Impact (The Fight for Life #2)

by K. A. Sterritt

  “You mean a proper fight?”

  He nodded. “A proper fight, but it’s a lower weight division.”

  I was torn between the excitement of watching him in a boxing ring without the fear of the caged Muay Thai brutality, and confusion as to why he would sign up for this particular fight. “Why would you sign up for a lower weight division? You can’t possibly be fight ready by starving yourself.”

  “I was approached by a fight promoter in Perth yesterday, and he wants me to fight his local guy, who happens to be a little lighter than me, next Saturday night.”

  “Shit, Leo. Why are you doing this?” I sat up in bed and placed my hand on his arm.

  He stood up, dropped his towel and started to get dressed. “I just need to get away for a bit.” I wasn’t sure if he was still addressing me or just voicing his thoughts. “I’ll be fine. My old boxing coach, Nick, is coming with me.”

  I got out of bed and slid my arms around his waist, hugging him from behind and resting my cheek on his back. I could feel every muscle in his body begin to relax. For now, I couldn't worry about the fight. All of my focus was on getting the answers I'd come for. “It’s because of your mother, isn’t it? That’s the reason you signed up for this craziness.”

  He turned to face me. “What do you mean?”

  “I’m not stupid. You told me both your parents were dead. I just want to know why.”

  His eyes darkened and I could feel his body stiffen. “It’s in the past where it belongs. I’m sorry I lied to you, but it’s as I told you. She is dead to me and I don’t want to talk about it.”

  I shook my head and picked up my clothes, scattered around the room. I had to get going and I didn’t want to leave on a bad note.

  “You’re leaving?”

  “It’s my first day back at work today. I have to go home and get ready.”

  He bit his bottom lip but said nothing.

  I got dressed in silence, feeling his gaze on me the whole time. When I was done, I met his eyes. “You’re going to have to trust me at some point if this is going to work, Leo.”

  “I do trust you, but this is a deal breaker for me. I don’t talk about it. That is how I cope. If you can’t live with that…”

  “If I can’t live with that, what?”

  He ran his hands through his hair. “I’ll call you later, okay?”

  “You’re a hypocrite. You know that?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You told me once that life isn’t something you throw away because it gets too hard. You told me your instinct is to fight.” I cocked my head to the side. “I don’t see you fighting for anything. Give me a call when you’re ready to fight for us.”

  I kissed him on the cheek and walked out.

  Chapter Six

  Juliette

  Five minutes after getting to work, it felt as if I’d never been away. Heath welcomed me back by dumping a pile of paperwork on my desk.

  “Hey, Jules.” I looked up from my desk to see Nicole, one of the other desk assistants, standing there clutching a bunch of folders.

  “Hey, Nicole.” I smiled.

  “Welcome back. I’m dying to hear about your trip.”

  “It was incredible. Bit tough being back, to be honest.”

  “I bet.” She smiled.

  Nicole was stunning and so incredibly lovely, it was almost unbearable. She was half Fijian, giving her an exotic look with flawless olive skin and pale blue-green eyes I couldn’t help but stare at. Every straight man in the building lusted after her and was no doubt waiting for her to break up with her long-term boyfriend.

  “I’ve taken on Sia’s advisers, so my workload just doubled. I’m surprised you didn’t stay over there with her.”

  I swivelled my chair around and crossed my legs. “I came back for family reasons. My mum hasn’t been well.”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry. Is she okay now?” God, she was so nice.

  “She is,” I lied. Nicole didn’t need to know about my mother’s deep-seated and possibly unfixable issues.

  “Oh hey. Did you hear your ex lost his job? He was a pretty big deal over there, so the rumour mill kicked in.”

  “Richard?”

  She scrunched up her nose. “Yep. Word is he got the sack, but they agreed to let him say he resigned if he left quietly.”

  I blew out a breath. I hadn’t seen that arsehole in months, and running into him at work—or anywhere, for that matter—was not on my agenda. The fact my father had no idea about all that sordid business with him and my mother weighed heavily on me, and I knew I had to find a way to tell him. Every time I spoke to him, I touched on the subject, but he quickly cut me off. It felt like he simply didn’t want to know, but it wasn’t right that he had been kept in the dark. “I honestly don’t give a crap what he does.”

