Free Beyond Promise by Karice Bolton Page A

Ayden been the underdog.
    “How so?” I asked.
    “The odds were against us and the pot grew
and grew.”
    “That might make the sting of this whole
thing hurt a little less,” I teased. I knew he didn’t do it for the
money, but come on. Getting some certainly didn’t hurt anyone’s
feelings.
    “And just when I’m ending it all, you get
the hang of this promoter thing,” Ayden joked with his brother.
    Mason rolled his eyes. “Tori’s got our table
waiting at the pub.”
    “I’m starved,” I announced.
    “I never would’ve guessed,” Brandy
teased.
    “I’m gonna rinse off, and I’ll meet you all
there,” Ayden said, pointing at the small washroom.
    “Nah. We’ll wait for you in the parking
lot.” Mason shook his head. “Probably not the wisest of ideas to be
wandering around alone after you cost a lot of people a lot of
money.”
    I nodded in agreement. “He’s got a
point.”
    Ayden smiled and shook his head as he
wandered toward the washroom. Gabby and Brandy’s expressions were
free of worry as they trundled my direction.
    “You look like the weight of the world has
been lifted,” Gabby said, reaching for my hand.
    “It feels like it has.” I smiled.
    “Do you believe he’s through?” Brandy asked.
“Like really finished?”
    “I’d like to believe he is, but seeing the
look in his eyes when he lands those punches…”
    “I know.” Brandy pressed her lips together
and shook her head. “But let’s pretend he is and enjoy what’s to
come in the next few weeks.”
    “Let’s drink to that,” Gabby said, holding
up an imaginary glass.
    Mason and Derek caught my eye over by the
window. They were looking down below, talking about something in
hushed voices.
    “What’s going on?” I asked, almost shouting
to get their attention.
    Derek turned around and smiled. “Just
listening to the reports from the security guards. A couple of
fights broke out in the parking lot.”
    “Oh, great,” I mumbled.
    I’d been to plenty of fights since I started
dating Ayden, and there’d never been one fight in all those
times.
    Mason caught the worried expression running
through my gaze and smiled. “It’s nothing to worry about. Security
has already cleared out most of the lot.”
    Ayden walked out of the bathroom. His hair
was still wet, and he looked squeaky clean in a pair of jeans and a
flannel shirt. Most wouldn’t even be able to tell he’d just been in
a grueling match if it weren’t for some pinkness along his jaw, and
how he walked carefully, protecting his bruised ribcage. He came
over to me and slid his arm around my waist. I immediately melted
in his arms as relief flooded through me. My shoulders instantly
unknotted, and my body felt like a wet noodle as the tension
finally flooded out of my system. I thought I’d done a good job
keeping the anxiety at bay, but I was obviously quite wrong about
that.
    Mason walked over to the door and swung it
open. “Let’s get going, or my girl will think we abandoned
her.”
    I hid my smile. Mason had fallen completely
head-over-heels for Tori, and it was fun to see. Jason, Gabby,
Brandy and Aaron all filed through the door. We followed behind and
Derek and Mason turned off the lights and shut the door behind us
while we all trundled down the stairs.
    The place had really cleared out. I heard
the clangs and bangs of the ring being dismantled in the other
room. A few more minutes and no one would even know a fight had
taken place here.
    We walked into the crisp air, and the metal
door closed with a thud behind us as we made our way through the
almost empty parking lot to our cars.
    “Let’s get our undefeated fighter some
grub,” Gabby said, giving me a quick hug. “We’ll see you in a
few.”
    Brandy gave me a hug as well and then
climbed into her car. Ayden rested his hand on my back and rubbed
it softly as we watched our friends climb into their cars and start
the ignitions. I took a deep breath in, finally feeling free of
stress,