Page 32

Chapter

Thirty-Two

BONES

A lonzo’s glove connected with the left side of my jaw.

My head whipped around with a sickening crack.

Pain radiated up the side of my head and vibrated my skull.

I tried to move my head to the side, but tendrils of electricity zapped through my nerves.

Whatever the fuck he just did, it couldn’t be good.

I threw up my hand. The referee pulled us apart for a timeout, and I scurried back to my corner. Ari and Frankie hopped up on the side of the ring, handing me a towel and my water bottle.

But when I opened my jaw to drink some, the same pain flashed through my entire body.

Fuck, had Alonzo broken my jaw?

“Your face is swollen.” Ari gently touched my chin, and I winced. “Bones, this is bad. We have to call it.”

“I’m not giving up here,” I said through gritted teeth. I’d had worse injuries in the cages, and I hadn’t quit. This would be no different.

Frankie grabbed my head and jerked it to the left. I cried out in pain and pushed him away. My head throbbed so bad, it blurred my vision.

“You can’t even move your fucking head,” Frankie said. “As your trainer?—”

“I can do this!” I shouted. I tapped my gloves together and sucked in a breath through my nose. “I’m not giving up here.”

“You need a doctor. Please, Bones,” she urged. “You’ve already done enough for us.”

“And that’s not enough.”

“Don’t be a fucking idiot. Now’s not the time to play hero,” Frankie said.

“Third place in the entire Circuit is amazing, especially with the season we had. That’ll be enough, Bones.” Ari set a hand on my shoulder, her blue eyes sparkling like diamonds. “We should be proud of that. You should be proud of that.”

“I’ll be proud when the ref holds up my arm. I’m finishing this.” I grunted.

I shook out my head. It hurt like a bitch to move to the left, but it didn’t feel broken. Probably a pinched nerve. Nothing I couldn’t handle for another two rounds at the most.

I could see a doctor when I pummeled Alonzo to the mat.

The ref signaled to us. “Are you good to go or not?”

The air hung silent. For a split second, it was just me, Ari, and Frankie, staring at each other from different planets. But then Frankie slapped my back and nodded, and our worlds collided.

“Give him hell,” he said and pushed me back into the ring.

Alonzo and I tapped gloves one more time and our fight began again.

This motherfucker was relentless. I had faced him before during the season, but this was something else. He was determined to knock my ass out. He threw punch after punch to my left side. He must have seen my injury and was trying to make me pay for it.

But that meant he left his side open for attack.

I punched just below his ribs. Something cracked and Alonzo winced. But even then, he didn’t stop. He kept coming at me like a raging bull. He got me back on the ropes, and all I could do was hold up my gloves to protect my head.

My body throbbed with pain. Alonzo put everything into his attacks; it rattled my brain and spiked agony along my neck.

Just when I thought I was done for, the bell rang.

End of round four.

The ref pulled Alonzo away from me. He took a few steps back and flashed me one of his signature grins. But this one was more than that: it was cocky and gloating. Moni, Vinny, and their staff all sported the same look.

They thought they’d won.

Fuck ’em.

I had one more round to prove them wrong.

I slumped into my chair for the break, and Frankie massaged my neck. I groaned through the pain and couldn’t even move my damn head. Some doctor was going to be really pissed off at me.

But five minutes remained to change our futures.

“Bones…” Ari said then shook her head. She seemed resigned to my choice now. “Hang in there. I’ll never forgive you if you break your jaw.”

“Yes, you will.” I smirked.

“Okay, I will, but if you do, I’m going to make you the nastiest green smoothies and blended soups and force you to drink them through a straw.”

“A vanilla milkshake doesn’t sound too bad.”

“You’re going to get ground cheeseburger milkshakes and endless borscht.”

“Fuck. You’re serious, aren’t you?”

“With my life. So don’t do anything stupid. Got it?”

“Got it.”

“This isn’t the underground, so I can’t tell you to go for his ribs again.” Frankie set a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “But I can tell you that he’s leaving that area open because he’s tired.”

I swallowed and fought off a grimace. Even that hurt like a bitch. “Then I need to make him pay for it.”

“If he doesn’t make you pay for your neck first.”

“Nothing a little physical therapy can’t fix before Vegas.”

At least I hoped so.

