“That didn’t answer my question.” I narrow my eyes at him. “What happened to it?”
“Molotov cocktail.”
“Gavin!” I exclaim.
“That was back when Fabio and I were getting things handled.”
“Are things handled?” My eyebrows lift to the roof.
“Thanks for reminding me, I need to talk to my brothers about that.”
“Sure, glad I could help,” I drawl.
“Fabio threatens you again, I’ll fucking kill him,” he says matter-of-factly as we pull away from the curb.
“You will do no such thing!”
The look Gavin gives me tells me that,Oh, but he will do such a thing.
“Talk to me about the championship. How does that work?” I change the subject.
“To secure my spot, I have to win two out of three of my next bouts.”
“Will you need a good luck kiss or a good ball busting before these fights?” I tease.
“Both.” He chuckles.
I reach over, lacing our fingers together. “I bet no one’s ever told you, but I’m glad you’re here, and I’m proud of what it took for you to get here. A lot of people would’ve given up, but you didn’t.”
He jerks the wheel over to the curb and shifts into park, hopping out.
“Gavin, what are you doing?”
He’s running up the stairs of some nondescript office building, and my heart’s beating wildly as I chase after him, because gah, I still hate running.
Reaching the top, he lifts his hands triumphantly, shuffling back and forth.
“Are you seriously reenacting that cheesy boxing movie?” I ask, my hands falling to my knees as I catch my breath.
“Shhh, don’t mess up the moment. I’m mentally accepting the championship belt. Cue the inspirational music.”
Shaking my head, I grab my phone from my pocket and search for the movie soundtrack, hitting play.
Gavin opens his eyes and hoists me onto his shoulder, and I join in celebration, because who says I have to be Ms. Serious all the time?
We laugh as we return to the truck and continue the drive back to my place.
Pulling up to the building, there’s a blacked-out SUV idling across the street. Kat’s at the door of my studio, ringing the bell, with two guards surrounding her.
“You want me to drop you off and bounce?” Gavin asks.
“No,” I tell him firmly.
We park, and Gavin helps me out of the vehicle. I lace my fingers around his as we approach. The two guards surround Kat, but she peers over them and waves them away.
“Please, come in,” I tell her, unlocking and opening the door. One of her guards goes first, with the other standing guard outside.
My eyes plead with Gavin to be on his best behavior as we step inside and close the door.