Normally Nellie’s time with Abel seemed to fly. But knowing there was a voicemail waiting on her phone that could shed some light on the mystery going on outside their sheltered media-free suite had her checking the time often. She still didn’t understand why no one else had contacted her or Abel if something this big had her name all over the news more than the impending fight of the decade like Emily had said.
Her parents were a given. They were television snobs. They both said they’d take gardening, cooking, reading, and even taking a stroll over sitting in front of the television, wasting mindless hours. She didn’t even know why they owned a television. Even poor Gus was having to deal with the no television—or very limited in his case—rule in their house. But Roni? Nellie was certain that Roni would’ve called by now. It was the only hope she had that things weren’t so bad. Still she couldn’t ignore the fact that both Logan and Sam had apologized so profusely.
She walked into the bedroom quietly, literally tiptoeing across the room, making sure she didn’t make any noise because Abel was on the phone with his mom. Abel frowned when he saw her, waving a hand at her. It was his way of telling her that she didn’t have to be quiet, but Nellie knew better. From all the stories she’d heard about how close he was to his mom, this was not a part of their relationship that she was looking forward to dealing with. Bianca had once let it slip that she’d heard Abel mention his mom not exactly being a fan of the age difference between Roni and Noah. At the time, Bianca had no idea that Nellie had any interest in Abel, and she’d also mentioned that Abel seemed to agree with his mom that such an age difference would never work. This was one of the reasons she was so surprised that his feelings for her were as strong as he’d confessed them to be.
As far as she knew, his mom knew she and Roni were the same age. So Nellie was certain she’d have her hands full trying to win over Mrs. Ayala.
She didn’t miss the way Abel raised a somewhat annoyed brow when he saw her tiptoeing into the room again as she walked out of the bathroom. “Nellie, babe, will you hand me my pants, please?”
Her jaw dropped and he laughed. Not only would his mother know now she was in his room with him but that he was sitting there without pants.
“Nellie says hi, Mom,” he said into his phone with a smirk. Nellie threw a pillow at him, missing him when he dodged it, which only made him laugh more. “Nothing,” he said into the phone with a huge grin. “Nellie was just tickling me. She can’t keep her hands off me.” Gasping, Nellie picked up another pillow and threw it at him, this time nailing him, but it only made him laugh more. “I gotta go, Mom. Nellie’s out of control. Claro que si, Madre. Siempre.”
Still laughing, Nellie jumped on the bed and attacked him. “I can’t believe you said that to her!” She squealed then laughed when he started tickling her. “Oh my God,” she screeched between laughs. “What did she say?”
“She told me to use protection.”
Completely mortified but unable to stop laughing because he was still tickling her, she continued to hopelessly fight him off her. Within seconds, he had her pinned down and on top of her. “Be a good girl or I’ll have to call my mom back and tell her how wild you are,” he teased before kissing her softly.
“How am I supposed to face her now? That’s so embarrassing.”
“What,” Abel smiled, trailing kisses down her neck. “We’re both adults. It’s not,” he stopped to suck her neck making her squirm, “like she doesn’t know you’ve been married. And,” he sucked her neck a little longer, sending shivers all the way down to her toes. “She knows your mine now.”
That really got Nellie’s attention. “You told her?”
He stopped sucking her neck and looked up at her. “Well, not in those exact words, but, yeah, I told her we’re together now.”
Almost afraid to ask, she licked her lips. This entire morning she’d had been one big knot in her stomach and now this. But hearing him say that they were together so matter-of-factly and that he was so serious about it that he’d even told his mom about them, gave her something to smile about. “What did she say?”
“I told you,” he grinned, swaying his hips and rubbing his already full-blown erection against her. “She told me to use protection.”
“Not about that,” she laughed then closed her eyes, the mortification inundating her again. “I cannot believe you did that.” She opened her eyes, loving the way he was looking at her in that profound way he did so often. “I meant about us being together.”
“I love the way that sounds,” he said, kissing her softly. “She’s already making plans to have you over for dinner. And,” he looked at her a little apprehensively, suddenly finally letting her hands loose. He rolled off lying next to her instead but picked up her hand and brought it to his mouth kissing it. “I was gonna talk to you about something once we were back home, but as long as we’re on the subject of my mom, I figure now’s as good a time as any.”
