Read Online Beyond Promise by Karice Bolton - Free Book Online Page A

speakers as the MC
extolled Viktor. I looked around the room until I saw a door open
and a massive figure appeared across the room. He seemed to be a
good head taller than most of the crowd. The spectators parted
immediately as he made his way down the aisle toward the ring. The
fighter’s head was shaved, and his body looked like he’d stolen it
from the Jolly Green Giant as he lumbered toward the square
in front of us.
    I saw brute force behind his shoulders, but
I saw a lack of quickness. Ayden had both qualities. He was not
only quick but, also, strong. I took in a deep breath, watching him
climb between the ropes, and I prayed that his fist would never
connect with Ayden. The electronic music continued blaring through
the speakers as the MC announced Ayden’s entrance. A loud mix of
cheers and jeers could be heard around the room, and my chest
tightened. It killed me to hear to the negativity, and I couldn’t
even imagine what it had done to Ayden. My hope was that he didn’t
hear them.
    To my right, doors swung open, and Ayden
took a step into the room. His stare was focused. He looked
intimidating and determined. Watching him stride down the aisle
took my breath away. He was elegant, demanding, and controlled. He
was a machine.
    I watched him climb into the ring, and
Brandy squeezed my shoulder and didn’t let go as Derek and Mason
started giving him instructions as the MC read the rules. My pulse
quickened as Ayden’s gaze connected briefly with mine before
looking across the ring.
    Before the beginning bell even chimed I saw
Ayden’s opponent charge at him, and I knew this was unlike any
other fight I’d ever witnessed.

 
     
     
     
    Ayden lunged from his stool in an instant,
his fists in the air. He’d anticipated his opponent’s preemptive
attack as if he’d planned it himself. Dodging from Viktor’s left
hook, Ayden swung his fist into the abdomen of his opponent. The
sound of his fist hitting his opponent’s flesh was a welcome
one.
    The glint in Ayden’s eyes was focused as he
dodged an uppercut and threw a jab back at his opponent, knocking
the man’s chin to the left. Anger flashed through Viktor’s eyes as
he returned a fist into Ayden’s stomach. The sweat sprayed onto the
mat as the crowd went crazy with the contact, and my stomach
knotted with every new swing.
    I gasped as Ayden’s opponent repeated his
move and landed another punch into Ayden’s side, more liquid
spraying toward the crowd. Ayden didn’t even wince as the man’s
fist moved away. Ayden’s feet shuffled around the ring waiting for
his opponent to come to him.
    My heart raced as I watched these two men
maintain their distance, their control. The cheers from the crowd
quickly turned to hungry cries for more blood, more sweat. Ayden’s
opponent drove a punch through the air, and I held my breath as I
saw his fist miss Ayden’s chin by less than an inch.
    Ayden didn’t let the close call distract
him. He bobbed his head and plunged his fist directly into the
unguarded side of the other fighter. Ayden’s right fist smacked
beneath his opponent’s ribcage, and he let out a wheeze as Ayden
swung his left fist to land a powerful crunch to Viktor’s cheek.
His skin split, and his head lolled to the side as he took a step
backward to gain balance, but Ayden didn’t miss a beat.
    Utilizing the split second advantage, he
rammed his left hand into the jaw of his opponent, flooring him
almost immediately. I knew better than to think this was the end.
His opponent’s eyes were still open, cagily looking around as he
thrashed his legs on the mat attempting to get back up. The
majority of the crowd began chanting “Viktor” into the air, which
overshadowed Ayden’s cheers.
    Warily, I scanned the crowd and saw
something I’d never seen before: a place full of people who
genuinely seemed to hate the man still standing inside the ring,
Ayden. My hands got clammy as I watched them demand that Viktor get
back up. Crawling to