Page 24

Chapter 24

Bones

“ W hat the fuck is that?” I mumbled to myself as I pulled up at home. Ever since I joined Smiley’s , I hadn’t had many visitors at my house. Which was probably because no one knew where it was. So, it was a shock to see a strange car in my driveway. To make it worse, it was a flashy sports car, which meant it belonged to someone who had a whole bunch of money. But I had no idea who it could be.

Was it a recruiter from another gym trying to steal me away?

No. Maybe in the past that would have happened, but not anymore. No one was going to want to take on the PR nightmare that I was other than Ari.

So who then?

It wasn’t until I stepped out of the car, and I spotted the very unwelcome, very familiar number plate, that it hit me.

KingNero1.

The car belonged to Nero Rodriguez—the man who’d got me into this fucking mess in the first place. The man who made me throw that fight. The man who helped ruin my life.

My heart rate kicked up to a whole new level as I started to realize what this might mean. If he was back in my life, he must want something. Even though I didn’t have a damn fucking thing left for him. He already had absolutely everything of mine.

I pumped my fists angrily at my side as I marched toward the front door, noticing that he’d already let himself in. Something he always used to do. Of course, back then, he was letting himself into my swanky Seattle apartment, wandering among the hallways of greatness, helping himself to top-shelf booze on my mahogany bar that cost more than most people made in a year. Whereas now, he’d gone into a shitty, rundown house.

I shoved the door open violently, smacking it against the wall with a loud bang, and I stalked from room to room just waiting to see that damn fucking face of his again.

That fucking smug bastard smirk. That horrible way he squinted. His arrogant aura.

How the hell had I ever thought that he was my friend? Sure, he’d entered my life at a vulnerable point, just when I’d found out Dad had cancer the first time around. Nero had shown me a surprisingly good time, despite all of the shit I was going through. I’d been a fucking na?ve idiot back then. I’d thought he’d wanted to be my friend. I hadn’t realized he’d been grooming me, drawing me in to be one of his biggest clients. He’d used my dad’s vulnerability to get to me. He’d taken me to the casino and shown me how easy it was to win big. He’d seemed to realize that I needed a quick cash fix to help my dad, and I’d fallen for it all. I’d been so desperate for cash, and I’d been sucked in like a fucking chump.

Well not again. I would never, ever be fooled by that damn idiot again, and I intended to let him know that the second I saw him. It enraged me to no end he was even here, anywhere near my life, and it terrified me, too. The influence this man once had on my life, and the threats he had made to get what he wanted out of me, had fucked with my head. Nero was a big part of the reason why I wanted nothing more than to lock myself away from the rest of the world.

I soon found him standing in my front room with his arms outstretched to hug me, as if we were old friends. “Hey there, Bones. It’s wonderful to see you again!” he said smarmily, with that familiar smirk I hated playing on his lips. “How have you been?”

I had no intention of having any fake small talk with this guy. Especially as I didn’t know what fucked-up game he was playing. “What do you want?” I snapped back. “And how did you find out where I live?”

“When I want to know something, it’s easy to find,” he said, making his meaning all too clear.

When I was penniless and out of the sport, I was no use to him. Now that I’d made my comeback, all of a sudden, he wanted to know me again. He had come back to me because he thought he could sink in his claws. Knowing this man, he probably knew about my dad being sick again, too. He was probably aware of how ill he was, and he intended to use that to his advantage.

Well, not this time. I was stronger now. More capable. I’d find a way to look after Dad with Lotto by my side. Somehow.

“I thought I made it perfectly clear last time I saw you that I never wanted to see your face again,” I barked.

Our last meeting had not been a good one, to say the least. It had taken place just after I’d thrown the fight, allowing him to make a whole load of money from bets. Back then, no one would ever have suspected I’d ever lose on purpose, which would pay off the last of the debts I owed to Nero.

What had started as a way to make enough money for Dad’s cancer treatment, had taken an awful turn. Gambling had consumed me. I’d been sucked in by its promise, which had led me to take out numerous loans from my good friend Nero. In the end, I’d owed him so big, the fight fixing had been the only way to get out of my huge hole. I’d owed money to many people—to many bad people who had lost patience waiting to be paid. There had been no other way. Or at least no other way I could see in my constant drug- and alcohol-infused state at the time.

What was one fight?

What was one fight where I sold my soul to the devil?

Hell. That was what it was. Complete and utter hell.

I’d let myself down, the fans down, and everyone who’d known that fight had been mine to win. Then, of course, the power of social media guessed what might have happened, and they posted all kinds of terrible things about me. They hadn’t known for sure, but by that point, it really didn’t matter.

I’d told Nero to fuck off, get out of my life, and to never come near me again. And I honestly thought that would happen. I’d assumed he would see how far he’d pushed me, and that would be the end of it.

