Mike laughed. “Don’t disrespect the scouts, bro.”
Jack nodded. “Yeah, they do bake one hell of a cookie.”
Mike shook his head. “Thin Mints. Addictive little fuckers.”
They climbed between the ropes. Stepping into the ring, each boxer donned their headgear. Both men inserted mouthpieces. Jack bounced on his toes, warming up.
Mike glanced at the clock and said, “Time.”
Without a timekeeper, they’d have to rely on each other to keep to two-minute intervals.
They walked to each other and touched gloves. Then each took a step back and the sparring match was on.
Jack stepped toward Mike and led with the jab. Mike blocked the shot with his left hand, a classic defensive move. Jack stepped in closer and his opponent pushed him off with force. His friend wasn’t lying. The power Mike stored in his biceps had added more control to his defensive skills.
Fighters know the first thirty seconds of sparring are about feeling each other out. Seeing what new moves each of them brought into the ring. Mike stepped to the inside. Extending his reach, he threw a quick body shot meant to rattle Jack’s insides. Pulling a move straight out of Cortez’s playbook, Jack forced his body toward Mike, accepting the abuse. Then backing him into a corner, he let Mike wail on him as his muscular torso bared shot after shot. Blood rushed to the places where Mike’s fists landed. Jack’s body heated. Sweat rolled. Endorphins kicked in.
Mike added muscle to his physique. However, preparing for Cortez, Jack had strengthened his gut, trained himself to absorb the power shots. Jack’s new fighting style could only be described as one with brute force.
He surged forward, pinning Mike up against the ropes. Dropping his hands, he spat his mouthpiece to the canvas. “Time,” he yelled out.
Mike dropped his gloves. He worked his mouthpiece off his teeth and spat it to the mat. He panted hard. “Should’ve known you were going to pull a Cortez.”
Jack placed a glove to his throbbing stomach. “I wanted to let you show off those guns you’re so proud of.” Flexing, Jack’s own bicep rose to an impressive mound.
Mike placed his gloves on his hips and laughed.
“Seriously, though. I’m hearing a lot about this new middleweight, Marlon Littleton. Trains out of a gym in Detroit. Tough as nails.”
Still breathing hard, Mike said, “I’ve heard the name. ESPN loves him.”
“Littleton’s style is a lot like Cortez’s. He’s got more skill, more finesse, but he can be a brawler.”
“You think we should talk to Dani about bringing him down to spar?”
Sweat rolled down Jack’s cheek. He wiped the droplet away with the part of his arm that wasn’t covered up by his boxing gloves. “Hell no. If I know Dani, she’s getting you put on Littleton’s next card.”
“Fuck, yeah!” Mike’s elation broke through his usually stoic tone.
Both men turned their heads to the sound of Dani’s office door opening. In a few quick strides, she met them at the side of the ring. Her pursed lips told him she was ready to bust balls. “I don’t pay you to stand around and breathe. Let’s see what you’ve got.”
“We were just talking about Littleton,” Jack explained.
Daniella cocked a brow. “Littleton would be an excellent contender. However, there are others making noise in the middleweight class. There’s a guy, Garrett Barnett. Country boy. Trains out of a gym in New Orleans. He’s never lost a fight.”
“You sure he’s legit?” Mike asked.
Jack kept his eyes on Dani. Mike had a point. To go undefeated while climbing the ranks, a boxer would have to be both talented and lucky, or his fights could just be rigged.
“I think you could bring him to his knees.” Dani’s confidence in Mike filled the room. She placed her hand in her pocket and drew out a stopwatch. “Get ready for another round,” she ordered.
Mike averted his eyes to the mat, spying his mouthpiece.
“No,” Dani said, as if she’d heard his silent plea. “If you want to take on Barnett and Littleton, and prepare Jack for the world championship, I won’t know your punches are hard enough until I hear teeth rattle.” She clicked the button on top of the stopwatch. “Time.”
