Free Untamed: Bad Boy Fighter Romance (Fighting for Gisele #2) by Emily Jane Trent Page B

idiot’s issue, but he was hoping to drive a wedge between us. In fact, he is serious about wanting to marry her.”
    “Is he any competition?”
    “Naw, he’s just annoying,” Micah said. “She told me that it was a lie…she’d told him in no uncertain terms that she would not marry him.”
    “What a fiasco.”
    “It turned out okay for me, though.”
    Luke raised his brows. “Yeah?”
    “The charges were dropped.” Micah dove back into his food, carving a large bite of sweet potato.
    “I’m relieved to hear that,” Luke said, “especially after the money you lost at the casino.”
    “What makes you think I lost?”
    “If you’d won you would have said so. You’re not one to pass up an opportunity to brag.”
    “My concentration was off,” Micah said.
    “I’ll bet.” Luke spoke through another mouthful of mashed potatoes. “But you have a big fight coming up, and we need the money.”
    According to Luke, they always needed the money. Micah knew that his losses hadn’t put that big of a dent in their funds. They’d done well together, especially betting on the underground matches. Still, Micah did want to win.
    “Tell me more about this fight.”
    Luke pushed back from the table, finished eating. “The upcoming event is being sponsored by Leonid Chernov. Need I say more?”
    Leo was another version of Russian mobster. His brigade was vested in underground fighting. They bet heavily and expected to win. Setting up the fights was their business, and they knew how to run things. But a Chernov fight could be deadly; the matches were for real, best man win…or at least survive.
    Micah narrowed his eyes. “We better stand to make a lot of money on this one.”
    Luke grinned. “ A lot of money.”
    “Then I better get another plate of food,” Micah said. “I’m going to need my strength.”
     

 
    Chapter 7
    While Micah was in training, Gisele didn’t see him often. Many evenings and a few afternoons, she was involved with her duties at the complex. Her brother seemed to keep her busier than before, and she wondered if it was a ploy to keep her away from Micah.
    When Abby wasn’t dancing, she’d hang out with Gisele, and today was one of those days. They had a late lunch planned, some shopping, then cocktails at a place with a live band. To get ready, Gisele soaked in a bubble bath listening to music, trying to fill her mind with positive thoughts.
    When the water cooled, Gisele got out and put on a robe. She flopped on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. With her birthday approaching, she missed her mother a lot. It would be so much better to share the excitement of turning twenty-one and planning the party together.
    Alek had been good about listening to ideas, and provided Gisele with a party planner, but that wasn’t the same thing. She hugged her pillow to her chest and recalled what little she could of her mother Catarina.
    She’d had so few years with her mother, and at such a young age. But Gisele remembered her mother reading books to her before bed, baking cookies for holidays, or taking her to the park. It was the little things that meant so much. Not long before her mother died, the family had gone to Navy Pier together.
    Gisele’s father was an accountant by trade, but fun loving when he wasn’t working. He’d ridden the Ferris wheel with them, and she had experienced the warmth of being together as a family. Her parents had taken her to the Children’s Museum, although she recalled very little about it. She was still able to remember her mother’s laugh and how good it made her feel. Even better were her mother’s hugs, and when she’d said, “ I love you, sweetheart .”
    Thinking of the loss of her parents made Gisele sad; the years she’d had with them were precious. She clung to each memory: her mother’s perfume, her smile, and how much she’d loved Gisele. Even now, she wondered how different her life would have been if her mother had lived.
    Sitting up on