~*~

The moment Abel had gotten out of the elevator he’d been surrounded by what seemed like an even bigger entourage than yesterday. And he’d thought yesterday was ridiculous.

“What the hell’s all this?” he asked, looking around as they made a human shield around him.

“You stayed away from the hype, right?” Andy asked anxiously in the middle of the shield with him.

“Yeah,” Abel peered at him curiously. “I didn’t turn anything on or check the Internet at all.” Andy seemed more than relieved. Given the added security, as much as Abel hated to, he had to ask. “Why?”

Andy shook his head quickly. “Nothing. McKinley’s just been talking all kinds of shit about last night’s brawl. It’s nothing but crap you don’t need to be distracted by, and the media’s eating it up like vultures. They’re dying to get a comment from you. My phone has been ringing nonstop, but I haven’t given them shit.”

“Good,” Abel muttered, already irritated, and they walked slowly to the exit of his sheltered private corridor.

“You’ll hear Nellie’s name a lot. McKinley told them it was what set you off last night, so, of course, they’ve turned it into a soap opera. Ignore whatever you hear them yell out at you. You hear me?”

Andy looked at him very seriously, but there was more to it in his eyes. He seemed nervous. “Yeah, I hear you,” Abel responded cautiously, his insides already heating up.

The fact that Nellie’s world would be turned upside down now that her name was being dragged through this circus and that McKinley was to blame only made him more anxious to get in the ring and f**k him up.

The short distance between the corridor and the back VIP entrance to the stadium where he’d be fighting was absolute chaos. Cameras flashed and his name was called out by so many, all at the same time, that he’d barely made out what most were saying. But he did hear Nellie’s name more than once like Andy had warned him.

“You’re gonna have to send these guys back for Nellie. I don’t want her walking out of the hotel by herself.”

Andy nodded but said nothing more. As soon as he arrived at his training room, Abel felt the vibe. He saw Noah, Gio, and Hector exchange strange glances with Andy before addressing Abel. He thought maybe they were just all as nervous as he was beginning to feel. Aside from Felix whose welterweight title fights were just as big, this was the biggest most highly promoted boxing match that any of these guys had been so closely involved with.

“How you feeling?” Noah asked as Abel began to shed his clothes.

“Rested,” Abel responded simply.

“Good,” Noah said. “It’ll help you focus and that’s key. Stay focused. After last night’s exchange with McKinley, I don’t want you stepping into that ring with a different plan. Slow and steady. Don’t let anger make you sloppy. It’s probably what he’s hoping you’ll do.”

Abel nodded as Gio began to wrap his hands. “That Marc guy your Mom loves so much,” Gio smiled, “will be doing the national anthem.”

Smiling, Abel wondered how much of the fight his mom would actually watch. When he spoke with her earlier, he let her know that he probably wouldn’t get a chance to call her again until after the fight—one he assured her he’d be winning because he had every intention of beating the shit out of that obnoxious prick.

He took a deep breath, remembering Noah’s instructions. Don’t let anger make you sloppy. He wouldn’t.

They started the warm up with Gio reminding him every now and again to do his jaw stretches. Halfway into it, he glanced at the clock on the wall. Nellie would be there soon.

“Hector,” he motioned with his head to his phone on one of the counters. “Check my phone. Nellie should be here any minute. I wanna make sure she didn’t have any trouble getting in.”

All at once, he saw Hector and the other guys exchange strange glances. Something else he’d noticed since he’d arrived was how quiet Andy had been. Hector walked over to his phone without saying a word.

Tapping Abel’s phone a few times, Hector shook his head then turned back to him. “Nothing from her.”

Abel turned back to Gio and focused his concentration on his pad drills. Gio held the pads out moving faster, then slower as Abel began to break a sweat. “Don’t overdo it,” Gio warned. “We’re just trying to warm up. This isn’t a workout.”

Abel nodded and continued. They did the drills for a few more minutes. Abel knew the day of the fight would be a bit nerve wracking for everyone, but the tension in the room was way more suffocating than he’d expected. Still he continued focusing closely on the jabs that Gio threw at him and blocking them.

“. . . f**king kidding me with this, right?” Abel paused, turning to Hector’s infuriated voice.

Whatever one of the security guys had been doing on his phone was enough to have Hector in his face now, speaking through his teeth.

“Let’s go, champ,” Gio said, holding the pads up again.

Holding his own glove up, he motioned for Gio to give him a second while he watched as Hector pointed at the other guys around the security guy. He appeared to be warning them about their phones because they all put theirs away as well. “Get that the f**k outta here too,” he ordered, pointing at the monitor they’d brought in yesterday to study McKinley’s techniques.

When his brother noticed him watching him, he turned back and gave the guys a final warning look before walking toward him.