I sighed, defeated yet again. I should have known they would pull something like this. And I knew better than to argue with them. Besides, they were right. I could totally attend the fight, just to see how my handiwork turned out. No big deal, right?
CHAPTER 19 - MARC
With everything that had been on my mind for the past few days, the night of the big fight came on like a storm out of nowhere. But that didn’t mean that I wasn’t ready to face whatever was coming my way, nonetheless. I’d focused my mind, resolved my will, and more than anything else, I’d honed my body to a height of perfection I didn’t realize could be achieved before my injury.
I was ready.
Trevor Rockford was my opponent. I’d heard a little about him. He was a guy from a big city up north, and he’d had every advantage in becoming a fighter. Came from a rich family who gave him a private gym, had tutors giving him the best boxing training he could have wished for from the time he grasped the concept of throwing a punch. He was big, he was brawny, and he knew his stuff. And I couldn’t wait to send him crashing to the ground.
I could hear the sounds of the crowd from the back room where I was getting ready.
“There’s gonna be a lot of people watching you today, Marc,” Kenny was saying as I rolled my shoulders, psyching myself up to get out there in a few minutes as I was announced. “And a lot of them are gonna be rooting for you, I can tell you that much. You heard the buzz around the crowd?”
“Sounds like they want to see if I can still put on a show, from what I’ve heard,” I answered with a chuckle, taking a few light swings at the punching bag in the room.
“They’re gonna be rooting for you, but this guy Trevor, he’s got as much of a group of loyal fans he’s dragged all the way from up north to root him on. You’re going to have your work cut out for you.”
I give the bag another hard smack and turn around, cracking my neck. “Ken, I’ve been itching to get back into the ring from the moment I left it last time. Been thinking about my comeback from day one. I’ll give ‘em a show they won’t forget.”
Kenny grinned at me, clapping me on the back. “That’s my boy. I’m gonna go tell the refs you’re good to go. Be ready to charge out there and give ‘em hell.”
I smiled at him as he headed out of the room, and once I was finally alone, I breathed deeply. This should have been the point that I felt my insecurities rising up again, my doubts about my relationship coming to the surface, and my muscles suddenly feeling tense.
But I didn’t feel any of that. All I wanted was to get into the ring and do what I did best. My talk with Kenny and Danny had gone a lot further than I thought it could have. They reminded me that the love of this sport was what got me here, and that’s what I had to keep my mind on to stay here. And tonight, poor Trevor Rockford was going to be on the receiving end of all the fury I’d channeled.
Just as I was readying myself to head out the door, it swung open, and one of the last people I wanted to see just then barged in, that same skeezy grin on his face.
“Well hey there, Marc! Glad I caught you before you headed out, was starting to worry I’d never get a chance to catch up with you again!” said Nick Dewsbury. He was wearing the same glasses I’d seen him in last time, but this time, his short-sleeved button-down was black with red flame print along the bottom seam.
“Oh, hey Nick,” I said, deliberately sounding distracted. “Listen, I’ve been talking to a few people about this contract thing--”
“Right,” he said quickly, “I got your emails, and I most definitely took them into consideration when the legal team and the rest of us at High Octane put together this,” he said, producing a thick stack of papers that he set on the table in front of me. “It’s a five-year contract that would make us your primary sponsor for all future fights, appearances, radio advertisements, and on page twenty-one you’ll see a few clauses about television ads that will--”
“Nick,” I interrupted him, “this really isn’t a good time.”
“I know it’s a little last-minute,” he said, “but if you’d at least take a second to look some of this over, I really think you’ll like some of the entrepreneurial opportunities the contract affords.”
He practically shoved the papers into my face, and with a quiet groan, I accepted them, flipping through them with a thumb. I wasn’t about to sign anything right then--no way in hell. Besides, some of the language was in such fine print that I thought even a lawyer might have to read over it with a microscope.
“This is kind of a time-sensitive offer,” Nick said, and I glared at him over the papers. “And since I like you, Marc, I should let you know that some of our shareholders are keeping an eye on this fight. You could sign now and make the deal a certainty, but if the fight doesn’t go the way you’d like it, I can’t exactly guarantee they’ll let me keep offering it to you. That’s partly why I wanted to come see you in private,” he added with a shark-like smile.
“You’re kidding me,” I breathed, and I looked at the contract long and hard before I heard the emcee from outside.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve got a very special show for you tonight!”
I threw the papers down on the table, looking Nick in the eye. “Look, I’ve gotta go. If your ‘shareholders’ want to try to hurry me into a deal, they can do so after I’ve kicked this guy’s ass.”
“But--” he stammered.
“Hang tight, Dewsbury,” I said, pushing past him and heading for the door, “and for fuck’s sake, ditch that shirt before someone sees you coming from my side of the ring.”
* * *
I emerged from my side after Trevor had already been announced, and half the crowd was cheering up a storm for him. He was a blonde who looked twice as tough as the last guy I’d faced. He looked at me with a stormy expression.
