Chapter 23

twenty-three

. . .

Romeo

“This is so nice of you,”Demi said, as we munched on breakfast on the plane with Lincoln and Brinkley.

“I’ve been looking forward to meeting you, and this will give us a few hours together,” Brinkley said. My sister-in-law was an amazing woman. She’d played a huge role in Lincoln and me building the strong relationship that we had now. If it had been up to the two of us, we’d probably have been too stubborn to give it a chance.

“Yeah, me, too. Romeo talks about you guys all the time,” my girlfriend said as she smiled up at both of them.

“Easy now. I don’t talk about them all the time.” I rolled my eyes, and everyone chuckled.

We spent the next few hours talking about the fight and all the shit that had been going down.

“Man, I’ve got to give it to you, Romeo. You’ve sure managed to piss off some powerful people.” Lincoln shook his head as he sipped his mimosa because he was a bougie fucker who happened to be in the off-season at the moment.

Demi pulled out a protein shake from her little carry-on cooler and handed it to me, which earned her even more laughs. “Drink up, Champ. You had a hard run this morning.”

“Yeah, you keep laughing, brother, while you drink your bubbly and enjoy the moment.”

“I plan on it. So, how is he handling the pressure? I know the training is going well. But the bullshit with the senator’s grandson and now Leo taunting both of you. It’s a bit relentless, yeah?”

“Hey, why are you acting like I’m not sitting right next to her?”

“Because I want to hear it from her. You keep telling me you’re fine, and I need to know if it’s true. You spend all your free time with Demi, so I think she would know.”

I shook my head and drank my shake and huffed beside her. Everyone was so fucking worried about how I was handling the heckling. I grew up with a father who was an addict and went to prison. I had thick skin. I’d spent months in a juvenile detention center, surviving things most kids couldn’t begin to fathom.

My concern was my girl.

Her getting overwhelmed by it.

I could handle anything. But I hated that I’d dragged her into my shit.

Her hand found mine, and she intertwined our fingers. “He’s handling it all really well. I don’t think it’s pleasant by any stretch of the word, but he shakes it off. He’s been working incredibly hard, and it’s inspiring to see someone push themselves, day in and day out, to the brink.”

“It must run in the family,” Lincoln said as he waggled his brows at me, and I flashed him the bird.

“I’m impressed, Romeo. You’ve stepped up to the challenge. And what Leo is doing says a lot more about him than it does about you. You’re training while he’s doing a lot of talking.”

“I don’t think Leo is too worried about this fight. The truth is, the dude is a badass, and he knows it. So, he spends a lot of time getting into his opponent’s head. It’s a strategy. One that probably works often.”

“Is it working this time?” Lincoln asked.

“I don’t like him talking about Demi,” I said. That was really all there was to say. The other shit was just water under the bridge. He wasn’t saying anything I hadn’t heard before.

My girlfriend turned to look at me, her gaze wet with emotion. “Well, I don’t like him talking about you, so we’re even.”

“Damn. You two are so freaking cute. I can barely stand it,” Brinkley said, fanning her face. “So, Romeo told us a little bit about the stuff that happened with your father, and I’m sorry that you’re going through that. And obviously, all that happened with Ronny Waterstone sounds like it was pretty scary, as well. Trust me when I tell you, I can spot a slimeball a mile away. And that guy is a slimeball.”

“She’s not kidding. She’s got a gift for reading people.”

“That’s right, Captain. I read you like a freaking book, didn’t I?” Her voice was all tease as she leaned against my brother, who wrapped an arm around her.

Demi watched them with a wide grin on her face. “You guys are pretty freaking cute yourselves. And the stuff that happened with my family was hard on Romeo and River. No one else. It’s probably hard to fathom right now, but my father is not all bad. There’s a decent man beneath all of this, so I think that’s what hurts the most. There is goodness there, but it’s clouded over right now by these awful things that he’s done. And his lack of remorse is what gets me most.”

