Page 23

Chapter 23

Ari

O ver the next week, I was far too busy with the gym and dealing with all the promoters who now wanted a part of Bones to spend any alone time with any of the men in my life. Whether we wanted to or not, all of the distractions seemed to really leave things hanging. At the time, I was happy with not having to face what exactly we were and what it all meant, but now that enough time had passed, it had left my head spinning.

I still felt like there was something more than just a one-night hookup, because every time we looked at one another, we experienced a spark and a secret smile. The same could be said for Lotto. Even though he and I worked closely discussing the upcoming Heathens Hollow fight, we had kept it strictly professional and always with others around. It was almost as if we both didn’t trust us ourselves alone.

Both men constantly left my heart fluttering, but that was all there would ever be for the time being. At least until we got some time alone, which with the intense training schedule, I didn’t see happening any time soon.

And Frankie. Well, Frankie and I barely spoke. This was normal for us, however. Whenever we’d broached the “relationship” topic in the past, it would lead to us spending weeks apart until we just both forgot about it and moved on. We didn’t face things head on. We ostriched the fuck up, and this time was no different.

So we worked our asses off. All of us.

On top of the training, the PR team Lotto and I hired had Bones doing constant interviews and social media promotional opportunities to try his best to rebuild his reputation. This was important to the promoters setting up the fights, but I was also finding it to be a massive pain in the ass.

It was good for Smiley’s as well. The attention Bones brought to the gym had the money rolling in. More people were signing up, the number of promoters knocking on our door increased, and the advertisers were desperate to be a part of what we were currently rebuilding in Bones. The entire fighting world might be divided in their opinion of him, and what sort of person he was, but it was attention. All publicity was good publicity.

I was certain Bones wouldn’t betray us like people were suggesting. My gut told me he wouldn’t throw a fight and screw over Smiley’s and the team we built to support him, even if he had done it before. I didn’t know the full extent of the past yet, not from Bones’ point of view anyway, but I gained the impression that whatever had driven him to make that past mistake was gone.

He was a different man now.

Maybe I was being na?ve. Maybe I was just seeing what I wanted to, but my instincts were telling me I was right, and that everything was going to be fine.

“We have a meeting today.” Frankie stalked into the office with Lotto close behind, a furious frown on his face. “The Heathens Hollow promoters want to talk to us.”

My blood ran cold at his statement. If the Heathens Hollow promoters wanted to meet with us today, then we had definitely done something wrong.

“The Godwins?”

“They didn’t say who was coming,” Lotto said as he took a seat.

“Do you think it’s about Bones?” Panic lacing my words. I already knew the answer to that question. What else could it be?

“I would assume so,” Frankie said, maintaining eye contact for a second. I missed him. Jesus, I missed him. “I can’t see what else it’ll be.”

“What time are they going to be here?” I was going to get grilled. I was the recruiter. I’d gone after Bones and essentially forced him to join the gym. If they had any concerns, or they didn’t like it, I was going to have to accept the consequences.

“In an hour or so,” Lotto said, looking more nervous than I was comfortable seeing.

A part of me was glad that it was so soon because it didn’t give Frankie too long to get worked up, but another part of me was totally freaked out. An hour wasn’t long enough to figure out what I was going to say. Sure, I knew why I’d picked Bones and that I’d done the right thing. But how was I going to get that across if they disagreed?

I instantly started pulling up my research, getting some solid numbers on Bones and his stats to present to the promoters. With that, I started to feel a little more confident. He was a damn good fighter with a solid background, and if it hadn’t been for the fuckup at the end, he probably would have been one of the most sought-after fighters on the planet.

A text came through Frankie’s phone, and he scowled. “Scratch that, they’re here now. We better take this to the larger meeting room.”

“Let’s stay calm,” Lotto began.

“Have you met the Godwins?” Frankie asked. “Any of them? Because I have. And if you aren’t nervous then you’re a damn fool.”

My heart raced the second I stepped through the door into the meeting with the Heathens Hollow team, because each had a stern expression. Unlike Frankie, I had never met a Godwin, so I had no idea who was who. But by the looks of the older man in the group with a suit and watch possibly more expensive than everything I owned, and the pure power he exuded from every one of his pores, I guessed he was Troy Godwin—the patriarch.

They were clearly already annoyed about everything, which was going to make this so much harder. Was I going to be able to make them see Bones’ stats and understand the extra revenue that he could bring to the event if they’d already made up their minds about him?

Frankie took the lead with the introductions, and my assumption had been correct.

Troy Godwin stood before me.

I suppose I should have been happy that his entire family wasn’t present, but even his entourage was terrifying.

