Challenge: A Contemporary MMA Romance: Oni Fighters Book 3

by Natalie Gayle

  “Seth, Mum. Remember? I told you.”

  “You mentioned he’d had an accident but that was weeks ago.”

  “It was bad.”

  “What? He’s still in hospital?”

  “Yeah, he was in a coma for days and smashed up his pelvis and punctured his bladder.”

  “Oh, good lord! I didn’t realise!”

  “Yeah, he was pretty beaten around.”

  “Is he going to be okay?”

  I sighed. “The doctors say so but it’s going to be a long road. He’s only barely walking and with a frame at that.”

  Then, mum looked at me with narrowed eyes.

  “How much time have you been spending at the hospital?”

  “A lot. Why?”

  “I thought Seth was just a friend and a training partner. Is he something more?”

  What did Mum care? It wasn’t like I was a kid. I’d been an adult for a few years now. These were the times I hated living at home. Usually, it suited me just fine. Dad was always on the road and mum was often working crazy hours.

  Lately, they’d been travelling. All this meant I generally had the house to myself. Well, that wasn’t quite true. It had been Eden, me, and Tori, until Eden had upped and married Xander. Now, it was just me and Tori.

  “We’re seeing each other,” I explained, not really comfortable with labelling our relationship.

  Mum’s eyebrows hiked together in the middle of her forehead. “Isn’t he the wild one?”

  I shrugged. “I wouldn’t call Seth wild. He’s definitely full of life and very active. That’s a big part of the reason being in hospital is driving him nuts.”

  “Weren’t you girls all saying how he couldn’t keep it in his pants a few months back and what? Now, you’re seeing him.”

  When she put it like that…

  “He’s well behaved with me.” Mostly, but I wasn’t about to tell my mum what Seth and I got up to. I did have no doubt though, that he’d been faithful to me. Besides, gossip was often just that, gossip.

  Mum turned to look at Dad, who’d been silent through all this, for guidance or support.

  “She’s not a baby, Carol. If she wants to see this guy then it’s her business. He can’t be too bad. You said he’s a friend of Xander’s. I can’t see Xander having flakey friends.”

  “That’s not the point, Noel. I don’t want my daughter being with a man who doesn’t respect her.”

  “Mum! Relax. I’ve got this handled. Seth is fine with me. I’ve been seeing him for a while now and he’s never given me a reason to doubt him. Besides, do you think I’d put up with that sort of shit? Worse, do you think Xander would? Seth might be Xander’s friend but he sees me as his sister now.”

  That seemed to reassure her.

  “Well, regardless, I want to meet him. Your sister raced off and got married and we hadn’t even met the guy. I’m not having that happen twice.”

  “And you’d be the first to agree that Xander is amazing for Eden and an awesome guy, right!”

  “Right.” She agreed reluctantly. “But that doesn’t mean I want a repeat of it.”

  “Sure, Mum. You can meet him when he’s up and around.”

  “When will that be?” God, she could be like a dog with a bone.

  “Not sure. As soon as the doctors let him out.” Then, an idea came to me and I decided to run with it. I wasn’t intending to open this can of worms again anytime soon. “I’ll go and stay with him when he comes home. He won’t be able to do anything much for himself it seems.”

  “What?” she shrieked, the sound piercing enough to hurt my ears.

  Dad just looked amused.

  “I’m going to stay with Seth and look after him.”

  “But what about someone from his own family and what about you getting another job.”

  “Seth’s family is weird so, no, they won’t be helping him. It’s fine, Mum! Really, I’ve got it all covered.”

  “I’m not sure I like the idea of you upping and living with this guy…Noel?” She made it sound so scandalous. Were we not living in the twenty-first century?

  “Carol,” Dad said, returning Mum’s hard, exasperated glare. I have no idea what Mum thought Dad was going to do.

  “You can’t be happy with this arrangement?”

  “Sophia’s an adult, honey. She can make her own decisions. If this is what she wants to do.”

  “But she won’t be here.”

