He gets that but knowing something and doing it are two very different things, so I throw a few challenges in his way. Every now and then, I’ll swing my arm out and tell him to duck. The first time didn’t go so great and he completely dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes. The next few were better, but now, nearly three-quarters of the way through our session, he’s the one throwing extra challenges at me.
I swear, this kid is going to go far in MMA and I truly hope he stays with it.
There’s a commotion at the door but we ignore it. It has nothing to do with us and I’m sure with both me and Cole in sessions, Jace will take care of it.
“Brandon,” a voice is hollered across the gym. I look down at Brandon who suddenly freezes. “Get your ass down here.”
I turn towards the commotion to find a big burly man trying to get past Susan and Katia. Jace is darting across the gym to figure out what the hell is going on, but something tells me this man is Brandon’s father.
I turn back to Brandon and realize he’s taken a step to his left which puts him directly behind me and out of his father’s sight. The move has pride swirling through me. If he hadn’t had moved, I would have done it for him. “You ok?” I murmur.
His eyes are wide and he shakes his head. Shit.
Brandon’s father gets fed up with Susan and Katia and strikes his arm out. He instantly bowls them out of the way and they scream on their way down. I realize just how much strength he possesses, but what really pisses me off is this man had been using that strength against a child.
Jace makes it to them and situates himself directly in front of the man. “Whoa,” he says, holding his hands up in a sign that he’s not there to fight. “What’s going on here.”
“I want my son,” he demands as he tries to look around Jace. “Where the fuck is he? I know he’s here.”
Susan and Katia get themselves to their feet as Cole and Xander start making their way over, each with furious looks on their faces at what they just witnessed happened to these innocent ladies.
One of the fighters in the gym also makes his way over, but I’m shocked when he takes a place next to Brandon’s father. “Come on,” he says to Cole, knowing he’s probably the biggest threat in that little group. “He just wants his kid back.”
“No fucking way,” Cole grunts.
I want nothing more than to go down there, but with Brandon at my back, I’m not moving an inch.
I notice Susan on the phone and I have no doubt she’s calling the police to get him removed. “Get out of my way,” the man orders as if Cole, Xander, and Jace are all just going to bend at his will. I mean, the guy’s got the wrong fucking gym if he thinks that’s the case.
“Get out of my gym,” Cole asks as calmly as though he were on a tropical beach.
A vein practically pops out of the guy’s head. “Give me my kid.”
The other fighter takes a step forward and it’s almost comical the way my three boys straighten up at the threat, always prepared for anything.
The man tries to look around Cole’s shoulder. “Brandon,” he roars. “You have three fucking seconds to get your ass down here.”
“You need to leave,” Cole says again.
The man ignores him. “One,” he says, starting his countdown.
I can’t practically feel the anxiety coming off Brandon behind me. I turn back. He’s as white as a ghost and his whole body is shaking. “Please, don’t make me go,” he begs.
“You’re not going anywhere,” I promise him.
“Two,” his father screams out.
The other fighter is done with waiting and launches himself forward. He tackles Xander to the ground while the man goes for Cole and Jace. Susan and Katia scream and scatter away as my whole body tenses. I know there’s no way in hell he could get through them, but I’m not taking my chances.
This kid is mine to protect. He’s here because he wants to train with me. He’s my responsibility and there’s no way in hell he’ll be getting hurt on my watch.
With the man distracted, I usher Brandon out of the ring and into the studio room with Susan and Katia. It’s a glass room so it’s not great for concealing them, but it’s all we’ve got without crossing the entire gym to have them hide out in our offices.
They all watch with wide eyes and I make my way across the gym to the front reception area.
By now, both men are restrained. Cole and Jace usher out the man while Xander practically throws out the other fighter. As they’re getting the man out the door, he swings around with an elbow and nails Jace in the face. The sudden movement has his beefy wrists torn out of Cole’s hold and he storms into the gym like a raging bull.
I step into his direct line and he attempts to take me down. I swing my fist and nail him in the face. He falls back a step and I go with him. Steam practically comes out of his nose and ears as he prepares to fire back, but I’m too quick. I get him with an uppercut that has him doubling over. “What’s wrong?” I question. “You don’t like it?”
He straightens himself up and takes another swing. I block it instantly and return one of my own. “Come on,” I say presenting myself to him. “Hit me back. Fucking try it.”
Naturally, he can’t resist the bait. He swings and I grab hold of his arm. I swing him and slam his arm up against his back before kicking his legs out from under him. He falls to the ground with a heavy thump and I go down with him to hold him there.
Cole is there a moment later as he tries to buck out from under me. “You got it?” he questions.
“Yeah,” I say. “Apparently this guy only knows how to hit kids.”
“Hmph,” Cole grunts as the boys come and hover around us in case he manages to get free again.
I look up at Jace who has a stream of blood pouring from his nose and a heavy scowl on his face. “You good?” I question.
“Yeah,” he grunts. “Fine.”
I nod. It’s not the first time Jace has taken a hit and I highly doubt it will be the last. If he says he’s fine, then he’s fine. I trust him. He knows when something is serious and needs medical attention. All this did was manage to piss him off.