I noticed a lot more sponsorship banners around the ring than I was used to. I wondered how much of that had to do with Trevor. People who came from money tended to stick with money, and I doubted he was going to be any exception. I wondered just how much cash was riding on Trevor’s victory tonight. He was everything that money could buy in terms of skill, and it showed on him.
Good, I thought. Maybe this one will be a fair fight.
“And now, the local rising star you’ve all been waiting for,” the emcee announced as spotlights nearly blinded me, “hailing from Broadview, New Mexico, and storming his way across the desert to bring nearly three-hundred pounds of muscle right here to your doorstep, recovering from crippling injuries in record-breaking time, let’s hear it for Marc Montoya!”
The roar of the crowd was deafening as I dashed for the ring, climbing up into our arena and holding out my arms, strutting around the ring proudly. My heart was pounding fiercely in my chest, eager to be back here where I belonged, giving these people what they wanted--a match to remember.
The referee brought us together, and even as he said his routine speech, Trevor and I were ignoring him, locking eyes as if we were trying to read the other’s thoughts.
After the referee stepped away, we got into our positions, waiting for the bell. I sank into my stance, and I watched him raise his fists, ready to come at me with all that he had.
“Think that patch of dirt you came from has enough money to pay for your funeral?” Trevor mocked as he rolled his shoulders.
I laughed in his face. “No, but we oughta stop by after the fight anyway, they’d get a kick out of you.”
The bell rang.
In an instant, we were on each other, fists flying out like pistons. The first exchange was thrilling. His quick and fast blows was deflected by one of my blocks at every move, and as I returned the shots, his arms and legs seemed to move up from all directions to protect his body and face.
Adrenaline ran high, and my blood flowed ecstatically throughout every muscle. I was back in my element, and I reveled in it.
After the first series of blows, we backed up for a fraction of a moment. It looked li
ke a frenzied flurry, but in reality, we’d assessed each other. The other man was good, but I spotted his weaknesses.
I dove in, and as his expected uppercut swung up from below, I caught it, nearly hoisting myself up as I used his own body weight to propel myself up and knock him in the side of the head.
The crowd went wild as he staggered, and there was fury in his eyes when he looked back up at me. I hadn’t moved like that in years, even before my injury. It was then that I realized I couldn’t have done a move like that without the exercises Gemma helped me with.
I didn’t have time to get giddy over the success, though, as he was back on me in a flash. This time, even as I blocked his blows, his knee shot up and caught me in the hip, sending me staggering, and his side of the crowd went wild.
Both of us shaken, I turned in time to receive his full weight crashing into me, and we grappled, each trying to throw off the other’s weight and get the other to the ground.
“What are you doing here, Montoya?” he snarled as his head was next to my ear, arms locked. “You can’t even win a gym brawl with a mobster, that injury should have been the bullet in your head.”
“Didn’t think you would hear about that with your head so far up your ass,” I growled back as I found leverage and shoved him back, sending him back a few feet with a look of surprise on his face.
I dove forward immediately, meaning to put him on the ground, but the move was reckless. A sharp pain in my leg told me he’d taken advantage of the move and struck me with a sharp knee to the thigh, and I hit the ground.
He was on top of me in a flash.
My vision re-focused, and as I looked out onto the crowd, I saw Selena’s face on the front row, shouting at me to get up.
That took me by complete surprise.
I hadn’t even talked to Selena since the breakup. There were at least three-dozen missed calls from her on my cell phone, and every one of her friends who’d tried to come to me on her behalf were summarily ignored. What was she doing here?
Nick.
I fought to keep Trevor off of me, but his weight was pressing into my back, his legs trying to lock around me to pin me down, and now the thoughts of Selena and Nick were clouding my focus.
If Selena was the one showing up here, maybe she and Nick had a point. Maybe this really all was just about the money, and at the end of the day, this was just another career that I had to be decisive and cutthroat with. Maybe it really was the better move to take the deal, get back together with Selena, and ride my way to fame, despite all that advice Kenny had given me.
Unable to find purchase on my legs, Trevor roared and hauled me over his thigh, hurling me down to the ground to throw me off balance and get a hold of my legs anew.
My arms locked with his shoulders immediately, and we wrestled on the ground as his fist started pounding into my abdomen to knock the wind out of me and weaken me.
As I twisted and turned to keep him off, my eye caught something that made my heart leap to my throat.
Gemma.
She was out there in the audience, jumping up and down and hooting for me, the look on her face every bit as excited and fiery as I felt when I stepped into the ring. I saw what must have been her little sister standing next to her, also cheering, and Trina flanked her on the other side.
Our eyes locked across the stadium for the briefest moment, and I knew she saw me. There was such hope in her eyes, such encouragement and vigor--and I felt the fire inside me building up hotter than ever.
For her.
