Reading Online Novel

Worth the Chance(79)



“As I’ll ever be.”





Chapter 51



Liv

The plane circles in the air for what seems like the hundredth time and I sit fidgeting in my seat. I’m not going to make it. They need to land this damn plane. A voice breaks into my thoughts, coming from a speaker above me. “Ladies and gentlemen we’re just going to be a little while longer here. We’re backed up and they’ve got us in a holding pattern. It seems our delay out of D.C. has made us miss our ground time here in Chicago and now we need to wait our turn in line.”

A hand covers mine, stilling it, ending my mindless tapping with worry on the armrest. “Relax, we have time. We’ll make it.” Elle’s smile comforts me. A little anyway. There are no words to describe how much Elle making the trip means to me. She did so much more than prepare the legal documents, I’m not sure I could’ve gone through with it without her. Standing by my side the whole time gave me the confidence I needed to know I was doing the right thing. Well, technically, what we were doing wasn’t the right thing, I’m not even sure it was really legal, but sometimes it takes a series of wrongs to come out in the right place in the end.

“Thank you so much for doing this with me,” I say, turning to the beautiful woman sitting beside me. “I know how hard it must have been for you to leave the baby all day. And I’m sure Nico is going to have a whole lot to say when he finds out the real reason you went out of town.” Half teasing with my last comment, I attempt a playful smile, although it comes out what it really is…a sorry excuse at covering my frayed nerves.

“You’ve thanked me a hundred times, Liv.” She smiles. “I’m glad I could help, but really, Vinny’s family. I’d do anything for that boy.” Turning in her chair to face me more directly, her eyes filled with sincerity, she says, “I know you don’t think so now, but everything is going to work itself out. I just feel it. He loves you, Liv. He wouldn’t be so angry and miserable if he didn’t.”

I know she’s trying to help, yet hearing that I’ve made Vinny angry and miserable just tugs at my heart. Seeing my face falter, she continues, “It hurts. I know. But you’re sacrificing a lot to make it right for him and someday, when his hot temper cools down, he’ll see it.”



Finally we pull up to the front of the arena. The cab barely stopped, I throw money in the front seat and rip open the car door. It’s quiet outside as we make our way to the entrance. Everyone is already inside. Not a good sign. Elle needs to get to him before it’s too late.

We pass through security quickly and shove our tickets in the hands of the man collecting them and take off running down the hall before he even has a chance to rip them in half and give us our stubs.

“This way.” Elle yells over the sound of cheers coming from the inside of the arena. Grabbing the door to the first entrance we find, the announcer’s voice comes over the loud speaker, filling the air over the sound of the cheering from the crowd.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, in the red corner, standing six-feet tall, weighing in at one hundred eighty-three pounds, the contender for the middleweight champion of the world, with a record of 12-0, looking to make it lucky number thirteen tonight, the ladies love him, the men fear him…I give you Vince ‘The Invinnnnnnciiiiible’ Stone!”

My heart thuds in my chest, beating rapidly in sync with the sound of the crowd cheering wildly and I watch frozen in place as he steps into the center of the ring. As my foot passes over the doorway threshold, barely on the carpet that covers the inner venue, I see Vinny turn, his eyes scanning the crowd, almost looking for someone. Snapping me out of my stupor, Elle grabs my arm and the security guard points us in the direction of our assigned seats. We make it to the front, finding our two empty seats, just three rows back from the cage.

“Sit, let me try to get to him.” Elle yells over the crowd and I do as instructed, my eyes still fixated on the back of the man now standing in his corner. Horrified, I sit frozen in my seat as I catch Elle arguing with yet another oversized security guard. He repeatedly shakes his head no, denying Elle passage as the two men meet in the middle of the ring and bump fists while the referee goes through the rules.

We’re running out of time. Running out of time. I silently plead with God, trying to make a deal to get him to help me. Please, please, just let her through. Let her get to him in time and I’ll do anything. Anything. And then the bell dings…

Eyes glued to the cage, I watch in horror as the two men begin to jump around. Vinny’s opponent striking first, he lands an early shot to Vinny’s right shoulder, but Vinny keeps moving right through it. Landing a few quick snap jabs to the face, Vinny turns slightly to the left, following up with an elbow that crashes into his opponent’s cheekbone, his skin tears at the point of impact.