  She shrugged. “Do you want to grab lunch today?” she asked.

  “Love to.”

  She smiled. “See you later, then.”

  I yawned regularly, and by lunchtime, I was glad to get some fresh air to wake me up a bit.

  “Where do you want to go?” Nicole asked when the lifts opened on ground level.

  “McQuillens on Little Bourke?” I suggested. “They make a killer tomato soup.”

  The second we stepped out through the revolving glass doors onto the footpath, I froze at the sound of a familiar voice calling my name. I found myself a few feet away from Leo’s mother. Despite her relaxed and carefree demeanour, something about her made me uneasy.

  “Can you just excuse me a second, Nic.” I raised one finger.

  Nicole glanced at Gwendolyn and then me, completely oblivious to my fury. She just shrugged her shoulders then pulled her phone out, probably to check Facebook.

  “Hi, Gwendolyn,” I said through gritted teeth when I got closer. “What are you doing here?”

  “Oh, I was…”

  “Don’t tell me you were in the neighbourhood,” I said sardonically.

  She smiled. “I thought I would see if you’d changed your mind about lunch.” She stared at her shoes as she shifted her weight from one to the other. “I was just hoping for a bit of company, really.”

  I bit the inside of my cheek, not wanting to make a scene in the middle of a busy footpath with my friend standing five feet away. “I told you yesterday it wasn’t going to happen.”

  “I know.” The lines in her face deepened and she dropped her shoulders. “I’m not trying to make trouble for you, I swear.”

  I felt like a complete bitch, but this was out of order. “I’m sorry, but I already have lunch plans.” I glanced at Nicole, who was tapping away on her phone.

  “Oh. Of course.” Her cheeks reddened. “Another time maybe.”

  “Maybe,” I conceded, but there was zero chance I was going behind Leo’s back on this.

  “It’s no wonder Leo is infatuated by you.” She chuckled. “You’re a tough nut.”

  “I’ve had to be.”

  She nodded. “I’ve done nothing wrong, Juliette. Leo has no right—”

  “Stop.” I held up my hand. “Leo must have good reasons. This is all wrong. You need to go.”

  “For five years, he has refused to see me.” Her eyes brimmed with tears and I felt a strange pang of empathy towards her. “I’ve tried to communicate with him, but it’s a one-way street. I’m his mother.”

  “He doesn’t want anything to do with you,” I whispered, unsure why this conversation was still going.

  “I hoped you could help me with that.” Her eyes softened. “The love he has for you has changed him, and I was selfishly hoping he might have a place for me in his life again.” She looked to the sky, and when her eyes drifted back to mine, the pain on her face was evident. “I’d just like an opportunity to speak to him in person,” she continued. “I don’t think that’s too much to ask.”

  Her words resonated with me, but this was Leo’s life, not mine. “My loyalty is to Leo, and he’s made his position very c
lear.”

  She touched my arm gently. “Please just ask him to call me.”

  I needed her to leave. “I’ll think about it, but please don’t just show up at my work again. It’s not fair.”

  “I’m sorry.” She dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. “You've given me more hope than I've had in years.”

  As I watched her walk away, my mind was a whir of warring thoughts. I didn’t want to pressure Leo to open up before he was ready, but I hated the idea of him doing that crazy fight in Perth. I knew it had to have something to do with seeing his mother again, and I just had a really bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.

  “She seemed pretty intense,” Nicole said, interrupting my thoughts. “Who was she?”

  “She—” I bit my bottom lip and shuddered “—is a problem.”

  “Well, I’m starving. You ready to get some lunch?”

  I nodded. I was absolutely ready for some to-die-for tomato soup and a light chat with a lovely, sane person who knew nothing about all of this.

