The Girl Worth Fighting for (The Girl #2)

by Julia Goda

  He shook his head in bitter amusement and frustration. That was an understatement if he’d ever heard one. “You have no idea.” Now Pete joined in with his chuckle.

  “The good ones always do, son. So when are we going to meet this young lady of yours?”

  “I was going to bring her by tonight. She’s been assigned to help with the self-defense class I told you about. Seeing as she hates everything related to boxers and has been trying to dodge my advances for the past month, she wasn’t too happy about it. I wanted to show her the gym and introduce her to everyone, try to loosen her up and work my way through her defenses,” Logan explained while he started to take his gloves off.

  “She hates everything related to boxers?” That was Jay. His eyebrows were pulled down low in consternation. He was probably wondering what was wrong with Logan’s head, pursuing this girl who seemed to hate him on principle.

  Logan shook his head again, this time in disbelief that someone would have it in him to break Rainey’s heart to the point she would never consider dating another fighter. “Some asshole broke her heart. A boxer. I think he made it big and took her for granted, cheated on her, though she’s denying it.” Logan still wasn’t sure he could believe her denial, even though Rainey didn’t strike him as a liar. He still hadn’t eliminated the thought of that fucker physically hurting her, but he wasn’t going to share that with anyone unless he was absolutely sure.

  “So now she won’t date another boxer out of principle.” Pete wasn’t asking a question, just stating a fact. Logan shrugged his shoulders in confirmation.

  “I won’t give up. Kissed her yesterday and she kissed me back. Completely dropped her walls. I’m gonna get in there and I’m gonna stay there, no matter how hard I have to bust my ass.”

  Pete shook his head at him, a smirk playing at his lips. Then he stepped closer and clapped him on the shoulder. “That’s my boy. Determined. Going after what he wants. If you say she’s worth it, then I know she is. But you gotta put it in high gear, son. We’re stepping up your training, which means you need a clear head. You know what’s at stake.”

  Logan nodded. “I know, Pete. I’ll have my head in the game for the fight. I swear. We still got three months to go until then. I’m wearing her down. She’ll be mine way before then.”

  “All right then. Hit the showers. You’ve had enough for today.”

  Logan had hit the showers and had headed home not long after. He had to force himself to go straight home without driving by a certain house. If he had seen the lights on, he wouldn’t have been able to hold back and would have knocked on her door. And if the lights had been out…His mind was conjuring up images of her and Ben and what they would be doing with the lights out.

  He shook his head, jealousy and possessiveness ravaging inside him. Keep your shit together, Logan. She said Ben isn’t her boyfriend. Don’t jump to conclusions and mess this up before it even started. The pep talk didn’t do much to calm him down, though, as he turned the corner and saw her house. He was lucky enough to snag a spot right out front and got out of the car, then reached back to grab the coffees and the bagels. He checked his watch as he walked up to her house. He was half an hour early. If he was lucky, he would catch her still in her jammies or fresh out of the shower. Perfect. He had to keep her on her toes and throw her off-balance, take charge and push her until she reached her limit, then push her a little more. Last night, Rainey having dinner with another man, wasn’t going to happen again, or he would end up either in a straight jacket or in jail.

  And he would make that clear right the fuck now.

  When he was about to walk up her steps, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye and turned his head to Rainey’s neighbour’s house. The door opened and a woman in her jammies, holding a cup of coffee, stepped out as she was shouting over her shoulder, “Thanks for the coffee, Ben! And thank you for last night!”

  It was Rainey.

  What in the fuck?

  He turned his body to face her and watched as she made her way toward him. She hadn’t noticed him yet. Her eyes were trained on the ground in front of her, watching her step, as she took a sip from the coffee she was clutching to with both hands now, as if she needed something to hold on to. Her gaze seemed preoccupied, worried, but Logan didn’t let any of that penetrate as he tried to control the anger that was slowly working its way up from his gut and threatened to choke him.

  Despite his efforts, he couldn’t hold it in.

