Surge (The Beat and the Pulse #7)- Amity Cross Page 0,71

The boy has finally become a man.”

“Coach, I…”

“He told you the truth, Josie,” he stated. “He loves you, and I know you love him. Otherwise, you wouldn’t still be with O’Connell trying to save Dean’s career.”

A tear escaped my eye and trickled down my cheek. Raising my hand, I swiped it away and composed myself.

“We’ll find a way to work this out,” he said kindly. “He doesn’t blame you.”

“He should,” I muttered, my voice wavering. “I didn’t believe him when he needed me the most and look what I did to him.” I waved my hands around, gesturing to the arena and the chaos of the pending title fight.

“One fight at a time,” he murmured, placing a hand on my shoulder. “One fight at a time…”

Wandering back to Gabe’s locker room, I contemplated everything Coach Miller had told me, my heart beating triple time. Dean had told me the truth, and I’d walked away from him.

Lingering outside Gabe’s locker room, I actually began to feel sick to the stomach. I didn’t want to go in there and face the man who was into blackmail and treated me like a pretty whore to hang off his arm. I didn’t want to go in there knowing I was the one who’d gotten myself into this mess because of my pride.

The sound of raised voices began to tug at the edges of my raging mind, and I peered into the room. Gabe was talking earnestly with his coach as they prepared for the fight, so I lingered in the shadows, waiting and watching, not in any hurry to announce my presence.

“We need to get rid of him,” his coach said. “You beat him tonight, and he’ll just come back and challenge you again. Him or his brother. It’ll never end.”

“What do you suggest?” Gabe asked, shaking out his arms between stretches.

“It’ll be tough to get it through without being disqualified, but the only way I see this playing out is if you hurt him enough that he can’t come back.”

Gabe paused, and a malicious grin began spreading on his face. “Ruin his career. For good.”

“And if it doesn’t pan out, you have the girl.”

I slapped my hand over my mouth as their words sank in. They were going to ruin Dean’s life, no matter what I did. He’d go down in the octagon, or he’d go down in the press afterward. Either way, he was screwed.

My gaze darted back into the locker room. They hadn’t noticed I was here, so I had a chance to slip away and warn Dean, but I had to take it now. If I was ever going to admit I was wrong in leaving him, now was the time.

Pushing off the wall, I slunk down the hall toward Dean’s locker room, knowing I had to suck up my pride and do the right thing.

I was wrong.

28

Dean

Smack!

I punched the pad on Lincoln’s left hand, my gloved fist striking the leather dead center. Swinging with my left hand, I struck his right. I went back and forth, increasing my momentum.

“Careful,” my twin warned. “You don’t want to wear yourself out before the main event.”

“I’m too amped up to stand still,” I replied, firing off another set.

“Keep your focus,” he countered, bracing as I smacked my fists into the pads again.

I’d done nothing but keep my focus for the last week. Until yesterday, my eyes were on the prize, and now they were on the future. The title was nothing without Josie at the end of it.

Seeing her so scared had me on edge more than the looming fight with O’Connell. I knew the guy was dirty but mistreating his staff? Shit, and if his kind of mistreating had anything to do with harming Jo, physically or mentally, there would be hell to pay. That kind of misconduct was a new low even for him.

A knock at the door broke through my pattern, and I shook out my arms, flexing my head back and forth.

“Yeah?” I called out.

The door opened a crack, and a blonde head peeked through. Josie. She inched into the room, her gaze darting to Lincoln, then to me.

“Can I talk to you for a moment?” she asked me, her voice wavering.

“Give us a minute,” I said to Lincoln, never taking my eyes off Josie for a second in case she disappeared.

I was vaguely aware of him tossing the pads and leaving the room. When the door closed, she just…came alive.

“He’s planning something,” she said, her voice full