Xavier nodded as Ricky reminded him of everything they’d learned about his opponent.
There was a rap on the door, and when they looked up, most of the King clan flowed like a steady stream into the small locker room.
“There’s the man of the hour,” Eamon announced, and was the first to reach him for a high five and a shoulder bump. Jeremy was next and then his father, Jorell.
“Son, I’m soooo proud of you.”
Their hands clasped, but the bear hug they exchanged warmed Xavier to his core. Jorell was still beaming with pride when he turned toward Ricky and gave him the same greeting. “There aren’t enough words to express my gratitude for the work and dedication that you’ve put in with my boy.”
Ricky’s face flushed. It was probably the first time that Xavier had seen him do so. “Trust me, Mr. King. It’s been a pleasure working with your son.”
The door was thrown open again and Quentin strolled in with two women draped under his arms. “Party is not a party until Q rolls through!”
Jeremy and Xavier laughed while Eamon and his father rolled their eyes.
“C’mon now,” Ricky barked. “You know the rules. No women allowed back here.”
Quentin looked at him, horror-stricken. “Who in their right mind would make up such a ridiculous rule?”
“I did. Now out!” Ricky said, meaning business. He rushed to the door, shooing Quentin and his female fans back out the door.
“Fine. Fine,” Q said, backing up. “I’ll see you from the front row,” he yelled out to Xavier.
“Thanks, man. I appreciate you coming.” That was all he was able to get out before Ricky shut the door in his face. “I swear, I don’t know what you see in that big kid.”
“Amen,” Eamon agreed. “Talk about being spoiled. Isn’t he supposed to be married?”
“Annulled,” Jeremy said, and then added, “I’ll tell you about it later.”
Xavier laughed. “Hey, he’s my best friend—plus he’s family.”
“Don’t remind me,” both Eamon and his father said, and then grinned at each other.
Xavier stood up from the bench and started bouncing in his new black boxing boots and jabbed a few air punches. While his family started pumping him up, there was another knock on the door, but this time it was Kendrick Hodges who poked his head in.
Ricky was just as surprised as Xavier.
“Ken.”
“Hey, Pop,” he said, flashing a nervous smile to the people assembled in the room. “Mind if I talk to you for a minute?”
Xavier got a weird sensation in the back of his head. He didn’t like Ricky’s son Kendrick, though he would never admit that to Ricky himself. It just seemed like either the kid loved trouble or trouble loved him.
Ricky glanced back at Xavier with an almost apologetic look. “Be right back.”
Xavier nodded and his gaze tracked his trainer as he headed toward the door. When he pulled it open a little wider to walk out, Xavier spotted two huge men in black lingering behind a nervous Kendrick.
He didn’t like the look of that.
Eamon and his father were still trying to hype him up, but his air punches lost both strength and velocity. He pretended to listen to what was being said around him for a few minutes, but he couldn’t get the troubling image he’d just seen out of his mind.
“Hey, you guys, can you just give me a few minutes?” he asked. Xavier really didn’t wait for an answer. He went straight to the door, but didn’t see Ricky or Kendrick anywhere around. The hallway was crowded, and the music pulsing from the arena was deafening. But he pushed all that to the side and started combing through the crowd. A few sports reporters spotted him and wanted a quick interview, but he shook his head and kept it moving until the crowd thinned and he heard some angry voices coming from the last rooms.
“Have we made ourselves clear, old man?” one ominous baritone growled. “Your man goes down in the third round or you and your boy here will be buried out in the desert by Monday morning.”
Ricky’s voice trembled with a fear Xavier had never heard. “I c-can’t ask Xavier to do something like that. Just tell me how much Kendrick owes you. I’m sure that we can work something out.”
There was a rumble of laughter. “Xavier King is an overwhelming favorite to win this. The point spread is bananas. Unless you got about two point three million in cash, I don’t think that there’s much room to negotiate.”
Xavier’s brows jumped.
“I can’t come up with that kind of money,” Ricky gasped, and then clearly turned his attention to his son. “How in the hell could you get involved in something like this?”
“Pop, I never intended to get you involved. I thought I could handle this situation myself, but—”
“Enough with the family hour. We have a deal or not?”
“Not,” Ricky barked. “This has nothing to do with me. Ken—Kendrick is his own man. And he’s responsible for his own problems.”
“Pop!” Kendrick yelled. “Maybe you’re not understanding the situation here. These men will kill me if you don’t come through for me on this.”
“No. No. This time you’re asking for too much! I can’t tell that boy to take a dive. So, what? So you can run back out here and get yourself in trouble again—which we both know that you will do. And then you’ll ask me to do it again, and again. No. It ends tonight. Whatever happens happens.”
“I don’t think that you understand, old man,” the voice said. “It ain’t just your kid’s neck that is on the line. The kid has already guaranteed the big man that you were on board. So your ass is on the hook, as well.”
“Like I said.” Ricky injected more courage into his voice. “Whatever happens happens.”
“I don’t believe this,” Kendrick sniped. “You’re going to choose Xavier over me?”
Silence.
Kendrick roared, “I’m your fucking flesh and blood!”
