Chapter Thirty-Eight
Shane
I was going to die, I was sure of it. My heart and lungs were trying to escape my chest, and black dots danced across my vision. The words “bring it on” would never pass my lips again. As for the real reason I was doing cardio drills from hell…I glanced at Brooklyn, who sat behind her desk, her attention on me and a worried look on her face.
She and I were officially out, and if this was what it took to keep on being with her, so be it. I’d held back while she and Finn had hashed out their shit on Saturday afternoon, but once the tension had cleared a bit, I hit my limit on being a spectator to discussions that involved me. “Do you guys need my input? You know, as the guy who’ll be in the cage?”
Brooklyn had placed a finger to my lips. “You just stand there and look pretty. I’ll let you know when it’s time for the punching and running.”
I’d slanted her a look. “How will I know when to grunt?”
“I’ll give you a sign.”
I’d pinched her side, earning a squeal that’d sent happiness through me. She thought we could pull off a relationship, and that made me want to give it my all. Meanwhile, Finn’s expression had made it clear he’d like to rip my hands off for putting them on his sister, but that’d been too damn bad, because I’d been in no hurry to let go.
Since I’d been trying to keep the goodwill going, I’d wiped the grin from my face and talked to him fighter-to-fighter. “My training’s on track, I don’t have many more pounds to drop, and no one understands how much is on the line more than I do. I know what it’s like to win, and I know what it’s like to lose, and I’m not planning on going the losing route again. I’ll take on any training you throw at me.”
Brooklyn had piped up, clearly wanting to jump in and add a few conditions. But after a quick glance from me to her brother, she mimed zipping her lips.
Finn had sighed and then a smile best described as sadistic spread across his face. “When it comes to training, I’m not the one you need to worry about.”
Now sweat dripped in my eyes as a testament to that statement, my legs seconds away from giving out on me. I’d started with Tabata blitz sprints on the treadmill, moved to Man Makers with forty-five-pound dumbbells for five minutes, and we were reaching minute seven of burpees with push-ups, which was when we usually stopped, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Liam pushed to eight or nine.
Without the ability to move my arms and legs, Brooklyn and I might have to get creative later tonight. I’d keep that to myself, though, as I doubted her brother would appreciate my ability to improvise if needed.
“Water break and a five, and then you’ll spar with Finn, and I want your focus to be on ground-and-pound,” Liam said. “Croc’s going to do everything to take you to the mat, and while it’d be better to keep him standing as long as possible, I want you to be ready to grapple at his level—at least as close as we can get you between all your extracurricular activities.”
I let that go.
As much as I wanted to swing by Brooklyn’s desk and say hello during the few minutes I had, I knew better. This morning she and I had called a “team meeting,” and with Finn looking on, we’d told Liam and Blake that she and I were dating.
Brooklyn pointed out she was an adult, fully capable of making her own decisions; I promised that I was committed as ever to Team Domination and would do all the training they threw my way to get ready for my upcoming fight; and the Roth men swore a lot and tried to talk us out of our relationship, while I tried not to take it personally. In their shoes, I wouldn’t want me dating their daughter or sister, either.
My mind replayed that moment Blake had stared at me with so much ferocity I’d physically forced myself not to budge and asked, “And what happens if things go bad? If Brooklyn breaks up with you?”
As hard as it’d been to hold my ground with him looking at me like he was calculating how many ways he could end me, that’d been the thing that hit me the hardest. The thought of Brooklyn breaking up with me. The way he’d made it sound like an inevitability.
“Are you gonna decide you can’t be around her, around us? You gonna throw a tantrum and go running to another team because you can’t handle not getting your way?”
“Dad,” Brooklyn said. “Jeez, if you want to point that anger somewhere, shoot it my way. I deserve it, right?”
Pieces started to fall into place. Remarks they’d made; the way Finn had asked about learning her lesson; and Brooklyn’s reluctance and constant assertions this would be a disaster. It made sense her and Conrad’s breakup would cause some friction, and obviously they heaped a great deal of the blame on her instead of the crybaby asshole. All this time I thought they’d kicked him off because he’d hurt her. I hated that they would even want him on the team after he’d treated her so shitty. But I was looking at it from a different perspective, instead of factoring in how much money the guy would’ve made them, something I knew made a huge difference in this world.
I got the message loud and clear. Win that fight, make us money, and if Brooklyn leaves you, we don’t want to hear a single complaint about it.
“I’ll stay no matter what happens between us,” I promised. They’d taken a risk on me, and I didn’t mind giving them loyalty they probably wouldn’t return if I didn’t win some fights, and soon. “And any type of training you’ve got to get me where I need to be? Bring it on.”
“I think we better get that first part in writing,” Blake said.
I returned his stare. “I’ll sign it right now.”
“Yeah, I’m super happy, Dad. Shane treats me really well, too. Thanks for asking.” Brooklyn had turned to Finn, then. “I kept my promise. So glad our relationship’s out there for everyone to crap on, and that you guys are getting to it as soon as possible. Now I better go get my work done so I can keep on being useful to the team.”
I’d wanted to go after her, but Liam had strode past and ordered me to follow. Now here we were, one training session from hell later and miles to go before I was through.
Brooklyn had put herself on the line for me today, and I figured since I was already in hell, I might as well settle in and enjoy the heat. So on my way back to the cage, I stopped by her desk. “You okay, bruiser?”
“I’m fine. What about you? You’re the one who’s getting the worse end of the deal with all the physical torture. Not that I haven’t enjoyed watching some of it, if I’m being totally honest.” The appreciative sound she made as she ran her gaze over me made the horrific workouts worth it.
“Let’s just get one thing cleared up right now.” I folded my forearms on the top of the half wall encasing her desk and locked eyes with her. “When it comes to me and you, I’m getting the deal.”
She cracked a smile, her brother called out that I had ten seconds left in my break, and as I slowly backed away, she blew me a kiss.
I spun on my heel and headed toward the cage. In five more seconds, I’d turn my thoughts to every submission and takedown maneuver I knew and how I was going to use them on Conrad Rochenski. Until then, I was going to enjoy the fact that everyone now knew Brooklyn was mine.
She made me want to be a better person, and while I knew I was a long way from deserving her, I was going to give my all to change that.
Starting with winning the fight that I was going to turn every ounce of my focus on in three, two, one…