“I think we all know why we’re here,” Troy Godwin said, frustration and anger dripping from his tongue. “We need to discuss the latest… addition to your lineup.”

I felt sick to my stomach, totally afraid I might not be able to work through this after all. It was all well and good having an idea of what I was going to say, but now that I had all those black, beady eyes staring into my soul, everything was just… floating away. I tried to discreetly draw a few, deep calming breaths, but it wasn’t working one bit. Nerves were bursting through my body, sending trembles through my limbs, and my heart was beating at epic proportions.

“Who the hell is responsible for this?” Troy added.

“I… I am,” I answered with a shake in my voice. “ Smiley’s needed someone worthy to fight, and after a little research and a successful tryout session, we felt like Bones Vega would be the best addition to the gym. We see potential in him to become the best and to be the headliner of all fights to come.”

“So, you decided to bring someone in who is infamous for throwing a huge fight and making a fiasco of our Heathens Hollow event? Again . Who is unreliable, and now far too old to really have a shot?”

“Well, if you look at his statistics.” I was shaking, all my speech flowing from my mind. I had it so well-written out, so perfectly constructed, and now he had completely thrown me by asking all the difficult questions from the outset. “He was undefeated before?—”

“Over a year ago,” Troy said, scathingly. “Old stats don’t mean anything anymore. He’s been out of action. After his scandal, no one even knew where he went.” He paused, scanned my body from head to toe. “Maybe I should have bought your father’s gym when I had the chance.” He smirked. “Maybe I should simply take it now.”

“He won his last fight,” Frankie completely shocked me by saying. I spun around to look at both Frankie and Lotto, unable to believe that he was sticking up for Bones. He was the one who had been dead set against the idea of Bones joining in the first place, and I’d assumed he would love the chance to say I told you so . “He’s been fighting with a renewed power, working hard, and showing that he may have what it takes.”

“Plus, he’s a showman. People like watching what he brings to the cage,” Lotto cut in. “No denying that.”

“But there is so much bad press surrounding him,” one of the cross-looking promoters I didn’t know interjected. “How are we supposed to just ignore that? He could turn our event into a damn circus.”

“He cost me a lot of fucking money,” Troy added. “I haven’t forgotten.”

“We have no doubt that if you bet on him at Heathens Hollow, he’ll make it all back,” Frankie added. “I sure as hell plan on making bank on the man. He’ll be the under in the betting. No one will think he’ll win. And I’m telling you. He will.”

I felt more confident now that Frankie had spoken out. It made me feel like I was not on my own here. These old-school men would respect the notorious Freakshow’s opinion more than mine—as much as that pissed me off—so having his support was paramount.

“All the negative coverage and trolls could actually bring in more revenue, and you all know it,” I shot back, sending Frankie a self-satisfied smile. “There might be shit talk, people arguing over our decision to have Bones Vega fighting, but at least they’re talking about us. His supporters will be there. People who want to see him succeed and fail will be buying tickets. Whether that’s to hurl abuse at him or to support him, it really doesn’t matter. The money is lining your pockets.”

Of course, I didn’t truly feel that way. I didn’t want people to yell nasty things at Bones as he entered the cage. But I needed to speak this group’s language, and the only thing that they fully understood or cared about was money.

“But what if he throws the fight again? This time, for even more money than before?” Troy stared intimidatingly at me. It was as if he thought that he’d be able to get me to back down just by looking at me. “What then?”

“He won’t,” I said confidently, staring right back at him. “He’s made his mistakes, but this second chance means a lot to him. He has more people relying on him than the public realizes. He’ll earn back everyone’s trust over time. I can be sure of that. And while he’s winning everyone else over, we will all be benefitting from a string of wins like nothing we’ve seen in a very long time.”

“Freakshow,” Troy snapped, completely looking away from me. “I expect you to keep a strict eye on that asshole. I don’t trust him, and I need someone to ensure that he doesn’t fuck up. In fact, if you suspect that he might be up to anything unsavory, then I pull his ass.” He shot me a dirty look, before continuing. “We can’t do anything about him being on the lineup now, unless we want to deal with the shit storm that would cause with the people who have already bought tickets and flying from all over the world to Heathens Hollow to attend. So we’re just going to have to be careful to protect our asses. I don’t want this short-term financial gain to have negative long-term effects.” He then looked back at Frankie. “And tell that fucker if he cheats me again, I’ll have him killed. I’ll have all of you killed.”

“Understood,” Frankie said, although I could see his jaw was tight and his fists were clenched.

“You have our word,” Lotto added.

“No,” Troy said, locking eyes with me. “I’ll have your fucking heads.”