“Where are we going?” The driver asked as soon as his jaw was no longer hanging open.

“Somewhere far—out of this city,” she managed to say between wheezing breaths.

“I go as far as the state line to the Primm and Buffalo Bills—”

“No,” she shook her head quickly. “I don’t wanna go near any casinos.”

The driver frowned before offering something else. “I can take you to a small hotel in Henderson. That’s about a half hour away. But I’m a Vegas cabby, lady. I can’t go further than that.”

Nodding, she agreed quickly, laying her head back on the seat as she breathed in deeply, the tears once again flowing.

~*~

As the Hispanic singer Abel’s mom loved so much finished singing the U.S. National Anthem, Abel paced around the back corridor that led into the giant stadium. According to Hector, it was a full house. He’d also mentioned some of the celebrities sitting near the girls. “Bianca said Stallone and Schwarzenegger are sitting right behind them,” Gio said, smiling. “And she heard them saying they both have their money on you.”

Without responding, Abel did more of his jaw stretching as he continued to pace, jumping in place every few steps. He turned to Noah, who was doing something on his phone. “Has Roni heard from Nellie?”

Noah frowned, shaking his head. “She thinks maybe Nellie is embarrassed and waiting to talk to you before she speaks with anyone else about this. She says she’s certain Nellie didn’t know—”

“Of course she didn’t know,” Abel snapped. “There’s no way she knew. Those bastards set her up.”

“Well, let it go, then,” Noah said firmly. “As long as you both know the truth, don’t worry about any of this until after the fight.”

Abel glanced around the rest of his entourage, clenching his jaw now instead of stretching it like he should be. Where the f**k was Andy? His intro music started, and Noah lifted the hood of Abel’s satin robe over his head. “Show time.”

They all started moving with Abel in the front, behind only the guy holding the camera in front of him and the guy guiding the cameraman from behind as he walked backwards. The two security guards at either side of him just a few steps in front of him were there to keep the crowd at a distance. The crowd was already going wild, and he hadn’t even come into view. The second he came into view, they got even louder.

Abel did what he always did as he made his way into the ring. He jabbed his arms every now and again to keep his arms warm. Concentrating on the song the mariachis in the ring were singing, he closed his eyes momentarily at some of the lyrics.

Traigo la sangre caliente. No me la puedo apagar.

Little did his mom know, when she chose his entrance song, how right on the money she was. To say his blood was so hot he couldn’t cool it down was putting it lightly. Every step he took closer to the ring where he’d get to pummel McKinley, he could literally feel the slow boil in his blood beginning to bubble.

By the time he was in the ring, the crowd was out of control. McKinley was the loathsome loudmouth boxer everyone loved to hate, so it didn’t surprise Abel that the entire place seemed to be cheering for him to take Hammerhead down. He had to concentrate on that—winning. At the moment he was doing the exact thing the guys had warned him not to do—raging. All he could think of was ripping McKinley’s head off.

His music came to an end, and he nodded at the mariachi band members in appreciation. They all smiled at him proudly, but a smile was something he couldn’t bring himself to even force, not with the empty seat next to Roni where Nellie was supposed to be sitting. Taking a deep breath, he lifted his glove up to the crowd chanting his last name.

It was perfectly fitting that McKinley’s entrance music was some obnoxious rap song with the F-bomb dropped in every other lyric. The crowd once again went crazy; only this time there was also a lot of booing. Abel continued to stretch his jaw, jumping in a place a few times and jabbing his arms in the air.

Watching McKinley and his brother enter the ring was almost more than Abel could bear. He clenched his jaw as he turned in their direction. Sam was noticeably absent, but his other brother, the one sporting a swollen cheek, smiled at him smugly. Swallowing hard, Abel glanced away before he got the urge to charge at him and drop him again like he had the night before.

The announcer finished with all the formalities of crediting the promoters and introducing the ringside judges. He announced the fighters, and once again the crowd went wild when Abel “Aweless” Ayala was introduced. After last night, he wasn’t so sure the name was appropriate anymore.

Nathanial “Hammerhead” McKinley was introduced, and the cheers turned into a mixture of cheers and boos. Abel continued to jab in place until the ref brought them both to the center of the ring and explained the rules. Gio placed Abel’s mouthpiece in as the ref spoke, and after tapping gloves with McKinley, who he’d stared down the entire time, they were both excused back to their corners.

“You got this,” Noah said as he helped Abel out of his robe. “Just stick to what we’ve been working on all this time. Clear your mind of everything else.”

Abel turned to see the empty seat next to Roni again and bit down on his mouthpiece. Noah tapped his chin as Gio spread petroleum jelly on his upper face. “Are you listening to me? Don’t worry about that now, man. There’s nothing you can do about any of that until this is over. Don’t blow this, Abel.”