CHAPTER 23
Cora Chapman
NERVES POUNDED MY STOMACH ALL day long. I never knew whether Landon was being realistic or was trying to protect me. He’d said the fight was nothing to be concerned about, that only the third one with the Sid guy mattered. But I didn’t know how true that was. He was fighting the toughest guys in the world.
I waited until just after sunset and then snuck out to his house. Janet answered the door with her usual smile. She seemed to like me, and I didn’t want that to change.
“Hi!”
“Hey, girl. Come on in here.”
Logan sat on the couch in front of their only TV. Janet waved a wild hand in his direction. “Can’t get him unglued from that thing. He can’t believe they’re saying his dad’s name on there. You’ll see.”
I smiled and took off my jacket. Janet stole it from me before I could put it away and she carried it over to a closet.
“You hungry?”
“No thanks.”
“Nervous?”
“Very.”
“Welcome to the club. Landon likes to downplay things like he’s not fighting one of the toughest guys on the planet.”
The knot in my stomach twisted harder. I plopped down next to Logan on the couch and rested a hand on his thigh. “Hey, how’s it going?”
“Great!”
Glad one of us is confident.
Janet came over and took a seat. We watched the screen and I couldn’t believe we’d see Landon fighting in that same cage in less than an hour. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever really process something like that.
It was the slowest sixty minutes of my life. I caught myself biting a fingernail, and Logan’s hand worked its way into mine. I glanced over to see Janet had a firm grip on the arm of the couch even though her face remained hard as stone.
The announcers came on the screen and Janet turned up the volume.
I squeezed Logan’s hand in mine and we watched it all play out.
“Welcome to the opening event of WMMA 142!”
“In case you’re just tuning in, I’m Bob Godwin here with George Lewis to bring you tonight’s bout in the WMMA heavyweight division.”
“And what a night it’s shaping up to be. Folks, little is known about Landon Lane as this is his first professional fight. What little background was given was that he has served as a training partner to Sam Wright, a veteran WMMA title holder, and current heavyweight champion.”
“That’s right. Team StrikeForce’s owner and sponsor announced last week that Wright suffered an injury during training and taking the world completely by surprise substituted a virtually unknown fighter, Landon Lane.”
“Yeah, it’s unprecedented to say the least. It should be interesting. Lane didn’t even show up until about half an hour ago, long enough to weigh in. We’re definitely curious to see him in action.”
“No kidding. What is not mysterious are the facts of his opponent, Mark Kane. This guy has destroyed everyone with his rudimentary ground-and-pound style, though nobody has come close to being on the level of the current world heavyweight title contender and up and comer, Sidious Kayzo. We can see some of Kane’s highlights playing now. Many considered him a perfect match to go against Wright, a known deadly striker. Heck, everyone at Team StrikeForce is known for their stand-up take-no-prisoners style of fighting, so no doubt we’ll look for that from Landon Lane.”
“They sure are. The one thing we do know is that if Lane spars with these guys, he can definitely take a punch.”
“Absolutely correct. But the real question is can he throw one? And can he defend against the perfect ground technique of Kane? This guy is an absolute animal. He wears fighters down for a minute or two and then bam! They’re on their back, and he goes to work. At a record of 8 and 0, all by armbar submissions, his numbers certainly—”
“Hate to cut you off, but the music just fired up and this crowd is on their feet! Entering the Octagon first and weighing in at 228 pounds is the man we know, Mark Kane, age 27. Fights for Team Takedown out of Venice Beach, California. He makes his way through the roars and camera flashes to the sound of Method Man’s Bring the Pain. Kane definitely looks confident, and this crowd is insane. I can’t help but think they’re waiting in anticipation to get a glimpse of Lane, though.”
“Indeed, I think we all are. I might add that Lane weighed in at 237, so he has a nine-pound advantage over Kane. The lights just dimmed. Is that Jimi Hendrix? I think it is. It’s All Along the Watchtower. And—wait—there he is, and he’s not alone. Where’s Gus?
“Your guess is as good as mine, Bob.”
“Yeah, we’re not sure who is accompanying him. Look at his sunglasses.”
“He definitely looks more intimidating than Gus. I’ve never seen anything like this. Most guys have a team of trainers with them. Wow. Where are the other members of Team Strikeforce? Lane definitely yanked the door open like he meant business.”
“Oh wow. Look at Kane. He’s shaking his head and chuckling in his corner. He’s made it no secret all week that this fight is an insult to him and that Team StrikeForce is a joke.”
“Yeah, Kane is no stranger to trash-talking. He promised the fans this thing wouldn’t last past the first round and I quote, ’I’m going to put this joker in the hospital. You kiddin’ me?’”
“Yep, we all cringed at his words a little. Probably because we know he meant every one of them.”
“Holy cow! Lane just disrobed and there’s nothing out of shape about this guy—”
“Sorry to cut you off, but we go live now to the referee, Jimmy Stevens.”
“All right, guys. I want a clean fight. Tap gloves and let’s do this.”
“Oh, look at this. Lane didn’t tap gloves. Just walked back to his corner. I’ll tell you what, I’ve seen a lot in my day, but the look on Kane’s face right now is priceless. When Landon Lane took off his robe, the snickering and joking ceased. Kane is all business. Especially after being snubbed.”
“Lane definitely looks the part, clearly winning the battle of intimidation. He’s got the tattoos and he’s built like a thoroughbred. This guy is chiseled like a statue of Zeus. But we’ve seen guys look like that who went down quick. Hopefully, these guys give us a show tonight and get the fans their money’s worth. The referee just dropped his hand and we are under way. Right here is when Kane usually goes on defense and lets his opponent tire—”
“OH MY GOD! BOB! WOW!”
“I don’t believe it. Five seconds! FIVE! Lane head-faked and threw a right hand from God that connected with Kane’s left jaw and laid him flat on his back. Stevens waved his arms to signal the end of the fight before Kane even hit the mat.”
“Holy sh—! Are you seeing this? Landon Lane just walked out of the cage. He just stormed right out and nearly ripped the door off its hinges along the way. Didn’t stick around. His mystery manager followed right behind and flipped off the crowd with both hands. It looked like he was saying thank you to everyone as he did it. This crowd is absolutely loving it, and Lane is, yeah, he’s already gone. And there is Kane. Look at him. He looks like he was just run over by a freight train.”
Logan jumped up off the couch and pumped his fist in the air. He screamed, “Did you see that? Did you see my dad?” He threw a few ghost punches at the air and danced around the living room.
I sat there, totally in shock. The replays went back in slow motion. Landon didn’t even look like he’d tried. “Oh my God.” I scissored my legs together and bit my lip between my teeth at Landon’s image on the screen. So raw and powerful and just, fucking manly. A delicious shiver worked up my spine and I had to remind myself Logan and Janet were in the room.
Janet and I stared at each other for a quick second before smiles formed on our faces. Logan jumped in my lap and wrapped his arms around me. “I told you! That was my daddy!”
My heart couldn’t have hammered any harder. Landon was so powerful, and fast. My God, he moved like lightning.
The announcers couldn’t stop talking about him and how he and Joe vanished as soon as the fight was over.
I stared at his headshot on the television and my thighs squeezed together again. Maybe this whole fighting thing would work out after all, until he was free from his obligations. Maybe we had a chance.
I’d find out soon enough it’d be much more difficult than I’d expected.