No Regrets (No Regrets #1) (5 page)

“Grey, I can’t train you. I’d like to only train you
, but I just can’t.”

A
frown forms as I look to the mat below my bare feet. I glance across the room and meet Parker’s stare. He has paused his punching to watch. A small smile spreads over his lips. In that moment my blood heats up. My eyes turn back to Carlo, who is palming his bald head back and forth looking miserable.

“This is Parker’s doing
, isn’t it?”

Carlo looks across the ro
om at Parker and back to me. He muses, “He’s a lot like you, when you first started out. He thinks he’s the best and no one can touch him. In many ways that’s the case. Do you remember, Grey? You had the same attitude. Nothing could touch you. No matter what, you were on your way to the top.”

He takes a deep breath and get
s up. His hand extends to my shoulder. “Find that again, Grey. You have to want it more than anything.”

I
look away and meet Parker’s amused smile. I take a step toward him but Carlo’s grip tightens. He confesses, “It is Parker, but
he
didn’t do it. It’s his sponsors. I get a lot of donations to keep this place afloat and most of it is because of that guy over there. I can’t give it up, Grey.”

I
squint at Carlo. “I’m just another fighter training here. Why does it make a difference?”

“They got wind that you’re out
, Grey. The only thing I can come up with is they think you’re a conflict of interest. They think you’ll make it back up there.”

“That’s bullshit
, Carlo, and you know it. I’m living with the guy, for God’s sake. My sister is engaged to him.”

“I know. All I can tell you is I got a call this morning telling me to let you go.
I was told that the generous donations would stop if you continue training here.”

I
nod, finished with the conversation. The last thing I want is to cause Carlo any more heartache. He’s finally in a good place.

My hand tightens on Carlo’s arm before I turn
toward the locker room.

Carlo calls out, “Grey?
”

I look back
.

“You might want to think about moving out of the guy
’s house. There might be more to all of this than we know.”

I continue my trek to the lockers. I’m a
lready a step ahead. First I need to talk to Trinity about fronting me some cash and then find an apartment. Priority number one is to get my life together. If it takes moving away from Trinity, I’ll have to do it, as much as I’ll hate leaving her there with Parker.

Chapter 6

“No
, Greylan, you can’t go. You just got out and you don’t have anyone else. I don’t have… I still want you to stay here.”

The p
ain in Trinity’s voice makes me want to take it all back, but I have to get out from under Parker. There’s got to be more to this thing than what Carlo said.

“I know
, Trin. I just need to get out on my own.”

“What will you do for a job?”

She’s curled up on the extra- large couch trying to hold it together, but I can tell she’s about to lose it. The day of my sentencing to involuntary manslaughter, she burst into sobs. Every strained breath she took in that courtroom seemed to take the air from my own lungs. She’s strong, but when she loses it, it’s bad. I sit next to her, the cushion sinking under my large frame. My hand moves in tiny circles on her back.

Her voice is barely a whisper as she asks, “Do you want to know how I met Parker?”

I really don’t. It will probably piss me off even more and cause more hatred, but for her I relent. “Sure.”

“It’s kind of a funny story actually
, and it kind of happened by accident. After you were sentenced I about lost it completely. You know I had never been on my own, so it was a huge adjustment. I was trying so hard to handle everything. Exactly six months after the sentencing, Parker walked into Brutus’.” She takes a small breath. “I know you don’t want to hear this part, but I had been making it, barely. I gained some self-worth and confidence that I never would have if you had stayed around.” I look away from her stare because it pains me to hear those words, even if she needed it.

She smiles
. “Parker came into the bar, all smug and stuck on himself. I was assigned the table where he sat but I talked another girl into going over there. He insisted that it be me who served him. It pissed me off even more and I ended up pouring a beer over his head that night.” I laugh out loud at her usual feistiness. That is definitely a Trinity move. She’s not shy about showing how she really feels. And I’m glad Parker got the brunt of it even if it turned out in his favor.

“
He came in every day for a month and sat at that same table until I finally agreed to go out with him.”

As much as I still hate him I have to give him credit. He was determined
, and as far as I can tell, she’s well taken care of.

I lean toward her
. “Trinity, I’ll find something close. Okay? The bar where I’m going to work is over by Jimmy’s, so I need to be close to the Westside anyway.”

She nods but doesn’t seem convinced. A str
ay tear rolls down her cheek. I wipe it with my finger. “I won’t leave you again.”

She moves her head
as the front door opens and closes with a loud thump. That was my cue. Standing abruptly, I explain, “I need to go and pack my stuff. Will you be okay?”

She sits up
while wiping the dampness from her cheeks. “Yes.”

Just as I round the corner
, I look back to make sure she is okay.

Parker walks into the
room and her face brightens. He joins her on the couch and pulls her into his lap. I leave before witnessing anything else. I know he cares for her and that makes it so much harder to hate him.

After gathering all of my belongings
, I walk back downstairs. The last step puts me in earshot of their conversation.

“What?” Trinity’s
voice rings through the room.

Parker soothes,
“Calm down, he’ll be fine. They told Carlo to let him go from the gym. I think the fact that he’s training again has an effect on it all.”

“I don’t understand
. He’s not fighting. Why do your sponsors care?”

I decide not to eavesdrop anymore and walk into the room.

They both look up and Parker runs his hand through his short light hair. I linger in the doorway, unsure whether to just leave or not. Uncomfortable doesn’t begin to describe the air in the room.

Parker continues as if I’m not there. He looks
over at Trinity and explains, “The other day when we sparred, he was fierce. We were well-matched. I think they’re looking ahead…” His voice trails off. I can tell he doesn’t want to spell it out, and by the look on her face, she gets it. An official fight is bound to happen between us if I pursue this. Same trainer and house would be bad for all involved if we end up in the cage together. I’m glad he was able to get through to her.