“Yeah…don’t remind me. Are we finished here?” Ricky said.
“Sure,” the voice said. “It’s your funeral.”
Xavier turned and walked back to his locker room. His family was still in there, still excited and bragging about how badly he was going to take Forster down.
“Is everything all right?” his father asked, his face blanketed with concern.
Xavier quickly smiled. “Yeah. Everything’s cool.”
Behind him the door opened and Ricky came in without a hint on his face of what had gone on in the other room. “Are you ready to go out there and give Forster hell?” he asked.
“You know it,” Xavier answered, faking enthusiasm.
Eamon glanced at his watch. “Well, we better get to our seats. Your fight will be starting soon.”
“Yo, man. I really appreciate you all for coming out,” Xavier said. “It means a lot that you guys always show up.”
“Of course we show up,” Jeremy said. “Front-row seats to watch someone pound on that ugly mug of yours? It’s like Christmas morning every time.”
They all cracked up and then gave him a hug on their way out of the locker room.
“Well, let’s get you suited up,” Ricky said.
Xavier nodded, and as he started to get ready he waited for Ricky to approach him about taking a dive in the third round…but he never did. Even when he had donned his silk robe with the name X-Man stitched on the back, Ricky kept smiling and reminding him of the boxing tips they had learned through watching Forster’s old fight. It wasn’t until he’d stepped into the ring that he made his own decision.
“You threw the fight for Ricky?” Cheryl asked, stunned. “Did he know?”
Xavier shifted in his chair and eased his hands back. “No. I certainly didn’t tell him.”
“But—”
“I wasn’t going to risk killing someone I really cared about by winning that fight. But then throwing that fight made me feel like a fraud, regardless of the reasons. I stopped boxing because of the guilt I felt about what I’d don
e. And Ricky was right. Kendrick didn’t shape up after that near-death scrape. He’s been in and out of trouble ever since. He just couldn’t use me or his father to bail him out anymore.”
“Still, it was such a high price to pay,” she said, reaching for his hands again.
He allowed her to hold them again. “Yes. It was. And to be honest, there are plenty of days where I play the game of what-if.”
Cheryl shook her head while she let Xavier’s story sink in. “I’ve never told anyone that story.” His eyes lifted. “You’re the first.”
“Because you trust me?” she asked softly.
Xavier nodded while he flipped their hands around so that he held her hands. “And I want you to feel as if you can trust me, as well. You can tell me anything.”
“Anything?”
He nodded. “Anything.”
There was a sharp stinging in her eyes and his handsome face was blurred behind her tears.
For perhaps the twentieth time their waiter appeared, wanting to know whether they were finally ready to order.
“Um. I need to just run to the ladies’ room real quick,” Cheryl said, getting up from her chair. “I’ll be right back.” She took off before her tears ruined her hour-long makeup job and to gather her courage before she told the man she was falling in love with that she was a complete fraud.
Didn’t he just say that he felt like a fraud, too? Great! We can compare notes about which one of us is the bigger fraud.
Cheryl glanced at herself in the mirror the moment she walked into the bathroom. “Stop kidding yourself. You’d win that contest hands down.”
Waiting at their table, Xavier drew in a deep breath and marveled at how much it felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, just sharing that story with Cheryl. He felt completely liberated. Now I just hope I can help her feel the same way.
Just as he was reminding himself to be patient and a good listener when she returned, a tall gentleman settled into Cheryl’s empty chair and smiled at him.
Xavier was taken aback for just a second. “May I help you?”
“No. Actually, I came over to see if I could help you.”
“Come again?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t introduce myself.” The man stretched out a hand. “The name is Jason Mackey. Lieutenant Jason Mackey.”
Chapter 26
Cheryl continued to take deep breaths as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. Why was this so damn hard? Because there’s a good chance that he will walk out on you. She rolled her eyes and thanked the needling voice in her head for such a comforting and reassuring answer. One thing for sure, she couldn’t just hang out in the bathroom indefinitely.
“You can do this. You’re strong, tough—get it together.” Still, she didn’t move away from the mirror. What if she did lose him? What if she did lose this…amazing feeling he’d stirred within her? It was crazy, but it was growing increasingly difficult to remember what life was like before that feeling came along. If she had to describe it, she would say that it was nothing and everything at the same time.
So could she risk losing everything?
Hell. Turning in her badge didn’t give her this much angst.
“Just go out there, put it on the table and deal with the consequences as they come,” she chided herself. She hesitated for an extra second, but then turned on her heels and marched out of the bathroom. But as she neared the table, she noticed that a man was sitting in her chair. She felt a tingling in the back of her head, the sense that something wasn’t right about this picture. She noted the angry lines deepening across Xavier’s normally smooth forehead.
Then everything seemed to move in slow motion. Xavier’s narrowing gaze shifted toward her and the man at the table slowly turned around. Oh, my God.
Mackey’s full lips split into a wide smile. “Detective Grier, fancy seeing you here.” He stood and towered over her.
She froze. Her mind was a complete blank.
