TWIN PASSIONS: (A Logan Brothers Novel) (18 page)

Agulla still seemed full of
energy, his face showing no scars of battle. I'd barely connected
with it, barely had a chance to. His ferocity, his intensity, was
difficult to live with. He continued to skip around the ring, jabbing
at my defences and probing for a weak spot. When he found it it sent
me rocking, my brain spinning inside my skull.

He caught me with a hook from
the side, so quick I didn't see it coming. I stumbled over to the
corner and grabbed the ropes, the crowd gasping at what looked to be
my impending knockout. I could feel the world blurring slightly, my
vision beginning to cloud.

His shape came at me again, the
crowd living every blow with me, reacting to the fists connecting
relentlessly with my body. I managed to get my gloves up under roars
of “DEFEND, DEFEND,” from coach, Agulla's flying fists clattering
into them.

My vision slowly cleared as the
adrenaline pumped through me, and I managed to escape the corner,
ducking under a heavy blow and stumbling out towards the middle of
the ring.

That was when I saw them,
rushing up through the aisle between the stands. Zack, with Gemma by
his side. I felt a fury grow inside me at the sight of them.
Why
the fuck were they so late? Why were they together?

My anger was mingled with a
renewed focus at the sight of Gemma, a grimace across her face at the
sight of me, battered and bruised, blood spilling down my face. I
turned quickly to see Agulla fly at me, his defences lowered as he
moved in for the knockout blow.

I shaped to defend as his right
fist came in from the side, desperate to connect, desperate to finish
me off. But no, I wasn't done. Not by a long shot.

I ducked to the side, quick as a
cat, and flung my glove into his mid-section. I could feel the burst
of air rush from his lungs as he ducked over me, gasping. I saw the opening and stepped out away from him,
throwing my fist with all my speed and power towards his right
temple.

It connected heavily, sending
him stumbling over onto the ropes. I could hear the crowd come alive
at my revival, their roars and cheers sending this enormous surge of
energy through me. I pounced, rushing forward after him and
clattering him on both sides of the body with my fists, burying them
into his abdomen as he desperately tried to cower and defend.

My fists had never moved so fast
as I let everything out of the bag, unleashing my full power onto his
weakening body. But then, just when he was about to drop, I heard the
bing of the bell as the referee came rushing in between us.

I turned back to my corner, a
medic jumping up onto the ring and tending to my cut as I sat down on
the stool.

“
That's it Cade, that's it,
you've got him!” coach was shouting in my ear, kneeling down in
front of me as I stared over his shoulder at my opponent in the
opposite corner. Agulla was still wheezing and breathing heavily, the
intensity in his eyes starting to fade under my growing confidence.

I was willing for the bell to
ring again, to step back into Agulla and finish him off. He was
battered and broken, but every second he'd regain his energy, regain
his form. When the bell finally sounded it was me, this time, who
launched straight forward into him.

It had grown deafening in there,
an hysteria beginning to engulf the crowd. They sensed, as I did,
that the fight was now mine for the taking.

Agulla was watchful, his
ferocity in the first few rounds now beginning to settle. I jabbed at
him, my reach slightly longer, connecting mainly with his gloves. I
was waiting now, baiting him into making a move, to lower his
defences so I could strike.

It was my original game plan all
along: to move and tire him out, jab relentlessly and use my superior
speed when an opening came up. He stayed closed up, the crowd growing
impatient as he grew more defensive.

Then, suddenly, he struck out,
thinking he'd seen his chance. For my eyes it was desperation that
forced his hand, the momentum now truly with me. He wanted to change
the tide, but I was ready, my reaction like lightning as I swayed out
of the way of his oncoming fist.

Now I had my chance. His sudden
charge had opened himself up fully. He needed to connect with me or I
was in. He didn't, and I took my opportunity to finish him.

I swerved out of the way of his
fist as it brushed across my cheek, his arm fully extended and his
entire body open. I once more thrust my fist into his gut, his ripped
abs offering no protection from my power. My gut-punch was followed
quickly by an uppercut as his body slumped forward.

I connected perfectly with his
jaw, seeing his eyes roll in his head and blood spill from his mouth.
The reaction from his body was instantaneous, dropping like a stone
to the canvas in the center of the ring.

A momentary hush in the crowd
was followed by the build-up of rapturous cheering and roaring as the
referee began counting Agulla out.

I stepped back casually as I
looked down on him, the referee shouting
3, 4, 5.
There was no
point in the count. I knew he wasn't getting up. The noise in the
arena made it almost impossible to hear, impossible to think, as the
ref finally swooshed his hands over each and exclaimed “YOU'RE OUT!”

He rushed straight over to me
and lifted my arms up as coach jumped into the ring, his face lit
like I'd never seen it. I held my arms aloft and twisted slowly,
finally acknowledging the crowd.

My eyes drifted over towards my
brothers, all hugging and cheering down below. I could see Gemma
beaming, Zack next to her, roaring and shaking his fists. I didn't
smile, though, I just kept my expression blank.

This time, I didn't point at her
and say “for you”. No, this was all for me.

Present Day

Gemma

I felt strangely nervous
standing outside the changing room in the belly of the arena. I'd
just watched on as Cade had won the fight, and won in some style. The
uppercut he delivered to knock Agulla out sent the crowd wild. They
loved him, and almost every single person in that arena were cheering
his name.

“
LOGAN, LOGAN, LOGAN,” they
were chanting as he held his hands aloft, turning around slowly to
acknowledge everyone in there. He didn't celebrate or jump around the
ring in a show of happiness at winning the biggest fight of his life.
No, he stayed calm and composed, as he always did in the ring, this
intense stare still etched on his face.