  And now we were getting to the crux of it. Eden getting married and moving out had come as a shock to Mum. It was the tipping point for her. I think she’d only just started to realize that her girls were all grown up and creating lives for themselves. It was hitting home that yes, we could leave home and there wasn’t a damned thing she could do about it, other than wish us well.

  Dad shot me a sly glance and I knew he was thinking the same thing. I’d always been close to my dad, even if he wasn’t around much.

  “We’re not here much either anymore,” he pointed out logically.

  “It’s not the same,” Mum whined a little.

  “Didn’t you mention something about coffee?” he asked, deliberately changing the topic.

  “Oh, yes. I’ll just put the kettle on.” She turned and headed to the kitchen.

  I leaned over close to dad. “Thanks, Dad.”

  He put his arm around my shoulders and squeezed me in tight to him.

  “Anytime, Soph. You’ll always be my little girl, even if you’re not living here. I get that you need to do your own thing. I’m surprised we’ve had you at home this long. Not that I’m complaining.”

  My throat started to get all choked up and tears began to pool in my eyes. Mum and Dad loved us all so much. The stark contrast to what I’d seen with Seth’s mum was staggering. She was outwardly hostile and revolting to him. My mother might be a little “hovering” at times, but it was done from love, not whatever it was that Irena felt for Seth. I still hadn’t worked it out.

  I gave Dad a kiss on the cheek and headed off to get my training gear. Any second, Mum would be calling that the coffee was ready and I really needed to jet. Just replaying the Seth/Irena clash had me thanking the universe I was lucky enough to have two parents who loved me and each other. Not all of us could say that.

  I’d make time for coffee.

  Just under an hour later, I rushed through the front doors of Onigashima. I fully expected the guys to be training when I walked in. Instead, the practice mats were deserted and the reception desk was empty. Not that the desk being unmanned during the day was anything weird. Onigashima was at it’s busiest in the late afternoons and evenings.

  As I moved further into the dojo, I could hear voices and I realized they were coming from Xander’s office. I poked my head around the corner and, sure enough, there was Dane, Xander, and Eden pouring over what looked like a calendar.

  “Hey, guys.”

  Three heads raised up and looked at me. “Hey, Soph, what’s happening?”

  “Um, sorry I’m late. When I got home after I called you, Mum and Dad had just walked in. I got caught up with them telling me about their trip.”

  “No worries.” Xander gave me a casual grin. I wasn’t in the habit of keeping him waiting. Nobody did.

  “I thought Mum and Dad weren’t coming back until next week?” Eden looked surprised.

  “Exactly what I thought. Apparently Dad was over living out of a suitcase, so they came home early.”

  “Fair enough, I’ll head over later today and see them. By the way, what are you doing here? I thought you had work?”

  I snorted. “Ah, I kind of got fired. Well, I would have left anyway. John’s a douchebag.”

  Eden’s eyes popped out. “But you loved that job.”

  “Why does everyone think I loved that job? I love real estate, not working for that prick.”

  “So, what are you going to do? Weren’t you going to use that job to get the experience and the money to start your own firm.” Eden was conc
erned. That was my big sister for you, always worried about everyone.

  “Yep. Although, John made it really clear this morning I wasn’t going to be getting any further experience. He wanted me to go back and do the rent roll. And he was being a total pig. He’s been like that ever since I let him know I wasn’t interested in anything more than a professional relationship.”

  “Why is this the first we’re hearing about this.” Xander’s face now sported a frown.

  “Because you three were over in the U.S. when it all went down. I handled it, but he’s been giving me shit jobs ever since. I should have seen it coming. The writing was on the wall but I was distracted with Seth and just kind of ignored it.”

  “Do we need to pay this guy a visit?” Dane looked at Xander, who nodded his agreement, before turning to me.

  “Nope. I’ve got it handled. I could take him with one hand tied behind my back. Plus, I’ve already made an appointment with a lawyer to talk about some other stuff. I’ll just add this to the list. I reckon I’ve got a decent case for wrongful dismissal.”

