Fighting Chance (Rock Hard Gym Book 5)

by Ember-Raine Winters

  Connor adjusts the shirt around my body, and I hope my blush isn’t too obvious. When he’s finished, I give him a whispered thanks, and he smiles and nods.

  “Connor, you’re up. You ready?” Max comes up beside us and squeezes Connor’s shoulder in a fatherly way.

  “As I’ll ever be,” Connor tells Max. Turning to me he takes my face in his hands. “Can I get one more good luck kiss, Ceara?”

  I nod, then his lips are on mine. My body’s reactions intensify and a wave of heat travels through me. As my tongue timidly tangles with his, I barely register the whoops of “get a room” and “go Connor,” too caught up in the taste of him.

  He ends the kiss and presses his forehead to mine, just breathing softly onto my skin.

  “I’m going to knock this guy out and be right back to pick up where we left off.”

  One more quick kiss to my lips and he climbs into the cage. I burrow into his sweatshirt, preparing to watch the fight.

  I’m surprised by how quick it is. An announcer reads off stats I don’t listen to, my whole focus on watching Connor bounce around the cage. The ref says something to both fighters who each nod, then gives the signal to start the fight. Connor immediately lands some punches to his opponent’s jaw and kicks him in what I’m sure is the kidney. The man falls to the mat and Connor follows him down landing another punch to the man’s face rapidly followed by another and another. The other man isn’t moving and the ref hauls Connor off him and calls the fight. Connor wins by KO.

  I’m worried about the guy who was knocked out, but once I see that he is sitting up and getting medical treatment, I allow myself to feel the giddiness seeing Connor fight brought to me.

  I watch him climb from the cage and start to make his way to me. When he stops suddenly and glares at something over my shoulder, I know our night has ended before I even hear the growled words.

  “Cece, what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  Chapter 9

  Connor

  Silence fills the space as everyone hears the big man growl at Ceara. I take a step forward, but Lennox and Max are already standing in front of her with their arms folded over their chests.

  I flinch, not wanting anyone to get hurt because of me and Ceara. This idiot wouldn’t be stupid enough to pull a gun in the middle of a crowded gym, would he?

  “Can I help you?” Max raises a brow as I make my way around them. Ceara has an annoyed look on her face and I know she’s hiding her fear.

  “Cece is coming with me. She’s not supposed to be alone in places like this.” Theo growls mimicking Max and Lennox stance.

  “How old are you sweetheart?” Lennox looks over at a grumbling Ceara.

  “I’m eighteen,” she huffs out a breath.

  “The way I see it, she has the right to be anywhere she wants. Even here in a crowded gym watching a boy fight.” Lennox takes a menacing step forward. Tanner tries to pull him back, but he shakes him off. I don’t miss the eye roll he aims at the back of Lennox head.

  “No, she can’t. If you knew who her father is, you would back the fuck off.” Marcus, goon number two, appears from behind his back.

  I groan because I am stupid. Of course, where you find one idiot the other isn’t far behind. Ceara looks like she’s about to bolt. “Look this is my gym and you were not invited, so either see yourselves out or I will escort you out, personally. I have a fight to get back to so that would be inconvenient.”

  “Do I look like I give a shit what’s inconvenient for you?” Theo steps forward bumping into Max’s chest. The guy really is a major idiot. It’s impossible not to recognize Mad Max Malone. He’s been on tv countless times, even after he retired from fighting. He has founding interests in AMMA, courtesy of Randy Bryant. The man felt bad about ending his career, but Max always tells everybody it was the best thing that could have happened to him.

  “Jamie, Jersey! You guys wanna help me take out the trash?” The shout causes Theo to lunge like he’s reaching for Ceara. I move quicker than I ever have and have her pinned to my chest with my arms around her as the four huge fighters surround the two apes.

  “They really shouldn’t be doing this.” Her nails grasp my shirt as she mumbles into my chest. “They don’t know my father. I don’t want anyone to get hurt because of me.”