And for a while, it seemed like it had worked.

“Oh, don’t be like that,” Nero teased me playfully, as if he didn’t give a shit what he put me through. “I think we can help each other again, bro.”

“Help?” I half laughed back. “Help each other. Do you really think you helped me last time? Did you not see the mess you left of my life?”

“Did you get the money to pay for your dad’s treatment?” His tone went cold. “Was it my fault you got sucked in so deeply? I didn’t rack up your gambling debt. You did.”

I wanted to laugh, to tell him that he was supposed to be my friend, and that he could have accepted another method of payment for my issues, but there was really no point. He didn’t see what he was doing wrong. I’d known that for a very long time. You couldn’t argue with stupid and stubborn.

“Look, all I’m asking for is a chance for us to make some money again. It won’t be like last time. We’ll do things totally differently.” He stepped closer to me, trying to look as genuine as humanly possible. “Judging by this shit-pit house that you live in, you could really use the cash. We all know that old-school gym isn’t going to be paying you that much.”

Even though he wasn’t tempting me in the slightest, he knew just the right words to say to get under my skin. He was an expert in manipulation, and it pissed me off that I was in this position again.

“Just get the fuck out of my house,” I sneered at him as I balled my fists. “I don’t care what you think. I don’t give a shit why you’re here. I will never do anything with you ever again. The sooner you understand that, the better.” My words didn’t affect him at all. A serene smile played on his lips. “I would honestly rather die than work with you.”

“Okay.” He held his hands up in a defeated gesture. “I can see you’re still a little upset about something that happened over a year ago . If you’re really unable to let things go, despite the fact that you’re on your way up again, then that’s fine.” He moved toward the door. “But if you do change your mind, here’s my info.” He slid a business card onto the coffee table, which made me roll my eyes in disgust. “I suspect you’ll be calling me soon enough.”

I had to bite down on my lip, to stop the expletives from spilling out because I wanted him to go now. I didn’t want to draw him back into a fight, not when he was so close to the door.

“Fucking idiot,” I muttered under my breath as soon as the door clicked behind him. “Fucker.”

I went upstairs, wanting to see if my dad was okay, and I quickly found him sitting up on his bed, looking shaken up and weak. The first thought that ran through my mind was that Nero had come up to the room and done something to him, but I quickly shook away that thought. Nero might be a scumbag, and the lowest of the low, but he would never do something like that. No one would.

“Are you okay, Dad?” I raced to his side and pulled his blanket up tighter around him, feeling my fingers brush against his ice-cold skin at the same time. My mind rushed into a state of panic, tying itself up in knots, worrying about what I could do to help him. “What should I do? Should I call the nurse? Or the hospital?”

“Don’t fuss,” he said as he tried his best to reassure me with a smile but in a weak-sounding voice. “It’s just a cold. I’ll be okay. I just need to get to the bathroom. That’s all.”

“I’ll help you.” I smiled reassuringly, tucking myself under his armpit. I might be acting like I was okay on the outside, but I was desperately not. Helping my grown-ass father—someone who used to be the strongest man I knew—to the bathroom ripped out my guts.

As I helped him across the hallway and into the bathroom, my mind totally freaked out, wondering what I was going to do now. The cancer was obviously creeping its way back through his body, eating him up from the inside out, and he was truly too weak to fight it this time. If he was going to have treatment again, he was going to need it soon. But I really didn’t know how I was going to afford it with no insurance. And I already knew how much all the experimental treatments were. All the money I was earning up to this point was covering the unpaid bills I already had and not even all of them. I simply didn’t have enough to cover this, too.

But I was going to have to. If I didn’t, then he’d die.

My thoughts went to the business card downstairs. The one piece of paper that could unlock everything.

Like a damn crack dealer, Nero had left the drug… a chance at more money.

But, of course, it wasn’t going to be used. I could not make the same mistakes I’d made last time. I couldn’t. If I did this again, whatever my reasoning, there wouldn’t be a third chance. I was lucky to be in the position that I was in. I knew that, and I couldn’t risk it.

But what other options did I have? I already knew that I was not going to take that path, but I didn’t know what other roads were open for me. It was frustrating to be helpless, and to feel hopeless when it came to the one constant in my life. Things might not have always been straightforward in my life, but my father had never been an issue. I couldn’t lose him. I really couldn’t. I needed to do something. No matter what it took. I had to fight for his life. I had to fight.

“I need to get to the gym,” I told my dad after I helped him back to bed. “Are you going to be okay for a bit?”

“Go. Go,” he reassured. “I’m fine.”

He may be, but I sure as fuck wasn’t. And right now I needed to be around Lotto… and Ari… and fuck me… even Frankie.