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Nodding, Abel juot out of the ring The buzzing in Abel’s head drowned out the crowd The fact that Nellie still wasn’t there and this guy standing in the ring with hi around his were now black There was noelse All he saas his fury’s prize right in front of hi he heard froeance

Landing the first one, he missed the next couple of jabs, which were literally air jabs McKinley got a few in on hies in his head started up: the ones of Nellie and Sa his hotel room then the one of his lips on hers They’d set her up and he fking knew it He swung hard with everything he had, and if he’d landed it, he was sure he would’ve taken McKinley’s head off But hewith so an co, but not until Noah grabbed his shoulders with both hands and shook hi toand he nodded "You are gonna blow this thing if you keep going out there swinging like that This is exactly what they wanted Are you gonna let thethat" Noah pointed behind hiot shit on you and he knows it Even with you turning into a , I still think you got that round, but you cannot keep doing that!"

"Yeah, Abel," Hector said "That was ugly You nearly knocked yourself out in there If you’d landed it, it would’ve been beautiful"

"No shit," Gio agreed iht would be over if you’d landed it, but you’re not gonna land anything going at it that way And what’s worse is if you keep that up by round three you’re gonna be worn out You got twelve rounds to go, man Pace yourself"

"Slow and steady," Noah said as the bell rang, and they all juether!" Noah yelled as Abel stood up again and once again tuned everything and everyone out

~~

More than a half hour after leaving Abel’s suite, Nellie arrived at a s hotel somewhere in the outskirts of Henderson She didn’t even care where she was, as long as she ay fro city where Andy had assured her she’d behad finally steadied, but Andy’s words kept the tears flowing I’ve never seen hiusted He doesn’t really want you there, Nellie She paid the driver and walked into the hotel lobby, still feeling nuiant hotels in Vegas, it still had a s aired, and they had a good-sized croatching

Nellie didn’t take her dark glasses off and hoped to God that no one would recognize her She’d pay for her rooht She could only pray that Abel would actually be calling her after the fight

"He’s totally off tonight," another hotel attendant said to the clerk helping Nellie as he joined him behind the counter

The clerk looked away from the computer screen and back to one of theat "You think it’s the scandal that has hihts, and he’s always so dauy took a seat on a stool behind the counter but still stared in the direction of the fight "I thought that was all just a publicity stunt, but so’s off, that’s for sure" He suddenly stood up as the crowd in the bar got loud "You see! That’s the second tione down"

The clerk shook his head as Nellie felt the tightening in her chest again Her wheezing had never coain

"Name please?" The clerk asked her

"Nellie," she whispered "Nellie Godinez"

Thankful that she still had an old ID with herfor it in her purse as the crowd in the bar got even louder

"Holy shit" The other attendant hurried around the counter to get a better look at the fight again "Ayala’s gonna go down"

Deciding to forget about the ID for a moment, Nellie pulled out her inhaler instead She was unable to stand it anymore, so she finally turned to watch theway too fast andhis punches Almost everyone at the bar was on their feet now

She didn’t even realize how bad she heezing, until the clerk behind the counter asked her if she was okay Her inhalerher head, she et across that, no, she wasn’t okay, not at all Her inability to catch her breath noas so bad that it was really beginning to scare her

Then it happened Abel went doith an enor off the canvas She stared wide-eyed as she clutched her chest gasping for air, but even the straw like trickle of air she’d been able to inhale earlier was gone now The clerk’s alar went black