Against the Ropes

by Sarah Castille

  the heat from his body against my back.

  A snarl from the hallway sends a shiver down my spine.

  “Someone is out there.” I slide out from under his arm. “Did you

  hear that?” I race out the door but the hallway is empty.

  “Who is it?” Dr. Drake joins me.

  “I don’t know. I kept hearing noises outside, and then I thought I

  heard a snarl.”

  “Maybe it’s just nerves.”

  “Yeah. That must be it.”

  Dr. Drake turns me to face him. “It isn’t nerves, is it? Your heart

  isn’t in this. I could see it the minute you walked into my office, and I

  can see it in your eyes now. You sparkle when you are enthusiastic about

  something. You sparkle when you talk to Charlie. You sparkled at the

  auction when you were with Huntington, but you didn’t sparkle with

  me. That’s when I knew it was time to back off.”

  My mouth falls open. “No. Really. I want to do this.”

  Dr. Drake shakes his head. “Why don’t you give this decision some

  more thought. I’m always here. I’m very happy to help bring a new

  doctor into the fold. But if you do decide to go ahead, I want to see

  sparkle. I want you to be living your dream.”

  My heart clenches. “I’ve given up on dreams.”

  Dr. Drake tilts my head back with a gentle finger under my chin,

  forcing me to look up at him. “Never give up on your dreams. You see

  something you want, you fight for it.” He pauses and frowns. “This

  reminds me, I owe Huntington another round in the ring. Tell him to

  give me a call.”

  I swallow and look away. “We broke up.”

  His face softens and he runs a finger lightly over the worst of the

  bruising on my face. “I’m sorry to hear that. I hope these bruises weren’t

  part of the reason.”

  “No.” I shake my head so hard my ears ring. “Max would never

  hurt me.”

  And suddenly, for the very first time, I believe it.

  The hospital is in an uproar when I arrive at work on Friday morning.

  Everyone is talking. No one is working. Security has been doubled.

  The police are everywhere. I weave my way through the crowds and

  head straight to Charlie. If anyone knows what is going on, it will

  be him.

  “You’ve come to the right place,” he says, when I ask about the

  whispers in the corridors. He leans back in his chair and steeples his

  fingers. “I am the heart of the hospital. You need information, you come

  to me.”

  “I’m here,” I snap. “Now spill.”

  Charlie’s smile fades. “Someone attacked Doctor Drake last night

  in his office. The hospital has been trying to keep it all hush-hush. They

  don’t want people to panic.”

  “Is he okay?”

  Charlie shrugs. “He’s in critical care. Apparently he was hit over the

  head with a fire extinguisher. He never saw his attacker.”

  I grab Charlie’s arm. “I was with him Thursday night. I was sure I

  heard someone in the hallway.”

  “Who would want to hurt Doctor Drake?” Charlie muses. “I heard

  his office was untouched. His wallet was still on his desk. He was still

  wearing his expensive watch. He’s a nice guy. Too good-looking for my

  taste, but decent. Although he is the competition.” He leans forward

  and whispers, “It was his name Doris called out that night.”

  Nausea roils in my belly. “Do they have any leads?”

  “Not so far. They have fingerprints from the fire extinguisher, but

  not much else.”

  I head back to my desk and scrub my hands over my face. I can’t

  imagine who would want to hurt Dr. Drake, but I know in my heart it

  wasn’t Max.

  The day drags. All I can think about is meeting Amanda at Doctor

  Doctor to talk about Max and to plan our attack on the debt collector

  over a few drinks on her client expense card. But when my shift ends,

  she calls to say she’s stuck in a meeting and won’t be able to make it.

  Bubble bath and ice cream time.

  I send my fax to Collections R Us and throw my pack over my

  back. My phone rings again. I check the Caller ID. Unidentified caller.

  Could it be Ty on a different number? I grit my teeth and answer on

  the last ring. I make a pathetic attempt to hide my surprise when Jake

  says hello.

  “I need your help,” he says, ignoring my high-pitched squeak,

  “Torment challenged the Pulverizer to fight tonight. The Pulverizer is

  ranked number one on the US underground fight circuit. Torment flew

  him in just for the fight.”

  “If he wants to fight, he’ll fight. I won’t be able to stop him.”

  Jake hisses in a breath. “You don’t understand. He went crazy this

  week. It’s like he had a death wish. He challenged the three guys in the

  state ranked above him. He opened the club every night during the

  week for the fights. He won every match, and now he’s number one.”

  “I thought that was his dream.” I stop just outside a convenience

  store and lean against the wall. “He said he wanted to be number one in

  California. He said he would be happy when he got to the top.”

  “It wasn’t enough.”

  Of course not. His father’s words must still haunt him.

  “Why do you need me? We aren’t together anymore.”

  “You have to come to the club, Makayla.” Jake’s voice takes on

  a pleading tone. “The Pulverizer has sent every one of his opponents

  to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. He trains for months

  before a fight. He’s won his last fourteen matches all by knockout.

