Misadventures in the Cage

by Sarah Robinson

  “I appreciate that. Are you coming to the match?”

  He looked eager, hopeful. She hated to dash it, but she was going to be in the kitchen tomorrow for the first time. She shook her head, looking down at her glass.

  “No. I have to work,” she explained and then took a sip from her drink. Then another. Honestly, she’d need a second drink to get through this conversation without throwing herself at him. Just being this close to him…it was lighting up every cell in her body. She felt like she was on fire just from his proximity, and she wanted to both run away and jump him at the same time.

  “Work?” He lifted his brow. “Here? In Vegas?”

  She nodded, putting aside her feelings for a moment to excitedly talk about her new job. “At Niro’s, actually. Rockport hired me full-time.”

  “That’s absolutely amazing,” he replied. “You’ve always wanted that.”

  “It’s a dream come true.”

  “I saw that you graduated ICE,” he continued. “Looks like I should be congratulating you. A new degree and a new job—you’re killing it.”

  Heat pumped into her cheeks at the compliment. “Thank you.”

  They were quiet for a moment. Again. Awkwardness seemed to be the theme of the evening, and she didn’t like it. Have I completely blown things with him? Things had once been so effortless between them, and now it was like pulling teeth to figure out what to say.

  “Well, I should get going,” she finally said, finishing off the last of her drink and pulling a few bills out of her clutch to place on the bar.

  “Keep your money,” he told her, motioning to the bartender. “This one’s on me.”

  “Oh. Thanks.” She slid the cash back into her clutch. “That’s very sweet of you. Well…bye.”

  In the most awkward moment of the century, she turned on her heels and walked out of the bar. Stopping at the curb, she mentally kicked herself for the incredibly awful way that interaction had gone. Why hadn’t she said what she was really feeling? Why hadn’t she asked him back to her hotel? Not that she really could, since she was living with her brother. Fuck. Why hadn’t she just told him that she hadn’t stopped thinking about him for over a year and she wanted nothing more than to be in his arms again?

  “I haven’t stopped thinking about you, you know,” Callan’s voice came from behind her, catching her off guard in her thoughts as she was mentally berating herself.

  She turned slowly to face him, hoping she had really heard what she thought she’d heard.

  “Is that so?” she replied, trying to keep her voice as level as possible.

  He nodded, his hands in his suit pockets as he approached her. They were alone, only the dull noise from the inside of the bar trickling through the doors.

  “What was that in there?” he asked her, gesturing back behind them toward the bar. “Because that wasn’t us.”

  She felt some of the tension break between them. He took her hand and squeezed it.

  “I don’t know,” she said. “I feel… I feel nervous around you.”

  “Why?” He pushed her for an answer she wasn’t sure she was ready to give.

  But life was about taking chances and putting your heart on the line when the payoff could be forever.

  “Because…” she started. “Because I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you either.”

  As hard as it was to admit that, the truth felt freeing. There had once been a time where she felt like she could tell Callan anything…and she wanted to get back to that. She wanted to remind herself of what they had, what they could be.

  His eyes darkened, hooding as he looked down at her with a fire she wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to extinguish. “Jos…”

  She swallowed hard, loving the way he said her nickname.

  “Go on a date with me.”

  “What?” She hadn’t expected that from him.

  “Go on a date with me,” he repeated. “A real date this time. Let’s see if what we think is here…is really here. Let’s give this a real shot this time. Slow and steady.”

  She paused for a moment, unsure how to respond. It was everything she’d been wanting to hear, but could she get involved with a man who was leaving as soon as his fight was over?

  “When?” she asked.

  “Tomorrow, after your shift.”

  “You’re going to be just coming off a fight. You’ll be exhausted.”

  “All right. Then Saturday.” He shrugged his shoulders as if he didn’t care what day they went out, as if all he wanted was to see her. “I’ll be here through Sunday night, so anytime.”

  She swallowed at the confirmation that, yes, he was leaving. But she couldn’t say no. Not to him.

  “Okay,” she finally replied. “Saturday.”

  “Is your number still the same?” He lifted one brow as he gazed at her.

  She nodded. “It is.”

  “Great. I’ll text you the details.” He motioned to a black car that was pulling up. “In the meantime, take my car home.”

  “I can order a Lyft,” she immediately responded, feeling bad about the idea of taking his ride.

  “I wasn’t asking,” he told her. “You’re a lot safer with my driver. He can come back and get me later.”

  She paused for a moment, realizing that she didn’t want to say no…again. What was it about him that made her never want to say anything other than yes?

  “Okay, but under one condition…” She trailed off, rubbing her hand against her opposite arm. “You share the ride with me. Drop me off and then go home. I’m not taking your ride from you.”

  He seemed appeased by that arrangement and nodded. “Fair enough. Let’s go.”

  The driver parked the car at the curb and came around to open the door for them.

  “We’re making an extra stop,” Callan told his driver.

  “Not a problem,” the man replied. He turned to Josie next. “Welcome, young lady.”

