Garnet Flats (The Edens)

Part 5 – Round 5

Beyond the spotless, floor-to-ceiling windows of our hotel suite, the Las Vegas strip was stirring for the day. People from around the world traveled here to revel in the sensation that was Vegas. Personally, it had never held much appeal.

I’d always been partial to the surrounding landscape, the desert scenery and the vibrant colors of sunset over the rocky plateaus. The tourists could keep the glitter and flash of these massive casinos. They could enjoy the chimes and jingles from a sea of slot machines. One night here, and I was ready to go home.

Talia’s arms slid around my torso as she fit her chest to my back. She kissed my spine before pressing her cheek to my shoulder. We stood in silence, watching traffic weave through the streets and people emerge to wander the sidewalks.

We’d spent a lot of time like this in the past nine days.

Holding each other. Contemplating the future. Preparing for another fight.

I’d thought we were done. I’d thought we’d won.

But I guess there was another round after all.

“I feel trapped,” I said.

“I know.” Her arms tightened. “I’m sorry.”

I sighed. “Me too.”

“What did Vivienne say this morning?”

“Nothing. I didn’t talk to her, just to Kadence before school.”

It was strange not to talk to Vivienne. During our entire marriage, I could count on one hand the number of times we’d fought. We were friends. There was no passion between us. Maybe that was why it had been so easy to live together. We’d been comfortable roommates. Co-parents.

In all our years, I’d never been this angry with her. What she’d asked me to do, this position she’d put me in, was impossible.

Lose.

Like father. Like daughter.

After our conversation about Dex, I’d been so livid that I’d had to leave the living room. I’d gone upstairs, paced the length of the bedroom. When Talia had come up, she’d known that I’d been about to unravel. She hadn’t questioned me when I’d left for the gym. She’d stayed behind with Kadence. And Vivienne.

I’d spent hours that night beating the hell out of a heavy bag until the red haze had cleared from my vision. Then I’d sat in the ring, alone, wondering what the fuck I was supposed to do.

History was repeating itself. It was seven years ago. And instead of Arlo Angel fucking up my life, it was my ex-wife.

Over a week later and I was still furious. Disappointed. Confused. I doubted my friendship with Vivienne would ever be the same.

I tore my gaze from the windows and turned, tugging Talia into my chest to breathe in her hair. Citrus and coconut and my girl. Did she have any idea how much I needed her? How much comfort I was drawing from her?

At least I wasn’t facing this disaster alone.

“What do you need to do today?” she asked.

“Jasper and I are meeting at one. I was thinking about heading to the house, seeing what’s left that I want to pack and send home. But I don’t want to risk bumping into Dex.”

I might kill the son of a bitch.

What if Kadence had been there? What if Tony Sabbatini’s thug had broken into the house with my daughter there? What if they’d threatened her life too?

How could Vivienne even consider taking Dex’s side? My muscles bunched. “Fuck, I’m pissed.”

Talia let me go, putting her hand to my clenched jaw. “Let’s go do something. Take a drive. Get away from the strip.”

“Yeah.” It wouldn’t help. Nothing had helped. But I kissed her forehead anyway and let her lead me into the shower.

She’d been a miracle this week. I didn’t have a lot of words right now. Everything I said seemed to come out with bite, so I’d withdrawn. But Talia had stayed by my side, holding steady.

Since I’d been a grumpy bastard, I tried to make up for it with orgasms. I fucked her against the shower wall. I worked her hard until she screamed, coming apart around my cock. Then I washed her hair and body before shutting off the water and wrapping her in a towel.

“I love you,” I told her as she brushed out her damp hair at the sink.

“I love you too.” She smiled at me through the mirror. “No matter what you decide, I love you, baby.”

Dropping a kiss on her shoulder, I went to the closet to get dressed in some jeans and a plain gray T-shirt. Talia finished drying her hair and pulled on jeans and a black tank. Then we set out for the first floor, leaving the suite.

We’d flown to Vegas late last night. Too many sleepless nights, and I’d been exhausted by the time we’d picked up the rental car and driven to the hotel. I’d wanted to check into the suite, bury myself in Talia for a while and, hopefully, sleep.

