I’m not sure what I would’ve done if Nettie and Carl hadn’t intervened in my life. I’m a better person because of them.
All this talk about the old days has me curious. “When’s the last time you saw Kai?”
“I haven’t talked to him in a long time, but I’ve seen him around while I’ve been out on patrol.”
For a moment, I debate on making Cole aware of the situation that happened last night, but I decide against it. There’s no need to bring him into the situation. I won’t put him in danger, but it’s good to know that, if the shit gets too hot to handle, there’s someone on the force I can trust.
Once both Cole and I are warmed up, I climb into the ring. Leaning against these ropes, I feel at home. Countless hours were spent in this very ring with Cole and his father, working on all the moves that are now trademarks of my style. Cole’s father helped me figure out ways to harness all the rage I felt inside and put it into punishing my body in and out of the ring. It’s one of the main reasons I’m able to take so much punishment. In an odd way, I enjoy the pain.
Cole swings his leg over the middle rope and then bounces around on the balls of his feet, like he’s ready to box me. “Let’s see what you’ve got, X. I’ve been dying to get back in the ring with you after watching you on television and seeing how much you’ve improved. I’ve been studying the new moves you’ve coined.”
I laugh. “Don’t worry. I’ll take it easy on you.”
Cole lunges first, and we lock up, but I get out of his hold with ease.
“Damn. How the hell did you get even faster?”
I wave him on. “Try again.”
We repeat the same thing over and over, and each time, I get the best of him.
Eventually, Cole gives up and leans against the corner ropes. “Things have definitely changed. What else is different with you?”
I throw my elbows over the top and lean back. “Nothing, man. Same ole. You know.”
“What about that girl I’ve seen you with on Tension? That real?”
I bite the inside of my lower lip. “Yeah. Her name is Anna.”
“She’s cute. Did you meet her through Tension?”
“No.”
“Then, how’d she get on the show?”
I sigh and then go into detail about how I met her, and before I know it, I’m spilling everything to Cole about my situation with Rex. It feels good to get it off my chest.
“Shit, X. She worth all the trouble?”
“She is,” I confirm without any hesitation. “I’d do anything for her.”
Cole lets out a low whistle.
“What?”
He shrugs. “I never thought I would see the day when Xavier Cold fell in love. You’re not exactly known for keeping the same girl for very long.”
“What can I say, man? Anna’s different.”
We finish training, and the muscles in my body burn. I needed this. It really helped bring things back into focus, and I realize that Anna was right. It would hurt like a motherfucker if I could never wrestle again. I’m glad she’s kept a level head in this situation. I want her by my side when the suspension is lifted.
Cole walks with me down the stairwell, and I notice the sun is about to set.
Once we get outside, Cole turns to me. “Stop by whenever you want to train. I’m here most days.”
I reach out, and we clasp hands. “Thanks, man. I appreciate that.”
When I turn to walk to my bike, I notice Kai and another rather large man from his crew, leaning against the black Escalade that was at the house last night. My shoulders stiffen of their own accord while Cole stills next to me.
Kai is making good on his threat. The beef we had last night isn’t over. Going with him to see Bishop is the last thing I want to do, but if I don’t go, Bishop won’t stop coming at me. Leaving with him in front of Cole will give me a little peace of mind. Kai’s not stupid enough to kill me if a cop can place me with him last.
I turn toward Cole. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Cole doesn’t try to talk me out of going with Kai. He knows as well as I do that there’s no shaking Kai or Bishop in this city.
If going with him right now keeps Bishop away from Anna, I’ll do it.
I’d do anything to protect her.
I near Kai, and a knowing smile spreads over his face.
He looks like he’s won the battle. “I see you’ve come to your senses. ’Bout time.”
“Shut up, and get in the fucking car,” I snap.
I open the door of the Escalade and hop into the backseat while Kai and one of the other guys get in the front. The engine rumbles to life, and my heart races in my chest, as I’m about to face my past head-on.
Chapter 13
Xavier
The SUV comes to a stop just outside an old building. It appears to be an abandoned factory of some type, which is common in this city. When the economy went south a few years back, most of the big businesses left, leaving it even poorer than when they had been here.
“We’re here,” Kai says before opening the door.
I follow suit and get out, wondering what in the hell we’re doing. I’m not sure if he brought me to this abandoned building to kill me.
Kai notices me staring up at the building and laughs. “You can stop that shit that’s going through your mind. Just because your bitch-ass punched me in the face doesn’t mean I’m going to kill you, no matter if I should or not. Bishop wants to talk. That’s all.”
“About what?” I ask briskly, not liking all the secrecy.
Kai lifts his chin. “It’s Bishop’s place to tell you, but trust me, you won’t want to turn it down.”
My jaw muscle clenches as I try to figure out if that was a threat or not. “And if I say no?”
Kai sets his gaze firmly on mine, his dark eyes almost appearing black. “Trust me when I say, you won’t want to do that. Now, come on. Bishop doesn’t like to wait.” He heads toward a metal door leading into the building with me close behind. Before he opens it, he turns to me and smiles. “This is going to blow your fucking mind.”
