Paxton's Promise

by L. P. Dover

  “Trust me, I’ve done some damage in there, but tonight isn’t about me. It’s about you.”

  By the time I looked back at the screen, the fight was already over. I had no clue if anyone was killed, and I didn’t want to know. By the amount of blood on the mat, I’d say someone met their maker. Three men, dressed in hooded robes, sprayed off the mat with water hoses like nothing ever happened. Even through the screen I could smell the blood. Knowing Paxton was about to enter that same ring terrified the shit out of me.

  “Here we go,” Red announced excitedly.

  Keeping my eyes glued to the screen, I stared helplessly as I watched Paxton enter the ring, confident and completely pissed off. With his body tense and ready to kill, he was almost unrecognizable. The camera was set back a little too far, but it didn’t take away from the murderous gleam in his eyes.

  Without me there, I was afraid of what he would do. But when the door to the cage opened and three men ventured inside, it no longer mattered what he would do . . . it was what they were going to do to him.

  “Oh, my God.”

  “That’s right, sugar tits. You might want to watch because this will be the last time you see lover boy alive.”

  “IT TAKES THREE of you cowards to fight me?” I snapped angrily. Scar was by the door, blocking it, while I was surrounded by the three cocksuckers. One had on a black hood, while the other two were ready to fight. A thick set of chains dangled from one of the fighter’s hands, and the other had brass knuckles with spikes.

  Camden had yet to come into the room with Gabriella, which infuriated me more. I needed to see her, to make sure she was okay. If not, every motherfucker in the room was going to feel my wrath.

  “No, I think two will suffice,” the one in the hood spoke.

  “Who the fuck are you?” I asked. Judging by the malevolence pouring off him, I had no doubt who he was . . . and I was going to kill him. At least that way, I would know for a fact he couldn’t go after Gabby.

  He chuckled, but kept his face hidden. I wanted to know who the fuck he was; his voice was familiar. “You know who I am. I’m the one who’s going to walk right out of here and go straight to your girl. Someone has to console her after she finds out your dead.”

  Growling, I lunged forward, but was stopped when both of the other fighters grabbed a hold of me. Rage laughed and stalked forward. “You’re not going to touch her, you psycho ass motherfucker. I’m not going to let you hurt her like you did the other women you stalked, harassed, and killed.”

  “Those bitches had it coming. They fucked me over and paid the price. However, I don’t plan on hurting Gabriella at all, if she submits to me. You see, she’s different. I could see it in her eyes that she wants me. If it wasn’t for you, I’d already have her. Once you’re out of the way, she’ll be mine.” Turning on his heel, he headed for the cage door.

  “So you’re a pathetic coward then,” I spat. “It’s funny because I thought you were going to fight me on your own. I guess you’re scared of the Reaper.”

  He stopped mid-step, his hands clenched at his sides. Slowly, he turned around and I could smell his anger permeating the room. I needed him to stay in the ring, at least until Mason and his people got into place. “I’m not scared of you,” he growled low. “I’d just rather be fucking my girl than being here, wasting my time with you. Farewell, Reaper.”

  Scar opened the door and before Rage could stroll out, I head butted the guy behind me, breaking his nose, and punched the other in the side of the head. All I could see was red as I charged toward Rage. Still, it wasn’t fast enough before the cage door was slammed in my face—Rage on the other side, walking away.

  Scar smirked. “It’s been good having you around Reaper, but your time is up.”

  I heard the chains being whipped into the air only mere seconds before pain exploded in my head. Blood oozed down my neck and back, but I couldn’t focus on the pain. Rage exited the room and I knew it was only a matter of time before Gabriella would be in his grasp.

  “DAMN, DID YOU see that hit?” Red blurted excitedly. “I bet he’s got one hell of a headache right now.”

  I’d seen the hit and it made me sick. Screaming for Paxton to turn around, tears welled in my eyes when he took the hit.

  “I’m kind of bummed though. Rage was supposed to murder his ass.”

  “That was Rage who left?” I asked, stomach clenching. I was hoping it wasn’t him.

  Red nodded. “He’s probably on his way to you. He’s been hard up for you ever since Vegas.”

