Love Tap(84)

“Well, a medic will be in to assist your injuries and you can be on your way.” She smiles, and I roll my eyes. She should stop smiling, it’s fake.

She leaves and another one of her men march in with a large duffle bag in one hand and a smaller one in the other hand. His face stoic as he drops the larger one at my feet and the other at Debs’ before leaving without a word.

Debs drops to her knees, tears filling her eyes as she unzips hers.

“This Tate, this is what it’s all about!” She fists stacks of bills, smelling them. “Together we will be rich, we will be number—”

“You’re fired.”

Her head whips up. “What?”

“You heard me. You’re fired. You obviously knew what I was getting into if you’ve been here before. You knew what I was getting into and didn’t even warn me. You could have told me I could bring a knife or something to protect myself. But you didn’t because all you cared about was making money.”

She stands with her hands on her hips. “I didn’t tell you because I thought you’d back out.”

I inhale a breath, my chest begging to wheeze from my broken rib. Who knows if I would have backed out, my dad keeping the house was at the top of my priorities, but any sane person would have told Silvia to take the deal and shove it up her ass, and I didn’t.

The medic comes and checks my injuries, I have one cracked rib and my eyebrow needs stitching - again.

My chest is wrapped tightly and I’m given medication for the pain and sent on my way.





Chapter Twenty-Nine


Tate



Camden and I sit in the back of the car on the way to the airport. I made Debs get her own ride in fear of me killing her before we reached the airport. Upon leaving The Underground I can feel Camden’s concern and worry dissipating into anger.

He’s going to be mad, but I’m just glad he knows.

“I can’t believe you gave up the contract after all that,” Camden mutters under his breath as he stares out the window.

“It was the right thing to do,” I reply, looking at my feet.

His head whips in my direction. His face turning into a blistering red.

“The right thing to do was to tell me about it! You lied! You f*cking betrayed me… AGAIN!”

I swallow, tears threatening to spill from my bloodshot eyes. My heart beats against my chest in panic, looking for the words to defend my actions but they’re lost. Every excuse floating in my head so fast I can’t grab on to one.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but you weren’t completely honest with me either—” I cry.

“I’ve been completely honest with you since day one!”

“Bullshit! You didn’t tell me you fought in The Underground,” I point out.

His angry face relaxes when he realizes he himself wasn’t honest in this relationship. If we’re even in one anymore.

“I needed this fight. I needed the money. I wasn’t going to ask my boyfriend to get my dad out of debt and keep the bank from taking the house.” I push the words through gritted teeth. “I don’t need help taking care of my own family!”

He sighs, rubbing his chin.

“Maybe you don’t want it, but you need it!” He scowls at me. “You’ve been so busy trying to take care of everyone else that you forgot about yourself!” He holds his hands out, palms up gesturing toward my whole being. “For f*ck’s sake, look at what you’ve done to yourself Tate!”

I wipe my spilled tears and look out the window. The pain in my chest and body making me vulnerable I don’t want to talk about this anymore.

The rest of the way back to Chicago is cold and lonely as we don’t say another word to each other.





Chapter Thirty


Camden



Sitting at the gym I throw all my gear into my bag, done with this place. The coaches here aren’t genuine. They played Tate and I against each other.

I had a contract with Thomas but with a little threatening he was more than willing to forget about it.

I haven’t talked to Tate since yesterday, and it’s killing me. I’m conflicted. She didn’t tell me about The Underground and it pisses me off. I clench my eyes shut, I wasn’t honest with her either though. Fuck!

Why do relationships have to be so complicated?

If I told her everything she would have told Silvia to shove that deal up her ass. Maybe.

Tate is a fire I can never predict. She’s wild, burning her own path instead of the one laid out for her.

I smirk, thinking about her hellfire ways.

I miss Tate.

I hate that I miss her.

I get why she accepted the fight though, she was trying to save her family. I myself bought my parents’ house when it was nearly taken by the bank years ago. Granted it didn’t save my family, but I have it. I would have done anything to save it.

From the outside it looks like a bunch of wood and a foundation, but it’s more than that. My house told a story, a story about a little blonde haired girl I fell in love with next door. The memories of Tate and I outdid the shitty ones of my parents.

I couldn’t let the bank take it.

The door to the gym opens, and Tate walks in. She has on a baggy gray shirt, and black shorts. Her face is bruised, and her hair doesn’t look like she’s brushed it. She looks rough. I can tell she’s in a lot of pain from the fight by the way she’s hunched over. She looks over the gym, and her eyes land on mine. My chest constricts, and I look down pretending to organize my jock straps.