Nellie stared at him curiously, her eyes going from his intense eyes to his lips on her hand. “I promised my mom after all this was over I’d either take her on a cruise of the Mexican Riviera or I’d send her on one with my aunt—her sister who’s also widowed and alone. But I was thinking, since things have changed now, any vacation I take you’re coming with me.”
Nellie smiled, and the reality of this was finally starting to sink in. This incredible man was hers now—it was almost impossible to wrap her head around that.
“So I wanted to ask you. Would you be willing to do a cruise with my mom? Hector and Charlee would be there too. Or,” he said quickly, as if she would really protest, “I could send her on one with my aunt by themselves, and we could go on one alone if you prefer. It doesn’t even have to be the Mexican Riviera or even a cruise. That’s just what she wanted to do.”
Nellie smiled, taken by the adorable way he stared at her now as if he were worried that he’d just freaked her out or something. “I wouldn’t mind your family there as long as you behave and don’t say anything like you just did on the phone to embarrass me.”
“Oh,” he shook his head immediately, “I could never promise you that. Are you kidding me? That’s gonna be the best part about having you around my mom.”
Her mouth fell open again, but she smiled at him hopefully. “You better be kidding!”
“No way!” He said, pulling her into an embrace and kissing her playfully. “This is gonna be a blast. Hector’s been having all the fun, embarrassing sweet little Charlee, whose face goes bright red every time. It’s my turn now.”
Nellie’s eyes went wide, remembering some of the stories Charlee had shared with them. The way Charlee told it, the stories always came across as Hector trying to razz his mom. She never thought of how embarrassing it would be to be on the other end.
Before she could begin to protest, Abel’s tongue was doing that wonderful thing it always did to her neck, making her quiver all over. As he moved his mouth up onto hers and his tongue dove into her mouth, Nellie decided that they could discuss his behavior around his mom later. Feeling how ready he was pressed firmly against her, she was already gasping in anticipation.
***
“All right,” Abel said, slipping on his dark shades on. “Show time. My entourage awaits me downstairs.”
Pulling his gym bag over his shoulder and slipping his wallet in his back pocket, he opened his arms, welcoming Nellie into them. “You nervous?” she asked, slipping her arms around his hard body and resting her face against his chest.
“Umm,” he squeezed her. “Not yet. But I’m sure as the time gets closer I’ll get there. That’s why I need you there, baby. Try to get there early.” He stopped and frowned. “You sure you won’t reconsider just coming with me now? I’d hate to think of you having another attack and—”
“Stop,” she said, kissing him softly. “I’ll be fine.” His needing her like he said warmed her insides, chasing away some of the anxiety she’d begun to feel again over the texts she’d read that morning. She looked up at him with a reassuring smile. “I’ll be out of here in less than hour. I promise.”
He kissed her softly at first then a little deeper, backing her up slowly against the wall. The deeper and more passionately he kissed her, the sooner she’d be moaning, which would lead to other things. As much as she felt as though she could kiss him forever, she knew she needed to stop this. The last thing he needed was to exert himself just hours before his big fight. That’s exactly where this felt like it was headed, so she pulled away breathlessly. “You need to go,” she smiled, chewing her bottom lip.
Groaning, he leaned into her, and she felt the proof of what she’d been afraid this might lead to against her upper thigh. Burying his face in her neck, he kissed it softly. “I can’t believe I waited so long to tell you.” Inhaling deeply, he kissed her neck again. “I love you, Nellie.”
Feeling her heart swell, she smiled big, almost choking up. “I love you, too, Abel.”
He pulled away to look at her. “Don’t be long.”
“I won’t,” she promised again with what felt like a lovesick smile.
As soon as he was out the door, she hurried to her phone, her heart already pounding. Before hitting the voicemail button, she wondered whether it would be better to listen to it or to turn on the television and see for herself what Emily was talking about. With her stomach suddenly taking a dive, she wondered what would be worse?
~*~
The moment Abel had gotten out of the elevator he’d been surrounded by what seemed like an even bigger entourage than yesterday. And he’d thought yesterday was ridiculous.