  Holy fuck. What was I going to do? “How far away are we from there?”

  Red huffed and grabbed my chin, turning it to the television. “That’s none of your concern. Now watch the damn fight.”

  When I tried to jerk out of his hold, he clenched down harder, keeping my face in the direction of the laptop. Fighting off two men with weapons wasn’t easy, and every minute that passed by, I could see Paxton slowly begin to falter.

  Where the hell was Mason? The guy with the spiky knuckles took a swipe at Pax and it sliced across his chest, blood oozing down. When Paxton stumbled, the fighter with the chains reared back and pummeled him on the side of the head. Paxton went down . . . and everything in my world shattered. I struggled to breathe, to think, as I sat there looking at his still form.

  “Get up,” I shouted as the tears welled in my eyes. Red laughed as both fighters circled the ring triumphantly. I ignored him and kept my focus on Paxton, my fighter. He had to get up, he just had to. There was no way in hell I was going to imagine being in a world without him.

  “He’s not getting up. He’s done,” Red chuckled victoriously. “That was too fucking easy.”

  Both fighters circled around Paxton’s motionless body and moved closer and closer. Come on, Pax. Get up. My stomach clenched and when I thought I couldn’t watch anymore, Red shut the lid closed, just as the other fighters were about to start beating him again.

  “What are you doing?” I spat, tears blurring my vision. “I have to watch him get up. He needs to get up.” Fighting against my restraints, my skin burned with my struggles and I didn’t care. I had to get out of there.

  Red jumped to his feet and grabbed the tape, ripping off a piece and slapping it over my mouth. “You just don’t know when to shut up, do you? Now fucking be quiet. Someone’s here.” Quietly, he crept out of the room and disappeared.

  Please tell me it’s Mason. I tried to stay quiet so I could listen, but nothing could prepare me for what I heard next. The gunshot was so loud my ears rang, followed by the loud thud of a body hitting the floor.

  Squeezing my eyes shut, I shivered and broke into tears. A warm hand gently pulled the tape away from my mouth and tried to sooth me in a hushed voice. “Gabby, it’s over. I’m getting you out of here.”

  The voice sounded so familiar and I thought I would never hear it again. Opening my eyes, I gasped as my savior’s face came into view. “Oh my God . . . you’re alive?”

  I WAS HURTING and I was in pain, but I wasn’t going to let anyone take me down. As I was lying on the mat waiting for the right time to strike, the sound of shouting and gunfire filled the underground dungeon.

  Mason had finally come.

  Scar opened the gate and shouted for his fighters to get out, but before they could escape, I jumped to my feet and tackled one of them to the ground. Scar glared at me with a murderous gleam and all I could do was smile when he turned around and landed face first into Camden’s fist.

  Ripping the chain from the fighter’s hand, I wrapped it around his neck and pulled. He choked and gurgled, but I didn’t care. I kept pulling. The room swarmed with officers and even Mason came into view and rushed over to Camden who grappled with Scar.

  Bending over, I hissed in the fighter’s ear and tightened the chain. “I would give anything to hear your bones crack right now, to watch your life slip away in a matter of seconds. You don’t deserve any mercy.”

  “Paxton, let him go,
” Mason called. Out of the corner of my eye, he slowly walked up the steps and into the cage with his arms spread out wide. My hands shook with the need to pull tighter, but thinking about Gabriella made me release him.

  “You got lucky, shithead.” Roughly, I let him go and got to my feet, kicking him in the face when I passed. Now he was out cold.

  Rushing out, I found Scar on the ground with Camden holding his arms behind his back. “You’re going to pay for this Striker. I don’t like traitors,” Scar warned.

  Camden pulled Scar to his feet and roughly pushed him toward one of the officers. “You can pay me back all you want. I don’t have anything to lose.”

  Once he was taken away, Mason holstered his gun and looked down at his watch. “Some people got away, but there’s nothing we can do about that now. All we really need is this fucker,” he said, glaring at Scar, “and Rage. But we have to go. Gabriella is in a house down the street and I just got word she’s not alone anymore. My guys are surrounding the house.”