I tapped my gloves together and stood. Frankie slapped my shoulders a few times to loosen me up before he sent me. Ari screamed my name as I took my spot; Lotto, River, and Teo yelled with her.

We tapped gloves. The crowd roared back to life.

But I didn’t hear any of it.

All I heard was the thumping of my heart and Dad’s voice in my head.

Kick ass in the Circuit, would ya? You were born to be a star.

My old man was wrong. I wasn’t born to be a star.

I was born to be a champion .

And though a handful of people tried to stand in my way, I wasn’t going out without one last hoorah.

My steps were faster. My strikes were harder. I danced around Alonzo to avoid his jabs at my left side. Every time he tried, I made him pay with a punch to the gut.

Time ticked by. Three minutes. Two minutes. One minute.

Thirty seconds.

Adrenaline surged through my body.

It was time to win this fucking thing.

Alonzo’s next punch to my jaw moved in slow motion. I jerked out of the way and jabbed at his stomach. The force made Alonzo double over.

This was my shot, and I wasn’t going to get another.

I threw an uppercut. It connected with Alonzo’s chin and sent him sprawling to the mat.

The referee rushed over and started counting.

One, two, three…

But Alonzo couldn’t get to his feet. He swayed to his knees and froze there, even as the ref kept counting.

Six, seven, eight…

And then Alonzo threw up his hand and shook his head.

The ref didn’t need to count anymore.

Alonzo had tapped out.

The ref grabbed my hand and held it up.

I stared at the spotlights shining above me, my eyes blurring with tears.

I’d won.

I’d fucking won .

A pair of arms wrapped around me, then another, and another. Smiley’s gym swarmed me and squeezed until I couldn’t breathe. The crowd went absolutely wild, chanting my name and screaming for more. Among the chaos in the ring, I caught eyes with Alonzo. He offered a dimpled smile and a simple head nod—his admit to defeat.

I was on cloud nine. Fuck my stupid jaw. I didn’t feel anything but the electricity running through my bones and the feverish excitement clawing at my insides.

All the injuries, all the bullshit. It was all for this.

For Vegas.

For Dad.

I looked up to the ceiling and pointed to the sky.

He and Mom were watching over me.

I hoped I made them proud.

“Bones! Bones!” a few reporters at the sidelines called. Cameras flashed and lenses moved my way. “Smiley’s! A word?”

“The word is hospital.” Ari pinched my side.

“Ouch, hey!” I said.

“Your jaw is swollen to all hell, Bones. We’re going to get it looked at. Now. ”

“I can’t even enjoy my spoils?”

But she was right. Now that my determination and adrenaline were wearing off, I could barely talk without wanting to rip off my jaw.

“We’ll talk to the media for you.” River threw an arm over Teo’s shoulder.

“Goddamn, I’m gonna be famous.” Teo laughed and punched me in the upper arm. “All thanks to you, dude.”

I winced. “Keep your ego in check, man. At least until you have the skills to back it up.”

“Aw, come on, not you, too.”

“Go,” Frankie said. “Lotto and I will go talk with the Circuit heads.”

“Why?” I asked.

Lotto’s lips thinned. “Let’s just say our friend Scotty hasn’t exactly stayed away like he’s supposed to.”

“What? He’s here?” I looked around out of reflex. Big mistake. “He’s here?”

When I tried to whip my head around to spot him in the crowd something pulled and shot pain up my jaw. Black etched along my eyes as I turned back to the group. My head pulsed, and I winced.

Ari frowned. “ Doctor . Don’t make me drag you out by the ear.”

“It would probably be the thing that hurts the least right now,” I said.

“Leave the asshole to us.” Lotto placed a hand on my shoulder and grinned. “I’m proud of you.”

“You can be proud of him later,” Frankie said.

There was an edge in his voice that made my heart flip. Frankie knew firsthand how serious head injuries could get. I was sure my decision to keep going, even with a bum jaw, weighed as heavily on him.

But hey, Vegas was a great consolation prize for my dumbass choice.

“Call us as soon as the meeting’s over,” I said. When Frankie nodded, I turned with my whole body to Ari. “Lead the way.”

She grabbed my hand, squeezed, and pulled me toward the parking lot.

Cheers and calls from the crowd followed us out of the ring.

Though it hurt to smile, I couldn’t keep the grin off my face.

Smiley’s was back at the top.

Just like we deserved to be.