Fighting Love (Love to the Extreme) (2 page)

“A little more than an hour ago.”

“And you went where?”

“For a run.”

“Do you smoke?”

Hadn’t he just said he was a runner? He squinted at the man, trying not to lose his patience,

when he knew the man was just doing his job. “No.”

After a series of more questions that all ended with the answer no, the firefighter asked, “Have

you been noticing any electrical problems?”

Now they were getting somewhere. “A light switch has been on the fritz. I reported it to my

landlord about six weeks ago, but he hadn’t fixed it yet. I don’t use it, though.”

“Where was the switch?”

“In the kitchen.”

The firefighter closed the notebook. “I hate to say this, but the house is going to be

inhabitable.”

You think?

“Do you have anyone to call?”

Tommy nodded. His landlord, for one. Let him know what was going on. Then he needed to

figure out where he was going to stay tonight. Hell, more than tonight. It would take him a while

to find a place to live. So he’d have to impose on someone for more than a few nights. Even if he

found a place, he didn’t have a bed or a couch…or even a spoon. Man, the only clothes he had

were what he was wearing.

The enormity of what had happened hit him, leaving him as dazed as he’d felt after he’d

regained consciousness from Ricky Moon’s knee to the face during the championship fight.

He’d lost everything then, too.

Thankfully, this time insurance would replace everything that had just burned to a crisp—

except for the few things that actually meant anything.

Since nothing would ever replace the contents of that box, there was only one other thing he

needed. Or rather, who he needed.

He needed his best friend.

…

Julie Rogers turned her Prius onto Tommy’s road, passing the lines of ranch-style houses in the

modest neighborhood on the outskirts of downtown Atlanta. When Tommy’s house came into view,

her mouth dropped open on a stunned gasp. Good lord.

The front was charred beyond recognition. On the sides, the windows were shattered and

blackened. The beige vinyl siding that remained was covered in black soot and the roof had huge,

gaping holes. When Tommy had called her twenty minutes ago, his detached, emotionless tone

had worried her. He’d simply said, “My house just went up in flames. I need you.” Then he’d hung

up. A part of her had hoped he’d been exaggerating. He hadn’t been.

Where was he? She scanned the area. When she finally spotted him sitting between the back

doors of an ambulance, a blanket wrapped around his broad shoulders, holding an oxygen mask to

his mouth, his other arm draped around Warrior as he stared at the ruins, her heart climbed into

her throat. After throwing the car into park, she shot out and raced toward him, her black heels

clacking hard on the pavement. “Tommy!”

His head snapped in her direction and relief shone bright in his green eyes. When she reached

his side, she grabbed his face between her hands, gaze frantically traveling over his soot-covered

skin. “My God, are you okay?”

Other than the grime and the holes in his clothes and on the black beanie on his blond head,

nothing seemed injured. He lowered the mask. “Yeah. They want me to do this for a few more

minutes as a precaution, and then I can go. I wasn’t in there long enough.”

She stared at him a moment. Then she threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

When his lips immediately grazed the side of her head, an action he’d done since they were teens,

and he whispered, “I’m okay, Julie,” tears burned the backs of her eyes.

This man meant the world to her. More than he would ever know.

She pulled back to look at him. The pensive expression twisting his handsome face made her

heart clench. He’d been through so much lately. Yeah, some of it was his own doing, but this…this

wasn’t. She wanted to cry at the lost look in his eyes.

Tommy always acted like nothing fazed him, as if he didn’t have a care in the world, which she

found both admirable and infuriating. But this moment of vulnerability he was displaying

threatened to bring forth the emotions she kept under lock and key. So, as she’d done for the past

twenty-three years, she pretended they didn’t exist and went to him as his best friend.

“What happened? Were you asleep?” God, what if the smoke had gotten to him before he’d

woken up? The thought had her hugging him tightly again. “Did Warrior wake you?”

“No, we were out for a run.”

Confused, she jerked back and stared at him again. Yes, he definitely looked like he’d just

emerged from a burning building. “Then why—”

“I ran in to get something.”

She gasped. “You did what?” Then she slapped him on the arm. Once wasn’t enough. She

smacked him again. “Are you insane? You could’ve died! I could be standing here sobbing because

I lost my best friend for being an idiot!” She shoved his shoulder, then walked a couple of feet

away, rubbing her forehead. “Jesus, Tommy. What the hell was so important you would risk your

life over it?”

“It doesn’t matter now. It’s gone.”

“What’s gone?”

He glared at her. “I need you, Julie. Not a lecture. Drop it.”

He was right. This wasn’t the time. All that mattered was he was safe, even if he had made a

reckless decision, which wasn’t surprising anymore. Over the last year, Tommy had made many of

those. “What happened?”

“They think it started in the kitchen. It was that damn switch. I’d been after the landlord for

weeks to change it.”

Julie glanced back at the charred house. All that remained of the garage was a few scorched

beams, half a wall, and the blackened skeleton of Tommy’s cherry-red Corvette. She grimaced.

“Oh, Tommy. Your car.”

“It’s insured,” he said, shrugging.

“What about rental insurance?”

“Have it.” He sent her a lopsided smile. “Maybe I’m growing up after all.”

At those words, she flinched. He was trying to be humorous, bring a little lightness into the

moment—she got that—but she didn’t like him using the words she’d yelled at him four months

ago to go about it, especially after something like this. Losing his home to a fire was something he

had no control over. The night she’d told him he needed to grow up, well…she’d meant it.

Having to bail Tommy out of jail for brawling at a bar had been the lowest point of their

friendship, and she’d been furious. Not to mention the fallout from the MMA scandal of the century

—Tommy being banned from his coach’s training facility hadn’t been the only consequence. Ethan

Porter, the president of Cage Match Championship, had banned him from the cage, too.

