Page 3 of Falling for the Knockout (No Mercy #1)

K issing Aurora, even on the cheek, wasn’t part of his plan, but he just couldn’t help himself. Telling her that he more than liked her definitely wasn’t his plan and now, he needed to figure out his next move, because working with her every morning was going to be pretty damn awkward.

After he spilled his guts to Aurora, she convinced him that he should go home or do whatever he did after working at the bakery every morning. He tried to protest, but he had to admit, he wanted to get out of there to regroup before he did something with Aurora that he couldn’t take back. So, he did what he did every morning after leaving the bakery—went to the gym to work out. He was predictable, but his Nonno said that was what would make him a great fighter. Maybe his grandfather was right, but Tony felt like he might never get his break.

The gym was only a few miles from the bakery, and he made record time getting there. Maybe it was his fight or flight kicking in, but he ran out of that bakery like his ass was on fire. He was a coward and there was probably no coming back from embarrassing himself in front of Aurora. He would have to figure out a way because he was sure that his Nonno wouldn’t be up to working at the bakery for a while, if ever again.

Tony walked into the gym, finding Jonesy standing in the back corner with his arms crossed over his chest. Jonesy wasn’t just Tony’s promoter; he was his trainer and a personal friend of his grandfather’s. Jonesy liked to run a tight ship but that was what made him a good trainer. “You’re late,” Jonesy grumbled.

Tony checked his watch and rolled his eyes at his trainer. “I’m one minute late,” he said, tossing his gym bag to the floor.

“You still have to get dressed to train, and that means you’ll be another ten minutes. So, technically, you’ll be eleven minutes late.” Tony rolled his eyes at Jonesy again, making his friend growl—actually growl, at him. He knew Jonesy well enough to know that when he got this way, Tony knew to back down.

“I’ll get ready now,” he said, picking up his gym back and heading back to the locker room, not giving Jonesy another chance to growl at him.

Tony turned the corner into the locker room and found Rocco and Luca standing by his locker as though they needed to talk to him and he had a pretty good idea of what or in this case, who they wanted to discuss. Those jerks saw a pretty girl and they’d lose their minds—and Aurora was gorgeous. If he told them to keep their hands off her, they’d assume that he and Aurora were together, and that was the last thing that Tony needed. But if he let the guys know that they weren’t together, Luca and Rocco would be lining up at her door, begging her to go out with them. The desperate assholes wouldn’t leave her alone, and that would piss Tony off.

“Whatever it is, I don’t have time for it, guys,” he insisted, pushing past them to his locker.

“You don’t even know what we were going to say,” Rocco said. Tony pulled his shirt up over his head and tossed it into his locker. He didn’t like to wear a shirt while sparring. He wasn’t going to be wearing one in his next fight, and he wanted to train as though every sparring partner was the actual fight. His grandfather taught him never to leave anything on the table, even while sparring.

“Um, I have a pretty good idea what you two want to talk to me about.”

“So, you read minds now?” Luca asked. His Brooklyn accent came out whenever he tried to act tough.

“I don’t have to read minds to know that you two want to know about Aurora,” Tony said.

“Okay, well you can read minds,” Luca grumbled.

“How about it then?” Rocco asked. “Is she single?”

“I’m not telling either of you assholes about Aurora. She’s a nice girl and she deserves better than either of you,” Tony insisted. It was true too. Aurora was the sweetest person he had ever known. That was one of the reasons why he kept his hands to himself around her—well, until today when he kissed her cheek. Just one simple gesture made him want so much more with her. He just wasn’t sure if that was a good idea or not. The one thing that he was sure of was that Rocco and Luca would just use her and break her heart.

“So, that’s a no then,” Luca said. “Dibs.”

“You can’t fucking call dibs for a person,” Rocco insisted.

“Finally, a voice of reason,” Tony grumbled.

“Fine, I get to ask her out first,” Luca said.

“That’s still calling dibs,” Rocco complained. “I think you might need a dictionary.”

“Ha, ha,” Luca drawled. “I think that you might need a punch in the face.” He stepped towards Rocco and Tony stepped between them. The last thing they needed was a fight to start in the locker room again. The last time that happened, the three of them were worked like dogs by Jonesy. He seemed to take some sick satisfaction in punishing the three of them. Tony had learned his lesson, but for some reason, Rocco and Luca hadn’t.

“You two apes remember what happened the last time we fought here?” Tony asked.

“Yeah,” Rocco said, standing down.

“Right,” Luca agreed, “sorry, man.” Tony knew that if he didn’t step up and put a stop to this whole thing, Luca and Rocco would end up in a fistfight sooner or later.

“None of this matters anyway,” Tony said.

“Why’s that?” Luca asked.

“Because Aurora is with me,” he lied. “I wasn’t going to tell anyone since our relationship is so brand new. But you two blew my chances of keeping the secret when you stuck your noses where they didn’t belong.”

