“Oh no … this is going get interesting very fast,” Benny chuckled, settling back into his seat.
David rushed Travis and my hands flew up to my mouth. The man was strong but clumsy and slow. Before David could swing or reach for his knife, Travis incapacitated him, shoving David’s face straight down into his knee. When Travis threw a punch, he wasted no time, throwing every bit of strength he had into the man’s face. Two punches and an elbow later, David was lying on the floor in a bloody heap.
Benny’s head fell back, laughing hysterically and pounding his desk with the delight of a child watching Saturday morning cartoons. “Well, go on, Dane. He didn’t scare you, did he?”
Dane approached Travis more carefully, with the focus and precision of a professional fighter. His fist flew at Travis’s face with incredible speed, but Travis dodged, ramming his shoulder into Dane at full force. They fell against Benny’s desk, and then Dane grabbed Travis with both arms, hurling him to the ground. They scuffled on the floor for a moment, and then Dane gained ground, positioning himself to get in a few punches on Travis while he was trapped beneath him on the floor. I covered my face, unable to watch.
I heard a cry of pain, and then I looked up to see Travis hovering over Dane, holding him by his shaggy hair, jabbing punch after punch into the side of his head. Dane’s face rammed into the front of Benny’s desk with each blow, and then he scrambled to his feet, disorientated and bleeding.
Travis watched him for a moment, and then attacked again, grunting with every strike, once again using the full force of his strength. Dane dodged once and landed his knuckles to Travis’s jaw.
Travis smiled and held up his finger. “That’s your one.”
I couldn’t believe my ears. Travis had let Benny’s thug hit him. He was enjoying himself. I had never seen Travis fight without constraint; it was a bit frightening to see him unleash everything he had on these trained killers and have the upper hand. Until that moment, I hadn’t realized just what Travis was capable of.
With Benny’s disturbing laughter in the background, Travis finished Dane off, landing his elbow in the center of Dane’s face, knocking him out before he hit the ground. I followed his body as it bounced once on Benny’s imported rug.
“Amazing, young man! Simply amazing!” Benny said, clapping with delight.
Travis pulled me behind him as Josiah filled the doorway with his massive frame.
“Should I take care of this, sir?”
“No! No, no … ,” Benny said, still giddy with the impromptu performance. “What is your name?”
Travis was still breathing hard. “Travis Maddox,” he said, wiping Dane and David’s blood off of his hands and onto his jeans.
“Travis Maddox, I believe you can help your little girlfriend out.”
“How’s that?” Travis puffed.
“Dane was supposed to fight tomorrow night. I had a lot of cash riding on him, and it doesn’t look like Dane will be fit to win a fight anytime soon. I suggest you take his place, make my bankroll for me, and I’ll forgive the remaining fifty-one hundred of Mick’s debt.”
Travis turned to me. “Pigeon?”
“Are you all right?” I asked, wiping the blood from his face. I bit my lip, feeling my face crumple with a combination of fear and relief.
Travis smiled. “It’s not my blood, baby. Don’t cry.”
Benny stood. “I’m a busy man, son. Pass or play?”
“I’ll do it,” Travis said. “Give me the when and where and I’ll be there.”
“You’ll be fighting Brock McMann. He’s no wallflower. He was barred from the UFC last year.”
Travis was unaffected. “Just tell me where I need to be.”
Benny’s shark’s grin spread across his face. “I like you, Travis. I think we’ll be good friends.”
“I doubt it,” Travis said. He opened the door for me and sustained a protective stance until we cleared the front door.
“Jesus Christ!” America cried upon seeing the splattered blood covering Travis’s clothing. “Are you guys okay?” She grabbed my shoulders and scanned my face.
“I’m okay. Just another day at the office. For both of us,” I said, wiping my eyes.
Travis grabbed my hand and we rushed to the hotel with Shepley and America close behind. Not many paid attention to Travis’s appearance. He was covered in blood and only the occasional out-of-towner seemed to notice.
“What in the hell happened in there?” Shepley finally asked.