  I was already heading for the exit. “Then let’s get the fuck out of here.” I was covered in blood and my body ached, but nothing was going to stop me from killing that motherfucker if he’d so much as laid a finger on her.

  CLIFF WAS ALIVE. But now I needed to make sure Paxton was okay. “Cliff, I need you to open the laptop,” I demanded. “I have to make sure Paxton’s okay.”

  Looking at the computer, he sighed and opened it. When the live feed came to life, there was a body in the ring and I gasped. It was all blurry and I couldn’t tell who it was. “Please tell me that doesn’t look like Paxton,” I pleaded. The guy had tattoos on his arms, but they didn’t exactly look like Paxton’s. Or did they? I couldn’t rub my eyes to clear the tears away.

  Cliff narrowed his gaze and focused on the screen. “I’m sorry, Gabby, but it doesn’t look good.” As soon as he said it, he shut the lid and I sobbed. How could it be possible? There was no way Mason would let that happen. I needed a better look. Putting his arms around my shoulders, Cliff held me tight. “Shh . . . stop crying. We need to get away from here. If Scar finds us, we’re both dead. We have to leave town.”

  I was in a daze, no longer here or there. If Scar wanted to find me, I wasn’t going down without a fight. I refused to believe Paxton was gone. As soon as Cliff undid my hands, I rubbed my eyes. “I’m not going anywhere. Turn the video back on. I need to see if that was really Paxton.”

  Cliff shook his head and his gaze hardened. “You’re coming with me, Gabby, end of story. And Paxton’s dead. It’s time to move on.”

  The way he looked and sounded, chilled me to the bone. It was cold, angry. I’d never seen him like that before. My instincts went on hyper alert, in fact they were screaming. Danger was nearby. “I thought you were dead,” I whispered. “Where have you been?”

  “Here,” he answered. “Scar kept me here and made me fight for him. It was either that or die. I chose to live.”

  “Did you kill Red?” I asked.

  “Red?”

  “Malice. I never knew his name, so I called him Red.”

  Cliff cleared his throat and averted his gaze. His fingers lightly grazed my calves before slipping the knife against the tie, cutting it off. “I didn’t know what else to do, Gabby. He left his gun on the counter, so I picked it up and shot him.” His knuckles were torn open and raw, and it made me wonder . . .

  “Did you have to kill other people too?”

  He sighed, but then a small smile appeared before he continued. He didn’t think I saw it, but I did; chills ran down my skin. “I had no choice, Gabby. I did it to stay alive. But right now, I need to get you out of here before someone shows up.”

  My hands and feet were numb and tingly, but I could feel the blood rushing back into my appendages. However, something wasn’t right. I could feel it in my bones. When I stood and stretched my legs, I saw something that made me freeze in terror.

  On Cliff’s back, right below his shirt line, was the Dark Side skull tattoo. All too quickly, Cliff got to his feet and slipped the knife back into his pocket, his shirt covering the mark. He reached for my hand, but I jerked back. Narrowing his gaze, the muscles in his jaw clenched when he held out his hand.

  “We have to go, Gabby. There’s no time to waste.”

  Swallowing hard, I took another step back. The door to the kitchen came into view and on the dirty tile floor I saw a puddle of blood. My attention was drawn up to a black hood sitting on the counter. I gasped and put a hand over my mouth. Cliff kept moving closer like a lion stalking its prey, his gaze hungry.

  “Why?” I whispered.

  “Why what?”

  “Why me?”

  A sinister smile splayed across his lips. “Why not you? You’re a fighter and super hot. It’ll be fun to break you. Besides, all I’ve wanted to do since Vegas is feel that tight pussy wrapped around my cock.”

  My heart sped rapidly and my breaths came out in pants. He wasn’t going to break me and he sure as hell wasn’t going to get his cock anywhere near my orifices. “I hate to disappoint you, Rage, but I don’t break so easily.”

  In a lightning fast move, he lunged at me, but I jumped out of the way and rushed toward the kitchen. I didn’t get far before he grabbed hold of my ankle and I face planted on the floor. However, I did get far enough into the kitchen to see Red, broken like a rag doll with a hole in his head.

