Xavier Cold (Hard Knocks #2) (22 page)

The muscles in my back tense, and I hop out of the backseat, wanting as far away from her as possible.

There’s no way in hell I’m sitting next to that vindictive bitch.

Corey tilts his head and I jerk my thumb over my shoulder as I open the front passenger door. “You take the back.”

Corey shrugs and gets in, having no idea that he’s about to sit next to a fucking dragon.

I slam the door a little harder than I mean to, and then the vehicle begins to move, taking us in the direction of the arena.

“And who might you be?” Deena asks, and I resist the urge to tell her none of her damn business and to keep her hooks out of the kid.

“Corey Trulove,” he answers proudly, and I can tell without even seeing his face that he’s grinning.

“That’s cute,” she tells him in the fake, flirty tone she once used on me.

Deena has a killer body, and until you get to know the true evil that lives inside her, she has a way of fooling people to believe she’s actually a pleasant human being to be around.

The Escalade pulls up to the back door and I get out of the SUV as fast as I can, wanting distance between Deena and me before I snap on her bitch ass.

Freddy grins when he notices me. “What’s up, X? I saw your name on the roster today. I knew you wouldn’t be able to stay gone too long. It’s good to see you. Rex is about to get on my last damn nerve bragging on how he’s taking the belt from Brian, and now that you’re here, hopefully he’ll shut his damn mouth.”

I laugh. “Don’t even trip, Freddy. Rex may have the belt for a minute, but you know I’ll be coming for his ass as soon as I’m allowed back in that ring. I didn’t quite get to finish the job last time.”

“We’ll see about that,” Deena cuts in as she passes by Freddy and me with a wicked smile as she makes her way inside the building.

“She’s such a fucking bitch,” I mutter when the door closes behind her. “Why in the fuck did I ever mess around with that?”

“Beats me,” Freddy answers. “No piece of ass is worth her shit.”

God is he ever fucking right about that. She’s been nothing but a fucking headache since I slipped her my dick.

“Yo? You tapped that?” Corey asks as he flanks my side with an expression of awe on his face. “Bro, she’s a fucking ten.”

I lift one eyebrow. “Easy, kid. That one may look good, but her bite is pure venom. Stay far away from that one.”

Corey nods with a suddenly serious expression on his face. It’s nice to see he takes my words as gospel. While I have his attention, I feel an introduction is in order. “Kid, this is Freddy, the eyes of Tension. He knows everyone and he’s an excellent judge of character. Freddy, meet Corey Trulove.”

Freddy chuckles as he shakes Corey’s hand. “I’m only about ninety percent right when it comes to people. Occasionally, I misjudge young punks from Detroit calling themselves Phenomenal X. I had that guy pegged as a douchebag, and he proved me wrong.”

I laugh. “Ninety percent? You admitting Rex was your other mistake when you told me he was a good guy?”

“He
was
until he got so hung up on having the world champion attached to his name.”

I shake my head as I remember when I actually considered Rex to be a friend—until he started playing dirty, and cheating his way through matches. “He changed big time, which is why I owe him another ass-kicking to bring him down a couple of notches.”

“Careful, X,” Freddy warns. “Don’t go fucking up your career. Mr. Silverman may have pulled some strings to make shit disappear for you once. I highly doubt he does it again. He’s not exactly known for being the forgiving type.”

No matter what the media and the rest of the staff at Tension are led to believe about what happened in the ring back in Atlanta, Freddy knows all too well how real shit was between me and Rex. He was the guy always breaking us up.

I pat Freddy on the back. “I’ve got myself under control now. Fighting for real—I’ve tried to tame that shit. My temper has fucked a lot of good things for me.”

“Good,” he says and then rubs the scalp on his bald head. “I’m getting too old to keep breaking up your fights. You’re a strong son-of-a-bitch.” Freddy checks his clipboard and then allows a couple of more wrestlers who I recognize into the building as we stand there. After they pass, he turns to me. “You going inside or what?”

I nod toward the door and even though I need to keep my distance, I can’t help asking, “Anna already in there?”

Freddy shakes his head. “Not yet, but she typically only comes in a few minutes early—not hours like most of you others who want to get workouts in before the show.”

