OPM - II

Chapter 35 - One Punch again

SPECIAL Chapter: I've just released Guilty Emma, and this one is different... There's content inside that reveals what actually happened between Mike and Emma that night of the rescue.

Want to know what happens? Check it out on Patreon at the end of the chapter.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ryan blew the whistle and stepped back against the ropes.

Sam and Danny moved to the center of the ring. Sam attacked first.

His jab snapped into Danny's cheek.

Before Danny could recover, another jab slammed into the same spot. Then a third.

Three punches. Three clean hits.

Danny's head snapped back with each one. He tried to steady himself, but his legs betrayed him. He stumbled backward, dropped to one knee, and caught himself with a glove against the canvas.

A loud cheer rolled through the gym.

Sam's three friends shouted the loudest. Another voice called out Sam's name. Sam stood over Danny and looked down with a hard grin.

"That's all you've got?" Sam said. "Talking big and then folding after three punches. Get up so I can put you down again."

Mike watched from outside the ropes, arms folded.

Sam was top-notch, just like always. His jabs were fast, sharp, and perfectly placed. Mike had seen good fighters before, but watching a national team member up close was different. Sam was on another level.

But Danny didn't look like a man who had just taken three clean punches.

He stayed on one knee, one glove resting on the canvas. His shoulders were loose. His breathing was steady.

Mike narrowed his eyes.

That drop looked too clean.

Something wasn't right.

The fight wasn't going the way it looked.

Danny pushed himself back to his feet, rolled his neck once, and brought his gloves up again. Ryan checked both of them with a quick look and nodded for the spar to continue.

This time, Danny moved first.

He slipped Sam's next jab by an inch and stepped inside. His jab snapped into Sam's nose, followed by a straight right that caught him on the jaw.

Sam's head jerked back.

He fired a hook, but Danny had already moved. He circled away, then popped another jab into Sam's cheek before driving a short shot into his body.

Sam swung hard.

Danny leaned back and let the punch cut through empty air. He stepped in and tapped Sam on the temple with a quick counter before slipping away again.

He wasn't rushing.

He was reading Sam, picking his shots, then disappearing before Sam could answer.

Jab. Slip. Jab. Pivot.

Sam's frustration began to show. He threw combinations, but most found nothing but air. Danny kept touching him, never giving him enough time to plant his feet.

The gym grew quiet.

The cheers for Sam faded. Even his friends had stopped shouting.

Near the water cooler, Claire watched with her arms crossed, with a tight expression.

Danny stepped in again and drove a hard right into Sam's ribs. Sam's guard dropped for half a second, and a left hook came across and caught him clean on the chin.

Sam's legs buckled.

He dropped to the canvas and stayed there, eyes half-closed, gloves loose at his sides.

Ryan moved in to call the end, but Danny did not stop. He followed Sam down and kept throwing. The gloves slammed into Sam's face again and again. Blood appeared on Sam's cheek and then on his forehead.

Another punch split the skin above his eye. The red spread fast across his face and dripped onto the white canvas.

Claire's voice cut through the gym.

She ran forward, ducked under the ropes, and threw herself between the two men. Tears already ran down her face.

"Stop! Stop it, you bastard!" she screamed. She pushed at Danny's chest with both hands. "He's down! Leave him alone!"

Danny's eyes locked on her. The calm smile from earlier was gone. An ugly emotion pulled at his mouth instead. He raised his right glove and swung it toward her face.

"You bitch—"

The punch never landed.

Mike was already in the ring.

He stepped in front of Claire, caught Danny by the bicep, and shoved hard. Danny staggered two steps sideways, barely staying on his feet before catching himself near the ropes.

He recovered quickly.

Danny swung at Mike's head.

The gloved fist came fast and heavy. Mike had no gloves on. He bent at the waist, leaning back just enough for the punch to whistle past his face.

Then he stepped in.

His bare right hand shot forward in a short, straight jab.

It landed square on Danny's chin.

"Bam"

Danny's eyes widened for a split second before rolling back.

His legs gave out, and he dropped onto the canvas as a puppet with its strings cut.

He didn't move.

The gym went dead silent. Only Sam's rough breathing and Claire's shaky sobs broke the silence.

Ryan stepped between Mike and Danny, both hands raised.

"That's enough. Both of you stay put."

His eyes moved from Sam's bloodied face to Danny's motionless body, then down to Mike's bare hands.

Outside the ropes, the older boxer let out a low whistle.

Sam's three friends stood frozen around the apron. Claire stayed beside Sam, still crying, one hand gripping his shoulder as Ryan shouted for the first-aid kit.

Mike flexed his right hand once, shaking out the tension in his fingers, then stepped back toward the ropes.

His breathing was steady, but his eyes never left Danny's motionless body sprawled on the mat. He waited in silence, watching for the slightest movement as Ryan stood nearby, ready to stop Mike.

Ryan glanced at Danny's knocked-out body, and nostalgia hit him hard.

Read up to Chapter 45 on Patreon and The Special Chapter: https://www.patreon.com/c/KDaddy935?vanity=user