“So, you’re saying that she’s hands off then?” Luca asked.

“I am,” Tony said, defiantly raising his chin as though daring his friends to challenge him.

“Why didn’t you two act like you were together earlier at the bakery? You two were more like awkward coworkers, not two people in a romantic relationship,” Rocco insisted. Tony knew that he was going to have to make his lie believable if he wanted the guys to stop bugging him about Aurora.

“I already told you both that we just started seeing each other,” he reminded, “and we both want time to see where this goes. We don’t want to advertise the two of us being together, especially in front of my Nonno. He might not let us work together if he knew.” Yeah, he probably took it too far when he added the part about his grandfather not letting the two of them work together anymore. He just hoped that the guys had forgotten the fact that his grandfather worked alongside his grandmother in that bakery for nearly sixty years.

Rocco squinted his eyes at him and for a second, Tony was sure that he was going to call his bluff. “You three idiots done comparing dick sizes or should I give you some more privacy?” Jonesy asked. Tony wanted to run to the guy and kiss him for saving him from having to continue their conversation. He was sure that he was going to get caught up in a lie, and Jonesy was giving him a way out.

“That’s not what we were doing, Jonesy,” Rocco insisted.

“Sure,” Jonesy grumbled, “get your asses dressed and get in the ring. I won’t say it again. Next time, I’ll run you through a workout that will make the last one look like recess at grade school.”

“Shit,” Luca whispered.

“Glad you’re getting it, Luca. Hey, Tony, you have a phone call in the office. They said they couldn’t reach you by cell and the gym was the number that they were given in case of emergency.” Shit—he left his cell phone at the bakery as he rushed to get out of there after he kissed Aurora’s cheek and basically told her that he had feelings for her.

“What emergency?” Tony asked. He suddenly had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, and he worried that it was about to get worse.

“I have no clue,” Jonesy said, “I don’t pry into your business, Tony.” He wanted to call bullshit on his last statement, but Tony wanted to get up to the office to find out who was trying to reach him with an emergency. “Go take the call and then meet us back at the ring, got it?” Jonesy asked. Tony nodded and slammed his locker door, not bothering to lock it. He ran up the stairs, taking two at a time, and didn’t bother to knock on the office door. Jonesy was the only person who used that space, and he was down in the locker room, giving the guys a hard time.

Tony picked up the phone and pushed the blinking button for line two. Jonesy was old school and really didn’t like technology, so he kept things the way that they were when he bought the place in the late 80’s. Tony thought that it was endearing, usually, but when he couldn’t get in touch with Jonesy because he didn’t use cell phones, that got to be a pain in the ass.

“Hello,” Tony said into the ancient phone.

“I’m looking for Vitale, Jr.,” a woman said on the other end of the call.

“Call me Tony,” he said, “how can I help you?” he asked. For some reason, his tummy felt as though it was doing flip-flops inside of him.

“This is Nurse Madison down at County General Hospital. I’m sorry to inform you that your grandfather is here and he’s not doing so well. You’re listed as his emergency contact, and I think you should come down to help him home. I’m not sure that he should drive himself right now.”

“What’s happened to him?” Tony asked. He was filled with panic and his only relief was that his Nonno was still alive and at the hospital.

“I’m afraid that I can’t tell you that because he hasn’t put you on his HIPPA form,” she insisted.

“Wait—I’m listed as his emergency contact, but you can’t tell me what’s wrong with him? Is he having an emergency?” Tony asked.

“Um, not exactly, but he needs your help,” she said. “If you want more answers, I’m afraid that you’ll have to get them from him.”

“Fine, I’ll be there in about twenty minutes,” he said, hanging up the phone. He knew that getting to the hospital in twenty minutes was going to be a long shot, but he could take a few shortcuts. He just hoped like hell that his Nonno was going to be okay.

He ran down the steps and back into the locker room to grab his clothes, quickly pulling them on. He put his keys and wallet into his pocket and grabbed his gym bag to head out to his truck.

“Where are you going?” Jonesy asked, standing in the doorway to the locker room.

“I have to go to the hospital,” Tony breathed, shoving past Jonesy. “My grandfather is there, and the nurse said that he’s not doing well. I have to go help him home.”

“Did she say what’s wrong with him?” Jonesy asked.

“No, I’m not on his fucking HIPPA form, but I plan to change that. Right now, I just need to get to the hospital,” he repeated.

“Of course, kid,” Jonesy agreed. “Call me if you need anything.”

“Thanks,” Tony said, “I’ll be in touch.” He made his way to the front entrance and waved over his shoulder to the guys as they called his name. Jonesy could fill them in. Right now, he had about sixteen minutes to get across town to his grandfather, and with any luck, he was going to make it.