Redemption (Cambria University #2)

by Sadie T. Williams

  Just then, Matthias musters up some energy and comes at Van like a, well, linebacker on a blitz. When he’s been rushing Van before it was more, upright? This time he’s coming low. This must be his last-ditch effort with the limited energy he has left.

  Van catches him, grabs Matthias by the ears and slams his head down into his knee that is driving upward. I hear the sound of Matthias’s nose breaking from where I’m sitting and as he flies backward the blood spurts through the air like a fountain. He lands with a loud splat on the concrete floor. The referee comes over to inspect and then calls for Doc, who rushes into the ring. Doc slaps Van on the back and kneels next to Matthias, who is unconscious.

  Doc snaps Matthias’ nose back into place with a loud crack that be heard over the silence of the stunned crowd while he’s still unconscious. Two guys enter the ring, lift Matthias’s lifeless body off the floor with some instructions from Doc, then carry him through the crowd in the direction of the tents.

  The referee walks over to Van, grabs his arm and lifts it high over his head, proclaiming him the winner. Despite most of these people losing a ton of money tonight, the crowd erupts with cheers so loud that you can barely hear Taylor Swift playing as Van leaves the ring. He grabs my hand and leads me back to his tent.

  Holy shit. He really did it.

  Chapter 36: Donovan

  Adrenaline is coursing through my body as I get back to my tent.

  “Holy fucking shit!” I yell as we enter. I finally let out everything I’ve been holding in since we got here. Maisy leaps into my arms and kisses me. Her tongue slips in my mouth and I can’t wait to claim her over and over when we get back to my hotel. Cherry on top, baby.

  “I can’t believe it!” she squeals as I set her back down. “Ew, you’re slimy,” she laughs but doesn’t let go of my neck.

  “What? First, you doubted me and now, you’re telling me I’m gross? I’m hurt.” I feign a pout while putting my hand over my heart. She loves when I tease. She’s right though. I’m drenched in sweat. Even though Matthias didn’t hit me, it’s a lot of work to avoid getting hit. Plus I landed several blows.

  I pull her back into my chest and squeeze. “Guess I could shower. You in?” I wiggle my eyebrows at her.

  “I accept.” She smiles and kisses me again. It’s over now. She’s free from Emilio, and free from this life that seems to keep haunting her. I did that. Maybe now I can feel like we’re even – or at least like we can move on together.

  “Donovan, holy shit man.” Chet slaps me on the back. “That was a show, and you didn’t even get hit. I’ve never seen anything like that.” Chet is still standing there in disbelief when Doc walks back in.

  “Bro, that was a fucking insane!” he says and gives me a bro hug. “I’ve never seen anything like that.”

  “I just said the same thing,” Chet replies.

  I shrug. “Anything for my girl.” I smile and kiss Maisy on top of her head. “How’s Matthias?” I turn to ask Doc.

  “He’ll be fine. I reset his nose while he was still out so he wouldn’t feel it and gave him some pain meds in an IV. He’s awake now,” Doc replies. That’s good to know. I wanted to win, but I didn’t want to kill anyone. “So, Fluffy Unicorn, what did you say to Matthias? He was pissed,” Doc asks.

  “What Emilio didn’t know is I’ve been boxing since I was thirteen. I also worked with Drake Reed at my gym,” I begin.

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Doc says. “You worked with Drake ‘The Viper’ Reed? He’s like a title contender in the MMA circuit.”

  “Yeah, he wasn’t back then. He was just a kid from Queens when I knew him. But the one thing he taught me that I use in all aspects of my life…” I pause for dramatic effect. “Mind games fucking work.”

  Everyone starts laughing, including Maisy.

  “Is that why you decided to be the Fluffy Unicorn?” She snorts at the thought.

  “And chose a Taylor Swift song?” Chet asks.

  I nod. “Well yeah. How intimidating is it seeing me,” I motion to my shirtless, ripped, tattoo-covered self, “bopping along to T-Swift and being referred to as a Fluffy Unicorn?”

  “Uh, it’s not,” Doc says. “It’s fucking confusing.”

