Stand Of Honor (19 page)

Melanie took a quick shower and dressed. Angry with herself that she hadn’t put her bag in a locker, but most fighters didn’t. They were on the honor system with each other. Thefts rarely occurred in the locker rooms. Many of the fighters
knew each other and didn’t want to ruin their reputation from something as stupid as stealing something out of someone’s bag. Besides there hadn’t been anything valuable in her bag except a change of clothes. She hadn’t thought about anyone putting something in her bag.

When she was done, she grabbed her bag and stormed out of the locker room.
She ran smack into Macey.

“You fucking bitch!” Melanie yelled at her.
“How dare you try to set me up?” It made sense now—Macey was the only one that would do this to her.

“What the hell are you talking about
, you stupid bitch?” Macey snapped back at her.

“I know you put the pills in my bag.
You’re too fucking scared to fight me, so you set me up. I knew you were a bitch, but not a coward.” Melanie heard her voice rising. She wished they could fight right now.

“Get out of my face,” Macey yelled at her
, shoving Melanie back against the wall. Melanie was still too weak to fight back and had to succumb to Macey holding her against the wall.

“I want to fight you,” Macey snarled in her face.
“You think I’m afraid of you? That’s a fucking joke. I want your asshole brother to watch me pound the shit out of you. You think just because you won a few fights that you’re ready to take me on? Come on then. I’m ready for you.” Macey took a breath and stepped back.

Melanie could tell Macey wanted to beat the shit out of her, too. She
also saw the truth in what Macey was saying. Macey wouldn’t set her up—she wanted Melanie in the cage. Melanie forced herself to calm down.

“I’m sorry.
Someone put some pills in my bag and I thought it was you.” It was painful to apologize, however Melanie knew she was in the wrong this time.

Macey looked surprised, which in Melanie’s eyes, confirmed that it wasn’t Macey after all.

“Looks like I’m not the only one that can’t stand you,” Macey sneered. She turned to walk into the locker room to get ready for her own fight. “Challenge me anytime. I’ll show you what a real fighter can do to you.” Macey walked through the door, leaving Melanie feeling like shit for accusing her.

Melanie shook her head. This fight had taken a lot out of her
. Then to face the accusation of doping had ruined what should have been a triumphant moment for her. Now it would feel tarnished until she could get the drug report back, even though she already knew that it was going to show she was clean.

She heard voices and looked up to see Zane, Nick
, and Trish walking towards her.

“What the hell is going on?” Nick asked her.

“I have no idea. Someone put some pills in my bag. I consented to the drug test to prove I haven’t taken anything,” Melanie explained. “They'll have the results on Monday.”

She saw Zane’s eyes narrow.
She knew he had gone through his own false accusations and how they could destroy a career.

“Do you think it was Macey?
I saw her earlier,” Trish asked angrily.

“No, I ran into her.
It wasn’t her.” Melanie didn’t elaborate on their encounter. “I can’t think of anyone that would want me out of the league. Macey would have been the only one, but she wants to fight me. She has no reason to do this.” Melanie couldn’t believe she of all people was taking up for Macey.

“We’ll figure this out.
Whomever it is will try something again when the test results clear you. We’ll be ready.” Zane spoke with such authority and confidence, Melanie believed he would figure this out. She had been too young to help him out when he had gone through everything, but she was glad Nick was there to help him prove his innocence. It reassured her that she had their support.

“Thanks
, Zane. No one knows more about this kind of stuff than you do,” Melanie said gratefully. She smiled up at him and felt a dribble of blood run down her chin.

He grinned at her as she wiped away the blood.
“Let’s get you home.”

After the
four of them went to their vehicles and said their goodbyes, all Melanie wanted to do was go to bed. She closed her eyes on the way to Zane’s house and he had to wake her when they got there. She noticed she felt a little better and not as drained. She figured the short nap must have helped.

They had a light dinner and then she spent an hour soaking in his oversized tub.
As she got into bed, she felt much better than before. She cuddled in Zane’s arms and fell into a peaceful sleep, certain that he would figure this out for her and everything would be okay.

Chapter 22

Zane was sitting at the front desk of the gym when the door opened.
He looked up to watch Faye strut through the door. She had started calling the gym over the past few weeks, but usually Lincoln answered the main line and he wouldn’t put her through to Zane. She had also stopped by, but he had been with a client the day she’d come and never glanced in her direction. After that session, Zane went straight to his office and shut the door. He didn’t want to cause a scene at the gym and wasn’t going to let Faye tarnish his reputation as a professional again. Lincoln told him she’d stormed out after watching him go into his office. There were too many people in the gym and Faye had no intention of humiliating herself with witnesses.

Unfortunately,
this time it was early and there was no one here to provide a blockade to stop the stubborn bitch.

“Hey
, baby,” Faye purred. She was wearing tight black jeans and a white tank top that showed a huge amount of tits. She had deliberately dressed to draw his attention, trying to play against their past sexual relationship.

“Give
it up, Faye. There’s no going back,” Zane said harshly. He was tired of her thinking she could wear him down with persistence and tits.

“I can’t get you out of my head,” she replied with sincerity as fake as the nails on her hands.
“I want you to forgive me and I want to be back in your life.” She walked up to the counter and leaned over to try to touch his hand.

He pulled back before she could touch him
, glaring as her eyes narrowed with anger and then softened up again. It was the same old Faye, always putting on an act.