My chest squeezed at her words. She hadn’t told me much about her meeting with her father, just that it hadn’t gone well. I assumed that meant he had a problem with me, and she wasn’t going to be okay with that.

That didn’t sit well with me. I loved Demi, and I knew her family meant a lot to her. I worried this would be something that would eventually come between us at some point, but I was trying to keep my mouth shut. The truth had come out, and she had to process it and move forward however she wanted to. I didn’t need to make amends with her father or her brother, but I didn’t know if she would need that from me when push came to shove.

If all of us being one big, happy family was the end goal for her, I didn’t want to be the one to break it to her that it wouldn’t be happening.

At least, I didn’t see a way that we would ever get there.

I cleared my throat. “Our father, the man Lincoln never knew, made a lot of mistakes. I’ve shared that with all of you. But there was a good man beneath all of that. He had a big heart. He loved his family. He just didn’t always feel worthy of love, so he punished himself over and over. Numbed himself and then struggled to escape that.” I glanced out the window; white clouds swirling in blue skies surrounded us. “But I understand what you’re saying. Our last few years together were good. He supported my boxing career, and he adored Tia. He deeply regretted what he did to Linc. So… just try to remember the good things your dad has done, you know? It helps when you allow yourself to remember that there is good with the bad.”

Brinkley tilted her head to the side and smiled at me. Lincoln had been staring out the window and looked over at me and nodded. And Demi, she thought it over, and then her lips turned up in the corners.

“He did have his attorney threaten to sue Ronny, so let’s focus on that.”

My brother and Brinkley both laughed, but I didn’t. A lot of the shit happening to Demi right now was because of me. Ronny’s story wouldn’t be getting all this attention if Leo hadn’t jumped on board. Hell, I was the reason everything with Ronny had even gone public.

I’d pulled this girl into all my shit, and it was a heavy weight to bear.

“I hope he serves him up a big plate of shut the fuck up.” Brinkley clinked her glass with Lincoln’s, and that had all of us laughing now.

“Me, too. And thanks for getting us there to see my brother so quickly.”

“Not a problem at all. The plane will be at the hangar not too far from your hotel tomorrow morning. I know you both have to get back for work and his training,” Lincoln said, his gaze landing on me. “You’re going to work out at the hotel while she’s with her brother at the rehab?”

“No. I’m going to sit outside of that place until she comes out and I know she’s okay. And then we’ll go to the hotel, and I’ll do my afternoon workout because Joey is pissed that I’m not going to be there for one goddamn afternoon. He sent me the workout from hell to make up for it. It’ll take me a few hours, but I’ll get it done.”

“You don’t have to wait there for me,” Demi said, her brows pinched together. “I can meet you back at the hotel.”

“Not happening. Not with Leo talking about you to everyone who will listen, and Ronny out there wanting revenge on both of us. For all we know, he talks to Slade and knows you’re coming. It’s not a chance I’m willing to take.”

“Is that why you came with me? You were worried?”

“It’s not the only reason, but it is one of the reasons.” I leaned over and kissed the top of her head. “But the main reason is that I love you, and I want to keep you close.”

“I wouldn’t have guessed you for a clingy little fucker,” Lincoln said as he barked out a laugh.

“Whatever. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, from what I can see.” I raised a brow at his sappy ass.

We spent the rest of the flight talking and laughing, and I could tell that they adored Demi, which I knew they would. She’d be meeting Tia this weekend, and my little sister couldn’t wait to come home and hang out with my girlfriend.

When we arrived in Boston, we said our goodbyes. Demi and Brinkley had exchanged numbers and were fast friends.

“I’ll see you next week,” Lincoln said, leaning close so only I could hear him. “Proud of you, brother. Just keep doing what you’re doing, and you’re going to be just fine.”

I hoped like hell that he was right. My goal was to leave Vegas in one piece, still breathing. I knew I could take a beating; I’d proven it over the last few months. But I’d never been in a ring with someone like Leo Burns. So, I would just keep pushing harder. Every last bit of work I could squeeze in, I would do.