  After work, I headed home disappointed that Leo hadn’t called, but not surprised. He was stubborn, proud and damaged—a bad combination for accepting help. I didn’t want him to go, or if he had to, I wanted to be there with him. I got Nick’s number from Zac and called him at the fight club in Lilydale. Leo had said he was going with him to Perth and I needed details.

  “Nick Matthews,” he answered after a few rings.

  “Hello, Nick. It’s Juliette Salinger here.” I paused, feeling awkward. “I’m not sure if you remember—”

  “Well, well, well. How could I forget you? You were a killer against Christina Lee.”

  “Oh, thanks. Kinda feels like a million years ago now.”

  “To what do I owe this pleasure, Ms Salinger? I’m betting it has something to do with Leo Ashlar.”

  “Yes, it does, actually. How did you know?” I asked, stopping on the footbridge to watch the water run silently underneath.

  “I’ve seen a bit of Leo over the past few months and you’ve come up.”

  “Oh.” I didn’t know if that was a good thing or not.

  “It’s all good, darlin’.” He chuckled. “I’m pretty sure you’re the reason he wants to get out of the cage and back into the ring. You know. Clean up his act for the love of a good woman.”

  “Oh.” I banged my forehead with my palm. Why was I incapable of speech?

  “You wanna tell me why you’re calling?” he asked, chuckling.

  “Right.” I lifted my gaze from the mesmerising river and focused on the point of my call. “I know Leo is fighting in Perth this weekend, and I want to know how crazy it really is.”

  I heard him blow out a loud breath. “Leo is special,” he started. “Always was. He’s the most naturally gifted fighter I’ve ever known. There’s no doubt going up against a champion fighter in the condition he’ll be in is off-the-charts crazy, but if anyone can pull it off, it’s Leo.”

  “Okay.” I felt sick at the thought of it, despite Nick’s semi-reassuring words.

  “Look, Juliette. I’ve got his back, and if it gets out of hand, I’ll take him down myself.”

  “I wish I could be there for him.”

  “He’ll need to focus.”

  “I’m worried about him.” I paused, unsure if I should go on, but this was the guy who was going to be responsible for Leo’s well-being. He needed to know. “He saw his mother yesterday, and it’s clearly had a big impact on him. He’s taken this fight for the wrong reasons.”

  When he didn’t reply, I looked at my screen to see if the call had dropped out. “Hello?”

  “Sorry. I’m here.” Another pause made me feel anxious. “Thank you for telling me.”

  I blew out a long, frustrated breath. “Can you keep me updated from Perth?”

  “Sure, darlin’.”

  I hung up and rummaged in my bag for the card Gwendolyn had given me at Dartmoor with her phone number on it, then sent her a text. I did not want to be the messenger because everyone knows the messenger is the one who gets shot.

  I’m not getting between you and Leo. I’m sorry.

  Without giving it too much thought, I’d given her my phone number, and at some point in the future, that would turn out to be a life-threatening decision. None the wiser, I went back to staring at the river. I found it calming. I figured Leo wasn’t going to call me until after the fight, and whilst that pissed me off, I knew his mind was all over the place.

  My phone rang, snapping me out of my tortured thoughts. It was Dad. I knew he wanted to know how it went at Dartmoor with Mum yesterday. He had tried to talk me out of going and asked for me to wait until she came home next weekend, but Mum had sounded different on the phone. She hadn’t demanded I visit. She had asked, and strangely, her simple request had filled me with false hope.

  “Hi, Dad,” I said quietly.

  “Juliette. Why haven’t you called me back?”

  I sighed. “Sleep and work, I guess.”

  “I spoke to your mother last night and she told me what happened with Leo.”

  “Yep.” I was so not in the mood.

  “There are things you need to know about your mother.” He paused. “Things you deserve to know.”

  I almost laughed so I wouldn’t cry. There were so many things he needed to know about my mother. “I don’t want to know.”

  “Please, Juliette. I would like you to come to dinner next Sunday night and I’ll explain everything I’ve learned over the past few months. I think it will really help you.”

