Stand Of Honor (25 page)

When
Melanie had told Nick the whole story, he’d felt like shit. He had already been in a bad place with Matthew’s murder and knowing Zane had been covering his ass all these years was taking an even harder toll on him. She felt helpless because Nick was spiraling into a hole and she didn’t know how to pull him out. She wished Zane would accept his apology, but he hadn’t. Fucking men and their pride. She looked at Zane and pleaded with him with her eyes. He merely stared back at her and then turned to Nick.

They both stepped out of the ring and she went to sit at the front desk to give them some space
, yet kept herself within hearing range in order to eavesdrop.

“Zane, when are you going to stop avoiding me? Dad told me you rescheduled your photo shoot promoting the fight so we wouldn’t run into each other.
I know I fucked up. I’ve apologized twice already. What’s it going to take?” Nick snapped at him.

Melanie jumped at his harshness.
He had an odd way of apologizing. She shook her head. Men.

“You’re a judgmental dick, Nicholas,” Zane growled back. “Just like your dad.”

“You never accepted Dad’s apology, so now you’re not going to accept mine?”

“I never accepted Rex
’s apology because he never offered me one that he meant.” Zane stared at Nick, letting his words speak for themselves.

“You don’t think I mean my apology?” Nick stepped closer to Zane.

Melanie
was watching their reflections in the mirror on the side wall. They were standing face to face, both about the same height with Nick being a little wider and his strength visible by the size of his muscles, whereas Zane had all the same muscles but in a slightly leaner physique. Oh, God, she dreaded their upcoming match.

“When I apologize to someone
, I do it to their face, not on the phone like a fucking pussy. Get out of my face, Nick, or you’re going to end up on your ass,” Zane threatened, then contradicted his statement by taking a step closer. Now they were nose to nose. Melanie noticed both of their fists were clenched and wondered which one of them would throw the first punch.

“You think I’m a pussy?” Melanie had to put her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing at her brother’s look of disbelief.

“If the pants fit,” Zane taunted.

Nick reared his fist back to punch Zane,
however Zane dodged and shoved Nick backwards. Nick took a few steps back, but didn’t fall on his ass. That didn’t stop Zane from lunging forward and throwing all of his weight against him. Now Nick was on his ass with Zane on top of him. He started to punch Nick, yet Nick was quick to turn to his side, causing Zane to graze Nick’s back instead of landing a punch in his face.

Melanie had to keep herself from laughing out loud as they rolled around on the floor.
She could tell they weren’t really trying to hurt each other, but neither one of them wanted the other to have the upper hand.

As they rolled, both trying to get on top, she saw the pile of mitts and pads that had been haphazardly piled against the wall on a shelf.
They continued to roll across the floor until they hit the wall and the pile of pads and mitts fell on top of them.

She couldn’t control herself any longer
. She released the laughter she had been holding inside. Both men looked at her with scowls that would cause anyone else to run for the hills.

“I’m calling this one a tie,” she announced.

They both swiped the mitts off and stood up for another stare down. Good grief, they needed to grow the fuck up.

“Zane, you’re my best friend.
No one else would have looked out for me like you. I’m sorry you’ve had to cover for me all these years. I wish I could find a way to pay you back.” Nick had dropped the attitude and she could hear the sincerity in his voice. “I should have known there was more to it.”

She saw Zane staring at Nick and wondered if he saw the darkness consuming Nick that she saw in him.
As Nick reached his hand out to Zane, Zane put his hand out to shake it. She breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, things could go back to normal. Or at least, closer to normal. She still had to find a way to get Nick over his guilt.

She watched the tension leave their bodies and hopped off the stool.

“I’m glad you pussies finally straightened up
. Now it’s time to make sure I kick ass tomorrow.” Melanie grinned at them both when they started scowling at her again.

Nick finally cracked a smile.
“I know you’re in good hands. I’ll leave you to it and see you tomorrow, sis.”

“Okay
.” Melanie smiled at him as he left the gym.

She turned to Zane.
“Thank you, Zane. I know that wasn’t easy.”

“Actually it was
. Nick’s like a brother to me.” He sighed, still looking out the door Nick had just gone through. “I don’t want to scare you, Melanie, but he has some scary shit going down in his head right now.”

“I know.” Melanie looked out the plate glass window
, watching her brother get into his expensive car and pull out of the lot. The expression on his face had her realizing her carefree brother was gone forever. She had lost him.

“Let’s get back to work,” Zane said
, drawing her attention. She nodded her head, and they walked back to the ring.

First thing
s first, she had to concentrate on the only battle she could win tonight. The fight to get the brother back she loved was going to take much longer, and she wasn’t so sure she was going to win that one.

*
  *  *

Melanie stood at the top of the ramp.
The lights had been dimmed and she could hear the crowd cheering. For the first time in her life, she was in the fight of the night, the one the fans had been waiting for
—
the championship bout.

She watched the spotlight flash throughout the crowd before being directed her
way. She started to walk down the ramp towards the cage, hoping she didn’t start the night off tripping; it was so fucking dark. They could have at least put additional lighting along the ramp so she could see where she was walking.

She glanced to her right
to see Zane walking beside her, looking ahead. His presence helped calm her nerves. He wouldn’t let anything happen to her
—
he had been taking care of her for years.

As they approached the cage, she saw the opening for her to enter inside and prepared herself for the introduction.
She knew the crowd wanted to see some excitement from her, so she put her game face on, gave Zane’s arm a quick squeeze, then climbed in.

