Caged (Bound by Cage Book 1)

by Brittany Crowley

  “He fucking stalked us around Vegas? How would that change anything about our relationship?” I question as Zander pulls the last piece of paper out of the pile. It’s a photo copy of our marriage license with a message written across the page.

  Isn’t it funny when you fill out the wrong forms for a Marriage license? Oops.

  -Luke

  Quickly eyeing the page trying to understand what he means I find it. The mistake that voids our marriage. At the bottom where the clerk’s signature is supposed to be it says Mickey Mouse. Tears start to cascade down my face at the realization. That sick fuck made sure his friend sabotaged our wedding in Vegas, I can’t believe what I’m seeing.

  Zander hasn’t moved or said a word since we finished looking over the contents of the envelope. Looking up at him I’m taken aback by the murderous look on his face. He gently places me on the couch as he begins to pace the living room. He lets out a loud yell and punches the wall, leaving a hole where his fist landed. I run up to him nervous he did some damage to his hand.

  “Zander you need to calm down please, I need you right now.”

  A sob escapes my mouth as I try to get his attention, he’s my rock, and I need my safe place right now. The commotion must have alerted everyone else as my Dad followed by the three ladies come flying into the living room. They stop dead in their tracks when they see our emotional state.

  “Sweetie, what’s going on?” he asks coming over to me wrapping me in his arms.

  “Why won’t he just leave me alone? Why can’t he just let me be happy?” I wail as my Dad pats my back in a soothing manner.

  “I’m not following sweetie, who won’t leave you alone?”

  “Luke, he just threatened Savvy and left this packet. I don’t even want to say what we just found out.” Zander takes a deep breath. “Luke messed with us the whole time we were in Vegas, even our marriage. Savvy and I aren’t really married.” He’s getting that look in his eyes again saying he wants to kill somebody.

  “Zander, son, look at me.” After a few seconds, Zander meets my dad’s eyes.

  “Savvy here is pretty shaken up, I suggest you steer that frustration somewhere else before you do something you are going to regret.” My Dad seems to get through to Zander, he stalks over to me and pulls me into his arms.

  “Baby,” his voice breaks, “I don’t care what anybody says, you’re my wife, always and forever Savvy. We’ll go to the town hall first thing in the morning and make it official as soon as possible. You will be my wife in every sense of the word again. He. Will. Not. Win.” Kissing my forehead, he steers me to the couch and pulls me onto his lap.

  I want to be his wife more than anything in this world. Is the realization that I’m not a devastating blow? Sure it is. But now I can get the wedding I’ve always dreamed of. What if we put it off for a little while so that our loved ones can be at the wedding, sharing the most beautiful day of our lives with us.

  “Alright shows over here, I think its best if we give these two some private time.”

  My Dad gives me a kiss on the cheek and claps Zander on the shoulder. Everyone must realize that we need some time alone to process everything. We say our good byes to everyone, still in a state of shock as we shut the front door. Letting out a shaky breath Zander entwines our fingers and leads me towards our bedroom.

  After slipping on my PJ’s and completing my nightly routine, I jump into bed and place my head on Zander’s shoulder. Wrapping his arms around me we just lay there in silence.

  “I meant what I said, first thing tomorrow morning we’re heading down to city hall and getting married.”

  “What if we waited, planned a beautiful wedding so all of our family and friends could be there?”

  “That’s fine but we’ll get married first then plan the ceremony later like we planned. The thought of you not legally being mine right now is killing me baby.”

  “Hear me out babe,” I prop myself up on my elbow looking into his eyes. “I always had a dream of getting married when I was a little girl, having my Dad walk me down the aisle in front of all of my loved ones to the man of my dreams. That moment I have waited for since I was marrying off my barbies to each other when I was little. Sure, we could get married tomorrow and have a celebration later, but…but having everyone there witnessing us coming together as husband and wife is something special I don’t want to miss out on. It kills me that what we thought has been a lie, I would give anything for you to be my husband again. All I’m asking is to give me some time to get my dream. To marry you, the man of my dreams, in front of everyone that’s important to us.”

  Silence blankets us after I say my peace. I know he is debating in his mind how to change mine.

  “I told you I would make all your dreams come true and I meant it. As much as it pains me to say this, you’re right. We have an opportunity to do everything the right way and I think we should take it. Go ahead and plan a wedding that will blow your five-year-old self away.”

  Bending over I give him a kiss on the lips. “I will most definitely plan something special babe. I was thinking how does next fall sound?”

  “No fucking way. I said I’d wait for a wedding, not that I’d wait almost a whole year. You have four weeks and that’s it.”

  My eyes widen in surprise. Is he crazy? Does he know how much work it takes to pull together a wedding in less than a year let alone a month?