I smile, knowing Anna isn’t into pumping iron with the rest of us in the weight room because of how she only sat and watched me. “Then if it’s all the same to you, I’ll wait out here with you. The kid can go in and explore if he wants though.

Freddy nods and then pulls a backstage pass out and hands it to Corey. “Go ahead, kid. Knock yourself out.”

“Fuck, yeah!” He doesn’t have to tell him twice. Corey slips the rope of the lanyard over his head and heads inside.

I stand next to Freddy as I await Anna’s arrival. If I’m honest, I’m nervous as fuck about what she’s going to say when she sees me after I ignored her calls the way I did. She’s going to be pissed—that’s a given—but I pray to God that it’s not too late to earn her forgiveness and at least let me back into her life as a friend. I need her in my life some way, even though I’m not the right man to claim her.

Freddy glances down at his watch. “I’m sure she’ll be here any minute. She’s been showing up a little early to every show.”

I nod, knowing Freddy’s sensing my tension and attempting to calm me down, but it does nothing to curb my anxiety.

I lean back against the wall and fold my arms over my chest as a dark blue Audi pulls up to the back entrance. At first, I don’t pay it much attention because it’s not a Tension owned vehicle that shuttles the talent to and from the hotel, but when the passenger shoves her dark brown hair over her shoulder, it immediately catches my attention.

Anna sits inside the car, speaking animatedly with the driver. I squint my eyes to focus better on the driver, and that’s when I realize it’s guy I saw her hugging in the photo. I curl my hands into fists and march over to the car—my jealousy completely taking over and throwing my promise to myself to control my goddamn temper right out the fucking window.

J
orge is definitely due some credit. He’s been a good friend to me since I’ve been hanging around this part of the country. He’s texted me a few times to check on me, and tonight he’s picking me up from Liv and Brian’s to take me to Tuesday Tension so he can watch the show.

We pull up to the arena, and Jorge asks. “Am I going to see you actually wrestle tonight?”

I laugh. “No. I’m what they call a valet. I only escort wrestlers out to the ring.”

“Will you be with Phenomenal X again?”

“No. He’s actually been suspended for the past few weeks, so I’ve been assigned to Assassin.”

“Oh, is he any good?”

I shrug. “He’s the current champ. He won the belt when we were in Seattle.”

“Wow. The champ? Impressive, Anna.”

“Not really,” I mumble. “He’s an asshole. I can’t wait until Xavier comes back and kicks his butt and takes the belt away from him. I’ll be cheering like this—” I pump my arms in the air as if I’m lifting the roof.

Jorge chuckles. “Not a fan, huh?”

“Definitely no—” I can’t even get the words out because his driver’s door flies open and two large hands reach inside.

“Xavier, no!” I shout, but it doesn’t seem to faze him as he curls his finger into the fabric of Jorge’s once perfectly pressed polo shirt.

Xavier leans down in the car so he can get face to face with Jorge, who is pinned to his seat by both his seatbelt and fear. “What the fuck are you doing with my girl?”

Jorge’s eyes widen as he holds his hands up defensively and his voice shakes as he says, “We’re friends.”

Xavier pulls him up and then slams him back on the seat. “Don’t lie to me. I know there’s more than that going on. You fucking her?”

“Xavier! Stop it! You’ll hurt him.” My plea for him to end this before it gets any further out of control seems to fall on deaf ears. It’s as if he’s lost in a rage haze—unable to recognize anything outside of the focus of his anger. I need to do something drastic—something to snap him out of it. “I’m pregnant!”

That does the trick because Xavier’s eyes snap to me. “What did you just say?”

Tears stream down my face as I lock my gaze on his. “I’m pregnant.”

“No, you’re not.”

My mouth drifts open as his words feel like a slap in the face, but I refuse to let him make me feel bad about this. He may not want this baby, but I do.

“I am,” I whisper. “And it’s yours. And . . . I’m keeping it. You can either be a part of it’s life or not—up to you—but I’m going to be a mother.”

Xavier releases Jorge’s shirt from his grasp and his eyes soften. “Anna . . . I. I can’t. I’m sorry.”

He steps back, and I realize he’s running from me yet again because things are hard, but I refuse to let him walk away from me so easily this time. I jump out of the car and chase him down to the edge of the gated lot where I grab his arm.

“You can’t keep walking away from me,” I tell him.

