"Shit," Cami yells as she races forward to try and pull him off me.
He finds his footing and pulls himself up just as Cami flies to his back once again. I take a deep breath, allowing the sweet oxygen to fill me.
Cami grabs a fist full of his hair and pulls his head back, but the bastard isn't finished. With Cami weighing just about nothing, he charges forward again.
I duck out of the way, but he's too quick. He grips my elbow and I give a nasty yank, trying to free myself. His nails dig in and scratch right down my forearm when I decide this needs to end.
With my fist reared back, I swing as hard as I can and punch the fucker right in the nose. "Where's your fucking knife now?" I cry as my fist jolts back in pain and I realize I've just hurt the same hand that I'd hurt punching in the car window.
The car alarm still howls in the background and I don't doubt we have an audience, though the question is; why the hell isn't anyone giving us a hand?
I hear yelling coming from somewhere, but I don't take my eyes off the guy. I mean, he could have a knife stashed somewhere.
The man recovers from the punch and manages to get Cami off his back at the same time. He yanks her around him and pushes her into me the same way he had the night he mugged us. I catch Cami right before we both go tumbling into the side of my car.
The man's eyes darken as he fixes us with a look that says we're dead. He stalks forward and raises his fist to me. I cringe knowing this is going to hurt and wait for impact.
A body is slammed in between us before the man is violently shoved back. Caden stands protectively in front of Cami and not a second later, both Cole and Jace come storming in.
"What the fuck is going on here?" Cole demands as he grabs me and pulls me right behind him in his need to protect me. His body practically shakes in rage as he stares down the guy with a look that I’m sure could have him wetting his pants.
My hand comes up on Cole's back and the tense muscles begin to relax. "This is the guy who held a knife at my neck a few months ago. This is my car," I explain. "I was getting it back."
"Fuck,” he grunts as he turns his head slightly my way. "I'll deal with you later," he tells me and I have no doubt it’s going to be nasty, but now is not the time for us to have it out.
"This him?" Jace clarifies, looking to Cami for confirmation.
“Yeah,” she says with a terrified nod.
Jace steps forward into the guy who attempts to hit him, only my boys have been fighting for most of their lives. I mean, Cole was a fucking champion in the MMA and Jace was a soldier. This guy has nothing on my boys, especially if he had a hard time trying to handle me and Cami.
Jace plucks his fist right out of the sky and uses his momentum to turn him and slam his arm up against his own back before Jace takes him to the ground, holding him there with a knee in his back.
Caden reaches into his pocket and starts dialing 911 while Cole turns around and checks me over. “I’m fine,” I tell him as he won’t let up.
“You’re not fine,” he demands in a tone I’ve never heard from him before, which honestly, has me flinching. I mean, he’s never been quite so angry at me. I frustrate him to the max nearly every single day, but this is different. This is pure rage and it’s aimed right at me.
I don’t dare tell him that my wrist is still aching. The fact that I was able to punch the guy tells me it clearly isn’t broken. I’ve probably just done a little damage to the muscles. Nothing a little rub can’t fix.
It doesn’t take long before the police are showing up and after a statement from each of us, the guy is being handcuffed and hauled into the back of the police car. Though, this comes after my car keys are returned to me.
I thank the police who assure me the guy will be dealt with, and I don’t doubt them. The police are known for being absolute badasses around here, so when they say something will happen, I completely trust it.
Once they’re gone, I’m left with a still very pissed off Cole. Though, I’m not alone. Cami currently has Jace losing his shit while Caden storms away shaking his head, mumbling some shit about this not being his problem to deal with.
Cole snatches the keys out of my hand, jumps in my car and slams the door behind him before backing out of the spot. I watch as he drives it across to Rebels Advocate, hops out and slams the door before storming into the gym.
I look over at Cami who’s currently watching Jace walking back across to Rebels. She looks back at me and it’s like we’re completely on the same wavelength. It would be so much easier for us to get straight back in my car and leave, but that would probably make things so much worse. Well, for me at least. Cami has no need to leave. She doesn’t owe Jace an explanation.
Cami and I walk back over to Rebels in silence. We make it to my car before I hand her my car keys. “Here,” I say as she takes them from my hand. “I’m assuming you’re not in the mood for the self-defense class?”
“Ha,” she scoffs. “There’s no way in hell I’m going in there with Jace. I’ve never seen him so angry.”
“I know,” I grin. “Drive my car home. I’ll come pick it up later on. I should probably go in there and talk to Cole.”
“Good luck with that,” she scoffs.
“Thanks,” I groan. “Though, to their defense, what we did was pretty stupid. We should have gotten them first.”
“I could have sworn I said something along those lines,” she says as she pretends to think it over.
“I know,” I tell her. “I’m sorry. I got carried away. I saw my car and it’s like all rational thought disappeared.”
“Ya think?” she quips before pulling me into a tight hug. “I’m happy you got your baby back and I’m happy you’re ok, but don’t drag me into this kind of bullshit again.”
“Deny it all you want,” I tell her, “But I saw the look in your eye. You’ve been dreaming about getting revenge on that scumbag and I know, deep down, you’re absolutely thrilled about it.”
