Abel (24 page)

Smiling
, Abel wondered how much of the fight his mom would actually watch. When he spoke with her earlier, he let her know that he probably wouldn’t get a chance to call her again until after the fight—one he assured her he’d be winning because he had every intention of beating the shit out of that obnoxious prick.

He took a deep breath
, remembering Noah’s instructions.
Don’t let anger make you sloppy
. He wouldn’t.

They started the warm up with Gio reminding him every now and again
to do his jaw stretches. Halfway into it, he glanced at the clock on the wall. Nellie would be there soon.

“
Hector,” he motioned with his head to his phone on one of the counters. “Check my phone. Nellie should be here any minute. I wanna make sure she didn’t have any trouble getting in.”

All at once
, he saw Hector and the other guys exchange strange glances. Something else he’d noticed since he’d arrived was how quiet Andy had been. Hector walked over to his phone without saying a word.

T
apping Abel’s phone a few times, Hector shook his head then turned back to him. “Nothing from her.”

Abel turned back to Gio and focused his concentration on his pad drills. Gio held the pads out moving faster, then slower as Abel began to break a sweat.
“Don’t overdo it,” Gio warned. “We’re just trying to warm up. This isn’t a workout.”

Abel nodded and continued. They did the drills for a few more minutes. Abel knew the day of the fight would be a bit nerve wracking for everyone
, but the tension in the room was way more suffocating than he’d expected. Still he continued focusing closely on the jabs that Gio threw at him and blocking them.

“
. . . fucking kidding me with this, right?” Abel paused, turning to Hector’s infuriated voice.

Whatever one of the security guy
s had been doing on his phone was enough to have Hector in his face now, speaking through his teeth.

“
Let’s go, champ,” Gio said, holding the pads up again.

Holding his own glove up
, he motioned for Gio to give him a second while he watched as Hector pointed at the other guys around the security guy. He appeared to be warning them about their phones because they all put theirs away as well. “Get that the fuck outta here too,” he ordered, pointing at the monitor they’d brought in yesterday to study McKinley’s techniques.

When his brother noticed him watching him, he turned back and gave the guys a final warning look before walking toward him.

“What was that about?” Abel asked curiously.

Hector shook his head
, forcing a smile as he approached Abel and Gio. “All day, they’ve been airing McKinley’s obnoxious rants, and those idiots . . .” He pointed over his shoulder back in the direction of the guys for whom he’d just ripped a new one. “They know better than to be watching the clips in here on their phones.”

Turning back to Gio
, Abel smirked. His brother—forever the hothead. “Yeah, so what’s McKinley been saying?”

“
Don’t worry about that,” Noah said, walking up to them. “Focus on this.”

Noah pointed at Gio then gave Hector an irritated look. He was probably mad
that he’d even brought it up. Abel understood all too clearly. He remembered back when Noah was still dating Roni. Hector had some not so good news about her that Abel knew would piss Noah off. They waited until after the fight to tell him because they didn’t want it to affect his fight. Then it hit him. Why Hector was so pissed about the guys watching the clips there and what was the tension he’d felt when he first walked in.

“
He’s not still badmouthing Nellie, is he?”

“No,” Noah said a little too quickly. “Now focus here.” Noah touched the pad on Gio's hand. “Right here is where your head should be.”

Just the thought of that asshole McKinley trashing Nellie on television pissed him off so much that he landed a hard one on Gio’s pad—a lot harder than Gio was expecting because it threw him off balance.

“
You see?” Noah urged now. “This is why you don’t think about any of that shit before the fight. It’ll make you sloppy—throw you off your game. It’s what they want, Abel. It’s their only hope. You
know
this.”

“
Yeah,” Hector quickly agreed, the look on his face a clear indication of the regret he felt now for having even brought up the subject.

With a deep breath
, Abel brought his attention back to the pads and started the drills again, this time holding back the rage that his fists wanted to unleash. He’d save it for the ring. He didn’t even have to know what that idiot must be saying to know that he already wanted to knock him on his ass, but Noah was right. If he didn’t focus, he’d be a mess—forget about his strategy and go in there ready to kill. That would never work. He needed to focus.

