“Think you can tell Lucy that?”
“No need, she already knows.” We both turn at the sound of Lucy’s soft voice. She holds out a piece of paper to Capone. Her cheeks are pink, but she doesn’t look away from his face. “My number. So you can call me.”
He hesitates for a second before reaching out and taking it from her. “I’ll call you.” He makes it sound like a promise, and I can’t help but swoon. Lucy has no idea what she’s in for.
“I’ll answer,” she whispers before turning and hurrying away.
I widen my eyes at him and smile. “Looks like I was your good luck charm.”
“Damn straight. You can be my wing woman anytime. But hopefully I can make Lucy fall in love with me, and your services won’t be required any longer.”
“I can live with that.” My phone buzzes, so I pull it out and see a text from Con. “That was Con. He’s on his way.”
“Alas, all good things must come to an end. Come on, let’s get you back. Besides, I have a date with another beautiful girl this afternoon.”
“Do not pump my daughter with candy and ice cream,” I warn him, knowing she’ll end up bouncing off the ceiling otherwise.
He laughs. “I make no promises.”
Asshole.
Chapter Thirty-Four
AMBROS
I move around the ring,keeping myself light on my feet. Jason’s good, I’ll give him that, but he still telegraphs his moves. He puts his weight on his left foot and starts to pull back his right arm. Before he can connect, I spin out of his range and move behind him, taking him to the ground. I have him in an anaconda choke hold before he can get his bearings, and he has no hope of getting out. Wise man that he is, he taps out before he passes out.
I get to my feet and hold my hand out for him.
“I swear to fuck you’re not human. You flow like water, and I’m over here bumbling around like Yogi Bear.”
I grin as he grabs my hand. “Yogi bear? You’re showing your age, man.”
“Fuck you. My wife says I’ve aged like wine.”
“Or you whine about your age.”
He flips me off with a laugh, accepting the water bottle I hold out for him. He twists off the cap and takes a large swig as I do the same.
“It’s good to get in the octagon with you again, though. Worth the aches and bruises I’ll no doubt feel tomorrow.”
“I’ll admit, it’s been a while for me too.”
“Man, don’t tell me that when you just kicked my ass.”
I grin, grabbing my towel and using it to wipe the sweat from my face before climbing out so the next couple of fighters can spar. Jason joins me and we watch the youngsters. One of them, Tyrone, has a lot of potential, but he has the attention span of a goldfish.
“That one in the blue shorts, he’s good.”
“He is. I need to have a sit-down with him, feel him out.”
“He’s hyper. You think he’s on something?”
“No, the opposite, actually. I think he might have ADHD. It could be that he’s taken up fighting instead of going down the meds route.”
“I get it. You know what it’s like—even in this day and age, there’s a stigma around admitting there’s something wrong, especially if you need help with it. That’s why women will always be the greater sex. They know their weaknesses and fight to overcome them. We deny ours and fight to hide them. We are not the same.”
I nod. That doesn’t apply to all men and women, but I’ll admit, I’ve met my fair share who fall into those two groups exactly the way he explained it.