  “But-” he cuts me off.

  “Non-negotiable, we will be married one way or the other by the end of the month. If you can’t get a wedding together by then we head down to city hall. Deal?”

  “Okay, married by the end of March, it’s crazy but I think I can pull it off. I love you so much you know that?”

  He pulls me down to him kissing my forehead while resting my head on his chest.

  “I love you too baby. We’ll get through all of this I promise. He can’t keep running forever, the cops will catch up with him eventually. Luke better pray they get to him before I do.”

  Sleep doesn’t come easy for me with all that is going on in my head. Between Luke, a wedding and keeping everyone safe it takes me a while to drift off to sleep.

  CHAPTER 22

  Waking up I can’t help but think that something feels off. Call it a bad feeling of impending doom if you will but I just know that something is not sitting right with me today. I’m getting dressed to go dress shopping with Ashlyn and I can’t shake the feeling.

  Everything has been quiet on the Luke front for the past few weeks. I know he is still out there but at least he isn’t leaving anymore notes or showing up unannounced anywhere. I know Zander hired a couple of his own people to be out there tracking him down. I just pray that the police get to him first because who knows what Zander would have planned for him before he turned him in to the police.

  Heading down to the kitchen I stop smelling the sweet aroma of bacon. I round the corner and see Zander shirtless with just a pair of gym shorts on standing at the oven frying up some bacon. Wrapping my arms around him I kiss his back and squeeze him tight.

  “Good morning baby, I figured I would make you some breakfast before you went dress shopping. Are you hungry?”

  “Starving. You’re playing a dangerous game there cooking bacon while shirtless.”

  Grabbing glasses out of the cabinet I pour us some orange juice and meet him at the island where we sit down and dig in. As we’re eating I tell him about my impending feeling of doom. He doesn’t laugh me off like I assumed he would. He listens to my concerns and promises me he will be careful today. I in return make the same promise. Just like the many mornings before I ask him about the progress his guys have made to find Luke.

  “They actually had a report that he was seen way up in Maine last night. My guys are closing in on him and I feel a lot better with you going out by yourself knowing that he is not around here.”

  Thirty minutes later Ash honks her horn in the driveway which is my cue to leave. I give Zander a kiss go
odbye and head out to her car.

  “Okay we have three appointments with the surrounding dress shops today. They are supposed to be the best and I already perused their online selection to see if they have “your dress” so don’t worry. I guarantee we’ll find that bad boy today.” Ash has a big smile on her face after she’d done talking. This is why I love this woman!

  “Best Maid of Honor ever ladies and gentlemen!”

  I have a clear-cut view on what I want my wedding dress to look like and I’m not willing to settle. Every little girl dreams to find that perfect dress they had always imagined walking down the aisle in. The only difference is now my perfect dress has a hell of a lot less ruffles on it.

  At the first dress shop I have no luck in finding my dress. They have some beautiful ones, just not what I’m looking for. We do however find Ashlyn’s wonderfully hideous Maid of Honor dress. I know we could easily declare the pact we made when we were 15 null and void, but where’s the fun in that? We read an article about brides that put their bridal party in demure dresses on purpose to not steal the spotlight away from the beauty of the bride. We thought this was ridiculous so we swore we would put each other in something so over the top and horrible that there would be no way we would blend into the background.

  The dress looks like it is from the days of gone with the wind. It’s a horrible sky blue color with yellow ruffle details all over it. It comes complete with a parasol and giant floppy yellow hat that has a bow in the same color blue of the dress. When she puts it on we die laughing and immediately know that this is the one. I can’t even wait until people see her coming down the aisle.

  We are at the third and final dress shop of the day when I see my dress, the dress. It’s a long sleeved white lace dress that hugs my body and cascades down to the floor with a bit of a train on the back. In the back, there is a button at the top near my neck that connects the back and that is pretty much it. The back is completely open in an oval cutout that goes from the button at my neck all the way to the top off my ass. I am in absolute awe of this dress. I go into the changing room to try it on praying that I can pull a look like this off, I’ve been dreaming of a dress like this ever since I saw the royal wedding.

  When I exit the dressing room Ashlyn gasps and covers her mouth with her hands. “Holy shit Savvy, you look absolutely stunning!” I turn around to show her the cutout in the back.

  She blows out a low whistle. “Zander is going to go ape shit over you in this dress! You’ll be lucky if you make it all the way down the aisle before he’s throwing you over his shoulder and charging towards the nearest bedroom, or closet I suppose.”

