Filthy Fight (Hard n' Dirty Book 2)

by Alta Hensley

  “Well, well, well,” the bartender said as he sneered back at me. “If it isn’t the high and mighty Mr. Vega. Nero has been expecting you.”

  My heart surged with anger at this. I told Nero to get the fuck out of my life. I told him that I never wanted to see him again. How dare he expect me to come crawling back… even if that was exactly what I had done.

  “Just get him,” I growled back, but he didn’t have to because almost as if Nero could sense me, that smarmy fuck was in my face.

  “Shocker,” Nero said. “How surprised I am to see you here. After all the shit you said to me.” He was trying to fuck with me, wanting to get a rise out of me. I had to bite down hard on my tongue not to give him exactly what he wanted. “And what can I do for you today, my friend?”

  I took a deep breath, forcing all of my rage to stay under wraps. This wasn’t the time to be hotheaded and do something stupid. Not when I was in the middle of doing the stupidest thing of my whole damn life.

  “My dad is sick,” I said honestly. “Again, and I need money for his treatment. The amount that I need is far more than I have.” I decided to just lay it all out on the table, to have him understand exactly what was going on.

  Nero crossed his arms and smirked. “And I’m supposed to just help you out. Is that it?”

  Clenching my jaw and forcing myself not to go and knock the asshole out, I spat, “Either you want to work something out with me or you don’t. You know there is money on the table, but I don’t have time to fuck around either. Your call.”

  “Come with me,” he said as he started walking to the back part of the bar. “Let’s go where we can discuss this in private.”

  My eyes flickered shut for a moment, and my brain gave me a hundred logical reasons of why I shouldn’t follow him. But there was only one reason to carry on, and that reason was strong enough to have me walk behind him. One could say I was selling my soul to the Devil. But my soul was already long gone.

  Fighting to not lose my father was like an obsession. Something that had driven me for a very long time, and I didn’t feel able to let the hope for his survival go. I’d already lost everyone else. He was the last bit of glue holding me together, and I knew that I’d do anything to achieve keeping him alive.

  We quickly headed into Nero’s crappy office, which was plastered with posters of half-naked women all over the walls. I used to think that this was him being bold, being brave and open with who he was, but now I thought it was childish, like the bedroom of a fifteen-year-old boy.

  “So, I have been expecting you would eventually come around. I came up with a plan that I think will earn you the amount of money you need… plus my cut as well, of course.”

  I sighed and gave him a small nod. I knew what this was going to be, and I was already aware I was not going to like it. I figured we might as well get it over and done with.

  “I want you to throw another fight.” Of course he did. “And this time, I want you to really drag it out. Make people sweat. Don’t make it as obvious as you did last time.”

  Vomit began to fill the back of my throat as I realized that I had returned to the same position that I was in before. That I’d seemingly learned nothing over the last few years. Here I was, considering throwing another fight, only this time it would affect people I actually cared about, and I also had a lot more to lose. If I did this, I screwed over Shamrocks, the entire management team who had been willing to give me a chance, and I would lose Julep too. But if I didn’t do it, my dad would die… and that really was the end of the internal debate.

  “Fine,” I said through a tight-lipped sneer. “Just give me the details.”

  “I will let you know exactly how I want it to go down in Vegas. I don’t want the information to leak, so it’ll be at the very last minute.” I nodded stiffly, knowing the drill by that point. “But, as a gesture of good will because I can tell that you’re desperate, I’m going to give you twenty thousand dollars to get you started.”

  Nero acted like he was being caring and considerate. That he actually gave a shit. But what he was really doing was reeling me in. Once I had this money, I was basically his. I’d have no choice to do as he asked.

  “Thank you,” I muttered as he pushed the rolls of cash he pulled from a safe behind him between my fingers.

  My heart thumped. I felt ill with guilt. I was trying to focus on the fact that I could get the medication needed for my father. I could get Dad started on the treatment needed right away and not waste another moment.