To add to the tension he
’d felt from the moment he walked in today, he was beginning to worry about Nellie. She should’ve been there by now. They were minutes from walking out. She wouldn’t be taking the walk out to the ring with him, but he wanted her here while he warmed up. He wanted her by his side until the very last moment.

Andy wasn
’t anywhere around now. Abel could only hope he was out doing what he’d asked him to do earlier—go back and get her from the hotel. He’d hate to think maybe she’d gotten mobbed and that’s why it was taking her so long to get there.

Still wearing his gloves, he asked Hector to get Nellie on the phone for him. Again Hector and Noah exchanged glances.
“All right, what’s going on?” he asked, suspiciously and more irritated now that he might not see her before the fight. “You two know something I don’t?”

Both shook their heads
, but neither would make eye contact with him. Abel turned to Gio, who quickly glanced away. “This is ridiculous. What is it? Hammerhead laying it on thick about Nellie, and you guys think I can’t handle it? I know he’s an asshole.” He clenched his jaw, remembering the filthy words McKinley had spat at him last night. “How bad can it be?”

Again they were all silent
, and the whole room seemed to hush entirely. Abel glanced around at everyone in the room. Not one of them would look him in the eye.

“
She’s not answering,” Hector said, breaking the silence in the room.

“
Get the monitor in here,” he ordered loudly to no one in particular, but no one moved.

“
No,” Noah finally spoke. “You don’t wanna do that.”

“
I do.” Abel insisted.

“
You don’t. Trust—”

“
The hell I don’t!” Abel barked, silencing the room once again.

Turning very specifically this time to one of the newer trainers from 5th Street
, who was lucky to be there, he pointed. “Cuen, go get that monitor.”

Noah held
out his hand to a very wide-eyed Cuen, who stopped at the sight of it. “It’s nothing but a bunch of bullshit, Abel,” Noah urged. “Nothing but shit that’s gonna get you all riled up right before the fight. Watch it after!”

His words pleaded
, and Abel nearly gave in until the door opened, getting all their attention. Andy walked in with a stunned expression when he realized everyone was staring at him.

“
Where is she?” Abel asked immediately.

“
Nellie? I don’t know. She didn’t answer the door at the hotel. She’s not answering her phone. I even called Roni—”

“
You called Roni?” Noah asked suddenly.

“
Well, yeah,” Andy said. “I knew this guy was gonna be worried, so I called to ask her if she’d seen or heard from her.”

“
What did she say?” Abel asked, taking a few steps forward.

“
She hasn’t heard from her either.” Andy motioned with his hand. “It’s almost show time.”

Abel turned back Cuen.
“Get the monitor.”

Something was up. Nellie wouldn
’t have just disappeared.

“
Don’t get it,” Noah said firmly then turned to Abel. “You’ll watch it after.”

“
Get the fucking monitor,” Abel’s words exploded, making everyone in the room flinch. “Now!” he followed up and a frozen Cuen began moving again.

Noah shook his head and walked away.
“You really should wait until after,” Hector said, his voice much calmer than it had been early.

“
Don’t start with me, Hector,” Abel warned, pacing now and looking around at all the guys in this room who refused to make eye contact with him.

What the
hell could be so bad? Andy looked paralyzed where he still stood by the door he’d walked through but stopped at the sight of everyone staring at him. There was something else about the uncomfortable expression he wore. Like everyone else, he clearly wasn’t looking forward to having to stand there and watch while Abel saw the footage of whatever had everyone so uncomfortable. But there’d been something a bit smug about the way he’d delivered the news that Nellie couldn’t be found. The asshole was probably glad he hadn’t found her.

Cuen rolled the monitor back in the big room. With his gloves on
, Abel wouldn’t be able to do anything. “Turn it on, please.”

Cuen began to and some of the guys actually walked out of the room.
What the hell?
Swallowing hard, he waited. As long as Nellie was okay, he could take anything. His stomach dropped, remembering the terrifying asthma attack she’d had in the room earlier. What if that’s what everyone in the room already knew? That she’d had another one.

“
What’s taking so long?” he demanded, the alarm full-blown now.

F
umbling with the buttons on the remote, Cuen finally got the monitor on. He switched the channels, and then Abel froze when he saw the images. “Turn it up,” he said, his eyes glued to the screen.