“I hope you don’t mind my coming over and introducing myself to Mr. King. I wanted to congratulate him for stealing one of my best police officers on the force. A good man can admit when he’s been beaten.” He turned back toward Xavier. “But I think that it’s only fair to warn him to stay on his toes.” He faced her again. “We both know that you have a nasty habit of sleeping with people you work for.”
Cheryl attempted to find her tongue. “Xavier—”
“Personally, I’m convinced that once you satisfy this itch that you’ll move along again.” He took one step and then stopped to lean and whisper into her ear. “And when you do, your badge and I will be waiting for you.”
Cheryl closed her eyes while he patted her on the shoulder.
“By the way, you look stunning this evening.” Mackey made one final glance over his shoulder at Xavier. “It was a pleasure to meet you. I’d wish you luck, but we both know I wouldn’t mean it.” With that, he walked away.
The silence that landed between Cheryl and Xavier hit with the force of a nuclear bomb. The emotions that played across Xavier’s face ranged from disbelief to pure rage. The need to say something—anything—overwhelmed Cheryl. But the fear of saying the wrong thing paralyzed her.
Their waiter picked that perfect moment to reappear. “Okay, have we made our decisions yet?”
“Yes,” Xavier said coolly. “I would like to have the check.”
The waiter sputtered. “Y-yes, sir.”
Once he rushed off, Cheryl finally got her legs to work and she quickly returned to her chair. “Xavier, please. I was going to tell you.”
“You’ve been investigating me?”
“I was investigating the club,” she corrected. “And me,” he corrected her.
Realizing that she wasn’t going to win any points by nitpicking, she decided to let those go. “All right, yes. I went undercover at The Dollhouse to investigate suspicion and charges of drug trafficking. That was my job. Yes.”
“And fucking me was also part of the job description? Damn. I didn’t fully understand what all my taxpaying dollars were going for in the war on drugs.”
“Xavier—”
“Then again, one could argue that I was actually paying you to sleep with me.” He cocked his head. “There’s another name for that, isn’t there?”
She blinked at the cutting remark.
The waiter set their bill down.
“Hold up,” Xavier said, retrieving his wallet and slipping a Benjamin into the leather holder. “Keep the change.”
The waiter beamed. “Thank you, sir!”
“Well, thank you for a very…eye-opening evening.” Xavier stood.
Cheryl reached out and grabbed his hand. “Xavier, please. Let me explain.”
He pulled his hand free. “What’s there to explain? Our whole relationship is a lie. I got it,” he said with a humorless smile.
“It’s not a lie,” she insisted. “I love you.”
His jawline hardened as acid dripped from his voice. “Is that right?”
“Yes,” she said. “That’s why I pulled myself from the case. It certainly wasn’t part of my job to sleep with you and it certainly wasn’t to fall in love with you, either.”
“And I’m supposed to believe you because…you’ve been so honest with me, right?”
She closed her eyes. “Look. I know that you’re hurt. I understand that. I do. And I wish that there was something that I could say that could convince you that I never intended to hurt you because I didn’t.”
He bobbed his head but it was clear that her words were not penetrating. When there was a pause in her minispeech, he asked, “Are you finished, Detective Grier?”
Her shoulders collapsed as she saw the hard wall that he’d erected. “Only that I’m sorry…and I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me.”
Eyes shimmering with unshed tears, Xavier gave her a short nod before turning and strolling confidently out of the restaurant.
Cheryl could
only sit there and watch, her heart broken.
“Wow,” Mackey said, returning to the table, but this time taking Xavier’s vacant chair. “I don’t think he handled that too well.”
She ignored him while her gaze remained glued to the front of the restaurant. Maybe, just maybe, Xavier wouldn’t really be able to leave. Maybe he would get into his SUV, sit behind the wheel and not be able to start the car. She hoped, she had to hope, that had he known her true name he might have known her heart, had felt her heart all along.
“Oh, don’t look so upset,” Mackey said, grabbing the champagne bottle and tipping it back for a long gulp. “You’ll bounce back. You always do.”
Xavier, please come back.
“But I don’t see why we should let a perfectly good evening go to waste,” he continued, oblivious or ignoring the fact that she wasn’t paying him any attention. “There’s certainly no reason to let a fabulous dress like that go to waste.”
She closed her eyes. Please give me another chance.
“You know what they say, ‘To get over a man, you need to get under one.’”
Cheryl’s head whipped around. “Will you shut up, you…pompous ass!” She picked up her champagne glass and tossed the rest of her drink in his face. “It’s over! And if you ever come near me again, I’ll cut off that two-inch dick of yours that you’re so damn proud of and feed it to a tank of piranhas. Do I make myself clear? It’s over!”
Every head in the restaurant whipped around to their table. And Mackey’s dark and wet complexion turned into the color of eggplant.
Turning, Cheryl stormed out of the restaurant, hoping to find Xavier sitting in his SUV unable to drive off. Instead, when she pushed out of the front door, all she saw was a glimpse of his taillights as he drove off into the night.
The Queen of Lies
Chapter 27
“Lies, lies, lies,” Quentin said, shaking his head. “They’ll get you every time.”
King's Promise Page 21