  “Exactly. Matthias didn’t know what to think from the get-go. I was already in his head. If I came in guns blazing, eyeing him up like every other fighter, I was done. The crowd didn’t know what to think either, and I needed them to love me too. Who doesn’t know “Shake It Off?” You can’t help but sing, right? They were hooked.”

  “Is that why you needed the panties?” Doc asks. Yes, I may have asked him to find a willing girl to chuck her panties at me. One more level of awesomeness from the newbie about to fight the all-star.

  “Yup. How fucked up is it that this new kid is a panty dropper? I asked Doc if there was a special lady in Matthias’s life. Apparently, his family life sucks, but he loves his sister.”

  “You didn’t.” Doc starts to laugh and Maisy looks confused as hell. “I wondered why you asked about that.” I shrug unapologetically.

  “I did. I leaned in and asked him if he could give the thong back to his sister after the fight. He didn’t answer so I tossed them back into the crowd.” I start laughing as I remember how red his face turned when I said it. “He was too pissed to function at that point. He didn’t care if it was a lie or not.”

  “That is fucking amazing,” Chet mumbles under his breath. “He couldn’t think straight.”

  A slow clap starts outside the tent and curtain is pulled back by Emilio’s two thugs as he walks in. I knew this was coming at some point.

  “Well done, El Fluffy Unicorn, well done,” he congratulates me, but I know it’s not a genuine response. “You cost me a lot of money.”

  “I told you not to bet against me.” I shrug. “That’s on you.”

  “I’m not sure what you did, but I’ve never seen Matthias so upset and uncontrolled.”

  I just smile. I’m not giving him my secrets. “So we’re good then. Maisy is done with this shit?”

  “Maisy’s debt is paid, but now you owe me for the money I lost on this fight.” Emilio looks from me to Maisy to Chet.

  “No fucking way, Emilio. It’s not my fault you bet against me.”

  Emilio scoffs. “This isn’t just about the money, Donovan.”

  “Yeah, then what the fuck is it about? Because all you ever talk about is money,” I snap. I’m sick of this motherfucker.

  “Calm down, mi luchador. It’s simple. You will fight for me. Not here. I will take you to the competition and you will destroy them. Win me back my money and then some. Build my reputation. You humiliated my best fighter tonight.”

  “Never.”

  “That wasn’t a question. You will come with me to Las Vegas. You will win. Then you will be done.”

  “And if I refuse?”

  “Then I take Maisy to pay your debt,” he replies casually. As if I could let that happen. Why is she always responsible for paying off the debts of the men in her life?

  “ARGH!” I scream in frustration and rip my hands through my hair. This was supposed to be it. “Why can’t I just pay you?”

  “Ay, emotion finally. Money. I have plenty of money, Donovan. I need to beat my competition. I’m trying to build an empire.”

  “An empire of prostitutes, drug dealers, and street fighters. Nice fucking empire,” I mock. That’s why he wanted Maisy. She would have been a high-end hooker, and now I’m his prized fighter who’s supposed to raise his street fighting stock.

  Emilio ignores, or doesn’t understand, my jab and continues. “The Underground has never won a fight in Las Vegas. Matthias who is – er, was my best fighter, never even came close. The fight clubs there are vicious, but you will win for me. For once The Underground will be the best fight club. With that reputation, our fights will generate hundreds of thousands of dollars and new fighters who want to be part of our team. So you see, you help set up my business plan and then you ca
n go. I will get prize fighters who want to be here after that.”

  Team. I laugh at the use of the word in this context. This isn’t a team, its fucking extortion.

  “You are not doing this, Van,” Maisy squeaks in between sniffles.

  Chet pipes up. “Drew and I have been to the fights between clubs. They’re way more brutal than normal Underground fights.”

  Watching Maisy cry, thinking that this could fall on her shoulders is too much. What do I have to lose? Get my ass beat? Who cares? If I don’t do it though, I could lose Maisy and she could be sold to the highest bidder. There is no one who will ever touch Maisy that way except me.

