by K. C. Lynn
“You’re lying! I saw you watching us outside the gym.”
“I was checking to see where you were training but that’s it. I haven’t seen her since that day. I fucking swear it!”
I stop my circling, a moment of doubt worming its way inside of me. Something in his tone has me questioning what I thought I knew. Unfortunately, he uses this split second to his advantage. Charging at me, he takes me to the ground and lands a few blows, some really powerful ones that have my ears ringing.
In a swift move that I learned from Slade the other day, I flip him over and get him under me. I wrap one arm around his neck and my other around his leg. He struggles to get free but I have him locked up tight, he isn’t going anywhere.
When the bastard spits in my face, I twist my arm that’s curled around his knee until I hear a sickening crack. His scream of agony fills me with satisfaction.
I stare down at him, my eyes hard with warning. “If you ever go near her again I will fucking end you. Do you hear me?”
“I didn’t touch her! You have the wrong guy,” he chokes out through the little air I’m allowing through.
Something tells me he’s being truthful, and now I’m left with a lot more questions.
Who the fuck could have done it?
Ricketts’s struggling brings me from my troubled thoughts. “You better be telling the truth, because if not I’m coming back for you.” With that last threat I finish what I started. I tighten my arm around his neck and it isn’t long until he falls unconscious.
As the bell rings for my victory, I release his limp body and get to my feet. Lewis runs up to me, jumping at me with excitement. “You did it, man, you fucking did it. You’re in the final!” He raises my hand to the screaming crowd, cheering as loud as them, but none of it fazes me. It never does.
I hate this shit.
A pair of panties hit my chest. I kick them to the side without bothering to look in the direction they came from. Pulling away from Lewis I head to my dressing room, wanting to get the fuck out of here. I shove my way through the crowd, but come to a dead stop when I spot someone in the far back corner, watching me. The guy has a hood pulled over his head, shielding most of his face. Something about his stance has familiarity tugging at my memory, reminding me a lot of Kolan Slade.
What the fuck?
The person turns and slips out the side door, snapping me into action. I rush toward the emergency exit, pushing past the crowded bodies. By the time I make it out the door he’s long gone. It’s as if he fucking vanished.
“Hey, man, what’s going on? Who are you chasing after?” Lewis asks, running out the door behind me.
I turn to him. “Do you know who that was?”
“Who?”
“The guy with the hood on. Didn’t you see him?”
He stares at me like I’m crazy. “Did Ricketts get more shots on you than I thought?”
I shake my head. “Never mind.” I head back inside and go to my dressing room.
Lewis keeps close, following me in then slams the door behind him. “Fuck, you were a beast out there. No one and I mean no one has ever been able to take him down like that.” He jumps at me again, his excitement still apparent. “Jesus, I can’t believe we’re at the final. This is going to be huge. I’m wagering everything I have on you.”
I inwardly tense as guilt rears inside of me. “No, don’t. Don’t wager anything, you have no idea if I’m going to win.”
“What the hell are you talking about? Of course you are, and we’re going to make a killing.”
“So you know who I’m fighting?”
“Well, no. We don’t find out until that night, but I have complete faith in you, man. I think you might actually be unbeatable.”
I shake my head. “No one is, Lewis.”
His excitement dims and concern takes over his expression. “Yo, Knight, don’t tell me you’re flaking out on me, man. You can’t. These guys don’t fuck around. If you don’t go through with this they won’t think twice about killing you, and I don’t want that to happen.”
His sincere concern makes me feel even more like shit. I want to divulge everything and tell him to fucking run, but I know I can’t. Instead I pull myself together and wave away his panic. “Nah, man, I’m not flaking out. You know me—I wouldn’t do that. I just don’t want the added pressure of you losing all your money and living on the streets.” I joke halfheartedly.
He releases a relieved breath. “All right, good. I didn’t think you would, you’re a man of your word.”
Before I end up cracking from the guilt, I clear my throat and change the subject. “So when and where is this final fight?”
“I don’t know and we won’t find out until last minute. Boss doesn’t trust anyone any more, not after the fed we caught undercover in here.”
“Fed?” I ask, knowing the agents need this information.
“Yep. He wasn’t around long before he was found out, and it ended with him taking his last breath.
“How was he caught?” I ask carefully, keeping my tone light.
He shrugs. “I don’t know, and to be honest I don’t want to. I’m here for the fighting and money, nothing else.”
I already knew that because the guy doesn’t have it in him to kill anyone, no matter how badass he tries to be. It makes me hate even more that he’s caught up in this shit. “If I decided to go EFC after this would you come with me?” I ask, before I can think better of it.
His eyes widen in surprise. “You serious? You’re thinking of going EFC?”
I shrug. “Why not? I figure it will be the only place I can make decent money. Like you said, who’s going to hire an ex-convict? Hell, I don’t even know if they will but it’s worth a try.”
A smirk stretches across his face. “Yeah, man, I’d be honored to come with you. We’ll find a way for you to do both. Can you imagine the money?”
“Or we use this as our chance to go the straight and narrow like we discussed,” I suggest, talking about the conversation we had just before he was released.