When we arrived at the rehab center, I kissed Demi hard and told her I’d be waiting for her outside. I spent the next hour and a half doing wind sprints out in the grass, push-ups, sit-ups, anything I could squeeze in.

I glanced at my phone when it vibrated, expecting it to be Demi telling me how it was going, but it was the RoD group chat.

Nash

Cutler’s teacher called me in to tell me that he got into a fight at school. He’s not even six fucking years old. And twenty bucks to whoever guesses what the fight was about.

Kingston

Someone called him Cutler instead of Beefcake?

River

Did someone touch his gelled hair? You know he’s funny about anyone messing with his hair.

Someone took his leather coat? He’s protective over that jacket, man.

Hayes

They talked shit about one of us. Because Little Dude does not tolerate that.

Nash

A little fucker in his class said that his daddy told him that Leo was going to knock Romeo out. These kids are in kindergarten, for fuck’s sake.

My chest squeezed. I loved that fucking kid so much.

What happened?

Nash

He punched the kid in the stomach and then told him to watch his mouth when speaking about his Uncle Ro. He lost Fun Friday for two weeks.

Well, he’ll be getting Fun Saturday with Uncle Ro for the rest of his life. The kid’s got some balls.

Kingston

He’s so fucking loyal. I’ll take on Fun Sundays, moving forward. How dare they take Fridays away from him!

River

I want the name of the kid he punched so I can figure out who his fucking father is.

Hayes

Agreed. That’s the dude who should be missing Fun Friday. The dumb fuck doesn’t have a clue what he’s talking about.

I mean, in his defense, you’ve got Leo hyping people up. He’s very confident about the outcome of this fight.

Kingston

Don’t go there, brother. First goal: Go the distance. Just hold your own and take it one round at a time.

Hayes

You drunk, King?

Nash

He’s sitting here in the office with me, and he looks a little constipated and weird.

Kingston

I get emotional thinking about our boy in the ring. Because you’ve worked so hard, and we’re all fucking proud of you. Call me constipated again, and I will take a shit in your car, Nash.

River

Is Beans meeting with her demon brother now?

Kingston

Damn it. I get emotional about our girl, too. She’s a good one, Romeo. I say we keep her forever.

Nash

She’s not a dog, dipshit. But our boy did survive some really crazy shit in the past with the women he dated before now.

Hayes

At least one of us found a girl that we all like.

Yeah, I’m here. She’s inside now. I’m just doing some drills outside while I wait for her.

River

Stay focused, brother. You’ve got this. Text when you get home tomorrow. I’ll stop by and heckle you for your afternoon workout.

Counting on it.

My notifications started blowing up when I ended the call, and I clicked on it to see Leo running his mouth once again. My messages were flooded with people telling me they were rooting for me and that they hoped I’d shut his ass up.

A news notification landed at the top of my screen, and I tapped on it.

My mouth fell open as I read the words in front of me.

Six women had come forward to file complaints about Ronny Waterstone. I wasn’t surprised that there were more women who’d experienced what he’d done to Demi, but I was surprised that they were coming forward against him because of who his family was. Hell, Demi’s father didn’t want to speak out against them. But apparently, realizing that they weren’t alone and that he’d been called out for what he did to Demi, they’d found the confidence to speak up, as well.

It made me fucking proud of her.

His family hadn’t commented yet, but I hoped his world would come crashing down very soon.

I looked up to see the door swing open, and I tucked my phone into my back pocket. Demi’s eyes were puffy, but she was smiling, and everything in me settled. All the bullshit surrounding the fight. My anger toward Ronny. It all dissipated when her eyes locked with mine.

“Hey, you doing okay?” I asked as I moved toward her.

“Yeah. Can I ask you for a huge favor?”

“Name it,” I said.

“Come inside with me. Slade wants to speak to you.”

There wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for this girl. But this was not something I was looking forward to.

I nodded and took her hand.

Because if she needed me, I’d always say yes.