Chapter Thirteen

The crowd in the stands above was deafening, even in the little cement-walled locker room. Samuel sat on the long wooden bench and closed his eyes. Despite the chaos up above and in his heart, he forced himself to meditate.

Not much was said on the journey home the night before. As he promised, he held both of his mates tightly as they slept. He, however, barely got a wink. All he could think about was what he witnessed in the hallway of the club. Caleb was the worst of the seven. His ethics were constantly in question. What was he capable of? What lengths would he go to become world champion? Would he manipulate Henry away from Samuel? Would he sacrifice his wife and child? Did his little brother have a soul?

This wasn’t the shit Samuel needed on his mind the night before a number one contender’s fight. Eve, Meg, Delilah, and Henry made a huge breakfast as a treat, but he could barely eat. He forced himself to graze the rest of the day to keep his energy.

He went out of his way to avoid Caleb. Every time he saw his little brother and that belt, he wanted to shake the shit out of him. When they arrived at the arena, he banned everyone from the locker room, including his mates.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he never noticed the hand on his shoulder until it gripped tightly and shook him. “Hey, champ.”

He looked up to find Josiah standing over him with athletic tape, wrap, and scissors. “You’re still several fights out, but I thought we’d get your hands wrapped so you could warm up.”

Samuel nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

Josiah grabbed the closest folding chair and spun it around. He straddled the seat and settled in it backward. Setting Samuel’s first hand on the back of the chair, he got to work wrapping it. The two brothers sat in silence through the first hand.

Samuel broke the silence as Josiah started on his second hand. “Henry is the Heka.” He sighed. “Delilah and Eve did a genealogy search. They traced Henry all the way to the son of a bitch. And according to what they found, the Heka’s spirit is passed down from generation to generation.”

Josiah glanced up. “Is that so?”

Samuel frowned. “That’s all you have to say? You wanted to kick him out of camp before.”

Josiah chuckled. “Yeah. Then Sarah came into my life. I couldn’t kick her out if I tried. The pull that possesses us won’t allow it, and neither will my heart and soul. We need to keep up the research between the amulet and the Heka. We need to figure out why the vampires want it. Until then, there’s no reason to send him off. How are things going with you guys? I saw the ring earlier.”

“Couldn’t be happier. Seriously.”

“Are you expecting like Cay and Meg?”

Samuel cringed at Caleb’s name. Josiah dropped his hand and continued. “What’s wrong, Sam?”

Samuel took a deep breath. “Rock cornered…”

His words were cut off by the door slamming open. Joshua leaned against it, panting. “Joe, you need to come out here. Now.”

“Why?” Josiah questioned.

“Come on.”

Both Josiah and Samuel stood and followed Joshua out of the locker room and through the dark corridors. They stopped at the mouth of the tunnel with the rest of the brothers. Inside of the cage, two women traded wicked punches. Samuel recognized the smaller of the two from the meeting at the club. He turned to look at Josiah. “Did you know?”

Josiah’s gaze was locked on the cage. “That Sarah fought? No. I didn’t. I knew she was a school teacher. She told me she had meetings every evening. She lied to me.”

“You didn’t see her at the weigh-in?”

“I was busy with you and trying not to get sick.”

The whole arena gasped in unison as the smaller fighter connected with Sarah’s chin. Sarah’s body went limp as she crumpled to the ground. Josiah took off for the cage in a sprint before anyone could catch him. He got inside the cage and by her side before her corners ordered that he be thrown out.

Micah wrapped his hand around Samuel’s shoulder. “Come on. I’ll warm you up. He’ll be back shortly to take over.”

Samuel followed Micah down the hall back to the locker room. He pulled on his fingerless gloves while Micah slipped a pad on each hand. Samuel tuned out his brother’s encouragement as he threw combinations of punches and kicks. He didn’t know how much time passed until the door opened again.

Ezekiel smiled at them sheepishly. “You’re one fight out. They wanted to wish you luck.” He held the door open further. Delilah and Henry stepped inside and then hurried across the room to wrap Samuel in a hug.

“Are you ready?” Delilah asked.

“Yeah, baby,” Samuel answered. “It’s time to get to work.”

“Good luck out there,” Henry added.

“Thanks.” Samuel pulled Henry to him for a long, deep kiss. Then he did the same to Delilah. He could hear them both sigh when they parted.

Abraham knocked on the door. “Second round knockout, Sam. You’re up.”

“Thanks, Abe.” Samuel let his mates go and looked at Micah. “Could you get them back to their seats safely?”

“Sure thing, bro.” Micah tossed the mitts on the floor. “I’ll be back in a sec.”

Delilah and Henry kissed him once more and then followed Micah from the locker room. The other five Hallow brothers filed in. Samuel met Caleb’s cold glare.

“How’s Sarah?” Samuel asked Josiah.