A grin rips across her face as she drops down into the driver’s seat of my new car. “Shut up,” she says before poking her tongue out, closing the door and starting the engine. She puts the window down and gives me an encouraging smile. “Good luck in there. Call me if you need me.”
“Ok,” I smile. “Love you.”
With that, she backs out of the spot and I make my way inside, preparing to face the angriest man on the planet.
I walk through the door and the first thing I hear is the sound of a punching bag being absolutely annihilated. I walk deeper into the gym and pass the front reception area where Jess sits. “Good luck,” she murmurs under her breath. “I don’t know what’s going on, but those boys are pissed.”
“I know,” I tell her. “If I don’t come out in ten minutes, send help.”
She gives me a tight smile and I walk on past. The repetitive noise of the punching bag continues, and from the angry sound of the grunting that goes along with it, I have no doubt that’s my man.
I turn the corner into the wide open gym. My eyes instantly land on him. My stomach clenches at the sight of him wearing nothing but black training pants that hang dangerously low on his hips. Cole’s body is covered in a sheer layer of sweat as he beats the shit out of the punching bag with his muscles rolling with each movement he takes.
As I walk towards him, Jace crosses through my vision and I can’t help but raise my eyes to meet his. He practically growls at me and I want nothing more than to lash out and let him have it. I mean, the guy has no right to be pissed. He’s not Cami’s man nor will he ever be.
My eyes cut away from him and focus back on the man who has become my whole world. I swallow down my fear and step right into his line of vision. He ignores me as I silently lean up against the wall watching him annihilate the punching bag. He grunts and groans with each fist that pounds into the worn leather, and it doesn’t go unnoticed that his knuckles are quickly becoming very bloodied.
“I’m sorry,” I start. “I wasn’t
thinking.”
He lets out a grunt and this time I know it has nothing to do with the punching bag.
I continue on. “I saw the car and something just came over me. Cami said I should have gotten you guys, but all I could think about was getting back at him. I just… I don’t know, I just had to do it for myself.”
He slams his fist into the punching bag with such force, the thing swings right back. I jump at the loud echo that sounds around the room before focusing on the imposing man who’s currently staring me down. “That’s fucking bullshit, Rylee,” he yells at me.
I resist shrinking back as his eyes flame, I try to think of what to say, but it doesn’t matter anyway, he’s not nearly finished. “Do you have any idea how fucking stupid that was?” he scolds. “You could have got yourself hurt, and what about Cami? What would you have done if he had pulled a knife again and hurt her? Fuck, Rylee. Do you ever think about anyone but yourself?”
My mouth hangs open as he continues with his scolding. “I walked out of here to see some guy about to beat the shit out of you, all for what? A fucking car.”
“You think this is about the fucking car?” I yell. “That man held me at knifepoint. I had to do something.”
“Fucking hell, Rylee. I would have done it for you, but instead, you decided to be a fucking hero and take matters into your own hands.”
With that, he turns back to the punching bag and gets started again while I stand there gawking, feeling like absolute shit. I have never felt so small in my life. Yes, what I did was stupid. I should have gotten help. I should have called the police straight away, but as Cole said, I had to be the fucking hero and handle it myself. But it’s not like I know any differently, I’ve been handling my own shit my whole life.
My eyes drop from his incredible body and I soon find myself turning away. I walk silently towards the door and push my way through. I look up and remember that Cami has my car and Cole has the keys to the other.
Needing space to think, I start walking.
Chapter 22
Cole
I stand at her door with my hands on either side of the frame, contemplating knocking.
It’s the morning after her ridiculous stunt and I have never felt so awful in my life. Sleeping alone last night felt so wrong on so many levels, but at the same time, it’s a good thing she left. I have never been so furious in my life. I wasn’t nearly finished with her last night and I know I would have continued yelling, but seeing her in that situation did crazy things to me.
My blood boiled the second I saw her and Cami pushed up against that car. The dickhead had his fist raised at my woman and I was prepared to kill him, then she went and told me that she did this to herself. That she was the one to approach her stolen car and try to get it back. I have never heard of something so stupid in my life. I mean, it’s the same guy who held her at knifepoint only a few short months ago. What the hell was she thinking?
She put herself in unbelievable amounts of danger and not to mention, Cami too. Though, don’t get me started on Cami. She should have stopped her, she should have run to get us instead of playing along with Rylee’s stupid games.
I mean, I understand where’s she’s coming from. Had someone held a knife to me and stole from me, I’d do whatever it took to get payback, but she’s a woman who was half that guy's size. She should have come to me. There’s not a damn thing I wouldn’t do for her and that includes taking him down.
Hell, I’m so fucking happy that Jace was the one to step forward and hold him down until the cops got there as if I had been the one, I wouldn’t have been able to stop. I would have beat that mother fucker to within an inch of his life. Training MMA all my life has turned me into a man you wouldn’t want to cross. The skills I possess mean that I am lethal, and that’s not my ego talking. It’s fact. He wouldn’t have stood a chance against me.
