“I wanted to show you our engagement photo.” She thrust her phone in front of my eyes.

If she had a knife in my chest, she’d turn it, just to make the pain that much worse.

I glanced at the photo and looked away quickly, not wanting it to be thrown in my face more than it already has. Something about the photo was off. “Wait, let me see that again.” I grabbed the phone.

“Look all you want, sweetheart. He’s mine and this time, I’m not letting him go.” She released the phone with a giant ass smile on her face.

Touching the screen, I enlarged the picture. The faces weren’t right. They didn’t match the bodies. I stood there gawking at it until Tammy grabbed it from my fingers.

“He’s so romantic. He proposed at the beach,” she said, staring at the picture.

It was creepy and her mind must be totally twisted. I hadn’t realized until then how entirely off she was and the depths of her craziness.

“It’s a fairytale,” I said. This bitch lives in La La land.

“More than I could’ve ever dreamed of really. He’s mine, all mine.” She hugged the phone, moving her body side to side.

“Yep, all yours.” I smiled. “I really have to go.” I needed to get away from her. “Good luck with your ultrasound,” I called out as I walked away.

I snuck a glance over my shoulder. She stood in the middle of the hall with her hands on her hips glaring at me. Her very presence put me on edge but her delusions told me she was far more dangerous than I imagined. I was the enemy to her.

I wondered if Michael knew about the type of over the top nutty that was his fiancé. I asked the security guard to walk me to my car. I didn’t explain, but I never needed to. I felt a little more at ease as I drove home but I looked in my rearview mirror every few seconds to make sure she wasn’t following me.

Sitting in my driveway I opened my text messages, my finger hovered over Michael’s name and his last message.

Michael: God damn it, Mia. I need you.

My resolve wavered until I thought about Tammy. I wanted no part in their crazy bullshit. I would’ve described him as romantic and an amazing lover, but fuck, there wasn’t a cock in the world worth the hassle.

I wasn’t going to come between them.

My body felt heavy from a long shift on my feet, my mind was in a fog, and my heart ached. A small part of me wanted to see why he needed me, but I convinced myself it was a ploy.

The day had been emotionally draining already without opening my heart to him again and rubbing salt in the wound.

I pulled down the room darkening shades and closed the drapes. I tossed my clothes to the floor before I grabbed a glass of water and my sleeping pills. I needed for this day to be over.

I climbed into bed and closed my eyes, wishing the day away. Sleep didn’t come easy. Every time I drifted off a different nightmare would wake me up. Images of patients and their horrific injuries and the screams of the injured faceless people startled me awake. The last one dealt with Tammy waiting to slice my throat open in my car after work.

The sleeping pills were supposed to help knock my ass out, but tonight, they sure as hell weren’t doing the trick.

I turned on the television, giving up on sleep, and looked through the guide. There had to be something happy to watch to help replace my nightmares. “Sleepless In Seattle” had an hour left and I’d seen it a dozen times. I flipped to the channel and watched with stinging eyes. I needed the happily ever after.

I could recite the lines in the movie verbatim. When they meet on top of the Empire State Building at the end, it always brought me to tears.

I drifted off to thoughts of Sam and Annie.

Chapter 22

MICHAEL

“I hope your ass has been working out, man. Countdown is in single digits. What the fuck have you been doing?” Rob said as I landed another blow.

“I got this, Rob. Shit’s been going on in my personal life that I’ve had to deal with and I’m still dealing with it.” I stretched my shoulders, cracking my neck, readying myself for the next round. My heart hurt more than my muscled ached but I couldn’t stop.

“You need to get everything worked out before the fight. You need your head in the game. An hour here and there will not make you a champion.”

“Oh ye of little faith. I took down ‘The Mauler’ and I sure as fuck can handle ‘The Heat’. One problem will be taken care of today and then I just have to win Mia back,” I said as I grabbed a bottle of water, downing it, before crushing the plastic.

Mia walking away and shutting me out hurt more than any injury I’d even suffered in the cage. She gave me something good and pure to look forward to each day, but it was ripped from me by the devil.

His eyebrows shot up in surprise. “You hooked up with Mia, huh? You’re a lucky son of a bitch.” He shook his head but smiled. “She did ask me about you.”

“When?” I asked feeling hopeful.

“Weeks ago. Wanted to know who you were.” He shrugged.

“Oh. I’d say we more than ‘hooked up’. I really like her, man.”

“Before you grow a pussy, can you at least train while you pour your heart out?”

“I’m done talking, dick. I’m going to make you pay for the pussy comment.”

I spent the next hour doing just that. Cocky bastard talked a good game, but he wasn’t as fast as me. Rob knew the moves; his technical skills couldn’t be beat. He used to be part of the circuit but a nasty injury ended his fighting career.

I took my anger out on him. My jabs, kicks, and takedowns were aimed at him, but in my mind Tammy received each piercing blow. The bitch had crossed the line, making me miserable, and today I would call foul.

“Jesus, that’s the hardest you’ve hit me in a long time, man.” Rob huffed, grabbing his shoulder.

“I don’t have another outlet for my anger. You’re my personal punching bag,” I said, wiping the sweat from my eyes.

“Save some of it for the cage. Heat won’t know what hit’em. Maybe you shouldn’t straighten the shit out first.” He laughed.

“Fuck you, Rob.”

“Kidding, Mike.” He laughed. “Let’s call it a day. Be here tomorrow morning at five. We don’t have a moment to waste.”

I collapsed on the bench, every muscle screaming as I rubbed my thighs. “I’ll be here. Be ready for another ass kicking.” I smirked. I never hit him hard enough to hurt him. I had more power in me than I ever took out on him. “Today I get everything ironed out and I’ll be back on track. My mind will be focused.”

“I hope so. If you want to get another big match like New York, you can’t lose the next one.”

“Shut the fuck up. I got this. I’m not losing. He won’t be an issue.” I pulled the tape off my hands, squeezing them to get the blood to flow to my fingers.

“That’s the type of thinking that’ll get your ass knocked out.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be in my corner?” I looked at Rob as he stood in front of me.

He had a cocky grin on his face; the bastard was trying to get me riled up more than I already was with the Tammy bullshit. “I am. Just reminding you to get your shit straight.”

“Okay, Mom. I gotta go do just that. Now shut the fuck up and get outta my face.”

Putting his hands up, Rob said, “I’m out. I expect a full report tomorrow. Bring some of that piss and vinegar with you for training. We’re sparing for real and I better not be able to take you down or you’re in real trouble.”

Pointing at him, I smiled. “Keep spouting your shit and I’ll make sure you walk into the match with a limp.”

He laughed as he walked away and unlocked the doors. I looked through the glass, trying to will Mia to walk through the door.

“She hasn’t been here in a week. You can stop looking, pussy.”

I didn’t reply. She was avoiding me and it stung more than his words.