by Twyla Turner
“You didn’t really think I’d let you kick me in the nuts again, did you?”
“Rhett! It’s time!” Someone yelled on the other side of the door.
“Yeah, I’m coming!” He shouted back.
He looked down at her and grinned.
“It’s time to beat that pussy you call a boyfriend. And then I’ll come back for you.” He leaned down to whisper in her ear. “After what I have planned for you, you’ll wish that you had just let me fuck you back in college. Until then…nighty night.”
Brett lifted her head off the ground and slammed it back to the floor. Pain exploded behind her eyes just before Payton’s world turned black.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The arena was dark. Spotlights flashed and rotated around the cheering audience with the octagon lit up at the center. Music blared from the speakers and Bradyn’s chosen song, It’s a Long Way to the Top by ACDC filled the building. He always thought the title was fitting, plus the song had bagpipes in it, which added to his Scottish brand.
The music was his cue. The crowd went wild and Bradyn absorbed it all for the last time. He wanted to savor this moment to look back on years from now.
He released a huge breath and started down the aisle towards the octagon with his team at his back. Mitch as his trainer, Jake his cornerman, and David his cutman. Once they made it to the octagon, Bradyn stripped down to his briefs. David smoothed Vaseline across each of his brows, under his eyes, and across his nose. A UFC official checked his gloves and cleared him to enter the ring.
Rhett was already there, standing in his corner and looking smug. Bradyn ignored him and jogged around the ring a few times. He walked back over to his corner where his team was setup, just outside of the cage and shadowboxed to warm his muscles up. The MC walked to the center of the octagon.
The MC’s voice boomed throughout the arena. “Ladies and gentlemen! This is the main event of the evening!” The crowd went nuts and he listed off the sponsors, fight organizers and judges. “And now, five rounds in the UFC Heavyweight Division. Introducing first, fighting out of the blue corner. Thirty-two wins and eleven losses. He stands at six feet, three inches tall. Weighing in at two-hundred-sixty-two pounds. Fighting out of Fresno, California, Rhett “The Sting’ Matson!”
Rhett danced around the ring and shadowboxed, sticking out his tongue, his signature fighting face.
“And now for his opponent. Fighting out of the red corner. The undefeated heavyweight champion. Standing at six feet, five inches tall. Weighing in at two-hundred-and-sixty-four pounds is your three-time world champion, Bradyn ‘The Red Scot’ MacTavish!”
Bradyn raised his hands and the crowd exploded. As the ref listed off the rules quickly, Bradyn’s eyes scanned the crowd. They landed on three familiar faces, but Payton’s wasn’t there with them. His heart started to pound, especially when the girls looked at him in confusion. They dinna know where she is.
Bradyn’s mind set off warning bells as he walked back to his corner. He placed his mouth guard in his mouth and shook out his muscles. His eyes focused on finding her in the crowd instead of his opponent as the bell rang.
They came into the center of the octagon. Rhett hopped around as Bradyn stalked him. Rhett was known for being a phenomenal striker and quick on his feet. Bradyn was an all-around striker and grappler and if he got you to the mat, it was game over. He just had to make sure that he didn’t get near one of Rhett’s deadly punches.
That strategy would’ve been fine if his head was in the game. Bradyn took his eyes off of Rhett for a split second to look towards where the girls were sitting once more and his opponent struck. Bradyn moved back quickly and the right hook grazed his eye. It was enough. He felt the blow cut into his brow. His adrenaline was so high, he didn’t feel any pain, but he did feel something wet slide down his eyelid. Blood. He’d been cut.
He could barely focus on his minor injury with thoughts of Payton being in trouble among the thousands of the people in the arena. He tried to shake it off as Rhett came at him again. He ducked and hit his opponent with a knee to the body. Rhett stumbled back. He came back at him a second later and Bradyn kicked him in the side.
Blood dripped in Bradyn’s eye, clouding his vision. His other eye danced back and forth from Rhett to the crowd. Rhett knew he wasn’t focused and took advantage. He delivered another right hook, connecting with Bradyn’s jaw. Bradyn stumbled back but didn’t fall. They danced around the ring and he tried to deliver his opponent a few more kicks to the body, but Rhett blocked most of them.
