by Teagan Kade
“Shaun!” Hammer yelled in my ear. “Shaun, stop!”
I finally stopped struggling against them. I felt the air in my chest release. I heard sirens in the distance and I knew they were coming for me. The sound of a child crying penetrated my senses.
I looked behind me. Mary was holding Ryan in her arms. He was sobbing into her chest. If looks could kill I’d be dead in my tracks. She gathered him up into her arms and carried him across the parking lot before settling him into a car. I was sure only of one thing—There were two tickets for my upcoming fight that were going to go unused.
As I looked back down at the blubbering, bloody man at my feet threatening to sue me for everything I was worth, I realized there might not even be a fight. Not if I was in jail. Fuck it. Maybe that was where I belonged.
Chapter Fifteen
Tori
I read the news article in shock and disbelief. Shaun was booked on assault and battery for beating the shit out of a reporter. Kevin called with the abbreviated version of the story. He was up to his eyeballs trying to smooth things over with the press.
Shaun posted bail and wasn’t going to get any jail time because the reporter ended up dropping the charges. Kevin told me it was because Nigel advised Shaun to pay him off, so Shaun wrote the check. My heart ached as I read the details of the story.
The whole thing was witnessed by a young boy who was undergoing cancer treatment and his mother. The woman had been interviewed by at least half-dozen media outlets already. The details were simple and damning. Shaun was scheduled for an appearance at her son’s hospital but canceled it at the last minute. She had a friend of a friend who told her where Shaun worked out when he was in town. She took her kid to see him and get an autograph.
When Shaun realized the scene was being photographed, he went ape-shit. I leaned back in my chair and rubbed my temples. The whole thing reeked of a set-up. It wouldn’t surprise me to find out the woman’s ‘friend of a friend’ was Nigel. Needless to say, the press was having a field day with the story.
The statement that Kevin got approval to release on Shaun’s behalf was short and sweet.
Representatives for Mr. Nichols commented it was an unfortunate situation that simply escalated in the worst possible way. Mr. Nichols would like to send his sincere apologies to Mrs. King, her son, and Willy Copeland for his behavior.
Willy Copeland was the reporter.
All the work we had done was going down the toilet. Shaun was right back at square one being perceived by the public as a loose cannon with a short fuse. Kevin usually dealt with CEOs and investment bankers. Working with someone who got real media attention like Shaun was out of his league, but I didn’t trust anyone else in the firm to work with him.
I needed to do something. I tapped my pen on the notebook in front of me and dialed Kevin’s number.
“What a circus,” he answered.
“How is he?” I asked. I tried to make the question nonchalant, but we both knew why I was asking.
“Part of the agreement of Willy dropping the charges was Shaun seeing a therapist. That stipulation isn’t going down so well with Shaun, but he’s managing to keep his temper in check,” Kevin said. I heard him pull in a deep breath. “He’s not good, Tori.”
“This is all wrong. He was set-up, Kevin. It’s been less than twelve hours and that kid’s mother has been on every major network. She’s been talking about how if she had known that Shaun had such a temper, she never would have allowed her son anywhere near him, that the kid is traumatized after seeing his hero beat the crap out of someone else.”
“To be fair, that is what he does for a living,” Kevin said.
“Not funny, Kevin,” I replied with a sigh. “This is getting worse.”
“Nigel has said a few things to me that are a bit strange,” Kevin said. He lowered his voice as if he was afraid someone was listening. “I think he’s offering to give me a cut of the profits if I go along with what he has planned and stay out of the way.”
I sat up in my chair. “You can’t do that, Kevin. Wait. Did he flat out try to bribe you?”
“No. He just insinuated it would be highly profitable for me to get along with him.”
“The fight is three days from now, right?” I pulled up a web browser and started searching flights.
“You know it is,” he said.
“I need a ticket and cover,” I said. “We’re going to fight back, Kevin. I can’t let him do this to Shaun.”