Seeing the briefest opening on Trevor, I brought my fist crashing down on his head with a roar, and I felt his grip slacken as my whole arm shook with the impact of the blow. If that didn’t give him a concussion, I didn’t know what would.
I slipped out of his grip and stood to my feet, the audience screaming their approval.
I could have ended it right there while Trevor was still on the ground, but I let him get up as his eyes locked with mine, wild and furious. I wanted to fight him with every bit of the energy imparted to me by the people that mattered.
My body was a machine. But with Gemma backing me, it was so much more, and I was going to give Trevor Rockford a taste of that.
He charged into me again, and this time, our blows traded hard and fast. I pummeled his sides with my hands and knees, dodging his blows with an alacrity I didn’t know I possessed. Trevor would charge, and I would move out of his way faster than lightning, catching him and using his weight to my advantage.
Our every breath seemed to put new energy into us even as every blow took it out. We were two storms clashing.
But what Trevor didn’t have was what I’d gained over the past six weeks. I’d rekindled the fire that had started me on this long journey, and I had Kenny and Danny to spur me on to staying focused on the passion that drove all of us fighters. I had the reminder of my roots keeping me grounded. And most of all, I realized as I caught Trevor and delivered a crushing blow to his solar plexus with my knee and caught Gemma’s eye again...I had the love for a woman who was unlike any other in the world.
And without that, Trevor was already as good as down. I sank into a stance and braced myself as he charged in a again.
CHAPTER 20 - GEMMA
My heart was racing and the crowds were deafening all around us as the fight roared on. Trevor Rockford and Marc Montoya threw themselves wholeheartedly into the match, slinging powerful hits and taking more pain than I could even imagine. It was strange, seeing Marc like this, even though I’d known all along just what he was capable of. His dark features and underdog charm were a stark contrast to the blond, trust-fund baby looks of Rockford. It was like watching two different worlds collide. Alice screamed and jumped up and down beside me, getting surprisingly into the fight. Trina and Dequan held hands, cheering and booing alternately as the match got more and more heated. At the very least, it was an exciting event to share with my friends and family.
But I knew it was much more than that for me.
Every twist of Marc’s powerful body, every impossibly measured strike and perfectly timed dodge, reminded me of just how remarkable he was. It was hard to picture the Marc I’d known at the start of our work together. He had been so dour and bitter then, almost apathetic. But the spirited, determined man I came to know was the one on display in front of me now. He never gave up, even when Rockford had him pinned for a moment. In fact, the first few minutes of the fight had looked pretty grim.
I wondered what had changed since then. I didn’t dare believe for a second it could have been me-- but then, I couldn’t help but feel the electricity between us when he glanced over to see me in the crowd. At first, I didn’t think he’d noticed me.
But then our eyes locked, for just a split second, and it was like the world had totally fallen away and time had stopped. In that hair’s breadth of a moment, the crowds disappeared and the raucous cheers and roars of the crowd faded into silence. I was transported back to that fateful day when we shed our clothes and our inhibitions, finally giving into that irresistible, inevitable desire that burned in both of our hearts. For one heartbeat I was in his arms again, our lips crashing together, his shaft buried deep inside of me, our bodies moving in perfect synchrony as we rode the tsunami waves of pleasure.
And then, just like that, Marc had shoved Rockford off of him with an almost superhuman show of brute strength. The crowds had screamed and applauded when Marc turned the tables on him, turning what had looked like a surefire loss into a fiery battle once more. I held my breath with every sharp hook of Rockford’s fists toward Marc’s body, my heart aching to see Marc hurt in any way, even though logically I knew he could more than handle it. I had seen the kind of pain he was willing to endure for his sport, and it shouldn’t have surprised me so much to see him perform with such spirit and determination.
He was a firecracker. He was an angry bull in a pen. He was magic.
And I was in love.
I had to confront it, finall
y, for once and for all. The way my eyes followed every minute movement of Marc’s body, the way I longed to bolt up into the ring and shield him from pain even though he was a willing participant… it all spoke to something far above and beyond a professional stake in his success. I wanted him to win because I cared about him.
Because I loved him.
I wondered if Trina and Alice had realized it long before I ever did. My unwillingness to compromise my career or my responsibilities as a guardian had blinded me to the reality of my own emotions. Once again I had shut myself off to the very potentiality of romance. And now it could possibly be too late.
Either way, I was determined to see Marc succeed. He was fighting with all the power and unrestrained conviction of a man fighting for his life. And it occurred to me that, in a way, he kind of was. He was fighting to prove himself worthy of a prestigious title, against this opponent who had been blessed with every available privilege. During the afternoon leading up to the fight, Alice and Trina had filled me in on the details of the match. Trevor Rockford was a career fighter from up north, who had been born into a life of wealth and ease. He attended ivy league schools and had the benefit of private, world-class coaches his entire life. Whereas Marc had started fighting early on because it was a means of survival, Rockford only did it for the thrill of adding another trophy to his wall.
Game On (A Bad Boy Sports Romance) Page 30