  Her eyes are scared as she looks up at me. I squeeze her a little tighter and rub a hand over her hair. A commotion from only feet away has me cursing under my breath. “Hey, stay with Calla and Layla. I need to help Max.”

  Marcus has Max in a headlock, and I see red, but before I can even think, Layla takes a running leap and lands gracefully on his back. Her thumbs jab into his eyes and he curses doing his best to shake her off but she’s like a damn spider monkey. “Don’t you dare hurt my husband!”

  “Shit! Layla. Stop!” I try to get close, but the big man is shaking her like a raging bull trying to unseat a rider.

  Everything slows into slow motion as he shakes her off and Layla is airborne. My whole world collapses as my breath rushes out of me in a whoosh. Thankfully, Layla lands on a mat with a roll and is back on her feet within seconds. The only thing I see is Marcus as I storm across the room and grab him by the arm he has cocked back to swing his meaty fist at Max. I turn him around and before he can throw the punch, two swift hard jabs land right in his face. He blinks dazed but he’s still standing, and I turn spinning in a circle as my foot connects with his temple and his eyes roll back in his head.

  Breathing heavily, I look over at a startled Ceara and breathe a sigh of relief when I see Layla standing by her sister Calla shaking her head. Theo grabs his friend and they limp from the gym. He wipes at his split lip before sneering at me.

  “Don’t get too comfortable, Connor O’Malley. The boss will hear about this and you will regret it.”

  Grabbing Ceara in my arms, I pull her close and kiss the top of her head. “Connor, I have to go.” She looks up with real fear in her eyes. “I have to fix this. I can’t let you or the people you love get hurt because of me.”

  She extricates herself from my arms and runs after the goons out the front door of the gym. Damn this sucks.

  Chapter 10

  Ceara

  I run away from Connor, barreling out the front doors of the gym. I see Theo and Marcus haven’t left yet and I pick up speed, shouting at them to wait.

  Marcus has a bruise forming on his cheek and his eye is swelling shut, but overall, I’d say he made it out without much damage, considering he was in a room full of fighters.

  Theo gives me a disapproving glare and I know I’m about to be lectured. I swear, Theo acts more like my father sometimes than my actual father.

  “Theo, please don’t.” I plead with my eyes for him to give me a chance to explain.

  “Two seconds, Cece. Tell me why you would risk yourself and your family by being here.”

  “I wasn’t risking anything, Theo. I was just being a girl, a normal girl.” Tears start streaming down my face and my words sound watery as I continue. “I like Connor and he likes me. I just thought I could be normal for once.”

  “Oh, Ceara.” Marcus grabs me up into a hug, smashing my face into his chest. “You are anything but normal girl, but that’s not a bad thing and it has nothing to do with who your father is.”

  “Cece, Marcus is right,” Theo holds up a finger to stop me from getting too excited by his words. “But your father is who he is, and your safety must be number one priority. Always. There’s no room for exceptions. Exceptions lead to mistakes. I have to tell your father about this, it’s up to him whether you can continue seeing the boy.”

  Anger at the fact I have no control over my own life bursts free from my mouth. “So, what? I don’t get to live my own life. To be happy. To be normal. Please Theo, don’t tell Daddy. If I promise not to go off again without telling you or Marcus, can we forget this happened?”

  Theo sighs heavily and I know I’ve won. “Cece, that boy is nothing but trouble, bu
t I think you’re right. It’s your life. I’ll try harder to allow you more freedom.”

  I squeal with excitement. “Just let me tell Connor bye, and we can go.”

  I turn back to the building that houses the gym and see Connor followed me outside. A mushy feeling comes over me at the thought he was trying to keep me safe, even knowing I wasn’t in any real danger.

  I sprint over and once I’m toe to toe with him, my shy and awkward self makes an appearance. I stare at my feet and play with the string on the sweatshirt.

  “Umm, hey. So, I think I’ve defused the situation, but I have to go. Will you call me?”

