Xavier Cold (Hard Knocks #2) (12 page)

“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.

S
everal 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.”

“Thank you.”

Standing up to Father was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life, but I’m glad I made it clear that I’m in love with Xavier. Father should know now that I never plan on returning to Portland to marry Jorge. Xavier completely has my heart.

I glance at my cell phone. “I can’t believe it’s nearly five already.”

“Five? Shit.” Quinn pops up from her chair like someone lit a fire under it. “I have to be at work in forty-five minutes. Let me go get changed, and I’ll drop you off on the way, Anna.”

“Okay.”

The moment Quinn leaves the room, Aunt Dee sets her brown eyes on me. “I know I harp on this every time I see you, but have you thought about calling your father? My poor brother has been going out of his mind since he discovered you’re in love with that hunky fighter.”

“He’s a wrestler,” I correct her.

She tilts her head. “Is that different?”

“Very much so. Not only does Xavier have to be physically in shape, but he also has to be able to follow a script and put on a show for the fans. Fighters just step into the ring and focus on inflicting physical pain on their opponents. Wrestling . . . it’s a mixture of physicality and acting.”

“Quinn told me you’re a part of the show now. Does that mean, you’ll have to fight someone in the ring? You know your father will go ballistic if he sees that on TV.”

“I’m not trained for that, so that will probably never happen—” Something she said just registers in my brain. “Are you saying Father watches Tension?”

“Every time it’s on,” she confirms. “He told me it gives him peace of mind to catch glimpses of you. He worries about your safety.”

“I didn’t know he did that. He hates wrestling.”

She reaches over and lays her hand on top of mine on the table. “That might be true, but he loves you even though it doesn’t feel that way to you at times. He’s harsh, and I’m in no way condoning his actions toward how he was trying to force you to live your life, but I do understand his grief about missing his only daughter. I don’t know what I would ever do if Quinn wasn’t speaking to me.”

“I don’t think that would ever happen. Quinn loves you too much.”

“At one time, you loved your father, too.”

“I still love him. I’m just mad at him right now.”

“Then, promise me, when you’re both ready to let your anger go, you’ll allow him an opportunity to apologize to you. Simon is a good man, but it’s hard for him to see that he’s not always right about things. He’s been that way since we were kids. When he saw that I was never going to bend to his will, he eventually gave in and stopped trying to change me. He learned to love my crazy ways even if he didn’t fully understand them.”

“You think that will happen between us? Right now, I feel like he hates me for running out on Jorge and for embarrassing the family.”

Aunt Dee smiles. “He loves you, sweet girl, and love always conquers everything.”

Quinn comes bouncing in the room, wearing a work uniform that says Property of Larry’s. “Ready, Anna?”

“Yeah.” I push myself out of my seat at the table and stretch my arms over my head, attempting to ease the stiffness in my back from sleeping on the hardwood floor last night. “Can I ask for a favor before we go?”

“Anything,” Quinn answers instantly.

“Can I borrow the air mattress I slept on while I was here?”

Quinn furrows her brow. “Sure, but why do you need it?”

At first, I think about telling her the truth—that Xavier couldn’t bring himself to sleep in his mother’s bed or on the couch in the living room because his mother had died on it—but I decide to keep Xavier’s heartbreaking past to myself.

“The bed at the house is like sleeping on the floor. The air mattress is much more comfortable.”

“Okay. Let me grab it out of the closet for you.” She dashes off and then returns with the portable bed and the sheets and blankets that I used on it. “I figured you might need these, too, since I know they fit the mattress pretty well.”

I wrap my arms around everything. “Thank you. This will help so much.”

Quinn smiles. “Awesome. Now, let’s get on the road before I’m late, and Andy jumps all over my ass.”

I laugh as I follow her out the door, and I throw a good-bye to Aunt Dee over my shoulder.

We load the stuff into her trunk while she prattles on about Larry’s. “Things are so much better since Alice’s bitchy ass has been fired. Andy promoted me to shift supervisor. Can you believe that? He says he knows he can count on me.”

“Congratulations! That’s awesome news.”

“Thanks. The extra money has really come at a good time. Paying for a wedding is expensive.”

We hop in the car and the mention of the cost of what it takes to get married causes the corners of my mouth to pull down. Father sank a pretty penny into the wedding he and Mother were planning for Jorge and me, and that makes me feel guilty because my family doesn’t exactly have a lot of money to spare.

She fires up the car. “Uh-oh. What’s wrong, Anna?”

“Nothing’s wrong.” I forgot how well she could read me.

“I call bullshit on that one,” she throws back at me as she pulls out onto the road. “I know that look. That beautiful face of yours is incapable of disguising sadness, especially those green eyes. They are, as people say, the windows to your soul.”

I turn to stare out the window in an attempt to hide my emotions from her, but the moment I do, something catches my eye and causes my jaw to drop open.

“Xavier?” I whisper his name.

“He’s the problem?”

“No . . . yes . . .” I tumble over my own words, not realizing I said it out loud. “I mean, I see him.”

“Where?” She gasps when I’m sure she spots the same scene I’m witnessing in front of my very eyes. “Oh, hell no.”

She jerks her car over to the side of the street where Xavier is standing, bumping her tire on the curb in the process.

Quinn turns to me. “Are you going to kill him, or do I get the pleasure? Don’t let him get away with that shit, Anna, or so help me, I will revoke your lady nuggets.”

“Oh, I’ve got this one.” I fling open the car door. “Keep the motor running.”

“Will do,” Quinn says.

I hop out and march in Xavier’s direction. My heart thunders in my chest as adrenaline flows through my veins. A million things I want to scream at him pop into my mind as I head right for him. I take in a shaky breath when I pass the girl who just kissed my man hops into a white Mercedes.

Who in the hell is she?

Xavier immediately holds up his hands in surrender, and I can tell by the shock on his face that he didn’t expect to see me here. “Anna . . . it’s not what it looks like.”

“Save it. I know what I saw. You kissed her!” Tears burn my eyes as betrayal rocks through me.

Flashbacks of the night when Deena was strutting around Xavier’s hotel room in nothing but some lingerie flip through my head. He hurt me once. What’s stopping him from going behind my back again to sleep with someone else?

I swat the tears away as my stare bores into him, waiting on his explanation for allowing another woman to kiss him. Xavier reaches for me, but I smack his hands away.

“No. Don’t touch me. Explain yourself.”

His crystal-blue eyes soften. “Anna, please, calm down.”

“Oh my God. This is
her
? How do you even put up with it?”

I whip around to find the source of the female voice bashing me, and my eyes land on the gorgeous Latina woman who I saw with him moments ago.

She is standing between the open driver’s door and the car as she focuses her gaze in our direction. “Seriously, X, what do you see in her?”

Pain from the truth of her words slices through me. Many times, I’ve questioned what he sees in me when he can obviously have any woman he wants.

“Get back in the car, Angie,” Xavier orders. When she doesn’t move to follow his order, he adds, “Now.”