The words the reporter spoke were
a low buzz getting louder and louder with every word. Abel watched and listened as his insides began to boil. He wasn’t even sure if he’d blinked the entire time he watched, but after a few more minutes, he’d had enough. “Turn it off. Take the key to my room, Andy. She’s probably still there, afraid to leave. Go get her.”

“
You really think that’s a good idea?” Andy asked, glancing at Noah for help. “She’ll be an even bigger distraction now, right? I think the crowd—”

“
I don’t give a
fuck
what you think, Andy!” Abel was done with Andy’s obvious disregard for the importance of his relationship with Nellie. “You take my goddamn key, go to my room, and you bring her here!”

“
But—”

“
God damn it!” Abel started pulling the strings on his gloves with teeth.

The music for his grand entrance to the ring outside was already starting.

“What are you doing?” Hector asked his voice completely panicked.

“
If I have to go look for her myself, I will!”

“
Okay, I’ll go!” Andy finally conceded.

Abel continued pulling the strings
, unconvinced that Andy was actually going. “Stop that, Abel,” Noah approached him, grabbing his glove. “Get out of here, Andy,” he ordered without even looking at him. “Go get her.”

“
Don’t come back without her,” Abel said as Noah began tightening the strings on his gloves again.

“
Look at me,” Noah said as he roughly retied the strings on Abel’s gloves then spoke slowly but very clearly. “You are going to blow this if you don’t get your head back in it. Forget everything you just saw on that damn television, and you concentrate on the technique we’ve put so much time and effort into perfecting. You hear me?”

Abel nodded
, his insides burning up and only getting hotter by the second. That mother fucker was going down.

C
hapter 19

Minutes after Abel walked out of the
hotel room, Nellie still stood there, torn between listening to Logan’s voicemail and just turning on the television. Knowing full well that the media never had the entire truth as it really was, she decided to listen to his message first. She hit the prompts until it brought her to her unheard message and closed her eyes bracing herself as Logan’s message started.

“
Since you’re obviously not gonna be calling me back, I’m hoping you’ll at least listen to this. I know you must be furious with me, and I will admit that I gave in because of the money that was offered in the beginning, but please let me explain. I never imagined it would turn into this. First of all, I didn’t even meet Sam until the night of the concert.” He cleared his throat and paused as her heart punched against her chest. The reality of how bad this might really be began to sink in. Sam wasn’t actually his friend? “The day I interviewed with you for the job, a guy approached me outside your office as I left. He said he was with the press and knew you worked closely in conjunction with 5th Street. He told me there’d be money in it for me if I could get anything out of you about Abel.

“
He made it sound harmless, said you might not know anything
about him but I’d still get paid for any effort I made to get
something
. The bigger the scoop I got, the more money there was in it for me. At the time, I didn’t even know if I had the job yet, so I took his number and told him I’d call him if I got anything. Later, I’d already decided I wasn’t gonna do it, but remember I told you how tight money was for me? So I called and told them what little I had, which was really nothing. They pushed me to get closer to you so I could get more from you. They suggested I ask you out—said they’d pay for everything—but you kept turning me down. So after you mentioned that concert you wanted to go to being sold out, I told them and they said that was my chance, and that’s how I got not only the tickets but the VIP passes.

“
Financially, things were only getting worse for me, so when I walked in on you and Abel that one day, I figured what harm could there be in me letting them know about that? Nellie, I really,
really
needed the money.”

He paused again then exhaled sharply
, the dread seeping deeper and deeper with every word she heard. Nellie held her palm flat against her chest now as she continued feeling completely betrayed by both Logan and Sam, but the hurt she felt wasn’t anywhere near the dread of what this all meant for the tabloids.

“
They got real excited when I told them, especially when I mentioned that it appeared that Abel didn’t seem the least bit pleased about me being there to see you. I also told them how I’d almost shit my pants because I’d mentioned having a date with you over that intercom and he’d obviously heard. They were very intrigued that you denied being more than just friends, even when Abel had clearly insinuated just the opposite with his body language. A few days later, they offered me an obscene amount of money if I went along with their scheme at the concert. They told me to say that Sam was my friend, and they said that he was just a reporter who would try to get an exclusive out of you. I was actually happy about the way everything turned out at first, until I found out that Sam was McKinley’s fucking brother!”