  “What the fuck,” came out of his mouth in a tight whisper, a whisper that would tell anyone to be careful about what they were going to say, a whisper that if it weren’t a whisper would be a roar. He didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but it was pretty obvious Rainey had spent the night next door. Her hair was up in a messy bun, and she wasn’t wearing any makeup; in fact, she looked like she had just crawled out of bed, and she was in her motherfucking jammies. Jammies that consisted of short shorts and a tight little tank top. And she had thanked Ben for the coffee and for last night. Last night.

  Rainey came to a sudden stop and her eyes flew up to his, shocked. Then Logan watched as they turned from surprise into annoyance.

  “Logan, what—”

  Oh, no, little firecracker. You’ve got no ground to stand on. There’s no reason for you to be annoyed.

  He took the two steps that separated them and glared down into her eyes, shutting her up. Their bodies were almost touching as he repeated his whisper, “What. The. Fuck.” Before Rainey could answer, the door she had just come out of opened and a middle-aged man appeared in the doorway.

  “You have got to be shitting me.” Logan turned incredulous eyes at Rainey. “This Ben?” he asked, not in a whisper. Rainey looked over her shoulder then shrugged and said, “Yeah, that’s Ben.” Logan could tell she was trying to sound flippant, but he could also hear trepidation in her voice. He didn’t want her to be scared of him ever, but he also wanted to make it crystal clear that this shit would not be happening ever again. Both to her and to Ben. So he stepped around Rainey and made his way up the stairs until he stood right in front of the other man.

  “You enjoyed your dinner last night?”

  That motherfucker had the balls to smile smugly at him before he nodded and said, “I did. I enjoy every dinner with Rainey.”

  Logan clenched his hand into a fist at his side. The asshole’s smile grew into a grin.

  “I’m Ben.” Logan ignored Ben’s outstretched hand and leaned in until they were almost nose-to-nose.

  “I’m glad you enjoyed it. Make sure that feeling lasts a while, because last night was the last time. Rainey will not be joining you for dinner ever again, or any other meal for that matter. She also won’t need you to make her a coffee in the morning. I will be the only man she has dinner with from now on, and I will be the one who makes her coffee in the morning.”

  Ben looked over Logan’s shoulder at what he knew was Rainey standing there. He could feel her. But he didn’t take his eyes from the man in front of him. He would deal with his woman later.

  His body froze when he watched Ben throw his head back and burst into laughter.

  “This is not fucking funny,” he heard Rainey say through clenched teeth, obviously annoyed with not just him but Ben as well now. He stepped back when the door opened yet again and a beautiful woman who looked close to Ben’s age stood in the door, her eyes bouncing back and forth between the three of them. Eyes that were more than familiar. Eyes that had looked at him with contempt and annoyance. Eyes that had flashed at him with anger. Eyes that had looked at him with lust only two days ago.

  “What the fuck is going on?” He looked from the woman to Ben, whose laughter had turned into chuckling, to Rainey.

  Rainey closed her eyes and sighed, in frustration or resignation, he wasn’t really sure which and didn’t care at the moment. Then she opened her eyes and said, “Mom, Ben, this is Logan. Logan, meet my mom, Sarah, and her boyfriend, Ben.” Her eyes glared daggers into hi
s when she said the last. Logan didn’t back down and glared right back at her. Fuck. She was gonna be more of a handful than he had thought. And that was something after the shit she had already put him through in the past month.

  “Logan, it’s so nice to meet you.” Logan looked to the woman who was coming toward him then surprised him by embracing him in a hug. She leaned back but held on to his arms when she said, “We’ve heard so much about you,” through a huge smile.

  “Did you now?” Logan mumbled under his breath as he looked over Sarah’s shoulder and locked eyes with Rainey for a moment.

  “Yes. Yes, we have.” This came from Ben, who was still chuckling as he wrapped one arm around Sarah’s waist and pulled her back and into his side before he offered his hand to Logan once again.

  “Let’s try this again.” Logan took the offered hand and gave it a firm shake.