“What about the picture?” he asked. “If Nigel finds out you’re here, he’ll flip.”
“I’ll deal with it,” I said. “That’s what I do. I fix things. I owe it to Shaun to fix this.”
“I love it when you go all MacGyver on me. What do you want me to do?”
“Let me think about it. I’ll call you when I land,” I said. “Just tell me you won’t talk to Nigel about it again until I tell you to.”
“You’re the boss,” he said.
Three days later, I stuck to the crowds as I made my way toward the arena for the fight. Butterflies twirled in my stomach. I was finally going to be able to see Shaun again. Even if I couldn’t actually speak to him while I was there, it would set my soul at ease to see him and make sure he was okay.
Kevin said Shaun had settled down since the incident with Willy Copeland. He’d cut out the booze and was spending every waking minute in the gym with Hammer. It was probably just as well. Hordes of reporters now followed his every move hurling insults his way hoping to get under his skin enough to cause another outburst. So far, Shaun wasn’t rising to the bait.
I had my hair pulled back in a messy ponytail and wore a pair of ripped, faded jeans and a loose black tee. I kept my make-up toned down and subdued, and finished it off with a pair of cheap reading glasses I picked up at the drug store. As far as disguises went, it wasn’t the best, but I figured it would make me at least a little less recognizable. Nigel would be on the lookout for the professional-looking Tori, not grunge Tori.
Kevin left me a ticket to the fight at the front desk of my hotel, so I was able to slip past the ticket takers relatively easily. I kept my head low as I headed for the lower deck inside the arena. I wanted a seat that gave me a great view of the fight but kept me away from the potentially prying eyes of Nigel.
I knew he would be with Shaun in the locker room right up ’til fight time. Following that, he and Kevin would have front row seats ringside for the fight. Everything seemed to be going smoothly, so I didn’t think he’d be looking for me. Plus, Kevin told me he had gone the extra mile and told Nigel I was out of the country working with a new client on the Formula One circuit, a Mr. Andy Fortes. Hopefully, that would provide just the cover I needed for what I had up my sleeve. It was either going to set me free or send my life up in a blazing hot inferno that would take years to fix. I was sincerely hoping for the former.
Sitting low in my seat, I let the energy of the crowd wash over me. I couldn’t help but notice there were a multitude of ‘Marry Me, Shaun!’ signs sparkling throughout the rows of people. If there was one thing Nigel was right on the money about, it was that women went nuts for bad boys. Despite the incident with the reporter, it seemed like Shaun’s popularity wasn’t necessarily dampened with that particular demographic. Which would be fine if he planned to be a professional boxer his entire life. But I knew he had his eye on opening up his own gym when he retired. He needed a very different kind of image to make that kind of endeavor possible.
I knew it was time for the fight to start just by the crowd, going from a dull roar to over-the-top screaming and cheering that clawed at my eardrums. I couldn’t help but lean forward as my eyes drank in my first sight of Shaun in weeks. I saw him up close on the jumbo-tron above the ring. He made his way through the crowd, serious and focused.
He waved a few times as he approached the ring, but I could tell by the lack of sparkle in his eyes it was an automatic gesture. He was a perfectly behaved robot. It was frightening to see
, and every fiber of my being ached. I wanted to push my way to the ring and wish him good luck, but I knew I couldn’t. Not until I took care of the Nigel problem.
Nine rounds later, I felt as exhausted as Shaun looked. He and his opponent seemed evenly matched. Every time one of them took the upper hand the other pulled a trick out of his hat and battled back. It was a sharp reminder of watching his very first fight after I started working with him. I knew his heart wasn’t in it tonight. His spirit had been beaten down. He was simply doing his best to cope.
Somehow, he managed to eke out the win. I tried to cheer just as loud as the rest of the crowd. It was frustrating knowing my voice blended in with the rest of the voices around me and he couldn’t hear me. I was hopeful somehow he’d be able to feel my presence and know I was there with him.