“What the hell’s all this?” he asked, looking around as they made a human shield around him.
“You stayed away from the hype, right?” Andy asked anxiously in the middle of the shield with him.
“Yeah,” Abel peered at him curiously. “I didn’t turn anything on or check the Internet at all.” Andy seemed more than relieved. Given the added security, as much as Abel hated to, he had to ask. “Why?”
Andy shook his head quickly. “Nothing. McKinley’s just been talking all kinds of shit about last night’s brawl. It’s nothing but crap you don’t need to be distracted by, and the media’s eating it up like vultures. They’re dying to get a comment from you. My phone has been ringing nonstop, but I haven’t given them shit.”
“Good,” Abel muttered, already irritated, and they walked slowly to the exit of his sheltered private corridor.
“You’ll hear Nellie’s name a lot. McKinley told them it was what set you off last night, so, of course, they’ve turned it into a soap opera. Ignore whatever you hear them yell out at you. You hear me?”
Andy looked at him very seriously, but there was more to it in his eyes. He seemed nervous. “Yeah, I hear you,” Abel responded cautiously, his insides already heating up.
The fact that Nellie’s world would be turned upside down now that her name was being dragged through this circus and that McKinley was to blame only made him more anxious to get in the ring and fuck him up.
The short distance between the corridor and the back VIP entrance to the stadium where he’d be fighting was absolute chaos. Cameras flashed and his name was called out by so many, all at the same time, that he’d barely made out what most were saying. But he did hear Nellie’s name more than once like Andy had warned him.
“You’re gonna have to send these guys back for Nellie. I don’t want her walking out of the hotel by herself.”
Andy nodded but said nothing more. As soon as he arrived at his training room, Abel felt the vibe. He saw Noah, Gio, and Hector exchange strange glances with Andy before addressing Abel. He thought maybe they were just all as nervous as he was beginning to feel. Aside from Felix whose welterweight title fights were just as big, this was the biggest most highly promoted boxing match that any of these guys had been so closely involved with.
“How you feeling?” Noah asked as Abel began to shed his clothes.
“Rested,” Abel responded simply.
“Good,” Noah said. “It’ll help you focus and that’s key. Stay focused. After last night’s exchange with McKinley, I don’t want you stepping into that ring with a different plan. Slow and steady. Don’t let anger make you sloppy. It’s probably what he’s hoping you’ll do.”
Abel nodded as Gio began to wrap his hands. “That Marc guy your Mom loves so much,” Gio smiled, “will be doing the national anthem.”
Smiling, Abel wondered how much of the fight his mom would actually watch. When he spoke with her earlier, he let her know that he probably wouldn’t get a chance to call her again until after the fight—one he assured her he’d be winning because he had every intention of beating the shit out of that obnoxious prick.
He took a deep breath, remembering Noah’s instructions. Don’t let anger make you sloppy. He wouldn’t.
They started the warm up with Gio reminding him every now and again to do his jaw stretches. Halfway into it, he glanced at the clock on the wall. Nellie would be there soon.
“Hector,” he motioned with his head to his phone on one of the counters. “Check my phone. Nellie should be here any minute. I wanna make sure she didn’t have any trouble getting in.”
All at once, he saw Hector and the other guys exchange strange glances. Something else he’d noticed since he’d arrived was how quiet Andy had been. Hector walked over to his phone without saying a word.
Tapping Abel’s phone a few times, Hector shook his head then turned back to him. “Nothing from her.”
Abel turned back to Gio and focused his concentration on his pad drills. Gio held the pads out moving faster, then slower as Abel began to break a sweat. “Don’t overdo it,” Gio warned. “We’re just trying to warm up. This isn’t a workout.”
Abel nodded and continued. They did the drills for a few more minutes. Abel knew the day of the fight would be a bit nerve wracking for everyone, but the tension in the room was way more suffocating than he’d expected. Still he continued focusing closely on the jabs that Gio threw at him and blocking them.
“. . . fucking kidding me with this, right?” Abel paused, turning to Hector’s infuriated voice.