The bell signaling the end of the first round chimed. Bradyn stumbled over to his corner and his cutman man immediately started to tend to the cut above his eye.
“What are you doing, Red?! You’re not even focusing on the fight!” Mitch yelled.
“She’s not in the arena, Mitch. Something’s wrong.” Bradyn panted. “She left the locker room to head out here, but she’s not here.”
“You can’t focus on that right now, Red!”
“I dinna give a fuck about what I’m supposed to focus on. SHE. IS. MISSING! There’s a fucking stalker out there trying to hurt her and now she’s missing. I dinna care how ye do it but find her Mitch.” Bradyn clenched his jaw as David put a cotton swab soaked in epinephrine to slow the blood, and Avitene to coagulate it, in the cut in his brow.
“Dammit, you stubborn fucking Scot!” Mitch growled. “I’ll go find her, but while I’m at it, you better make goddamn sure you’re focused on that motherfucker in the octagon. Do you hear me?!”
“Aye.”
Mitch nodded and then ran through the arena, back towards the locker rooms. Before he got back into the cage, Bradyn looked over to the girls and the looks on their faces registered fear. He looked towards where Mitch ran off to and they quickly got up and followed to help search for her.
Bradyn got back into the octagon and the bell chimed. This time, he tried to put aside his worry and focused on his adversary. Rhett went on the attack and Bradyn danced around, avoiding his lightning fast punches. He was able to avoid any major hits until the second round ended. David placed the No-Swell against his cut making sure it didn’t swell up any more than it already had. Bradyn’s eyes never stopped searching for Mitch and the girls.
The bell rang signaling the third round and he walked back into the cage. Bradyn was able to get a couple of body shots with some punishing kicks when Rhett got near him. Then he caught movement out the corner of his eye, he lost focus and didn’t see that same right hook come around and clip him in the same spot, reopening the cut above his eye.
His vision blurred and he stumbled back. He felt his legs start to give out and then a voice rang out among the others.
“Bradyn!!!”
Chapter Thirty
Pain burst behind Payton’s eyes as she came into consciousness. The light overhead didn’t help as it glared down into her retinas. She squinted and added pain radiated up one side of her face from where she had been backhanded. She rolled to her side and slowly sat up. Pain in her stomach from the brutal kick that Brett had delivered caused her to wince. She was a mess.
Brett had pulled her over to a corner behind the lockers, in an apparent attempt to try to hide her. Payton crawled out and over to the door and pulled herself up. She tried to open it, but it wouldn’t budge.
“Help.” She tried to scream, but it came out in a sad croak. She cleared her throat and tried again. “Help me! Help me, please! Somebody!”
She banged on the door with all the strength she had, though her injuries made it difficult. With every scream and bang against the door, the pain in the back of her head from it being slammed against the concrete floor felt like her head was in between two giant symbols as they were being clanged together. But she couldn’t stop. She had to get out and find Bradyn. If she waited for Brett to come back, there was a possibility that she wouldn’t see anyone ever again.
“Help me, please!” She tried once more, even louder.
&
nbsp; “Payton!” She heard Mitch’s voice on the other side of the door followed by the excited chattered of her friends.
Tears immediately began to stream down Payton’s face and sobs wracked her body as she called out. “Mitch! I’m in here and I can’t get out!”
She heard commotion on the other side and then the door was wrenched open. The site of them on the other side made Payton collapse with relief to the floor. It was Mitch, the girls, and a couple of security guards.
“Oh my God! Payton, what happened to your face?!” Kennedy fell to her knees and cupped Payton’s swollen and bruised face in her hands.
“Rhett Matson,” Payton whispered.
“What?!” They all shouted.
“H-He’s really Brett Mason.”
“Holy shit!” Mia exclaimed. “I knew that fucker looked familiar.”
