Fighting Silence (On the Ropes #1)(85)

A sudden knock at the door grabbed all of our attention.

“Ten minutes!” was shouted from outside the door.

Slate stepped in front of Till. “You need to calm to f*ck down or you’re going to get your ass knocked out in the first round. What good is that going to do her? You have ten minutes to get your head in the fight.”

Till might have nodded, but I knew for certain that he wouldn’t be into the fight while Eliza was missing. I didn’t know how he was going to do it. I could barely breathe, yet he had to fight.

“Let’s go, Flint,” Alex called from the door. “Time to get you seated.”

Slate had made the decision that Erica, Sarah, and Liv would watch the fight from their hotel room with Johnson standing guard. I’d insisted on watching ringside. I needed to be there. Quarry had been given the option, but he’d only shrugged and followed the women as they’d left.

Alex had been assigned as my bodyguard for the fight, and while I absolutely loathed the idea that they assumed I couldn’t protect myself, I hadn’t argued. I knew that my bitching would have only stressed Till out more. He had enough going on without having to worry about me too.

I walked to the door and stopped to sign to Till, You got this.

“Yeah. I got it.” He forced a tight smile then turned away to shrug into the robe Slate was holding open.

I walked toward the arena with Alex barely a step behind me. “Can you not make me look like a * with a babysitter?” I smiled tightly.

“Sorry, man. It’s my job.”

“Can I have a little breathing room at least?”

He chuckled but dropped back a few feet.

We navigated through numerous winding hallways, the crowd getting thicker the closer we got to the arena until it eventually bottlenecked at an intersection.

“Sorry,” a man said as he slammed into my chest.

I only glanced at him long enough to notice a baseball cap pulled low over his eyes. “No problem.” I smiled—until I felt something being shoved into my hand. I looked down at a room key as the man quickly walked away. Written in black marker was the number 3716.

Confused, I watched the man weave through the tight crowd. Just before he rounded the corner away from the arena, he turned to face me. Similar blue eyes lifted to mine.

“Dad?” I whispered to myself.

He gave me a tight smile then raised his hands and signed, I didn’t know he was going to take her. Tell Till I’m sorry.

I gasped then glanced back down at the card in my hand.

Eliza.



“You ready for the big fight?” Frankie asked me as he settled on the couch with a drink in his hand.

“Are you really going to let me go if he loses?”

“I don’t know. He’ll be pretty useless to me after he gets knocked out.” He kicked his feet up on the coffee table and crossed his legs at the ankle. “Plus, the last thing I need is you popping that baby out on me. I don’t like kids as it is. I can’t imagine how much I would hate one with Page blood.” He stirred his drink with his finger and then flipped the TV on.

I watched from the floor as Till’s picture and stats flashed on the screen. My chest ached to get out of there and back to his side, but it pained me that he was losing his one shot at greatness. I should have been sitting ringside, giddy with excitement and hope. He should have been walking to that ring with his head held high and his determination firmly intact. We’d all lost though.

“It’s about f*cking time you got back. Did you bring me—What the f*ck!” Frankie shouted, jumping to his feet as Flint came storming through the door. His blue eyes were dark and barbaric.

Frankie rushed to the table where his gun was, but Flint was faster. Grabbing his throat, he slammed Frankie to the ground. Their tangled bodies knocked over the table, sending the gun tumbling across the carpeted floor. Flint didn’t say a single word as he landed punch after punch with his right hand. Each blow landed harder than the one before, but he never released his hold on Frankie’s throat. Flint’s knuckles turned white as Frankie’s face turned red.

I scooted away as far as the door I was tied to would allow as Flint unleashed a savagery I had never witnessed before. I wanted to stop him. That brutal look didn’t belong on my Flint’s face, but I didn’t exactly belong tied to a door either. Frankie lay immobile underneath him, and with the threat gone, I really just wanted to get the hell out of there.

“Flint!” I yelled, and his head snapped to mine.

“Shit. Eliza.” He crawled over and patted down my stomach and sides, searching for injury. “Are you okay?”

“Um . . . I want to go home.” I tried to choke back the sob, but it was a losing battle.

Flint grabbed both sides of my face and tipped it down to kiss my forehead. “Then let’s get out of here.” He rose to his knees in front of me and went to work untying the knot at my wrist.

Hope began to swell in my chest. We were so close to getting out of there. Everything was falling into place the way it was supposed to be. The cruel universe had given it a good shot, but the Page family had won in the final round. Till was in the ring, the roar of the crowd on the TV told me that much, and now that I was safe, he could actually have a fair fight.

My entire body buzzed with the idea that for the first time ever we really could have it all.