Whatever one of the security guys had been doing on his phone was enough to have Hector in his face now, speaking through his teeth.
“Let’s go, champ,” Gio said, holding the pads up again.
Holding his own glove up, he motioned for Gio to give him a second while he watched as Hector pointed at the other guys around the security guy. He appeared to be warning them about their phones because they all put theirs away as well. “Get that the fuck outta here too,” he ordered, pointing at the monitor they’d brought in yesterday to study McKinley’s techniques.
When his brother noticed him watching him, he turned back and gave the guys a final warning look before walking toward him.
“What was that about?” Abel asked curiously.
Hector shook his head, forcing a smile as he approached Abel and Gio. “All day, they’ve been airing McKinley’s obnoxious rants, and those idiots . . .” He pointed over his shoulder back in the direction of the guys for whom he’d just ripped a new one. “They know better than to be watching the clips in here on their phones.”
Turning back to Gio, Abel smirked. His brother—forever the hothead. “Yeah, so what’s McKinley been saying?”
“Don’t worry about that,” Noah said, walking up to them. “Focus on this.”
Noah pointed at Gio then gave Hector an irritated look. He was probably mad that he’d even brought it up. Abel understood all too clearly. He remembered back when Noah was still dating Roni. Hector had some not so good news about her that Abel knew would piss Noah off. They waited until after the fight to tell him because they didn’t want it to affect his fight. Then it hit him. Why Hector was so pissed about the guys watching the clips there and what was the tension he’d felt when he first walked in.
“He’s not still badmouthing Nellie, is he?”
“No,” Noah said a little too quickly. “Now focus here.” Noah touched the pad on Gio's hand. “Right here is where your head should be.”
Just the thought of that asshole McKinley trashing Nellie on television pissed him off so much that he landed a hard one on Gio’s pad—a lot harder than Gio was expecting because it threw him off balance.
“You see?” Noah urged now. “This is why you don’t think about any of that shit before the fight. It’ll make you sloppy—throw you off your game. It’s what they want, Abel. It’s their only hope. You know this.”
“Yeah,” Hector quickly agreed, the look on his face a clear indication of the regret he felt now for having even brought up the subject.
With a deep breath, Abel brought his attention back to the pads and started the drills again, this time holding back the rage that his fists wanted to unleash. He’d save it for the ring. He didn’t even have to know what that idiot must be saying to know that he already wanted to knock him on his ass, but Noah was right. If he didn’t focus, he’d be a mess—forget about his strategy and go in there ready to kill. That would never work. He needed to focus.
To add to the tension he’d felt from the moment he walked in today, he was beginning to worry about Nellie. She should’ve been there by now. They were minutes from walking out. She wouldn’t be taking the walk out to the ring with him, but he wanted her here while he warmed up. He wanted her by his side until the very last moment.
Andy wasn’t anywhere around now. Abel could only hope he was out doing what he’d asked him to do earlier—go back and get her from the hotel. He’d hate to think maybe she’d gotten mobbed and that’s why it was taking her so long to get there.
Still wearing his gloves, he asked Hector to get Nellie on the phone for him. Again Hector and Noah exchanged glances. “All right, what’s going on?” he asked, suspiciously and more irritated now that he might not see her before the fight. “You two know something I don’t?”
Both shook their heads, but neither would make eye contact with him. Abel turned to Gio, who quickly glanced away. “This is ridiculous. What is it? Hammerhead laying it on thick about Nellie, and you guys think I can’t handle it? I know he’s an asshole.” He clenched his jaw, remembering the filthy words McKinley had spat at him last night. “How bad can it be?”
Again they were all silent, and the whole room seemed to hush entirely. Abel glanced around at everyone in the room. Not one of them would look him in the eye.
“She’s not answering,” Hector said, breaking the silence in the room.
“Get the monitor in here,” he ordered loudly to no one in particular, but no one moved.
“No,” Noah finally spoke. “You don’t wanna do that.”
“I do.” Abel insisted.
“You don’t. Trust—”
“The hell I don’t!” Abel barked, silencing the room once again.
Turning very specifically this time to one of the newer trainers from 5th Street, who was lucky to be there, he pointed. “Cuen, go get that monitor.”
