Leo shook his head and turned away. The hurt of that shocked me. I hadn’t been expecting to feel that kick to the gut on top of everything else. The only person that had managed to put a dent in my feelings was Grace. She’d owned my heart for so long, that when she finally surrendered to her feelings it unlocked a part of me that had laid dormant, waiting. But then the cracks had emerged, my heart breaking slowly with every fight and step apart until she finally shattered it with her rejection.
I dug my phone out and saw the photo of her appear on the screen as it rang out. The girl I fell in love with and the woman who’d loved me back.
“Maddison?” The surprise in her voice sent a shard of pain through my chest. I thought we were done with all this, but apparently not.
“Hey. Yeah, I just wanted to speak to you. You know, before tonight.”
“The fight. Have you changed your mind? You don’t have to do it, Mads.” Her desperation grabbed me through the phone.
I paused, thinking this fucked-up plan through for the first time.
“Maddison?” There was a thread of hope to her voice, but it was because she thought I was undecided. If she’d known what I was really conflicted about, maybe that would finish us for good. Maybe it was for the best. Maybe I needed to do what Oliver had done and rid myself of Grace forever. A Jiminy Cricket sized conscience, sitting on my shoulder, told me that might be better than the path I was currently on, but that conscience wasn’t loud enough.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m here. Can I see you?”
“I’m… where are you?” she asked, her voice all squeaky.
“London. I know, you’d have to find a way to come here, but there’s time. Your name’s on the door.”
“Wait, for the fight?” she asked.
“Yeah. You know I always want you there. And I know you don’t want to be there, but it’s different tonight. I’ll text you the details. We’ll talk.”
“Talk? Before the fight?”
“Sure. Come to The Venue. I’ll meet you, and we can talk.”
It was her time to pause. “Can’t we talk somewhere else? Before?” At least she was being smart about this.
“Think about it. I know it’s a lot to ask, especially after what I said the other night. I was drunk. And you broke my heart.” For some reason, I couldn’t stop with the hurtful words.
“Well, you broke mine as well, Mads. And you continue to.” She hung up.
“Fuck!” Now I had to wait and hope that she would show, otherwise I’d have made an enemy of Mikey Kenner before I’d even set foot in his ring.
The bar I found was around the corner from The Venue. Not the ideal place to hang out before a fight, but in the last few months, my training had consisted of getting too drunk to care. One beer wasn’t going to hurt.
I nursed it, thinking over all the actions that had led me to here, and I wondered what could have changed the course of events to stop them from leading here. Was it all down to my brotherly feud with Oliver? Surely, that was just normal angst—until you added Grace to the equation. She hadn’t intended to come between us, and it was funny how neither of us blamed her for what happened, but somewhere along the line, the rift between us grew too big, or at least it did for me. Grace calmed us and made things tolerable, but it had been my place to show Oliver how much better I was in all the ways I could because he’d have done the same to me.
I gave up on the beer and hoped Zuri was ready. Without Leo, I needed someone in my corner, the obligatory warm-up to get me amped, help with my wraps and general show of support. I only had a couple of hours left to get my head in the game for the biggest fight of my career, and right now I felt like fucking shit.
This time, when I went through the back, one of the guys working the door showed me through to another part of the building, down the stairs to a basement and then he directed me to a gym area. Mats and a punching bag decorated the cell-type room. A few lockers lined one wall, and two changing areas were signposted at the far end. The light was false from strip lights overhead, and for the first time, it felt like a proper underground fight. The Club had always had a veneer because fights weren’t the only things it hosted. This place felt different—rougher.
“Come on. You’re late.” Zuri came out of one of the changing areas, and I huffed out a breath in relief. Fuck, I hadn’t realised I needed to see someone here for me.
I followed him through the doorway and found a room, not unlike those back at The Club. It was like a giant wet room with tiles and a drain in the corner with a shower overhead. I guess it saved on the stain removal.
“Hey, man.” Leo appeared to the side, looking sheepish. “I’m sorry about before. I’m still here for you. All the way.” He held my stare, and I knew he was sorry. If I was honest, I was too.
We embraced, slapping each other on the back in some macho sign of appreciation, but it settled something in my gut.
“Thanks. Let’s get things started, shall we boys!” I forced the confidence into my voice as I clapped and rubbed my hands together.
Zuri took a phone call and left Leo and me to it.
“Is she coming?” he asked.
“I fucking hope so.” I looked at him and only saw doubt in his eyes. But he was here. I couldn’t question all the shit that could go wrong. I had a job to do—to win—and besides, Kenner knew the deal.
“All set?” Zuri asked.
“What’s the take for this?”
“After you win. Get your head on straight. Fight hard, Mads. Fucking hard. This is no picnic.”
“I’ve got this.” I rolled my shoulders and started to move my body around, stretching my joints and muscles. The other room we walked through was all set for a warm-up, and there’s no way I’d set foot in the ring cold. Leo followed as I took to the mats, working my body before we started some punches and drills.
He held up a couple of pads, but he clocked me with one of them. “What the fuck?”
“Quicker, Mads. Come on, man.” He gave me a cocky grin, and I knew what he was doing.
Twenty minutes later, and I was ready to deck him where he stood. My mind was sharp and focused on only one thing.
I was used to hearing the noise build before a fight, but this place felt like the wolves were waiting for me. It messed with my confidence, as there was no atmosphere to feed off.
“Relax, Mads. You’ve got this.” Leo held up my gum shield and shoved it into my mouth. I started to pace, waiting. Waiting. I hated fucking waiting.
Grace hadn’t phoned or texted me back, but she had the details, and I still believed she’d show, even without seeing me first. Sure, I was a bastard for playing her, but I could beg for forgiveness later.
“Maddison?” A guy in a black t-shirt and sunglasses, despite being in a basement, appeared.
“Yeah,” I muffled.
“You’re on. A reminder, no tap outs, no biting. You fight until one of you stays down. Mr Kenner will be watching and expects a performance. Got it?”
I nodded.
Time to win.
The guy in the sunglasses led the three of us out of the basement and into the main arena. Dark and dingy, the lighting was piss poor, and the smell of sweat and alcohol filled the air. Now the noise finally hit me and set the fire in my belly alight.