Wrestling Desire 2 (A Contemporary Romance) (6 page)

“Yeah.”  The glazed look in her eyes slowly began to clear, giving Holt a measure of comfort. 

“What about this dizziness?  Have you experienced it before?”

“No.”

“When was your last period?”

Holt’s attention cut from Emma to Doctor Andrews.  “Why do you need to know that?”

“I’m just covering all my bases,” Doctor Andrew’s replied.

Knowing the implication behind the question Holt glanced from Emma to the doctor and back.  “You don’t think she’s pregnant do you?”

“I don’t know, Holt, but I have to consider everything.”

“Um…a little over two weeks ago,” she finally answered. 

“Okay.” Doc nodded.  “Probably not pregnant then.” 

A hint
of regret flittered through Holt’s mind at Doctor Andrew’s statement which he quickly squashed.  The last thing he needed in his life right now was a child. 

Doc continued.  “Based on the fact that you’ve felt bad for a couple of days but only vomited once I doubt its food related.  Something like food poisoning would have taken you down like
a
bullet and kept you there.”  He rubbed his chin.  “A couple of the Vixen wrestlers have been down with the flu and both have had similar symptoms.  At this point I’m tempted to call this a virus.”

“So it’s nothing serious?” Holt felt his muscles relax as relief swept through him. 

“I don’t think so,” Doctor Andrew’s said.  “I’m inclined to believe it’s the flu, but if she’s not better in a few days we’ll reassess.”  Doc reached over to take the towel from Holt.  “Now let’s take a look at that cut.”

* * *

Two hours later Bryan stood at the foot of the b
ed and stared at Emma
. “You should have let Doctor Andrews take you to the hospital like he wanted.”

Feeling defiant, Emma folded her arms across her chest and stared back at him. Right now he was the last person in the world she’d take orders from.  “And I’ll tell you just like I told him, I didn’t want to go.”

“Why, Emma?  What are you hiding?  What are you afraid of?  Are you afraid that the emergency room doctors would eventually figure out that Holt did that to your head and it wasn’t an accident?”

Fire flared in her eyes as she stared back at him.  “How dare you. How dare you say something like that?”

“Just tell the truth,” he pushed.  “We both know it wasn’t an accident.  We both know he did that to you.”

“Jill was here
when I fell.  She knows it was
an accident. Holt didn’t lay a finger on me. It was an accident just like we said.  And you’re one to talk about telling the truth.  Yeah, you know…why don’t we talk about your version of the truth?”

“What are you talking about Em?”

“I’m talking about how you practically blackmailed Gene into giving you the push toward the championship.”

His eyes widened with surprise.  “Who told you that?”

“It doesn’t matter who told me.  It’s true isn’t it?”

Several long seconds passed before he finally answered. “So what if it is true.”  He began to pace.  “It’s my turn.  Derek had his turn and now he’s gone.  It’s my turn now.  It’s my turn to prove I can be a champion.”

“But blackmailing Gene into giving you the push?  Really Bryan?  Gene is like a father to us.  He’s always been good to us. How could you do that to him?”

“How could I do what, Emma?  How could I demand the shot that I deserve?”  His eyes narrowed.  “You have no idea what it’s been like to be me.  To either be known as Crusher Cruise’s little boy or Derek Cruise’s little brother.”  He shook his head.  “Nobody sees me for who I am.  Nobody sees Bryan Cruise as being a great wrestler. I’m not the legacy.  Derek is.  All I want is my shot at the spotlight.  All I want is to prove that I’m just as good as the rest of them.”

“Gene would have given you that shot, Bryan.  You didn’t have to try and blackmail him to get it.”  She stared blankly at him.  “I-I don’t even know you anymore.”

He practically sneered at her.  “You never knew me, Em.  You’ve never even made an attempt to get to know the real me.  Of course why would you when you had Derek, the great protector around?”

“Derek protected you too.  He took care of us.”

He shook his head. “I thought we had a real chance for us to become close.  The way you and Derek are close. But I guess that’s not going to happen now.  What happened to you standing by me, Em?”