But the lobby had been crowded. Even on a Monday night there’d been a crush, and since this was the hotel where the fight would happen Saturday, my picture was flashing on various displays. I’d signed autographs for almost an hour before we’d finally made it to the elevator.

I hadn’t been in the mood last night and sure as fuck wasn’t this morning, so I pulled on a hat and pair of sunglasses, keeping my chin down as Talia and I made our way outside.

When the valet spotted me, his eyes widened. Talia squeezed my hand as I grumbled under my breath. But I put on a smile, shook the kid’s hand and signed my parking slip while he rushed to pick up our Tahoe.

The moment we were inside, I breathed. “I hate Vegas.”

“I thought you liked it here.”

“That was before I lived in Montana.” I took her hand, brought it to my lips for a kiss. We swung through a Starbucks drive-thru to pick up coffee and breakfast sandwiches, then headed out of town. Away from the strip. Away from the traffic. Just . . . away.

It was almost two hours later by the time we returned to the city. I’d planned to head back to the hotel, but as we passed an exit, Talia pointed for me to turn off.

“Take this one,” she said.

“Tally, no.” I tensed. This was the exit that would lead us toward Angel’s. There was no other reason for us to go this way.

“Please,” she said when I didn’t slow. “I want to see it.”

I sighed, but I wouldn’t deny her this. She’d come to Vegas for me. But maybe she had her own demons to pummel while she was here too. So I drove the familiar path toward Angel’s, dread and loathing creeping into my blood with every turn. Until we were parked in the gym’s lot next to a few cars.

This fucking place. Once a sanctuary. Then a jail. Not that anyone but Vivienne knew I hated this building. We’d pretended. We’d faked good relationships with Arlo.

Talia made no move to get out of the SUV, so neither did I. Instead we stared at the cinderblock wall through the windshield.

The white paint was nearly blinding beneath the morning sun. I’d always thought it was too bright a shade, but Arlo had insisted on white—inside and out—because it was clean.

Unlike his dirty soul.

Even when Vivi had convinced him to do a fresh coat a few years ago, he’d only agreed as long as she kept it white and didn’t touch the wall that bordered the parking lot. That very wall had my attention at the moment. Talia’s too.

Painted in bold strokes in every color of the rainbow on that faded white surface were a pair of massive angel wings.

“Vivienne’s mother painted those wings,” Talia said. “You probably know that.”

I nodded. She’d painted them the summer before she’d died of breast cancer. “There’s a picture at the house of Kadence standing between them.”

It was Vivi’s favorite picture.

Arlo’s warning about not painting this wall had been pointless. Vivi never would have erased those wings. Instead, her plan was to just walk away. To keep on pretending that the new owner would keep the wings forever.

I doubted Vivienne would ever come back here after she moved to Quincy. It would be too hard to see the physical memory of her mom missing.

“She hasn’t said it, but I think a part of Vivienne wishes we could stay here,” I said. “In Vegas.”

“Is that what you want?” Talia asked.

“No.” Montana had made a lasting impression this winter. So had the Eden family. Quincy was my future.

Vivienne wouldn’t argue, because it was too important to me.

“I’m so fucking mad at her.” My molars ground together. “She’ll go to the extreme for the people she loves. Doesn’t realize she goes too far.”

Just like when she’d let Arlo push us into a marriage. It hadn’t been for her. Sure as fuck hadn’t been for me. She’d done it for Kadence.

Vivienne would move to Montana for me. For Kadence.

And she’d sacrifice our relationship because she was in love with Dex.

“I wonder if Arlo would have blackmailed you if Vivienne’s mother had been here to stop him,” Talia said.

“I don’t know, love.”

“Me neither.” Talia reached for the door’s handle and climbed out of the SUV.

I took a deep breath and followed, meeting her in front of the hood and taking her hand. Then together, we walked into the gym.

Angel’s was nothing more than a square box of a building. In a way, it was a lot like the building I’d purchased in Quincy, though it was three times the size. Instead of an apartment, there were two offices.

Arlo had kept one, though he’d rarely sat behind his desk. He’d used it for closed-door discussions with fighters, me included. The business he didn’t want anyone to overhear, like when he asked me for money.

Vivienne’s office was the biggest of the two with two large glass windows that overlooked the gym space. Those windows were dark today.