“We’ve got to get her down to the octagon! But on the way, can someone explain who the hell is Brett Mason?!” Mitch said as he helped Payton to stand up.
“He’s this asshole rapist who attacked Payton back in college. It was her that pressed charges that started a deluge of other accusers to come forward. Because of her, his football career was ruined and he was sentenced to five years in prison.” Royal explained.
“Fuck!” Mitch shouted.
“He had plastic surgery and changed his name so he wouldn’t be recognized,” Payton said barely louder than a whisper as they quickly walked through the corridor.
“What the fuck?! That’s some psycho shit, right there!” Mia said with disgust.
Mitch picked up the pace as they walked through the arena. Payton winced with every step.
“I’m sorry, Payton. But Bradyn can’t even focus on the fight because he’s worried about you. He’s getting killed in there.” Mitch explained.
“It’s okay, Mitch.” Payton gritted out through clenched teeth.
They practically ran down the aisle towards the octagon. Just as they reached the cage, Bradyn’s eyes caught hers and then Brett punched him hard on the left side of his face where he already had a cut. Bradyn started to stumble and collapse.
“Bradyn!!!” Payton screamed.
The sound of her voice must have revived him because he caught himself before he fell. The bell sounded, signaling the end of the round. They quickly ran to his corner just as he stepped out. His cutman immediately got to work on his eye, though Bradyn’s eyes were wild trying to find Payton in the crowd.
“Payton!” He cried out.
“I’m here! I’m here!” She called to him as Mitch brought her up.
“What happened to ye?” Bradyn’s good eye scanned her swollen face.
“Rhett Matson is really Brett Mason, the man that attacked me back in college. He grabbed me when I was on my way back to the arena. He hit me and threatened me.” Payton informed him quickly before the bell rang again. Tears continued to fall down her face.
“We can stop the fight and have his ass arrested!” Mitch suggested.
“No! Not yet. Let me finish this.” Bradyn’s one good eye turned to blue ice.
The ring doctor came to examine his eye to make sure he could still continue. He gave Bradyn the thumbs up. Bradyn looked at Mitch and his best friend nodded. Then Bradyn looked at Payton and stroked his fingers down the good side of her face.
“I love ye. This is for ye.” He said cryptically before shoving his mouth guard back in his mouth.
He stood and the bell rang. He stepped into the octagon once more. Payton glanced over at Brett and his eyes were wide with shock and fear as he looked back at her.
Bradyn stalked him like a predator around the cage. He landed a kick to Brett’s side. His arms came down to protect his body as he flinched to the side and Bradyn executed a barrage of punches to Brett’s face. Brett stumbled back and a deep cut was now bleeding just under his eyebrow. Bradyn came at him and aimed low. Brett was still disoriented from the series of blows to his head and couldn’t stop Bradyn. He circled Brett around the waist, lifted him off the mat, and body-slammed him to the cage floor.
Payton forgot her fear of Brett. She forgot her hatred for violence. She forgot her pain. She forgot everything except for her man. She cheered loudly as Bradyn quickly put Brett into an armbar. Payton squeezed Kennedy’s hand and cringed as she saw Brett’s arm bend back in an unnatural way. The crowd had reached a frenzy of cheers that reverberated on the inside of Payton’s already splitting skull.
Brett refused to tapout and Payton looked away as his arm snapped like a twig. An ear-piercing scream ripped from Brett’s throat and he fully collapsed to the mat. Bradyn smacked the floor several times in triumph. His team went nuts and the girls hugged Payton. The referee lifted Bradyn’s arm in the air once he jumped up. The MC came into the ring as Brett’s team helped the injured man out of the octagon. Medics were there to assist with his arm.
“Bradyn ‘The Red Scot’ MacTavish is the reigning UFC Heavyweight Champion!” The MC bellowed into the mic. “It looked bad there for a minute. How were you able to come back so strong in the fourth round?”
He held the mic to Bradyn’s mouth and the crowd calmed down enough to hear what he had to say. Mitch pulled Payton into the octagon and she hung back as Bradyn spoke.