She heard the cheers and jogged around the cage, pumping her fists in the air.
When she heard the crowd get a little louder, it helped knowing that not everyone was there just for Macey.

She heard the announcer say her name as he introduced her,
yet she didn’t listen to the rest of his words. She just focused on what she had to do to win this fight. She had watched all the tapes. Macey was good, really good, but Melanie knew she could beat her.

After her introduction, the lights dimmed again.
It was time to announce Macey.

Melanie heard the crowd roar.
She shook her head. Macey never hid the fact that she was a total bitch, however the crowd seemed to like that about her. Being undefeated helped, but that was about to come to an end if she had anything to do with it. She watched Macey strut down the ramp and step into the cage. She then gave Melanie an evil grin before hamming it up for the crowd. The roar was deafening.

In no time, Melanie heard the bell ring.
She glanced at the clock. The professional fights consisted of three, five minute rounds. Melanie had more practice with the three minutes in the amateur league. The fight with Leah had been her first experience with the five minute rounds. She recalled the exhaustion from that fight. She had been working on building her stamina, though, and was ready for the longer duration.

As they approached the center of the cage to bump fists, Melanie could see the
aggression in Macey’s eyes and knew she would be coming in fast. Melanie felt just as aggressive and wanted to move in quickly, too.

Macey came full force towards Melanie to throw her against the cage
. Melanie had watched this move on tape and was ready. She quickly shifted to the side and used Macey’s momentum to spin her around and throw her back up against the cage.

Melanie put her in a headlock and got in
a few knees to her abdomen before Macey retaliated by wrapping her arm around Melanie’s leg in order to take them both the mat. Melanie got in a few elbows to her head before Macey pulled her leg up and completed the take down. Melanie tried to turn as they went down, but Macey was strong and Melanie landed flat on her back.

Macey took advantage and was able to straddle Melanie and get several punches in before Melanie could thrust up enough to turn to her side.
She was getting into dangerous territory fast, setting herself up for a choke hold, which Macey quickly got in position for.

As Macey slid to the side to get behind Melanie, she quickly jabbed back towards
Macey’s head and struck several blows to her before Macey had a chance to wrap her arm around her neck. Melanie was able to thwart Macey’s arm and quickly rolled away to escape her hold.

Melanie quickly jumped to her feet as Macey did the same.
Melanie was a little faster getting up, giving her the advantage as she went after Macey before she was fully standing. She got a few more punches into Macey’s face with her right hand, finishing with a punch to the stomach with her left. Macey was able to get several jabs in, and they then went back and forth with a series of punches until the bell rang.

Melanie held her head up as she walked to her corner.
She wanted to look strong, even though it had been a tough round. She drank some water as she worked to restore her breathing.

“Nice escape
. Good job. But she’ll be ready next time. You can’t let her get control like that again. She won’t make the same mistake,” Zane warned her.

Melanie nodded her head.
Macey had gotten some good blows in, but it was nothing she couldn’t shake off.

“You know what to do.”

They had watched enough tapes to know her next move. There was no need for additional coaching right now; they’d prepared well. The bell rang and she walked back to the center of the cage.

As soon as she approached Macey, she quickly spun for a roundhouse kick.
In all the tapes that Melanie had watched, no one had attempted this move on Macey. Her goal was the element of surprise. When Melanie felt her foot land on the side of Macey’s head, she had to control herself from getting too excited about landing that kick.

Macey stumbled
, but didn’t fall like Melanie had hoped she would. Melanie remedied that by taking Macey face first to the mat. Melanie kept her weight on Macey’s back as Macey thrust backwards, trying to get up, yet Melanie was able to put Macey in an arm lock and keep the control. Macey continued to strain against her, but then turned them onto their sides, giving Melanie an opportunity to put Macey in a choke hold.

Unfortunately, Macey was able to put her own hand in front of her neck, preventing Melanie from wrapping her arm for the hold.
Melanie maintained her hold around Macey as she wrapped a leg around one of Macey’s legs. She wanted it to be obvious to the judges that she was the one in control. The rest of the round consisted of Macey trying to escape her hold.

Melanie walked back to her corner to prepare for the last round.
She felt better this time. Macey had gotten in a few weak jabs, but Melanie had undeniably controlled that round.

“That round was yours, but they may give her the first one.
You’ve got to wrap this up now,” Zane coached.

Melanie knew this would be the deciding round.
It seemed so long ago when she had found out Macey was sabotaging Melanie’s training, but she wasn’t angry anymore because it had led her to Zane. Now, she was focused on winning the fight with strategy and skill, not revenge. She cleared her mind and grinned at Zane.

“I’m going to take this bitch down
,” Melanie said with confidence.

“I know.”

Zane grinned at her and shooed her away.

As she turned back to the center of the cage,
she saw Macey’s eyes shooting daggers at her. Melanie decided to return the favor from earlier and gave Macey an evil grin. Macey was about to learn what it felt like to lose, and she sure as fuck was going to enjoy showing her.

As
Melanie heard the announcer state this was the final round, she wanted to pound the shit out of Macey. Macey was long overdue for some bruises to her pretty, little face.

When the bell rang, they circled for a few seconds before Macey came after her.
As Macey came in for a punch, Melanie dodged and started wailing on her until she had Macey backed up against the cage. Macey quickly adjusted and was able to shove Melanie back and get in an upper cut, stunning Melanie for a brief moment. Macey took full advantage and attacked with her fists and knee.