“You don’t understand, Anna. This changes everything. I came here to beg you to come back to me because I’m selfish bastard who can’t stand the thought of losing you, but now, I know I was doing the right thing to let you go. It’s one thing for me to ruin your life because you can leave me any time you want, but a baby—if it’s stuck with me, it has no choice. I won’t ruin my kid’s life. I’m too much of a fuck up to be a father.”

“No, you’re not. This baby deserves to have you in its life.”

I can clearly see the struggle in Xavier’s eyes and as he takes a step back from me, I know I’m losing the battle to make him see he’s a good man.

“Don’t,” I whisper. “Don’t leave me again. It’s now or never time, Xavier. I won’t keep playing this game with you. Either you want to be with me or not. Choose.”

Tears streak down his face as he takes another step back. “I’m sorry, Anna. I can’t.”

He walks away from me, and I drop to my knees on the asphalt of the parking lot. No air gets to my lungs as I gasp for breath between sobs.

He’s gone.

And this time, I feel like I’ve really lost him.

I’m not sure how long I stay kneeling in the parking lot, but Jorge is soon there, putting his hands around my shoulders and urging me to get up. “Come on, Anna. The bouncer guy says he’ll cover for you. I’ll take you to the hotel so you can check in and get yourself together.”

I nod and then stand up on my feet. My legs still feel like they’re made of Jell-O as Jorge leads me back to his car.

Freddy is standing there by the car with a deep-set frown. The pity he feels for me is clear, and I’m sure I look like a pathetic mess because that’s exactly how I feel. “I’ll let the bosses know you are sick, and I sent you home because you were puking all over the place.”

I stare up at the big teddy bear of a man who has always been so kind to me. “Thank you.”

“Come on.” Jorge nudges me to get inside the car.

As soon as I’m inside the car, the sobs start again and I don’t see them stopping anytime soon.

Later that evening, I’m still crying while I lie on the bed. No matter how hard I try, I can’t stop the tears from falling. Jorge has begun pacing the floor nonstop over the last couple of hours. He’s never been through something like this, so I’m sure he has no idea how to handle a heartbroken woman.

A knock at the door causes me to gasp. I’m not ready to see Xavier again right now if that’s him.

Jorge releases a relieved sigh as he hustles to the door and I hear him mutter, “Finally.”

The door creaks open and the distinct sound of Mother’s voice wafts into the room. “Where is she?”

“In here. But—” Jorge tells her, and the door hits the side of the wall like she’s forced her way past Jorge.

I push up into a sitting position in time for her make it down the short hall of the room. My heart thunders in my chest as she stands there, staring at me. She looks just the same as the last day I saw her. Same dark hair, pulled back perfectly in a low-set ponytail, and her makeup perfectly applied. All of that coordinating with the black dress slacks and red blouse she has on.

I’m going to kill Jorge for calling her.

Her head tilts and her eyes soften as she rounds the bed and sits down next to me, wrapping her arms around me in the process. “My baby,” she whispers and I instantly begin crying again.

After she holds me for a long time, she pulls back and inspects my face, tucking a loose strand of my hair away from my face. “He’s done a number on you, hasn’t he? Jorge says you’re pregnant.”

My eyes cut to Jorge, and he knows he’s betrayed my trust by telling her that.

He raises his hands in surrender. “I panicked. They were the only people I knew to call who could help you.”

“They?” I question. “What do you mean
they
?”

“Don’t be angry at Jorge, dear. He did the right thing by calling us. We’re here to help you. Your father is downstairs, and he forgives you—”

“Forgives me? I did nothing to him. He’s the one who was smothering me,” I tell her.

Mother licks her lips but continues to stare at me with her beautiful green eyes. “Perhaps, we are guilty of sheltering you too much, but you have to believe we did it because we had your best interests at heart. It hit us when you left the way you did that you weren’t a little kid anymore. You’re a grown woman, capable of making your own decisions, and if you come back home with us, we promise we will do our best to lighten up and give you freedom.”

I wipe under my eyes. “I love you, Mother, but I can never live at home again. Father will never stop seeing me as a little girl he can control unless I stand on my own two feet.”

She pokes her bottom lip. “But with a baby, Anna, life will be difficult without help.”

“I know,” I tell her. “But I’ll manage. I’m ready to accept the responsibility.”