“I got back my good luck charm,” Bradyn said as he reached for Payton and pulled her into his arms.
“There’s a rumor that you plan on retiring after this fight. Is that true?”
“Aye. Tonight was my last fight.” The crowd shouted their sadness and disbelief at the news. “I’ve loved fighting for ye. I wouldna got where I am without ye. Thank ye for yer years of support.” Bradyn spoke directly to the crowd, to his fans.
They responded with love and cheers.
Bradyn wrapped a protective arm around Payton and they both hobbled out of the octagon. Mitch, the girls, arena security, and cops were all there to meet them to explain what had happened.
Chapter Thirty-One
It was late when they finally got back to their suite in the hotel. Bradyn had gotten his eye stitched up after they explained what had happened leading up to the fight. He’d held Payton’s hand as she told the authorities about what happened to her in college. She told them about the stalking and Bradyn added that the stalking hadn’t begun until after Brett had confronted him at the restaurant.
When Payton explained what had transpired in the locker room, Bradyn had to fight down the need to go find Brett and finish the job. He felt sick knowing that he had only been a few feet away and had passed the locker room with her unconscious body lying in it. Mitch and the girls told the cops how they had found a broomstick stuck through the handle of the door, making it impossible for someone on the inside to open the door, trapping Payton inside.
After each of them completed their statements and Payton decided to press charges, the police took Brett into custody once his arm was set and casted. He would be charged with assault, stalking, and kidnapping. With any luck, he’d more than likely spend several years behind bars. Which was fine with all of them.
Bradyn led Payton to their bed in the hotel room. She watched him as he reached behind her to slide down the zipper of her dress. She held an ice pack up to her face. She’d been alternating between holding it to the back of her head and to her face.
She dropped her arms to her sides to let the dress slip down her soft curves. Even against her dark brown skin, Bradyn saw the large purple bruise that spread across her abdomen. He dropped down to his knees and kissed her tummy softly.
“I’m so sorry I wasna there to stop him.” Bradyn looked up at her with sad eyes.
“Stop that!” Payton chided him. “You couldn’t have known. He fooled everyone.”
“I know. But that doesna make me feel better about it, lass.”
Payton bent down and kissed him right above his bandaged eye.
“Don’t we make a pair?” Payton smiled.
“Aye. A couple of battered and bruised fighters.”
“Me? A fi
ghter?” Payton asked incredulously.
“Ye’ve always been a fighter, Coffee Bean. Ye just dinna know it.” Bradyn stood back up and brushed the hair back from Payton’s face, looking down at her lovingly. “Now come to bed with me. I need to hold ye in my arms for a while.”
Payton nodded her ascent. They gingerly stripped down, their limbs sore from doing battle. They eased into bed and Payton turned towards the wall of windows overlooking the strip. Bradyn slid in behind her to spoon her soft body. His arm reached around, his hand quickly found her hand, and he entwined his fingers with hers. She snuggled her bottom closer to him and try as he might, his body still reacted to her instantly.
Within seconds he was as hard as a rock. The tip of his cock touched her most intimate place and he felt that she was already soaked with arousal. Payton moved against him and the head of his erection slipped into her entrance. Bradyn froze, not wanting to hurt her.
“I dinna want to hurt ye, lass. I can wait.” Bradyn whispered against her ear.
“I want to be close to you. And you can’t get any closer than making love.” Payton informed him.
Bradyn’s cock responded and grew even harder, pushing further into her tight warmth. He pressed forward, sliding in all the way. They both gasped as he hit her womb. Payton lifted her leg and Bradyn pulled it back over his and held on as he slowly plunged into her depths. She felt like heaven wrapped around him.
His hand roamed over her body, stroking her smooth skin. He cupped her heavy breast and rolled her hardened peak gently between his fingers. Payton cried out and pushed back into him. His teeth clenched as her muscles squeezed around him. They fluttered and he knew she was close. He reached around and found her slick clit. He strummed the bundle of nerves and Payton bucked against him as she came all over his hand and cock. Bradyn quickly followed her as her muscles milked the climax from him.