He nods as I cross the room to the front door.
Trinity follows me out. My arms envelop her in a tight hug and she whispers next to my ear, “Take care and keep in touch.”

A
fraid to say anything, scared my voice might crack, I just nod in acknowledgement. After the scene in the living room I know Parker will take care of her. I just need to let her be. This is what I need to keep telling myself, that this is best. It was bound to happen eventually, anyway. As I climb into the truck, my hand moves to lower the window.

“Thank you for the loan, I’ll pay you back with interest.”

She shakes her head. “Grey, you know I won’t take it. Just come back for visits.”

“I will.
No regrets.”

She smiles and shakes her head slightly
. “No regrets.”

The truck
backs up and as it shifts into drive, I watch her retreating figure in the rearview mirror. I have now left my sister twice, which is the exact opposite of what I promised my mom.

A shor
t thirty minute drive takes me to the west side of town. The streets are dingy and the corners are littered with loiterers. But the truck pushes on and I end up next to a three story brick building. The sign out front advertises
Weekly Rentals
. There isn’t even an official name for the place. I pay for a couple of weeks at the front desk and grab the key. When the first floor door opens to reveal a queen sized bed with well-worn blankets and a chair in the corner, my head shakes at the irony of it all. My body lands on top of the bed in a heap, too tired to even remove my shoes.
First thing is done, a new place to stow my shit. In the morning I’ll have to find a new place to train.

A shrill scream followed by a steady pounding on the wall
behind the bed wakes me up in the middle of the night.

“Fucking great!”
I call to no one and I cover my head with a mildewy pillow.

When my eyes open a few hours later, I’m
disoriented. The darkened space gives nothing away as to my location. Finally I remember the events yesterday and the conversation at Trinity’s house. A decrepit weekly rental is my new reality. I move my hand to the table beside the bed to switch the light on. A soft glow emanates through the space, allowing it more deception than it deserves. It doesn’t look as harsh as it does by the light of the day.

As light spreads through the room,
a door slams with yelling between a man and a woman. At least in prison I got a decent night’s sleep on occasion. I have a feeling the likelihood of that here is probably very slim. I drag myself out of bed to shower in the lukewarm water even as the knob is turned as hot as it will go.

After dr
essing in jeans and a t-shirt, I pull out of the lot with the only other local gym as my destination. Once there, the corrugated metal warehouse looms before the truck. It kills me that it’s come to this. No one is like Carlo when it comes to training for this sport and he’s given me up for Parker.

The glass door, tiny in the wide, windowless wall
, announces Westside Fight Club. My legs forge on and I’m not surprised the room is already full of movement. One wall suspends black and blue punching bags. Further away, near the far wall, there is an array of mats with a couple of pairs of fighters already going at it.

A dark-skinned man
in a black tank top with tattoos lining his arms leans over the ropes surrounding a square ring in the forefront of the room. He’s eyeing the two men grappling with each other on the mat within the ring. I walk toward the man, he looks to possibly be in charge. He turns his head a moment as I near the area but directs his attention back to the fighters. My body leans in next to him and I watch as the two on the mat, one dark-haired, one blond, punch one another and struggle to gain dominance. The dark-haired man pulls the other man in a choke from behind. I’m sure of a tap out but the blond man surprises me and grasps the other man in a kind of headlock, pulling him over his head by his arms. The dark-haired man slaps the man on his back, and before he can move, the other man is on top of him, forcing him to tap the blond man’s arm. Both men refrain from each other for a moment before standing. The man beside me puts his fingers to his mouth and whistles. He calls out, “Jonesy, that was one gutsy move that paid off.”

The dark-haired man pats Jonesy on the back and shakes his hand.

Jonesy has a wide grin on his face. He looks at the man beside me and answers, “Yeah, well, I’m counting on all my moves to pay off, Jax.”

Jax
shakes his head. “Go cool off. We wouldn’t want either one of you to have a big head.”

Both men laugh and walk off the mat
, grabbing gym bags on the way to a hall in the corner of the room. As they leave the area, the man turns to me and offers his hand. “Jackson Pierce. I’m the owner of this fine establishment. You must be Greylan Pace.”

“Yep
.” I extend my hand taking his outstretched palm.

Jackson smiles
revealing gold on his canines. He states, “Carlo called.”

I nod and ask
apprehensively, “Do you have any more room?”

J
ackson chuckles. “What you really want to know is am I ready to make the jump? Are you ready? Carlo isn’t sure if you still have what it takes.”

Hearing Carlo’s thoughts from this guy hammers it home yet again
how things have changed. I suspect that those are supposed to be motivational words. My hands drop and I shove them into the pockets of my jeans.

Staring at the man for a moment, I answer
, “Carlo’s right. I’m not sure, either. It’s been a long time and things have changed…”

Jackso
n cuts me off, releasing the rope he was leaning on.

“I don’t have time for bullshit. I watched your career and you would have been sitting exactly where Parker Harris is. You’re not
, but it can happen again. No, I don’t have room for a has been working out just to pass the time.”

I look
away, pissed at myself even more for all of the choices I’ve made.

Jackson begins to walk away but stops and turns around. He
’s playing with a toothpick in the corner of his mouth. He removes it and looks me up and down.

“Do I have room for you to make a comeback? Yes, but be forewarned
: I will work your ass off. You’ll be wishing for that pussy assed trainer, Carlo.”

He walks away before I have a chance to respond
, but my guess is that Jackson doesn’t want an answer right away. I’m thankful for that fact. Obviously I have a lot of thinking to do.