Noah held out his hand to a very wide-eyed Cuen, who stopped at the sight of it. “It’s nothing but a bunch of bullshit, Abel,” Noah urged. “Nothing but shit that’s gonna get you all riled up right before the fight. Watch it after!”
His words pleaded, and Abel nearly gave in until the door opened, getting all their attention. Andy walked in with a stunned expression when he realized everyone was staring at him.
“Where is she?” Abel asked immediately.
“Nellie? I don’t know. She didn’t answer the door at the hotel. She’s not answering her phone. I even called Roni—”
“You called Roni?” Noah asked suddenly.
“Well, yeah,” Andy said. “I knew this guy was gonna be worried, so I called to ask her if she’d seen or heard from her.”
“What did she say?” Abel asked, taking a few steps forward.
“She hasn’t heard from her either.” Andy motioned with his hand. “It’s almost show time.”
Abel turned back to Cuen. “Get the monitor.”
Something was up. Nellie wouldn’t have just disappeared.
“Don’t get it,” Noah said firmly then turned to Abel. “You’ll watch it after.”
“Get the fucking monitor,” Abel’s words exploded, making everyone in the room flinch. “Now!” he followed up and a frozen Cuen began moving again.
Noah shook his head and walked away. “You really should wait until after,” Hector said, his voice much calmer than it had been early.
“Don’t start with me, Hector,” Abel warned, pacing now and looking around at all the guys in this room who refused to make eye contact with him.
What the hell could be so bad? Andy looked paralyzed where he still stood by the door he’d walked through but stopped at the sight of everyone staring at him. There was something else about the uncomfortable expression he wore. Like everyone else, he clearly wasn’t looking forward to having to stand there and watch while Abel saw the footage of whatever had everyone so uncomfortable. But there’d been something a bit smug about the way he’d delivered the news that Nellie couldn’t be found. The asshole was probably glad he hadn’t found her.
Cuen rolled the monitor back in the big room. With his gloves on, Abel wouldn’t be able to do anything. “Turn it on, please.”
Cuen began to and some of the guys actually walked out of the room. What the hell? Swallowing hard, he waited. As long as Nellie was okay, he could take anything. His stomach dropped, remembering the terrifying asthma attack she’d had in the room earlier. What if that’s what everyone in the room already knew? That she’d had another one.
“What’s taking so long?” he demanded, the alarm full-blown now.
Fumbling with the buttons on the remote, Cuen finally got the monitor on. He switched the channels, and then Abel froze when he saw the images. “Turn it up,” he said, his eyes glued to the screen.
The words the reporter spoke were a low buzz getting louder and louder with every word. Abel watched and listened as his insides began to boil. He wasn’t even sure if he’d blinked the entire time he watched, but after a few more minutes, he’d had enough. “Turn it off. Take the key to my room, Andy. She’s probably still there, afraid to leave. Go get her.”
“You really think that’s a good idea?” Andy asked, glancing at Noah for help. “She’ll be an even bigger distraction now, right? I think the crowd—”
“I don’t give a fuck what you think, Andy!” Abel was done with Andy’s obvious disregard for the importance of his relationship with Nellie. “You take my goddamn key, go to my room, and you bring her here!”
“But—”
“God damn it!” Abel started pulling the strings on his gloves with teeth.
The music for his grand entrance to the ring outside was already starting.
“What are you doing?” Hector asked his voice completely panicked.
“If I have to go look for her myself, I will!”
“Okay, I’ll go!” Andy finally conceded.
Abel continued pulling the strings, unconvinced that Andy was actually going. “Stop that, Abel,” Noah approached him, grabbing his glove. “Get out of here, Andy,” he ordered without even looking at him. “Go get her.”
“Don’t come back without her,” Abel said as Noah began tightening the strings on his gloves again.
“Look at me,” Noah said as he roughly retied the strings on Abel’s gloves then spoke slowly but very clearly. “You are going to blow this if you don’t get your head back in it. Forget everything you just saw on that damn television, and you concentrate on the technique we’ve put so much time and effort into perfecting. You hear me?”
Abel nodded, his insides burning up and only getting hotter by the second. That mother fucker was going down.