  “You have been on a good winning streak,” Nero said. “The fans are beginning to trust you again. They won’t be expecting you to do anything risky to blow it. Maybe just try and be a little more discreet this time. If we can avoid a media shit storm, maybe this will be something that we can do on a regular basis.”

  No fucking way.

  “Sure,” I murmured.

  “Okay, well, I’ll be in touch soon.” Nero stood up, effectively ending our conversation, much to my relief. “Thank you for coming around. It’s an honor doing business with you again, bro. Want to join in on a quick poker game before you leave?”

  “I’m good,” I snapped as I left the office wanting to punch my fist through the wall.

  When I was back in the front of the bar, I bought myself a drink, needing something to steady my nerves. I still didn’t look at anyone. I refused to make any kind of connection. I drank the whiskey back, just trying to cool all the fury down inside of me. But I abandoned the second drink laid before me when I realized that getting drunk would only serve to make things worse. I guess I didn’t need to add booze to my problems. I didn’t want to completely end up in a hole I couldn’t get out of again. If I was going to do this, I needed to do it much better than before and try not to get caught.

  As I stepped back into my car, there was a heavy lead weight sitting firmly on my chest making it incredibly difficult to breathe. I knew I’d done the only thing I could do, and I understood my reasoning, but it sure did feel like shit. I’d failed, fallen back into the fucking abyss, and it felt terrible.

  I drove much slower home, suddenly feeling the full effects of my shitty life. Maybe Dad would be grateful for the treatment. Maybe he would realize that he was wrong in all of those things that he said to me. But I would still have to face the disappointment in his eyes. He would still give me that look. I’d take it, however. I was willing to be the bad guy to save his life. But it was still going to suck.

  And then, of course, there was Julep.

  She was going to fucking hate me when she found out what I had done. When I all of a sudden lost the match, Julep would know why. She’d know that it was my fault, and all planned. Then I would get that look from her too. Fuck. I didn’t want any of this at all, but then again it was what I signed up for. I knew that I was going to be throwing it all back in her face when I went along with this, and I did it anyway. Now that I had twenty thousand dollars in my pocket, it was too late to start regretting what I had done.

  How would I explain this to her when she would blatantly ask me outright why I did this to her? What would I do when she looked at me with sadness in her eyes, begging me to explain to her why I decided to throw it all away? Julep would hate me forever. I would hate me forever.

  As I pulled the car along the street to my house, Julep’s car was in the driveway, which could only mean one thing. Dad had already contacted her to tell her about my plan. If she already knew, that put a dagger in the works. She would do whatever she could to stop me, maybe even pulling me from the fight beforehand. Nero was going to fucking kill me.

  My heart pounded as I stepped toward the door, a mixture of fear and anger coursing through me. I wasn’t expecting to have to face what I was doing right away, and I was really not in the mood to have to justify myself. Not now, and not to people who weren’t going to want to hear it, or understand. It was going to fucking suck.

  “Dad?” I called out quietly as I walked through the door. “Da
d, are you here?”

  But it wasn’t him who came to greet me at the door. It was Julep. And from her tear-stained face, I could already tell that I needed to panic. Not only did she know about me and what I had done, it clearly upset the hell out of her, which killed me. I gulped down a massive ball of emotion, knowing there was no way this was going to end well.

  “Where’s my dad?” I asked, needing a distraction. “I need to talk to him.”

  She shook her head sadly, looking like she was about to cry all over again. “He isn’t here. He’s gone.”

  Gone?

  What the fuck did she mean gone? I scanned her face, trying to find meaning there, trying to work out what was going on. But she stared blankly at me, giving me nothing.

  19

  Julep

  “I fight for perfection.”

  – Mike Tyson

  “Gone? What the fuck do you mean?” Mateo asked again, starting to look really scared.

  “This is hard to explain. I think we need to go and sit down.”

