“I’ll let them know.”

“You’re done,” Riggins said.

As soon as he was cleared, he jumped up and went to the netting, looking for Molly.

The crazy-assed woman climbed onto the edge of the cage. “Hey. You won.”

Deacon grinned and kissed her through the netting. “Yep.”

“Now what?”

“I have a meeting. Don’t know how long it’ll take. Will you wait for me?”

“Like you have to ask.”

His eyes narrowed. “Wait with the Black Arts crew. I don’t want you by yourself.”

“Would it be better if I waited for you at the after-party?”

“Babe. We’re not goin’ to the after-party.” He kissed her again. “We’re having a private party for two.” Maddox shouted at him. “Gotta go.”

•   •   •

DEACON showed up for the meeting with the Smackdown guys still in his fight gear, except he’d slipped on a Black Arts hoodie.

Three guys in suits sat across from him and Maddox.

“Great fight, Deacon. You show outstanding promise.”

“That fight was bullshit and you know it.” Deacon let his gaze move between the men. “Is that the kind of talent Smackdown has on its roster? Needham? Courey? I’ve beat the fuck outta both of those guys now. So which washed-up fighter are you gonna put me in the ring with next?”

“Washed-up?” Lars Turkin, the Smackdown talent manager, repeated.

“Yeah. Look, I’ve been waiting a long time to sign with a fight organization.”

“Is it true you turned down a UFC contract?”

“Yep.” Deacon felt Maddox looking at him. Oops. He’d forgotten to share that. “I’m a fighter. I want to fight. Not once a fucking year, either. That was my issue with them. That’s why I decided to talk to you. From what I’d seen, you let your fighters fight, not just train to fight for some big TV event once a year.”

“That’s where we intentionally set out to be different from the UFC,” Lars said. “They think they’re signing the best-of-the-best fighters, but then they only put a chosen few to the test because of policy and politics. We want a guy like you, Deacon, who’s been toiling in the trenches for years, who blows onto the scene and beats the piss out of everyone in your path.”

Deacon grinned. “No surprise that appeals to me.”

Lars smiled back. “Good. At least we’re on the same page there.”

“Tell him,” the CEO, Jim Fichter, urged.

“We’re in talks with Bellator to have their belt holders fight ours.”

“Seriously?”

“We know that when anyone hears the words mixed martial arts, they immediately think of the UFC. And the UFC has effectively killed any competition by simply buying the damn organizations like Strikeforce and WEC. Some of their titleholders keep the titles for so long because they’re not allowed to fight anyone that might be a true challenger.”

“And yet they continue to dominate the MMA world.”

“We are trying to change that. Bellator has managed to avoid a buyout. They’ve got the TV contracts, they’ve got great fighters, but they need a bigger pool of challengers. That’s where we come in. Combining forces, creating a new championship level and yet retaining individual championship belts for our organizations, gives us an edge and makes it interesting for the fighters and for the MMA fans.”

No argument there. “When is all this Bellator-Smackdown lovefest gonna happen?”

“We’re working out the details, but we hope to make the announcement in six weeks and get the fights scheduled in the next six months.”

“Sounds interesting,” Maddox said. “But where does Deacon come in?”

“On top. If he signed with us, we’d expect him to put his money where his mouth is.” Lars grinned. “He complained that fighters under contract don’t get to fight? We’d put him to the test four times. Con Man beats our top four guys in his division, he’d be in contention to fight a Bellator champ in a televised bout.”

Maddox’s eyebrows rose. “That’s a pretty hefty fucking carrot to dangle.”

Lars leaned forward and looked at Deacon. “You are the real deal in MMA. You are exactly what Smackdown needs. Sign with us and we can get you real challengers—not guys like Needham and Courey, who are good, but not good enough to reach the highest level.”

“I appreciate y’all agreeing to meet with me. I’m not playing hard to get when I say I need a little time to weigh my options.”