Three boxing rings were spaced evenly through the room. Two younger guys were in the center ring, one practicing his punches while another held pads. Along the far wall were rows of free weights and three stationary bikes.

“Not much has changed,” Talia said.

“No, not really.” I tugged her hand, taking her toward an open section of mats.

“It smells the same. Like sweat and rubber and bleach and metal and cologne.”

Arlo’s cologne. The man was gone but that scent permeated these walls.

She let my hand go and spun in a slow circle. Then a smile tugged at her mouth as she pointed to the floor. “It was right here. This was where I was sitting when I saw you for the first time.”

“I clocked you the second you walked through the door.” I stretched for her elbow, hauling her close. Holding her was how I’d survived these past nine days. If she was within reach, then she was in my arms.

“It’s quiet today.” Talia glanced around. The space was clean and empty.

“It’s early.” Peak hours were usually in the afternoons and evenings. That’s when people filtered in for lessons and sparring. The social aspect at Angel’s was just as addictive as the fighting itself.

There was no set class schedule at Angel’s. Men and women came in when they wanted to work. And usually, there’d be another person here, ready to work them over.

Mostly it was boxing with some martial arts for those of us who’d been interested. Drills were the foundation on which everything was built. There were instructors, like myself, who’d make sure to teach proper technique. But what made a fighter great was time honing those techniques. And time in the ring was priceless.

If you wanted to get better, you fought people who were better than you. People who pushed you. And for many years, the man who’d pushed the hardest had been me.

Was there any push left? Or had I used up my strength?

A man emerged from the locker room. “Foster?”

“Hey.” I jerked up my chin. What was his name? There were too many young guys coming in and out these days. I’d stopped trying to keep track, to keep up appearances, after Arlo’s death.

Hell, I’d even stopped training here. Jasper had a buddy who owned a gym. That’s where I’d be meeting them this afternoon.

Arlo’s was history now. I’d left Vivienne to run this place. And to move on with Dex.

“Wondered if we’d see you around here.” The guy held out his hand, a bright smile stretching across his tanned face. “Looking forward to the fight Saturday. You ready?”

“Hope so.” I forced a smile.

What if I just didn’t show up? What if there was no fight?

What if I could leave and never look back?

“You here to work out?” He pointed to a ring.

“Nah. Just here to stop in. Check it out.”

“And we’d better get going.” Talia gave him a kind smile. “You don’t want to be late to meet Jasper.”

“Vale?” the man asked. “He’s still training with you?”

“Yeah.”

The guy opened his mouth but I extended a hand to shake his again before he could drag this out. “Good to see you,” I said as he followed us to the exit.

“Yeah, yeah. You too, man. I’ll be there Saturday.”

“Appreciate it.” With a wave, I held the door open for Talia to step outside, then we retreated to the SUV.

“Last time,” she said.

I nodded. “Last time.”

No matter what happened, I knew in my bones I wouldn’t return to Angel’s again. Maybe that was why she’d insisted on us stopping.

A farewell.

To end this the way it had started.

Talia and me.

“You need to eat something,” she said.

“I’m not hungry.” Nothing sounded good at the moment. Nothing but a meal made in Talia’s kitchen. Or a dinner at Knuckles.

“I want a cheeseburger,” she said.

“No, you don’t.” I chuckled. “You want me to get you a cheeseburger, probably two, and when you don’t eat them, I will.”

She giggled. “Maybe.”

And I laughed for the first time in days. “If I vomit on Jasper while we’re training, I’m blaming it on you.”

“I’m willing to take one for the team.”

Team. “We are a team. You and me.”

“What do you want to do about the fight?” It was the first time she’d asked me that question. Instead of pressing, she’d given me time.

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I didn’t talk to you the last time this happened. Tell me what to do.”

“I can’t.” She gave me a sad smile.

“Then I’m not buying you a cheeseburger.”

Talia’s laugh filled the cab and some of that anger, the frustration, eased. Regardless of what happened Saturday, I’d leave here with this woman.

“Do you want me to drop you at the hotel while I go meet Jasper? Or want to watch?” I asked.

“Watch.”

“Good answer.”

