Now Aiden paced in the dressing room at the arena, taped and ready, waiting to be called out for the fight. Xander sat in the corner spinning a role of tape on his finger and bouncing his leg up and down at nerve-racking speeds.
Time was moving so slowly it might as well be going backward. When the door opened, he expected it to be someone to lead him out to the arena for the fight. Instead, he stared into the steel-gray eyes of the man he’d fantasized about killing a dozen different ways.
“What the fuck do you want, Sicoli?”
Dressed down in a pair of suit pants and a polo shirt, he still managed to look like a million bucks. He tsked in faux disappointment as he slid his hands into his pockets. “Such hostility, O’Brien. I’d think you’d be in a better mood considering this entire mess will be over within the hour.”
“That’s what you get for thinking,” Aiden said as he pushed each of his fists into the other palm to crack his knuckles.
Sicoli smiled, not fazed in the least by the snide remark. “I suppose you’re right. I just came by to tell you good luck.”
“Where’s Kat?” he demanded.
“Sully is watching her for now. You worry about your performance and I’ll worry about the girl.” He turned and opened the door, but before walking through it, he paused. “Oh, one more thing. There’s been a change on tonight’s card. Seems your original opponent broke his leg and couldn’t compete.”
No doubt he lost a fight with a crowbar. Aiden crossed his arms over his chest. “Is that so. And who have they found to replace him?”
“As luck would have it, Vinnie happens to be a trained MMA fighter. But don’t worry, he probably isn’t all that good, since he never made it to the professional circuit like you.” Sicoli grinned from ear to ear. “Then again, that doesn’t really matter, since we all know how the fight will end. Right, O’Brien?”
Aiden clenched his teeth and his muscles clamped down around his bones. The animal inside howled his desire to attack, to shred the man from limb to limb. Sicoli was strong, but he was a street fighter, nothing more. Aiden could have him in a rear naked choke in seconds, then squeeze like an anaconda until his windpipe crushed under the pressure.
But he had to keep his inner beast caged. Going vigilante wouldn’t do anything but stick him with a murder rap. He refused to give in to his temper and let the bastard win. The last time he lost his shit, Janey ended up losing her life. This time, he’d let Joey do things by the book.
“Right, Sicoli.”
“Then I’ll see you after the fight.” And with that, the crime boss left the room with a too-satisfied smile.
Xan clapped a hand on his shoulder to get his attention, then helped Aiden into his gloves. “Don’t let him get to you, mate. We’ve got the upper hand. You’ll have Kat back before you know it and that wanker will be behind bars.”
He shoved his mouth guard in and said, “Let’s do this.”
During the entire walk down the hall and into the arena full of cheering fans, all Aiden thought about was getting Kat back. He searched the crowd as he made his way down the aisle, but with everyone jumping up and down, it was impossible to see anyone in particular.
As soon as the ref finished rubbing Vaseline on him and cleared him for fighting, he ran into the ring and immediately turned his attention to the audience. Scanning the sea of people, he found Sicoli sitting in the front row on the opposite side of the cage, where Vinnie would be cornered. But Kat wasn’t with him.
Sicoli grinned like a fucking fox. He knew Aiden wanted to see her. The bastard enjoyed keeping him on the edge, holding her safety over his head. Rage boiled in his blood and hatred fueled his adrenaline pumping through his body. Holding eye contact with Sicoli, he started to bounce from side to side and shake his arms out, trying to stay loose for the coming battle.
Vinnie was announced as the replacement fighter, which most everyone booed. Being an underground tournament meant that things didn’t always happen by the book, but apparently bringing in a totally new fighter instead of bringing up one of the others from earlier rounds wasn’t appreciated.
Unfortunately, that all worked to Sicoli’s advantage. The more people who bet on Aiden to win, the more money he’d make when Aiden actually lost.
As Vinnie entered the cage, Aiden had to hold himself back from launching into a ground-and-pound on the bastard’s face. All he could think about was the way he’d touched Kat in the hotel room and what he might have had the opportunity to do to her all week long.