“Shook up,” Josiah answered. “We argued. She’s pissed at me, although I’m not the one who lied. I can’t worry about it now. We’ve got work to do.”

Samuel led the other five out of the locker room and down the corridor. Micah was already standing there waiting for them. The dull thud of a loud, heavy metal song shook the walls of the arena. Samuel stood at the curtain and closed his eyes until it stopped.

The strains of an upbeat funk rock song filled the place, giving Samuel his cue. He launched off the ball of his toe and stormed into the arena toward the cage. He loved the song. It was full of swagger. It was what he wished he was feeling at that moment. At this point, a thousand tiny butterflies erupted in his belly. He had never been nervous before a fight until now. Tonight he had too much at stake.

He stopped short at the steps to the cage and turned to hug his brothers. He hugged Caleb albeit that it was the most awkward hug he ever had. Josiah gently rubbed petroleum jelly on his face as he barked out a few last minute instructions. Samuel hugged him again and then turned to the official waiting for him. After a pat down, he popped his mouth guard out for the official to see. Once he was waved off, he ascended the steps to the cage. Bowser was pacing back and forth in his corner.

The announcer stood in the middle of the mat with the microphone to his lips. “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the main event for the number one contender position. The winner will face Felix Ross for the Heavyweight championship. In the red corner, from Saint Cloud, Minnesota, Bowser McNamara. In the blue corner, from northern Minnesota, Samuel Hallow.”

The roar of the crowd was deafening as the ref motioned Samuel and Bowser to the center of the mat. Samuel couldn’t make out what the ref said between him and Bowser. He was well aware Bowser had no intention to shake hands. Each man returned to their corners and waited for the ref to call out. “Fight!”

The two men circled a couple times as they studied the other fighter. Bowser must have felt he saw something. He launched across the cage, throwing the sloppiest combo Samuel had ever seen. He ducked each one and countered with a jab and cross. The cross caught Bowser on the chin. He staggered a couple of steps but didn’t fall.

They circled each other again. Samuel threw another jab and cross followed by a body kick. Bowser deflected them all but backed into the chain link. Samuel wrapped an arm beneath Bowser’s and then wrapped his other arm around his shoulder in a clinch. Bowser squirmed to get away from the wall of the cage he was pinned against. It took everything Samuel had to keep him close. Bowser was drenched in sweat. He popped a couple of close-range punches into Samuel’s face. None of them had any effect. Sam stepped back enough to plant a couple of knees into Bowser’s gut. As they finally released each other, he sent one last knee into Bowser’s belly.

The assault was enough to fire Bowser up. He threw another combination of wild punches. One caught Samuel on the cheek. He could feel his skin grow warm and damp. He struck Bowser with an uppercut. His head snapped back, but his body didn’t budge. The horn echoed through the arena announcing the end of the first round.

Samuel slumped onto the stool and laid his head back against the fence. He closed his eyes as someone dabbed at the gash on his cheek. A hand pressed a bag of ice against his chest.

He opened his eyes when he heard Josiah’s voice. “Sam, you have to finish him. You might look like you’re winning by points, but I’ve never seen those judges before. We don’t know if Rock and Cort are influencing them against you. You have to finish Bowser off. Don’t leave it to decision.”

Samuel blinked past the sweat stinging his eyes. “Am I doing anything to him?”

“Yeah, he’s getting tossed around like a rag doll. But he’s solid. You aren’t going to knock him out. Get him on the floor.”

A second horn sounded for the beginning of round two. Samuel huffed. “Easier said than done.”

Samuel lifted himself off his stool and watched as Josiah, Micah, and Caleb fled the cage. The referee looked at each man to make sure they were ready. Samuel hopped back and forth from one foot to the other. The ref dropped his hand. “Fight.”

The two men bounced out of their corners and stalked each other again. This time Samuel started on the offensive by pummeling Bowser with all sorts of punches. He knew he tagged his opponent at least twice. Bowser looked dazed but was still steady on his feet. While he was stunned, Samuel sank to a knee and wrapped his arm around Bowser’s thigh and then buried the side of his face into Bowser’s hip. He used all his strength to topple Bowser with the single leg. The big man stumbled but didn’t collapse. Samuel bailed and scrambled to his feet before he got sprawled on.

Bowser lurched toward Samuel, backing him into the chain link. Samuel twisted his arms around Bowser in a clinch. He stepped aside and shifted himself enough to switch places. They traded short-range shots. As they shoved apart from each other, Samuel fired off a head kick. The impact of the blow landed Bowser on his ass as the horn ended round two.

Samuel slumped on the stool. Micah dabbed at the gash on his cheek. It must have reopened sometime during the round. Caleb pressed the ice pack between his shoulder blades with one hand and offered a bottle of water to Sam with the other. Samuel swigged it down in one gulp.