  He’s been undefeated for six years. But he’s a dirty fighter. If he wasn’t

  on the underground circuit, he would have been kicked out of the

  professional leagues. Torment is the first real threat he’s faced in years.

  He’ll come prepared.”

  “Max…Torment can handle him. He’s a good fighter. The best now.”

  Jake groans. “Max isn’t ready for this fight. He’s tired, he’s injured,

  and he’s unfocused. He’s fought more this week than the Pulverizer

  fights in a year, and he won because he was willing to take risks he

  normally would never take. He can’t fight like that with the Pulverizer.

  The guy is good. He’s ready. He’s rested. And he’ll fight dirty. One

  wrong move and Max will be toast.”

  My stomach clenches. “What do you want me to do?”

  “Come to the club and talk him out of it. I tried. Rampage tried.

  Hell, we all tried. Even Sandy. He says he’ll be number one if it kills

  him. And it might kill him. He’s not thinking clearly, and if he can’t

  focus, he can’t fight.”

  “We broke up. He doesn’t want to see me.”

  “Please.”

  A sob wells up in my throat. “I’m sorry, Jake. It would just prove

  to him we were never meant to be together, and it wouldn’t change

  his mind.”

  “You’re making a big mistake,” Jake snaps. “If that’s what you

  think, then you never really understood him at all.”

  Too distressed to go home, I head to the critical care wing of the hos-

  pital to visit Dr. Drake. I have a book of green slips in one hand and a />
  paper clip heart in the other. I hope he gets the joke.

  The hallway is cool and quiet. Critical care is a place of emotional

  extremes. Lives teeter in the balance. One way and families rejoice. The

  other and they despair. There is a lot of despair here today and only five

  rooms are occupied.

  Dr. Drake is not in his room. They have taken him for CT scans. I

  sit in a chair in the hallway to wait, and a man in a brown jacket walks

  into the room across from me. I recognize him from the donut shop,

  but he isn’t eating donuts today.

  The woman he is visiting must be related. They share the same

  olive skin, dark hair, and patrician nose. She is on life support. Asleep.

  The machines in her room whir and beep. The man sits by her bed and

  holds her hand. A nurse goes in to check the monitors and they share a

  few words. As she leaves, he calls out, “Thank you Ms. Maloney.”

  His voice is familiar. Very familiar. I walk up to the door and check

  the name on the chart. Gloria Martinez.

  “Excuse me?”

  The man looks up. Not a man. A boy. No more than twenty. His

  eyes are dark circles in a sunken face. A face without hope.

  “Are you Sergio?”

  I catch a flicker of interest in his eyes and he nods.

  “I’m Makayla Delaney. You were chasing me for a debt.”

  Myriad emotions cross his face. None of them particularly pleasant.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Visiting a friend.” I take a wild guess given his age and the similar-

  ity of his appearance to the woman in the bed. “Is this your mom? Is she

  the reason you were always calling from the hospital?”

  His face crumples. “Yeah. She’s dying. She needs a new heart. But

  she doesn’t have any medical insurance.”

  My heart aches. “I’m so sorry.”

  “I’ve sold everything I have to pay for her treatment,” he says,

  “but I don’t have enough money to get her on the transplant list. If I’d

  been able to collect enough to get the bonus, I could have bought her

  a heart.”

  He turns his face away and wipes a tear from his cheek. Sympathetic

  tears well in my own eyes, and my throat tightens.

  “Would my payment have made a difference?”

  He shakes his head. “Even if I had pushed all my debtors into

  making their monthly payments, I wouldn’t have had enough. I needed

  a big windfall—like someone paying the whole loan off at once.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  His cheeks redden. “I saw you in the donut shop a while back. Your

  friend was saying your boyfriend was a billionaire. I thought maybe if

  I pushed you harder, he might pay off your loan. But you were so nice.

  I couldn’t go through with it.”

  I slump against the doorframe. “He’s not a billionaire. And he’s not

  my boyfriend anymore.”

  Sergio gives me a half smile. “Trouble in paradise?”

  “We didn’t gel. He needed trust and I couldn’t give it. He’s a

  violent guy. I was afraid he would hurt me or try to control me.”

  “Sounds like Ty. I heard he got your file. That guy is crazy. Always

  in trouble with the law. Always pounding on people for no reason. Flies

  off the handle for the smallest things. Threatens people to get his way.”

  I take a seat in the chair near the door and frown. “Max isn’t like

  that. I’ve never seen him hurt someone who didn’t deserve it or ask for

  it. He never threatened me. He’s controlling in a protective kind of way.

  He wanted to pay off my loan and I wouldn’t let him.”

  Sergio’s eyes widen. “Sounds like a decent kinda guy. Too bad it

  didn’t work out.”

  Understatement of the year.

