Perfect Addiction (Perfect 2)

There’s two types of guys in any fight: the one who comes out guns blazing with all that he’s got and the one who calmly waits for his opponent to attack first, picking up his strengths and weaknesses along the way.

Unfortunately for Murphy, he appears to be the former.

Because the second the referee yells “Fight!” he is immediately pouncing on Kayden. He swings a right hook at Kayden’s head but Kayden anticipates it easily, locking his arms tight over his ears. Murphy is relentless, though, choosing to go on the offensive, his fists darting at Kayden, but Kayden expertly manages to evade blow after blow.

Murphy, frustrated that he has little effect on him, swipes his right leg over to trip him. It catches Kayden’s foot slightly but he sidesteps him at the last moment, undeterred. In retaliation, Kayden strikes with an effective jab-cross uppercut combo, catching Murphy off guard.

It looks like Kayden’s strategy is to get Murphy to gas out so when the time arrives, he can knock him out easily.

I’m impressed. Most fighters don’t understand that fighting is just as much about pacing as it is about skill.

Kayden controls his distance well, hanging back only to block Murphy’s attacks or to score a couple of hits of his own. Strong, precise movements. I nod approvingly. Adefinite sharpshooter. However, I can tell Kayden is getting a bit antsy, his footwork already faltering, which gives Murphy the brief opening he needs to tackle Kayden by lifting him and flipping him over in a massive takedown, sending them both crashing to the floor.

From beside me, I hear Brent suck in a nervous breath.

Red flares in Kayden’s eyes. Murphy has him pinned against the floor, but Kayden pulls himself into a better position and rams his knee straight into Murphy’s ribs.

Murphy immediately doubles over and Kayden seizes the opportunity to mount him and crash his elbow straight into Murphy’s nose. But before Murphy can recover, Kayden’s fists explode, knocking into him over and over.

Murphy grits his teeth to keep from crying out in pain as he sloppily blocks Kayden’s blows. He’s looking nauseated, drowning in his own blood. A more experienced fighter would be able to reverse the position by getting a grip on his opponent’s body and entangling his legs, but because Murphy has spent so much of his energy keeping up with Kayden at the beginning of the fight, he’s got little to no strength left. Kayden now has his arm pressed hard against Murphy’s neck, his legs caging his opponent as he bashes his fists against the guy’s bloodied face.

At one final blow from Kayden, Murphy taps his hand against the floor weakly.

“Annnnnd the winner is the one and only . . . Kayden

‘The Killer’ Williamssss!”

The crowd detonates into blaring cheers. From around me, cash changes hands. Some people writhe in frustration as they cough up their money, and others wave their winnings in the air smugly.

The host starts announcing the next fight. I swivel back towards the cage and notice that Kayden’s no longer in it, which means he’s gone backstage to cool down. That’s my cue.

“Hey, I’m gonna set off,” I tell Brent. “Gonna go find your brother.”

My response earns a frown from him. “Is this about the apartment thing? If it didn’t work out, there’s no use asking him again.”

I shake my head. “This isn’t about the apartment anymore. Or at least, it’s less about that now. I just need to talk to him. He’ll want to listen to me.”

“You’re stubborn, you know that?”

“Some would say it’s persistence.”

He gives me a quiet stare before sighing.

“Fine. He’s probably in the back corridor, far left.”

I send him a grateful smile. “Thanks.”

“Good luck, Sienna.”

I’m not going to need it. I know Kayden will want to hear what I have to say.

I follow Brent’s instruction and pivot to my left when I find myself in the hallway. A couple of fighters lurk around the area, and I’m acutely aware of them watching me with predatory eyes. It takes a lot of willpower to hold myself back from decking each of their faces. Any other day I’d be glad to, but I’m on a mission tonight, and I won’t let myself get distracted.

When I reach the end of the hallway, I find Kayden leaning against the door of his room, icing himself down. I hate to admit it, but he looks really attractive like this, with his ripped body covered in a thick layer of sweat and his hair all messy and disheveled. However, the thought soon crumbles when a familiar scowl returns to his face, making his displeasure known.

“You really can’t take no for an answer, can you?” Kayden huffs. “I told you to stay away.”

“Technically, you told me to never come back to your apartment again,” I say chirpily. “So I thought maybe you’ll be a bit nicer to me if I came to one of your fights instead.”