Nellie sat frozen on the sofa. She was barely able wrap her brain around the magnitude of this. She watched in horror as she switched the channel and stopped when she saw Abel’s opponent being interviewed about the scandal.
“Well, I don’t know if their lack of commentary on the subject suggests they’re denying it.” McKinley said to the reporter as his hands were being wrapped by his trainer. He shrugged. “My brother’s personal life is his personal life, and I don’t wanna piss him off by saying too much. All I can say is that photos don’t lie. And what I can say for certain is Mr. Aweless was none too happy about me mentioning it last night. You all saw how that ended.”
He laughed, those light blue eyes twinkling into the camera, and now Nellie knew why he’d looked so familiar when she looked him up. “How did I not put it together?” she gasped.
But how could she have? This was outrageous. Abel had mentioned that McKinley’s camp was notorious for going above and beyond to get into their opponents’ heads, but this?
As if her heart hadn’t had enough, it nearly gave out when the reporter explained what photos McKinley was referring to. Then photo after photo of her and Sam flashed on the screen. There were some of the two of them having brunch, holding hands, walking into his hotel room by the beach, and then photos of him caressing her face and the embrace they shared just outside his hotel patio. It dawned on her at that moment that she remembered him acting strangely and asking her to go out onto the more open beach to hug her. The bastard! And here she’d thought him so genuine then. They’d even taken photos of him hanging out with her and her parents just outside the emergency room doors and in the parking lot of the hospital the night Gus had stuck a bean in his nose. Then there was another photo of him kissing her goodnight just outside her home.
Nellie stood up in an effort to try and calm herself because her inhaler wasn’t quite doing the job anymore, and she was beginning to struggle to steady her breath.
The photos of her and Sam “sneaking away” to be alone in the hotel lobby Thursday were being labeled especially scandalous given the fact that insiders were reporting that Abel and Nellie had arrived together in Vegas. They even reported that she was very likely staying with him in the same suite.
Unable to take it anymore, she changed the channel again, only to see more photos of her and Sam. She switched it again just in time to hear the commentators of TMZ refer to her as the 5th Street Cougar.
“Well, I don’t know if cougar is the right nickname for her,” one of the guys joked. “Cougars tend to stick to strictly younger guys. McKinley is actually older than she is. How ’bout ‘heavyweight punching bag’? They all get a jab at her. Eh? Eh?”
Nellie turned the television off, trying desperately to compose herself. The tears were already trailing down her face. This was a disaster. Now she knew why her phone was still silent and Abel’s was probably as well. No one wanted to alert them of the stories. Abel had promised to not watch any of the coverage, and they were probably all praying he hadn’t heard anything about it. Roni may even be upset with her.
How the hell could she have been so clueless about Sam? Then an even more terrifying thought slammed into her violently. Abel may not have known before he left today, but as with her, it was just a matter of time before he did. Would he possibly believe that she’d known all along who Sam was? That she’d purposely set out to humiliate him like this? Maybe as retaliation for Rachel?
Rushing to the bedroom with her heart in her throat, she knew she had to get to Abel—had to explain it to him before it was too late. The timelines on those photos with her and Sam at his hotel in Los Angeles were all screwed up. The captions suggested she’d spent the entire day with him in his hotel then he took her home late at night when, in fact, they’d stayed out late because of the trip to the emergency room for Gus.
Nellie had a better grip on her breathing now, but she was still wheezing. She had to stay calm. With this much drama all at once, her inhaler would be useless if she really lost it.
She’d packed an elegant cocktail dress, and for such a huge occasion, she would’ve preferred to spend more time getting ready. There was no time, so she did her face quickly and put her hair up in a twist. It would have to do. With her heart still pounding harder than it had been all morning, Nellie grabbed her clutch and ran out.
The elevator door opened, and she nearly ran into a grave-faced Andy, who stood right in front of the doors. “Andy, I have to get to Abel,” she said as she stepped out of the elevator.