  “I’m not sure what to say.” And he wasn’t. He hadn’t ever been in a situation like this, where he jumped to conclusions and lost his temper, took it out on someone who didn’t deserve it. The person who deserved retribution was standing next to him. And he would make sure to take care of that sooner rather than later, preferably with her naked body under his and his tongue in her mouth, or better yet, with her over his knee and his hand to her bare ass. Oh yes, this game of hers definitely deserved retribution.

  “Oh, you don’t need to say anything.” Ben glanced at Rainey as he let go of his hand. “Does he, Princess?” Rainey didn’t answer but transferred her glare to Ben. “But I have to say, I’m glad to hear she won’t be relying on me anymore for her morning coffee. She can be a moody bitch before she’s had her fix.” Sarah snickered, while Rainey’s glare intensified, causing Ben to chuckle once more.

  “You don’t say,” Logan agreed, his eyes still on Rainey. If looks could kill, they’d both be dead, but Logan held Rainey’s glare until Sarah asked him, “Would you like to come in and have some coffee? I can whip up some eggs for breakfast. Or maybe pancakes?’”

  “No, Mom, he doesn’t want to have breakfast.”

  Logan ignored Rainey and said, “I appreciate the offer, Sarah, and I’d love to take a rain check if you’ll let me, but Rainey and I are expected at the gym in less than an hour. I brought breakfast on the go for the both of us seeing as I’ve suffered her morning mood more than once in the past month and know how grumpy she can be without food in her belly.”

  Ben chuckled once more, accompanied by another snicker by Sarah. Logan smiled back at them, ignoring the heat he could feel on the side of his face from Rainey’s glare.

  “I like him. He’ll do.” This came from Ben, who lifted his chin at Logan, giving him his blessing through a grin. Logan returned the chin lift, relieved he hadn’t antagonized this man with his outburst. He could tell they were all close by how comfortably and lovingly they were teasing each other; even through Rainey’s anger he could tell she was close to both her mother and her mother’s boyfriend. He wondered for a second where Rainey’s father was, but filed that question away to deal with later. He wanted to know everything there was to know about her, but right now, he had his hands full with convincing her to let him in enough so he would get that chance.

  Logan looked at Rainey and saw her head was hanging down as she was shaking it with what he thought was frustration, but when she lifted it when her mother called her name, he saw it wasn’t that; it was resignation mixed with apprehension, and maybe a little bit of fear. He was about to move closer to her, to try and comfort and reassure her, but Sarah beat him to it as she stepped close and cupped her cheeks gently.

  “Remember what I said, baby. It’ll all be okay. You’re strong. You can do this,” she whispered with her forehead touching Rainey’s. Rainey took a deep breath and closed her eyes, then opened them and nodded. “Good girl,” Sarah whispered, then touched her lips lightly to her daughter’s forehead before she stepped back into Ben’s side. Ben pulled her closer until she leaned into him. Logan watched all this with alert and assessing eyes. Something was going on here, something important. Rainey wasn’t this upset over his jealous outburst and Ben’s teasing. Now that he thought about it, she had looked worried and lost in her head when she had come out of the house. Add that to how sad and defeated she had looked yesterday morning, and he knew something big was happening.

  Something he was going to find out what it was.

  Then he would do anything in his power to make that sadness behind her eyes disappear.

  He meant it.

  He’d do anything and everything he could to make sure Rainey never had to be sad again, or worried, or scared, or any bad feeling that existed.

  It was a calling, a need he had to fulfill.

  To make her happy.

  To make her smile.

  To make her eyes sparkle with the light he had seen so many times at the shelter when she worked with the kids, when she laughed with her co-workers, when she played her guitar and sang.

  That was his mission now: ensure Rainey’s happiness, which in return meant his happiness.