Jack and Mike touched gloves, indicating the start of the round. Over the next two minutes, they punched and danced around the ring. Both men delivered powerful blows. Jack swore the punches were heard across the street. He practiced boxing Mike into a corner. By the end of the round, Mike’s reflexes quickened. He began to anticipate his defense before Jack had time to set up the knockout strike.
In top form, Jack didn’t feel winded. Mike’s quick pace only added to his satisfaction that he could keep up with a contender like Sokoloff. The Russian-born fighter was a mass of speed and strength. Daniella had told him Sokoloff relied on his timing in the ring, along with quickness and accuracy. All he needed to do to win was match the champ pound for pound and get Sokoloff off his game.
“Time,” Daniella yelled.
Both men dropped their hands and turned to look at her, perplexed. Two minutes hadn’t passed. They’d barely started boxing before she’d ended the round. Before Jack’s mind registered what had happened, Daniella’s voice called out, “Jack, there’s someone here to see you.”
He allowed his eyes to fix on the opening door.
I’ll be damned.
Gary, his stepfather, walked into the gym.
Chapter Thirty-seven
Jack’s stepfather proceeded toward the ring. Gary Brady was the last man on earth that Jack had expected to see. He looked thinner, the result of prison food, Jack guessed. His clothes were old. The style of his shirt was dated, and judging by the wide smile on his face, he must have been newly released. Gary stopped at the ropes and looked up into the ring. “It’s good to see you, Jack.”
At that moment Daniella asked Mike to go hit the heavy bag. She climbed through the ropes and unlaced Jack’s gloves. With a tug, the fourteen ouncers hit the canvas.
Jack nodded. “What are you doing here?”
The toothy grin on Gary’s face faded. The shine in his eyes dimmed. If he was expecting a happy homecoming, the man who’d mistreated his mother could think again. Jack climbed out of the ring, and Daniella followed.
“I was hoping to have a word with you.” Gary’s voice sounded like a plea.
“I’ll be in the office,” Daniella said, and stuck out her hand. “Glad to see you’re well, Gary.” They shook hands. Jack watched silently as she left them alone.
“Mind if we go outside?” Gary asked. “Can’t seem to get enough fresh air lately.”
Once outdoors, they stood in front of the gym. An awkward silence swelled between them. If it weren’t for the sounds of traffic from the interstate helping to quell the uncomfortable feelings Jack had for Gary, he may have hit him. With each passing car, he tried to label all the emotions swirling around inside him. Jesus. Dani was wearing off on him.
Jack’s fingers curled into a fist. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
Gary wet his lips nervously. “I came to apologize.”
“For?”
“For how I treated you and for how things were when you were young.”
“Apology accepted. You can go.” Jack’s hand reached out and grabbed Stamina’s door.
“Wait,” Gary begged. “I’ve had a lot of time to think. I never treated you like family, and that’s something I regret.”
“It’s okay. We’re good.” Jack yanked Stamina’s door open, and Gary’s hand grabbed his forearm. Heat, not the kind from the Vegas sun, flooded his body. He turned and stared at the spot on his arm where Gary’s hand lay. “Move it, or I will.”
“Please. I need your help.” Gary’s fingers released Jack’s arm.
“Whatever it is, I’m not interested. I’ve got a fight to prepare for.”
Gary swallowed hard. “Hear me out.”
Jack didn’t owe him a thing. He didn’t need to hear what h
e had to say. Any apology was too little too late. Any reasons for why he did what he did were all bullshit.
“It’s about your mother.”
At the mention of his mother, Jack paused. “You have five seconds,” he growled.
His stepfather swallowed hard as if a confession might break him. “There’s a guy. He may have found Adele.”
Jack removed his hand from the door. He paused, letting the news about his mother sink in. “Why are you looking for her? She’s gone, and probably happy for once in her life. Why don’t you leave her alone?”
“Because I love her.” Gary’s words came out timid and small.
“Well, if you love someone, you take care of them. From what I remember, Mom worked while you stayed at home and drank beer. And from what I’ve been told, if she didn’t bring home enough money, you smacked her around.”