Thankfully, the brawling charges had been dropped, so one night was all he’d spent in jail.

“You know I said that because I was pissed, right?” she said softly.

He shrugged. “There was some truth to it.”

Yeah, more than some, actually. She let her silence speak for itself. Tommy knew what it

meant.

One of the EMTs came over and had Tommy breathe into some contraption. After the woman

looked at the reading, she nodded. “You’re good. If you start having any nausea, lightheadedness,

or any other symptoms, go straight to the ER, but you should be fine.”

After that, a firefighter came over to speak to him for a few minutes, then told Tommy he was

free to go. He stood and stretched his six foot three inch frame then ruffled Warrior’s head. “Let’s

find us a place to crash. What do you say, buddy?”

“You can stay with me.” At the suggestion, his nose curled in distaste and she swatted at him.

“Hey! What’s the problem with staying at my place?”

A chuckle came out of him as he slung his arm around her shoulder and dropped a kiss on top

of her head. Even in three-inch heels her, she fit easily under his arm. “It’s not you, doofus.” When

she raised a doubtful brow, he laughed outright. “Okay…maybe it is you. Julie, you’re my best

friend. But we haven’t done close living quarters since we used to sneak in and out of each other’s

bedrooms when we were kids. What if we end up killing each other?”

The memory made her smile. “Well, if all else fails, I guess we can make up over walkie-talkies.”

“Ah, shit, I forgot we used to do that.” He sighed, hugging her closer to his side as they walked

toward her car. “I appreciate the offer, but I don’t like imposing on you. I’ll find something.”

“Have it your way.”

He always did.

When they reached the car, Tommy let Warrior in the backseat, then climbed in himself. As she

started the engine, he said, “I really need to feed Warrior. I always give him a big bowl of food

after we run. Can we stop at a store?”

“I have some food at my house.”

Again with the nose curl. God, that drove her nuts.

“My dog will not eat that foo-foo shit you feed Lucy. He eats manly dog food, isn’t that right,

buddy?” He scratched the dog behind the ear and earned a lick across the cheek.

“You do know your face is covered in soot and you smell like a campfire, right?”

“I could give a rat’s ass what I look like right now, Julie. Besides, I don’t have anything to

change into anyway.” When she glanced over at him, he had the oddest look on his face, a

mixture of disbelief, amusement, and confusion. “Jeez, I don’t even have a toothbrush.”

When he turned and stared at her with the same strange expression, she worried the reality of

what had happened was about to truly hit him. The man had just lost everything he owned.

“You okay?” she asked.

“Yeah. The unimportant shit is starting to pop up. Like the rib eye I bought last night.” He

shook his head. “Why that would even cross my mind, after losing…” He inhaled deeply.

She took one hand off the steering wheel, reached over, and squeezed his hand. “It’ll be okay.”

He clasped it and squeezed back. “Yeah. It’s like, for a moment I forget, and nothing has

changed. Then it hits me like a ton of bricks again. Kinda like it did after…”

“You lost the title,” she finished gently.

“Yeah. I guess it’s natural, right? I thought some weird-ass stuff after Mike booted me out.

Every time I thought about heading over to the gym, I had to remind myself Mike had banned me,

and why. I had to do that for weeks before the new routine finally took over and I stopped

thinking about it. I can’t believe I’m having to do this all over again.”

“Well, at least this one isn’t your fault.”

He let out a shocked laugh and shook his head. “Ow! Damn, woman.”

She shrugged. Though she’d hated that Tommy had been banned from the cage and even his

training facility, this was all part of the growing up he needed to do. As he’d gotten older, instead

of settling down like most men eventually did, Tommy had only gotten wilder.

The man did love his women. As a consequence, he’d never had a serious relationship. In fact,

in the twenty-three years she had known him, she couldn’t remember seeing him with the same

woman twice. Well. She had seen him with two women at the same time, but, again, the actual

girls never stayed the same.

Then there was his attitude. Thankfully, that had never been directed at her. He’d always

stayed the same with her, but everyone else—including his training posse, especially after he won

the Middleweight championship a little over a year ago—yeah, she understood how it had been

easy for Mike to tell him to get the hell out.

Fighting hadn’t changed Tommy. He’d fought his way up since he was twenty. But the lifestyle

that came with “hitting it big” had. The parties, the cockiness, the women, all of it. The man had

become so wrapped up in everything and everyone else around him, he had completely ignored

Julie. Hell, he hadn’t even noticed when she’d left.

She really didn’t ever want to meet that man again.

She just hated that his blindness had cost him the cage. And brought him to this.

No career, no future. And now, no home.

…

Tommy tucked a long yellow envelope under his arm as he walked out of the post office exit.

Julie had been awesome, as always. She’d chauffeured him around all morning, stopping to let him

buy some necessities. Thankfully, when he ran, he always carried a debit card, his license, and

some cash, along with his phone, in his wrist wallet. That habit had kept him from being

completely without access to money.

Too bad money wasn’t finding him a place to stay. A pet-friendly hotel was an option, of

course, but he didn’t like the idea of his dog being cooped up in a hotel room for God only knew

how long before he found a new place.

But Julie didn’t need him underfoot, either.

He had to see if he could make other arrangements. Unfortunately, only one other person came

to mind, and he knew it would be a long shot. He dug out his phone, thumbed through his contact

list, then hit the call button.

Dante “Inferno” Jones had been a good friend of his for a couple of years now. “Hello,” Dante

answered.

“Hey, man. It’s Tommy.”