Undisputed (27 page)

“Freakin slave driver,” I mutter to myself before shoving out of the chair I was lounging in and shuffling back toward the cage. I am climbing inside when I hear my phone ringing Sidney’s tone.

Jumping down, I hear Mark yell at me, but I ignore him, snatching the phone off the table.

“Sid, what’s wrong?” I bark as soon as I hit the button. Sidney never calls when I’m at the gym, instead choosing to wait for me to call her when I get home.

“Hey, honey. Don’t freak out.” She sucks in a breath. “It’s Connor.”

“Is he okay?” I’m gripping the phone so tight that I swear I hear it groan.

“Yeah. Well, no. But he will be. He’s running another fever. It’s pretty high, so Abby and I are taking him to the hospital. He didn’t—”

“I’m on my way.” Turning on my heel, I begin jogging toward the locker room to get my keys.

Mark throws his hands in the air and stalks after me, but I don’t stop to let him catch up.

“No, no, no,” Sidney says. “You need to train. He’s okay. He didn’t pass out this time. He’s conscious. He probably just needs an antibiotic like last time. Don’t leave the gym early.”

Her protests fall on deaf ears. There’s no way I’m going to stay here while she takes him to the emergency room. Even if I did, I wouldn’t be able to focus.

“Stop,” I tell her. “I’m changing my clothes now. Meet you there.” I hang up without letting her get another word in.

I can’t change fast enough and don’t even bother putting my shoes all the way on my feet. I’m pulling my keys out of my locker when Mark appears beside me.

“Where ya goin, son?” he questions.

Turning, I take a breath. “That was Sid. Connor’s sick. I gotta meet them at the hospital.” I start to walk past him, but he takes a step in front of me, blocking my path.

Grabbing my arm, he says, “Your fight’s in five days, Breccan. We don’t have time for any distractions.”

I shake his hand off and bite out, “Connor and Sidney are not
distractions.”
I spit the word back at him. “I’ve got to go.”

He grumbles something I don’t understand before saying, “Listen, son. I know that this kid means something to you. I know that this girl means something to you. But I also know that this belt means more. You’ve got a lot to prove inside that cage. You can’t bail on your training now.”

Squaring my shoulders, I count backward from ten. “That’s where you’re wrong, Mark. This belt doesn’t mean shit. Not anymore. Nothing means more to me than they do. I’ll see you in the morning.” I shove past him and sprint to my car.

I make it to the hospital in record time and race through the ER’s double doors. The place is packed, and no one is at the desk. I slap the counter several times until a nurse comes around the corner.

“Sir, can I help you?” she asks, her voice dripping with attitude.

“Yeah. Connor O’Neil,” I bark at her.

Looking me up and down, she asks, “Are you family?”

I shake my head. “No. Family friend.”

She shrugs. “I’m sorry, sir. I can’t release any information to people who aren’t family.” She turns to walk back the way she came.

“Hey! Don’t walk away from me. I need to see Connor O’Neil now. I’m not leaving till I do.”

She freezes and then tips her head to the side in question. “Do I need to call security?”

I’m laughing at the thought of rent-a-cops trying to haul me out when I hear Sidney’s voice behind me.

“No! Don’t call security. He’s with me.”

I spin around and my eyes land on Sidney and relief floods my veins. I rush over to her and grab her around the waist, briefly crushing my lips to hers.

“Is he okay?” I whisper when I pull away.

Rolling her eyes at me, she says, “I told you he was okay on the phone. You didn’t have to rush over here and make an ass of yourself.”

“I didn’t make an ass of myself. She should have just told me where you were,” I retort.

The corners of her mouth twitch, and she whispers, “You
were
an ass. But I’m glad you’re here.” Turning, she laces her fingers in mine. “Come on. His room’s over here.”

Walking into Connor’s room, I hold my breath. Sidney wouldn’t lie about his condition, but the way he looked the last time we were here keeps flashing through my mind. I don’t want to see him looking so sick ever again.

“Well, look who I found harassing the nurses,” Sidney announces.

Connor’s head snaps up. Other than being a little pale, he looks okay, and a relieved breath rushes out of me.

Forcing a weak smile, he says, “Well, this sucks ass.”

“Connor!” Abby admonishes from the chair she’s perched in. “When are you going to learn to stop cursing in front of me?” She may be fussing, but her smile says something else.