“Do you now?” he asked, his face still harder than she’d ever seen it. “Haven’t you done enough?”
“But I didn’t know. If I had known—”
“Look, the damage is done. He’s going nuts over all this, but we think he still has a chance at the fight if he could just get his mind clear of this shit. You showing up is not gonna help.”
“But I have to explain,” she said, barely able to catch her breath, and she began digging in her purse for her inhaler.
“Let me be honest with you, Nellie.” Andy stared at her coldly. “He sent me down here to get you. He’s furious about this, but I don’t think you going down there now is a good idea at all. Neither do any of the guys. I saw the way they all looked at me as I left. They’re all hoping I don’t find you.”
“But he wants me there,” she insisted, the emotion of knowing Abel was furious with her now overwhelming her.
“Not for the reasons he may’ve earlier.” Andy snapped back. “He wants to let you have it now. I’ve never seen him so disgusted.”
Feeling the warm tears fill her eyes, she shook her head. “I had no idea and I can explain it all.”
“Explain all you want after,” Andy stared at her, not even attempting to hide his utter contempt for her. “If you care for him at all, you’ll stay away until after the fight. You’ll have plenty of time to explain then. Do you really think that his getting into it with you just before the fight and getting himself more riled up than he already is, is a good idea?” He lifted his brow. “He doesn’t really want you there, Nellie. He’s just too worked up to listen to reason. He’s so pissed off that he thinks telling you off will somehow make him feel better.”
Taking a hit from her inhaler, which at this point was pretty useless, she stared at him as she felt the warm stream of tears pour down her cheeks and continued to wheeze. “Tell him I’m so sorry. I really had no idea.” She stopped to inhale a slow trickle of air that flowed through that familiar straw-like opening in her chest. “Tell him I love him.”
She wanted to turn and get back in the elevator, but it didn’t feel right, not anymore. How could she sit in his luxurious suite, waiting for him after everything Andy had just told her?
“Just wait for him here.” Andy said, pushing the button for the elevator.
“No,” she shook her head, still struggling to breathe and wheezed loudly. “I can’t. Tell him to call me when it’s over.”
“Wait,” Andy touched her arm as she began to walk away. “This way. You’ll get mobbed if you go out that way.”
Leading her out the back door, the one she and Abel had arrived in that first day, he quickly hailed her a cab. She slid into the back seat, clutching her purse. “Tell him to call me.” She urged Andy again.
Andy nodded, closing the door. She had no idea where she was headed. All she knew was she had to get away. Andy stuck his head in the front window and said something to the driver, but she couldn’t hear what he said over her wheezing. From the look on the driver’s face when he turned to look at her wide-eyed, Andy had told him who she was.
“Where are we going?” The driver asked as soon as his jaw was no longer hanging open.
“Somewhere far—out of this city,” she managed to say between wheezing breaths.
“I go as far as the state line to the Primm and Buffalo Bills—”
“No,” she shook her head quickly. “I don’t wanna go near any casinos.”
The drive
r frowned before offering something else. “I can take you to a small hotel in Henderson. That’s about a half hour away. But I’m a Vegas cabby, lady. I can’t go further than that.”
Nodding, she agreed quickly, laying her head back on the seat as she breathed in deeply, the tears once again flowing.
~*~
As the Hispanic singer Abel’s mom loved so much finished singing the U.S. National Anthem, Abel paced around the back corridor that led into the giant stadium. According to Hector, it was a full house. He’d also mentioned some of the celebrities sitting near the girls. “Bianca said Stallone and Schwarzenegger are sitting right behind them,” Gio said, smiling. “And she heard them saying they both have their money on you.”
Without responding, Abel did more of his jaw stretching as he continued to pace, jumping in place every few steps. He turned to Noah, who was doing something on his phone. “Has Roni heard from Nellie?”
