Uncaged Love Volume 5

by J J Knight

  But the man is invincible.

  Killjoy jumps and screams from his spot outside the cage. Cameras glide along tracks, filming every angle. I’m in the front row, Zero on one side, Eve on the other. The Cure is on the other side of her, impassive and calm. Only the clench of his fingers tucked beneath Eve’s arm gives away how tense he is.

  Just beyond that, Brittany sits with Parker. She keeps jumping up, her blonde hair falling all out of place. Her boyfriend is on the other side, amused by her crazy screams and steady stream of curse words.

  It’s a testament to the intensity of the fight that Zero isn’t fawning over Dylan Wolf anymore. Colt’s friend, now a bonafide rock star, and his fiancée Jessie, have flown from his European tour to be at the fight. I thought Zero would faint clean away when he realized who would be sitting next to him, but now, it’s like Dylan isn’t even there.

  Colt is focused and calm, but we’re coming up on the end of round three and it’s about to end on a decision rather than a knockout. Killjoy has warned that unless Colt is really killing it, a decision almost always will fall to the champion, not the challenger.

  Thunder is not fast, but he’s incredibly strong for the weight class and his hits pack a lot of punch. Twice I’ve felt sure Colt was going down, but he managed to stay on his feet.

  Thunder knows where Colt is weak, and shifts from side to side, forcing Colt to rotate at the waist, working those abdominals even more. I can’t fathom the pain he’s in. I don’t know how he manages it.

  One minute to go. This is the time to dig deep. I’ve been coaching Sammy, and this is something she is excellent at. Somehow, when it gets to the end, she can just bring it, no matter how tired or hurting she is.

  But Colt is showing fatigue. They both are. Killjoy says a fight like this, where both contenders are so talented, so evenly matched, always comes down to how much gas you have in the tank. They worked on maneuvers that took less energy, that helped you defend while you rested a few seconds, so you could get back in there.

  Thirty seconds. I’m trying not to resign myself to a decision match. The good thing about it, though, is that Colt can challenge him again, not right away, but down the line. People always want to see a fight end with passion, not a scorecard. Thunder will agree.

  Colt shifts his feet and starts jumping forward, pushing Thunder toward the wall. Thunder is tired and assumed Colt was too. He seems surprised by this renewed attack.

  He stands his ground and lays a chilling blow direct to Colt’s jaw.

  The crowd gasps, jumping to their feet, sure this is the end.

  But as Colt snaps back, he spins, and there is one of his trademark roundhouse kicks. The one that broke the leg of that punk in the alley.

  Thunder falls sideways and stumbles to stay on his feet. This is all Colt needs, one moment where the gloves drop down. He’s a gunner, a machine gunner, and his blows are too fast to catch with the naked eye.

  Thunder’s head snaps left and right and left and right. He gets his gloves up, but his return jab has no power. He’s tired. He’s not used to going the full three rounds.

  Ten seconds.

  Thunder stumbles back into the mesh. The ref jumps forward, looks at Thunder. The medic on the side hustles into the cage.

  And calls the match.

  TKO.

  Technical knockout.

  It’s over.

  Colt’s done it.

  I’m crying without knowing I’m crying. Zero is screaming. Kissing me. Kissing Angel.

  Eve is clutching at The Cure.

  Brittany is jumping up and down like a cheerleader.

  Colt is barely able to stand. His arm presses into his gut. I can see the pain in his eyes.

  I run, run hard, past security, past the cameras, and up to the stairs of the cage.

  I almost trip on the last step, but catch my footing and hurtle across the platform.

  The light in here is blinding and hot. Colt grabs me, lifts me against him. I’m holding him, and he’s holding me. The announcer comes out with the giant belt. Flashes are popping like a strobe.

  The Cure comes up on the platform too. They are allowing him to put the belt on his son. I back away. The announcer is talking, but I can’t really hear with the echo.

  The Cure fastens the belt around Colt’s waist and claps his shoulder. He lifts Colt’s arm in the air.

  They finally got it, I think. They got to where they want to be.

  The Cure takes something from his pocket and hands it to Colt. Colt motions for me to come over.

  I look around. The Cure has backed to the wall of the cage. Thunder is still sitting, the medic with him. He’s drinking water.

  I walk over to Colt, not sure what part of the title-fight ritual we might be doing.

  Then he gets down on one knee.

  Everyone, and I mean every single person in the entire arena, jumps to their feet.

  I can see them out there. Girls are hugging their boys. Zero is screaming. Eve is covering her cheeks with her hands. Dylan is pumping his fist.

  I look down at Colt. I can’t believe he’s doing this here. But how often can this ever happen? How many chances are there, in any lifetime, for a moment like this?

  Colt opens a black velvet box. The noise is insane, impossible, but when Colt speaks, I can still hear him.

  “Jo, my Hurricane, my love, will you marry me?”

  I have no way to talk, my heart is in my throat, but I nod.

  The noise reaches a zenith. My hand is shaking, but I hold it out. Colt takes the ring from the box and slides it on my finger. He stands up then, and now he towers over me. He leans in, his gloved hand coming behind my head.

  And he kisses me, in front of his father, and his mother. His friends. My friends. And probably more than one enemy. Killjoy and the referee, and the former title champion.

  And fifty thousand people in the arena.

  And probably hundreds of thousands more on pay-per-view.

  Hopefully my mother.

  No matter what I had to go through to get to this moment, losing my father, enduring my stepfamily, running away, poverty, solitude, hunger, and even an attack on my life.

  It was worth it.

  This is the end of the UNCAGED LOVE series. I hope you enjoyed it. I’m planning to do a spin off story about Parker later this year. Those of you who follow my fight class updates (yes, I took MMA training to write this series!) know that the fighter I based Parker on has a young daughter he rarely sees. I’ve decided a love story has to be in there somewhere. So sign up for the list to make sure you don’t miss it!

  See a list of all JJ Knight’s books.

  Don’t miss JJ’s REVENGE series — read about the rise of rock star Dylan Wolf!

  Thank you for reading!

  Love, JJ

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