It took everything I had not to move as I watched him step away from the ring with Hammer heading toward the locker room. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket.
Ready?
It was a text from Kevin. I sent back a thumbs-up emoji. Now the fight was over, it was time for a showdown of a completely different variety.
I kicked up onto my feet and made sure everything was arranged in my purse before I headed down the steps onto the floor and made my way around the stands. I was careful to keep to the perimeter of the hallway as I headed toward the locker room. In the hallway there was a pair of security guards keeping overzealous fans from stampeding the locker rooms.
Kevin and Nigel stood about twenty feet away from me in the middle of the hallway and appeared to be deep in discussion. I flashed a laminate press card at the security guards, keeping my head down. They waved me through. It was another item Kevin secured for my cover. I loitered just on the other side of them, pretending to dig in my purse for something, but my eyes never left the pair in front of me.
I saw Nigel grimace. He dug into his pocket. I already had the camera app on my phone open and I zoomed in on the two of them. As I suspected, the item in his hand was a roll of cash. Just as Kevin took it out of his hand, Nigel’s eyes swung around and landed on me.
“Shit,” I said under my breath. I knew I had been spotted. Nigel’s face twisted up in anger. He started pointing at me. I knew this confrontation was inevitable, but I still wasn’t sure if I was ready for it. I was going all in.
He stomped toward me. I moved forward to meet him. Kevin trailed behind with a paranoid look on his face.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Missy? Didn’t I make myself clear what would happen if you came around here trying to cause trouble again?” Nigel was shouting before he even reached me.
I refused to be intimidated by him this time. “Perfectly, but I think our mutual client has the right to know the kind of business manager he has working for him. Someone who is setting him up, leaking stories to the press, and profiting from it. You’re even bringing other people to the team now.” I nodded toward Kevin to make my point.
“Shaun is your former client, and you can’t prove a damn thing. I owed my buddy Kevin here a little bit of cash on a side bet we made on the fight. I was paying him back. That’s all.”
“You were paying him off, but it wasn’t because of some side bet. You were paying to keep him quiet so you can keep doing what you’re doing, smearing Shaun’s name. I won’t let you get away with it.”
“You better turn your little ass around and get out of here now, or else that picture is going viral. I’ll tweet it out right now.”
“I don’t care,” I said. I crossed my arms. “You’re going down, Nigel.”
“You don’t know who you’re fucking messing with, do you?” Nigel stuck his finger right in my face.
“What is going on here? Tori?”
The voice that haunted my dreams nightly for weeks floated to my ears. We all turned and saw Shaun standing there with a shocked expression on his face. This wasn’t the reunion I had planned for us at all.
Chapter Sixteen
Shaun
It was the yelling that got my attention. I was due to have a quick chat with a few select reporters handpicked by the new guy from Kommen and Russell. I was getting cleaned up when I heard Nigel’s screaming out in the hallway. For once, it wasn’t directed at me.
I stepped outside the locker room and saw Nigel near the end of the hall with the PR guy at his side. The conversation was happening with someone I couldn’t quite see. Figuring it was some fan that was trying to get through security, I was about to leave when I caught a flash of wavy brunette hair tied up in a ponytail. I couldn’t stop my feet from moving in their direction.
When I was less than ten feet away, my suspicion was confirmed. Tori stood there looking like she’d just stepped out of a biker magazine. She looked different, but she was still stunning. I would have known those eyes and that body anywhere. Her face was pale, but she wasn’t flinching under whatever it was Nigel was railing on her about.
“You better turn your little ass around and get out of here now, or else that picture is going viral. I’ll tweet it out right now,” Nigel said.
Picture? What picture?
“I don’t care,” she said. She crossed her arms over her chest. “You’re going down, Nigel.”
“You don’t know who you’re fucking messing with, do you?”
Whatever was happening was clearly something big. “What’s going on here? Tori?” Nigel and the PR guy, I thought his name was Kevin, swung around and saw me. Nigel immediately fell silent, but I couldn’t give two shits about him. My focus was entirely on Tori.
