Becoming a Legend

Xavier’s body lifted ever so slightly, and it was just enough for Kane to slide out from under him. The sudden movement untangled their arms enough for Xavier to begin raining down blows on Kane’s face. Kane lifted his arms to either side of his head to protect himself, bucking Xavier off him with a hard kick to his chest.

  Xavier coughed hard, spitting blood onto the cage floor, as Kane scrambled to his feet and they faced each other head-on again.

  The bell rang, and the second round was over.

  Kane’s team poured back into the cage, supplying him with fresh water and wiping the blood from his face. Quinn was using a medical tape on the cut on his forehead to hold the skin together until proper medical attention could patch him up later, while Rory wiped him down with a towel.

  “Fuck, Kane, he really got the better of you that round.” Quinn sighed.

  Rory nodded and chimed in. “We’ve practiced that move so many times before, Killer. What the hell? Did you forget?”

  “I’ll be fine,” Kane assured them, despite the fact that his brother was entirely right—Xavier had gotten the better of him.

  His father’s hand landed on his shoulder. “She wants to talk to you.”

  “Who?” Kane asked, then he saw Nora standing against the cage wall, her fingers laced into the metal and an expression of terror on her face. Standing, he shook out his limbs, then he walked over to her. “Nora.”

  “Kane, please don’t do this for me. Please,” she begged, her voice as quiet as possible so that only he would hear her. “Your dad told me what’s going on. My mother is fine.”

  He shook his head, anger surging through him at his father’s behavior. He grabbed the wall and let his fingers touch hers. Matching her quiet volume, he spoke inches from her face. “He shouldn’t have told you that. I’m so sorry. This isn’t for your mom, kitty.”

  “What?” She squeezed his fingers tighter. “Then what’s it about?”

  He licked his lips as he debated whether or not to tell her the truth. He wanted to just do this for her and get it over with, but he knew that wasn’t right. He’d just told his father that this was his decision and he wanted to make it, but it really was about Nora. If he made the choice without telling her, he’d be doing the same thing to her that he hadn’t want done to him.

  Taking care to lower his voice even further, letting his words almost be washed away with the cheering from the crowd, Kane told her the truth. “He’s got pictures of you in your uniform from the restaurant, Nora. He’s going to send them to your school.”

  Blinking hard, she exhaled slowly. “I only got that job so I could pay him off in the first place!”

  “I know, kitty.” He squeezed her hand tighter. “That’s why I need to do this. The youth center needs you, and this degree means everything to you.”

  “Kane, no, you can’t,” she begged.

  “I want to,” he replied. “This fight means nothing to me compared to what you are to me. I know you don’t want to believe me, and I know you’ve been taught your whole life that you’re not worth it, but you are, kitty. I’m all-strings-attached, and I have no regrets, Nora. I love you. Please, let me do this.”

  Tears slid down her cheeks as her eyes widened at his words. But just like he’d said before, he had no regrets. He did love this woman. They’d only been together a short time, but they’d been through so much. Overcome so much.

  No matter what decision he made in the cage, he wanted her to know that he was completely in love with her.

  “Kane,” her voice was breathless, and he felt the ache in her tone.

  “Let me do this, kitty.” He felt a tightness in his chest, and he wanted nothing more than to hold her right then and there. “Please.”

  “It’s this fight…or my education?” she asked, tears sliding down her cheeks.

  He nodded yes.

  “Then win this fight, Kane.”

  “What?” He furrowed his brows. “Kitty, I can’t do that.”

  “Win this fight for me, Kane. Please,” she said, her voice resolute. “Let him send the pictures. The dean already suspected it anyway. If my scholarship is revoked for that, I’ll finish my degree somehow. It’s my mess, and I’ll face the consequences of my own actions if I have to. You don’t need to do this to prove you love me.”

  “Kitty, I’m not—”

  “You are, and I love you so much for wanting to protect me this way, but I don’t need you to do it. I’ve never needed someone to take care of me. I just need someone to love me for me.” A smile slid onto her face as her tears stopped, and the confidence he loved about her quickly returned. “We’re in this together.”