  “I’m in. But first, this is fucking it. No more bullshit after this fight. We’re both out, or I swear to God I will fucking kill you before your goons can lay a hand on me. Second, I need a month to recover,” I say and glance down at my busted hands. The tape helps, but it doesn’t stop my already busted knuckles from busting open again. “Third, you work this out so that it goes off during spring break. I don’t want Maisy missing class. Finally, you pay for the whole trip for all four of us,” I demand. Plus, between now and then I know I’ll need to go to the combine and compete for a chance to get drafted. I can’t show up there after a fight in case I get busted up. That wouldn’t look too good to the NFL scouts.

  “Four?” Emilio questions.

  “Doc is coming with me.” I look to Doc, who is in complete shock. Maybe I should have asked him first. He could have a family or a day job. Shit. I didn’t think that through. Fucking typical Blake move. Act first, think second.

  Emilio looks to Doc who nods. Emilio nods. “Give me your phone number. I will be in touch.” I do, and with that, Emilio flashes his gold tooth and leaves the tent.

  “No!” Maisy wails and collapses to the ground. Her shoulders shake with each sob.

  “Maisy, I told you this fight would be fine. And it was. I will be okay, I promise.” I don’t know if it will be, but damn if I will let her worry about me.

  I make a mental note to call Drake to see if he can squeeze me in for a few workouts. Hopefully he’s in New York. “Owl, trust me. It will be okay.”

  “I hope so,” she sniffles.

  Me too.

  Chapter 37: Maisy

  Van and I got back to campus really late the Sunday before classes started and he crashed at my place, for the first time ever. We were both exhausted, physically and emotionally, so why not add stepping out as a couple to the list of things that are causing me severe anxiety? My normally laidback, chill-as-hell Cali girl attitude is buried under stress and worry.

  I tossed and turned all night, even with Van sleeping next to me. Now I’m laying here, staring at the ceiling, while my uber-hot boyfriend, who has his arms wrapped around me like a comfy blanket, is snoring softly. Usually his presence is comforting, calming even, and I sleep so well snuggled next to his enormous, warm, hard body. But with the second fight looming and now thinking about how the entire campus will be up my ass with the fact that Van and I are together, I’m so overwhelmed.

  I’m the humiliated girl who ran back to the boy who broke her. A lot of people saw me run from Van’s house when he was with Sydney, and even more witnessed my meltdown when the bet came to light. I’m embarrassed. There’s no other word for it. Wait, yes there is. Scared.

  Scared that the Van who showed up in Vista del Cielo didn’t get off the plane with me in Boston, which is ridiculous. I’m scared being back here will bring out Big Dick Blake and all of his antics. But I love Van, so I need to get over my own insecurities and what people think.

  “Hey, Owl,” a very groggy sounding baritone voice shakes me from my thoughts.

  “Good morning, Lumberjack.” I smile and kiss him on the nose.

  “Lumberjack?”

  “You were sawing logs last night. It was so loud I couldn’t sleep.”

  He laughs his deep, beautiful laugh, and says, “I know that’s not true. You are the snorer in this relationship, girlfriend.”

  The sound of the word rolling off his lips makes my heart flutter, but my stomach turns in knots. This is a good sign that everything he said in California is still true. He must be able to read the uncertain look on my face, because he sits up and pulls me into his chest.

  “Owl, what’s wrong? I know this isn’t about the snoring.”

  Can I tell him I’m embarrassed to be seen with him, or scared he will renege on everything he said, even after everything he’s done? The epic apology, the fight just to save my life and pay my father’s debt, and the fight yet to come? I want to scream at my insecurities and my selfishness, but yet this was all set in motion from his stupid actions, and I can’t shake it from my head.

  “I’m scared, Van,” I reply honestly as I reluctantly roll out of bed and grab the clothes that I laid out the night before. Black leggings, an oversized maroon sweater, and my knock-off Timberland boots with thick comfy socks. Winter sucks on the East Coast. As I start to dress, I hear Millie’s door open. I didn’t want to wake her up when we got back last night, so she has no idea that Van is here.

  “Scared about wh—“ he begins, but is interrupted by my door crashing open.

  “Maisy!” Millie barges in my room and wraps me a soft, warm hug. I see why Olaf liked these so much. Pure comfort. “I missed you, you nerd!”

  “I missed you too,” I reply and squeeze back.