  “Thank you.” She took his hand as he helped her into the back seat of the car.

  Callan climbed in after her and sat next to her. “Where are you staying?” he asked.

  “With Xavier,” she admitted reluctantly, feeling slightly embarrassed at her lack of independence. She gave Callan the address, and he relayed it to the driver. “It’s only temporary until all my stuff is delivered. I just started this job, and it was rapid on-boarding.”

  “Can you do me a favor?” Callan angled his body to face hers.

  “Uh…sure.”

  “For the rest of this ride, can we not talk about work? Or our home life? All those things that tore us apart a year ago? It’s just you and me…here and now.”

  She swallowed hard, trying to ease her racing heart. It felt like it was pounding against her ribcage so hard, it might burst through. “I’m sure I can manage that.”

  Callan reached out a hand toward her face, pushing back a curly lock of hair off her cheek. They didn’t say anything for a few moments and just stared at each other instead.

  She finally took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. It was all just too much, and she wasn’t sure she could handle another moment. Her body felt like it was on fire anytime she was around him, and all she could think about was how his lips had felt on hers a year ago.

  An entire year…

  She couldn’t believe that much time had passed since they’d been together, because when she thought of their brief fling, it felt like yesterday.

  Deciding to take life by the horns, Josie pushed up on her feet and turned her body toward him, facing him as she climbed onto his lap. She straddled him with her legs on either side of his, her chest to his as she circled her arms around the back of his neck.

  “Kiss me,” she instructed him, nearly panting at the thought.

  He didn’t need more coaxing than that. Callan wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her flush against him. His lips were on hers in seconds, and every tension in her body released. She melted into his arms, their kiss slo
w and lingering. His tongue slid past her lips, exploring her as she parted for him, giving him every bit of herself.

  If she’d been wearing a skirt, she had no doubt that she’d slide him inside her right then and there. She was certainly ready for him. But unfortunately, she’d chosen to wear skinny jeans today, and there was no way she was managing to get those off in the back of a moving car.

  It seemed like only seconds had gone by since they’d started kissing, yet she felt the car coming to a stop. Glancing up, she recognized the entrance to the hotel where Xavier lived.

  Callan grinned, biting the edge of his lip as he stared back at her with hooded eyes. “Good night, Jos,” he said, helping her slide back to the seat and right herself. “Sleep well before your big day tomorrow.”

  “Thank you,” she replied. “You too.”

  She stepped out of the car and turned to look back at him. Callan opened the window and gave her a slight nod of his head. She wanted to ask him to come in with her, spend the night cuddling together…but she lived with her brother.

  While Xavier had never expressed anything negative to her, she wasn’t entirely sure her brother was Callan’s biggest fan after his loss to him last year. It would be disastrous if Xavier woke up and found him here.

  Sighing, Josie gave Callan a small wave and then turned and headed back into the hotel. There was no doubt in her mind that she would barely sleep a wink tonight.

  She had no idea what tomorrow had in store for her…

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Callan’s vision blurred, sight slowly returning to him as he tried to place where he was and what was happening. He was staring up at a ceiling—black piping covering every inch with banners and flags hanging from them. Recognition hit him as he realized…

  I’m in the arena!

  Quickly, he tried to scramble to his feet to avoid his opponent getting the best of him again, but he couldn’t lift his arm. It was pinned beneath him, and despite his best efforts, he couldn’t sit up and free himself.

  Blood gushed down the side of his face, and he wanted to wipe it away but couldn’t. The metallic taste settled on his tongue, and his mouth guard suddenly felt like it was going to choke him.

  “Get up!” he heard Ferguson yelling in the background as his hearing went from a dull roar to parsing out individual voices.

  Someone was counting.

  Someone else was calling out his name.

  People were screaming and cheering…some were even booing.

  He turned his head sideways to see his opponent walking in circles around the cage with his hands up in the air.

  And that was the last thing he saw before everything went black.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Her first shift had been anything but easy. The speed at which the kitchen moved was faster than anything she had experienced before. Dishes were going out left and right, and each one had to be perfect. No mistakes. This was a five-star restaurant in the middle of the Las Vegas strip.

  There was no room for error.

  “Behind!” called out a kitchen staff member as he walked behind her in the kitchen, heading back to his station.

  Josie moved out of the way and returned her focus to the dish she was working on. Wiping the spills and splashes off the side of the dish, she put it up under the warmer and called out the order number. A waiter immediately appeared and loaded the plate onto a tray, leaving the kitchen moments later.

  She smiled, loving the powerful, energizing feeling of being a chef. It was truly everything she’d been working toward and had hoped for. But damn, it wasn’t easy. She’d spent the early part of the afternoon doing inventory before it had been time to hit the grill—and she still had to finish that up after the dinner rush.

  “Josie?” Rockport called out, entering the kitchen. He bent down, looking through the metal shelving to find her. Locating her at her station, he came closer. “Josie, can I talk to you for a second?”

  Her stomach dropped. Had she fucked up already?

  “Sure,” she replied quickly, trying to hide the fact that she was nervous as hell. “Be right out.”