His smile dims, becoming more genuine than cocky. “Yeah, maybe we should.” With a heavy breath he runs a hand through his hair. “Look, I gotta run. I’ll keep you up to date, but I’d say you have at least a week or two.”
I nod. “All right, keep in touch.”
“Will do.” He turns to leave but stops and turns back around. “Oh, I was going to ask, what the hell did Ricketts do to your girl?”
I think about how much I should divulge, if anything. This time I decide to be honest, hoping he can help. “Someone waited for her the other night and threatened her, saying they would kill me if I didn’t throw the fight.”
“No shit?” he says, genuinely shocked. “No wonder you went at him like you did.”
“Yeah, well I’m not so sure it was him.”
“What do you mean?”
“He says he didn’t do it. Usually, I wouldn’t believe him but something feels off.”
“Who else could it be?”
I shrug. “I don’t know, I was hoping you could shed some light on that for me.”
I watch as he rolls it around in his head. “I don’t know, man. I’ve never heard of anything like that happening before. My first instinct would be that he’s lying, but who knows, stranger shit has happened. A lot of money rides on these fights, maybe they stupidly bet against you?” He shrugs. “Again, I have no idea, I’m just throwing shit out there, but to me it would be stupid to bring her into it. Why not just switch their bets and place their money on you?”
“Unless they can’t? Maybe they have more to lose than money?” I think out loud, trying to run over every possible scenario. Shaking my head, I let out a frustrated breath. “I don’t know.”
“Listen, I’ll put out feelers. I’ll be subtle—keep it quiet—but if you ask me it probably was Ricketts and he’s lying. But I’ll see what I can find out.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it.”
“He
y, don’t sweat it. You and I—we’re a team. I got your back, man, always.”
He walks out the door, leaving me with guilt burning through my veins.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Anna
After reading Annabelle a bedtime story, I make my way to the porch steps and stare out at the lighted tree, the warm evening breeze and hot tea doing nothing to calm the fear that’s been plaguing me since Logan left. I glance down at my cell phone to check the time again and pray for a text from him, something—anything, but there’s nothing.
Come on, Logan, please hurry.
The sound of the front door opening brings me out of my turbulent thoughts. A moment later Julia sits next to me and puts her arm around my shoulders.
“Annabelle asleep now?” I ask softly.
“Not yet. She roped Jax into a second bedtime story. She said the one you read wasn’t long enough, and of course he fell for it.”
I chuckle. Of course he did, he can never say no to her, but I don’t blame him, I can’t either.
“You doing okay?” she asks, even though she already knows the answer.
“I will be once he’s back here with me and I know he’s safe.”
Her hand squeezes my shoulder. “I’m sorry, I know what it’s like to worry, believe me, but he’ll be here soon.”
I nod. “I know, I just hate it. After all this time we’re finally back together, and I’m terrified he’ll be ripped from me again.”
“And I know that feeling, too. It’s scary to think about losing our loved ones, especially when we know how it feels. I’ll never forget how long it took me to get over losing Jaxson that first time. When I got the call that he was hurt, and they didn’t know if he would make it…” She shakes her head softly. “It’s something I try not to think about or I’ll go crazy. All we can do is have faith and cherish the moments we get with them. If we constantly live in fear then we’ll end up missing out on the here and now. As hard as it is, try to remember that. Instead of dwelling on the time you and Logan have missed out on, try using it to make up time lost.”
What she says makes complete sense and logically I know this but it’s hard. The regret of time lost with him is still fresh. Maybe it will be easier when he isn’t caught up in this mess and we can focus on a future together. Although, I have no idea what that future holds. The unknown of that is killing me, too. There’s a lot we need to talk to about… I trail off on that thought and look at Julia. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course, anything.”
“When Jaxson came back, you know, after what happened in Iraq, did he…did he open up to you about it?”
Something passes over her expression, something painful, before she releases a sigh. “Not at first, no, and even when he did finally open up to me it wasn’t much, but it was enough for me to be there for him.”
“How did you get him to open up?” I’m hoping she can shed some light so it can help me get Logan to open up. Especially concerning whatever it is that happened to have him so scared to have his back open, to make him so much harder than he used to be. Whatever his demons are, I want to rid them from him like he did mine.
“Well, I don’t really know. After he got back I knew he had more scars than the ones that marked his body.” Just thinking of Jaxson’s back has my throat burning something fierce. “I always tried to be there for him and waited patiently, hoping he would finally open up. One night he had a horrible nightmare and that’s when I pushed, I couldn’t wait any longer for him to come to me. I knew it was the right time, he couldn’t keep his turmoil to himself any more.”
I swallow thickly, my heart hurting over his torment, one I’m sure we shared but very differently. “Do you think it helped him when he opened up?”
I’m sure it did. It’s something I’ve learned a lot about, not just from my personal experience but also in school. However, I think it helps when you have the right person to open up to. I’m not sure where I would be if I hadn’t met Logan all those years ago. Therapy helped me but he’s the one that helped me overcome it all.
“I think so. I’m sure some of those internal scars will be there forever, how could they not? But I think many factors come into play at the ones that have been healed.”
“Like what?”