The police finally show up and escort him away.
After they leave and have taken everyone’s statement, I walk over to Brandon who sits on the lunch table with a packet of chips. I sit down beside him. “How are you feeling?” I question.
He raises his eyes out into the main part of the gym to where Susan and Katia are talking. “Been better,” he grunts.
“I know,” I sigh. “I’m sorry you had to witness that. It couldn’t have been easy.”
“I thought he was going to take me back there,” he admits.
I look down at him and make sure he’s truly listening. “I would never have allowed that to happen. You hear me?”
He nods his head and gives me a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. “What about when you’re not there?” he challenges. “You saw how easily he knocked over Katia and Susan. What if he finds me at her place?”
I let out a breath. “You’ll be ok. Your location at Katia’s place is confidential. He won’t find you there.”
“Then how come he knew I was here?”
“He shouldn’t have,” I sigh. “We had a member here who knows your father. He betrayed our trust and told your father you were here, but you should know his membership has been terminated and he won’t be returning. You’ll be safe here. I promise you that.”
He looks down at his lap and nods his head. He jumps off the table and I call him back to me. “You know, Imogen is going to hear about this and she’s going to make you talk about it.”
He lets out a heavy groan which has me grinning. “I’m happy she wasn’t here now,” he admits. “He would have hurt her.”
“I know,” I tell him. “Me too.”
He considers me for a moment and like the smartest kid on the planet, he comes out with something which took me nearly fifteen years to work out. “I think you love
her.”
“And why’s that?”
“I just know. You always smile when you talk about her. It’s really annoying.”
I shake my head but I can’t help but laugh. “Get out of here,” I tell him. “I’ll see you next week.”
“That’s if they let me come back,” he murmurs to himself.
“They will,” I tell him, though, I honestly can’t be sure if it will be approved, but no matter what, I’ll still be seeing him, even if I have to break a few rules to make it happen.
With that, Brandon turns his back and walks out the door with Katia and Susan, safe and sound.
Chapter 17
Imogen
Izzy and I stand in my closet throwing clothes across the room as we get ourselves ready for Xander’s second big fight of the year. The first one was awesome and I expect this to be just as good, or better.
It’ll suck that I’ll see Caden there and won’t be able to speak with him, or I guess we could, but it wouldn’t be great for Cole’s concentration if he saw any of that, and besides, Cole needs to be on his A-game tonight. He needs to have every ounce of his concentration focused on Xander and assuming that Caden’s going to be his cornerman again, he needs to be focused as well.
Izzy grabs a yellow skin tight dress and holds it’s against her body. “What about this?” she asks.
I look up and down her body and take in how the yellow fabric practically shines against her sun-kissed skin. “Perfect,” I smile before pulling a black crop and jeans out for myself. I pull them on and look at myself in the mirror. I grab my knee-high heeled boots to finish off my look and smile with glee. Yeah, I look good.
We get our hair and makeup done and before we know it, we’re out the door and in the taxi. We ummed and ahhed over the decision if we should drive or not, but concluded that we’d both end up drinking, especially if Xander was to win, then we would end up at The Dark Room cleaning out the bar.
I can’t wait.
Either way, tonight is going to be crazy. I just hope I can keep my thoughts of Caden to a minimum, but I highly doubt it.
The taxi pulls up at the arena and we practically fly out the door. Izzy latches onto my hand as to not get lost in the massive crowd that’s pouring through the door. We flash our VIP backstage passes and are ushered through the doors.
I’ve been coming to fights like this for as long as I can remember having Cole as a brother and it never ceases to amaze me. I think it’s the atmosphere that does it for me. All these people coming together for the same reason. Everyone’s excited and high on life. They come here full of enthusiasm and ready for a good time. What’s not to love?
I pull out my phone and send a quick text to my brother, knowing he worries at things like this.
Imogen – We’re here. Just finding our seats.
He replies almost instantly
Cole – Good. Come back and say hi. All the girls are here.
I show Izzy the message. “Sounds good to me,” she says.
We squish our way through the crowd but stop at the bar for a drink. The fight doesn’t start for at least forty-five minutes so we have plenty of time. At the bar, I notice there are two lines. One packed, and one practically empty. I grin as I read the sign above the empty line. VIP. Hell yes. We flash our VIP tickets and get our drinks in no time.
We didn’t need the whole VIP and backstage pass thing, but Cole offered and I wasn’t about to say no. I could have caught up with Xander after the fight to say congratulations, as I have no doubt that he’s going to win. I mean, he’s trained by my brother and he always wins. Xander is just that good.
I’d bet my whole apartment on the fact that we’ll end up at The Dark Room and I can’t wait. It’s a Friday night and after another week of sulking around, I’ve really been needing this.
I flash our backstage passes to the security guy, and after asking a few directions, we’re ushered through the doors. We walk down the long corridor, passing all sorts of important people when we come to the door with Xander’s name across the front. I grin at the big gold star stuck to the door knowing Xander would have got a kick out it.
