20. KO #2
“Fight your fight,” Pops said, and I nodded as the bell rang.
I made my way to the center ring. Dude came out aggressive immediately, throwing combinations and trying to make a scene.
I slipped the first punch and then the second, then I stepped out of range before the third one could land.
This was easy, too easy, and the crowd loved it.
Every time he threw a punch, they reacted, and every time I made him miss, they reacted even louder.
A grin pulled at my mouth. The truth was, I could’ve dropped him already.
Maybe not with one punch, but I could see his mistakes.
I could already see exactly how this fight was going to end, but the people had paid a lot of money to be here.
The sponsors had paid a lot of money to be here.
Hell, I’d gotten paid a lot of money to be here.
So I might as well let them get a show first. I kept moving around the ring, kept touching him with a jab.
By the time the first round ended, his breathing was already heavy.
The bell rang, ending the first round, and I headed back to my corner. Before Pops could even hand me water, my eyes found Lyrius. She was still sitting behind me, and Dakoda was standing in his seat, screaming.
“Go, Daddy!”
“He’s loading up every time he throws that right,” Pops said.
“I know.” I smirked.
“Then stop letting him do it.”
The bell rang before I could respond, and I made my way to the center of the ring for round two.
This time, he came out talking shit. Something about him being the champ.
Something about ending my career and fucking my bitch.
I wasn’t listening, just moving around the ring.
I slipped another punch. Countered with a jab.
Then a hook. His head snapped back, and the crowd exploded.
Whoever had sent that note should have known by now that I wasn’t abiding by their rules.
Whatever the consequences, so be it. If somebody was dumb enough to come after me again, they’d better bring a motherfucking army this time.
The bell rang again, and I went back to my corner. Pops handed me water.
“You done playing?” Jaylen leaned against the ropes, and I looked across the ring. Dude was exhausted. His nose was bleeding, and his confidence was hanging on by a thread.
“Yeah.”
“Thought so.” Jaylen nodded, and the bell rang.
I walked toward the center of the ring, no dancing this time.
He threw a jab and missed. He threw a right hand and missed again.
I stepped inside his space and landed a clean left to his jaw.
His balance shifted, and a right hand followed.
The crowd came to its feet, already knowing what was about to happen.
The hook sealed it, and Hollywood Lou hit the canvas so hard the bitch rattled.
The entire arena exploded, and I backed away while the ref started counting.
“One. Two. Three.” The crowd counted with him.
“Four. Five. Six.” Hollywood rolled onto one knee, attempting to get up.
“Seven. Eight.” His legs gave out again.
“Nine. Ten.” The arena damn near blew the roof off the building as the bell sounded, and cameramen, promoters, and commission officials all flooded the ring immediately.
The ref grabbed my wrist and lifted it into the air.
“Ladies and gentlemen, your winner by way of knockout . . .” The crowd was already losing their minds before the announcer finished.
“. . . and the new Heavyweight Champion of the World, Dakota ‘KO’ Knox!” Confetti exploded from somewhere above us, and a championship belt appeared around my waist along with microphones.
“KO! Biggest win of your career! How does it feel?”
“Feels long overdue,” I answered without really hearing myself because my eyes were busy searching the crowd, searching for Lyrius and Dakoda.
“Come on. We need to get you to press.” Cherry came over, practically pushing me over to the edge of the ring. I ignored her. My eyes found Jaylen instead.
“Where Lyrius and Dakoda?”
“They around here somewhere.” Jaylen glanced toward the front row, and my eyes followed. Something wasn’t right. Dakoda should have hugged my legs by now and been bouncing through the ring with excitement.
“Find them.” I gave Jaylen a serious look, and his facial expression changed immediately.
“Aight.” He disappeared into the crowd just as another camera got shoved in my face.
“KO! Got a second for ESPN?” The reporter smiled.
“Yes,” Cherry agreed before I could say anything. “Go ahead.”
“KO, what does it mean winning your first championship with your son front row to see it?” he asked, and my eyes landed on their still empty seats.
