Chapter 9: Caged: Chapter 9

I agreed to let Brandon drive me to Crucible, fully aware and yet still aggravated by the fact there was no way I was going to win that argument. I’m not a pushover, but I learned early on to pick my battles. And judging by the fact he hasn’t said two words since I got into the car, this wasn’t a battle worth fighting. I’m saving my energy for when we get to the gym. If I can’t get him to go home at that point, then I’ll go to war. Until then, I pull my phone from my bag and open the group chat with the girls.

When we park in front of Crucible, after the longest seven-minute drive of my life, I get out of the car and successfully fight the overwhelming urge to slam the door behind me like a brat. But wow, that urge was strong.

“Madison.” But Brandon slam his door, and I whirl around, ready to scream.

I make sure to check myself and keep my voice calm.

“What, Brandon? I let you drive me here. I don’t have to be happy about it. This is my job.”

“You don’t even need this job. You could quit tomorrow, and you’d be fine.” Brandon’s glare grows. “I’m not going to apologize for being worried about you. I want to know what’s going on, and I want to talk to Cade.” He takes a step before I move between him and the front door.

“Could you please trust me . . . just this one time, trust me to take care of myself?” I lift my chin, in an attempt to be stubborn, but I’m not sure whether I’m getting anywhere or failing miserably.

With a shake of his head, he moves around me and storms through the front door, more like a father than a big brother, and I’m left standing outside with my blood boiling.

This is what I get for humoring his constant need to be overprotective.

I tilt my head up to the darkening sky and take a deep breath, then blow it out and watch it dance through the ice-cold air, already so over this night. When I finally push through the front doors into the busy gym, the soundtrack of metal weights clanging against the mats, Avenged Sevenfold thrumming through the speakers, and Hudson’s team yelling instructions at him while he spars in the cage, is like music to my ears.

I missed this.

I love my social-media business. I love my clients and the flexibility of the work. But there’s something about being in this gym . . . My muscles loosen, my mind clears, and I’m centered in a way that comes naturally here.

Awareness prickles my skin, and like a magnetic force is pulling me toward him, I turn to the cage and find Hudson staring my way, right before his sparring partner, Jax, knocks him down. “Pay attention, asshole,” is shouted in the cage, and Hudson hops right back up and shakes it off.

. With a shake of my head, I turn around and decide to ignore my brother—who’s already deep in conversation with Cade next to the cage—bypassing everyone on my way to the locker room. It only takes a minute to pull off the sweats and hoodie I’ve layered over my yoga gear and tuck them away in my locker. With a chill still running over my skin, I leave my tank top on over my sports bra and adjust my boobs.

I stand there for a minute, looking at myself in the mirror and fortifying my walls so when I walk back out there, I’ve got the strength to tell Brandon to go home and let me work.

I know he’s going to fight me.

But I I’m ready to deal with it.

Only when I step back into the front of the gym, he’s not there. I cross the room and pull myself up to sit on the counter behind Imogen. “Do I even want to know where my brother went?”

She looks up from the desk and swivels in her chair with an evil grin on her face, then pulls the pen out of the messy bun on top of her head and points it toward the cage.

I follow her direction, but Brandon isn’t there. And neither is Hudson. “English, Gen. I have no idea what you’re trying to tell me.”

“Hudson came over to talk to Cade and Dixon a few minutes ago. Hud told your brother he’d stick around for your class and drive you home. Then Dixon agreed and left.” She snaps her gum, then blows a giant pink bubble in my face.

A finger reaches over my shoulder, popping it. “Don’t you have work to do?” Cade asks his sister.

She stands from her chair and smacks a notebook against his chest. “Nope. I’m done for the day. See ya tomorrow.” She wiggles her fingers at me and disappears into the back of the gym.

“Maddie,” Cade starts, but I stop him.

“Listen, Cade, I’m sorry about my brother. I just filled him in on what happened, and I guess he felt a certain way about it.” What the heck? I don’t even know if that made sense.

“Stop, Mads. It’s fine. Until we know exactly what’s going on, no one is going to be alone in this gym. That’s the new rule. Safety in numbers.” He puts the notepad down on the desk and picks up a business card. “The detective from last week stopped by today. They don’t have any new information on the break-in, but they do have extra patrol cars driving by.”

“Okay. But really, I’m not scared to be here alone, Cade.” I hate the idea that someone else will have to take time away from their lives and their families three nights a week to babysit me.