Now she was fully in my view, I saw a few things I missed the first time. There were heavy bags under her beautiful brown eyes, and she looked a little thinner than the last time I had seen her, too. I wondered if the weeks between the last time we saw each other and now had been anywhere near as difficult for her as they had been for me. I wanted to understand what I did to drive her away, but that conversation was going to have to wait.
“I asked a question,” I said, terse. When it became clear no one was jumping to say anything to let me in on what was happening, I softened my tone. “Tori?”
“She’s trying to blackmail you, Shaun,” Nigel interrupted.
Tori’s mouth gaped open. I could only imagine her expression was similar to mine. “I didn’t want you to have to find out about it this way. I thought I could handle it. But she sent this picture to me and said if I didn’t pay her off she was going to release it all the major news outlets.” He took a picture out of the pocket of his jacket and handed it to me.
I felt the anger rise as I took a picture that captured another one of our passionate embraces, but this one clearly showed Tori’s face and her exposed breast.
“He’s lying,” Tori said. “Why would I risk my career by releasing a picture like that? Even if I was willing to do further damage to your career, which based on everything I have done for you, you know isn’t true, I’d hurt myself in the process. He hired the photographer that took that picture and the picture he fed to Georgie for your interview. He’s been setting you up this entire time, getting photographers to follow you and hiring people to get in your face, get you angry and make you look bad.”
It was all too much.
“She’s the liar. Why would I do that? I’ve been your manager since your first fight. I found you,” Nigel sputtered. “This is fucking preposterous.”
“Why would he do something like that?” I said, directing my comment to Tori.
“He gets paid. It’s that simple,” Tori said. “I’m sorry you had to find out about it this way.”
“She’s the one who’s after money, Shaun. I’m telling the truth. She’s trying to blackmail you. She can’t prove anything about this crazy story of hers.”
Tori looked at Nigel coolly. “Actually, I can.”
The look on Nigel’s face told me everything I needed to know. I felt as if had been knocked upside the jaw. Tori looked at Kevin. “Nigel, meet Kevin. Kevin has been my best friend for the last
three years I’ve worked at Kommen and Russell. Kevin, can you show Shaun the proof Nigel has requested?”
Kevin took a wad of cash out of his pocket. He handed it to Tori.
“That doesn’t prove anything. It was a side bet between a couple of guys,” Nigel said.
Kevin unbuttoned his shirt and showed off a small microphone taped to the inside lapel. He pulled a small recording device out of the waistband of his pants. “It’s all here just like you asked, Tori. Nigel offered to pay me a tidy sum of cash every month as long as I kept my mouth shut and looked the other way so he could run all of Shaun’s appearances. He said he got a fat payday from what happened with Willy Copeland last week, especially once they split the payoff money. He said it was just a matter of time before Shaun cracked again.”
A white rage of fury started to burn deep inside of me.
“He’s full of shit,” Nigel said, but there wasn’t any fight left in his voice. “Champ, you gotta believe me. I would never do anything that would seriously hurt your reputation. You and me, we’re a team. We both profit from the extra publicity.”
I stiffened as he reached for my arm and shook him off. “Well, apparently you’ve gone solo and forgot to tell me. You’re fired, Nigel. Get out of my fucking sight.”
Nigel started to huff. My fists clenched again. Tori stepped next to me and put her hand on my arm. “Security!” she called to the two men behind us. “Mr. Nichols would like this man escorted off the premises. Now.”
Nigel sputtered and cursed as the men grabbed his arms. “You’re going to regret this, you little bitch. Don’t forget what I have on you! I’ll fucking take you down with me!”
We watched in silence as Nigel was thrown unceremoniously out of the building. There was something about it that felt perfectly right.
“What did he mean about taking you down with him?” I asked. I couldn’t believe she was there. She smiled tumultuously at me and I could see the worry she was trying to hide behind her eyes.
