Page 139 of Ethan's Sky
“Lass, I know you have two beautiful eyes to see the man you’re asking about sparring with Cillian behind me. Why don’t you ask the lad yourself? Better yet, how about we focus on the two men whoarefighting tonight and let Ethan focus on them as well, aye?”
My head pops up at the mention of my name, but I quickly return my focus to Cillian after Kieran cuts me a look meaning he doesn’t want me to say anything. I give a curt nod. When the reporter approaches asking me the same question, my response is short but sweet.
“We were disappointed to have to postpone, but shit happen. We’ve all had points in our careers where we’ve been injured and needed to take time to recover. Now, if you don’t mind, my man here needs to keep warm.”
“Was there any talk of compensation or a new deal being made for the next fight?”
She’s not about to be dismissed and keeps firing off her questions. Unfortunately, I can’t be a dick like I want to. Tonight isn’t about me anyway, it’s about Cillian and Ronan. I’m not about to step into the limelight that’s meant for them.
“No. As far as I know nothing has changed except the date.” And two of my newer fighters got bumped up the undercard wait list, but the press doesn’t need to know about it. Deals like this are made all the time to keep everyone happy and the cards full.
Kieran comes over, moving to stand behind me. Cillian pulls his hands back but keeps hopping around and punching the air by himself. Kieran leans in, cupping his hand to his mouth, whispering, “There’s a lad standing off to the side of the camera guy. The one with the black ball cap on. He has a Devil’s Order tattoo on his neck. I’m going to get rid of the reporters and cameras, you let the lads know, yeah?”
I nod.
Kieran announces to the room, “That’s all we have time for, ladies and gentlemen. My fighters need to focus and clear their heads. They’ll answer your questions after the fight in the postgame interview. Thank you for your time. Now please, get the fuck out!”
I waste no time letting Mack know who Kieran saw and he immediately gets on the comms and orders Hawk to search the security feeds.
We usher Cillian down the hall into the arena. He bounces around as his song plays through the house speakers. We follow closely behind, stopping when we reach the cage entrance where the referees await.
While the check over Cillian’s body, his hands, mouthpiece, ears, I scan the crowd for Skyler. I find her sitting in the third-row seats, smiling, and chatting with Violet. Violet appears to be nervous, but I chalk it up to the fact this is a lot more people and noise than she’s used to.
Cillian hugs each of us one by one before making his way into the cage. Me and Kieran move around to our spot in the corner, Scotty, our cut man following closely behind.
Cillian’s opponent enters the arena with his entourage, making a spectacle of himself as he does. This isn’t a title fight, it’s the undercard. But some fighters feel like they need to make a spectacle of themselves to be remembered, when truthfully the only thing people remember at these things is who got knocked the fuck out and how fast did it happen.
The announcer takes his place in the center of the cage and begins rattling off his spiel to introduce each fighter.
Moments later, the bell rings and the fight is on.
39
SKYLER
We watch the first three undercard fights, excited when Cillian won his bout. Ronan should be coming out for his fight shortly.
“I’m thirsty. You want to go grab something with me at the concession stand?” Violet asks. Declan doesn’t look thrilled with the idea, but we all stand and make our way up the stairs.
We head to the right, but the flow of traffic is too thick, I get separated from Violet. Declan and Jake are still behind me, but Violet has gotten lost in the shuffle. I can barely see the top of her head. She’s scanning back and forth, probably trying to find an opening to get out of the crowd.
I imagine her getting flustered and starting to panic.
“Violet!” I shout over the crowd, but the noise is too loud, I doubt she can hear me. Jake takes ahold of my bicep keeping a firm hold on me.
“I’m fine! We need to get to Violet!” I shout at Jake.
“Declan is going after her. You need to stay with me.”
A loud bang comes from the arena, so loud it resembles a gun shot and suddenly people start running up the stairs and filing into the concourse, pushing Violet even further away.
Jake loses his grip on my arm. The idea that Violet could be having a panic attack in the middle of all these people, propels me forward. I know I should wait for Jake to catch up to me again, but knowing he’s not far and has the height advantage to see me over most of the crowd, I keep moving.
I woman’s scream rents the air, and I’m certain it’s Violet. I scan the crowd frantically and damn near hit the floor tripping over a huddled woman on the ground.
Violet.
I grab her arm, and she lets out a blood curdling scream.