“Well, you for one. Some of his biggest torment at the time was his guilt over what happened to you, that he didn’t make it in time.” My eyes close as pain slices through me, hating that he harbored any guilt over me. “But seeing what a beautiful, young woman you’ve turned into, with a promising future, healed that,” she adds with a smile. “Then, of course, there’s Annabelle.”
I smile. “Yes, we must not forget her. How could her sweet face not heal everything?”
Julia chuckles. “I agree, and we both know she has Jax wrapped around her finger.”
“That she does.” My smile dims a bit with what I’m about to say next. “You’re forgetting one more factor, maybe the biggest one of all when it comes to his healing.”
Her eyes narrow in confusion. “What’s that?”
“You.”
She gets another smile, this one so radiant you can feel it all the way to your heart. She wraps her other arm around my shoulders and pulls me in close. “You and I, Anna, are two peas in a pod. We both love men who are sexy, stubborn and possessive. But they have more honor than most men could ever hope for. They may drive us crazy, but we need them as much as the air we breathe.”
My arms wrap around her waist since I’m one step lower than her, my heavy heart feeling a little lighter. “I’m really glad I met y’all, Julia. I love you guys more than I could ever say.”
“Me, too.”
“Am I interrupting?”
We break apart and look behind us to see Jaxson walking out the front door. We both wipe away a few tears that escaped during our moment and smile up at him.
“Not at all, come have a seat,” Julia says.
I expect him to sit next to her but he ends up forcing himself between us and draping an arm around both of us. “What are you girls talking about? Or maybe I don’t want to know,” he adds, taking in our melancholic state.
“We were talking about how amazing you are,” I answer honestly.
“Yep,” Julia agrees, kissing his cheek.
He grunts, uncomfortable with the compliment, but holds us a little tighter. “Save that ass-kissing for Evans, he’s the one who likes that shit.”
We both agree with a giggle.
“Is our daughter asleep?” Julia asks, changing the subject.
“Yeah, she fell asleep quickly,” he replies, before looking down at me. “I just got off the phone with your dad.”
I tense, and the light feeling I just had evaporates. “Oh, and what did he want?” I try to keep the bitterness out of my tone but don’t succeed. I love my father, but I’m still so angry at the way he acted.
“He was just checking on you, making sure you’re okay.” I harrumph then immediately feel immature for it. “I know you’re mad, but cut the guy some slack. He loves you and he was caught off guard.”
“I get that but you don’t know how bad he acted or the horrible things he said, especially about Logan.”
“Actually, I do, and if it’s any consolation I told him it was shitty too, especially because we all know why Logan went to jail. He said shit he didn’t mean… I can kinda relate.”
“Well at least you apologized, he hasn’t, and until he does I am not speaking to him.”
“Fair enough.”
“Darn right it is,” I grumble which makes him chuckle.
The sound of a motorcycle breaks up the conversation. A ton of bricks feel like they’ve been lifted off my chest as Logan pulls in. “Oh thank God!” I push away from Jaxson and run over to the garage where Logan parks the bike.
He climbs off and heads in my direction. “Hey, baby. Sorry, I—”
I throw myself at him and cut his words off with a kiss. I inhale everything
he has to give me, needing reassurance that he’s okay. With a low growl he more than delivers, stealing my breath as he takes control of the kiss.
“Please tell me you’re okay,” I whisper against his lips.
“If I tell you I’m okay are you going to stop kissing me?”
“No, I’ll never stop kissing you.” If I have it my way I’ll kiss this man for the rest of my life.
“Then yeah, I’m okay.” I pull back with a smile but it dies quickly when I notice his jaw is swollen and the corner of his eye has a cut on it, the outdoor garage light shining directly on the injuries. I reach up and gently drag my fingers along the wound. “I’m okay, Anna, I promise.”
“Did you at least win?” I ask softly, not really sure if that matters.
“Of course I did.” A smile touches my lips at his cocky reply. “But we need to talk.”
My heart plummets at his expression. “What is it, what’s wrong?”
“It’s okay, I just need to ask you something, but let’s join Jaxson before he shoots me, thinking I’m doing more with you over here in the dark than what I am.” Kissing my forehead, he drops me back to my feet and keeps an arm around my shoulders as we walk back to Jaxson and Julia on the porch steps.
I expect Jaxson to make a remark about what took us so long but he doesn’t. He doesn’t even look annoyed. His sharp gaze is focused on Logan only. “So, how did it go?”
Logan shrugs. “Depends on how you look at it. I won, but now I’m left with a lot of questions, ones I’m really needing some answers to.”
“What do you mean?”
He releases a breath then looks down at me. “Have a seat, baby.”
I do as he says, sitting on the step next to Jaxson’s feet. My heart pounds a million miles a minute, wondering what the heck is going on with him. He passes me his phone, showing me a picture.
“Who’s this?” I ask as I stare down at a man I’ve never seen before.
“Look closely. Does he look familiar at all?”
I feel Jaxson lean over top of me to look as well. “Why are you showing her a picture of Ricketts?”
“This is Ricketts?” I ask, knowing that’s the guy he fought tonight.