  Without hesitation, he stepped into Rainey’s space. He felt her stiffen when she realized what he was doing, but he pushed ahead and gently but firmly cupped her face with his hand, just like her mother had done only moments before. Then he tilted her head until she was looking into his eyes. Then he looked, really looked, into hers, searching, reading, showing her he wasn’t going anywhere no matter what she threw his way. Like he told her yesterday, he wasn’t going to hold back anymore. Rainey’s eyes didn’t waver from his when they turned from surprised to annoyed to angry to confused until they settled on nervous.

  Nervous was good.

  Nervous meant she understood he wouldn’t let her push him away.

  Nervous he could work with.

  That’s right, sweetheart.

  He wanted her to tell him what was on her mind so he could help her work through it, could help her fix it, or even better, could fix it for her, but he didn’t want an audience. So he took this win and leaned in to kiss Rainey’s cheek, close to the corner of her mouth, and felt her body shiver when he did, making him smile.

  “I like him too,” he heard Sarah whisper, which turned his smile into a huge grin.

  Chapter 8

  Rainey

  SHIT.

  Fucking Shit.

  What the hell was I supposed to do now?

  Logan showed up at the worst possible moment, a moment when I wasn’t expecting him, when I had my guard down, when I was vulnerable.

  I had just come from Mom and Ben’s after another sleepless night, my mind still on her tests and the results that would take a few days to come in, and on what she had said to me about my anxiety about having to go to the gym with Logan for work today. I hadn’t admitted it to her at first—she had enough to deal with right now and I didn’t want to add to that burden—but of course, she had seen right through me.

  “Rainey. Spill.” She gave me a stern look with that firm voice, the Mom Voice, the one you know you didn’t have a choice but to answer.

  I sighed, giving in.

  “I have to go to the gym today. For work.”

  “The gym? What do you mean? They’re making you work out now for work? Or are you taking some of the kids there?”

  I sighed again, dreading having to talk about any of this, especially with my mom. She hadn’t gone to watch my father train as I much as I had, but she had gone regularly, at least when he wasn’t close to an important fight—she had been too much of a distraction, and the trainers had banned her from coming around the final crucial weeks before a match—and she had always liked it, watching her husband train, standing at the ring, proud. I didn’t want to bring any of that up. Yes, she had Ben now, but we still didn’t talk about my father often; never actually. And he had just come up yesterday when I had told them about Logan. I wasn’t ready to bring him up again yet, even though I knew the memories would invade my mind the second I stepped foot into that gym, earlie
r probably. Hell, they were invading my mind now. Still, I wanted to procrastinate for as long as possible. In the beginning, after my father had changed and after my mom and I had moved out, Mom had tried to explain to me why he did what he did, even though I knew she didn’t fully understand his behavior herself. I might have been only fourteen years old, but I understood and saw and heard more things than my parents realized. So I knew my mother could never have done what my father had. Still, she tried to never talk bad about him, at least in front of me, told me he was still my father and always would be, that he loved me and always would. Until the day the divorce papers came in the mail. And with them his signature, giving up his parental rights, and the request my mother and I give up his name and take on her maiden name. That was the moment I had refused to ever talk to him or about him ever again. I had been fifteen, almost sixteen, hadn’t seen or talked to my father in over a year, and my heart had shattered. Yesterday had been the first time in a long time he had come up. A very long time. I might think about him a lot, not in the front of my mind, but in the back, though involuntarily. I never brought him up directly, because I knew the pain I had experienced at knowing my father didn’t love me and gave me up without a fight, without even a conversation, without anything at all, would never really go away, and what he had done had shaped me into the adult I am now.

  Having to talk about him now because I was close to panicking about going to Logan’s gym, was making me sick to my stomach.

  “Not a normal gym, Mom. Logan is taking me to his gym. He is going to run a self-defense class for our girls with some of the other trainers there and since none of the other women working at the shelter are available, Taryn put me in charge of the project.”

  I saw it click in my mom’s head when she understood what I was saying. Then sympathy and worry entered her eyes.

  “Baby,” she murmured knowingly.

  I closed my eyes, then opened them when I felt my mom’s hand covering mine. Her eyes were understanding and sympathetic, as well as a little reproachful.