  She finished up the plate she was working on, serving it up under the warmer and then walking down to the end of the station and coming around to the plating section, where Rockport was.

  He was holding a tablet but gestured for her to follow him. They walked over to a corner of the kitchen before he stopped and turned to face her.

  “I know you’ve been busy working, so I’m guessing you haven’t seen this,” Rockport began. “I thought…well, I don’t know. Maybe you should.”

  “What is it?” Nerves exploded tenfold in her stomach at his words.

  He turned the tablet to face her. It was set to a local sports channel and was paused. He pressed play.

  A sportscaster came on the screen with the following caption underneath: MMA Legend knocked out in the cage.

  “That’s right, folks. The day has come. The beast has fallen. MMA Legend Callan Walsh lost tonight’s championship fight to Ruiz Salazar in an incredible knockout scene.”

  An instant replay video of the event began to play. Sure enough, there was Callan—blood all over his face—as his opponent’s fist decked him right in the jaw. He went down, lights out, almost immediately. Salazar jumped on him and kept punching, even though he was down. The ref had to pull him off and wrangle him to the side as medics rushed in to take care of Callan.

  “Are you okay?” Rockport asked.

  She hadn’t realized until he pointed it out, but she’d started crying. Tears streamed down her cheeks as fear filled her belly at the thought of Callan in real danger. She tried to respond to reassure her boss that she was fine, but she couldn’t talk.

  “Listen,” Rockport began, turning off the tablet and tucking it under his arm. “Walsh is a good friend of mine. I don’t usually let people leave early—especially in the middle of the dinner shift and especially not on their first day—but…someone needs to be with him. The way he’s been talking about you for the last year? I think it should be you.”

  He’d been talking about her to his friends? Her heart warmed at the thought, but not enough to eclipse the terror she was feeling.

  Quickly, she nodded and thanked him. Taking off her hairnet, she tossed it into the garbage and headed for the door. She had no time to waste if she was going to find Callan and be by his side. The problem was…she didn’t know how to locate him.

  She had an idea as she walked—or ran—out to her car. She pulled out her phone and dialed her brother’s number.

  “Xav?”

  He made a slight groaning sound, as if she’d just awoken him from sleeping. It was only ten o’clock, but her brother had early nights these days. He wasn’t the partier he’d once been, that was for sure.

  “What’s happening?” he replied. “Everything okay?”

  She shook her head, even though he couldn’t see her. “I need a favor.”

  “Does this have anything to do with tonight’s fight?” Xavier seemed to already know before she’d even said anything.

  “I need to see him, Xav,” she responded. “I need to know he’s okay.”

  “All right. I got you.” Xavier paused for a moment, probably thinking over their options. “Okay, I’ll call his trainer, Ferguson. Give me a few minutes. I’ll locate him.”

  “Xav?”

  “Yeah?”

  She put a hand to her chest. “Thank you.”

  “Anytime, baby sis.” He hung up the phone.

  She climbed into her car and started heading in the direction of the arena. Minutes later, she received a text message notification. Waiting until she got to a red light, she glanced down at her phone and read the news from Xavier.

  He was airlifted to Los

  Angeles General. Fergie

  put you on the list to see

  him.

  He was in Los Angeles? What the hell? She didn’t even need to debate it in her mind. She plugge
d the address into her phone’s GPS and started the long drive from Vegas to LA.

  All that mattered was that she got to him in time…

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Hospital chairs were incredibly uncomfortable. One would think that with everything people visiting a hospital had to deal with, they would at least try to keep people’s asses from falling asleep in hard plastic chairs.

  Josie readjusted herself, trying to find a comfortable position. She was seated in a small chair next to Callan’s bedside. It was the middle of the night, and he was still sleeping. Thankfully, the nurses had let her in even though it wasn’t visiting hours.

  Sure, she’d had to lie and tell them she was his wife.

  But what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.

  Cracking her neck from side to side, she stretched her arms over her head. Damn, she was stiff from driving so far and then sitting in this shitty chair.

  A nurse she hadn’t seen before walked in. They must have just switched shifts.

  “Are you Mrs. Walsh?” the nurse asked, a softness in her voice as she smiled at Josie.

  Josie nodded. “I am.”

  “Great. I’m Rebecca. I’ll be the day nurse for the morning. I’m going to write my name and call number on the board over here so you can just reach me on that phone over there whenever you need me,” she explained. “I’m going to take his vitals really quickly and then get out of your hair.”

  “Okay.” Josie watched the woman busy herself with the different tasks.

  A few minutes later, she left, and the room was quiet again.

  “Mrs. Walsh, huh?” Callan angled his head to face her.

  Apparently, he’d been awake the entire time.

  The heat of a blush crept into her cheeks and bloomed across her face. “Uh…”

  “It’s okay,” he replied, saving her from coming up with some lame excuse as to why she’d been called that. “I kind of like the sound of it.”

  She chuckled lightly. “It’s not the worst thing I’ve ever been called,” she teased.