I sit on the side of the bed and say, “Oh, it’s not so bad. Maybe you’ll get a hot nurse or something. Sponge bath, anyone?” I joke.

I’m rewarded with Connor’s bark of laughter and a shove on the shoulder from Sidney.

Turning toward her, I tease, “You’re abusive, you know that?” I grab her waist, pulling her in to my lap, and kiss the side of her head. “So, what did the doc say?”

Abby closes the magazine she was flipping through and says, “Another infection. He’ll need IV antibiotics for a few days. Looks like we’ll be watching your fight on my cell phone.”

Connor’s shoulders sag, his disappointment mirroring my own. I was looking forward to having them there to support me, but I try not to let my disappointment show.

I cuff him on the shoulder. “This does suck ass. But it’ll be all right. You’ll be at the next one.”

I pat Sidney on the hip, and we stand up.

“Hey, We’ll be right back.” I motion for Sidney to follow me and then make my way out to the hall. Once she comes out of the room, I close the door behind her and say, “I’ll postpone the fight.”

Her mouth falls open before she quickly shouts, “No way, Breccan!”

I nod at her. “Yeah. I’m not going all the way to fucking Boston while he’s in the hospital. What if something happens?”

She glances around and then walks down the hall. She leads me into an empty family waiting room, where the TV is blaring. I snatch the remote from the table and turn it off.

Placing a hand on my chest, she reasons, “Listen to me. He’s
fine
.” “There is no reason for you to postpone this fight. Isn’t it too late to do that anyway?”

It is, but I don’t tell her that. I’d have to fake an injury at this point to pull out, and I’ve always thought guys who do that are cowards. But, if that’s what I have to do to get Connor to a fight, then I’m willing to do it.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll work it out,” I reassure her. “I’m not leaving you.”

She puts a hand on her hip and straightens her spine. “Yes. You. Are,” she grits through clenched teeth.

It’s probably the wrong time to tell her, but she’s so sexy when she gets bossy. “You’re turnin’ me on, Sid,” I murmur, pulling her in to my arms.

Her eyes narrow. “Shut it, Breccan. You’re not going to distract me.”

I kiss my way down her neck and look around for a bathroom to drag her into. But she wiggles free of my grasp.

“Breccan!” she snaps. “I’m serious. You’re going to your fucking fight. If you don’t, I’ll tell security not to let you in Connor’s room.”

I wouldn’t put it past her, so I throw my hands up in surrender. “Fine. But I’m waiting until the day before to leave.”

She sticks her hand out and says, “Deal.”

Using the grip I have on her hand, I yank her body back to mine and resume kissing her neck.

The next afternoon, I take a break from training to visit Connor. Mark wasn’t pleased when I told him that I was taking off again, but he only asked when I’d be back. I didn’t want to send him to an early grave, so I decided against telling him that I had considered not fighting. He didn’t need to know anyway because I had reluctantly agreed to go. I have quickly learned that telling Sidney no isn’t usually an option.

I have a surprise for Sidney planned, so after letting Connor beat me in a couple of rounds of Madden, I beg for mercy.

Leaning over the bed, I ruffle his already messy hair. “Dude, you’re looking like a sheepdog. When you get outta here, I’m takin’ you to my guy.”

His eyes light. “Awesome. I’m gonna have him cut my hair just like yours.”

I laugh and look over to Sidney, who is biting her lip to stifle a laugh. “You ready to go, baby?”

She nods and then turns her attention to Abby. “We’ll only be gone a little while—I think.” She looks to me, and I nod. “You sure you don’t mind me taking off?”

Abby rolls her eyes. “No, I don’t mind. Go. Have fun. Where are y’all going?”

I put my finger to my lips and shake my head. “Nope. It’s a secret.”

Once we get to the car, I place a blindfold over her eyes, telling her not to peek. It takes thirty minutes to drive there and then another ten to guide a still-blindfolded Sidney to our final destination.

We finally come to the spot I had Rebecca set up, and Sidney asks, “Do I hear water?”

I help her sit on the blanket that’s laid out, careful not to disturb the picnic basket and the bottle of champagne waiting on us. Then I remove the blindfold. It takes half a minute for her eyes to adjust to the sudden sunlight, but once they do, her hand flies to her mouth and she jerks her head at me.

“It’s my lake!” she shrieks. After scrambling over to where I’m sitting, she throws her arms around my shoulders and buries her face into my neck. She continues shouting, but it’s muffled, so I can’t make out what she’s saying.

