AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I can’t with you. But yes, it’s amazing,” I tell her. If you can’t admit to your best friend, your lover isgood,then who can you admit it to?
She squeals and I can hear her clapping her hands before adding, “I knew it! I told you to never say never!”
Sweat drips down my back and my chest heaves as I catch my breath. Vincent and Hart have been taking turns giving me their best in order to help me prepare to fight Matteo. So far, I’m holding my own. Then I see Brittney walk in and sit beside my sister in the back of the room.
This “home gym” has two mirrored walls and it’s bigger than my entire house back in Greendale Valley. It has any workout machine you could dream of as well as the ring we’ve been training in. But tucked in the back is two rows of bleachers. I’m not exactly sure why my grandfather has them in here, but right now they come in handy. Although seeing Brittney walk in distracts me and Hart takes advantage by coming at me from behind.
He has me in a chokehold and he gets close to my ear. “You and I both know she’ll be there that night. You can’t get distracted, or you’ll lose the fight, and you’ll lose her, Hawk.”
His words are effective, so I duck slightly and use my elbow to hit him in the torso hard enough to make him release me. Vincent watches with mild amusement as a smirk appears.
I glance back at the girls and see them sitting side by side. Wren has all the warmth of an ice storm right now. She knows this is her family, but she has no warm and fuzzy feelings for them. As for her attitude toward Brittney, she’s still deciding but she’s showing no signs of thawing anytime soon. But I have no doubt Britt can win my sister over.
“You’re right,” I tell Hart. “I can’t let anything take my focus off my opponent. Who knows what dirty tricks he has up his sleeves. There were no rules last time and I need to be ready for anything.”
Hart walks closer and Vincent does the same. “When we prepared for battle, we had to flip a switch and focus only on the task at hand. It’s what you need to do. Don’t think about ‘what ifs’ or anything other than completing your mission. You can’t afford any distractions. Keep your eyes on the target. I’m here to keep her safe so you can win,” Hart says.
“He’s right. The rest of us will have your back and hers. But you can’t lose this one. There’s too much at stake. It’s not only your love life, but also this family,” Vincent adds.
I glare at him. “I know exactly what’s at stake. And don’t think for a moment this family is more important than Brittney to me. I care about this family, but Brittney comes first.”
Vincent glares back but doesn’t challenge me. Hart appears to be biting back the faintest smile. That’s when I notice Brittney stand while staring at her phone. The color seems to have seeped from her skin. Wren hardly notices as she peers in our direction. Her brows furrow when she sees me start to walk toward them.
I’m practically on top of Brittney when she finally realizes I’ve walked over. I take her hand in mine. “Hey, what’s wrong?” I ask her immediately.
She doesn’t speak at all; she simply hands me her phone. I instantly see the problem, and I feel as if I’ve been kicked in the gut. It’s a text from Angel.
Angelica:Brittney, I feel I need to tell you I’m coming clean about something. I have a son and he’s Hawk’s. He’s six years old. My brother doesn’t know. Everyone thought I had a miscarriage, but my father sent me away to have the baby. I have a full-time nanny who stays with him all the time. But now, with Hawk back, it’s time he knows the truth. And it’s time for us to try and be a family for Ethan. He deserves for us to give it a chance. I’m sorry we went through such extravagant lengths to get Hawk here by involving you. But I had to make sure he’d come. The contract you signed is still binding. But if Hawk wins the fight, you can go back home and forget all of this happened. I hope you can forgive me, but I’m doing this for my son. I felt I should tell you before anyone else so you can process it. I know what it’s like to love and lose Hawk after all. I hope you won’t stand in the way of our family. Because you know Hawk will want to do right by his son.
I think the breath was knocked out of me. I stagger backward and glance up at the devastation etched across Brittney’s beautiful face. “No. It can’t be true. She’s playing some kind of game to mess with us, Britt.”
She steps up and takes her phone back from me as her lower lip trembles. Wren moves closer. “What’s going on, Hawk?” she asks me.
I glance back at Hart and Vincent and shout, “Don’t take your eyes off her.” They move toward us, but I walk out before they can reach me and leave them all behind. I need to get to the bottom of this. I can’t be a father…I would’ve known and felt something. Anything.
She told me…she admitted the baby was Rocco’s. Why would she admit it if it weren’t true? If I truly am the father, why is she telling me now after all this time? She’s known where I’ve been. I’d never let any child of mine grow up without me. Anger and disbelief strangle me. There’s only one thing on my mind right now…confronting her.
I don’t bother to shower; I just change clothes and make my way downstairs. As I’m about to walk out, Mamma and Pappi try to stop me. “Where are you going?” Mamma asks. They both have worry lines etched in their foreheads.
“Out,” I say and grab the door handle.
Mamma steps up as my grandfather says, “We don’t keep secrets in this family, Hawk.”
“This family is full of nothing but secrets, Pappi. For now, this one is mine,” I say before slamming the door shut behind me.
Wren keeps calling my phone as I drive one of Pappi’s cars to Fantasia.Each time I send it to voicemail. When I get there, I walk through the hidden entrance we used the first night we confronted them. As I stalk down the hallway, a couple rolls out of one of the doors that was closed the night we were here, and they’re tugging on their clothes. These rooms must be for those types of “private parties.”
As I reach the office, I don’t bother to knock. I bust in and find Aldo at his desk. He stares at me with a smug smile. “Can I help you, son?”
“I’m not your son. Where is she?” I demand.
“Who?” he asks as he lifts his palms up.
“Angel. I need to see her now.”
His smile is calculated as he lifts the phone from the cradle on his desk and tells someone to get Angelica. A few minutes later she walks in. When she sees me, an innocent smile appears. “What are you doing here, Hawk?”
“I think you know,” I say through gritted teeth.
