Chapter 29

CHAPTER

TWENTY-NINE

RUST

I walk to the cage, bouncing lightly on my feet, tuning out the roar of the crowd and my walkout music. I know Brad and Mary will be near the front, cage-side. The days since that conversation—since my old man's passing—have been a blur, a dream. There's still some resentment in Brad, some feeling of betrayal. I will do everything I can to prove myself as his best friend, but mostly, he seems excited about the baby.

"You focus, yes, Rust?" Marquis roars in my ear over the deafening mayhem of the crowd.

I holler back, "He insulted my woman at the press conference. He threatened her. I'm taking his goddamn head off."

"Fight smart."

"His head is coming off."

Nobody talks like that about my woman. Cain thinks he's getting into my head, and he's right, but it won't end well for him. Speaking about my Mary with anything other than respect is a surefire way to get an ass whopping.

As the challenger, I'm forced to wait in the cage as Cain walks out to his country song, singing along. Soon, it's time for the ref to call us to the center of the cage. Nothing else exists now, just this man, this target. He's lucky the photos didn't show my woman's body.

"Last chance to apologize," I tell Cain as the ref checks our gloves.

"For what?"

"Insulting my future wife."

Cain laughs, flashing his USA flag mouthpiece. "She'll be sorry she met your bum ass when you're facedown on the canvas."

"Okay, Cain. Okay."

We go to opposite ends of the cage. Cain is standing almost in a wrestler's stance, making his intentions clear. He thinks he's going to grab me like last time, but last time, I didn't have my woman. I didn't have my child. There's no better way to motivate a man, a warrior.

"Fight!"

I bounce out, acting like I'm going to start slow, and then I explosively feint a takedown. It catches him off guard, and he drops his hands. I flurry forward, a classic one-two, putting all my power into it, all the rage and primal savagery. I put the storm into the punch. I put the future into it.

When I try to hit him again, the ref pulls me away—no damn way. Holy shit. He's out cold. The first two punches I threw. He's on his back, the doctors rushing to him.

I run around the cage with pure adrenaline. Marquis runs in, throwing his arms around me. "How did you do that, you wizard?" he roars in my ear. "You genius! Yes, Rust, yes!"

"Where is she?" I yell, scaling the cage, ignoring the security. I'm grinning from ear to ear as I find my woman in the crowd, standing next to Brad. The cameras follow me as I clamber over the barrier and then sweep her into my arms.

She grabs onto me as I stare down at her, passion making my heart thunder. "That was for you," I tell her. "For our baby, too. I-I was supposed to do this in the cage during the interview, but I just love you too much, Mary."

When I kneel, she gasps so cutely, covering her mouth with her hands. Her eyes are sparkling with her tears, with the future and love. "I love you too."

"Mary Allen…" I look up at Brad, and he grins, handing me the ring box. I take it and open it, showing the large, beautiful diamond, elegant, just like my woman. "Will you marry me?"

"Yes!" she screams excitedly.

I cheer and slip the ring onto her finger, jumping to my feet and pulling her into my arms. She pulls herself close to me, kissing me. I want to sink into it badly, but I only kiss her briefly, not wanting the world to watch my woman like this. She claws onto my arm, then leans up and yells in my ear over the noise of the thunderously applauding crowd. "I think you should go get your belt."

"It's nothing compared to this," I say, lifting her hand and kissing the ring.

"This is your big moment." She nudges me stubbornly. "Go."

I kiss her on the cheek, then climb back over the barrier as everybody claps. Turning, I look through the cage holes, first at my beautiful Mary, then at Brad. He's grinning like usual, and I can tell he means it. Somehow, he's forgiven us. He's a better man than me. He's my rock. My best friend. Still.

I'm the luckiest man alive.