“Fuck you.” Before he could finish his sentence, I slammed my head backwards and felt my skull connect with his nose.
Ray released his grip and when I spun around to face him again, I saw that there was blood pouring from his nose. He wiped it away and immediately took a fighting stance again with his fists ready for combat. The hit I laid on him would have dropped most men, but it didn’t seem like it effected him, even if his nose was bent sideways and broken. He charged at me and swung a couple of times. I dodged the one aimed at my skull, but caught a stiff shot to my ribs. I staggered backwards and gasped for air. The crowd seemed to be shifting out of my favor, even though I had managed to draw first blood.
A flurry of fists came at me while I was struggling to regain my composure from the impact to my ribs. He used my midsection like a punching bag and finished the sequence with a shot to my jaw that sent two teeth into my throat as I spun around and hit my knees. I coughed up my teeth and watched them bounce on the mat. Ray came after me while I was down, and I had to scramble to avoid him. He tried to kick me and I narrowly avoided having my head taken clean off. I stood up and took a defensive stance, feeling my mind reeling from the shot I took in the face.
“Your wife fights more than you do.”
He stood in the middle of the ring and glared at me. “I’ll enjoy breaking her just like I’m breaking you.”
“You son of a bitch!” I felt my rage rising and I charged him.
Ray had suckered me in. My fists swung wildly as I tried to defend my wife’s honor and it was exactly what he wanted. He took one shot in his arm, but the rest were deflected and he pounded my flesh with his knuckles. I felt a rib crack, an abdominal muscle rip, and then my jaw was nearly dislocated from the stiff shot he landed on it. I didn’t feel any more teeth come loose, but it felt like two of them had cracked when they came together. Blood was pouring from my mouth as I backed up into the corner and prepared to defend myself if he advanced, but he simply raised his arms and celebrated with more of the crowd turning on me as they watched the decimation.
Ray was picking me apart like he was in the ring with a toddler. There was so much pain that it was hard to focus on any solitary source. Ray came at me again and I defended several shots, but he still managed to bounce two off my skull and drive one up into the bottom of my jaw. I staggered forward and he stepped out of the way, letting me fall to my knees in the middle of the ring. I had very little left. My head was spinning, I was sure that I had a concussion, and my body was getting weak.
“Bring out his bitch!” Ray roared and pointed out into the crowd. “She needs to watch him die.”
“No...” I muttered and spat blood onto the mat.
There was movement in the crowd and the sea of people parted. I saw Monica in the grasp of two guys I remembered from the club. My eyes were glossed over and my body was exhausted from the pain, but just seeing her seemed to bring a second wind. If the horrified look on her face was any indication, then I looked worse than I felt. I pulled myself up to my feet and turned towards Ray. He seemed amused—even jovial at the sight of my wife’s terrified expression. I glanced over at Monica and locked eyes with her. Her hand moved to her stomach and it reignited the same feeling I had felt when I read the letter at her house. My child was inside her—it was going to grow up without a father if I didn’t find a way to defeat Ray. I didn’t even want to think about what would happen if Ray got his hands on her.
I charged Ray and he laughed as he quickly moved and hammered me with a quick flurry from his fists. I staggered into the corner and fell against Reggie’s vest. My blood mixed with his and I pushed myself off the ropes. I didn’t have much left. My knees were weak and the pain was like fire running through my veins.
“Time to die.” Ray took a fighting stance and advanced on me. “Say hello to Reggie for me.”
“Fuck—you.” I lunged at him, but felt his fist connect with my skull.
“I promised your wife she would watch you choke on your bones.” Ray locked a hand around my neck and drove a knee into my sternum. One wasn’t enough—a second one landed and it felt like he had splintered it from the impact.
“You talk too much.” I swung wildly and my fist ricocheted off his shoulder before it weakly landed on his jaw.
“Just imagine.” He wrapped an arm around my neck and he drove a fist into my midsection. “My cock—fucking her in that tight little pussy that has never felt a real man.”
“You’ll never lay a hand on her!” I pushed him off and swung with my fist, but before it landed, I folded my arm and drove an elbow into his jaw. “You’ll never touch her!”
Ray staggered and I quickly leapt into the air, using what little strength I had left to drive a knee into his sternum. He hit the ropes and the force propelled him forward, where my fist was waiting. I drove it into his jaw and saw his head spin. I was fueled by rage and adrenaline, mixed with the fury of a husband and future father that didn’t want to lose what was in front of him. He swung, but I went on the defensive. I caught him under his arm and instead of delivering a punch, I used his momentum to flip him. He hit the mat and immediately started to stand, but I was enraged. I caught the back of his head and drove a series of knees into his face.
By the time the exhaustion stopped me, he was bleeding from his mouth and his eye. He smiled, rising to his feet and wiping away the blood. I had hit him with everything I had, but he was still coming for me. I dodged a couple of weak punches and we staggered to the center of the ring. The emotionless stare I normally saw from him reflected something else—fear.
“I guess you’re as good as people said you were.” He spat blood and raised his fists. “It’s too bad that it won’t be enough to finish me.”
“You’re wrong.” I lunged at him, and as he tried to defend, I spun around behind him and clamped my arm around his neck.
“You think you can break my neck?” He twisted in my grasp.
“Give up, Ray.” I tightened my grip and squeezed his esophagus. “It’s over.”
“No!” Ray turned to his side and pushed me away. He threw a weak punch and tried move behind me, but I locked my arm around his neck again.
“Do it!” I hear Monica’s voice echo above the crowd.
Ray wasn’t going to give up. There was no way he would stop until one of us was dead. I kept my arm around his neck as he tried to fight, but I had no way to end the fight without killing him. My body was exhausted and I couldn’t go toe-to-toe with him. All it would take was one more of his powerful punches to put me on my ass and then I would be dead, just like Walter. Just like Reggie.
I couldn’t let him win—I certainly couldn’t let him touch my wife. There was simply too much at stake and it transcended the importance of his life. I squeezed my hand around his jaw and yanked with everything I had left. The sickening crack echoed through the building and Ray went limp in my arms. I let him fall to the mat and saw the blank stare of death reflected in his eyes.
The crowd went silent as I staggered to the corner. The men that were holding Monica released her and she charged into the ring. She practically tackled me as she hugged me and our lips met. As good as it was to hold her, I couldn’t enjoy the moment because the danger wasn’t over. I walked to the ropes and leaned over them, looking at the men that supported Ray. They looked nervous, and most of them seemed poised to flee.
“I don’t want any more bloodshed.” I pointed at Ray. “He ordered the hit on The Devil Knights, but everyone who participated in that massacre deserves to die. If you walk out of here right now and leave Las Vegas, I will make sure you don’t pay the same price he did. If you stay and you support this motherfucker, then you’ll have matching coffins!”