Abel (5th Street 4)

The cameras went crazy, flashing away as they stood there facing off. To his surprise, McKinley didn’t say anything at first, just stared him down. But his brother who stood just behind him was still running his mouth—a bunch of shit about Abel going down and how he was a chavala who’d be calling the fight in two rounds, three tops. Abel focused on McKinley’s freakishly light blue eyes.

“Just like your dirty gangsta daddy, you going down Ayala.” McKinley’s brother kept on, and it got the room buzzing.

“Be cool,” Gio whispered just behind Abel. “It’s almost over.”

Abel swallowed hard as the guy’s mouth kept running. This little f**ker wouldn’t break him. He focused on drowning out his words. He was almost out of here. Soon he’d be exactly where he wanted to be, and tomorrow it was on.

“. . . show Nellie what it’s like to be with a real man, not some punk-ass kid.”

That broke his focus, and he glanced away from McKinley for a second to glare at his annoying ass brother. Did he just say what he’d thought he’d heard him say, or was Abel so focused on getting back to Nellie that he thought he heard her name?

Bringing his eyes back to McKinley to continue the stare down, he noticed the smirk tugging at the corner of McKinley’s mouth. “I heard she’s a good f**k.” McKinley said smugly, but in a voice so low that Abel was sure only he heard in the already buzzing room.

For a moment, Abel wondered if this guy was stupid enough to follow up, clarifying that by she, McKinley meant his mom. As much as Abel had insisted he’d keep his cool, he wasn’t sure now he would if that were the case. Still he continued staring him down, refusing to give him the reaction he knew McKinley was digging for.

“I heard she sucks dick like a pro.”

Abel couldn’t help pinching his brows and clenching his teeth. He’d also started breathing a little harder through his nose. He’d been warned enough about this guy, but this kind of trash talking had to be crossing the line. McKinley smirked even bigger now.

“I heard Nellie spreads her—”

“What did you say?” Abel grabbed him by his vest, and instantly everyone around them rushed in to break it up, the cameras going even crazier. As much as they tried to separate them, Abel had a death grip on McKinley’s vest. “What the f**k did you say, ass**le?”

“She’s a freak in the sheets,” McKinley’s brother said, stupidly moving in close enough to Abel’s face.

It was the only thing that made Abel let go of McKinley and swing at his brother instead. The guy went down instantly, and suddenly there were punches being thrown from every direction. Instinctively, Abel turned and looked for Hector in the brawl. He was holding his own, throwing a few impressive punches himself. Andy had moved out of the way and was the only one in his entourage not involved.

Microphones, tables, and cameras went down as the brawl moved around and bodies continued to fall, thankfully none from Abel’s side. It took a while, but when they finally broke it up, they told both sides they were free to leave. Since McKinley’s people were still yelling obscenities, security hurried Abel and his entourage out before another brawl broke out.

Still burning from McKinley and his brother’s comments, he wondered how the hell they got the news of him and Nellie so fast. As satisfying as it had been to knock McKinley’s obnoxious brother the f**k out, he was still pissed at himself for having let them get to him. Now after the fact, he knew it had been their sole intention. For months, they’d tried everything to make him snap, and now they knew the one thing that would.

Noah, of course, read his mind. “It happened one day before the fight. They can’t do much now. It’s a little late to get in your head now, right?”

“Just keep away from the TV, radio, and Internet from now until tomorrow.” Gio said, clapping him on the shoulder as they made their way down the corridor that led to his private elevator.

“Absolutely,” Andy agreed. “That brawl is gonna be shown over and over until tomorrow and even after—guaranteed. It’s probably already been uploaded to YouTube. The promoters will be milking that shit for every penny-sucking minute of it they can. People who don’t usually watch fights will be paying to watch it tomorrow after the video of that brawl goes viral.” Andy glanced down at his phone screen. “It hasn’t even been ten minutes, and the headlines are already quoting McKinley’s reaction. I won’t tell you what he’s saying because it doesn’t even matter. Just do yourself a favor and do not turn on your TV or anything where you’ll get even a glimpse of the hype.”

Abel cursed himself for having given them what they wanted. Well, he sure as f**k wasn’t giving them the satisfaction of hearing them trash talk him anymore. He hadn’t read any of the stories about himself since the Rachel ones broke out. Ever since then, he’d avoided all the bullshit, and he wasn’t about to go back to hearing about it now. He’d handle that ass**le in the ring. For now, a good long dose of Nellie was all he needed to feel better.

He frowned when he realized everyone seemed to be coming back to his suite with him. All of them, with the exception of Noah who’d stopped to take a call, were walking with him to the elevator. Pulling his own phone out, he texted Nellie to let her know he wasn’t coming back to the room alone. No way was he chancing her opening the door in something sexy and giving the whole gang a show.

To his relief, everyone except Gio and Hector said their goodbyes at the elevator. Andy reminded him to avoid all headlines and any hype. “You need to go in that ring clearheaded,” he said, tapping his own temple. “Is Nellie staying with you tonight?”