The nerves settle in my stomach. I have no doubt that Caden is on the opposite side of that door and I have no idea how this is going to be. It’s the first time I’ll see him in nearly three weeks and I’m a mess.
Izzy knocks on the door before twisting the handle and pushing her way through. “Hey,” she smiles at the occupants of the room. “It’s just us.”
“Hey, come in,” Xander says as we step through the threshold.
I can’t help it, my eyes instantly search the room for him.
Caden stands opposite Xander with a pair of boxing pads while Xander nails his fists into them, warming up. From past experiences, he’ll do this on and off right until the big fight. Cole is sitting on the bench reading through something while Jace is checking through Xander’s first aid bag making sure everything is there.
Caden’s eyes come to mine and I feel my heart leap out of my chest. There’s nothing but longing there and it makes me want to go to him. I want to wrap my arms around him and hold him until my arms get sore, but from the way Cole is shooting daggers at my back, I’d say that wouldn’t be a great idea. I’ll be keeping my distance tonight.
I glance over at Cole who has a warning in his eyes, a clear message to watch myself. He gets up and makes his way across the room. He pulls me into a quick hug. “Do I need to watch you all night?” he murmurs in my ear.
“No,” I snap, a little annoyed to be treated like a child. “Promise. I won’t screw any of your friends tonight.”
“Good,” he says, letting go of me and stepping back.
Izzy and I make our way over to all the girls who sit in the corner of the room chatting away while sipping on their drinks. “Hey,” Charli beams, getting up and giving both Izzy and I a welcome hug. “I’m so happy you guys could come.”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” I tell her.
She sits back down beside her best friend, Zara, and we take our seats. Rylee and Cami chat about the guy Xander will be up against tonight while Zara ogles her boyfriend, Aaron, who has just walked through the door.
We sit in here for a good half an hour and I have to admit, it’s been really fun, all except trying to avoid looking at Caden like he has the answers to all of life’s mysteries. Our whole group is here and I absolutely love it, we’re like a big family and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love nights like this when we’re all in the same place. It feels whole.
The only thing missing is Luke. It feels wrong without him, but he’ll be back in a few more months, then hopefully, he’ll be calling it quits after that. I know he’s doing a great thing but my mind always takes me to the what ifs, and I know, Caden worries about him too.
“Alright, guys,” Cole says, stealing the rooms attention. “Time for you to get your asses out of here. Xander needs to get ready.”
We all get up and make our way across to him. He gets a train of hugs from all the girls and claps of good luck on the back from the guys. We all pile out of the room with only Cole and Caden staying behind with Xander.
It’s incredible just how packed the arena is when we come back out to the main stage. I mean, it was crazy busy before, but now, it’s ridiculous. I don’t know how Xander does it. If I had to get up in front of all these people, I think I’d probably shit myself.
We go and find our seats before Jace and Aaron get up and offer to get us all new drinks. We thank them and send them on their way.
By the time they return, the whole row behind us is filled with all the guys Xander used to play college hockey with and I just know tonight is going to be massive, no matter the outcome of this fight.
The lights dim in the arena and the crowd goes nuts. The announcer calls Xander’s opponent to the ring and the room instantly breaks into its chorus of either cheers or boo’s, making it clear just who’s here to support Xander.
T
he second Xander is called, I jump to my feet and scream out. I love this shit. It’s so exhilarating, hell it’s even intoxicating. Xander walks out of a corridor with Cole and Caden behind him. His hands are in the air and it’s clear he already owns this fight, the confidence is practically pulsing out of him.
Even with the look of extreme joy and happiness on Xander’s face, I still find my eyes on Caden. He looks across to me and a brilliant smile lights up his face.
Seeing him like this does strange things to me. Maybe mom was right. Hell, maybe everyone is right. Maybe there’s something between us that I’m just way too stubborn to admit. Maybe I do like him.
Shit.
I tear my eyes away from him and focus on the real reason I’m here, the reason we’re all here. To support Xander and Cole during this big fight. Nothing else. Nada. Zilch.
The fight gets started, and as usual, I’m blown away by Xander’s sheer talent. I see him fighting all the time at Rebels Advocate, but when he’s actually put on show and has an audience, this aura comes over him and it’s like he’s invincible.
I swear, the man is a machine when he’s in that ring, and I’m not the only one who notices. “Fuck, he’s hot,” Izzy comments beside me.
I roll my eyes. She’s not wrong, but it’s Xander. “He’s spoken for,” I remind him as my eyes flick across to Charli who watches him in the ring in complete adoration.
“I know,” she groans. “All the hot ones are spoken for.”
“There’s still Luke and Caden,” I remind her.
“First off,” she calls over the sound of the crowd. “Luke is a million miles away at the fucking war, and Caden is taken.”
“Pft,” I scoff, knowing exactly what she’s talking about.
The conversation is cut short when Xander gets through to his opponent. The moment goes so quickly. It’s almost as though Xander is using the guy as a speedball. His fists are flying and within the space of two seconds, Xander has the guy pressed right into the side of the ring.
Caden: Rebels Advocate (Book 2) Page 12