Page 60 of Captivating

“Tap, asshole,” I growl while I squeeze my legs around him, hips off the floor, and his arm hyperextended.

Tight.

Tighter.

“Tap.”

“Never,” he wheezes.

Tighter.

“Fuck, no.”

I lock him down, my muscles screaming from the exertion, and he finally gives in seconds before we both roll flat, starfishing against the mats.

“Goddamn, I hate you,” Rome bitches as he tests out his shoulder, making sure I didn’t pop it out. I didn’t. Big fucking baby.

I bridge up and jump to my feet, then pull him up too. “Told you to tap.”

We walk over to Hudson and Dad, who are both smiling for a change. “Good effort today, guys.” Dad crosses his arms and waits for us to climb down the steps. “We’ve got some news.”

“Oh yeah?” I have no idea where he’s going with this, but he’s smiling, and he rarely smiles during training. Then I realize he’s not smiling at me.

“You think you’re ready, Rome?”

“Ready?” My typically cocky cousin has a moment of hesitation before his crazy kicks in. “No fucking way. I’ve got a fight?”

Damn. He’s worked his ass off for this for years.

“Welterweight in Atlantic City in April.” Dad smacks his back. “You earned it, kid.”

“Fucking right, I did. Now, let’s go celebrate.”

“Celebrate after you win, psycho.” Hudson points between us. “Wins are built in the gym. You’ve got two hours of conditioning left.”

Rome rubs his hand together like a cartoon villain. “I vote for conditioning at Lilah’s house.”

“I don’t want to know. Just get it done,” Dad tells us before he walks away.

Hudson, however, looks intrigued. “Do I want to know?”

Rome bounces on the balls of his feet with excitement. “Dude. I heard a rumor Dillan’s been at her house, helping herwith shit lately. Have you seen Dillan Ryan’s ass? I’d tap that in a heartbeat.”

“Jesus Christ, you’re fucking lucky people are scared of your dad, or you’d be dead already,” Hudson grumbles.

“They should be more scared of Mom,” Rome corrects him, and I shove his back.

“Stay the fuck away from Dillan. There’s a ton of shit going on in that family right now. They don’t need your brand of trouble too.”

“Does that go for you too, Killer?” The look Hudson gives me tells me he already knows the answer, but the dick asks anyway.

“Nobody told me to stay away.” I pull the wraps from my hand and shove them into my pockets, then grab a towel.

“Walk with me, kid.” Hudson doesn’t wait for an answer because it wasn’t a question. He crosses the mats and heads upstairs to the yoga studio Dad installed a few years ago and starts cleaning up what was tossed aside after the sunrise class earlier. “Have you given any thought to what comes after this next fight?”

“One fight at a time, Uncle. You know the rules.” Truth is, I haven’t. It’s been a struggle just to stay focused on the fight in front of me with everything else that’s been going on.

“You’re twenty-six, Killer. You need to start thinking about what comes next, and I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t point that out. Rome’s fighting welterweight this year, but if he bulks up like he wants to, he’s going to be heavyweight real soon. You’ve got a few years left of this, if you’re lucky and stay healthy. I need you to start thinking ahead. By the time I was your age, Sawyer and I were already establishing our real estate venture. Because, believe it or not, you’re not going to want to put your body through this forever.”

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