Sifting my fingers through the back of her hair, I let her continue to cry-shout in my neck. Pulling away from her after another moment, I say, “Surprise!”

Sidney looks around us while running her fingers under her eyes. “A picnic! Champagne!” Her eyes narrow on the gift bags at the edge of the blanket. “Oh, what’s in the bags?”

When she reaches for it, I bat her hand away.

“That’s for you. But not yet. Let’s eat first.”

Her lips turn down in a frown, and she crosses her arms over her chest. Her lips form a pout, and I don’t waste the opportunity to kiss them.

She harrumphs, but I whisper, “You’re adorable when you pout.”

She tries to fight, but the corners of mouth tip up in a smile. “Breccan, how did you know about this spot?”

Remembering the day Connor met supermodel Haley Nicole, I shrug and confess, “I asked Abby.”

The way she talked about this place and what it meant to her—I wanted to experience it for myself. That day, I decided I needed to know everything about the woman who is so selfless that she gave her oasis up to take care of a sick kid.

“I knew that you loved this place and that you hadn’t been back in a long time. Thought it would be nice for us to have a picnic and then relax before I have to leave for Boston.”

She blinks several times and turns her head toward the condos behind us. She’s quiet for several minutes, and I decide not to say anything. Sometimes, the silence says it all. I begin to second-guess my decision to bring her here, but I stop when a smile plays at her lips. I leave her to her thoughts and remove the contents of the picnic basket.

I had Rebecca stop at Sid’s favorite deli and pick up a grilled-pimento-cheese-with-bacon sandwich for Sid and the world’s most boring salad with grilled chicken for me.

Sidney finally clears her throat and turns her attention back to what I’m doing. “Is that DiPasso’s?” she asks, clasping her hands together.

I nod at her and hold a container of pasta salad out.

She squeals before greedily snatching it from my hand and ripping the lid off. Then she takes a big inhale. “I don’t know what I did to deserve all of this, but I’ll take it.” After taking a bite of pasta, she closes her eyes and moans a little.

My cock stirs, and I have to remind myself that we have no privacy.

We chat for a little while, and she points her old condo out. Her face falls when she sees that the patio is in disrepair, but she quickly perks back up when I tell her it’s present time.

Handing her the first bag, I hold my breath. Her excitement while throwing the glitter tissue paper everywhere makes me chuckle.

She pulls a leather-bound journal out and stares at it. After running her fingers over the cover, she opens the book, Then she brings it to her nose and inhales deeply. Her eyes close, and a wide smile spreads across her face.

Staring at her, I realize she’s the most incredible person I’ve ever known. There’s no question that she’s beautiful, and effortlessly so. But, every day, she continues to amaze me. I can’t think of another person in the world who would be this overjoyed with a simple journal.

“Come on, Sid. One more.”

Her face splits into a wide grin as she takes the small, rectangular box out and promptly opens it. “Breccan! This is a Visconti Saturno pen!”

I nod, pleased that she recognized it.

“You shouldn’t have done this!”

“You can’t write without ink.”

“But this is too much. We just celebrated Christmas. You did too much then too. But this…” She fingers the pen in its velvet box.

I knew that the pen was probably a little over the top. I almost choked on my own spit when I saw the price tag. Who knew they made four-hundred-dollar
pens
? But the lady at the store insisted that it would be the best writing tool Sidney would ever hold.

Still smiling at her, I remark, “Yeah, but your hands deserve something worthy of them. I’m not sure this pen even comes close to that.” I kiss her knuckles.

She grins at my cheesy line. “Are you trying to get me in bed?”

I wink at her and ask, “Is it working?”

Blushing, she nods at the other bag. “I’m almost afraid to ask what’s in there.”

I snag the handles of the pink gift bag and pass it to her outstretched arms. “So, this was in case you didn’t like that.” I point to the journal and the pen in her lap.

Sidney reaches into the bag and pulls an iPad out. Her mouth falls open, and she murmurs, “Seriously?” Looking up at me, her eyebrows are drawn together in confusion.

“Well, you said that, when you would sit by the lake, you liked to write. I wanted to bring you out here for a picnic and then let you relax and write some. But you never said if you preferred pen and paper or something electronic to write with.” I lift my shoulders. “So I got both. You know, just in case.”