Page 31 of Ruin

“I…look, when we broke up…what you did, yeah, I hated you for that. Part of me still does. But it was five years ago—”

“Cam—”

“Just…let me finish, Zeus. It’s in the past, and it doesn’t matter anymore. But thinking, for all these years, that you abandoned Gigi, just walked away from her, yeah, I hated your guts. But…now, I know different. And I just need to know that you mean it when you say you want to be a part of her life.”

“I do want to.” His eyes fix on mine. “I want to know my daughter. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Why are you back in New York?”

His eyes drift to the wall in front of him. His jaw tightening. “For a fight. I have training camp.”

“So, you’re still boxing?” I ask him.

Twelve months ago, Zeus had a big title match against Kaden Scott for the world heavyweight championship. Zeus was the favorite to win. He’s currently undefeated with a total of twenty-one fights, all twenty-one wins by knockout.

I didn’t watch it. I never watch Zeus’s fights anymore. But, that same night, I saw on the news that Zeus and Kaden had gone eleven rounds. Zeus’s longest fight.

They were both exhausted. The fight should’ve been stopped. It wasn’t. Honestly, I wouldn’t put it past Marcel to have had some influence on that.

Zeus got the advantage in the eleventh round and knocked Kaden to the floor with one uppercut hit.

Kaden went down. He got back up, but it was over, and Zeus was declared the winner.

When Zeus was doing his post-fight interview, Kaden collapsed in the ring.

Brain injury. There was a clot on his brain.

From what I read in the papers, Kaden was in a coma for thirty days. He had multiple surgeries to remove the clot. He suffered from a stroke. From what I last read, he was paralyzed down the right side of his body and had speech problems. He’s currently still in the hospital, undergoing rehabilitation.

After the fight, Zeus disappeared from the public eye for twelve months. Not that the press or public blamed him for what had happened to Kaden. But I can understand why he went into hiding.

I heard some reports that Zeus would go to the hospital where Kaden was receiving treatment. I wasn’t surprised, knowing Zeus.

Well, the Zeus I knew from five years ago. And irrespective of what he did to me, going by his reaction to finding out that he had a daughter, I would imagine it to be true.

Knowing all this, after I saw him last night, I did a Google search on him to see why he was here in New York. I had a gut feeling it was for a fight, and I was right. He’s fighting Roman Dimitrov in twelve weeks.

I’d say I was shocked he was going to fight again, but I’m not. It’s who Zeus is. Boxing is all he knows.

“I know what you’re thinking,” he says low.

I flash a look his way. “No, you don’t.”

“You’re thinking I’m a bastard to fight after what happened with Scott. You’re also thinking that I’ll be at training camp to intensively prep for this fight with Dimitrov, so I won’t have time for Gigi.”

“Aside from the fact that I can’t believe you’re fighting Dimitrov—the guy’s a complete psycho—”

“I can take him, Cam,” he cuts me off.

“And maybe lose a chunk of flesh in the process.”

Dimitrov bit his last opponent on his neck when he was getting the better of him. Took a chunk out of him. The guy is a dog.

“He won’t get near me,” Zeus growls, sounding pissy that I’m even questioning him on this.

“Whatever, Zeus. Do what you want. You always have. But I know for a fact that you won’t have time for Gigi in the lead up to this fight. And I’m not introducing you into her life now, only for you to disappear on her in a few weeks.”

“What are you saying?”