I tilt my head as he opens the door, and music wafts outside, sounding like a party with the hip-hop bass thumping. We walk through the large open space and then round a corner before heading through a set of double doors into a room illuminated by blue and purple neon lights.
It has the feel of a nightclub, complete with a bouncer, who happens to be the other guy who showed up at the house last night.
His eyes narrow as I pass by him, and I notice he has a split in the center of his lip, no doubt caused by me. He doesn’t say anything though. He just remains on the stool he’s sitting on while guarding his post.
“What’s up, G? How are the ladies looking tonight?” Kai asks the man, like having me with him is no big deal.
The man’s gaze flicks from me to Kai as they clasp their hands together. “Some hot asses in the spot tonight.”
“Good lookin’ out, playa. I’ll see you later.” Kai grins at me after he speaks to the bouncer. “This way, X.”
We finally make it into the main room, and the man who drove us here disappears into the crowd of bodies in front of us. This place is like a full-on underground nightclub. A few topless girls dance on a small stage in the center of the room and men stand around throwing money at her.
“Where the hell are we, Kai?”
“We’re at Bishop’s place. He got tired of going to bars where he couldn’t control who came in and out, so he made his own spot. It’s the hypest place in town.”
“What’s all this got to do with me? Bishop has all the money he needs. I don’t owe him any money, and I never snitched on anything that had gone down while I ran in his crew. Why can’t he just let me be?”
Kai turns and shrugs. “Look, X, we’ve known each other for a long time. Things have changed since you’ve been out of the game, and the thing you have to get through that thick skull of yours is that Bishop gets what he wants. Ther
e’s no refusing him, and there’s no walking away when you have something he needs.”
“Like I told you before, I don’t have any money.”
He gives me a stop-fucking-with-me look and then motions for me to follow him. “Explain that to Bishop.”
He weaves us in and out of the writhing bodies on the dance floor until we come to a sectioned off area with two men standing guard, both about my size. Bishop has certainly upped his protection. Back in the day, I was his only hired muscle. Bishop can afford a lot more than one bodyguard nowadays.
“Stay here,” Kai orders as he slips past the men.
My eyes stay trained on Kai as he struts over to a plush black couch, and I spot Bishop sitting between two women. Kai leans down and whispers something into his ear, and Bishop’s eyes snap in my direction.
A huge smile sweeps across his face as he shoves off the couch and walks in my direction with his arms out. “Phenomenal X, my man. What’s up?”
He looks older than the last time I saw him. The last ten years haven’t been kind to him. His light-brown skin has a few lines etched around his eyes, and his signature goatee is graying. The Afro he once sported is gone, replaced by tight braids against his scalp. The black pin-striped suit he’s wearing is perfectly tailored to fit him. The tiny bowtie wrapped around his neck and the glasses on his face finish off the outfit. He looks like a pimp to some high-class hookers.
I raise my chin and stare down at him. “What do you want from me, Bishop?”
He cocks his head to the side. “Is that any way to talk to an old friend, to someone who helped you out when you were at the lowest point in your life?”
While that might be true, he sure as fuck didn’t do it out of the goodness of his heart. Every scrap he gave me, I earned it by doing his dirty work, like beating money out of people who owed him.
When he sees there’s not going to be any open-armed reunion, his smile disappears, and he motions toward the couch where he just came from. “Come in. Let’s talk.”
“You’re wasting your time, Bishop. Whatever it is you want from me, the answer is no. Like I told Kai, I don’t have any money. I have nothing of any value to you.”
He squares his shoulders and meets my stare head-on. “As you can see, money, I have. What I need is a legitimate name, so I can open a business—a real nightclub—to pass my money through. And seeing as how you’re on the straight and narrow now, I think you’re the man I’ve been looking for.”
It’s common practice in the drug world to have businesses to make the large amounts of money moving through hands appear clean, and I have no desire to get mixed up with anything that could hurt my wrestling career.
I lick my lips. “No, not going to happen.”
Bishop’s eyes flit to Kai, who shrugs.
“I told you, man,” Kai says. “This isn’t the same X who ran with us.”
Bishop sighs. “I was hoping things wouldn’t have to get nasty, but I need this, X. I need you to do this for me, and I’m afraid I won’t take no for an answer.”
Even though the threat doesn’t sound so menacing the way he presents it, there’s no doubt in my mind that it’s a vicious one. I need to tread carefully with what I say next because Bishop seems to have quite a bit of power around here now. That still doesn’t mean I’m going to give in to him though.
“I’m sorry. I can’t help you out. I’m not the right partner for you,” I say.
Bishop shoves his glasses up the tip of his nose. “Are you close to that bitch of yours?”
Anger rolls through me, and I clench my fists at my sides. “Don’t,” I growl. “She’s off-limits to you.”
“Now, that depends. If you agree to do as I’ve asked, then your Anna won’t be touched by me or the crew, but refuse”—Bishop lifts one shoulder as he pokes his bottom lip out a fraction—“and it’ll be open season on her.”
“Touch her, and I will fucking kill you.”
Bishop throws his head back and laughs. “There’s the X I knew.”
