“Mr. Gibbs—Taylor, I’m so sorry.” Her voice trembles with emotion. “I didn’t mean—”
“Sorry? Are you kidding? This is publicity gold.” He laughs hard and slams a pointer finger to an identical picture on the table. “You can’t pay for this kind of attention. I’ve made sure these photos stay viral—”
“You did what?” My snarled question makes Layla jump.
“It’s good business. And it’ll get a hell of a showing for your fight.” He claps slowly, still grinning, and my palms itch to wrap around his neck.
“Is this legal? I mean, how can they print a picture of me without my permission?” The panic in her voice escalates with each word, along with my anger.
Gibbs drops back into a chair and props his feet up. “Public place. The moment you walked in, you gave us the right to photo ops.”
I swallow the roar that’s clogging my throat. “Get the lawyers on it. Take the pictures of Layla down. She’s got a teenage daughter. The pictures of me should be enough.” My teeth grind down hard.
“No way. Her blurred chest is the money shot.”
I clench my fists and glare at Gibbs. The pounding of my pulse hammers in my ears. “Taylor—”
A warm hand rests against my forearm. “Blake, it’s okay. I’ll talk to Axelle. She’ll understand.” Her caress glides down my arm, forcing me to loosen my hand. She interweaves her fingers with mine. “Relax. She’ll never see these. I mean, maybe high school kids don’t read gossip magazines.”
Gibbs muffles a chuckle. He’s thinking the same thing I am. That every high school boy out there would absolutely be interested in this kind of gossip. Fuck.
“This one’s my favorite.” Gibbs tosses a sheet of paper across his desk.
It’s from the national gossip website In the Loop. The picture is of me leaning away from the topless brunette, pulling my hand from hers. The headline reads, “‘The Snake’ Slithers Away From Pregnant Girlfriend”. And Gibbs says this is his favorite.
“No fucking way.” My nostrils flare, and I suck in deep breaths. “I’ve never seen that girl before.”
“Doesn’t matter. This shot makes you two look familiar.”
“This is so wrong. So, so wrong,” Layla mumbles from my side. “She gave these people an interview saying that she’s pregnant with your baby.” Her gaze swings up to me. “What kind of person would make up a story like that?”
“Desperate.” I spit the word through my locked jaw. Fucking bitch.
“This is great stuff. I don’t see what you’re both so worked up about. As soon as the fight’s over, these rumors will disappear. Until then, we’re about to sell out UFL 94.” He claps me on the shoulder, and I jerk away from his touch.
He doesn’t pick up on my hostility and strolls out of the room like a man who just found out he owns China.
Layla spins to me, her eyes wide.
I bring her in for a hug, not only to hold her close, but because I don’t want her to see the violence raging behind my eyes. “It’ll be cool. I’ll take care of this.” I’m a lying bastard, and I know it. I have no idea how to fix this. What I want to do is pound Taylor’s ass, but that doesn’t guarantee anything except that we both lose our jobs.
I pinch my eyes closed and push back the fury, trying to think. Think, dammit. Foggy visions of a bloody beating and the satisfaction of squeezing the breath from Gibbs’s piece-of-shit body flood my thoughts. I try to shake it off. My bones feel hot, searing my veins and fueling my irritation.
“Blake, you’re… I can’t breathe.”
“Shit.” I release my death grip. “Sorry.”
Fuck. I’ve got to get a handle on this. Exercise the acid from my thoughts so I can think clearly and figure this out.
“I’ll see you later. I’ve got to get back to training.” I pity the poor bastard that’ll be on the receiving end. “Tonight. We’ll figure this out tonight. I’ll, uh…” My head is a tumble of nonsense. “Your place.”
I kiss her forehead and leave the room before I start tossing chairs and ripping doors from their frames. Heading back to the octagon, I shove past a group of guys, not taking the time to identify them. I see my team in a huddle around the heavy bags.
My feet move me closer. They stop talking and face me.
Jonah steps between the boys and me. “What the fuck? You okay?”
“Need to spar.”
“Shit, Blake. You look like you’re gonna fuck someone up.”
I nod. He’s right.
His narrowed eyes move from my face to my fists. “Shit.”
“Step aside.”
“Shit.” He puts his hands on his hips. “Fine. Gear up and I’ll meet you in the octagon.”
“Not you. Rex. He doesn’t have a baby on the way.” I know what’s about to happen. I don’t want to hurt Jonah. Rex likes the pain.
“Fuck no. I owe you.” Our eyes meet in a non-verbal tell. He’s referring to the cabin.
I shake my head.