  “Ceara.” He says my name with concern, and I glance up into his face. “Are you okay? Is it safe to go with them?”

  I giggle at the thought of Theo or Marcus being unsafe. “I’m fine, Connor. They won’t hurt me. Their job is to keep me from harm. I should have told them where I was, it wouldn’t have caused any problems for you or your friends.”

  “You honestly think they would have let you come here if they knew?”

  I shrug, but keep my mouth shut, not wanting to lie. No Theo and Marcus wouldn’t have let me come to an MMA fight had they known, but I don’t think they’ll stop me in the future.

  “Cece, let’s go,” Theo shouts.

  “Well, I guess I better go before I cause another fight.”

  Connor’s lips twitch into a smile and show off his dimples.

  “Okay, bye.” I turn to go, but Connor grabs my hand, stopping my exit. He swings me back to face him and captures my lips in a kiss that isn’t as gentle or affectionate as the few I’ve experienced from him before. His kiss is hard, demanding, and claiming. He claims me as he’s standing on the cracked concrete walkway and I let him.

  “I’ll call you later. I have to get back in there and clean up now. Text me when you get back to campus. Let me know they didn’t kill you and bury the body.”

  He’s joking and I give a tight smile at the words, but the truth of what Theo and Marcus are capable of, what my father is capable of, douses any flames Connor’s kiss had ignited.

  I might have gained a little freedom tonight, but I’m still the daughter of the deadliest man in the Irish Mafia.

  Chapter 11

  Connor

  The next couple days are like a dream. From what Ceara says the body guards aren’t the big jerks she thought, and they are giving her time to tell her dad in her own way.

  After the way I knocked Marcus out you would think the guy would hold a major grudge against me. The next day when I saw them, Marcus nodded and conceded that I was more than capable of protecting her and walked out of the library.

  It’s Monday night now and since I don’t have practice, I’m sitting at the desk in the library with my laptop looking for clues into my mother’s death. The only problem is there are no records of a Mariam O’Malley living in or around Bristol Tennessee.

  “What are you searching for?” Ceara’s voice startles me and I move to shut the laptop, but she grabs my hand. “Does this have to do with the files I saw the first day we met?”

  Her nose scrunches up and I can’t help but to slide a finger down it to smooth it out. “It’s nothing, what’s up?” I try for a charming grin, but I know it falls flat.

  “Connor, please? You know how much I love this stuff. Tell me, please?” Her big doe eyes plead with me and I release my grip on the laptop and wrap my arm around her waist pulling her into my lap before I start my story.

  “I’m trying to find out what happened to my mom. My Uncle Ricky says that my father, his brother, murdered her. I can’t find any evidence that she ever lived in Tennessee, let alone was murdered here.” I lay my head on her shoulder, feeling completely hopeless. If I can’t find out what happened to her will I ever be happy, or, will I always be this lost kid with anger issues and a fucked-up past?

  “Can I help? I have some experience searching the public records database.” She smiles kissing the top of my head that is still resting on her shoulder.

  “I don’t want to be a bother. I’m sure you have to study or something.” I can feel my cheeks heating as I look away from her.

  Ceara has gotten bolder since we started seeing each other. She reaches out a hand and turns my cheek until I’m looking in her eyes. “It’s not a bother, Connor. I can tell it’s important to you. Let me help. I really don’t have any studying to do. I only come down here when I want to read a cold case but your murdered mother sounds like something I need to help you with.”

  I see it the moment she realizes I’m going to concede. A bright smile crosses her face until it reaches her eyes. “Okay, I would appreciate any help you could give me.” The giddiness in her eyes makes me chuckle under my breath as I squeeze her tighter.

  I laugh as she flops fully on my lap and starts typing something into the computer. I watch as she does her thing. “Do you know what year it was?” she asks, distracted.

  “It was about sixteen years ago.” I shrug. Talking about this with another person makes my skin itch and I want to shift in my seat.

  “Hmmm,” she is focused on the computer screen humming to herself.