We stopped at a restaurant for cheeseburgers. After she ate one and I ate the other, we drove to the gym. Jasper was waiting with a group of guys I’d seen in my time training here.

It was different than at Arlo’s. His ghost wasn’t floating behind my back, ready to drive the knife deeper. I could relax here. Stop looking over my shoulder.

Jasper had been the one to suggest a change of scenery after Arlo’s death, proving once again he had a direct line to my emotions.

“How are you?” he asked as I joined him in the ring to stretch for a few minutes.

“Good.”

“Liar.”

“You know I hate the press bullshit. Sets me on edge.” Especially with a loudmouth asshole like Scott Savage.

It was the truth, but only a part of the story. I trusted Jasper with my life but I hadn’t told him about the Vivienne and Dex clusterfuck. He’d be livid, and I needed him to keep focused. One of us had to concentrate on the fight.

I’d tell him about it later, after I made sense of it myself. After I figured out what to do.

“When’s your first press event?” he asked.

“Tomorrow.” For the rest of the week, I’d be adding various appearances to my schedule, all leading up to the fight this weekend. Thursday I had meetings with my agent and manager to talk about a new contract. Friday was weigh-in.

But today, I needed to train. So I smacked the floor and jumped to my feet, then walked to the edge of the ring, leaning on the ropes as I bent to talk to Talia, who’d pulled up a chair just beyond the ring. “Need anything?”

“All good.” She shook her head. “Do your thing. Save a little energy for me later.”

I grinned. “Maybe more than a little.”

Two hours later, I was dripping with sweat, my muscles were warm and loose, and some of the haze in my mind had cleared.

Jasper had brought in some other guys from the gym, maybe sensing that what I’d needed was to burn. I’d done sparring round after sparring round. Most hadn’t been much competition, but my last match had been with Jasper himself and he’d pushed hard.

“Saved yourself for last, huh?” I teased, chugging from a bottle of water. “Made sure I was winded before you stepped up.”

Jasper chuckled, dragging a hand through his sweaty, dark hair. “That was the plan, but with the speed you’re moving today, it wasn’t necessary. How many body shots did you land? Two? Three? Savage is going to eat you alive.”

He was taunting me. It was working.

“You’re such an ass.” I planted my hands on my hips, my chest shaking with laughter. “I landed more than three.”

“Seven,” Talia said from her bench. On her lap was a pen and notepad she’d pulled out of her purse. She lifted the paper, holding it up for me to see.

A sheet filled with tally marks.

A row for each of the sparring rounds.

“See?” I smirked at Jasper.

“How many did I get, Talia?” he asked her.

“Um . . . nine.”

“Shit,” I muttered as Jasper and every one of the guys watching roared with laughter.

“That is priceless.” Jasper clapped me on the shoulder. “We’re keeping her around.”

I locked eyes with Talia, those sparkling blues dancing as she smiled. “Yes, we are.”

Whatever doubts, worries, fears I’d had about this fight vanished.

In the beginning, I’d told her that I’d win this fight for her. That she was my motivation. Our past was scattered with enough broken promises. I wasn’t adding another. So I waved her closer, meeting her at the ropes and dropping to a crouch.

“I’m not losing this fight,” I said low enough for only her to hear.

She pressed a hand to her heart. “No, you’re not.”

It was like she’d known all along that would be my decision but had given me time to realize it myself.

The money for Dex and the situation with Vivienne, there was a way out of this. Neither of them might like it, but they didn’t get to bitch. Not after what they’d done. Dex and his pride could go fuck himself.

“We’ll figure the rest of this out,” I said.

“After you win.”

“For you.”

“You already won, baby.” Talia reached for my side, her fingertips brushing the Garnet Flats tattoo on my ribs.

A single touch and the future flashed in my mind.

Garnet Flats. A house built on her family’s ranch. A home filled with love and laughter.

We’d be having a conversation at the hotel tonight about those pills she took each morning. If she was ready, they’d go in the trash. We’d fill our dream house with kids. Make Kadence a big sister. And I’d worship this woman for the rest of my years.

“Don’t win this fight for me,” she whispered. “Win this one for you.”

Win this fight for the one I never should have lost. “Then I’ll be done. Then I’ll retire.”

“But not yet.”

I grinned. “Not yet.”