Released (Caged #3)(70)

Before I could even think about taking a swing at her, she turned on her heel and marched right out of the gym. The glass doors didn’t quite hit her on the backside on the way out, but I had the feeling I might have seen the last of her.

No regrets.

“What the hell was that?” Al asked.

“She never did like competition,” Graham laughed. “I take it you have worked with her in the past?”

“Yeah,” I said. “I used to train with her. She’d set up my opponents for cage fights on the south side of town.”

“Geez, seriously?” Al shook his head. “You’re a lot better than that. Even if Graham doesn’t have anything for ya, I know some people who will set you up with traveling fights. There’s a lot more money in those. It’s all aboveboard, too, so you can train on the side, make enough hours to get benefits—the lot.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, “but I have no f*cking idea what you guys are talking about.”

“Come on and sit down,” Graham said.

We walked over to the far side of the ring and into a little office behind it. Al shut the door, and Graham and I sat down in the rolling chairs inside.

“I’m with Ultimate Industries,” Graham said. “I find talent for UFC, and I’d like to talk to you about maybe lining up a fight or two. I think you’ve got a lot of potential here if we can just rein in the cage fighter a bit.”

“Ultimate…what?” I repeated. “UFC? You mean actual UFC—the UFC? On TV and shit?”

Graham laughed a long, hearty laugh.

“Actual Ultimate Fighting Championship, yes.”

“Fuck me hard,” I muttered. “If I had known that, I wouldn’t have held back so much.”

Another raised eyebrow from Graham made me smile.

“You’ve got a lot of attitude,” he said, “but I think we can make that work to our advantage. You’re a damn good fighter, Liam, and you could be a great one. You’ve also got a great look, which is going to make the female fans go nuts.”

Graham continued on, but I could only barely hear him. The sentiment of the first part of the conversation was swirling around inside my head like a whirlpool. He was talking about fighting—real, professional goddamned fighting!

Part of me was about as excited as I had ever been, but as soon as my head started wrapping around the notion, it came crashing down.

“Tria,” I whispered.

“I can get you a contract, Liam,” Graham was saying. “Three fights to start—one here, one in Chicago, and another in Cleveland. Depending on how you do, we can start looking into something more permanent.”

“My…my wife,” I said. “She’s having a baby in just a couple of months. I…I have to think about it.”

“I’m going to be in town until Friday,” Graham said. “The offer stands until then. You talk it over with your family and let me know what you decide to do.”

“Okay.” My voice didn’t even sound like my own.

I walked slowly out of the gym with my bag thrown over my shoulder and my eyes on the ground. I walked right past the bus stop in favor of just hiking it back to the little rental house. My head was in too much of a fog to sit still.

There was no doubt that Yolanda had kept me where I was on purpose. Whether it was to get money from my parents or just to take a cut of my winnings, I didn’t know. Furthermore, I no longer cared. She was out of my life, and I intended to keep it that way.

My life.

What exactly did that mean now?

What was I? A fighter? A ring maker?

Should I change my name from Takedown to Sauron?

My hand went instinctively to my pocket, but it was empty.

Damn, I wanted a cigarette.

The fact was, I didn’t need to talk it over with Tria. I already knew what my answer was going to be. UFC was nothing short of a dream come true for any fighter, and if I had met Graham a year ago, I wouldn’t have hesitated to take the offer.

But now things were very, very different.

I had a wife.

I had a baby coming.

I was making an okay living setting stones, but ultimately I was going to own a gigantic corporation whether I wanted it or not. Even if I turned around and gave the whole thing to my cousin, I was beginning to realize that Teague Silver had always been my destiny.

And Tria would be at my side.

I was never one to take the selfless route, but there were more important things now.





Chapter 18—Relocate the Belongings


As soon as I picked up the phone, I regretted it. I suppose it ultimately turned out all right, but my initial reaction was one of those ambivalent, churning feelings of dread and duty in my stomach.

“I don’t suppose you’d be able to give me a hand, would you?” Krazy Katie’s social worker asked. “The landlord is quite unpleasant, and though Miss Took didn’t have a lot, I really could use the help.”

“Yeah, sure,” I said with a sigh. It definitely wasn’t something I was looking forward to doing, but I didn’t have to work, and Tria would be in class until late. Without any excuses, I dragged my ass out of the house.

I took a bus across town to the old neighborhood. Just seeing the building made me want a cigarette, and I knew I was going to end up finding cartons of them stashed away inside Krazy Katie’s apartment. It was going to be hard to resist. I promised myself a trip to the gym when we were done, hoping that would at least appease some of the cravings.