False Illusions (False #1) (21 page)

My mind briefly moves to Madison and how I wanted her to be here, but I doubt she would be since I haven’t answered any of her calls or texts. It’s been a Madison free two weeks. No one brought her up and I wasn’t left with my phone at night. What happened the day I came back from New York was a wake up call.

It’s time to be gangsta.

I hop off the table and jog in place to get warmed up. Marcus was the champ, for now.

Chris walks up to me with my gloves in his hand. “You ready for this shit, El?”

“I was born ready.” I smirk. “This is my time.”

“Hell yeah, it is.”

Chris laces up my gloves as Javi massages my shoulders and forearms. The tension doesn’t leave. I’m about to fight for the fucking title. Shit just got real, and it was not time to rethink shit now.

“Let’s go.”

The walk to the ring was a long awaited walk. The walk of my life. The walk of my dreams. Chris on my right, Javi on my left and Rico behind me. Only thing missing was Madison, but I couldn’t think about her. Thinking about her will get me knocked out.

I hear the announcer announce me. “Twelve time undefeated, weighed in at two-thirty is Yoel ‘El’ Gonzalezzzzzzzz.” The crowd screams as Mobb Deep’s Shook Ones starts playing. This song alone gets me hyped and I start two stepping to the ring, my head bobbing to the lyrics. Marcus is already in the ring glaring at me as I duck in the ring.

The best part is about to come out. Locking my eyes with Marcus I yell out.

“Ain’t no such thing of half crooks.”

His frown shows me the phrase is lost on him and that makes me smirk. The crowd goes wild with that. They know what’s up.

Chris takes my robe off and squirts water in my mouth before I meet Marcus in the middle of the ring.

The referee spouts out the rules that I have heard too many times. My eyes don’t leave Marcus. I know how he fights and he won’t catch me  slipping.

He grins as we touch gloves. “You ready to get your ass beat, Chump?”

“Like I beat your girls pussy last night?” I cock an eyebrow. “I was born ready, bitch.”

Fuck him.

The bell dings and Marcus is already trying to run circles around me.

This was his ‘tatic’, but it wasn’t going to work.

“Stop running like a bitch,” I shout at him. Marcus smirks and goes in to throw a jab, but I duck and land a punch on his right cheek making him stumble.

He recovers quickly taking his stance and throwing fake shots at me. Come on pretty boy I’ve watched too many tapes to be fooled.

“Is that why your girl left you, because you box like a bitch?” I taunt. His face turns red. Yeah get mad.

As much as I wanted to throw Madison in his face I don’t. She’s more than a taunt to me.

Marcus comes in swinging but I dodge them by side stepping him and throwing a quick hit combo to his face. Blood gushes from his nose and the bell dings making us go back to our respective corners.

“El, what the fuck are you saying to him?” Chris squirts water in my mouth and as Javi wipes my face with a towel.

I shrug. “Just fucking with him.”

“Keep it up, he’s getting tired. Guess that’s what happens when you get cocky and stay at the club all night,” Rico chimes in.

I move my head side to side getting the cricks out before hopping back up as Marcus makes his way back. The bleeding from his nose has stopped, but there was a new look in his eyes.

He didn’t like that I was handing his ass to him. Too bad he’s getting ready to lose that belt.

We touch gloves again before the bell goes off starting the second round.

This time Marcus isn’t trying to run circles, this time he’s trying to knock me out.

I duck one hit to get a punch to the right side of my head. Jumping back I regain my stance. He wants to end it this round? Game on.

I duck and side step the next three punches he throws at me. I’m usually known for being a right hand fighter but I’ve been working on my left hand lately.

Rule one: Never sleep on your opponent.

Marcus swings wide to his right, I duck as I switch my footwork bringing my right foot forward and bring my left arm into a uppercut hitting him right on his chin.

Marcus falls. He falls hard. The Ref runs up and starts counting down. I hold my breath until he yells.

“Out!”

The crowd is going crazy. Of course there are some boos, but I don’t give a fuck. I just knocked out Marcus.

Holy shit. I’m the new champ.

My team runs up to me shouting and waving their hands around.

“El, you fucking did it!” Chris is all smiles.

Javi is shaking his head, but grinning. “Really. You had to knock him out on the second round?”

I mock gasp. “He was trying to knock me out. It was survival, bro.” I laugh as the announcer walks up with the belt. That sexy ass gold belt. 

“Ladies and Gentlemen, win by a knock out. Your new Heavyweight Champion is Yoel ‘El’ Gonzalezzzzzzz.” He raised my right arm as Javi fastened the belt around my waist. This is real life.  Except the person I wanted to share it with isn’t here. My eyes swept the front rows of seats and I don’t see her. I see her parents standing up clapping. Her mom throws a wink my way. Odd. Chelsea is next to them. When I give her a questioning look she just frowns and shrugs. She’s not here.

Chris leads me out of the ring. “Time to change and face the press, Champ.”

Champ, that sounds really fucking good.

I’m the motherfucking Champ.

After a quick shower and changing I make my way down the hall to where the press was. The last thing I wanted to do was talk to reporters. My high was coming to an end, and the right side of my face started thumping. I’m sure I had a heartbeat growing there. Fucker got a good hit on me.

Chris was walking beside me with Javi and Rico.