  “Did you say you love me, too?” Kane’s jaw dropped at the realization of her words.

  She nodded, still smiling, and he couldn’t help but smile as well. He could actually feel his heart beating in his chest, its rhythmic thumping speeding up as he realized he wasn’t alone in this. He’d put himself out there, and she hadn’t hesitated.

  This was his woman. Nora was his everything.

  “Go win, Kane. For me,” Nora told him, her voice soft and sweet. “All-strings-attached.”

  “All-strings-attached,” he agreed, thinking his heart might actually explode out of his chest at that very moment. “Hell, kitty, I’d forfeit this fight right now just to be able to come out there and kiss you.”

  The cage walls between them made that impossible for him to do, however, and Nora winked at him. “You’ve got this, Kane. Go.”

  His heart was full, and his body was ready to fight.

  Turning around, he realized his family wasn’t wrapped up in the same euphoria he was enjoying. Standing a few feet away, his brothers and father all had their arms crossed and were looking at him as if he was crazy.

  “Are you fucking done with the chitchat?” Rory asked. “We’re kind of in the middle of a championship fight here.”

  “With millions watching live on TV,” Quinn reminded him. “But whatever.”

  “Technically, we’re still on a commercial break,” Kane reminded him. A fight always seemed a lot faster to him when he was watching it on television than when he was actually in one, waiting for the network producers to give them the go-ahead.

  Seamus didn’t say anything for a moment, but then he nodded slowly. “Are you good?”

  “I’m great.” Kane cast a reassuring grin at his father. “Let’s beat this fucker.”

  Seamus smiled. “That’s my boy.”

  The warning bell sounded, and everyone filed out. Kane drew some deep breaths and puffed them back out, shaking out his limbs. Rory pushed his mouthpiece back into place with a gloved hand.

  The announcer introduced the crowd to the third round as Kane and Xavier met in the center of the cage one last time. Kane tuned everything out, just focusing on his fists clenched in front of him.

  In less than three seconds, he’d have to make the biggest choice of his life.

  He could hear members of his family shouting words of encouragement over the roar of the rowdy Las Vegas audience, could hear fans supporting him on the sidelines. He heard Nora’s sweet lilt as she cheered for him.

  And he knew his choice had already been made.

  The bell rang, and the third and final round began.

  Xavier didn’t waste a second’s time, coming at him fast with a front kick right to Kane’s chest. He stumbled back for a moment, the wind knocked out of him as he gasped for a breath. Xavier didn’t give him the chance, following up with a side kick to Kane’s ear. The loud arena went silent as everything around him tilted.

  Kane fell sideways, trying to suck the air into his lungs as he felt the weight of his opponent on top of his back. Sharp pain slammed into his side as Xavier delivered jabs to his ribs, punching him anywhere he could reach.

  “You’ve got this, Kane!”

  He heard her shouting from the outside of the cage, and his lungs expanded as he finally pulled in the air he needed to get his bearings. Xavier had gotten
lucky with a quick attack, but Kane wasn’t going down. He was going to win this, and it would be for that voice.

  Turning quickly, he slammed his elbow back, and he heard a crunch as it connected with bone.

  “Fuck!” Xavier screamed, only slightly muffled by his mouthpiece, as he stumbled back and clutched his already injured nose.

  Kane grinned and spun fast. He used the momentum to bring his leg up high, then let his foot connect with Xavier’s ear. His opponent’s head snapped so fast to the side, Kane had a moment’s panic as he wondered if he’d gone too far.

  But Xavier only screamed and charged him, vengeance raging from his cold, black eyes.

  Kane delivered a fast uppercut to his opponent’s chin. The force knocked Xavier completely off-balance, and the entire room paused. No one took a single breath, and even the announcer went silent. It was as though every member of the audience was waiting to see if this was it…

  And it was.

  When Xavier toppled onto the mat and made no move to stand back up, refs rushed the cage and called the match.

  The announcer blared over the loudspeaker as cheers and shouts filled the arena. “We have a winner! Kane ‘Killer’ Kavanagh takes the championship with a knockout!”

