Page 22 of Rebel Hawke

If not impossible.

So, the fact that Astriddidn’tshow up at the condo means someone must have intervened on my behalf.

My eyes drift to Dad and Mom. She gives me a little nod and a knowing smile while he offers a worried look that seems to be permanent any time we’re in the same room together lately.

She must have said something to Astrid to keep her from seeking me out.

It’s nearly impossible to disappear for any amount of time with the number of people intimately woven into the fabric of our lives, but Mom knew I needed a break from it and gave it to me.

Bless that woman.

Inclining my head toward her, I wrap my arm around Astrid’s shoulder to draw her closer to me. “I needed quiet anddarkness, which I wouldn’t have gotten with you yammering in my ear, asking if I was okay or needed anything every five minutes.” I press a kiss to her cheek. “But I’m fine. So, please, drop it.”

She considers me for a moment with eyes that match my own, then finally relaxes and nods. “Okay…”

Relief floods my system as I tug my arm away and dig back into the plate piled high on the table in front of me.

My final meal.

At least, that’s what it feels like.

Sitting on death row with an execution date three months from now when the hotel opens and I step into that ring and get my ass handed to me.

Every day between now and then is going to suck.

Watching what I eat, training relentlessly, having to hide how debilitating my injury has become. That last one being the hardest.

By this point in my career, I’m used to training camps and what it takes to prepare myself mentally and physically for a fight, but I’ve never faced an uphill battle that’s more like Mount Everest.

When that bullet tore into me, I was at the top of my game, ready to take down any opponent who met me in the ring. Now, it feels like no matter what I do, I’m going to come out on the losing end—

“Atlas…” Nana’s voice cuts through my haze of self-pity and carbs.

“What?”

She raises a white eyebrow at me. “Didn’t you hear the topic of conversation?”

I shake my head and take a sip of my beer to wash down my final bite of lasagna. “No. Sorry.” Scanning the table, I tryto figure out what I’ve missed, but everyone just looks at me expectantly. “What were we talking about?”

A coy smile curls Nana’s lips. “I heard Jimmy’s granddaughter is back in town and opening some sort of business next to the gym.”

The mere mention of Wren ignites a strange heat in my chest that has nothing to do with the red pepper in Nana’s sauce or the alcohol I’ve already consumed today.

I nod. “Yeah, I stopped in and saw her a couple of times already. Looks like she’s trying to open her Pilates studio a week from tomorrow.”

Nana’s eyes widen. “That’s quick.”

Kennedy brushes a lock of blond hair back behind her ear. “I stopped in yesterday to say hello and welcome her back—”

The wheels in my head start turning, and my hand freezes with the fork halfway to my mouth, loaded with baked ziti this time. “Hold on a second…if she’s renting that space, then she must have signed a contract with Hawke Enterprises.” I cut my gaze to Uncle Savage and Dad. “Did you all know she was coming back and not say anything?”

They shake their heads, and Kennedy laughs.

“No. Only I did.” Her bright-red lips twist into a smirk. “When Jenkins contacted me about the possibility of her taking the space for a studio, I assured her I wouldn’t tell anyone else so she could make it a surprise.”

It certainly was that…

The last few days, while I tried to forget what was happening in the gym, my mind kept drifting to Wren. To our shared past. All the laughter and joy. The hurt and excruciating pain we’ve both suffered. This intense connection I still feel with her despite the time and distance that kept us apart.

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