by Emily Snow
~*~*~
Arriving at Marco’s Gym the next morning, I can’t help but feel some jealousy over this place. It used to be some little hole-in-the-wall gym. Now it’s a freaking state-of-the-art facility compared to the one I’m at and they’ve said they’re adding more. Their manager/trainer, Marco, is top of the line. He treats them with a respect like no other I’ve ever seen. They’re also a family. Not that I don’t have a family, but part of mine will always be missing.
Walking into the foyer of the gym, I see pictures of the guys, the classes they teach and other events around the area.
Liz’s voice catches my attention. “Always on time, huh, soldier?”
I chuckle. “You know it.”
“Come on, I want you to meet my dad. I know you know of him, but I want you to meet him,” she says with a softness in her voice that I’m happy to hear.
I follow her down a hall and into an office. The man I know as Marco stands. “Dad, this is Sergio Nichols. Sergio, this is my dad, Vance DeMarco.” I can see his chest swell with pride. That gets him even more points over the asshole that raised her.
Marco steps forward to shake my hand. “Sergio, glad you could help us out today.”
I reach and take his hand. “No problem, sir. Any chance I can get to kick Huck’s ass a little, I’m all for it.”
He chuckles. “Well, Liz will show you out to the practice ring. I’ll have to go grab Huck from running his damn legs off doing cardio, then I’ll bring him in.”
Once Liz shows me to their practice area, I’m even more jealous. I feel like I’ve been training in a damn basement or a barn.
After she leaves, I start to warm up. A few minutes later, I hear the door open. “What in the fuck is he doing here?”
Marco glares at him. “He’s here to spar with you, dipshit. Your brother and Lox aren’t what you need right now. You need someone who wants to beat your ass. Now, quit crying like some chick on the rag and get in the damn ring.”
I have to laugh because this old man is funny as hell, which earns me a stare from Huck. I smirk at him. “You ready, pretty boy?”
He gives me a chin lift. “Let’s do this.”
After an hour of sparring and shit talking, we’re done. Marco calls it and heads to his office. We stop and grab some water. I look to Huck. “So you’re going up against Maksim in a couple of weeks?”
“Yeah,” he says after swallowing half a bottle of water.
“He’s a dirty bastard. I know I’ll have to go up against him again soon. Just expect he will fight dirty. Plus, that damn crew he hangs out with, they’re pretty rough so watch out.”
“Why are you being civil to me?” he asks.
I glance down. “Because Elizabeth told me to.” I chuckle, “And I do what she tells me. Elizabeth meant a lot to my sister.”
He drinks some more water and nods. “She told me she dated your sister. Sorry for your loss, man.”
Leave it to Liz to finally come clean to the biggest asshole in the group. I laugh, “Yeah, growing up military brats, my sister and I were pretty close. The last base we were stationed at, Colonel Haas was my dad’s commanding officer. He was a real asshole. I hated how he treated Elizabeth. Then when she and my sister came out, he made her life a living nightmare.” He shakes his head. “He was always an ass to her because he knew she wasn’t his, but then-.” I have to shake my head.
He sits up like he’s a dog on alert. “Wait, what did he do to her?”
“Well, at first he beat the shit out of her for embarrassing him. Then he sent her off to some boarding school. Threatened my dad’s retirement. He wouldn’t let her come home when her mom first got sick, he let her come home when he couldn’t handle it and do his job. His job was always more important to him.” I sigh. “She never knew until her mom was really sick that he wasn’t her dad. He lost it one night. Started screaming at her mom, the MPs got called, it was a scandal on post.”
“So can you tell me why she’d have bills from before she left home?” And that’s how I end up filling him in on the rest of her life. All the things she told me at lunch. I can see his temper flaring.
After a few more details, he stands up and sticks out his hand for me to shake. “Thanks, man. Not just for the sparring.”
I slap him on the back. “No problem. Just remember the next time we’re in the cage, I’m kicking your ass.”
He chuckles. “You can try.”
I shake my head as I leave. I guess he’s not a bad guy and it seems he does care about Liz, even if it is in some demented asshole way. At least this way I won’t be the one telling Marco like I’d planned if he turned out to be a good guy. I’m sure that’s where Huck is headed now. At least it seems he’s accepted that I’m a part of her life and I’m not going away. Maybe we won’t have any more embarrassing moments at lunch.
Three and a Half Years Later…
Today, I’m thirty years old. Some days I think there’s no way I could be thirty and some days I feel like I’m sixty-five, but I’m not ready to give up this life yet. I still love fucking random women, I love training every day and I love beating the shit out of someone in the cage. I talk to my parents on the phone and they come to visit me every so often. They’ve been to some of my fights, even Mac’s brother has stopped by some of my fights. I still won’t go to the cemetery where she’s buried. Call me a pussy or a piece of shit, I just can’t do it.
Yesterday, Marco had Liz call me and ask me to come by the gym today at lunch. I’m headed there now. I’m wondering what the fuck he wants. I mean it’s not like I don’t speak to them outside of matches now, but it’s just weird for him to ask me to stop by. Maybe he wants to talk about the charity fight we all did last night. My mind keeps racing on the way there and once I pull into their parking lot, I’ve psyched myself up.