  I walked into the kitchen with him right behind me, my heart pounding heavily in my ears. I had just been waiting in the house alone, trying to work out how to give him the worst news ever, and I had come up with nothing. How was I supposed to tell him that all his fighting for his father had been for nothing, and that he lost anyway?

  We both took our seats, and Mateo stared at me expectantly, forcing me to begin. “Your dad… He told me that he’s ready to die.”

  “Bullshit,” he burst out quickly, interrupting me with his rage.

  “Please don’t get mad at me,” I pleaded. “I’m only the messenger.” When he gave me a small nod, I took in a shaky sigh and continued. “He told me that he’s lived a full life, and that he’s done with fighting this disease. I honestly don’t think that he has any fight left in him.”

  “Where is he?” Mateo was being cold with me now, demanding answers in a monotone voice.

  “He’s on a plane,” I admitted, squeezing my fists in fear of how Mateo would react. “He wanted to spend what’s left of his life back home in Cuba.”

  “What are you talking about?” Mateo jumped up as if he was ready to get on a plane himself. I stood up and gently sat him back down, needing him to remain calm. I stroked his arm for a few moments until I could feel the tension loosening ever so slightly. I already knew that this was going to be bad, but I didn’t think I was prepared for quite how violently he was going to react. “Go on,” he finally said sadly. “You might as well tell me everything now.”

  “Okay.” I nodded. “Well, he’s gone to Cuba and that’s where he wants to stay. I know that this is hard for you to hear, and I’m sure that you aren’t going to like it, but you have to let him go. You can’t keep fighting either. Cisco wants his life to be remembered in a positive way, and you clinging onto something desperately, something that isn’t going to happen, then you aren’t doing that.” I could see tears forming in his eyes, which could have been out of sadness, frustration, or even rage. But it meant that I was getting to him. I needed to finish this now, before he continued down that crazy, dangerous path. “He has sold off his own boxing collection, and financially will be fine. I get the impression that he has been planning this for awhile.”

  “Then I fucking fly to Cuba and get him back!”

  “Mateo… stop for a second and think about your father and his wishes.”

  “I can’t let him die.”

  “You can’t stop something that Cisco has already accepted. I know it’s hard, but he doesn’t want this. You may, but he doesn’t.”

  Mateo sighed as he ran his hand over his face, not saying another word.

  “Your dad doesn’t want you to throw away your career and your chance at happiness. He doesn’t want to be responsible for you being left with nothing. He certainly doesn’t want you getting involved with those scumbags again, and especially Nero.”

  “So you know?” Mateo looked up at me with heartbreak in his eyes. “Dad told you about my plan?”

  “He did,” I confirmed, reaching out and grabbing his hands. “And I understand. He also told me about your parents, and what you went through. I know this isn’t easy for you, but it doesn’t matter now. You can just abandon the entire idea and plan.”

  “Julep…” he said, not sounding convinced, which had me more than a little worried. Had he already agreed to something that he could no longer get out of? Had he already started falling into that trap once more? I had no experience in that world, so I had no idea how it worked at all. “I might as well just be honest with you,” he finally said. “I’ve already been given some money from Nero. I might already be in too deep. It’s not as easy as just saying I changed my mind.”

  “Well what if…” I drawled slowly, “we figure this out together. Come up with a plan together?”

  “I don’t want to get you involved,” he said. “But I see that I already have. I’m sorry. Really fucking sorry.” He took a deep breath. “What are you thinking?”

  A small smile played on my lips as a crazy idea formed in my mind. It might be insane, but actually it could just work. “I know what we could do. I could place a bet on the next fight, one that needs us to win, and you could go out there and fight your fucking ass off. That way, we will win some money, you can pay Nero off, and no one has to hate you. The fans can go on loving you, the promoters can keep being happy with you, and Cisco will be proud before he dies.”