“That was before I knew what you did to get the shot.”

“I deserve a chance, Emma.”

She nodded.  “Yeah you do.  But not like this.”

“What Holt did was wrong.  You know that.”

“You’re right it was and he feels bad about it, but what you did was just as wrong.  And two wrongs don’t make a right.  I know that.  But if you’re going to force me to choose.  You’re gonna go there?  I’m going to choose Holt.”

Brian shook his head.  “I can’t believe you.  I can’t believe you would do that to me.”

“And I can’t believe you’d lie to me.  What would Derek think?  Does he know about any of this?”

“Derek! Derek!” He threw his arms in the air. “It’s always about Derek!  What about me, Emma?”

“What about you Bryan?” Emma looked at him and shook her head. “You go ahead and do whatever it is you feel you need to do.  I’ll always love you because you’re my brother, but don’t ask me to stand by you.  Because I can’t.”

Holt walked through the inner halls of the arena on his way to see Gene.  It had been a rough twenty-four hours and with Emma now sick it didn’t look as if it was going to get better anytime soon.

He raised a hand to knock only to have the door swing open before his knuckles connected to the metal.  A look of shock crossed Gene’s face and was quickly replaced by a smile.  “Just the man I wanted to see.” He stepped back into the office and allowed Holt to enter.  “I had a visit from Doctor Andrews this morning.  How’s Emma?”

More tired than he realized Holt dropped down into the closest chair and raked a hand through his long hair.  He hadn’t bothered to pull it back that morning and with it now in his face he wished he had.  “She’s resting.  Since she refused to go to the hospital I made her stay in bed.”

Gene slid into his chair behind the desk.  “Is this more than just her normal nervous stomach?”

All too fresh memories of her kneeling in the shower, bloody and dazed flashed before Holt’s eyes and he suppressed a shiver.  “I think so.  She’s dizzy too and last night she threw up for the first time.  Doctor Andrews thinks it’s the flu.”

“He should know, right?”

Holt nodded, yet something in the pit of his stomach told him this was more than just the flu.  “If she’s not better in a few days I’ll drag her ass to the hospital just to be sure.”

“Good.  You know I love that girl of yours quite a bit.  Watched her grow up, I did.  Her father was one of my best friends.  It was hard on all of us when he died, but Em
ma, well she took it
just a bit harder than the rest of us.”

“I can see that.  She get so sad when she talks about her parents that I try not to bring it up.”

Gene gave his statement a nod.  “Yeah, she’s a sensitive one.  I didn’t see her doing well in a foster home so I decided I’d take her and Bryan in.  She only had a couple of years left until she turned eighteen, but she and Bryan, they needed a home.”

Holt cocked his head to the side and stared at Gene.  “Emma told me you’re like a father to her.  That’s part of the reason she has such a hard time saying no to you.  She wants to please you.”

“And now you.” Gene leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers. “I’ve love those kids like they were my own.  Which is why having to deal with Bryan has been so difficult.  If he’d been any other wrestler I would have just released him from his contract and been done with it, but Bryan has always been a bit reckless and hot tempered.”  Gene sighed.  “I suppose they all get that temper from their father.  Derek is the same way when he gets angry, but Derek and Emma both have level heads.”

Holt noted the faraway look in Gene’s eyes.  The older man appeared to be losing himself in his thoughts, something that didn’t happen too often. “Speaking of which, what are we going to do about Bryan?” he prompted.

A crease appeared in Gene’s forehead as he looked over the desk at Holt.  “We’re going to let him stew.  He has to learn that a shot at the championship is earned not demanded.”

Holt figured Gene would say something like that, but he was getting slaughtered in the media.  “I’ve already seen some of the reviews from last night’s show.  I’m being vilified.”

“So what if you are?”  Gene pushed forward and rested his arms on the desk.  “It’s not the first time you’ve been vilified in the fan’s eyes.  Hell, Holt being a troublemaker goes with your persona.”