Noah frowned, shaking his head. “She thinks maybe Nellie is embarrassed and waiting to talk to you before she speaks with anyone else about this. She says she’s certain Nellie didn’t know—”
“Of course she didn’t know,” Abel snapped. “There’s no way she knew. Those bastards set her up.”
“Well, let it go, then,” Noah said firmly. “As long as you both know the truth, don’t worry about any of this until after the fight.”
Abel glanced around the rest of his entourage, clenching his jaw now instead of stretching it like he should be. Where the fuck was Andy? His intro music started, and Noah lifted the hood of Abel’s satin robe over his head. “Show time.”
They all started moving with Abel in the front, behind only the guy holding the camera in front of him and the guy guiding the cameraman from behind as he walked backwards. The two security guards at either side of him just a few steps in front of him were there to keep the crowd at a distance. The crowd was already going wild, and he hadn’t even come into view. The second he came into view, they got even louder.
Abel did what he always did as he made his way into the ring. He jabbed his arms every now and again to keep his arms warm. Concentrating on the song the mariachis in the ring were singing, he closed his eyes momentarily at some of the lyrics.
Traigo la sangre caliente. No me la puedo apagar.
Little did his mom know, when she chose his entrance song, how right on the money she was. To say his blood was so hot he couldn’t cool it down was putting it lightly. Every step he took closer to the ring where he’d get to pummel McKinley, he could literally feel the slow boil in his blood beginning to bubble.
By the time he was in the ring, the crowd was out of control. McKinley was the loathsome loudmouth boxer everyone loved to hate, so it didn’t surprise Abel that the entire place seemed to be cheering for him to take Hammerhead down. He had to concentrate on that—winning. At the moment he was doing the exact thing the guys had warned him not to do—raging. All he could think of was ripping McKinley’s head off.
His music came to an end, and he nodded at the mariachi band members in appreciation. They all smiled at him proudly, but a smile was something he couldn’t bring himself to even force, not with the empty seat next to Roni where Nellie was supposed to be sitting. Taking a deep breath, he lifted his glove up to the crowd chanting his last name.
It was perfectly fitting that McKinley’s entrance music was some obnoxious rap song with the F-bomb dropped in every other lyric. The crowd once again went crazy; only this time there was also a lot of booing. Abel continued to stretch his jaw, jumping in a place a few times and jabbing his arms in the air.
Watching McKinley and his brother enter the ring was almost more than Abel could bear. He clenched his jaw as he turned in their direction. Sam was noticeably absent, but his other brother, the one sporting a swollen cheek, smiled at him smugly. Swallowing hard, Abel glanced away before he got the urge to charge at him and drop him again like he had the night before.
The announcer finished with all the formalities of crediting the promoters and introducing the ringside judges. He announced the fighters, and once again the crowd went wild when Abel “Aweless” Ayala was introduced. After last night, he wasn’t so sure the name was appropriate anymore.
Nathanial “Hammerhead” McKinley was introduced, and the cheers turned into a mixture of cheers and boos. Abel continued to jab in place until the ref brought them both to the center of the ring and explained the rules. Gio placed Abel’s mouthpiece in as the ref spoke, and after tapping gloves with McKinley, who he’d stared down the entire time, they were both excused back to their corners.
“You got this,” Noah said as he helped Abel out of his robe. “Just stick to what we’ve been working on all this time. Clear your mind of everything else.”
Abel turned to see the empty seat next to Roni again and bit down on his mouthpiece. Noah tapped his chin as Gio spread petroleum jelly on his upper face. “Are you listening to me? Don’t worry about that now, man. There’s nothing you can do about any of that until this is over. Don’t blow this, Abel.”
Nodding, Abel jumped to his feet as the bell rang. The guys all got out of the ring. The buzzing in Abel’s head drowned out the crowd. The fact that Nellie still wasn’t there and this guy standing in the ring with him had everything to do with that blurred everything around him until his entire surroundings were now black. There was no more sound or anything else. All he saw was his fury’s prize right in front of him, and he was going for it. The only thing he heard from that moment on was the bell, and he went for it with a vengeance.
