Page 132 of Enigma: The Complete Collection
“This isn’t you, Isaac.” Ophelia thrust her hand to the door that had roars bellowing through it. “This isn’t the person I fell in love with.”
My heart leaped. That was the first time she had told me she loved me. Hearing her say it made me feel invincible.
Grasping both of her cheeks in my hands, I kissed her firmly on her gaped-open mouth. “I love you too, baby,” I spoke over her lips.
“If you love me, you won’t do this.” With my heart in my throat, I inched back.“If you fight tonight, you’ll never see me again.”
“What?” I was baffled. Some people see boxing as brutal, but at the end of the day, it's still a sport. It’s included in the Olympics, for fuck’s sake.
Ophelia folded her arms in front of her chest. “I love you, Isaac, but if you do this, I’ll leave you.”
My mind spiraled out of control. She was the first girl I’d ever loved, but she stood in front of me, giving me an ultimatum. She was forcing my hand. At the time, I was conflicted. I’d never been issued an ultimatum before, but I loved her enough, I would have done anything for her. So, with a small amount of hesitation, I put my shirt back on, grasped her hand in mine, then exited the locker room.
We weaved in and out of the hundreds of attendees preparing to watch the fight. The atmosphere was electrifying. A constant hum thickened my veins when we briskly strolled down a narrow hallway, but the pit in my stomach became heavier with every step I took. I was walking away from the one thing that gave me the financial security I so desperately craved.
Cormack’s brows lowered when I walked by him, exiting the registration room. The confusion tainting his face slipped away when he spotted Ophelia’s panicked expression. In silent support, he patted my shoulder on the way by.
When I took a left at the end of the corridor, I crashed into a solid chest. Every attempt I made to sidestep the person was fruitless. They kept moving back in my way, blocking my exit. With my blood black in annoyance, I lifted my slit eyes, coming face to face with Col Petretti—the most ruthless man I'd encountered in my time in the underground fight circuit. He never threw in the towel, even when his fighter was close to death, and he didn’t bat an eyelid when his fighters were stretchered off the mat. He was a monster, and I was desperate to get Ophelia far away from him.
My chances were lost when Col snarled, “If you leave now, you’ll never see Ophelia again.”
My eyes darted between his while striving to work out how the fuck he knew Ophelia’s name. It was unearthed in the most horrid way.
“Papa.” My head flung back to Ophelia, assuming I hadn’t heard her right. If the gleam in her eyes was anything to go by, I had heard her right. She didn’t just know Col Petretti; she was his daughter.
“You not only betrayed yourself, but you betrayed your family,” Col spat in disgust, his angry eyes glaring at Ophelia.
I placed myself between him and Ophelia. I didn’t care if he was her father or not, he was not allowed to threaten her in front of me. The instant I seized Ophelia’s wrist to pull her behind me, the gentleman at Col’s side pinched my left temple with his gun. Although pissed he brought a weapon into a fight that only needed fists, I learned early on that in my industry, I was never to show fear. Fear made you weak, and your competitors fed off it. So, instead, I strengthened my stance before glaring into the eyes of the soulless man in front of me. Our standoff only lasted seconds, although, at the time, it felt like hours.
“If you want to date my daughter, you must first prove your worth.” Col drifted his eyes from Ophelia to me. “You’ll fight my toughest competitor tonight. If you win, you'll become my fighter and have permission to date my daughter.”
“And if I refuse?”
Col didn't grace me with a reply. He only smiled, a menacing, evil grin that showed the true monster he was.
“Be in the ring in five minutes,” a gentleman at Col’s side instructed.
When Col and his entourage left, I shifted on my feet to face Ophelia. Tears were welling in her eyes, and she was nervously fiddling with the button on her coat jacket. “You don’t have to do this, Isaac.”
I stepped closer to her. “Yes, I do.”
“No, you don’t. Just walk away, and don’t look back.” She scanned the arena, seeking the closest exit.
“Will you come with me?” She shook her head before yanking her hand out of my grasp. “Then, I’m going to fight.”
Before she could rebut, the brute who pointed a gun at my head stood next to her. His semi-automatic was aimed at her rib.“Let’s go.” He motioned his head to the ring, indicating he wasn’t leaving Ophelia’s side until after the fight.
After curling my hand around Ophelia’s clammy one, I made my way down the corridor that was filled with spectators. When we broke through the bleachers, the hum of the crowd lessened. Eyes of all ages and genders were gawking at me.
Once I reached the ring, a ragged gasp expelled from Ophelia’s lips. She tugged out of my hold before darting to stand in front of me. “Please don’t do this, Isaac. I’m begging you not to do this.”
“I have to. If I don’t, I’ll never see you again.” I stared into her glistening eyes, hating that I was disappointing her but not having any choice. She had a gun pointed at her. I had to protect her. “It’ll be five minutes, tops, then we walk out that door and never come back.”
My guarantee the fight would be over in minutes didn’t award her any reassurance. If anything, it made her more panicked. I discovered why when she sobbed. “He’s my brother.”
“Throw in the towel,” I pleaded, staring into the eyes of a monster. “He’s your fucking son.”
Ophelia’s brother, CJ, had given a stellar performance. He was a competitive fighter, handling the match better than I had expected, but he was done. From the way his chin was dangling, I was confident he was sporting a fractured jaw. The cracking that expelled from his ribs when I punished him with a grueling left and right combination guaranteed he had numerous broken bones, and his right wrist was contorted in a weird angle. His body had endured as much hell as my mind had, but no matter how many times I pleaded with Col, he wouldn’t throw in the towel.
