sounded, it wasn’t Lincoln who was on top.
The win and the middleweight title went to Gabe O’Connell. It was so fucking close it was like a stray kick in the balls.
Shooting out of my seat, I totally blanked out everything as I pushed through the crowd, stormed past the TV cameras, and helped Coach pull Lincoln from the octagon.
“Motherfucker,” my twin muttered under his breath. “I almost had him.” His face was covered in blood, the cut on his cheek bleeding all over the place.
“Don’t say anything,” I said in his ear as we led him from the arena and out back. “It’s one loss. We take it in stride.”
“Is that what you call it?” Lincoln asked as we stepped into his private locker room. “Punching O’Connell in the face at the Gala was taking it in stride?”
I narrowed my eyes, choosing not to bite. He thought I punched the guy because I was a sore loser, but it couldn’t be any further from the truth. I had taken the loss in stride, choosing to push my dented pride aside in favor of working things out with Josie…but he didn’t know that.
Picking up a towel, I doused it in the sink and shoved my brother down on the bench as Coach watched us with a raised eyebrow.
Wiping the blood from Lincoln’s face, I said, “This isn’t anything to do with me punching that asshole. This is about what just happened out there. The fucker fights dirty. Dancing around the edge of the rules on his high horse. The refs can’t do a thing about it. We can’t do a thing about it. All we’ve got is next time. Now that we know his game, we can outplay him.”
“Fight fire with fire?” He tried to pull away from the towel as I patted the cut on his cheekbone.
I glanced at Coach, and he shook his head. I’d been thinking about it, my anger simmering hot enough to explode, but I knew we had to get the guy by the rules.
“I don’t know,” I said truthfully.
“We won’t worry about it tonight,” Coach said, finally interjecting. “Let’s get you cleaned up and out there at that press conference, and tomorrow we can assess the playback. One day at a time, boys. The drill hasn’t changed.”
Lincoln shoved my hand away, his shoulders still tight with tension. I knew it would hurt his pride watching the playback of the fight, but we had to see the moment where O’Connell got him. He’d learned his opponent’s fighting technique, studied his tells, the same as Linc had, but there was something Gabe spotted that we hadn’t. We needed to up our game.
Concerned at his reaction, I watched my brother rise to his feet and push into the bathroom where a moment later, the water turned on. He’d never lost a fight before, not like me, and to lose his title because of a grapple that lasted a second? It was frustrating as hell, but it wasn’t that bad considering I’d been KO’d. What made it worse was who beat him, not how.
“You know he’ll be right,” Coach said to me.
“Yeah…”
“Are things okay with you and Josie now?” he asked, taking me by surprise. “I get there’s a history of animosity there, but after the incident at the Gala…”
“What are you saying, Coach?”
“Is something going on between you two?”
“Yeah, I’m a pain in her ass,” I replied, rolling my eyes.
“I saw it with Ren,” he said, picking up the dirty towels Lincoln had dropped on the floor. “What I’m seeing with Josie. Ren tried to hide her relationship with Ash in the beginning because she wasn’t ready to trust, and I didn’t see it at the time, but afterward…” He sighed and glanced at me.
“If you’re looking for an admission, you’re not going to get one,” I bit out. “I’m here to fight and to support my brother. It’s been that way from day one and will always be that way.”
Coach looked me over in that no bullshit way he had and nodded. There was a reason he coached us, and it wasn’t because he was a sparkly unicorn who farted rainbows. He was a mean motherfucker, and I knew I wasn’t fooling him.
“I know you were keen on my daughter,” he went on, ignoring my insolent tone. “My other daughter. A father sees more than he cares to sometimes, especially when it happens in his own gym. I’ve seen how you treat other women since you’ve been