CHAPTER 36
Landon Lane
LOGAN WOKE UP AROUND FIVE a.m. He made sure I got up too.
We sat in the living area of the hotel room and watched cartoons. I didn’t want to move. Didn’t want to do anything else that day. I didn’t want to do anything more than sit on a couch and watch cartoons with my son. But I couldn’t, and sitting around feeling sorry for myself wouldn’t help make that simple wish a reality. Later that evening I’d be fighting for our lives. We needed to be on the road by eight. Three hours. I counted down the minutes in my head even though I tried not to.
Logan curled up next to me. I could feel the anxiety in his small body. It wasn’t obvious. It was the subtleties that added up. I went to use the bathroom and he wouldn’t take his eyes off me. He looked at me like it was the last time he might see me. He stayed next to my side everywhere I went. Scooted up right next to me on the couch and if I inched over he moved with me.
Joe got up next. He couldn’t believe we’d woken up before him. I didn’t know if that was a good sign or not.
Janet and Cora rolled out of bed at the last minute. We loaded all our stuff into the trunk. Everything had fit into two suitcases. The guys didn’t need much. Couple sets of clothes and that was it. It had seemed a bit more difficult for Janet and Cora.
It was a six-hour drive straight through. We ate breakfast in the car and stopped once for gas and restroom breaks. I pulled into the parking area of the MGM at a quarter after two. Five hours before the fights would start. Approximately eight hours before my fight with Sid, depending on how the undercard bouts went.
I tuned out from any form of media I could. I didn’t want to see what anyone was saying. Focus was the key. Focus on the fight. Focus on our plans. We had to succeed. Failure wasn’t an option.
Joe walked into the lobby alone to check us in and survey the situation.
He was the decoy. News vans circled the place. He was a big enough dickhead to push them away and not say anything. Pictures of Sid and me were everywhere, all the way into town. Fight of the century, they all said.
I grabbed our stuff and threw my hood up over my head. We followed a kitchen employee in through a workers’ entrance and walked through a large expanse and back to a hallway that led to the end of the lobby. Joe walked up through the casino and met us there. The elevators were around the corner.
We needed to get to the rooms so everyone could take a nap. We all needed to be rested. There was no way I could sleep, but I could lay around for a bit. I’d get up and walk around some too, keep the blood flowing, muscles loose. Maybe a light snack for me. Everyone else could eat whatever they wanted.
Joe handed me a key. “Adjoining suites. Fifth floor.”
I nodded.
We rounded the hotel bar and went back toward the elevators.
I gulped.
Edmon stood there with a shit-eating grin on his face. He was alone. I figured he’d probably been there for hours waiting for us.
People walked by. I kept my hood down over my face. Most of the people had on those awful Hawaiian tourist tee shirts or WMMA gear. Everyone looked in our direction. They had to have recognized Joe and then seen me with my hood on. Our size made it difficult to blend into the crowd.
A few kids ran up and I signed pictures they held out at me. No way would I ever say no to a kid.
I couldn’t sign the stuff fast enough and more of them were coming from every angle. It would turn into chaos quickly, as soon as people started walking away and telling other people we were down there. They all wanted Joe’s autograph too.
“Held up my end of the deal.” Edmon smiled again. “Didn’t bother you.”
“Not exactly.”
“What do you mean?” He pretended to look puzzled.
“You interfered with Cora’s job. You had that guy in town provoke me with his biker friends.”
He shook his head. “That wasn’t me. I’m too important to worry myself with trivial things. You should know this.”
I sketched a wave on a kid’s picture and told him thanks for coming to the fight. “Doesn’t matter.” I sighed. “Is there something you need?”
He kept staring down at Logan and then back at me. “Wanted to give you one last chance to back out. Go down on the first punch. You can come back to active duty with Joseph. We’ll make sure nothing happens to your family.” He leaned in and whispered the last part.
“Not gonna happen.” I replied without thinking it through. He was trying to throw off my focus. He’d never keep that promise. Wasn’t in his nature.