“Zane, you know what we had was special.
I told you, I was in a bad spot, but I only did it for us,” Faye continued. “I know I did it all wrong. I never thought anything would happen to you. It would have just been one defeat, then after that, you would have been on the rise again with your next fight. You would have won all your other fights and you would be the champion now.” Faye sighed. “You let your anger keep you from competing again, not anything I did. You can’t blame me for that.”

Zane looked at her.
She truly believed she was doing what she thought was best, not realizing what the consequences would be. She was really that stupid. He had just been too young to have seen it back then.

“Okay, I believe you weren’t trying to destroy my career.
That you somehow thought you were doing something good for us,” Zane replied. He thought letting her believe he was accepting her explanation might get her to leave him alone.

“Oh
, Zane, that means so much to me.” Faye was back to purring again. He used to love the sound of her voice, now it was like fingernails on a chalkboard. “How about dinner tonight to catch up?”

“You know I’m with someone now,” Zane stated.

He watched the anger flash in her eyes again before she quickly replied, “Just for old times’ sake? Come on, dinner isn’t going to hurt anyone.”

“No,” he said firmly.

“Zane, please…” Faye tried again.

“No
. You said your peace, now get out and don’t come back here again.” Obviously being polite wasn’t working.

“I want my mother’s vase back
. It means more to me than it ever will to you.” Faye was fighting back the tears. He couldn’t tell if she was being sincere or if it was all part of her act.

He recalled the vase
. Her mother had given it to them as a gift. He had never let Faye back into his place, sending her things to her in a box, but he had forgotten about the vase. It was in a box at his new house now.

“Fine, I’ll send it to you
. Just tell me where to mail it.”

“I can come to your house and get it,” Faye offered.

“No. Just tell me where to send it,” he repeated.

“Never mind
. Keep it for now. I’ll get it later.” Faye huffed and turned to leave.

Zane didn’t want her to get it later, but he wasn’t going to chase her out the door for her address
, either. She was nothing but trouble. He would find the damn vase and figure out how to send it to her. You could find everything on the internet—her address should be simple. Hell, as much as she was coming by the gym, he could leave it behind the counter and tell Lincoln to give it to her the next time she came around.

The rest of the day was uneventful.
He had three clients scheduled that day and they actually all showed promise. A couple were doing a decent job of listening and learning, and he could see them winning several fights in the near future.

He left the gym a little earlier than usual. Melanie was coming over tonight and he wanted to surprise her with a special dinner.

Things had finally settled down since she found out he and Nick were going to fight. She had accepted that there was nothing she could do about it and that Nick and he both were okay with it. Right now, she was waiting for the test results. She had enough going on; he didn’t want to tell her about Faye calling and stopping by because it didn’t mean anything to him. She was just a damn nuisance.

When he got home
, he decided to shower and get dressed before he attempted to cook.  He had told her to pick up a movie on her way over, which probably meant it would be another raunchy comedy. He laughed to himself. He was pretty lucky; he didn’t have to rent the dirty movies, his girlfriend did it on her own.

After his shower, he heard a noise from the bedroom and assumed Melanie was early.
He wrapped a towel around his waist and opened the bathroom door. When he walked into the bedroom, instead of seeing Melanie, he saw Faye sprawled out on his bed. She was wearing nothing except a small wisp of white panties.

“Hey
, Zane,” she said in her most seductive voice. She had loved surprising him when they were together. She would always show up when he least expected it. They’d had an exciting relationship, but looking at her now, he saw how pathetic she really was.

“Get the fuck out of my bed
, Faye.” He looked around for her clothes, but didn’t see them.

“Zane, please
, I’ve missed you so bad. Your girlfriend doesn’t even need to know.”

Zane
’s lips twisted in disgust. He didn’t cheat; when he was with a woman, he was with her. If he fucked around, it was only when he felt the need and not in a relationship.

“I don’t cheat. How the hell did you get in here?”
Zane asked her harshly.

“I followed you home
. You know, you should shut the garage door when you come home. Anyone can follow you in,” Faye said proudly.

He had left the door open for Melanie and the fucking bitch had
taken advantage of it. Zane leaned down to jerk her off the bed and take her to find her clothes, but as he leaned down, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him on top of her. As he fell on top of her, the towel fell loose and he felt his dick up against her pussy as she quickly wrapped her legs around him. He immediately jerked away from her, but at the same time, he heard a gasp at the doorway.

He looked up.
Melanie was standing in the doorway, her face pale and her green eyes staring at him as if he had betrayed her. At the same time, Faye moaned, “Oh Zane, don’t stop.” He watched Faye turn to Melanie and smile.

Zane wished he could hit her.
He wanted nothing more than to smack that smile off her face. He got off her as Melanie turned to leave.

“Get out,” he snarled at Faye as he grabbed the towel and wrapped it around his waist
and then went after Melanie.

He caught up with her at the front door and spun her around.

She was like a wildcat.

“Let me go!”
she screamed, clawed and kicked at him, however he wouldn’t let her go. It was everything he could do to hold on to her.

“You cheating
, low life, asshole. I can’t believe you would do this. Let me go.” She continued to twist and try to escape his grasp. The damn towel fell off again, but by then, it didn’t matter, he had to explain.

“She snuck in here
, Melanie. I left the garage door open for you and she was there when I came out of the bathroom.” Zane was struggling to get his words out because she continued to fight him.