Gary averted his eyes to the ground, forcing Jack to realize that his mother hadn’t lied to him after all. He didn’t speak, and the two men were back to listening to traffic.
A tractor trailer rumbled from someplace behind them.
“I gotta go.” There wasn’t time to relive and rehash his younger years. Opening up old wounds never did anybody any good, Jack thought.
“I’m an alcoholic,” Gary confessed. “I know it isn’t much of an excuse for what I did. But I’m sober now. All dried out. Going to AA and everything. I know how bad that shit messed me up. Booze ruined my relationship with your mother, and prevented me from being the kind of stepdad you deserved.” Gary looked into Jack’s eyes with sincerity. “I’m sorry.”
His mother had been right. Gary’s drinking had turned him from a likable guy into a monster. A creature his mother couldn’t live with and a being she couldn’t watch her son become.
“Your mother saw you heading down the same path I took. Drinking too much, making bad choices. She couldn’t stay here and watch you turn into me.”
“I know.”
Gary’s shoulders slumped under the weight of his shameful confession. “I still miss her, your mother. I still love her, too.”
There was a pause. Long. Awkward. Silent.
Gary’s face filled with sorrow as he continued, “As it turns out, I know a guy who knows a private investigator who says he can find Adele.”
An electric shock zapped through Jack’s body. “What? Why do you want to find my mom?”
“I want her back.” Gary nervously shifted his weight, and then faced him again. “The guy says that for five thousand dollars, he’ll be able to track her down. I thought that since you won in London, I could borrow five grand. I’ll pay you back.”
Jack frowned. “Why do you want to find her? Can’t you let her go?”
“No. I love her. I need to make amends.”
“Whatever step you’re on isn’t my problem,” Jack barked out. He wasn’t about to hand over five grand to someone Gary knew from the clink. Adele was better off without him. Sober or not.
Gary’s posture slackened. Clearly he had held a lot of hope for Jack to agree. Jack had never known Gary to show his vulnerabilities. He wasn’t a wear your heart on your sleeve kind of guy. Maybe he had changed.
“I know I shouldn’t have bothered you with this. Honestly, I’d hoped you wanted her back as much as I did.”
“What makes you so sure I don’t? Maybe I just don’t want to see her with you. She left you for a reason, you know.” Tension built in the base of Jack’s neck. He lifted a hand to rub across his muscles.
“Prison changes people,” Gary pleaded. “I’ve been rehabilitated.”
Had he? Or had he watched The Shawshank Redemption too many times? Jack couldn’t say. Gary had been back into his life for all of five minutes and the first thing he did was ask for cash. The same money Jack earmarked for Stamina. Jack wanted his mother back, too. But was hiring a private investigator the way to go about it?
“I can’t give you an answer today.” Jack gave a shake of his head. “I need some time to think about this.”
Gary nodded respectfully. “I know I’m asking for a lot of money. I will pay you back.” He pulled a scrap of paper from his pocket. “I’m renting a room a few miles from here. This is the address and my number.”
Jack took the paper. Without a word, he watched his stepfather leave the gym. Then he headed toward Daniella’s office, leaving Gary and his past behind him.
Where history belonged.
Chapter Thirty-eight
Four weeks had passed, and Stamina changed daily. However, it didn’t take Jack as long as he thought it would to get used to the gym’s new additions. He chose to work out midmorning now. Since people flooded the gym, making the hours before and after the typical nine-to-five day peak time for classes, Jack adjusted his schedule to suit.
A few more added bodies in the gym weren’t the only changes of note. His bout with Sokoloff was scheduled for the end of the month at Bally’s casino. He’d have the hometown advantage for once. Vegas had already started to light up with prefight buzz. Stamina was getting more attention both in the boxing community and with the press.
He liked being the hometown boy, the favorite. One reporter told him he had a face for television. It was if the win over Cortez legitimized his reputation; people liked him, something he couldn’t have achieved without Daniella.
For the cameras he donned a new T-shirt bearing the Stamina logo. It was a circle of laces surrounding a boxing glove, and Daniella had created it. People must’ve liked them, because he had taken the last one off the shelf.