  “I almost quit this job after the first day,” he says. “I’m not Ty. I

  couldn’t do what he does. I couldn’t handle the screaming and swear-

  ing. But we needed the money. My mom told me sometimes you have

  to see to the heart of a person. Look below the surface. So when they

  were swearing at me I would listen, and I would try to find out what

  they were really afraid of. I couldn’t do anything about it. I still had to

  collect the debt. But it helped me deal with the anger on the surface.

  And when I could make it easier, I did.”

  My breath catches in my throat. I have seen to the heart of Max. I

  have seen his kindness and compassion. His fierce need to protect. He

  would never hurt me. I was just afraid to believe it.

  “My mom is all I have,” he says quietly. “My dad died when I was

  little. No brothers or sisters. The rest of the family is in Italy.”

  Tears stream down his cheeks, but this time he doesn’t turn away. I

  fish around in my purse for a tissue and see the fax receipt.

  Suddenly I have an idea. A windfall for Sergio. Forgiveness for me.

  I hand Sergio the tissue. “I think I may be able to help you, but

  we’ll need to go to your office and intercept a fax. And I need a ride to

  a fight club in Ghost Town.”

  “You a fighter?”

  My lips curl into a smile. “I am a fighter and I’m going to fight to

  win back my decent kinda guy.”

  Chapter 26

  Don't You Dare Leave Me Again

  Sergio pulls up outside the front doors of Redemption. His face

  is tight with emotion. Max’s payment went through, and now that we

  retrieved the fax, it won’t be sent back. His mother will have a new

  heart, and a chance at a longer life.

  “Are you sure you want me to leave you here? It seems kinda rough

  for a girl like you.”

  “It’s perfect for a girl like me.”

  Sergio leans over and grabs my hand. “I don’t know how to thank

  you. I was such a bastard on the phone, and it killed me. I wasn’t lying

  when I said you were the nicest debtor on my list.”

  “You’ll have to thank Max. He’s the one who made the payment. I

  told him once I thought people were essentially good. It never occurred

  to me I wasn’t giving him the same benefit of the doubt.”

  “Good luck.”

  “Bye, Sergio. Stay in touch and let me know how your mom is

  doing. You know where to find me.”

  I close the door and race over to Amanda who is waiting at the entrance.

  “I finished up at work just before I got your text,” she says. “I got

  here just a few minutes ago.”

  “Where the hell have you been?” Obsidian booms when we push

  open the door. “I stalled the lockdown as long as I could. The main

  event is about to begin. Grab your kit and let’s go.”

  “That’s one hell of a voice you’ve got there.” Amanda follows us to

  the first aid room and waits while I grab my kit.

  “He’s gay,” I say over my shoulder.

  “Doesn’t bother me.”

  Obsidian laughs. “I’ve already got twice as much trouble as I need,

  but when I’m free again, kitten, I’ll look you up. I’ve always had a soft

  spot for angels.”

  We race through the training area and head toward the ring. The

  place is packed. Standing room only. The air is thick with anticipa-

  tion. The club smells of stale sweat, cheap perfume, plastic mats, and

  disinfectant
.

  We skirt around the crowds and make it as far as the pen before

  Jake blocks our way. A black bandana holds back his mass of curls and

  the light glints off his oiled six-pack, visible above his low-slung jeans.

  His eyes flick from me to Amanda and back to me. “Where the fuck

  were you? You’re too late.”

  Flesh slams on flesh. The crowd cheers.

  “Get out of the way. I need to see him.”

  Jake folds his arms across his chest. “He doesn’t need to see you.

  Not now. He delayed the fight as long as he could. After I told him I

  called you, he was sure you would come. He didn’t want to fight unless

  you were here. Now, you’ll just be a distraction. You’ll never change

  his mind.”

  “I’m not here to change his mind. I’m here to support him. And if

  he gets hurt, I’ll take care of him.”

  I try to get around him but he stops me with a heavy hand on

  my shoulder.

  “Jake. Let her through. There’s no need to be cruel.” Amanda finds

  her voice and Jake turns in her direction. There is so much heat in the

  look they share; I take an involuntary step back.

  “You would know about cruel. You broke up with me over nothing

  and jumped into bed with someone else so fast it made my head spin. I

  was just a game to you.”

  Amanda sucks in a breath. “It wasn’t like that. You don’t understand.”

  Jake steps toward her and takes her chin between his thumb and

  his index finger. He tilts her head back, forcing her to meet his gaze.

  “I understand. Perfectly. You don’t respect men. You reel them in, you

  play with them, and then you throw them away. But I’m not like the

  others, sugar. It doesn’t work that way with me. When I want a woman,

  I don’t play around.” His chest heaves and his body trembles. For a

  second I think—no, hope—he will kiss her, but then he lets her go and

  steps away.

  Amanda sucks in a breath and swallows. “You’re making a mistake.”

  Jake folds his arms. “You made the mistake, Amanda. We had

  something special and you threw it away.”

  Her face crumples. “Why didn’t you tell me how you felt?”

  “I thought you knew.” He runs his hand through his hair. “I

  thought you felt the same way.”

  Someone groans. A body hits the mat. I push past Jake and run