Nellie nearly dropped the phone
, immediately wheezing. She didn’t even listen to the rest of the rambling, apologetic message. After taking a few much-needed hits of her inhaler, she turned on the television. She didn’t have to the flip the channels more than once before finding coverage of her affair with Sam “McRage” McKinley.

“
. . . it’s still unclear if the 5th Street coordinator whose been rumored to be romantically linked with the heavyweight contender, Aweless Ayala, was actually involved with his opponent’s brother, a former heavyweight fighter himself, Samson “McRage” McKinley, or if this is just a publicity stunt. Coming off the heels of yesterday’s conference brawl between the two camps, it’s hard to know what is actually the real story or just hype. Neither Ayala nor Ms. Gamboa has been able to be reached for comment, but with the big fight just hours away, it’s all the buzz on McKinley’s side. While Samson McKinley has yet to be reached for comment either, his brothers have, in fact, confirmed that the romance between Sam and Gamboa is alive and well.”

It wasn
’t just the tabloid channels talking about it. Even the sports channels were putting in their two cents. “I’m not one to comment on the personal lives of athletes.” One former heavyweight champ was commentating on ESPN. “It is what it is, you know? We all have our family and personal drama. From what I’ve been told, this is not Ms. Gamboa’s first personal scandal that’s played out in the media, but without getting into that, I’m just gonna say this, getting back to tonight’s fight that’s only minutes away from getting started: Regardless if she is actually romantically involved with Ayala or if she’s just his personal assistant,” he shook his head. “I hate to be melodramatic, but technically she is sleeping with the enemy. That’s gonna play a role in his fighting tonight, no doubt about it. If, in fact, he has been following the story today, he won’t be getting in the ring with a clear mind.”

Nellie sat frozen on the sofa
. She was barely able wrap her brain around the magnitude of this. She watched in horror as she switched the channel and stopped when she saw Abel’s opponent being interviewed about the scandal.

“
Well, I don’t know if their lack of commentary on the subject suggests they’re denying it.” McKinley said to the reporter as his hands were being wrapped by his trainer. He shrugged. “My brother’s personal life is
his
personal life, and I don’t wanna piss him off by saying too much. All I can say is that photos don’t lie. And what I can say for certain is Mr. Aweless was none too happy about me mentioning it last night. You all saw how that ended.”

He laughed
, those light blue eyes twinkling into the camera, and now Nellie knew why he’d looked so familiar when she looked him up. “How did I not put it together?” she gasped.

But how could she have? This was outrageous. Abel had mentioned
that McKinley’s camp was notorious for going above and beyond to get into their opponents’ heads, but this?

As if her heart hadn
’t had enough, it nearly gave out when the reporter explained what photos McKinley was referring to. Then photo after photo of her and Sam flashed on the screen. There were some of the two of them having brunch, holding hands, walking into his hotel room by the beach, and then photos of him caressing her face and the embrace they shared just outside his hotel patio. It dawned on her at that moment that she remembered him acting strangely and asking her to go out onto the more open beach to hug her.
The bastard!
And here she’d thought him so genuine then. They’d even taken photos of him hanging out with her and her parents just outside the emergency room doors and in the parking lot of the hospital the night Gus had stuck a bean in his nose. Then there was another photo of him kissing her goodnight just outside her home.

Nellie stood up in an effort to try and calm herself because her inhaler wasn
’t quite doing the job anymore, and she was beginning to struggle to steady her breath.

The photos of her and Sam
“sneaking away” to be alone in the hotel lobby Thursday were being labeled especially scandalous given the fact that insiders were reporting that Abel and Nellie had arrived together in Vegas. They even reported that she was very likely staying with him in the same suite.

Unable to take it anymore
, she changed the channel again, only to see more photos of her and Sam. She switched it again just in time to hear the commentators of TMZ refer to her as the 5th Street Cougar.

“
Well, I don’t know if cougar is the right nickname for her,” one of the guys joked. “Cougars tend to stick to strictly younger guys. McKinley is actually older than she is. How ’bout ‘heavyweight punching bag’? They
all
get a jab at her. Eh? Eh?”