  “So,” she says as she holds me at arm’s length, “what the fuck happened? I need all the details. Are you and Blake like a thing now for real?” She’s searching my face for something other than exhaustion.

  “Yes, Millie, we are. Officially boyfriend-girlfriend.” I smile and nod toward the bed, where Van is still lying, shirtless with my comforter covering his man bits. It feels good to say it out loud in front of someone.

  “Hey, Roommate,” Van says and gives Millie a dainty little Miss America wave. It is freaking cute.

  “Eek!!” she squeals, lacking any sense of embarrassment. “This is fucking epic. I can’t believe my roomie locked down Big Dick Blake.”

  “Ick. Can you not call him that?”

  “What? Why not? You know it’s true.” He feigns annoyance, but I can see the smile that he’s trying to stop from creeping onto his face.

  “Yeah, you of all people know it’s true,” she giggles at Van’s admission of our new-found sex life. “All right, I’m going to shower and get ready for class.” With that she skips, literally fucking skips with joy, out of my bedroom.

  “You’re an ass!” I say as I slap Van’s shoulder.

  “Me?” he asks like he’s innocent. “What did I do?”

  “Stop, you know what you did. You just told Millie we had s-e-x,” I whisper-spell it out.

  “Yeah, Maisy, I did. I’m fucking proud of that fact. We had sex, we made love, we fucked,” he continues. “We did all those things, and they were all fucking magical. I will shout this information through the Quad on our way to class, because I love you and I want everyone to know you’re mine. Are you embarrassed that we slept together?”

  “No.” I pause before I lie anymore.

  “You are,” he calls me on it, but his lips frown and there is hurt in his eyes. “Why? I don’t understand. I thought you forgave me.”

  “I did. I’ve forgiven you and I love you too. So much has happened, my brain is just still trying to digest everything, I think.”

  “So what is it then?” he asks and takes my hands in his. “Whatever it is, be honest. I can’t fix it if I don’t know the problem.” He’s being so kind. This is not the same man who I left at the Pi Kappa party, and I owe it to him to be honest.

  “I’m scared of what people will think,” I blurt out before I lose the courage.

  “Think of what? Us?” He looks confused.

  “Yes, with everything that happened before winter break. The last thing they saw was the Sydney thing or me sprinting out of a party because I was humiliated. I don’t want to be known as the gi
rl who was humiliated by the campus bad boy and begged for him to take her back.”

  “Did you forget that I was the one who flew to Cali and begged you to take me back?”

  “No, but they don’t know that.”

  “Why does it matter what they think?”

  “I don’t know. It doesn’t really, but I just don’t want to be thought of as stupid or naïve.”

  “Owl, I appreciate the honesty, but I’m the ass who fucked this all up. I’m sure after I was left with my dick in my hand at my house, screaming your name, word spread that you weren’t begging me to take you back. Then there was my whole downward spiral I’d like to forget. And by now I’m sure everyone knows I left the bowl game for California…” he trails off. “So, who is begging who, Maze? Should I be embarrassed?”

  “No.” I shake my head. “I’m glad you did what you did.”

  “Exactly, and I’m not embarrassed. I probably should be about the whole dick in my hand thing though.” He pretends to think and taps his finger to his chin.

  “Stop,” I giggle. He grabs me, rolls on top of me and presses his mouth to mine. Gentle, soft and appreciative.

  “I love you,” he moans into my mouth as his tongue slips inside. “I want everyone to know it. You’re mine. Forever. Sure people are going to stare, but not because they think less of you. It’s going to be because they’ve never seen me with a girlfriend.”

  With that admission, we make love in my bed for the first time. He slides into me slowly, delicately, claiming my body again, connecting in the most intimate way. What a great start to the second semester.

  After we clean up and get dressed, we head out of my dorm for class. This is it. I can do this.

  Chapter 38: Donovan

  As we hit the Quad, I can sense Maisy’s nerves pulsating through our intertwined hands. I give her a gentle squeeze and smile down at her. People are staring at us, trying to figure out what’s happening, and I’m sure questioning who Maisy is. She was in costume when the whole thing imploded, so people may not recognize her. For her sake, that would be a good thing.