Revived

by Tia Lewis

  With a sigh, I forced myself not to think about my growing feelings and more on the looming fight. Normally, I would have told myself I wasn't ready, that I hadn't had enough training time to warm up, but this was just an exhibition, and I felt like I was more ready now than I had ever been in my career. I was in control and couldn't wait to get back in the cage for real. It couldn't come fast enough.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Julia

  I woke with dread in my stomach, knowing that today was the day that my life was going to change one way or another. In the pre-dawn light, I saw that the bed was empty, no warmth emanating from his side of the bed. It was funny how I was already claiming this side of the bed as my own, acting like I was going to stay. Before last night, I hadn't made up my mind one way or another about staying in Chicago, but Travis, bless him, had given me one of the best opportunities that anyone could give me, and I didn't want to leave. Not just because of the job, but because of him. He had shown me that he was worth fighting for.

  Climbing out of bed, I groaned as my body protested the move and picked up one of Travis's shirts, throwing it over my naked form before walking out into the living room, finding Travis standing before one of the windows, his outline strong and sure. He was strong. I was, well, I wasn't sure what I was. Without a word, I walked over and laid my cheek on his back, wrapping my arms around his waist. He stiffened, his muscles bunching up under my cheek. "Hey," I said softly, reveling in his warmth.

  "Hey," he answered. "Did you sleep well?"

  "Not really," I said as he turned around in my embrace, his hands sliding over my back. I had dreamed of everything that could go wrong tonight, most importantly not having a chance to have a future with a man that I cared deeply for.

  He pulled me against his chest, and I sighed, listening to his heartbeat for a moment. "It's going to be okay."

  "Yes, it's going to be okay," I repeated nervously. It had to be okay.

  He placed his finger under my chin and tilted it up until I met his gaze, seeing the concern in his eyes. "I'm scared," I said softly, feeling the emotion welling up in my throat. "I don't know what's going to happen, or if everything is going to work out as planned or..."

  He silenced me with a tender kiss, his hand cupping my cheek. "It's going to be okay, Julia. Nothing, and I mean nothing will happen to you tonight. I swear it."

  I didn't respond, resting my cheek on his chest again and soaking him in while I still could. I hoped I could believe him.

  That Night

  This was it. I tapped my foot nervously as I stood in the corridor of the large convention center, multitudes of people passing me without even giving me notice. At my feet, there was a duffel bag, one that held Travis's twenty thousand dollars, a testament to what kind of character that Travis was. It warmed my heart that he was willing to help me out, more so as I remembered the warmth of his kiss as he left my side just mere minutes ago to get ready for his fight. I wanted him to be right next to me, to give me some of his strength as I dealt with Kevin and whoever else showed up for the money, but I knew I had to deal with this myself. I knew that I needed to wipe my hands of this part of my life if I wanted to move on to my future, to Travis. At least, I hoped he was my future. I was kind of betting on it after last night. The man was full of surprises lately, and I was glad that he at least appeared to be happy. I hoped that I was the reason he was happy.

  Shifting my stance, I looked around and was rewarded by the presence of the undercover cops standing just feet away, looking very incognito in the crowd. Actually, I wouldn't have even given them a second look had I not already met them earlier at the station. From my standpoint, they were very good at what they did, giving no one any indication that they were cops, to begin with. I just hoped that if this went bad, that they were ready to spring into action because frankly, they looked bored.

  Me on the other hand, I was too nervous to even appear nonchalant, worried that I was going to tip off Kevin and this turn into a shooting match or worse, I was killed in the process. The thought was enough to drive anyone mad.

  I tried to think of all the pointers Jace had given me as he was wiring me with a secret microphone earlier, one that would catch any conversation between Kevin and me so that it would help their case against him. It was nestled between my breasts, a constant reminder that I could be risking my life to put my ex away. It was so worth it. I didn't want to die of course, but I did want this to be over with, and if I had to die, well, then so be it.

