door with my other hand. “Get the fuck in, or I’ll put you in. I don’t care if you want to ride in a car with me. Your fears are not my fucking problem.”
My patience is thin as fuck, and if she doesn’t decide in five seconds, I’m going to choose for her.
“Please, Jackson…” she pleads, but like I said before, my patience is good as gone.
Picking her up, I place her ass in the seat and strap her in with the buckle. She struggles