Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 78725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
My greatest pride in life was getting to be your father and watching you grow. Keep Lotto, Ari, and that other guy close. I’m leaving you in their care for good now.
Everything I have in my name belongs to you and Lotto. And before you get all huffy, let’s just say my Louisa brought me some good luck on those slots. Actually, she’d probably grab my ear and hit me with her slipper again. She hated when I gambled.
But hey, it worked out. I hit it big a few times. Big enough to buy into La Suprema and leave Ari’s gym with a little extra funding. Use it to kick ass in the Circuit for your old man, would ya? And keep an eye on those boys at La Suprema. They’ve got talent. Remind me a lot of you—kids born to be stars.
I love you, son.
Until we meet again.
Dad.
PS: The Vega family is officially banned from El Dinero Verde Casino just outside Mexico City so don’t try to enter. (They apparently don’t like when you hit two jackpots in a row.)
I re-read the letter over and over until it blurred with my tears. Then I laughed. And laughed and laughed until my lungs burned from breath. Of course, Dad would get himself banned from a casino. I could imagine him yelling at the owners and demanding extra payment for the hassle of being banned from the premises. That was the type of guy he always was.
And the guy I would spend the rest of my life working to make proud.
Lotto set his hand on my shoulder and squeezed. His eyes were rimmed with tears didn’t fall. I glanced at the letter in his hand.
“What did Dad say?”
“To keep watch over you and keep loving you. Same with Ari and Frankie.”
“And now River.”
“Right.” Lotto snorted. “He also told me to make you open the box at some point since he knew you couldn’t do it yourself.”
“Dad knew me ’til the end, huh?”
“And loved us both ’til his last breath.”
I stared at Dad’s will. “There’s enough to support ourselves in the Circuit if La Suprema is our sponsor. We don’t have to worry about Scotty Green anymore. But he knew that, didn’t he?” My laugh sounded weak and hollow. “We always knew everything, even if I didn’t say it.”
“He wants us to keep fighting, Bones. To keep winning.”
“And I’m going to.” I set my hand over Lotto’s. “I’m not ending this season without making the top four. Not anymore. We’re going to win this fucking thing. For Dad.”
“For Pops,” Lotto agreed. “The Circuit won’t know what hit them.”
“Call those stupid assholes in charge,” I said and squeezed his hand. “We’re going to need a new sponsor once we take Scotty Green down.”
Chapter
Twenty-Nine
RIVER
Everything disappeared into a tunnel of black.
Five fucking rounds. Aching muscles and exploding pain everywhere in my body. The screams and calls of people who either wanted me to win or wanted me out for good. The worried expressions of the rest of Smiley’s, who watched me with hope in their eyes and nerves etched on their faces.
Our future rested on my shoulders.
One match. One last chance for glory.
My opponent bounced around the edge of the ring. Clearly, he was buying time. If we didn’t win this, it was over for us. Everything we’d fought for would be for nothing. But if we won, we were saying hello to the semi-finals—the last ride before Vegas.
He kicked at me, and I dodged easily. His smirk told me everything. Fucking bastard was just going to wait ’til the last bell sounded.
I couldn’t let that happen.
I lifted my gloves and went on the offensive. Punch after punch, kick after kick. I wasn’t going to let these fucking pricks stand in my way.
Not now, not ever.
He tried to dodge a hit, but it was too late.
My fist connected with my opponent’s jaw.
His body seized up, and he fell to the mat in a heap of muscle.
And with one punch, Fitspiration was no more.
The rest of the world rushed back in like a tidal wave. Arms circled around my sweaty chest and squeezed until I couldn’t breathe. Ari, Frankie, Lotto, and Bones surrounded me like a buzzing cocoon. Teo held up my arm and pointed at me, yelling to the crowd about the true winners.
Because we were winners.
Fourth place belonged to Smiley’s Gym.
Holy shit, we did it.
The crowd chanted our names; cameras flashed and blinded me. Someone was screaming—was it me? The energy around us had a life of its own, and the buzzing in my veins didn’t stop, even after we stepped out of the ring.
Ari clutched my hand the entire way down the steps.
“I knew we could do it. I just knew it.” She squeezed my fingers.
She had the most to lose. When Bones told us about his dad, she marched right into the Circuit’s main office and refused to leave without an audience. They barely granted her one—at least until she started reading off Scotty Green’s texts admitting to his drug scheme and pressuring her to help.