Cade chuckles. “Yeah. Pretty sure that won’t be an issue.” He looks over my head, and from the way my skin warms, I know exactly who’s just walked back into the room. “The fight’s in five days, Maddie. Just do me a favor and make sure he stays focused until then. After that, he’s all yours.”

My eyes snap so far open I think they might be detaching from their sockets. “What?” I look over my shoulder and watch Hud climb back into the black metal cage. “We’re just friends.”

“Five days, Madison.” Cade’s voice is firm as he walks away, and I burn with a daunting mix of humiliation and something else.

Something stronger.

Something I can’t put my finger on, but it’s right there, hiding under the surface.

And it’s scarier than any break-in could ever be.

I don’t mind the sauna most days. It serves a purpose, like everything else. Some guys love it, and some guys hate it. To me, it’s a tool. Weigh-ins are Friday. So for now, it’s a necessary evil I’ll be using a few times a day, all fucking week. But I’m fucking tired at this point in the day. I’ve just closed my eyes for a minute, lying back on the bench, when the door slams open and Cade walks in.

“Keep your head in the fucking game, King.” His frustrated tone is like sandpaper rubbing my skin raw.

I slowly sit up and wipe the sweat from my face with my towel, then toss it to the bench. “It’s in the game, Saint,” I growl back, tired of everyone telling me the same fucking thing today.

“You’re not fucking focused, and that’s never an option. Especially not now. You get distracted—you’ll get hurt. And my wife won’t just kill you, she’ll kill too. You should be going home, icing your body, and going to bed. Not staying here to play bodyguard to Madison Dixon.”

I stand from the bench and step up to Cade. “Watch it, Saint. I love you like a brother, but you’re walking a fine line.”

“That’s what I thought,” he grinds through gritted teeth. “Days, man. You’ve got days left. Don’t lose now because you’re splitting focus. The rules are there for a reason. And one more week isn’t making a difference after three goddamn years.”

This man has been my coach, my friend . . . damn, he’s my brother-in-law, and I respect the hell out of him. I have for a decade. But he’s not making sense. “I don’t even know what you’re trying to get at.”

“Did you know your sister and I used to wonder what the hell was going on with you and Imogen? We took bets on whether you guys were a thing and were just keeping it to yourselves, or if you really were just friends. Wanna know when we stopped?”

“When you pulled your heads out of your asses and figured out that we’re friends? That I love Imogen like I love my sisters.” Swear to God, I look at Cade like he’s losing his mind. “Which one of us has spent too much time sweating it out today, Saint? You’re not making sense.”

“It was when Madison Dixon walked through the front door of Crucible. We’ve all seen it for years. You two are the ones who haven’t.” His eyes narrow on me. “We both know she’s got some issues to work through. And seriously, man . . . I don’t want you to miss what’s right in front of your face. But I swear to God . . . One fucking week. Defend your title. Win the fucking fight. Then go get your girl.”

He stands there for another minute. I don’t know if he’s waiting for an answer or expecting a fight, but when he doesn’t get either, his stance eases, and he grabs the door. “Jax is gonna close the gym up tonight, so once her class is done, I want you to take her home and then ice. Got it?” He takes a step back, his hand still on the open door. “I’m outta here for the night. See you tomorrow.”

I catch a glimpse of pretty blonde hair as the door swings closed behind Cade and push it back open.

Maddie is standing in the locker room on the other side of the sauna door, and judging by the confused look on her face, she just got an earful. “Mads . . .” I take a step toward her, but she backs up.

“Sorry.” She stumbles backward. “I was just . . .” Maddie looks around and takes another step until she’s backed against one of the lockers. “My class is about to start, and I wanted to thank you for offering to take me home. But Chloe’s here, so I’m going to catch a ride with her.”

I move in front of her and cup her beautiful face in both my hands.

Her eyes dart to my mouth and then up to my eyes, but she doesn’t pull away, even if she’s thinking about it.

“Let me take you home, sunshine.” My muscles tense as she licks her lips.

“Hudson . . .”

I slide my fingers into her hair. “Madison.” She nuzzles into my hand, and I feel like I just won the greatest title fight ever with that simple move.

I move slowly enough for her to stop me if she wants, then press my lips to the top of her head. “I’m going to run on the treadmill. Go teach your class. I’ll meet you when it’s over.”

When her dazed sapphire eyes lift to meet mine, there’s no mistaking the want that’s replaced the indecision I’ve come to expect. “You better get out there, sunshine.”

