That sly motherfucker.
He might not have been expecting my hits to be that hard, but he sure is milking it for everything he can—such as garnering plenty of personal attention from the pretty blonde therapist. Anger and possessiveness surge, boiling my blood until it’s pumping hot lava through my veins.
One of the trainers helps Wolfe to his feet. It was a simple punch kick combo, for fuck’s sake! He’s acting like I collapsed one of his lungs! Wolfe and Britt cross to her office and the door shuts behind them. Watching him touching her nearly drives me to grab his hair and punch him in his stupid face. That’s when I discover my fingernails are digging into my palms hard enough to draw blood and my jaw is so tight the muscles are beginning to ache.
Fuck! I don’t give a shit what Wolfe does with Britt. It’s none of my business. Pissed off for letting it get to me, I throw all of my stuff into my bag and head for the door. I’m angry at Wolfe and his scheming bullshit. I’m angry at Britt for falling for his act. But most of all, I’m furious with myself because I handed Britt to Wolfe on a silver fucking platter.
I shouldn’t care, but goddamn it, I do.
* * *
Gabriel stares at me from behind his desk, his dark eyes steady. It makes me nervous, how he can look right at me and not turn away or freak out like everyone else. The man has to see the monster inside. He’s not stupid or naive.
“You’re almost ready for your first fight, Killer. Are you going to be able to handle this?” I scowl, and my face must answer his question. Gabriel laughs. “I know you can handle the fighting, meu filho. It’s everything else that goes with it I worry about with you.”
I sit back in my chair. “Like what?”
“You can’t go into the ring, fight, and be done. There are interviews, parties, fan meet and greets, all kinds of social activities you will be expected to take part in.” I cross my arms over my chest and let my hood fall over my eyes. “You can keep up the silent, brooding act if you like.” I glance up, about to interrupt when Gabriel holds up a hand. “But, you will take part in league events. It’s in the contract.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah, shit,” he replies, laughing. “You can do it, Killer. I see past this cold fa?ade you display for everyone.” He waves his hand in my direction. “There’s a good guy in there somewhere. You just need to give him a chance.”
I narrow my eyes at Gabriel. “I’m a lot of things, Gabriel, but one thing I’m not, is a good guy.”
He folds his hands on top of his desk and shrugs. “You say that, but I don’t believe it.”
Familiar defensiveness and hostility flare up in my chest, sizzling, burning until they work their way into every cell in my body. Rage and self-loathing swirl inside, churning and clawing their way out, begging to be released in a flurry of violence. Seething, I hold back the urges, speaking through clenched teeth.
“It doesn’t matter what you believe. I know what I am.”
“Oh, but it does. It very much matters. I wouldn’t train you if I didn’t believe in you. This would be a waste of my time, no?” Before I can respond to his bullshit psychobabble, he continues. “Britt is waiting for you in her office. She wants to talk to you about one of your takedowns.” The dismissal isn’t harsh, but it’s clear.
Tense and ready to snap, I jump to my feet, eager to get out of the cramped space. “Fine.”
Without sparing him a final look, I storm out of Gabriel’s office and make my way to Britt’s treatment room. Her back is to me when I enter the room and drop into my usual seat.
As quiet as I am most of the time, today I’m thoroughly irritated and therefore pretty loud when I stomp in and take a seat. Oddly, Britt doesn’t seem to hear me at all. I clear my throat so I won’t startle her like that asshole Max loves to do.
Britt glances my way and smiles, her eyes lighting up at the sight of me. What the fuck? Why is it the only two people in the world who treat me like I’m human both work here, in the very city where my humanity was stripped away? It pisses me off that they don’t get it. Mostly because being treated kindly makes the guilt even worse, gnawing at what little is left of my hollow insides. I can’t allow her to see me as human when I’m not.
“K, you’re early,” she chirps, just as happy and normal as could be.
I grunt out a response. “Yeah.”
As usual, she pretends I’m polite instead of a massive dick.
“Okay, give me a minute to boot up my laptop. I want to show you something quick, then we can move out to the cage.”