Edmon looked at Logan again. “I’ll make sure he’s in the best schools. Ivy League of everything. Just come back to the island. Back home.”
I paused for a second. Why would he do any of that? He was lying. Full of shit. I glanced around. Everyone stared at us. There was a guy in a suit at the bar staring hard. He looked away when I glanced over. I shrugged. Probably with Edmon. I was sure they had people everywhere, watching every move we made.
“That’s not freedom. It’s a slave’s sentence.” I looked at our group. “Let’s go.”
Edmon grabbed my arm when I shoved past him. “You’re not thinking clearly. You’re being irrational, Son.”
I glared at him. “Let go of my arm. I’m not your son. Hope your man is ready. We’re not kids anymore.”
Joe parted the crowd like the Red Sea and we walked through. I signed every autograph I could on the way there. I wanted to sign them all, but I needed to rest. After we stepped through the elevator door, but before it closed, I apologized to those I hadn’t gotten to and thanked them for coming to watch me fight.
We shot up in the elevators to the fifth floor and Joe stepped out first to locate the rooms and make sure the coast was clear. I heard a whistle and we all filed out and walked at a brisk pace to the suites.
Once inside, I took all the bags to the rooms. Everyone else plopped down on couches and beds and relaxed. The two rooms were adjoined and accessible by a door between them. It was like a giant apartment with two kitchens, two living rooms, and four bedrooms.
“Everyone get ready to nap. I have to go down and weigh in here in a little while.”
Joe and I sat in the living room. His eyes were somewhere else. They danced around the room and then back at me like the gears in his head were spinning. He hadn’t been this quiet in a while.
“Something on your mind?”
He looked away from me again, this time like he was staring beyond the walls. “You’re not focused. He’s in your head.”
“Look who’s worried now.”
“I’m being honest, not worried. He’s going to destroy you. This is all a mistake.”
I stood up. “What the hell? We worked our asses off for this, man. Planned it to a tee.”
He just shook his head. Wasn’t hearing anything I had to say.
Janet walked out of one of the rooms. “You two need to keep it down. Logan is trying to sleep.”
“Tell him.” I pointed at Joe. “He’s the one with the issue.”
“I’m not your damn babysitter.” Janet’s hands went to her hips. “And don’t give me this ‘he started it’ shit. Logan needs to rest and you’re keeping him awake.”
“Fuck this. I’m outta here.” Joe stormed toward the door.
“Where you going?” I glared at him in the doorway.
“Wherever the hell I want. Try to stop me.” He slammed the door shut on the way out.
“God. What’s his problem?” I stared at Janet.
She gave me one of those looks that let me know I was an idiot and oblivious. “Seriously?”
“What? What did I do?”
“Nothing, Landon. Jesus. The man cares about you. Cares about Logan, Cora, and even me. He’s still a human being.”
“Why’s he being a dick, then?”
“He’s afraid of losing us.”
“Well, I need to focus. I don’t have time to hold his fucking hand.” I glanced around the room and lowered my voice when I dropped the f bomb.
“He knows. That’s why he left.”
“You heard from Gus?”
“Nope. Not a peep.”
“You can go, you know? Go be with him. I know you and him haven’t had much time together lately. Cora can handle Logan if something happens.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not letting that boy out of my sight. And it has nothing to do with not trusting Cora. It’s because I love him like my own son. Like I love you. So don’t get it twisted.”
I nodded. “Okay. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”
She walked over and sat down beside me. “I know I give you a lot of shit. You deserve some of it. Not all. But everyone here knows you didn’t choose for any of this to happen, okay?”
“I know.”
“Do you?” She put a hand on my leg and stared into my eyes. “You have to stop blaming yourself.”
My jaw clenched, and I shook my head at the wall.
“Go in there and take a nap with your family. At least lay down with them. Hug them tight.”
I glared. “I can’t.”
“Why?”
“I have to focus. There’s no room for error.” I stood up. “Everyone else can have feelings right now. Even Joe. I can’t afford to.”