Walking into the foyer, I see all those same photos I saw my first time here, only now there are more. Marco and Huck come out to greet me. “Hey, son. How are you doing?”
I shake Huck’s hand and then Marco’s. “Doing okay, Marco. How’s it going around here?”
He nods. “Going okay. Actually, that’s what we wanted to talk to you about.”
I look between them and finally Huck laughs. “Yeah, I didn’t call you here to kick your ass or anything.”
I chuckle. “Sure.”
I follow them to their conference room where I find Sly and Lox waiting, too. Lox, Sly and Huck all own part of the gym with Marco now. I acknowledge the guys as I walk in. Once we’re sitting at the table, Marco takes charge. “I had Liz ask you to meet with us today because we would like to make you a proposal.”
“Okay. I’ll admit it, man, I’m kinda wondering what all of this is about,” I say with a small laugh.
Marco laughs. “Before we start, we just need you to sign a non-disclosure agreement now. We don’t want any of this discussed outside of this room yet.” I nod and sign the form. I wouldn’t discuss what we’ve talked about in here anyway. “Well, we were being a little quiet about it because we don’t want it getting to the media before we’re ready to make announcements. I have decided that Elaine and I are going into a semi-retirement. I’ll still be around the gym, just like Elaine will still be at the hospital, but we’d like to travel more.” He motions to Huck. “Huck would like to retire from fighting.” That shocks me to the core. “He’s going to somewhat take over for me. So as you can see, we will be needing to add another middleweight fighter to the roster. I’m not sure what your agreement is like where you’re at now, but we’d like to offer you a contract to fight with us.”
I sit back in the chair. “Are you serious right now?”
They all give a small laugh. Huck is the first one to speak up. “I think you would be the best fit. You are consistent with your training and your fights. You’ve shown your dedication to the sport. I’ll be taking over training and I’d rather put a seasoned fighter in this slot. Bellator would rather us put an experienced person in, too. When
I mentioned you, they were really interested. They’ve been watching you since they took us on. You’ve been one of my main competitors, so it would only be natural that they would see you. I don’t want to promise anything, but you’re probably not just looking at a contract offer from us. You’re probably looking at one from them as well.”
I sit forward, placing my elbows on the table. “Wow. I don’t have any form of agreement with my gym now. I pay my trainer by the hour. I think he would understand me making this move to push my career. I never wanted any sort of contract with them. I knew I wouldn’t stay there forever.”
Lox looks over to me. “So do you think you want to join this group of functioning dysfunctionals?”
Sly laughs. “Hey, I’m not dysfunctional. I function just fine, ask my wife.”
Everyone laughs and shakes their heads. “I’m certainly interested.” I try to keep the excitement growing in me beat down. I’m a badass fighter. I can’t look like I just got asked to the prom by the quarterback. “You guys have a great program here. A solid following. I’d like the opportunity to look over a contract for sure.”
Huck nods, pushing some more papers to me. “I had the lawyer go ahead and draw this up. If you’d like, take it with you for your attorney to look over. Make sure it all looks good for you, that’s the main reason for the NDA.”
Marco leans forward. “We trust you but our attorney says we need this. The only people outside of this room that know about this are our families and Gibbs. He’s probably tied up at the moment.”
I laugh. “Yeah, we saw Jade’s marriage proposal last night, so I’m sure he is busy.” In the pit of my stomach, I feel a twinge of jealousy. They all have their happily ever afters, but then I remember all too well that Happily Ever After isn’t always forever.
Christmas Party…
I’ve been with the gym for a little over nine months. They have an annual Christmas Party and we’re there now. So far we’ve had a rather interesting night. Sly got some kind of steroid shot today at the ER then drank on top of it, turning him into a jacked up idiot. Huck found out that he’s going to be a dad again, along with watching Gibbs fawn over his wife who’s pregnant with twins. From what I’ve been told, Jade being pregnant is somewhat of a small miracle. Deep in the pit of my stomach, though, it hurts to see her swollen belly. I’ve asked Marco if I can stay and workout after everyone leaves.
Christmas was one of Mac’s favorite holidays, so it makes me reminisce. She said that people could redeem themselves at Christmas. Maybe that’s where I’m at in life. I need some sort of redemption. I continue to work out, pounding into the heavy bag, running on the treadmill, hitting the speed bag. After two hours, I’m drenched and finally exhausted. After showering, I grab my bag and head for the door. Once I’m outside walking to my truck, I see a small, mousy blonde girl. She looks scared. I slowly approach her.
“Can I help you?”
She shakes her head. She’s tiny and looks scared, and like she hasn’t eaten in days.
I step forward and she cowers a little. “Hey, are you sure you’re okay? I’m not going to hurt you.”
She fidgets with her fingers. “I- I was looking for Huck.”
“He’s already gone for the night actually, I’m the only one here.”