“It means everything.”
“Do you think Dakoda understands how special tonight is?”
“I think it’s special to him for a whole different reason. He just happy to see his dad fight.”
“What do you hope Dakoda remembers about tonight?”
“That I did this all for him.” I looked back out at the crowd, then I spotted one of the security guards assigned to Lyrius and Dakoda.
He was standing by himself, and my stomach instantly dropped.
If Lyrius and Dakoda were where they were supposed to be, they would’ve been with him.
I didn’t wait for another question or for another camera.
“Thank you for your time.” I pushed the microphone back toward the reporter and started walking fast as fuck to get to security. The second I reached him, I grabbed his shoulder.
“Where they at?” The color drained from his face, and that was when I knew something was wrong.
“I don’t know.”
“What?”
“Lyrius took Dakoda to the bathroom during the second round.”
“And?”
“They never came out . . .” His voice cracked. Every muscle in my body locked.
“What the fuck do you mean, they never came out?”
“I thought maybe I missed them, and they went back to their seats.”
“You find them, Bruh?” Jaylen appeared beside me, and I turned to look at him. He took one look at my face, and he knew I didn’t even have to say a word.
“Fuck.” I was already moving.
“KO!” Cherry called after me. “Where are you going?” I ignored her.
“Give me my phone,” I directed Jaylen, and he was already digging it out of his pocket by the time we hit the tunnel.
“Here. Call her.” I snatched it from him and hit Lyrius’s name. The phone rang six times before going to voicemail. I called again. I knew the shit was probably pointless. Whoever took them wasn’t about to let Lyrius answer her damn phone, but desperation had already set in.
“You got her location?” Jaylen asked and went to the app on my phone and pulled it up. The blue dot popped up immediately. She was still in the building.
“She’s here.” Jaylen looked over my shoulder. “Where?” I zoomed in on the map.
“Looks like the parking garage.” We broke into a run. Pops was right behind us without knowing what was going on.
“KO!” Cherry yelled again. “You got press in five minutes!”
“Fuck press! Lyrius and Dakoda are missing,” was all I said before I took off toward the elevators. When we reached the parking garage, it was almost empty; only a few cars were still parked. Then I saw Lyrius’s phone lying face down on the concrete, the screen shattered.
“Shit!” My heart dropped straight into my stomach as I made my way over to grab it.
“KO! Dakoda’s sign!” Jaylen yelled from a few feet away.
I stared at the crooked sign Dakoda had been holding all night, and it confirmed what I already knew to be true.
They had been kidnapped, probably by the same people who wanted me to lose.
I dropped to one knee beside Lyrius’s phone and picked it up.
The screen was shattered, and the case was hanging on by one corner.
“Fuck.”
As I turned it over, something slipped halfway out of the broken case. A small folder card. I pulled it free and glanced at it. At first, I thought it was a receipt or something until I read it.
TRACK YOUR JEWELRY.
Then I saw the QR code, and my heart started pounding. Lyrius had left me a clue.
“Jaylen, look!” He stepped closer. “There’s a tracker in Dakoda’s earring.”
“I’m on it.” Jaylen was already pulling his phone out, and I ran both hands over my face, trying to think, breathe, or something, anything not to lose my damn mind.
“What if we’re too late, man?” I shook my head. “What if they already—”
“Nah. Them motherfuckers ain’t stupid.” Jalen looked up from his phone. “If they wanted bodies, they’d have left bodies.”
“We gon’ find ’em,” Pops said, looking around the parking garage.
“I got the signal.” Jaylen turned his screen around so I could see it.
“Where?” A blinking dot moved across the map.
It was still moving, and hopefully, that meant my family was still alive.
My mind flashed to the note, Victoria, Cherry, and Lyrius trying to warn me before the fight, and everything started clicking together.
A curse slipped under my breath, and Jaylen looked at me.
“You thinking what I’m thinking?”
“Yeah.” I looked back at the tracker.
“Let’s move.”