“Can’t we just skip this. I honestly don’t feel like doing this.”

Chris laughs and slaps by back. “You know you have to do it. Besides, you’re going to want to be here. “

Well that was vague as hell.

I take a seat in the middle of the long table with my team flanking me. Chris was right next to me.

I answer almost every question thrown at me. There wasn’t much to say. I won by a knock out. They wanted to know my training secrets. Well if I gave them that they wouldn’t be secrets, now would they.

Javi holds his hand up after I shoot him a look. I was done with this shit. “One more question,” he says.

I’m glancing at my phone really quick when I hear Chris.

“Last question. You with the blonde hair, third row.”

There isn’t any text or call from Madison and I frown. I know I’ve been ignoring her but I was at least hoping for a good luck text, maybe congratulations on my win.

“I have a question.”

My head snaps up and right in front of me is the girl of my dreams. Her blonde hair is in loose curls, her face fresh of makeup. 

I try to hide my smile. “What’s your question, baby doll.”

Mirror- Justin Timberlake

It takes me a second to process what he just said. He called me baby doll. That’s a good sign, right? I can’t take my eyes off of him. Even though the right side of his face is swelling up, he still looks sexy. His hair's a mess, and his hard chest is covered by a grey hoodie.

Yoel arches an eyebrow and Carter nudges me. Oh right. Questions.

I go to read my note card.

“Do you do it for the money, or the glory?”  Generic I know, but I’m nervous.

His eyes narrow in thought. “Neither. I do if for the respect. The money is just a bonus.”

I nod understanding then tilt my head. “Is there someone special in your life?”

Chris smiles and nudges Yoel who hasn’t taken his eyes off me. His tongue sweeps over his bottom lip. The moments tick by and my heart begins to drop.

“There is someone,” he says slowly. “Her name is Madison.”

Yeah, my heart is swelling in my chest right now and I can’t hide the smile on my face.

Curious eyes flicker between Yoel and me, but my eyes never leave him. His never leave mine until a chair screeching back breaks our contact.

“Aren’t you Madison St. Cruix?” a report shouts. “How did you go from Marcus to the new champ?”

This is what I knew would happen. They are about to eat me alive. Soon they are all shouting questions my way. Carter is quick on his feet and pushing me out through the reporters. I don’t get a chance to look back at Yoel who I hear yelling.

Carter doesn’t stop pushing me out until we are outside and I have a chance to breathe.

“Out of all the questions we worked on you pick that one?” He shakes his head and hails a cab.

“That question told me everything I needed to know,” I try to explain as he pulls me into the back seat with him. “He still loves me, Carter.”

“Of course he does. Everyone in that room could see it. He said your name,” he tells me. “By the way, thanks for telling me you were
the
Madison St. Cruix. I knew you looked familiar. “

Before I can reply to him my phone vibrates in my hand. It’s a text from Yoel.

Yoel: Meet me at my room. Alone.

My stomach starts to knot up. “Change of plans. Please take me back to the MGM,” I tell the cab driver.

Carter’s eyebrows shoot up in question.

“He wants me to meet him at his room.” The cab driver pulls back up to the front of the hotel. I don’t see any reporters in sight. “I’ll text you.”

He nods. “Our flight is at noon tomorrow.”

I watch the cab drive off before turning and walking through the hotel doors. The man walking toward me makes me stop in my tracks. Marcus glares at me. His handsome face is black and blue. I have never seen him like this, but then again he never lost. Carter watched the fight while I hid in the restroom trying to talk myself out of my plan.

Marcus is standing in front of me now. He’s so close I can smell the Irish Spring on his skin.

“Is it true?” he grits out. I know what he’s asking and as bad as it looks I have to be honest.

I swallow hard and look him in the eyes. “Yes.”

His jaw ticks, “How long?” He grits out again.

Biting my lip I wince. “It started about four months ago.” I owed him that.

Marcus snorts with no humor. “Damn Madison. It could’ve been anyone else, but you had to go a fuck my opponent,” he says in a low voice.

I wait for the spew of hurtful words, for him to call me a slut. Anything. But he just shakes his head and walks around me through the glass doors. Like that Marcus walked out of my life for good.

Making my way to the elevators I keep looking over my shoulder. Marcus was way too calm about it.

Digging through my purse I pull out the room key I had been carrying around for the last two months. I couldn’t let it go, and now I’m glad I didn’t.

The ride up to the penthouse was nerve racking. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I walked in. A million different scenarios ran through my head. Now I’m over thinking things. Great.

The room is quiet when I close the door behind me. Yoel’s gym bag is laying by the couch and I wonder if he’s in the bedroom, but when I check he’s not there. He’s probably still dealing with the press. I’m now kicking myself for not watching. By the look of Marcus’s face I can tell it was one hell of a knock out.

Hours tick by and I’m starting to think he’s not coming back to the room. Now my mind is racing, wondering where he is. Is he with someone else? Is her name Madison too? I think back to his words.

Then why would he say meet him here stupid?

I remind myself that over thinking leads to all ruin. Still, where the hell was he?

Walking over to the large window I stare down at the lights beneath me. I had to admit I missed this city. Mostly this room, this room held many memories of laughter and passion.

Minutes later I turn my back on the window. He’s not coming. He changed his mind.