  “Well, as long as your sure. Sometimes, a man to man conversation can work pretty effectively,” Dane offered.

  I knew exactly how intimidating Dane and Xander could be individually. Together, they were terrifying. Nobody wanted a visit from a pissed off champion MMA fighter, let alone two.

  “Thanks for caring, but I could actually use your help with something else, Dane.” Now was the perfect time to ask for his help if he was in a charitable mood. Not that I had any doubt, Dane would gladly help me if he could.

  “What do you need?”

  “Well, you’ve got a successful internet business and I’m about to start one. I was hoping you could give me some pointers…”

  He looked a little surprised at first, then it obviously dawned on him. “You thinking about doing real estate stuff online?”

  He got it straight up. “Exactly. It was actually Seth that gave me the idea. We were kicking it around the other day and, well, this morning John made it pretty clear that working for him any longer would be a living hell. So, I’m going to give it a shot. I had been intending to wait until I had enough money to open my own bricks and mortar agency. Now, I realise that really isn’t very smart and I’d allowed my thinking to be too staid.”

  Dane and Xander both nodded their agreement.

  “Do you know what you’re doing?” Eden asked, looking more concerned than ever.

  “I know about real estate. I’ve got my licence. Now, I just need to set up the business in an online form.”

  “So, what do you want from me?” Dane asked.

  “I guess I’m just looking for advice on what to do—tools, marketing, that sort of thing.”

  “Sure, easy to do. If you’ve got some time later this afternoon, pop on by and I’ll run you through my whole set up and maybe we can see how it could work for what you want to do.”

  “Thanks, Dane. I appreciate that and, yeah, this afternoon sounds great. Nothing like getting a start on things.”

  “That’s it.”

  “So, what were you all doing? I figured I was about to get my arse chewed for being late. I thought you’d have both been training.”

  “We were about to start when I got the call from Parker Cook. Fight’s set.”

  “Wow. When?” I asked excitedly. This was a huge deal. A World Championship title.

  “About four months, give or take a couple of days. That’s what we were figuring out here.” Xander motioned to the calendar in front of him.

  Four months…there was so much going on. I was going to be launching a new business, Xan was going to be prepping for a fight…a world title none the less. Seth would be coming home rehabbing and then there was my own fight to think about.

  “Yeah, it’s going to be crazy around here,” Eden commented as if reading my thoughts.

  “I was thinking exactly that.”

  “I know. So am I.”

  Then, something occurred to me. Seth was Xander’s normal Brazilian Ju-Jitsu specialist training partner. How was that going to work?

  “I don’t think Seth’s going to be up to training for a while.” He might be okay in a couple of months, depending on how quick he recovered. The doctors had been saying that there was no real gauge with this sort of injury. Everyone healed differently. We were both getting sick of hearing it!

  “I’d love to have him training with me but I figured the same. I’ve got a couple of guys in mind. I’ll talk it over with Reed and see what we do.”

  “He might be okay in a couple of months.” I offered more hopefully than certain. I knew for a fact it would eat at Seth not being able to help Xander train.

  “We’ll see. I don’t want him rushing back and getting injured. I’d prefer Seth but I can make do with whoever I end up with.” That was the sensible approach.

  “Besides, he’s got me and you to keep him on track.” Dane shoulder bumped me.

  That shocked me. “What?”

  “You’re training for a fight. So’s Xan…we were actually just discussing…” Dane realized he might have over-stepped the mark.

  Xander seemed relaxed. “We were just discussing the possibility of you and I doing some sessions together.”

  “Am I good enough?”

  “You’re doing great and will be fine for some of the stuff we have in mind. Plus, there’s no reason you can’t run with me and do the other training. You ditching that nine-to-five job couldn’t have come at a better time with Seth, and these fights coming up.”

  “So, when do we get started?” I still didn’t know who I was fighting. I’d leave all that stuff up to Xander and Reed to sort out. That’s what they did after all.

  “You’ve already started. I’m the one who’s got to catch up,” Xander joked.

