Fighting Silence (39 page)

Slate stepped in front of Till. “
You need to calm to fuck down or you’re going to get your ass knocked out in the first round. What good is that going to do her? You have ten minutes to get your head in the fight.
”

Till might have nodded, but I knew for certain that he wouldn’t be into the fight while Eliza was missing. I didn’t know how he was going to do it. I could barely breathe, yet he had to fight.

“Let’s go, Flint,” Alex called from the door. “Time to get you seated.”

Slate had made the decision that Erica, Sarah, and Liv would watch the fight from their hotel room with Johnson standing guard. I’d insisted on watching ringside. I
needed
to be there. Quarry had been given the option, but he’d only shrugged and followed the women as they’d left.

Alex had been assigned as my bodyguard for the fight, and while I absolutely loathed the idea that they assumed I couldn’t protect myself, I hadn’t argued. I knew that my bitching would have only stressed Till out more. He had enough going on without having to worry about me too.

I walked to the door and stopped to sign to Till,
You got this.

“Yeah. I got it.” He forced a tight smile then turned away to shrug into the robe Slate was holding open.

I walked toward the arena with Alex barely a step behind me. “Can you not make me look like a pussy with a babysitter?” I smiled tightly.

“Sorry, man. It’s my job.”

“Can I have a little breathing room at least?”

He chuckled but dropped back a few feet.

We navigated through numerous winding hallways, the crowd getting thicker the closer we got to the arena until it eventually bottlenecked at an intersection.

“Sorry,” a man said as he slammed into my chest.

I only glanced at him long enough to notice a baseball cap pulled low over his eyes. “No problem.” I smiled—until I felt something being shoved into my hand. I looked down at a room key as the man quickly walked away. Written in black marker was the number 3716.

Confused, I watched the man weave through the tight crowd. Just before he rounded the corner away from the arena, he turned to face me. Similar blue eyes lifted to mine.

“Dad?” I whispered to myself.

He gave me a tight smile then raised his hands and signed,
I didn’t know he was going to take her. Tell Till I’m sorry.

I gasped then glanced back down at the card in my hand.

Eliza.

“You ready for the big fight?” Frankie asked me as he settled on the couch with a drink in his hand.

“Are you really going to let me go if he loses?”

“I don’t know. He’ll be pretty useless to me after he gets knocked out.” He kicked his feet up on the coffee table and crossed his legs at the ankle. “Plus, the last thing I need is you popping that baby out on me. I don’t like kids as it is. I can’t imagine how much I would hate one with Page blood.” He stirred his drink with his finger and then flipped the TV on.

I watched from the floor as Till’s picture and stats flashed on the screen. My chest ached to get out of there and back to his side, but it pained me that he was losing his one shot at greatness. I should have been sitting ringside, giddy with excitement and hope. He should have been walking to that ring with his head held high and his determination firmly intact. We’d all lost though.

“It’s about fucking time you got back. Did you bring me—What the fuck!” Frankie shouted, jumping to his feet as Flint came storming through the door. His blue eyes were dark and barbaric.

Frankie rushed to the table where his gun was, but Flint was faster. Grabbing his throat, he slammed Frankie to the ground. Their tangled bodies knocked over the table, sending the gun tumbling across the carpeted floor. Flint didn’t say a single word as he landed punch after punch with his right hand. Each blow landed harder than the one before, but he never released his hold on Frankie’s throat. Flint’s knuckles turned white as Frankie’s face turned red.

I scooted away as far as the door I was tied to would allow as Flint unleashed a savagery I had never witnessed before. I wanted to stop him. That brutal look didn’t belong on my Flint’s face, but I didn’t exactly belong tied to a door either. Frankie lay immobile underneath him, and with the threat gone, I really just wanted to get the hell out of there.

“Flint!” I yelled, and his head snapped to mine.

“Shit. Eliza.” He crawled over and patted down my stomach and sides, searching for injury. “Are you okay?”

“Um . . . I want to go home.” I tried to choke back the sob, but it was a losing battle.

Flint grabbed both sides of my face and tipped it down to kiss my forehead. “Then let’s get out of here.” He rose to his knees in front of me and went to work untying the knot at my wrist.

Hope began to swell in my chest. We were so close to getting out of there. Everything was falling into place the way it was supposed to be. The cruel universe had given it a good shot, but the Page family had won in the final round. Till was in the ring, the roar of the crowd on the TV told me that much, and now that I was safe, he could actually have a fair fight.

My entire body buzzed with the idea that for the first time ever we really could have it all.

Maybe.

“Don’t fucking move!” was barked from the doorway.

Flint’s hands froze as he turned to look over his shoulder. I caught sight of Alex in the doorway, his gun aimed at Frankie. Flint immediately slid in front of me and pushed me over backwards. It wasn’t until I felt the first shot that I realized how wrong I truly was.

I heard the second shot as I lay on the ground with Flint on top of me. Blood sprayed from Frankie’s head as he too collapsed on the floor.

Maybe having it all was never meant for us.

As the bell rang to end the second round, I sat on the stool, exhausted. After the day’s events, I was in no condition to be fighting at all. However, I was fighting for her—there wasn’t a boxer in the world who could have taken me down. But I would fall anyway.