  Kane was immediately surrounded as his family rushed into the cage.

  “You did it!” Rory cheered, smacking him on the back as Clare jumped up and down beside him, squealing with excitement. “You’re a fucking legend, Kane!”

  “I knew you could do it, baby bro,” Kieran teased, giving him a big bear hug.

  “My boy, the champion!” his mother shouted happily, kissing his cheek, then hugging her other sons and telling them all how much she loved them.

  Seamus put out his hand, and Kane shook it. “I’m proud of you, son.”

  “Because I won?”

  Seamus shook his head. “Because you were willing not to.”

  His father stepped away and let the rest of his family bombard him with congratulations and hugs, but he knew then and there that he’d never forget the pride in his father’s voice at that moment. He appreciated each and every one of them, and all the love they were showing him, but he was looking for only one person.

  And when he saw her, she had tears in her eyes, but not from sadness. They were from pride.

  “Congratulations, champion,” Nora teased, sashaying over to him with the sultry smile he loved so much.

  He didn’t say a word. He scooped her up—wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her off the ground. His lips pressed down on hers, and he told her everything he was feeling for her in that one motion.

  He kissed the woman he loved enough to give up everything for.

  The woman who’d loved him enough not to let him.

  “I love you, kitty,” he whispered.

  She smiled against his lips as she kissed him back. “I love you, too, Killer.”

  Epilogue

  “Kane, stop!” Nora groaned, pulling the covers back up over her head as Kane tried to yank them down her body. “I’m jet-lagged and sleepy, plus you promised me a week in bed.”

  “It’s only six o’clock, kitty,” he argued. “You can’t go to bed yet.”

  “Watch me.”

  Kane chuckled and climbed onto the bed next to her. Draping his arm across her body, he nudged her cheek with his nose before burying his face in her hair. “What if I told you I have something planned for us tonight?”

  She yawned and rolled onto her side to face him. “I’d say you’re going to be enjoying it alone.”

  “You’d make me go on our first date all by myself?” he asked in mock seriousness, swatting at her bottom through the covers. “I’m hurt, kitty.”

  “First date?” That perked her up slightly. They’d been back from Vegas for only three days, and she was downright exhausted. She’d had to play catch-up at the youth center and with her school, and she was definitely still on Nevada time. “Hmm, well I guess to that I’d say I need some coffee.”

  Kane grinned. “Look at your nightstand.”

  Nora turned her head to see a white cup with the telltale green logo of her favorite coffee shop. She wiggled happily into a seated position before sipping the delicious, hot brew. “Mmmmm,” she sighed, contented.

  “So, now will you go out with me?”

  With a small smile, she eyed him over the rim of her coffee cup. “Our first real date? An actual date?”

  “What my woman wants, my woman gets,” he answered, wiggling his brows at her.

  Nora did her best to keep her smile from widening, but it was a losing battle. “All right, I’ll go, but I have a present for you first.”

  “Oh hell, yes, I love presents. Take your shirt off.”

  Nora laughed and rolled her eyes. “Not that kind of present, you jerk. I got you something in Vegas before your fight, to congratulate you.”

  “How’d you know I’d win?” he asked, stretching out onto the bed once more and staring up at the ceiling.

  Reaching into a drawer in her nightstand, she grabbed the small tissue-paper-wrapped trinket she’d purchased in the gift shop. Leaning over him, she placed it in his hand and kissed him on the cheek. “I just knew.”

  He held her chin for a moment, kissing her again, before he let go and began unwrapping the gift. Nora held her hands over her mouth, trying to keep from bursting out laughing. She knew this gift was completely ridiculous but also completely perfect.

  “The fuck?” Kane lifted up a small key chain with a big yellow taco dangling from it. “Did you get me a taco key chain?”

  Nora nodded, dropping her hands from her mouth. “What do you think?”

  “I think I’m never going to forget seeing you in that waitress outfit for as long as I live,” Kane said with a laugh, sliding the loop on the key chain over one finger. “But I also think your sense of humor is straight-up questionable.”

