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“Ooo, I’m shivering in my boots,” Travis taunts.
“Enough, man.” I snort and return my attention to Niko. “You can turn around and get the hell out of here,” I inform him and turn to get my shit. Travis is right. I can’t wear myself out before the fight tonight.
“Not until I’m done with you,” Niko growls.
“And what the fuck do you want with me?” I demand, pivoting on my heel as I face him once again. “Need more money? What, Ezra not get enough off me when you two set me up?”
“I want that fight we were supposed to have.” Niko steps forward, lip curling at the side. “You and me. I want to prove I’m better than you and that I’m the champ once and for all.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me?” Travis snorts, and I hear a few other chuckles realizing we’ve been joined by a few other guys like Phoenix and Karter who are leering at Niko.
“You want a fight?” I question Niko, cocking a brow.
“Yeah,” he states, nodding. “Right here. Right now.”
“There will be no fight here and now,” Corey announces, stepping from behind Phoenix and looking between the two of us, leveling a glare at Niko. “You want a match against Reese here?”
“Damn right,” Niko glowers.
“Then it’ll be by my terms,” Corey declares, crossing his arms over his chest and looking at me. “Your fight tonight has been canceled,” he informs me and nods, glancing between Niko and myself. “A week from today, the two of you will face off in the ring. No media. No coverage.” He focuses on Niko for a moment. “This is my world, and you’ll follow my rules. You got me?”
“Yeah,” Niko states, looking at Corey before slowly bringing his gaze back to mine. “I’ve got you.”
“Good, then you’ll stay the hell away from Reese until the weigh-in the night before the fight.” Corey turns his gaze back to me and jerks his chin upward, motioning for me to follow him.
In his office, I wait for him to say something because I sure wasn’t expecting him to set up a match between Niko and me.
“This week, we’ll go over footage of Niko’s matches and work on whatever we need to in the ring,” he says, moving to lean against his desk. “I want you to stay low-key until the match. No bars or going out with your friends. We’re doing this shit the way we used to do it.”
I nod, understanding what he means. Before I made it big, he would coach me. Be at my corner when I had matches in tournaments. Looks like we’re back to it, and it actually feels good knowing he’s got my back.
Corey takes a moment to explain that with this match, they’ll have some prelims leading up to it. When word gets around, there’ll be a lot of high-end people showing up for this event. No matter the fact it’s underground or not. They’ll want to see Reese ‘Sandman’ Dyer going up against Niko ‘Hazard’ Lane. With all the talk Niko’s been running his mouth about, this match will catch a lot of attention, and it won’t be anything small about it like the prelims I’ve been doing.
With this fight, I’ll prove I’m still at the top even if I’m not actually there anymore. Beat Niko, and he’ll know he hasn’t beaten me as he seems to think he has.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
HAVEN
“Maybe you ought to take a few days off? You know, just relax a little bit,” Luke says from the opposite side of his desk.
This is beyond embarrassing. When Luke called me to his office after lunch to have a meeting with me, I didn’t know what to expect. I would never have thought he’d want to talk to me about my mood. Apparently, the kids have noticed how down I’ve been lately, and they brought it to his attention.
“I’m fine, Luke. I swear,” I say with too much sugar in my voice.
“Haven . . .” He huffs out a sigh before leaning back in his chair. “You know you can talk to me about anything, right? I know I’m your boss here, but I like to think we’re friends too.”
“We are. I’m okay.”
“Haven, I don’t think you are. I’ve never seen you like this. You’re depressed. You’re distant. You’re missing things you’re usually on top of. Tell me the truth, is this because of your split with Reese?”
The sound of his name feels like razor blades slicing against my skin. I shift in my chair, trying to get away from the sensation. I’ve been doing everything in my power to put Reese behind me, although it’s proving to be almost impossible.
I’m ready to deny it, but once I get a look at Luke and the compassion in his eyes, I let down my guard. “I know it’s going to take time. It’s just really hard right now.”
“Of course, it is. You two had a very good relationship, from what I could see. Can I ask why you guys broke up?”
“I don’t belong in his world, Luke. You see how much of a public figure he is. He’s got women all over the place just waiting to get their chance with him. All the media. All the attention. It’s just asking for trouble. Things were better when I just kept my head down and did my work.” The words tumble out.
