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

the ropes, he hung on each and pulled and
steadied himself upward.
    After a few more seconds Viktor stood up and
straightened his back, focusing on Ayden. Disdain and hatred ran
through his gaze as he glared at Ayden and motioned with his two
fingers to come forward. Ayden didn’t take the bait. Instead he
took two steps back, and Viktor came zooming through the ring, his
fist crunching into Ayden’s stomach. The power behind the throw
would’ve done most in, but Ayden’s abdomen clenched, blocking the
brute force behind Viktor’s punch.
    “He’s a body puncher,” Jason whispered
softly. I could barely hear him over the crowd.
    “I’m assuming that was something Ayden
trained for with the software.”
    Jason gave a nod, his eyes not leaving the
ring. I returned my eyes to the ring and saw Ayden’s gaze become
crazed as he threw a flurry of punches at his opponent. It was as
if his stamina was refueled, and the energy running through his
veins had supercharged with each new punch landing on Viktor’s
cheeks and jaw.
    “Ayden’s turned into a headhunter,” Jason
muttered.
    “By the looks of it, I’d say that’s a good
thing,” Brandy almost yelled.
    Viktor’s head was hanging as he attempted to
evade each punch thrown by Ayden, and as I looked into the ring,
the voices inside my mind finally quieted. Watching Ayden throw jab
after jab at his opponent with such vigor and power showed me why
Ayden would win this match and any other match in front of him.
    Ayden had heart. It was Ayden’s heart that
brought his opponent down time and again. He was absorbed in the
act of fighting. Dynamism drove every punch, every jab, and the
intensity only grew as time went on. My pulse picked up speed at
the sight of him dodging Viktor’s punches. It was an art form, of
sorts, as these two swayed in and out of one another’s range, but
it only took a second to realize how quickly it could change.
    Viktor delivered another blow into Ayden’s
side, but Ayden took a step back and dismissed the infliction of
pain as if it were nothing more than a fleabite. The crowd was
getting antsy as it became obvious who was going to win the fight,
but I wouldn’t allow myself to get my hopes up. Things could change
on a dime. It only took a fleeting second where the smallest
distraction could change everything.
    I blinked and opened my eyes to see Ayden
hook Viktor in the jaw with such raw force that Viktor spun toward
the ropes, bouncing from one to the next until his body slammed
onto the mat, but he scrambled to his feet immediately.
    The sparring turned into a ritualistic dance
between these two fighters, but the power continued to shift toward
Ayden. It was undeniable. Ayden had been a student of the game,
always learning, striving to do better, and here he was excelling
in a warehouse full of people who wanted to see him fail. Needed to
see him fail to get their money back.
    I was engrossed with what I was seeing in
front of me and knew I’d made the right choice by letting him step
into the ring. If I’d asked him to not to step into the ring, he
would’ve respected my wishes, but then he wouldn’t have left the
circuit knowing he was truly the best. There was no fighter capable
of beating Ayden Rhodes, and now everyone fully understood
that.
    Ayden landed a punch across Viktor’s nose,
and the infliction of pain could be felt in the crowd as the blood
trickled down Viktor’s face. I slowly let out a breath as I watched
Viktor unleash a punch with such devastating power that when it
landed on Ayden’s jaw, his entire head flew backward. I jumped on
my toes as fear pummeled my system. Ayden took a few steps back. It
was like slow motion as I watched Viktor soar across the ring
attempting to connect his fist with Ayden’s chin once more.
Something I’d never done before erupted from my gut as I screamed
for Ayden to come alive.
    And come alive he did.
    Ayden arced his body away from Viktor’s fist
and landed his own punch