I hang my head between my outstretched arms as I recall the way I had yelled at Rylee last night. I don’t particularly regret it. I mean, she needed to hear it, but seeing the hurt on her face was devastating. With each word I spoke, her heart broke further and further. She would flinch at my harshness and in that moment, I hated myself.
I was so damn scared for her. All I could think about was that guy beating her senseless. What if Caden hadn’t heard the car alarm? What if we hadn’t been there? Fuck, what if he had his knife?
She had turned and walked away and that nearly killed me. I was expecting her to get all fiery, she was supposed to lose her shit and yell at me. That’s the woman I have come to know, but instead, she stood there quietly and took it. She let me yell and curse her out until she silently turned and walked out the fucking door. I felt paralyzed watching her leave. I wanted nothing more than to run after her, but she needed her time. She threw me a fucking curveball and I wasn’t expecting it.
I slept in my damn bed alone, actually, I don’t think I slept. I laid there all night, forcing myself to leave her alone. Not having her in my arms all night was fucking alien to me. She wasn’t where she belonged and I hated it.
A voice cuts through my inner battle and has me cringing with the tone. “Are you going to knock on the fucking door, or stand there all day?” Rylee says on the opposite side of the door, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
“Babe,” I start through the door.
“I’d open it for you,” she says, cutting me off. “But I wouldn’t want to be a fucking hero and do anything for myself.”
Shit. This is the reaction I had expected last night.
I reach for the door handle and give it a twist. I slowly push open the door and see her sitting on her hallway table with her legs crossed under herself. I don’t doubt she’s been sitting here as long as I’ve been standing outside her door.
I close the door behind me and walk over to her. I put my hands down on either side of the hallway table and lean into her without actually touching. “Are you ok?” I ask.
She looks up at me and the sight of her broken green eyes shreds me to pieces. “I told you not to break me,” she murmurs so quietly I have to strain to hear.
At that, I wrap my arms around her and lift her off the hallway table. With her legs wrapped around me and her head buried in my neck, I walk us around to her couch and sit down. She doesn’t lift her head off me, but she continues holding me as tight as possible. I run my fingers through her hair and down her back, over and over again. “I’m sorry,” I finally say. “I didn’t mean to yell at you like that. I was just so scared that something could have happened to you. You put yourself in a dangerous situation and I snapped.”
She lets out a breath and raises her head. “I shouldn’t have done it,” she admits. “I saw my car, and at first, I just wanted to check that it was actually mine, and when I saw that it was, I couldn’t stop myself.”
“I know,” I tell her as I run my fingers down the side of her face and push her dark hair off her face. “But this is what I’m here for. I would have gotten it back for you and dealt with the guy, all without you putting yourself in that situation.”
She hangs her head, but I see the slight nod of acknowledgment. She knows she’s in the wrong. She knows she did something incredibly stupid, but so did I. I should have handled it differently.
“Come here,” I say, pulling her back into me and holding her close. She nuzzles into me and I finally find that peace I was missing all night. She sniffles and hastily wipes away a tear that breaks my heart. “I was so mad at you,” I tell her. “If something had happened to you, I’d never have forgiven myself, and if I had lost you, I wouldn’t have survived.”
“I’m sorry,” she cries into my shirt.
I hold her as long as she needs and when the tears finally dry up, she sits up on my lap and looks down at me with a crushed soul. “Is this… are we over?”
“What?” I shriek with wide eyes. “Fuck no, babe. We’re only just getting started.”
“But we fought and I left,” she says.
“S
hit,” I sigh as I force myself to remember that relationships are new to her. She’s never been in this situation before. Never had to think about how her actions now affect someone else. Hell, she’s never opened up and allowed herself to be vulnerable before. “Babe, this is what happens when you love someone. You fight and lose your shit at each other. You drive each other to the point of insanity, but at the end of the day, it’s ok because you know that person will always be there for you. I fucking love you, Rylee, and I told you, I’m not going anywhere.”
“So… we’re good?” she questions.
“Yeah,” I tell her as I pull her in and press my lips to her. “Just don’t scare me like that again.”
“I promise, I won’t.”
“Good,” I say as my hands find the hem of her shirt and slide up her warm back. “You know,” I tell her. “The fun in fighting is the make-up sex at the end.”
A grin slowly spreads across her face as those beautiful eyes light up. “Really?” she questions.
“Oh yeah.”
An hour later, we lay as a tangled mess of arms and legs, completely and utterly spent. I made love to her in a way that we’d never done it before, but I needed her to know that I’m in this for the long haul. She’s my girl and forever will be.
“I didn’t sleep last night,” she tells me as her hand rests on my chest and she draws little circles on my skin with her finger.
“Either did I,” I tell her. “I didn’t like not having you in my bed.”
“I didn’t like not being there,” she admits.
“Then why don’t you move in with me?” I ask.
Her head raises up off my chest and she looks at me with wide eyes. “Um… what?” she grunts.
“Come on,” I say as I pull her back down into my arms. “You know just as well as I do that this thing between us isn’t just a fling. It’s the real deal and I don’t see the point in prolonging the inevitable. I want you with me, Rylee.”
“You’re sure?”
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