Page 70 of The Naughty List

The door opens and my head snaps upward.

Some tiny sliver of hope that she’s actually here escapes the cracks in my heart. But it’s not her.

It’s Addison.

I try not to let my disappointment show. I fail.

She frowns at me. “Well, Mikey’s pissed that you made a ‘female Rossi’s only’ entry rule.”

“Sorry. I’m not taking any hits to the face until that bell rings.”

A hint of a smile curves her lips. She pulls her blond mass of curls to one side and folds her arms. “Well you owe him one. He’s using his cruiser to go get her. Lights, sirens and the whole bit. Which he never does for anyone.”

“Seriously?”

The weight on my shoulders begins to lift, just a little, but it’s something.

She nods. “Yeah. We agree with you. She should be here. Shewantsto be here. She’s just…”

“Stubborn as fuck?”

“Yeah, that. And worried about you. She’s scared, Jonah. How could she not be? This is insanity.”

“I know.” I let my head hang.

“I mean, you have to fight a motherfucking former champion, really? On one week of half-ass training?”

I sigh heavily. “There was nothing half-ass about it, trust me. But yeah, I realize it’s not the brightest idea ever.”

“Ya think?”

Hollis was right. Addison does not mince words or sugar coat shit.

“I’m not coming back to this. No matter what the media says. It’s a one-time thing. It was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up because it benefits the people I care about.”

Addison sits down beside me. “I get that. And Hollis does too. It’s an honorable thing you’re doing. It’s just happens to be crazy as hell.”

“Story of my life.”

“Look, I know you probably think this is the scariest thing you’re going to do tonight, but it’s not.”

I cock an eyebrow at her. “Oh yeah?”

She narrows her eyes on mine. “You tell her how you feel tonight, Jonah. Enough is enough. Every time I turn around she’s bending over backwards to please you, to help you, to meet your needs for whatever reason. We both know she’s more than the damn dog walker. So man up. Go out there and kick some ass—or get your ass kicked, whichever—and then tell Hollis the truth. It’s time.”

I rub my hands on my bare knees. “I know. She deserves the truth. But I can’t help thinking she deserves so much better than me, you know?”

“Like who?”

I shrug. “I don’t know specifically. Just someone more…conventional. Someone who has a family to introduce her to. Someone who plays charades at Christmas and has family dinners on Sunday. Shit like that.”

Addison scoffs at my admission. “She already has plenty of shit like that. What she wants is you.”

Before I can argue, Addison puts her hand up.

“You know anyone who could protect her better than you? Another former professional fighter who might keep her safer on the mean streets of Boston?”

I shrug.