  I stared down at the murky, brown water of the Yarra and suddenly wished I could transport myself back to a bridge in Paris or Budapest or pretty much any of the incredible places I’d visited in Europe over the past few months. Anywhere but right there, listening to my father tell me there was more I needed to know about the woman who’d hurt me so damn much.

  “Fine,” I said, resigned to one more confrontation. “I’ll be there.”

  Shit.

  The next few days, I just went through the motions. What am I doing with my life? was on constant loop in my head. At least I had my first training session with Zac since being back from my trip to look forward to after work. I had missed my boxing training and I needed it.

  Chapter Seven

  Leo

  Monday to Thursday was a battle of mind over body. I focused all my energy on the challenge. To cut my weight by Friday, my diet consisted of fruit and vegetables. Dousing them in spices did nothing to improve the flavour. I tried to trick myself into thinking the mushrooms were meat, but I craved a big juicy steak and, about a thousand times a day, came very close to throwing in the towel. I had to keep exercising to accelerate the flushing of fluids from my body, but with very few calories, it was increasingly difficult. I didn’t need a medical background to know how reckless it was. With very little fat to strip, the loss was muscle and fluid.

  By Thursday evening, I was ready to rip someone’s head off and I was relieved Jules wasn’t going to see me in this state. I would call her when I got back from Perth and could think straighter.

  The run I’d just completed was one of the toughest of my life. My feet felt like they were weighed down by cement. When I finished my shower, I draped a towel around my waist, nearly slipping on the wet tile as I rushed to answer the phone ringing from the bedroom.

  I hit the green button. “Leo Ashlar.”

  The voice that greeted me sent icy shivers down my spine and I immediately stopped drying myself. “Leo. Hello?” I didn’t respond. “Are you there?”

  “This is a private number,” I seethed. “How did you get it?” I asked, but almost immediately knew the answer. “Forget it. Isabel gave it to you.” I shook my head. I fucking hated that woman. “What do you want?” Infuriated, I pressed the phone closer to my ear while I hissed out the snarky question.

  “I want to meet in person.” My mother's tone was quiet, but stern.

  “I have nothing to say to you and have no inter
est in anything you have to say.”

  “Leo. I’m your—”

  “Stop. I have to go. Don’t call me again.”

  “It was lovely seeing Juliette again.”

  “What do you mean again?” My blood ran cold.

  I could hear her chuckling. “I showed up at her work and offered to take her to lunch earlier this week, but she’s a loyal little lady, isn’t she?”

  “Do not,” I seethed. “I repeat. Do not go near her again.” When there was no answer, I looked down at my phone. She’d hung up.

  I crumpled down on the edge of my bed and attempted to get my brain to assess my options, but I couldn’t think straight. I called Juliette, but it went to voicemail. I left her a message asking her to come into the bar tonight and told her we needed to talk.

  I finished getting ready as quickly as my fatigued muscles would allow. I jumped in the Jeep and headed into the city. I was glad I didn't ride the bike. Just looking at the parking spot reminded me of Juliette, and the way she'd sat on the bike with her legs wrapped around me, kissing me as if she had no choice. This was all just so fucked up.

  My boss, Adriana, greeted me as I walked into the bar. “Hey, Leo.” Her dark hair fell over her shoulder as she cocked her head to the side. “You okay?”

  “All good,” I lied. “You?”

  “Freaking awesome.”

  I was slightly taken aback by her enthusiastic reply. There was usually sadness that followed her like a shadow. She'd never really recovered from being jilted at the altar a few years earlier. Last she had heard, her fiancé had been mixing it with a biker gang.

  “Freaking awesome, huh?” I asked as I walked into the staff room after her.

  “I met with the new bank manager today and I got the pre-approved loan to buy the cottage.”

  “That’s awesome, Adri.” I knew she had her heart set on a cottage at Aireys Inlet on the Great Ocean Road. “I’m really happy for you.”

  “He might be coming in for a drink later.” Her cheeks flushed.

  “The banker?”

  She grinned sheepishly. “Yep.”

  I winked. “Go for it, Adri. You tell him I’ll take him down and have his balls if he hurts you.”