He liked how strangers wanted to show off their association with Stamina. R. L. would’ve liked it, too. His lungs expanded to their fullest, drawing in a deep, satisfied breath.
Jack geared up for another round with the heavy bag and threw a right hook. The chains that secured the weight to the ceiling jolted. The bag swung with each power-filled hit. He added bench pressing to his daily routine at Mike’s suggestion—not for bulk, but for added control.
And damn, Mike had been right.
His mean right hook could take down the best. His jab improved, and he landed punches on the bag with flawless precision. A warm sensation filled his muscles with each punch. In a few short months the world championship title was going to be his.
Bobbing and weaving, he practiced his footwork. Going up against Alexander Sokoloff was sure to be one of his greatest athletic challenges. Yet thoughts of his mother and stepfather kept creeping into his mind. Difficult as it was to keep focused on the task in front of him, he somehow managed to land his punches on the bag.
Over the weeks since his conversation with Gary, he’d felt as if his mind had been split in two. He knew what it felt like to want someone you couldn’t have. Jack had experienced loss when Daniella had left for college and he thought he’d never see her again. He recalled the episodes of shortness of breath, and the achy feeling in his chest. Those sensations, when combined with sorrow and regret, caused a person to do foolish things, and no one deserved to feel that kind of pain, not even Gary.
The other side of him, the one that knew his parents’ history, wanted nothing to do with them. He’d come so far, and what if those two pulled him backward? Getting Dani back hadn’t been easy. His life was in a good place now and his relationships, both business and personal, were at their best. It sounded selfish, but he didn’t want to jeopardize what he had rebuilt.
Extending his arm, he landed a one-two combination on the bag in quick succession, when someone behind him cleared their throat.
“Waddya think?” Daniella turned around, modeling a new tank top with the Stamina logo. “These just came in. I think the ladies will snap them up in a second.” She smiled at Jack.
“Looks good, babe.” He didn’t lie. The black tank stretched across her perfect breasts and made him want to peel the shirt from her body. Something he’d save for tonight. Now even with Dani looking as fantastic as she did, her hot as hell body didn’t erase the thoughts mulling in his mind.
>
Daniella’s face creased. “Something wrong?” She pointed at her shirt. “I’m modeling here and you didn’t reach out to grab me. Either something’s bothering you or I’m losing my sex appeal.”
Jack reached out and curled his gloved arm around her waist. Pulling her to him, he said, “Never.”
“Want to talk about it?”
Daniella. Always the therapist.
Jack let out a long, tired sigh. “Remember when Gary came to see me?”
“Yes.”
Jack sighed. “He asked me for money.”
Daniella’s brow furrowed. “What for?”
“He said he wanted to hire a PI to find Adele. He says he’s changed. He wants her back.”
“Really?” Her voice didn’t hide her shock.
“Mmmhmm. And he wants me to front the cash.”
Daniella repositioned herself directly in front of him and looked into his eyes. “What did you tell him?”
“I said I needed time to think about it.”
Daniella looked at him as if she were waiting for more of an explanation.
Jack continued. “Right now, Stamina needs the money more than Gary does. I can’t let my personal shit get in the way of what the gym deserves. Stamina needs all the money we can give it.”
Daniella’s face pulled down. “Honey, this isn’t about money. It’s about family.”
“You’re all the family I need.”
She kissed him lightly. “You know I love you, but think about what you’re saying. Sure, when Adele left everyone was in a bad place. Things have gotten so much better now. Are you certain Gary is the same person he was?”
Jack shook his head. “I’m not sure about anything when it comes to Gary.”
Daniella lifted a hand and pressed it to his chest. “Then I think you owe it to him to find out. We’re big believers in second chances around here, remember?” She lifted herself onto her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to Jack’s cheek.
Damn. He hated it when Daniella was right.
“Invite him to dinner,” Daniella told him. “You’ll probably have a good idea if Gary has changed before dessert.”
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