  Finally, after what seemed like forever, I caught a glimpse of Kevin strolling down the corridor, his hands in his pockets and looking cocky as ever. He really thought he was getting away with this. That bolstered the strength I needed to fight this battle.

  "Juls," he said as he got closer, moving through the crowd so that he could stand before me. "What's up?"

  I drew in a breath. "This is not a social call Kevin, so drop the act."

  His smile slid off his face, and his eyes hardened. "Geez, Juls don't be such a bitch. You are about to be out of this mess."

  "I should have never been in the mess, to begin with," I fired back, reaching for the duffel bag. "I have your money." I wanted him to take it so I could watch as he was taken down, grin the whole time, but Kevin shook his head as I tried to give him the bag. "I'm not the one who that goes to," he said, running a hand through his hair. "Come on. Follow me."

  I faltered, some of my newfound strength replaced with fear. "What?"

  He looked down at the duffel bag. "As much as I want to take the money, Juls, I can't. I've been instructed not to handle it in any way. They act like I would haul ass and spend the entire thing or something." He shook his head in disgust. "Nah, we have to deliver this to the man."

  I clutched the bag tightly in my grasp, my palms starting to sweat. "What man?"

  Kevin sighed. "Just come on, Juls. You're holding me up."

  I swallowed the lump in my throat and glanced over at the closest undercover detective, hoping that he was watching me as closely as I needed him to. "Fine, lead the way."

  Kevin turned back and pushed through the crowd as they started to file into the arena, the matches mere minutes away from starting. Travis was further down the list, and I had hoped that I would see him fight, free of Kevin by that point. But meeting the guy who had set all of this up, that had not been part of the plan, and I was growing concerned. Okay, well, concerned wasn't the word. I was all but ready to puke all over Kevin's back.

  We walked past the entrance to the main room and down a side hall, Kevin pushing open a door that was marked personnel only, not holding it open for me as he passed through. Another reason he was an asshole. Apparently, he had lost all of his good manners when he decided to screw me over. Our footsteps were the only ones making any noise as we walked down the darkened corridor before Kevin pushed open another door, and I found myself in the attached car garage, the wind biting through my thin sweater.

  "That's far enough."

  My blood ran cold as I recognized the voice in the darkness, the one that had been there the night I had been taken, and slapped around. This had to be the head honcho of this entire mess, the one that Kevin was so afraid of.

  "Drop the bag, Ms. Chase."

  I dropped it, not because he told me to, but because I feared the gunshot that would follow. I was a bundle of nerves.

  "See, I told you she would come through," Kevin stated bravely, his hands in his pockets as he talked to the shadows like it was the most natural thing in the world. "It's all there, all twenty thousand. This settles our debt."

  The man laughed, a haunting laugh that sent a shiver down my spine. "You will always owe me you, asshole. Just because you settle the money, doesn't mean I'm gonna forget the way you tried to screw me over."

  "B-but I brought you the money," Kevin protested, his cocky smile now wiped off his face. "This makes me clean now."

  "I don't like liars, Kevin," he said as I started to grow way more nervous
than I had when this night started. "And you are a liar. Isn't that right Ms. Chase?"

  "I, yes," I said bravely. Well, it was the truth. Kevin was a big liar and had suckered me from day one.

  Kevin looked over at me, frowning. "Really, Julia? Did you have to put your two cents in?"

  I shrugged. "He asked."

  Kevin cursed as he turned back toward the darkened spot in front of us, the shadows playing crazy tricks on me. "Just take the damn money."

  The shot came out of nowhere, and I barely had time to react as Kevin went down, howling and clutching his knee in the process. "You fucking shot me!"

  My heart stuttered in my chest as I watched Kevin roll around on the ground, the threat was very real at the moment. I was going to die. I was going to die, and never have the chance to tell Travis how I felt, and how much he meant to me. I would never start my job with Tina Upshaw, get married, have kids, none of that. My life was over.

  "Freeze! Chicago PD!"

