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“How do you know where I belong? Maybe you don’t know who I am,” I snapped, hating the vile sound of my voice. She didn’t deserve it—she didn’t know the truth. Only Jax, and now Adam, knew what had happened. “I have to go.”
“Wait, Anna!”
“What?”
“Java’s not feeling so well.”
It was another blow to the stomach. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know if he’s depressed because you’re gone or sick, but I’m gonna get an appointment with the vet for him soon.”
Was Mom trying to manipulate me to come home, or was it really that serious? I hardly doubted my mother would stoop so low to use Java to get me back. She knew how much my horse meant to me. “Call me as soon as you hear something. You promise?”
“Of course. Hopefully it’s nothing, but I’ll keep you posted.”
“Thanks.”
“Love you.”
“Love you, too, Mom.”
I dropped the phone on the table behind me. The past was all around me, coming at me from every angle, and all I wanted to do was scream.
CHAPTER TWENTY
ADAM
“I’m not giving you a damn choice. You’re moving into my flat in the city, and I’m hiring a nurse to check in on you!”
“It’s good to see you, too, mate.” Les crossed his arms and shifted around on the bed so that he could drop his legs—both good and casted—over to the side.
“The hospital is kicking you out, Les, and you need a place to stay. Don’t argue with me.”
“Is that really why you’re here?” He placed his palms to the mattress on each side of his hips. His nose looked better, and the cuts on his face were fading.
“Of course.”
“Well, it’s the first damn time you’ve come to see me since you told me you made a deal with the devil.” He shook his head. “This is my mess, and you shouldn’t have involved yourself.”
My hands tightened at my sides as I stood in front of my best friend. Part of me wanted to let Les handle things because I didn’t see how I could continue to see Anna, especially after what she’d told me last night, and still step into an Octagon tomorrow. How could I tell her I hit people for fun, after everything she’d gone through? God, I wanted to kill her ex. I wanted to pummel my fists so hard in his face—I wished it was him in the Octagon with me tomorrow.
“I’m involved, now. Donovan won’t have it any other way,” I grumbled.
I hadn’t told Les about Donovan’s threats to Anna. Maybe he deserved the guilt, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
“I don’t like this. You worked so damn hard to stay away from fighting and now—”
“You can help me stop after November’s fight.”
Les was shaking his head. “What if you can’t?”
Les was always brutally honest. “Nothing’s changed. What happened five years ago . . .” I looked at the inside of my forearm, to my tattoo. “But you should get out, too. I don’t think you should fight again.”
“Hey, I don’t have your conscience. I wouldn’t let the past eat at me like you do. That guy got into the ring with you. He made the choice.”
I held my hand up, not wanting to talk about it. I needed my head in the fight tomorrow.
“You really fighting again so soon?”