  Kicking my legs, I jammed my foot into Rage’s nose and it started gushing. His fingers dug into my legs and with bruising force he pulled me under his body and secured my wrists with his hands. The air whooshed out of my lungs and I gasped, struggling to breathe as he kept his full weight on me.

  “If we didn’t have to leave, I’d fuck you right now.” He was hard between his legs, pressing it into my thigh. That wasn’t my only concern, because now he had his knife out and was caressing it against my skin. Starting at my cheek, he slid it down my neck, to the top of my shirt where he nicked my skin with the tip. Ever so carefully, he sliced my shirt down the center, exposing my bra and the blood welling on my chest.

  “Just one taste and we’ll go,” he murmured, his gaze hungry for my blood. “That’s all I want.” His lips touched the mound of my breast and I wanted to fight him off, but I couldn’t. He still had the knife out and if he’d killed people before, I knew I wasn’t any different. I had to tread carefully. Moaning, he sucked the wound on my chest, humping my leg like a dog in heat. I had a feeling he wasn’t going to stop with just one taste.

  “Don’t we need to go?” I asked through gritted teeth, hoping it would get his mind back on track.

  He narrowed his gaze and looked down at me, licking my blood off of his lips. “You’re not going to fight me on this?”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement at the kitchen window. Someone was there. I had to hope and pray it was the police. “No, I’m not going to fight. I prefer to keep my skin away from your knife.”

  His eyes twinkled when he looked down at my bare flesh. “I agree.” He bent down and ran his tongue across my chest. “I look forward to seeing more of it.”

  Thankfully, he put his knife away and grabbed my wrists, hauling me up to my feet. I hissed when he gripped my arm and dragged me through the house after him. There was a set of stairs that led down into complete darkness and I had no choice but to follow. I couldn’t see a thing.

  “Where are we going?” I tried to keep my voice from shaking, but I failed.

  His evil chuckle made me shiver. “No need to be afraid. My car’s down in the basement. As soon as we’re safely out of the states, we’ll take a break.”

  Switching on the light, he let me go and tore the cover off of a brand new black Mercedes Roadster. Now that the light was on, I looked down at my torn shirt and crossed my arms. “I can’t go out like this. My bag is in Red’s truck.”

  He scoffed. “I’m not stupid. I bet your phone’s in there too. I can’t have you calling for help. As far as clothes, I have some from your ap
artment.”

  Psycho bastard. Did he honestly think his behavior was normal? “How are we going to get out of the states? Don’t you need my passport?”

  Grinning, he pressed the button on the wall and the garage door lifted. “I had that taken care of a long time ago. One way or another, I was going to make sure you were with me.”

  Someone spoke from behind, “Isn’t it a shame she won’t be going with you.”

  Gasping, I turned around and locked eyes with Mason. Cliff instantly grabbed me around the neck with his knife held dangerously close to my artery. I swallowed and felt the stab of the blade in my skin.

  Thankfully, it wasn’t just Mason pointing a gun at Cliff’s head. There were others, at least five of them. “Well, well, if it isn’t Mason ‘The Eagle’ Bradley. I thought you retired from police work?” Cliff taunted.

  “Not when it involves my family, dickhead. Or should I say, Josh Davenport. Let her go and back away slowly.”

  Cliff moved me back toward the Mercedes while Mason moved forward a step. “That’s not going to work. If you and everyone else don’t back the fuck up and let me be on my way, I’ll slit her throat right here and now. I’m sure you know I’m capable of it.”

  Mason huffed and backed up a step, reluctantly lowering his gun and giving the signal for everyone else to follow. I mouthed the word ‘Paxton’ to him and he nodded reassuringly. It didn’t matter where I was going or who I was with, as long as Pax was okay, I could get through anything. In fact, he slowly turned the corner and came into view, his gaze hardening the second he saw my torn shirt.

  “Well, this just keeps getting better,” Cliff grumbled. “So you turned into a pussy and called Mason for help. That’s pathetic.”

  “I’d say it’s a lot better than stalking women and killing them when they finally see you’re a disgusting pile of shit.”