Got A Hold On You (Ringside Romance) by Pat White Read Free Book Online Page B

Hudson, they’ll be taking
you for x-rays in a minute.”
    “I’ve been hit in the head enough times to know I
don’t need x-rays.”
    The doctor pushed aside the curtain and glanced over
his shoulder. “I’d have to disagree considering you didn’t even recognize your
own wife.” The doctor slid the curtain closed.
    “My what?” Jack sat up, gripped his head with both
hands and collapsed back onto the bed.
    Uncle Joe giggled.
    “Sully,” Jack growled.
    “I’m going to have to ask all of you to leave,” the
nurse ordered.
    “One minute, nurse, just sixty seconds?” Uncle Joe
winked at Billings, who put his arm around the nurse.
    “I don’t suppose you have any kids who like
wrestling?” Billings guided her out of the examining area. Uncle Joe shut the
curtain behind them.
    “Get out,” Jack said, his right arm shielding his
eyes.
    “We have business to discuss,” Uncle Joe protested.
    “Yeah, like the broad standing next to you? Don’t tell
me, you had a minister marry us while I was unconscious to beef up next week’s
ratings. Come on, Sully, you know I like them tall and bone skinny.”
    Maybe insults would get them to leave, Jack thought.
    “This is my niece and WHAK negotiator,” Sully said.
“We said she was your wife so they’d let us in to talk to you.”
    “Yeah, catch me when I’m down. I know the drill.”
    “You were great tonight, Jack. The fans were hot, out
of control.”
    Sully took a step toward him. Jack was cornered, had
nowhere to go. A familiar feeling.
    “Things are turning around for us. Just think, when
you turn heel on next week’s show—”
    “Are you nuts!” Jack shouted, clutching his head to
ease the spear of pain slicing through his skull. “You’ve got to be out of your
mind.”
    “Take ’em by surprise, Jack. That’s what tonight
taught me. That’s why we’ve been losing fans. They crave the unexpected,
larger-than-life stories filled with emotion and drama.”
    “I won’t turn heel.”
    The thought of thousands of young fans watching him
draw blood from a hero tied his stomach in knots. It had taken years to build
his reputation, to become a hero that impressionable kids could look up to. It
would take one match to trash that image to hell.
    “It’s only three more months. Then your contract’s up
and you’re free to go on with your life.”
    “As what? A complete jerk?”
    “Heels have gone on to very successful careers as
announcers, actors, heck, even politicians.”
    “I came into this business a hero, and I’m going out
the same way.”
    God, let him be a hero at something.
    “I’m sorry, but my advisers feel strongly about this.”
    “And who the hell are your advisers? Billings? The man
was a career jobber. He won five, maybe six matches in fifteen years. Or did
this lady standing next to you suggest you destroy the persona I’ve worked
years to build?”
    Sully’s niece crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m
here to negotiate, not make up stories. You all seem quite capable of doing
that without my help.”
    Another hard-ass. Great.
    “I won’t turn, Sully. Now, get out.” Jack crooked his
arm over his face. The dull throb grew to a persistent hammer. The shuffling of
papers echoed across the small examining area.
    “I’ve got a contract here,” Sully countered. “If you
break it I’ll sue you for everything you’re worth.”
    “You sonofa…” Jack lunged for the promoter, hoping to
apply an illegal chokehold of his own, but his knees buckled and he went down.
He groped for the counter to keep from falling flat on his face. The room spun
as test patterns of red, yellow, and white flashed across his eyes.
    Someone gently grabbed his arm and helped steady him.
He didn’t open his eyes, afraid he’d be sick from the sight of IVs, latex
gloves, and blood-pressure cuffs spinning around the room.
    “Lie down,” a woman’s voice said.
    Thank God the nurse had returned to save him from
Sully and his evil