  Mateo thought on my words for a few moments, the load seeming to lighten off his shoulders. He looked a little happier, a little less like the world was resting upon his back, which allowed relief to flood through me. “Do you think we can pull it off? Winning isn’t a sure thing. Forcing a loss is. Is it worth the risk?” he asked. “I mean, do you really think it’ll work?”

  “It has to, right?” I shrugged my shoulders in a blasé manner, trying not to betray how nervous I was about the whole idea. If it worked, it would be incredible. But there was always the chance that I was wrong and Mateo could lose the match. The thought was absolutely petrifying. If the plan failed, if he couldn’t pay this fucker off, then Mateo would have trouble on his back no matter what.

  “If this does work, then once I’ve paid Rodriguez off, I want to give the rest of the money to help those who can’t pay for cancer treatment,” he added. “I want to prevent anyone else from having to go through what I’ve been through. If I can contribute toward paying to save someone else’s life, then all of this, everything that I’ve been through, would all be worth something.”

  I smiled at him. “I think that’s an amazing idea.”

  Now that he was in a much better place, I decided that the time was right to give him Cisco’s letter. I had no idea what was written within it, but I didn’t want Mateo to read it for the first time when he was in a dark place.

  “Your dad gave this to me,” I said, handing him the envelope. “I hope this gives you the answers you need.”

  He tore the letter open quickly, as if he wasn’t even really thinking about it, and much to my surprise, he read it aloud.

  Dear Mateo,

  I just want to start off by apologizing for leaving you behind like this. I know you must be angry with me, and the explanation I’ve given probably doesn’t feel enough for you, but I hope that one day you manage to come to terms with it all.

  I have decided to go to Cuba, to live out the last of my days because returning home is something I’ve always wanted to do, and something I’ve never had the chance to. I’ve always had responsibilities, and I’ve never had the money. I need the smell of Cuba, the taste of Cuba, and the feel of Cuba once more. I plan to eat my weight in authentic Cuban food.

  Mateo burst into weak laughter, but there was no hiding the sad tears that streamed down his cheeks.

  I do appreciate everything that you’ve done for me. I appreciate all the help you’ve given me, but I hope you get that I can’t keep on doing this fight any longer. Fighting cancer is a fil
thy fight. I can’t be in the ring any longer. It’s time for me to be at peace with my fate and be reunited with the woman of my dreams. Please don’t try to find me, and know that I will be in contact again when I feel the time is right. Give me this, son. I beg of you.

  I’m so proud of you, despite everything that’s happened in your life. I’ve always been proud. You’ve worked hard. You’ve overcome adversity. You’ve made something of yourself despite the fact that your life hasn’t always been easy. I know for a fact your mother would have been proud of you too. The day we adopted you and brought you home, was the happiest of our entire life, and all we wanted was for you to have everything.

  I’m sorry your mother died before you really got to know her, but I can guarantee we’ll both be waiting for you on the other side. You transformed our lives, and I hope we managed to give you a good one too. Now is the time to let go of all your pain and demons and to start focusing on you. You need to begin living your own life, to search for your own happiness, and I have the feeling you don’t have to look too far for that.

  My face heated at that comment, certain that Cisco was referring to me.

  So be happy, be confident and create a family of your own.

  I will always love you. You have always been loved by your family.

  Dad

  As Mateo finished reading the letter, I raced to his side to pull him in for a hug. He clung to me tightly, and my heart shattered into a million pieces for him. I hated that there was nothing I could really do. All I was able to do was help Mateo get through this, however long it took.

  “He’s such a good man,” Mateo said. “It’s not fair that I’m losing him. I hate it. I fucking hate it. He doesn’t deserve to go. I need him. I really need him. I don’t think I can go on without him.”

  “You aren’t alone,” I tried to reassure him. “I’m here. The gym is here. You are never alone. I really don’t want you to ever feel that way. I know we aren’t your family, but we can be if you let us. I promise we won’t let you down.” I was desperately trying to bring him around, but I didn’t think it was doing any good. “I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”