  The words rang in my ears before I was taken to the ground, covered with a hard body pressing against me. Gunshots rang out, and I shivered, knowing we were going to die. "Stay down, Julia," Jace's voice brushed by my ear. "Or Travis will kick my ass."

  I did as he told me, shouting and commotion all around us as I prayed to anyone that was listening to help me get out of this alive. Jace's body left mine as gunshots echoed in the space, but I kept my eyes squeezed shut and laid very still, hoping that I was blending in with the concrete or something.

  Finally, I forced my eyes open and saw that Jace had pushed me behind a car for my protection, pushing up on my knees as I peered around the bumper of the car, seeing that there were three guys on the ground, including a writhing Kevin still screaming about his leg and cops everywhere. Jace jogged over to me, a grim smile on his face as he helped me from my position behind the car. "Are you okay?"

  I looked down, expecting to see bullet holes I couldn't feel yet. There were none save for the rip in my jeans from the concrete that looked more fashionable than a product of near death. "I-I think I'm fine."

  His hand pressed against the lower part of my back as he walked me over to the bodies on the ground, their hands pulled tightly behind their backs. "These are the guys?" I asked.

  Jace nodded. "Yeah, we got them and secured the money. That microphone you have on you right now will fill in the rest."

  I let out a large breath, tears gathering in my eyes. It was over.

  "Come on," Jace said gently, giving me a light squeeze. "Let's get you unmic'd and to Travis."

  I felt a flurry of excitement as a female officer helped me get rid of the microphone, and Jace took down some initial information before leading me back into the convention center, where the cheers could be heard throughout the space. I couldn't believe that I was finally done with Kevin and all of his lies, the nightmare over and done with.

  "You did great," Jace said as he led me toward the locker room. "We have more than enough to put these guys away, and with your testimony, they might not see the light of day again."

  "I just want them off the street," I said as he pulled open the door, my hands shaking. "Away from anyone else." That included Kevin. I felt no remorse for setting him up, no guilt for him getting shot. He had done that to himself.

  We found Travis throwing out some warm-up punches with another trainer, the sound of his gloves pounding away at the punch pads filling the air. For a moment, I just simply watched him, my heart light for the first time in a long while. It was over. My life would be getting back to normal, and I couldn't wait.

  "I'm going to bail for now," Jace said close to my ear. "I'll be in touch. Don't tell Travis about the shooting okay? I don't want to be on the end of his punches tonight."

  I nodded, my eyes still on Travis as Jace left the locker room, content to just watch him warm up, doing something he loved. I loved him. There was no doubt in my mind about that. I shouldn't. I had just got out of a pretty volatile relationship, and shouldn't jump right into the next one, but something told me that maybe, just maybe I had to suffer to find a man like Travis. I would do it all over again if this were the end result.

  The trainer dropped the pads and left the room while Travis swung his arms around in circles, turning. Our eyes met, and he immediately walked over, his eyes searching mine, all kinds of concern on his face. "Shit, I'm so fucking glad to see you right now. Are you okay?"

  "I-I'm fine," I said, giving him a shaky smile. "It's over. They didn't take your money."

  He let out a breath, reaching for me and pulling me tightly against him until I could feel his hard body pressed into my soft one. The spiral of heat that always appeared whenever he did that raged in my belly, and I wondered just how long he had before his fight. I wanted to do nothing more than to be with him, have him kiss away the last hour of my life. "Fuck the money," he whispered, pressing a kiss on my forehead. "I'm just glad it's over for you."

  I gripped his strong shoulders, tucking my head against his chest. It was over for me. I was done. I could move on with my life now. It was a wonderful feeling.

  He pressed a kiss into my hair. "God, I worried about this tonight. I wanted to be there for you, Julia."

  "I know," I said, looking up at him. I saw the anguish in his eyes over not being there, and it warmed my heart. "I-I know this isn't the right time to tell you this and trust me, I know this will sound crazy considering what I just went through, but I think I'm falling in love with you."