  “Oh, come on. It’s the perfect little reminder of how far we’ve come.”

  Kane laughed again, pushing her down onto the bed and stretching his body over hers. Kissing one cheek and then the other, he told her exactly what he thought. “I love my taco, kitty. And I love you.”

  “I love you, too,” she replied, kissing him back with just as much gusto.

  Kane’s hands roamed down her sides, gripping her hips as he rocked his pelvis against her. Their lips locked, her hands went around his neck, she was more than a little ready for every part of him. His mouth traveled south, nipping at her neck, then down to her collarbone, before he growled loudly in frustration.

  “We’re going to be late,” he told her, reaching back up to leave a peck on her lips. “I really wish we could stay in this bed, but I promised my woman a date!”

  He hopped out of the bed and extended a hand back to her. She took it and stood up with a big yawn. “All right, all right, let me get dressed really quickly.”

  She pulled on a pair of dark jeans and a feminine, flowery top she loved for evenings out. Kane didn’t pretend to look away once, watching her get dressed with a big smile on his face. When she finished fixing her hair and swiping on a bit of makeup, she turned to him. “Is this okay for whatever we’re doing? Or should I wear a dress?”

  Kane looked her up and down slowly, biting his lip in an exaggerated attempt to be flirty that made her blush. “You look fucking fantastic, kitty.”

  “Well, let’s go then,” she said, squeezing his bottom as she followed him out the door.

  He laughed and gave her a stern look over his shoulder. “Careful with the goods there, or we’re going to end up right back in that bed.”

  “I’ll be good,” Nora teased.

  He slung one arm over her shoulders, kissing her temple as he guided her down to his car. Fifteen minutes later, they were pulling up at the world-famous Bronx Zoo. Nora glanced around the empty parking lot, then looked at him questioningly. “We’re going to the zoo?”

  “Yup,” he said with excitement.

 
They got out of the car and he stepped over to her, taking her hand as they walked toward the gate.

  Nora absolutely loved the zoo, and she’d loved it ever since she was a child. Her favorite exhibit had always been the sea lions in the big pool right in the center of the zoo. They seemed so happy, so joyful, and so relaxed. She’d always envied them. However, as someone who loved the zoo, she was also familiar with its hours of operation.

  “Um, I don’t know how to tell you this, Kane, but the zoo is closed. I’m pretty sure it closes by five o’clock most days.”

  “Not if you know a guy,” Kane said, veering them away from the main entrance to one on the side.

  “You know a guy?” Skeptical, she angled a querying look in his direction.

  “Yep, and so do you.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and typed out a text. Moments later, a side gate opened up, and to Nora’s surprise, a familiar face peered out and beckoned them inside.

  “Hey, Kane; hi, Nora,” Donavan said by way of greeting. He extended one large hand and Nora reluctantly shook it. “Ready for a private tour of the zoo?” he asked.

  “Um,” Nora stalled, feeling uncomfortable. While Donavan wasn’t as awful as his friend whom she’d punched at the restaurant, he’d still hit on her. She wasn’t sure why Kane would have actually arranged for the three of them to hang out together, especially on what was their first date.

  “First things first, D,” Kane said, his tone strict.

  Donavan rubbed one hand over the back of his neck, his broad shoulders tense. He heaved a sigh then locked the side entrance behind them. “Yeah, um, Nora? I’m really sorry about how things went down at your job. Patrick was a complete ass, and I’m sure I wasn’t any better. You’re a wonderful woman, and I shouldn’t have spoken to you so crassly. I really hope you’ll accept my apology.”

  Relief washed over her as her worry turned to a smile. Forgiveness she could definitely do. “Of course, Donavan. It’s already forgotten.”

  “Great!” he exclaimed, his green eyes sparkling as he motioned for them to follow him. “Let’s do that tour then!”

  Nora’s fingers interlaced with Kane’s as they walked hand in hand around the zoo, with Donavan showing them different exhibits and explaining where they’d acquired some of the animals and how they were taken care of. The zoo was too large for them to cover the whole thing, but they still saw more than enough to have her beaming.