Chapter 20

“Snap the f**k out of it, Ayala, or you’re gonna lose this shit!” Noah barked from the sidelines as Abel got back on his feet. “You’re better than this. Damn it!”

Staring at McKinley, Abel shook his head, desperately trying to clear it, and worked on his footwork until he got his rhythm back. Focus, God damn it! Being dropped for the first time in his career really snapped Abel out of it, and he was almost grateful because he hadn’t been thinking straight at all. He was close to losing the fight of his life against this guy—the guy he wanted nothing more than to bury. But he had to be smart because Noah was right: McKinley didn’t have a thing on him.

With steady, well-thought-out jabs, he finally landed a couple of good ones. For the first time since he’d left Nellie’s side, he actually smirked. The fear he saw in McKinley’s eyes suddenly was all it took. No wonder they’d gone to such lengths to get in his head. It was all they could count on.

“Do it again!” McKinley’s brother was yelling from the sidelines, sounding a bit too frantic now. “Finish him!”

Nellie had gone out with Sam weeks ago, and they waited to release the photos until the day of the fight? It all made sense now. Their dirty work had almost paid off, but McKinley finishing Abel? Not happening.

Slowly and steadily, Abel worked in a few more jabs, rattling McKinley and his stupid brother, who for once had gone quiet. The bell rang, and they each went back to their corners.

“All right,” Noah said, pulling out Abel’s mouth piece and spraying some water in his mouth. “So that’s what it took to knock some sense into you? Fine, I’ll take it. Just don’t let it happen again, and keep up what you’re doing now. It’s just a matter of time, Abel.”

“Any word on Nellie?”

Noah frowned, shaking his head. “Maybe, I don’t know. I haven’t had a chance to ask anyone, and I haven’t seen Andy.”

Abel looked over at McKinley’s corner. His brother wasn’t smiling so smugly anymore. The guy had witnessed the power behind Abel’s punch firsthand. Yeah. Be worried, you little pu**y, because it’s coming.

The bell rang and both fighters were on their feet again. Slow and steady. Just like he’d always fought and won. This time it was McKinley who was swinging and missing the sloppy jabs. Abel easily dodged them, landing a few in between.

McKinley was slowing down—getting tired. Abel was biding his time. Patiently, he waited as McKinley began to wear himself out. Then Abel let him have it with a couple of combinations back to back. The crowd went wild, adding to the adrenaline already pumping through Abel, and then he saw his moment. Abel wailed on him like he’d wanted to all night, landing punch after punch until the perfect one knocked McKinley’s lights out. He fell back, both gloves in the air. His eyes rolled back and it was over.

The place got so loud that he couldn’t even hear the ref counting down, but McKinley was out. There was no doubt about it. Within seconds, Abel was surrounded by the guys, and two of his bigger security guys picked him up. The entire place was going crazy as Abel was handed the belt. He lifted it over his head, overwhelmed with emotion.

It was a bittersweet moment for Abel. As much as he wanted to revel in it, thoughts of Nellie inundated him. Luckily, with Felix doing the ringside commentary on the fight for HBO and doing the in-ring after-fight interview, Abel had made sure to tell him to keep it short.

Halfway through the interview, Abel noticed that Andy was back, so the moment he was done with the interview, he went straight to him. “Did you find her?”

“Yeah, but I got there just in time to see her jump in a cab,” Andy shook his head. “I tried calling her, but it went straight to her voicemail. My guess is she’s probably hiding out somewhere from the paparazzi. If they got a hold of her number, and you know how easy that can be, she probably turned it off.”

Abel frowned. His only consolation now for the shit McKinley was putting Nellie through was the image of him going down the way he did. For a minute there it looked as if he may have had to be taken out of the ring on a stretcher.

The first thing he checked was his phone when he got back to the locker room, and his heart flipped when he saw a text from her. He clicked on it, instantly hoping she’d tell him where she was and that she wasn’t too upset.

I love you, and I’m so sorry about all of this. You have to believe me when I say I had no idea. I really didn’t. Call me as soon as you can!

Checking the time on the text, he knew that she’d sent it just before the fight started. He hit speed dial immediately, feeling even more irritated with f**king McKinley. Of course, he hadn’t questioned it even for a second. But Andy had been right about one thing. His call had gone directly to voicemail, which meant her phone was either dead or she’d turned it off. His money was on the latter, so he left a message, hoping she was checking them periodically.

“Baby, don’t worry about all that shit they’re saying. You don’t need to hide if that’s what you’re doing, not from me anyway. I don’t care about any of it, and I promise you that I didn’t believe it. Not even for a moment when I saw the story did I think you knew who he was. Call me as soon as possible. I’ll come get you wherever you are.”

The celebration in the locker room went on a bit longer than Abel wanted it to. He was itching to get back to the suite to look for any clues. Maybe she’d left a note or something that might hint to where she’d be.