“Better,” Josiah instructed. “In my mind, you won the first two rounds. He’s confused. End it.”

“I will if I can get him off his feet.”

“He’s stumbling. Look for an opportunity. Don’t let it go to decision.”

The horn announced the third and final round. Samuel ascended to his feet before Josiah swiped the stool from under him. Micah, Josiah, and Caleb retreated from the cage. Once the door was locked and the fighters were ready, the referee dropped his hand. “Fight.”

Samuel and Bowser stalked each other for several long moments. Bowser lunged forward as he struck out with a jab and cross. The cross should have connected with Samuel’s chin, but Bowser’s foot slid across a puddle of his own sweat. The large man lost his footing and dropped to his knees on the mat. Samuel sprawled on top of him, using his weight to keep Bowser down on the floor. He crawled on his back and carefully slipped one foot alongside his inner thigh. After he did the same with his other foot, he slid his arm across Bowser’s throat. Bowser dug his chin into his chest to stop him. Samuel cupped Bowser’s forehead in his free hand and tilted his head up. He tightened his arm around Bowser’s neck and hooked his hand inside the elbow of his free arm. He scooped his free arm behind Bowser’s head.

Bowser was desperate as he threw himself on the floor to knock Samuel off and dislodge the choke. Samuel clung on for dear life as he squeezed his biceps. Bowser thrashed as Samuel tightened his arms. Finally, Bowser managed a weak tap against Samuel’s arm. Samuel didn’t let go until the referee peeled them apart. He hurried to his corner as the announcer, officials, and corners flooded into the cage.

Josiah pulled him into a hug. “Great job, champ. Knew you could do it.”

Samuel gave him a halfhearted laugh. “I got lucky he biffed it on his own sweat. I’ve never seen someone sweat that much.”

“Yeah, but you took advantage of it. You didn’t give him a chance to get up. That’s what a champion does.”

Micah and Caleb hugged him tight and congratulated him. The referee waved both him and Bowser over and clamped a hand over each of their wrists.

The announcer stood behind them to address the crowd. “The winner by submission due to a rear naked choke, Samuel Hallow.”

The referee raised Samuel’s hand in victory. Once it was dropped, he snatched the microphone from the announcer and turned to Bowser. “I kicked your ass. I earned the number one contender’s spot. But I forfeit it. You win. Good luck with Felix Ross.”

He sent a cold glare to Cort and Rock as he dropped the microphone on the mat. He managed to take a step when Caleb stormed across the mat to him. He scooped up the microphone and glared at Samuel.

“I forfeit the Welterweight championship,” Caleb announced. He laid the belt on the mat and looked at Rock. “You can go fuck yourself, asshole.”

Micah strode up to his brothers and laid his belt on the mat beside Caleb’s discarded one. “I forfeit the Middleweight championship. Ladies and gentlemen, we refuse to work with the new management of this promotion. Therefore, this is the last time you will see a Hallow fight in this cage. Peace out.”

The three brothers led the rest from the cage. Samuel wrapped an arm around Caleb’s shoulders. “You had me worried there for a second.”

Caleb cocked a small smile at him. “Nothing, and I mean nothing, is more important to me than Meg and Ruby. They are my soul. I’m not losing them. And I’ll fight like hell to defend my brothers’ mates, including Henry.”

“Samuel Hallow.”

Both brothers stopped and turned to the voice in the crowd. Felix Ross stood, his tall, intimidating stature blocking those behind him from leaving. Felix nodded to the cage and continued. “That fight might have gone three rounds, but there’s no doubt in my mind that you defeated him in all three. You decimated him. You deserve a shot to fight me. I fight out of the Twin Cities, and I know a promoter there. I hold the belt for the promotion there too. I’ll have him set up the fight. I’ll see you in the cage there.”

Samuel grinned. “You can count on it.”

Felix glanced at Caleb and Micah. “And bring your brothers. I’m sure there’s a fight there too for them.”

“Thank you,” Micah replied.

“Yeah, thanks,” Caleb added. “We’ll be there.”

The three Hallows followed the rest of the family to the locker room. Sam stopped long enough to catch Delilah’s hand in his. Henry had possession of her other one. Both of them had huge smiles on their faces. He kissed each of them. Both deepened it, each parting his lips to dive further.

“We’re so proud of you,” Henry told him.

“You were incredible,” Delilah added.

“Thanks,” Samuel replied. “I fought for us. I fought for our child. I fought to keep us all safe no matter what comes. Let’s go catch up with the others so we can go home.”

He glanced back at the arena. There was no doubt in his mind there was a war on the horizon. But tonight the Hallows had the victory. It wasn’t that he beat the snot out of Bowser. They left the arena as a unified front. Whatever came their way, they were ready. He laughed with his mates as they hurried their steps to the locker room to start their victory party.

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