  “What? Did you find something?” I ask sitting up a little straighter. My hands instantly go to her hips and she freezes.

  “N-no,” she stutters. “That’s the problem. As far as I can see, Mariam O’Malley never existed.”

  Chapter 12

  Ceara

  Mariam O’Malley is a ghost. She either doesn’t exist or was hiding herself and Connor, but from what or who?

  The past few weeks have been great getting to know Connor. We’ve spent every possible moment together and while most of it involved trying to find a hint of a woman who obviously didn’t want to be found, the small touches we shared were well worth the headache this search was producing.

  Rubbing my temples to ease the ache, I glance at my phone. I have a new voicemail from a familiar New Jersey area code and I contemplate ignoring it like I have the others.

  Sighing, I give in and hit the button to play the message.

  Cece, love. Please call me back. I’d like you to come visit next week during your long weekend. Please. There has been some trouble here at home. A few kidnappings surrounding the Belikovs, nothing to concern yourself with, but it has me anxious to check in on my baby girl. Call me so we can make arrangements. Love you baby girl.

  That’s as sentimental as my father ever gets and it’s sweet in his own way, but who wants their child to come where the danger is instead of staying away? My father that’s who.

  I spin my phone on the desk as I try to come up with an excuse as to why I can’t come to see him. It’s dangerous Daddy, you said so yourself. Shouldn’t I be hiding instead? Hold on. Dangerous. Hiding. That’s it. Mariam isn’t a ghost; we just aren’t looking in the right place.

  I pull my laptop closer and type in a search for Mariam O’Malley, extending the search to the state of Tennessee rather than just Rockmound and its surrounding cities.

  Nothing.

  I search again, this time including the entirety of the United States. I get a few hits on O’Malley, but they’re all male. Mariam brings up three possibilities. I dig further and scratch off the first Mariam, who, according to her Facebook profile, is happily married and living in Arizona. The next is an older woman in a hospice outside Miami, suffering from dementia. Her family posts updates regularly on a blog about her condition. She’s much older than Connor’s mother would be, and not to mention, alive.

  The last Mariam Sullivan the search brings up is a missing person flyer from twenty years ago and it’s from New Eden, NJ. Holy shit! Things about Connor’s story start to make sense as I stare at Mariam’s picture.

  I click print on my browser and gather my things. I have plans with Connor to have dinner off campus. It will be our first actual date and I need to get back to my dorm to get ready.

  I grab the printout on my way and race out of the library. Theo and Marcus qui
ckly fall in behind me, but I barely notice, too excited over the news I have for Connor. If this Mariam is the right one, it’ll be reason enough to go see my father and bring Connor along.

  Inside my dorm room, I change into a comfortable t-shirt dress in a color that matches Connor’s eyes. I slip into my black chucks and not bothering with any makeup other than my berries-n-cream lip gloss, I make my way back outside.

  Connor is waiting, his Mustang idling by the doors. I throw myself into the passenger and lean over for a quick kiss. I hand him the printout and turn to buckle my seatbelt. When I look back to Connor is eyes are wide, staring at the Mariam in the photo.

  “Connor?”

  “How-where--,” he swallows roughly and meets my eyes. “This is my mom, Ceara. Where did you find this?”

  The happiness at finding a possible lead is dampened by the sadness in Connor’s eyes. I don’t want to ruin our evening, but I know he’ll want answers.

  “How about we go to dinner and I’ll tell you everything, including my plan to find out more.”

  My father will be able to provide us the answers we need, I just pray he isn’t directly involved in this poor woman’s disappearance.

  Chapter 13

  Connor

  I drive in a daze. I never thought I’d actually find out what happened to her. The year was all wrong though. That flyer was from a year before I was born. What the hell did she get into?

  “Something’s not right, Ceara.” I grip the steering wheel so tight that my knuckles turn white.

  “I know.” I look at her through my peripheral and see her fidgeting slightly. “That says she disappeared a year before you were born.”