“Yes, but being called a coward doesn’t.  The reviews are stating that the only reason I won the title is because Derek was hurt and I’m afraid to face Bryan, which is why I did what I did. You know I won’t back down from any contender.  I can beat Bryan fair and square.”

“Yes, I know you can, but this is also a ratings bonanza.  Tell you what.  Let’s let this and Bryan stew for a few weeks and then I’ll give him a shot because you asked me to.  We’ll make sure to get the entire conversation on camera so the fans know he’s getting his title shot because of you, not because he earned it.”

A few weeks was longer than Holt liked, but part of being in this business meant playing to the fans and right now they
loved
the story line.  “Okay, in a few weeks then.”  He pushed up from his chair and paused.  “Do you have Derek’s number?  I want to call him about Emma.”

Gene nodded.  “See my secretary Brianna.  She’ll get you the number.”

“Okay.  Oh and I assume you realize Emma won’t be working for the next few days.”

Gene’s face slid into a sad smile.  “I assumed as much.  Jill can handle it and I’ll get Marissa to give her a hand if she needs one.  In the meantime you take care of our girl.”

Holt opened the door.  “I plan to.”  He’d barely stepped outside when something knocked him back against the wall and pain bloomed in his jaw. 

“You son-of-a-bitch.”  Bryan grabbed Holt by the shirt and landed a second punch, this time connecting with Holt’s eye.  A second wave a pain shot through Holt’s skull, pissing him off.  He let out a yell, then promptly brought his knee up catching Bryan in the groin. 

Bryan released his grip on Holt and doubled over in pain.  Holt then grabbed him by the shirt, swung him around and connected his first punch against the side of Bryan’s head. 

“What the fuck is going on out here,” Gene yelled from his door.  “Holt?  Bryan?”

“He jumped me for no reason,” Holt answered before taking another shot at Brya
n.  Security and other wrestler
s began to move in and a flurry of hands and arms came between Holt and Bryan, prying them apart. 

“Holt stop,” Garrett growled in his ear. 

“Admit it,” Bryan yelled, blood dripping from his mouth.

Confused Holt glanced from Garrett to Bryan. “Admit what?”

“Admit you hurt Emma.”

“What?”  Holt pushed his hair back and cocked his head to the side.  “What in the hell are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the cut and bruise on Emma’s forehead.  I’m talking about the fact that she’s taken your side and abandoned her family.  You did that.  You beat her into taking your side.”

In a flash, anger sliced through Holt and
he ripped out of Garrett’s grip.  He
launched himself at Bryan, shoving him against the wall a second time.  “You motherfucker.  How dare you accuse me of doing something so vile?”

“It’s true,” Bryan spat.  “She told me herself that she’s taking your side.  Why else would she do that when just last night she promised to stand by me?”

“I love Emma. I would never lay a hand on her.”  Holt growled.  “But I have no problem knocking your lying ass into next week.”

Garrett grabbed Holt a second time and pulled him free of Bryan.  “Enough!”  Gene stepped between the two men.  He turned to face Bryan.  “Holt never laid a hand on Emma except to help.”

“Then why-” 

Gene shook his head.  “He has witnesses.  Jill and Garrett were in the room when she fell and Doctor Andrews confirmed it was an accident.  So knock off the accusations.”

Eyes wild, Bryan looked from Holt to Gene and then on to the others. “You’re all in on this together.   It’s a conspiracy.  You screw me out of the title shot and then alienate my family.  Fuck you!” he spat at Gene.  “Fuck all of you.”

“That’s it!” Gene yelled as he wiped his face.  “I’ve tried to be patient with you, Bryan, but enough is enough.  I don’t know what in the hell has gotten into you, but I’m not going to put up with it. Get your shit packed up.  You’re suspended until further notice and you are not allowed to come back until you’ve completed an anger management class and seen the company therapist.”

Bryan’s eyes widened then he immediately calmed.  “Fine.  If that’s how you want it, you’ll be hearing from my lawyer.”  He wrenched his arm away from the security guard and pointed a finger at Holt.  “This isn’t over, pretty boy.”