“O- okay.” She shies away looking at the ground.
“Hey, I can call him real quick. You look like you need to talk to him.” I grab my phone and pull up Huck’s contact info and dial.
He picks up. “Sergio? What’s up?”
“Hey, man. There is a young girl here at the gym looking for you.”
“For me? What’s her name?”
I look to the girl. “Sweetie, what’s your name so I can tell Huck?”
“Paige. M-my name is Paige.”
I’ve heard of her. She was pretty much brain washed by that guy who hurt Sly’s wife Kara. This girl may need help or she might be trouble.
"Did you hear that Huck?”
I hear him clear his throat. “Yeah, keep her there. I’m on my way. Don’t scare her she’s been through enough.”
What the hell? “Don’t intend to man. I’m gonna open back up the gym. We’ll be waiting in there.”
“See you soon.”
I turn to the mess of a girl extending my hand. Timidly, she puts her small fingers in my large palm and I lead her in.
“It’s going to be okay, Paige.” I try to soothe her. “Marco’s is a safe place.”
Acknowledgments
Thank you to my readers. Without you, I would not be having this awesome adventure. You have helped make my dreams come true and for that, I’m truly blessed and grateful. I never would’ve dreamed Lox would take off like it did and that people would love Sly, Huck and Gibbs just as much.
To my family, thank you for being supportive. Special Thanks to my mom who listens to the endless ramblings about my characters.
I need to give a big Thank You to Chelly Peeler. She’s not only my editor but my friend. She always listens to my random crazy thoughts. She loves my characters and understands my craziness. Thank you again.
To my bestie, Chelsea Camaron, thank you for being my sounding board. Thank you for giving me those little bits of advice, for helping me think three books ahead. Not thinking my random late night texts are crazy or annoying. Understanding my need to format as I go and not laughing too hard at my attempt to outline the rest of the series. Love you. #commentbubblinbitch #blurbbitch
Kimberley Foster Holm for treating my books like Where’s Waldo and helping me find those little things that I’ve read over a hundred times. #warnagirl
Thanks to my PA Shawna Powell. I just don’t know what I would do without you. You are always up for a challenge and I wouldn’t have gotten this story done without you taking care of social media so I could write. XOXO Big hugs.
Thanks to all of the book bloggers out there who spend so much time helping us promote books and everyone who leaves a review, you are all awesome.
To my street team Donaldson’s Dirty Debutantes you guys are just awesome. I don’t know what I would do without you.
To my Author friends, thank you for being supportive and inspirational all at the same time.
About the Author
S.M. Donaldson is a born and raised Southern girl. She grew up in a small rural town on Florida’s Gulf Coast, the kind of place where everyone knows your business before you do, especially when your Daddy is a cop and your Mom works for the school system. She married one of her best friends at the age of 20 and has one son. She is a proud military wife, has always had a soft spot for a good story, and is known to have a potty mouth. At the age of 31, she decided there was no time like the present to attempt her first book. Sam’s Choice was born and she hasn’t stopped since. If you are looking for a good, steamy, Southern set romance with true Southern dialect, she’s your girl.
My Links:
www.smdonaldson.com
www.facebook.com/s.m.donaldson.author
www.goodreads.com/AuthorSMDonaldson
Twitter: @SMDonaldson1
Instagram: SMDONALDSON1981
Other Titles by S.M. Donaldson
(New Adult Titles)
The Sam STRENGTH Series
The Temptation Series
The Secrets of Savannah Series
Novellas
Just the Other Sister Series
(E-book only)
Seasons of Change Novella Series
Summer of Forgiveness
Falling for Autumn
Holiday with Holli
Camilla In Bloom
(Adult Titles)
Marco’s MMA Boys
Letting Lox In
In Sly’s Eyes
Holding Huck’s Heart
Gaining Gibbs
Jacob Exposed
(Young Adult Titles)
Game Time Series
Crimson Catch
Thirteen Buttons
By Misha Elliott
; Copyright © 2016 by Misha Elliott All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the author.
Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.
The following story contains mature themes, profanity, and explicit sexual situations. It is intended for adult readers.
Dedication
In your lifetime, there will be people who fade in and out. Some of those people will leave no sort of impression. Others, they will leave an indelible mark on your soul thus impacting your entire life.
This story has been written in dedication to two people who have posthumously had an impact on my life. Every day I spend with your son is a blessing. I only wish we had the opportunity to have met.
Prologue
I slipped the cold golden button through the hole, stroking it for the last time as a recruit. I’d never be here again, standing in this place. Slipping the hat on my head, I took a glance back in the mirror, puffed out my chest and threw my shoulders back at attention. A part of me would miss the tension and stress of this place, the drill sergeant’s booming voice echoing through the barracks.
It was chilling, looking at my reflection and seeing my father stare back at me.
I remember how meticulous he was about polishing his shoes and making sure his uniform was clean. One day, I begged him to let me try it. I wore that white bucket hat with the rim turned up with a sense of pride. He told me that someday when I was a man, I’d have one of my own.