Jude (A Cocky Cage Fighter Novel Book 2) (25 page)
Read Jude (A Cocky Cage Fighter Novel Book 2) Online
Authors: Lane Hart
Fourth of July, One Year Later
Macklemore's
Can't Hold Us
blares over the speakers and Page and I jump to our feet to cheer with the thousands of fans in the arena. Jude's black
Havoc
sweatshirt is zipped up and the hood's pulled over his head when he steps out of the tunnel. My dad's with him, along with Linc who’s taking his brother's place tonight. The crowd's applause is deafening as he walks toward the cage. I'm waiting for him in his corner, the only corner I'll ever be in. Jude stops next to me and strips out of his hoodie, offering it to me before wrapping me up in his arms and dipping me with a spine-bowing kiss. After Jude gives Page a quick hug, she heads to the other side of the cage while he walks up for the judge's final inspection.
As soon as Jude enters the octagon his song comes to an ends and the second intro immediately starts up. Sick Puppies'
You're Going Down
is met with even greater reception.
Jax, the reigning Middleweight Champion of the World is defending his title for the ninth year in a row. Tonight Jude's gonna try and take it from him!
The fight has been hyped up for months after Jude moved up a weight class, trying to be the first man to ever officially beat his brother in the cage. The contract didn’t even allow them to fight in the same building for the past six months. A million dollars is on the line for the winner, and even the loser’s purse is enormous.
Jude's dad and Coach Snyder are with Jax as he walks toward the octagon. He gives Page a passionate kiss before receiving the ref's official clearance to get in the cage with Jude. Xavier’s with a babysitter tonight, still too young to watch his dad and uncle beat the shit out of each other.
In the middle of the front row I spot Jude’s mom, husband and two kids on their feet like the rest of the crowd. She smiles and waves at me when she notices my attention on her, which I return. No one other than her family knows who she is, but Jude and Jax do and that’s all that matters. Over the past year they’ve both managed to come a long way with letting her back into their lives. It hasn’t been easy, but they’re making the effort.
I’m trying to follow their example to do the same with my own sea turtle mother. She's actually here in the crowd tonight, although I'm pretty sure it's not really because of me or Jude. No, ever since they met a few months ago my mom's new obsession has been Jude's dad. Martin Malone seems to be just as smitten with her. Will it be weird if Jude ends up becoming my step-brother? Hell yes, but seeing the two of them happy and finally having my mom stick around is worth it.
My attention goes back to the cage when the door is locked by the ref and the announcer starts going over both Malones' stats and records before the ref allows them a chance to touch gloves. With matching wide grins they meet and bump the fronts, tops, and then bottoms of their blue and red gloves before hugging each other in the center of the octagon and returning to their corners. The bell rings and then history is made. This is the first time a brother has ever challenged his sibling's title.
Jax has the heaviest hands in mixed martial arts, and his punches fly faster than the eye can follow. Jude lives up to his nickname,
The Matrix
, dodging Jax's powerful swings while executing some painful kicks. It’s obvious Jude plans to test his older brother’s cardio, as he slaps away furious punches and weaves away from him constantly. That goes on for three rounds, and everyone in the arena can see that Jax is wearing himself out. This is the very first time in Jax's long career that he's had to keep fighting past the first round.
Knowing that he doesn’t have much left in the tank, Jax begins getting sloppy in the fourth round, swinging for the fences with every punch and leaving huge openings in his guard. Jude ducks under a wild haymaker, and using Jax’s momentum, trips him and throws him down to the canvas. Pouncing on top of Jax, Jude wraps his arms around Jax’s neck, putting him in an anaconda choke hold within seconds. Jax tries to squirms his way out of Jude's grip but doesn't get anywhere. He finally taps out before he passes out, making the crowd roar.
He did it! Jude won! I jump to my feet and cup my hands around my mouth, cheering for Jude.
In the cage Jude offers his brother a hand up which he accepts. The two hug again before the ref raises Jude's arm as the new Middleweight Champion of the World. The shiny gold belt is fastened around his waist and he’s named the second ever, King of the Cage.
Jude still holds the welterweight belt too but I know that now that he’s bumped up a weight class, he won’t stand in Linc’s way of reclaiming his title.
The announcer puts the mic in front of Jax's face first. "What a fight! That was hands down one of the best match-ups the IFC’s ever seen! But how does it feel to be defeated for the first time in your career?"
"Wow," Jax says with a shake of his head, his chest still heaving from his struggle for breath. "If someone had to beat me I can't think of anyone I'd rather lose to. Jude kicked my ass and he earned this win and this title fair and square. I can’t deny that he’s the better fighter."
"Will there be a rematch?" the man asks Jax.
"No, I don't think so. I had already decided that I'm officially retiring today, so that was my last fight. No regrets going out. I’ll leave it up to my baby brother to keep the title in our family."
A shocking gasp fills the arena at Jax's career ending declaration. Even I didn’t know that he was planning to give up fighting.
"Jude, how does it feel to make history tonight?" the announcer shoves the mic in his face and asks.
"It feels amazing, and I'm still in shock,” he responds, smiling broadly and shaking his head. “My brother's the best damn fighter in the world and I never dreamed I could even
try
to give him a run for his money. It's incredible to think that I've actually come this far, but without Jax's support and confidence in me, I never would've made it here tonight. Jax has always been my best friend and role model, and not even kicking his ass will ever change that."
"You've been training in a new
Havoc
facility in North Carolina for the past year, correct?" the man asks.
"I have, since last year's win, so that I could be close to my girlfriend, Sadie, while she's in school. When I asked, her father was kind enough to agree to let me open the facility for him down in the south. But now I have another important question for him. A
favor
he owes me," Jude says. Looking around for my dad, he motions for him to step up beside him. "Coach, you know I love your daughter more than anything, and I plan to spend the rest of my life with her. So do I have your blessing to ask Sadie to marry me?"
Jude's gaze lands on me in the crowd while all I can do is stand frozen with my hand over my surprised, gaping mouth.
"As I’ve told you before, Jude, I couldn’t have picked a better man for her, so I'd be proud to have you as a son-in-law," my dad says, making even more tears fall from my eyes.
Jude turns around and holds out his palm. His dad who’s in the cage with them places what looks like a small box in the center of his hand and says loud enough for the microphone to catch it, "You’ve found her, now go and get her."
An instant later, Jude climbs over the side of the cage and goes down to his knee in front of me, bloody and sweaty, half beaten to death, but smiling up at me while holding out a diamond ring.
"Sadie Briggs, my heart and soul knew I was yours from the very beginning, and now I’m asking you to be mine forever. If you’ll be my wife I promise to always love you more today than yesterday, but not as much as tomorrow. So sweetheart, will you please marry me?"
"Yes," I say with a tearful smile, wrapping my arms around his neck. With a laugh, Jude picks me up in a bear hug that's greeted with deafening hoots and hollers before his lips crash down on mine.
Melting in his arms, I feel like I’m living a fairytale romance as all around us thousands of voices start singing in unison "
Nah nah nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah, hey Jude!
” for the most incredible man in the world. And in this perfect moment I realize that although we might be at the end of the story of how we fell in love, it’s just the beginning of my happily ever after with Jude Malone.
The End
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lane Hart was born and raised in North Carolina. She continues to live in the south with her husband, two daughters, and several pets named after
Star Wars
characters.
When Lane's not writing or reading sexy novels, she can be found in the summer on the beaches of the east coast, and in the fall watching football, cheering on the Carolina Panthers.
Connect with Lane:
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https://twitter.com/WritingfromHart
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Website:
http://www.lanehartbooks.com
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