Yet when he locked eyes with me,
I saw something other than his usual intensity. I saw anger. I saw
disappointment. It lasted only a moment or two, but it was
unmistakable. He'd clearly noticed that I wasn't there, that Zack
wasn't there, and he wasn't happy about it.

I knocked diffidently on the
door. I could hear cheering inside, no doubt from Cade's team,
popping the champagne and celebrating his victory.

I waited a moment and knocked
slightly louder. They probably couldn't hear me.

A few seconds later the door
opened and Cade's coach stood there.

“
Gemma,” he shouted, a glass
of champagne in his hand, “come in, come in.” He stepped to the
side and I walked in. I saw several people in there, all drinking
champagne and chattering excitedly. Some of them I knew – like
Steve, Cade's nutritionist, but the others I didn't. Maybe sparring
partners or other trainers.

A couple of guys parted ahead of
me and I saw Cade lying face down on a massage table, his body being
given a thorough warm down by an attractive young girl. She looked
like the same girl I'd seen at his last fight.

“
Champ,” coach shouted,
“your lovely lady is here.”

He turned his attention to the
rest of the party. “All right everyone, let's give these two some
privacy.”

The guys started commenting and
jeering suggestively as they moved off into the corridor to continue
their party, one of them grabbing a couple of bottles of champagne as
he left. The masseuse followed behind them, glancing at me
sheepishly.

When she shut the door behind
her the room fell deathly silent. I stood near to the door, feeling awkward.

“
You were amazing baby,” I
said, my voice croaking slightly. “I'm so proud of you.”

He slowly twisted and sat up on
the table, keeping his towel firmly around his waist. His face was
darkly bruised over his left cheek, a cut already stitched up above
his eye.

I walked in further as he
creaked and groaned on the table. He looked more beaten than he ever
had after one of his fights.

“
Your eye looks sore,” I
said, “does it hurt?”

I moved in towards him and
stroked my hand gently over his bruised face. “Is it sore baby?”

He twisted his head and my hand
fell off it. “It's fine, nothing.”

He stood up and walked away from
me, dropping his towel as he picked up a pair of folded sweatpants
over on a chair in the corner. He pulled them up over his naked ass
before putting on a t-shirt. It wasn't like him at all. Usually after
his fights he'd be all over me.

With his back still to me he
spoke again, his voice low. “Where were you?”

I paused for a moment before
replying: “What do you mean?”

“
You weren't there at the
beginning. You didn't get there until the fourth round. I saw you
running in with....with Zack. So...where were you?”

His tone was accusatory.

“
Look Cade, I'm really sorry.
Zack and I, we were just having a drink and completely lost track of
time. I...I don't know what to say...I'm sorry.”

“
You were drinking with Zack?”
he growled.

I felt flustered as he turned
and glared at me. “Yeah, we were just talking about old times, you
know, it was an easy mistake to make, anyone could have done it.”

His face contorted into a deep
frown. “What do you mean, old times?”

Oh Christ, what did I say?!
I've let it slip. Shall I lie? How...what can I say?!

“
Um, nothing, just, you know,
talking about...when you guys were younger, when you were kids.”

I could feel my voice breaking
under his glare. I knew by the look on it that he didn't believe a
word of what I was saying.

“
Did you know Zack when you
were younger...before you met me?” he asked intensely.

He didn't give me a chance to
answer as I opened my mouth, nothing coming out. The look on my face
told him all he needed.

“
When you first met me....you
thought it was him didn't you? Why didn't you tell me? Why would you
lie all this fucking time?”

He was walking in now, moving
closer towards me. I'd never felt intimidated by him until now.

“
I don't know Cade,” I
admitted, truthfully, “I just wanted to get to know you as you,
without you knowing that I knew Zack. I know it sounds stupid, but
that's how it was.”

“
Did you ever fuck him?” he
asked coldly.

I stepped back. “No, of course
not, we only knew each other as kids. We were just friends at school,
that's all.”

His face began to soften
slightly as he shook his head, struggling to understand.

“
You said you'd be there
tonight Gem, you said you'd be there behind me. But instead, you were
drinking with him. It was the most important fight of my life and you
weren't there.”

“
But we got there, didn't we!
And you won! So...what's the harm?”

He was shaking his head. “You
know how much you mean to me Gem. You know how important it is for me
to have you watching me fight. You betrayed me, and you lied to me.
What the fuck am I supposed to think about that. How am I supposed to
know that you didn't fuck Zack in the past, that you're not fucking
him now. I haven't seen you for two weeks – God knows what you've
been doing.”

I stood there, slightly taken
aback by what he was saying, by the way he was talking to me. Sure,
I'd been slightly late, but at the end of the day, who gives a
fucking shit, he won.

“
How dare you accuse me of
that, of cheating on you!” I said, taking my own opportunity to get
angry. “I'm not a liar and I'm not a cheat. I'd never do that to
anyone, I couldn't.”

Thoughts of only an hour ago
washed over me as I spoke, the sight of Zack's lips drawing near to
mine. I remembered when I first kissed him, all those years ago, and
how it felt. That same feeling had grabbed hold of me tonight, but I
hadn't gone through with it. No, I wasn't a cheat.

“
Yeah, well, whatever. You
weren't there tonight. You fucked up Gemma.”

I could feel my pulse rising
rapidly now, things I'd wanted to say for a while beginning to bubble
to the surface.

“
So that's all I am to you, a
fucking lucky charm in the crowd. That's all you care about Cade –
you don't give a shit about me, it's all about the fight. How fucking
selfish are you. You don't tell me that you care about me for me, or
anything like that. You just fuck me and then tell me I'm your lucky
charm. That's all I am to you – just someone to see to your needs
and make you feel good when you fight....”