I opened my mouth to spit out my mouthpiece when one of the water boys stepped in front of me. As my trainer, Slate should have been the one to do it, so my senses immediately went on alert. I looked over my shoulder to find him just outside of the ring, secretively whispering with Leo. It was a sold-out arena in Vegas. No one should have been whispering in that chaos.

Leo pointed to the side, and Slate’s eyes drifted for only a second before he rushed to the ring. His face was pale, but his expression was murderous.

“What’s wrong?” I stood up, but he roughly pushed me back down. “Is she okay?”

He squatted in front of me. “
One round. Then I’m calling the fight. You knock this motherfucker out right now or it’s over.
”

“I’m supposed to fall,” I stated as panic built in my stomach. I pushed to my feet. “What the fuck is going on? Where is she?”

He looked down to Leo and swallowed hard. Leo responded with a nod, and Slate slowly lifted his arm and pointed to the far side of the arena. I swung my head to follow his direction.

My breath failed me as the weight of the world fell away.

Eliza.

She was wrapped in a blanket and surrounded by two uniformed officers, but she was more beautiful than I had ever seen her before. The second our eyes met, she burst into tears, and it was all I could do to keep my knees from buckling.

“Oh, God.” I breathed. I lifted my hands to sign before remembering my gloves.

“I’m okay,” she mouthed with a steady stream of tears dripping from her chin.

I nodded and swallowed the lump in my throat. I wouldn’t believe it until I held her. I’d started to climb through the ropes when Slate grabbed my arm.

“
No. Finish this.
”

I looked back at Eliza and smiled weakly.

“Why only one round if she’s okay?” I asked Slate without tearing my eyes off Eliza. I bounced on my toes and shook out my arms, trying to get myself back into the fight but finding it impossible.

Slate didn’t have a chance to respond before Eliza gave me the answer.

From under the blanket, she lifted a shaky hand to wipe away her tears, but her fingers left a streak of blood across her cheek.

My eyes went wide. “Eliza!” I called out, but there was no way she could hear me over the crowd.

I love you. I’m okay,
she signed as one of the officers started to guide her away.

“Eliza!” I yelled as I traced the ropes down the side of the ring to follow her. I was vaguely aware of the ref pushing me back to my corner, but all I could see was the blood painting her face.

Slate moved in front of me as she disappeared around the corner. “
One round.
”

“Why is she bleeding? What the fuck is going on?” I shoved his chest.

“
She’s fine. Get your ass in that corner. Three minutes. Then you are out of here.
”

I studied his eyes. “Swear to me she’s okay? Swear it!” I barked, backing into my corner.

“
She’ll be fine. Now, hurry this the fuck up. You have one round to secure your entire future. There are millions on the other side that bell. Claim them.
” He pointed across the ring as he folded out. “
Silence him.
”

That I could do.

With a deep breath, I called up every bit of strength I had left. I drew from Eliza and the images of the life we were going to have together. The future I could provide not just Blakely, but also Flint and Quarry. I could win this for them.

The fight had been somewhat one-sided until that point—and not my side. It was obvious that Matthews wasn’t the same fighter I’d easily knocked out all those years ago. Unfortunately for him, I wasn’t the same Till Page either.

Sixty seconds later, with the same combination I’d knocked him out with the first time, I made my own dreams come true. Rick Matthews stumbled back against the ropes before collapsing to the mat. The combination wasn’t anything special or unique to boxing, but it was conceived from a desperate need for me to get to Eliza’s side. And for that alone, it was unstoppable. I counted around my mouthpiece as the ref issued a ten-count, but I could have told you at three that the fight was over.

When the ref waved his hands to call the fight, the crowd went nuts. The vibrations from the cheering fans were unforgettable, but it was the sight of thousands of fans twisting their open hands in sign language applause that choked me up. I lifted a glove in appreciation to the fans on all four sides of the ring, but that was my only celebration.

“Let’s go!” I barked at Slate as he started pulling my gloves off. For a man who had just won his very first championship belt, my corner was entirely too subdued.

“
Wait,”
he signed back. “
Let them lift your glove and we’re out of here, okay? There’s a car waiting out back.
”

“A car? Where is she?” I asked as the opposing trainer came over to offer a handshake and the customary congratulations. But I wasn’t having it. I stepped around him and got into Slate’s face. “Where the fuck is she?” I growled.

His hands lifted to respond, but he dropped them and mouthed, “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry? What the fuck is going on?” My stomach dropped.

I searched his face for answers, but he had them all stoically hidden away. Fuck having my glove lifted in the air. If there was a car out back headed for Eliza, I was getting in it.

I shoved him out of the way and climbed out of the ring, not even bothering with the steps as I jumped off the skirting and made my way through the crowd. People were slapping my back as I rushed from the ring, and it wasn’t until I slammed the back door open that I realized Leo and Slate had followed me.

Slate yanked the door open to a blacked-out Escalade, and I crawled inside. No sooner than the door was shut, I yelled, “Start fucking talking. Now!”

“
Eliza’s fine. So is the baby.
”

I blew out a relieved breath, but he continued.

“
She’s at the hospital with Flint.
”

My head snapped back in surprise. “Flint?”

“
I’m afraid so, son.
He’s the one who found her. Frankie put up a fight, and Flint was shot in the scuffle.
”