There’s nothing more I want at this very moment than to bash his face in with my fists, but I’ve got enough sense to know that if I do that—Cole being a witness to seeing me take off with Kai—I won’t be walking out of this place.
“Here’s the situation, X. You’re going to cooperate with me and help me get the nightclub going. You will invest some of your money, and your name will be on all the legal stuff.”
My nostrils flare as I allow him to talk, knowing full well that I’ll never go along with what he says.
Bishop straightens his suit jacket. “Now all of that is taken care of, sit down with me, and let’s have a celebratory drink.”
“No. I’m good.”
“All right then.” He gives Kai a pointed look before turning back to me. “Your ride will be out front.”
I begin to head back the way I came when Bishop’s voice stops me dead in my tracks, “Tell Anna hello for me.”
I flex my fingers, and as hard as it is for me to walk away, I know I have to.
Wandering through the bodies to make it to the exit, the only thing I can think of is how thankful I am that Anna will soon be back on the road and far away from this city. As much as I hate to admit it, I would much rather risk her being around Rex without me than her being here in this city with me while Bishop has her in his sights.
I shove open the metal door leading outside, and I find a white Mercedes waiting with the engine running. The windows are tinted, so I can’t tell who’s waiting inside.
The passenger window rolls down, and a familiar face leans over and smiles.
“Hello, X.”
Angie Martinez, a girl I used to fuck around with back in the day, is sitting behind the steering wheel.
I scrub my hand down my face. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
“Get in,” she says.
I glance around, but there’s no other option for a ride, so as much as I don’t want to, I open the car door and slide into the passenger seat of Angie’s car.
She smiles and I can’t help but to notice her too-tight skirt, showing off more leg than should be legal. Her dark hair flows loosely around her shoulders in big waves, and her face hasn’t changed a bit since I saw her ten years ago.
“Where exactly am I taking you?”
“Tough’s Gym.”
The car rolls forward, and Angie’s gaze slides over to me for a brief second before turning back to the road. “You look good, X. Glad to see you’re doing so well. I’ve missed you around the Block.”
I fold my arms over my chest, wanting to cut to the chase. “What are you doing with Bishop, Angie?”
She sits up a little straighter in her seat. “I’m not with Bishop. I work for him.”
I shake my head in disgust. “What happened to getting out of here and going to college?”
She shrugs. “I didn’t see the point in spending time hitting the books when I could work on the Block and make four times as much as I could at a regular job.”
“A negative of a regular job isn’t prison time though,” I retort.
“Still righteous, I see. You’re the only person I’ve ever known who actually left here and made something of himself. The rest of us who try always find our way back.”
“Then, you didn’t try hard enough to stay away.”
Angie parks the car outside of Tough’s Gym, and I don’t waste any time in getting out of the car.
She’s right behind me as I walk toward my bike. “Where are you staying? Maybe I can swing by a little later to keep you company.”
I turn around to tell her there’s no way in hell that’s going down, but before I can get the words out, she kisses my cheek.
I grab her wrist before she can reach up and touch my face. “No, Angie. It’s not happening.”
She pokes her bottom lip out. “You’ve never told me no before.”
“I’ve met someone,” I tell her.
Her eyes scan my face, taking
in my serious expression. She slowly pulls out of my grasp. “You love her?”
I nod. “I do.”
Angie adjusts the blue top she’s wearing, and her lips pull down into a deep frown. “She’s a lucky lady.” She takes a step back. “Good-bye, X.”
I stand there, watching Angie hop into the car.
I have no doubt that my rejection hurt her. Back when we used to mess around, she made it clear that I wasn’t the only man in her life, which was why I never took her seriously. We never loved each other.
I never knew what love was until I met Anna. She’s my heart.
Chapter 14
Anna
Several shades of colored tulle line the table from the aftermath of Quinn picking her wedding colors. She points to a piece of violet tulle and holds it up next to a pale yellow one. “Perfect. It’s so girlie. Don’t you love it?”
Aunt Dee smiles at her. “Aye, they’re lovely. I can’t wait to see them paired next to your dress.”
“My dress!” Quinn’s excitement is evident. “Oh my God, Anna, wait until you see it. We need to figure out a time when we can go get you fitted for your dress.”
I lay the fabric down on the table. “Oh, it’ll have to be sometime in the middle of next week. I have to fly out to Seattle to meet up with Tension for a show on Sunday, and then I have to stay there for Tuesday’s show.”
Quinn’s eyes widen. “Seattle? You do realize, being that close to Portland, Uncle Simon might just pop up.”
I sigh. “I know, but if he shows up, I’ll handle him.”
“I don’t doubt that, baby girl,” Aunt Dee says as she adjusts the scarf wrapped around her head. “From what I heard, you shocked the hell out of him when he showed up in Atlanta. He wasn’t prepared for you to speak to him that way while you were defending your relationship with X. It’s hard for my brother to realize that his little girl is all grown-up.”
“It took some real guts, telling him off like you did in Atlanta, cuz,” Quinn adds. “I wasn’t sure if you’d be able to handle facing Uncle Simon because of how hell-bent you were to avoid him when you first got into town, so major props to you for actually growing a little backbone.”