A pretty flush crawls up her skin, and a small, timid smile graces her full lips before she walks away, leaving me to watch her go.

I stand there for a minute, thinking about what Cade said about the way things changed when Maddie came to work at Crucible. I noticed her back then, but it was different. She’s gorgeous, and so sweet. And that smile of hers is always welcoming everyone in, but only so far. And I’m not sure when it happened, but I want more.

I want more of the Maddie she doesn’t show everyone else. The one she’s started to give me, piece by piece. I want to know why she hides it. Why she doesn’t want to be touched. Why she runs.

I want the real Maddie.

The one no one else knows.

I want her to let me in.

When I heard Cade and Dixon discussing the break-in earlier, I knew Maddie’s brother was pissed.

Of course he’d be.

I’m not sure if he was mad because no one had told him, but he was definitely furious that it happened in the first place.

Join the club.

His plan was to wait for her tonight, and for her to cancel her other two classes this week until the cops found the guy.

, Maddie’s gonna be pissed when she hears that.

But he backed off when I told him I’d stay and keep an eye on everything, then drive her home. I think that’s what set Cade off. What the hell am I talking about? He’s always edgy around a fight. I think it drives him nuts that I’m not. I don’t let it stress me out. This is my norm. I work for it all year, not just eight weeks beforehand. I guess you could call it my zen.

This thing with Maddie . . . This is the first time in all my years of fighting for Crucible that a woman’s ever been in my life before a fight. And I get that’s freaking him the fuck out, but he’s out of his mind if he thinks I’m backing off now.

Not when I’m finally interested in seeing where this thing between us could go.

By the time Maddie’s class is wrapping up, I’ve already got my stuff together and am sitting on the front desk, waiting for her. Her girls close ranks around her as the rest of the class spills out into the parking lot. Carys and Chloe block my view of the tiny blonde whose got the power to destroy me in ways no opponent ever has.

I learned something new tonight. There’s a certain treadmill that gives me the perfect view of the yoga class. That also meant Maddie could see me watching her if she turned around. I know she felt it because more than once, she’d look back over her shoulder and smile. And damn, that smile did things to me.

She makes me feel like a fucking teenager, nervous to ask the pretty girl out.

And I wasn’t even nervous when I was a teenager. What the fuck?

She finally pulls away from her friends and walks by me into the locker room without glancing my way. I hop off the desk and catch up to Carys and Chloe as they roll up their mats. “How are we doing, ladies?”

Chloe crosses her arms in front of herself and eyes me up and down. “What are your intentions toward our friend, Kingston?”

It takes every ounce of strength in me not to laugh. “Dude. Even Dixon didn’t ask me that this morning.”

Carys mirrors Chloe’s stance. “Well, we’re not Dix. And we want an answer. You two have been spending an awful lot of time together.”

I smile at these women, secretly in awe of them protecting their friend. “My intentions are between Maddie and me, ladies.” My smile stretches across my face when they both roll their eyes. “Sorry.”

Carys grabs Chloe’s mat from her and walks away, leaving Chloe, who’s giving me a hard stare. “Are you gonna hurt her, King?” She cocks a perfectly sculpted eyebrow, like I should be scared of her. This tiny woman has bigger balls than most men I know.

“What do you think?”

She doesn’t look impressed. “I think you’re a manwhore, and our friend .”

“I’m not really into men, so that’s a good thing,” I try to joke. But she doesn’t look impressed. “Listen, because I’m only going to say this once. Don’t believe everything you read in the papers. I’ve known you since you were a twelve-year-old kid, taking your first judo lesson. Do you really think I’d hurt her?”

She thinks about it for a second before letting out a quiet huff. “Fine. But I’m watching you.”

“Good.” I grab her shoulders and guide her to the door. “Now get out of here, so I can drive a pretty girl home. Okay?”

“Smooth, King. Real smooth.” She points two fingers at her eyes, then at me. “Best behavior, King.”

I nod in agreement as Carys and she leave the gym, then turn to find Maddie walking my way.

“Where are the girls?” she asks as she shoulders her gym bag.

I reach out and take it from her, then open the front door. “Looks like I’m driving you home after all, sunshine.”

She gets into the passenger side of my SUV and reaches over to unlock my door. “Do you ever get told no?”

My arm brushes against hers as I slide behind the wheel, and a frisson of electricity courses down my spine. “Only by you, Mads.”