the floor of the cage.
I walk straight for him, then I run, down the aisle, past security, and up to the cage.
The platform is high, over my head, but my hand can reach through the bottom row of the mesh. Colt kneels down and takes it.
The arena noise is deafening. There’s no way to say anything to each other.
He grips me so tight. His hazel eyes search mine. He’s asking why I left.
I try to swallow. I don’t know how to tell him that I did it for him. That I stood in the way of his victory.
But our hands and eyes convey what words cannot.
I was wrong. Colt doesn’t want to win this fight more than anything else.
He wants me .
Chapter Two
Mulligan never saw it coming.
After the fight restarts, Colt is unstoppable. He punches and jabs and kicks in a whirl that I can only imagine is what I look like when I become a hurricane, my own fighter nickname. Mulligan gets a few licks in, including a bruising uppercut that is definitely going to leave a mark. But Colt dominates the third round.
When Mulligan sinks to his knees, the ref ends the match.
The announcer grabs Colt’s free hand as the ref lifts the other to signal the victory. But the crowd starts chanting, “Hat girl, hat girl, hat girl!”
I don’t get it at first, but then Zero pushes me from my chair. Killjoy holds open the cage door for me as I ascend the stairs.
Colt watches me come up, his eyes shining. I’ve never seen him so happy.
He shakes off the announcer and extends his arm to me. The crowd goes freaking crazy.
I take his hand, still wrapped in tape, feeling like Cinderella. When he raises our arms in the air, I can’t believe it, but the arena gets even louder. A blower turns on overhead, and bits of multicolored ticker tape rain down on us.
It’s the best day of my life.
The ref lets Colt go, so he swoops me up in his arms. The crowd is deafening. Flashes are popping like crazy. I’m glad I have the hat and blue hair, as I know these pictures will be everywhere tomorrow. I’ve been lucky so far, but someday, somewhere, I could be recognized by my stepmother.
Or her son. If he survived the beating I gave him three years ago, when I ran away.
I shake off that negative thought. This is Colt’s moment, and he’s made it mine. He’s back. We’re back. And nothing is going to get between us now.
He leans down to kiss me, setting off a renewed burst of flashes. The announcer is shouting something in the mike, but I can’t make out the words. They don’t matter. Colt’s lips are on mine, warm and salty. His arm is strong and steady, cradling my back, despite having just fought a tough match.
I never want to be anywhere else.
Everything around us goes quiet when I focus in on him. It’s like someone turned down the volume on the world. His hazel eyes are almost pure green right now, looking at my face. I touch the bruise where he took the hit to the chin. I don’t think he’s ever looked more beautiful to me.
I can trust this. For the first time in my life, I can rely on somebody else.
I’m not alone anymore.
Colt smiles and sets my feet gently on the platform of the cage. The crowd noise filters through again. I look outside the mesh at the thousands of people. So, this is what it is like to be famous. It will take some getting used to.
Colt leads me to the cage door. We walk together down the red carpet back to the dressing room. Killjoy punches the air, hopping back and forth with outrageous zeal.
When the doors close behind us and we can hear again, Killjoy starts talking ninety miles an hour. “You killed it, Colt. You nailed him! The next two are nothing compared to Mulligan. You’ll take them!”
My ears ring after all the noise. We follow a long corridor until we reach a room with a security guard. He nods at Colt as we pass into a dressing room.
Killjoy flops onto a gray leather sofa. A table lines the back wall, filled with fruit and sandwiches. “You’ve got fifteen minutes before the press
I walk straight for him, then I run, down the aisle, past security, and up to the cage.
The platform is high, over my head, but my hand can reach through the bottom row of the mesh. Colt kneels down and takes it.
The arena noise is deafening. There’s no way to say anything to each other.
He grips me so tight. His hazel eyes search mine. He’s asking why I left.
I try to swallow. I don’t know how to tell him that I did it for him. That I stood in the way of his victory.
But our hands and eyes convey what words cannot.
I was wrong. Colt doesn’t want to win this fight more than anything else.
He wants me .
Chapter Two
Mulligan never saw it coming.
After the fight restarts, Colt is unstoppable. He punches and jabs and kicks in a whirl that I can only imagine is what I look like when I become a hurricane, my own fighter nickname. Mulligan gets a few licks in, including a bruising uppercut that is definitely going to leave a mark. But Colt dominates the third round.
When Mulligan sinks to his knees, the ref ends the match.
The announcer grabs Colt’s free hand as the ref lifts the other to signal the victory. But the crowd starts chanting, “Hat girl, hat girl, hat girl!”
I don’t get it at first, but then Zero pushes me from my chair. Killjoy holds open the cage door for me as I ascend the stairs.
Colt watches me come up, his eyes shining. I’ve never seen him so happy.
He shakes off the announcer and extends his arm to me. The crowd goes freaking crazy.
I take his hand, still wrapped in tape, feeling like Cinderella. When he raises our arms in the air, I can’t believe it, but the arena gets even louder. A blower turns on overhead, and bits of multicolored ticker tape rain down on us.
It’s the best day of my life.
The ref lets Colt go, so he swoops me up in his arms. The crowd is deafening. Flashes are popping like crazy. I’m glad I have the hat and blue hair, as I know these pictures will be everywhere tomorrow. I’ve been lucky so far, but someday, somewhere, I could be recognized by my stepmother.
Or her son. If he survived the beating I gave him three years ago, when I ran away.
I shake off that negative thought. This is Colt’s moment, and he’s made it mine. He’s back. We’re back. And nothing is going to get between us now.
He leans down to kiss me, setting off a renewed burst of flashes. The announcer is shouting something in the mike, but I can’t make out the words. They don’t matter. Colt’s lips are on mine, warm and salty. His arm is strong and steady, cradling my back, despite having just fought a tough match.
I never want to be anywhere else.
Everything around us goes quiet when I focus in on him. It’s like someone turned down the volume on the world. His hazel eyes are almost pure green right now, looking at my face. I touch the bruise where he took the hit to the chin. I don’t think he’s ever looked more beautiful to me.
I can trust this. For the first time in my life, I can rely on somebody else.
I’m not alone anymore.
Colt smiles and sets my feet gently on the platform of the cage. The crowd noise filters through again. I look outside the mesh at the thousands of people. So, this is what it is like to be famous. It will take some getting used to.
Colt leads me to the cage door. We walk together down the red carpet back to the dressing room. Killjoy punches the air, hopping back and forth with outrageous zeal.
When the doors close behind us and we can hear again, Killjoy starts talking ninety miles an hour. “You killed it, Colt. You nailed him! The next two are nothing compared to Mulligan. You’ll take them!”
My ears ring after all the noise. We follow a long corridor until we reach a room with a security guard. He nods at Colt as we pass into a dressing room.
Killjoy flops onto a gray leather sofa. A table lines the back wall, filled with fruit and sandwiches. “You’ve got fifteen minutes before the press
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