  “Is the fight in Vegas again?” He hadn’t mentioned it yet. I just assumed. Most big fights were.

  “Yep. Back to Vegas we go.” Xander winked at Eden and she blushed a little and tipped her chin down. There was a glance and a smirk. It was obvious that they were both remembering some good times in Vegas. They did have a quickie wedding there, after all.

  “Great. At least this time I should be able to go. I didn’t go last time because I was so worried about making a good impression at work and all that. Even missed my sister’s wedding. Fat lot of good that did me,” I grumbled. It just pissed me off the more I thought about it.

  “Well, just think you can be there right beside me this time as I’m a nervous wreck ringside,” Eden offered.

  “Yeah, thanks, but I might pass on that unless Len is going to be beside you again. I saw his arm when he got back. That was days later and he still wore the scars of your finger nails.”

  Eden ducked her head. “Xan!” she screeched.

  “What? You did it, not me.”

  “But I was freaking out because you were fighting,” she protested.

  “I don’t see how this is my fault?” You couldn’t argue with logic.

  “You were getting hit.”

  Xander grinned at my sister with good humour. “You do know what a fight is, don’t you, Gem? It means that I’m going to, more than likely, get hit. I’m also going to hit back.”

  “Yeah, of course, but I didn’t realise it was that bad. I feel awful.”

  “I’m sure Dad could care less. Besides, he probably had nearly as much adrenalin flowing through him as I did. I doubt he even felt it. I’m sure he’ll offer up his arm again if that’s what you need. God, I reckon he loves you more than me.”

  Xander had a point. Len and Eden were really close. I had no doubt he’d happily take a bullet for her, if needed. A few fingernail marks wouldn’t even register with him.

  “I still feel terrible,” she acknowledged.

  “Well, tell him to wear long sleeves or a sweater or something. That’ll give him a little bit of protection from your claws.”

  “You make me sound like a shrew.”

  We
all burst out laughing. Eden was so far from being a shrew, it wasn’t funny.

  Xander obviously decided to wade in before things escalated between us siblings. “Just stop worrying about it. It’s weeks away. Besides, I’d better call the old man before he finds out from someone else. Not going through that again.”

  I didn’t know the full details, just that Xander had kept his last fight from his dad for a while and when Len found out, he’d been floored by it all. For three years, Xander had been adamant he was no longer fighting in the cage. If Xander and Eden hadn’t worked out so well, then I’m sure Len would have been a lot more hurt. Now, I’m sure he was impatiently waiting for grandkids.

  Dane looked at me. “You ready to train? I’m thinking we can let Xan make his call and you and I can go get started. Let’s put in a couple of hours now, then we’ll look over that online stuff. I’m guessing you want to head to the hospital after that?”

  “Yeah, I’d planned to head in tonight. Seth knows I’m supposed to be at work today.”

  “So, you haven’t told him yet?” Eden asked.

  “No. I figured there was no point in dropping that on him when I could tell him in person tonight and explain that I had a plan. Not that I think he’d worry. He was keen on me heading down the online path. I just don’t want him worrying about anything at the moment.”

  “I’m thinking Seth’ll be pleased for you,” Dane offered.

  “I hope so. It’s either give the online thing a go or look for another job and another job that’s nine-to-five doesn’t really work for me at the moment with this fight and Seth.”

  “I wouldn’t worry about things too much, Soph. Things will work out. Besides, it’s not as if Seth’s hurting for cash. He can more than afford to keep a roof over your heads, food on the table, and the bills paid while you’re getting your business up and running.”

  The way Xander put that made me feel a little uneasy. Seth may be able to do that—I didn’t expect it. I had some money put aside—I wasn’t broke.

  “I’m not a free loader and I don’t expect to be kept.”

  Xander looked a little hurt. “That’s not what I meant. It might have sounded like that but that’s not how I meant it. What I was trying to say is that Seth’s injured, he’s going to need help. If you’re not giving it to him, he’d have to be paying someone else. Besides, regardless what they say, every guy wants to look out for his woman. Right, Dane?”