  He didn't say anything, but gripped me close once more, the pounding of his heart echoing against my cheek. There. I had said it. I had put it out there. So where did that leave us?

  "Travis. You're up."

  We pulled apart from each other, reality settling back in. Travis still had a fight to handle to save the gym, and I had to wait with baited breath to see if this was going to be my future. No big deal. Travis pounded his gloves together, nodding at the interrupter. "Alright, give me a minute."

  The man at the door nodded and shut the door again, leaving the two of us alone once more. "Well," I said, clasping my hands together in front of me, attempting to look cool and collected when in reality I had a storm raging on the inside, worried that I might have pushed him away with my words. "I, good luck. Is it bad to say break a leg?"

  Travis just stared at me before he placed a gloved hand behind my neck and pulled me toward him, his lips seeking mine hungrily. I gasped at the intensity of his kiss, the swirl of emotions building in my stomach. I loved this man. I loved everything about him.

  He pulled back and rested his forehead against mine, his breathing harsh. "We will continue this conversation later, Julia."

  "And the kissing?" I asked hopefully as he pulled away, my body mourning the loss of his pressed so deliciously against me. If this was all I was getting, well it was going to be enough. I wasn't going anywhere. I loved him, and I would wait as long as I needed to.

  He looked back and gave me a wink before walking toward the door, giving me a chance to check out his ass in those trunks. "And the kissing. A whole hell of a lot of kissing."

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Travis

  She loved me. The thought stuck with me as I walked down the corridor that would lead out to the cage, my mind on that and not on the fight before me. Right now I could care less about the fucking fight, wanting to go back to the locker room and continue what I had started with Julia. Hell, it was taking all I could to control my damn cock from embarrassing me in these trunks I had on.

  But nothing could wipe the warm feeling I had in my chest, the one that held a special meaning because Julia loved me. I didn't care what the timing was like, or whether she felt like she was moving too fast into another relationship. We had the rest of our lives to slow down.

  First, though, I had to get through this fight. Clearing my throat, I waited for them to announce me to the cage, seeing the crowd and hearing their cheers as the other fighter was announced. The place was packed, which was a
good thing for the gym, and though I didn't know what the tally was tonight for the other guys, I was planning on giving them what they wanted.

  "And his opponent, wearing the red trunks. Travis 'The Terrible' Kell!"

  I smashed my gloves together as the music blared over the speakers, walking with my trainer, some guy from the gym that I didn't really know, to the gleaming cage. Those old feelings of excitement and madness filled my body as I was checked out by the referee before climbing onto the cage, holding my gloves up in the air, my stare focused on my opponent already in the cage. The announcer droned on about my career and my record, but I didn't listen, the culmination of three years not fighting in the cage making me anxious to get started. I had to remind myself that this was an exhibition, not a title fight, and as I walked to the center of the cage to touch gloves, a sudden calm came over me, like I wasn't alone. It was a peace I had never experienced before, and I knew above all else where it had come from. Nicole was watching over me today, giving me her approval in more ways than one.

  The bell sounded, and I rounded the cage, my feet moving as I assessed my opponent and he did the same, looking for an outlet to take him down relatively easy. I traded jabs with him, my punch connecting with his upper right cheek while his caught me under the rib, the explosion of pain from the force of the impact barely felt. I knew I would feel it later. He went in to hit me there again, and I swept my leg out, catching him on the back of the calf and nearly upsetting his stance. He backed off, and I grinned, knowing I had him rattled somewhat. Taking a deep breath, I bit down hard on my mouthpiece and went at him with a flurry of punches and kicks, backing him up against the cage fence as he tried to fend me off, but it was all over with. One minute he was upright, the next he had slid down the cage and I covered him with my body, locking him into a back control where it was going to be tough for him to escape. I had my weight and skill on my side, and it wasn't long before he was tapping out and I was releasing the hold. It was over, and I had survived the match with a few bruised ribs and a feeling that was indescribable.