Nellie turned the television off
, trying desperately to compose herself. The tears were already trailing down her face. This was a disaster. Now she knew why her phone was still silent and Abel’s was probably as well. No one wanted to alert them of the stories. Abel had promised to not watch any of the coverage, and they were probably all praying he hadn’t heard anything about it. Roni may even be upset with her.

How the hell could she have been so clueless about Sam? Then
an even more terrifying thought slammed into her violently. Abel may not have known before he left today, but as with her, it was just a matter of time before he did. Would he possibly believe that she’d known all along who Sam was? That she’d purposely set out to humiliate him like this? Maybe as retaliation for Rachel?

Rushing to the bedroom with her heart in her throat
, she knew she had to get to Abel—had to explain it to him before it was too late. The timelines on those photos with her and Sam at his hotel in Los Angeles were all screwed up. The captions suggested she’d spent the entire day with him in his hotel then he took her home late at night when, in fact, they’d stayed out late because of the trip to the emergency room for Gus.

Nellie had a better grip o
n her breathing now, but she was still wheezing. She
had
to stay calm. With this much drama all at once, her inhaler would be useless if she really lost it.

She
’d packed an elegant cocktail dress, and for such a huge occasion, she would’ve preferred to spend more time getting ready. There was no time, so she did her face quickly and put her hair up in a twist. It would have to do. With her heart still pounding harder than it had been all morning, Nellie grabbed her clutch and ran out.

The elevator door opened
, and she nearly ran into a grave-faced Andy, who stood right in front of the doors. “Andy, I have to get to Abel,” she said as she stepped out of the elevator.

“
Do you now?” he asked, his face still harder than she’d ever seen it. “Haven’t you done enough?”

“
But I didn’t know. If I had known—”

“
Look, the damage is done. He’s going nuts over all this, but we think he still has a chance at the fight if he could just get his mind clear of this shit. You showing up is not gonna help.”

“
But I have to explain,” she said, barely able to catch her breath, and she began digging in her purse for her inhaler.

“
Let me be honest with you, Nellie.” Andy stared at her coldly. “He sent me down here to get you. He’s furious about this, but I don’t think you going down there now is a good idea at all. Neither do any of the guys. I saw the way they all looked at me as I left. They’re all hoping I don’t find you.”

“
But he wants me there,” she insisted, the emotion of knowing Abel was furious with her now overwhelming her.

“
Not for the reasons he may’ve earlier.” Andy snapped back. “He wants to let you have it now. I’ve never seen him so disgusted.”

Feeling the warm tears fill her eyes
, she shook her head. “I had no idea and I can explain it all.”

“
Explain all you want after,” Andy stared at her, not even attempting to hide his utter contempt for her. “If you care for him at all, you’ll stay away until after the fight. You’ll have plenty of time to explain then. Do you really think that his getting into it with you just before the fight and getting himself more riled up than he already is, is a good idea?” He lifted his brow. “He doesn’t really want you there, Nellie. He’s just too worked up to listen to reason. He’s so pissed off that he thinks telling you off will somehow make him feel better.”

Taking a hit f
rom her inhaler, which at this point was pretty useless, she stared at him as she felt the warm stream of tears pour down her cheeks and continued to wheeze. “Tell him I’m
so
sorry. I really had no idea.” She stopped to inhale a slow trickle of air that flowed through that familiar straw-like opening in her chest. “Tell him I love him.”

She wanted to turn and get back in the elevator
, but it didn’t feel right, not anymore. How could she sit in his luxurious suite, waiting for him after everything Andy had just told her?

“
Just wait for him here.” Andy said, pushing the button for the elevator.

“
No,” she shook her head, still struggling to breathe and wheezed loudly. “I can’t. Tell him to call me when it’s over.”

“
Wait,” Andy touched her arm as she began to walk away. “This way. You’ll get mobbed if you go out that way.”

Leading her out the back door
, the one she and Abel had arrived in that first day, he quickly hailed her a cab. She slid into the back seat, clutching her purse. “Tell him to call me.” She urged Andy again.

Andy nodded
, closing the door. She had no idea where she was headed. All she knew was she had to get away. Andy stuck his head in the front window and said something to the driver, but she couldn’t hear what he said over her wheezing. From the look on the driver’s face when he turned to look at her wide-eyed, Andy had told him who she was.