Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 76365 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76365 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
“Do you feel better?” He reached forward to grab my towel from the bench. I kept silent as he cleaned himself up. I didn’t want to admit it out loud, but yeah. I did feel better. Fucking hell. Lotto threw the dirty towel my way when he was done. “Ready to stop being a little bitch?”
“I won that stupid bet,” I reminded him as I cleaned up my cock and stuffed it back in my pants. “Proof’s still in your ass.”
“But you didn’t.” Lotto pulled his pants on again and leaned toward me. For a second, I thought he was going to kiss me. But then he smacked me lightly upside the temple where his fist grazed me earlier. “I punched you here first, dumbass.”
“That was barely a punch. My grandma would have better aim.”
“Ever consider I missed on purpose?”
I froze and stared at him. Lotto’s eyes flashed angrily as he pushed to his feet. Minus the messed-up hair and sweaty sheen on his skin, he looked the same as always. I stood to join him.
“The fuck does that mean?”
“I’m not putting you in the hospital to prove my point.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Ari wouldn’t do that either, which is why she accepted the deal.”
“The fuck does Ari know?”
“Plenty, and you’d know it, too, if you stopped running from the conversation like a coward.”
His ribbing made me grit my teeth. The tempered anger from earlier was spiking again in my stomach, threatening to swallow me whole. “Ari’s never had a fight like this. She doesn’t know what it means to hurt.”
“She doesn’t?” Lotto poked his finger into my chest, voice dropping dangerously low. “The same woman who stood by your side every fight. The one who took you to the hospital and nursed you back to health after your seizures. The same one who accepted a deal from the fucking devil to keep you out of the ring and make sure her father’s legacy lives on. You really think she doesn’t know what it means to hurt?”
I swallowed. Fuck me. Lotto had a damn point, even if I didn’t want to admit it.
“There are different kinds of hurt, Frankie.”
“I know that,” I muttered.
“Then why are you hurting her?” Lotto dropped his hand. “Ignoring her isn’t going to do shit. All you’re going to do is push her away. She’s doing this for us because she loves us. You probably most of all.”
Damnit. I ran a hand through my sweaty hair and took a few steps back, Lotto’s words ringing in my ears. All I wanted to do was keep Ari safe. Stepping in the ring changed you. People who went in never came out the same. I couldn’t imagine losing the Ari I knew and loved to a few shots upside the head. I would never forgive myself if the Perks took away the best thing in my life.
But in doing so, I was only hurting Ari. Not listening to her or supporting her when she needed it. It probably pained her to make the same decision I was punishing her for.
“It doesn’t mean I have to like it,” I said, more to myself than Lotto.
“Oh, I fucking hate it. So does Bones. And she knows as much. But she’s going to do this with or without your support.”
I snorted. Of course she would. That’s just who Ari was—strong-willed and equally bone-headed. I loved both sides of her, even when it majorly pissed me off. If I didn’t call her soon, she’d be busting down the front door to Smiley’s and really breaking it in half.
“Also you’re outnumbered.” Lotto shrugged and patted his pockets, looking for his phone. He found it by his feet, no doubt having fallen out of his pocket when I dragged down his pants. “Me, Bones, and Teo are going to help her. I also found a few other coaches in case—”
“Fuck your coaches,” I growled.
“Don’t give me any ideas, Frankie.” Lotto smirked. “We all know how I tamed you.” Before I could cuss him out, he clicked something on his screen and held out the phone to me. “So I can delete his number?”
I glanced down at the screen. Hugo Barnes. One of the best trainers in the area, with plenty of high-profile, celebrity clients. With Troy’s money, our savings, and Bones’ fights, Ari could afford someone of that caliber for the next two months. “Winners at Every Punch.” That smug asshole and his equally lame slogan were all over my social media algorithms. He also was the subject of a few rumors about how he became so jacked and popular in the first place.
I ripped the phone from Lotto’s hand, deleted the contact, then threw it back at him. “Keep that ’roided-up asshole away from Smiley’s. If Ari wants to stay legit, that’s what we’re gonna do.”