Landing the first one, he missed the next couple of jabs, which were literally air jabs. McKinley got a few in on him, and he stumbled back. Then the images in his head started up: the ones of Nellie and Sam entering his hotel room then the one of his lips on hers. They’d set her up and he fucking knew it. He swung hard with everything he had, and if he’d landed it, he was sure he would’ve taken McKinley’s head off. But he missed and he stumbled, nearly going down since he’d swung with so much force.
When the round was over, everything else began coming back into view, and he heard others talking, but not until Noah grabbed his shoulders with both hands and shook him. “Are you listening to me!” Abel finally heard what Noah was saying and he nodded. “You are gonna blow this thing if you keep going out there swinging like that. This is exactly what they wanted. Are you gonna let them win? That’s their only hope, that you lose your fucking mind and go out there and keep doing that.” Noah pointed behind him in the direction of McKinley’s corner. “He ain’t got shit on you and he knows it. Even with you turning into a madman like you just did, swinging without even thinking, I still think you got that round, but you cannot keep doing that!”
“Yeah, Abel,” Hector said. “That was ugly. You nearly knocked yourself out in there. If you’d landed it, it would’ve been beautiful.”
“No shit,” Gio agreed immediately. “This fight would be over if you’d landed it, but you’re not gonna land anything going at it that way. And what’s worse is if you keep that up by round three you’re gonna be worn out. You got twelve rounds to go, man. Pace yourself.”
“Slow and steady,” Noah said as the bell rang, and they all jumped out of the ring. “Get your head together!” Noah yelled as Abel stood up again and once again tuned everything and everyone out.
~*~
More than a half hour after leaving Abel’s suite, Nellie arrived at a small unassuming hotel somewhere in the outskirts of Henderson. She didn’t even care where she was, as long as she was away from the big city where Andy had assured her she’d be mobbed.
Her breathing had finally steadied, but Andy’s words kept the tears flowing. I’ve never seen him so disgusted. He doesn’t really want you there, Nellie. She paid the driver and walked into the hotel lobby, still feeling numb. Even though it was significantly smaller than the giant hotels in Vegas, it still had a small bar off to the side where, of course, the fight was being aired, and they had a good-sized
crowd watching.
Nellie didn’t take her dark glasses off and hoped to God that no one would recognize her. She’d pay for her room and go lock herself up for the rest of the night. She could only pray that Abel would actually be calling her after the fight.
“He’s totally off tonight,” another hotel attendant said to the clerk helping Nellie as he joined him behind the counter.
The clerk looked away from the computer screen and back to one of the monitors at the bar that the other attendant was staring at. “You think it’s the scandal that has him fighting so sloppily? I’ve seen him in other fights, and he’s always so damn good.”
“I dunno.” The guy took a seat on a stool behind the counter but still stared in the direction of the fight. “I thought that was all just a publicity stunt, but something’s off, that’s for sure.” He suddenly stood up as the crowd in the bar got loud. “You see! That’s the second time he’s almost gone down.”
The clerk shook his head as Nellie felt the tightening in her chest again. Her wheezing had never completely gone away, but it’d calmed. Now it was getting bad again.
“Name please?” The clerk asked her.
“Nellie,” she whispered. “Nellie Godinez.”
Thankful that she still had an old I.D with her married name on it, she began digging for it in her purse as the crowd in the bar got even louder.
“Holy shit.” The other attendant hurried around the counter to get a better look at the fight again. “Ayala’s gonna go down.”
Deciding to forget about the ID for a moment, Nellie pulled out her inhaler instead. She was unable to stand it anymore, so she finally turned to watch the monitor. Abel was still up, but he did look sloppy, swinging way too fast and missing a lot while McKinley kept landing his punches. Almost everyone at the bar was on their feet now.