  We both giggle as I twirl in front of the mirror. We pick out a gorgeous veil that matches the dress to try on. It has the same lace pattern and goes down all the way to the end of my train. Luckily, the dress fits me like a glove so I don’t have to worry about getting it altered on such short notice. We make our way over to the front desk to pay and I hand them the credit card that Zander gave me in Vegas. We argued a little but he won in the end as usual telling me he wants our wedding day to be perfect for me. I have to get used to his money seeing as we’ll be married in less than two weeks. Even when we were “married” we fought over when I used my own money on things. He’ll just have to get used to the fact that I like to pull my own weight in a relationship. They put it in a garment bag and we head out to find a place to have lunch. Shopping for dresses really makes you work up an appetite! We are on our way to the restaurant when I get a text from Zander.

  My Sexy Fighter: Hey can you meet me at Ashlyn’s really quick. I need to show you something.

  I shoot back a text saying we were on the way and tell Ash we need to make a detour to her house. I wonder why we have to meet at Ash’s and not our house. Maybe his brothers are there and he doesn’t want to make Ashlyn feel uncomfortable. Lately everyone’s been sensing something has been off with Ash and Josh. She hasn’t come out and said anything about it so I’m giving her some time before I demand answers.

  When we pull in the driveway I don’t see Zander’s truck anywhere which is weird. He wouldn’t have walked from our house, he rarely walks anywhere. He always says a truck like his is meant to be driven not stared at. Ash goes up the front steps and unlocks the front door and I follow closely behind her. She heads for the back of the house towards the bedrooms to drop off her dress as I look around the living room quickly yelling out Zander’s name already figuring that we probably beat him here already.

  I’m about to pull out my phone and call him when I hear a voice that makes my blood run cold.

  “Hey baby, did you miss me?” No this can’t be happening, I’m imagining this. I turn towards the voice and my eyes lock with a pair of cold emotionless ones. Luke.

  Walking over to me he grabs the cell phone out of my hands, throws it on the floor and smashes it with his shoe. “We can’t have anybody interrupting this party, now can we?”

  Thinking about how we got here I ask him, “Were you the one that text me?” My heart starts to beat out of my chest. “Is Zander here? Where is he?” I try to walk by him but he stops me by putting his arm out effectively blocking my path.

  “Don’t worry about Zander he is safe, for now. Funny how they all leave their phones out in the open at the gym without a care as to who is around. They didn’t even notice me sneak in and grab them. Idiots. I took them all, I don’t need anyone within reach to come and save you.”

  I breathe a sigh of relief knowing Zander is safe, that all the guys are safe. Slamming me up against the wall his hand holds me in place squeezing my throat as I gasp for air.

  “You all think I’m some kind of joke, don’t you? I bet you all had a big laugh about that romantic date I set up for you in the park. Who are you? The sweet girl I knew would never be with someone with such a temper. After I found out that you were seeing someone new I did a little investigating. I couldn’t let my girlfriend make a fool of me after all. When I saw that you were hanging out with Mr. MMA himself, Zander Cage I knew I had to do something, keep tabs on you. When I saw you take off for the airport that morning, I knew you were heading to see that asshole’s fight. Do you know how easy it is to go unnoticed when you pose as one of those vultures with a camera? I bet you didn’t even notice him tailing you half the time. When he reported in saying you went into a fucking wedding chapel, I told him to do anything and everything he had to. You could not marry THAT PIECE OF SHIT!”

  “Please let me go…” I gasp out as tears slide down my face. With a sinister smile, he removes his hand from my throat but doesn’t let me go from the wall.

  “What are you doing here Luke? You know the cops are trying to find you after you broke into Zander’s house, if you turn yourself in I won’t even tell them you’re here right now.”

  “I bet you’d want that wouldn’t you bitch. You’d love nothing more than to see me rot away in a prison cell. I was so good to you! Why can’t you see that we are meant to be together?”

  Letting me go I take a couple steps away from him and notice the gun in his hand. I look around trying to figure out how I’ll get out of this mess. I don’t see Ashlyn anywhere, I hope that she heard him and high tailed it out of here to get some help.

  “Where’s that little bitch that came in with you? You know I never did like her, I should get rid of her so she can’t interfere with us. I know she is the one that turned you against me which is funny because between you and me I think she had the hots for me. I saw the way she looked at me when you weren’t looking. Some great friend she was,” he spits out.

  Grabbing me forcefully by my forearm he pulls me along with him as he goes in search of Ash. When we head for the bedrooms I begin to panic. Shit what do I do? I try to struggle to buy her more time, hopefully she will be able to either hide or get out of the house. Turning around I feel the sting before even seeing it come as he smacks me across the face. Dragging me with more force we get in Ashlyn’s room as he looks around clearly not se
eing her, he even checks under the beds and in the closets. I am beyond thrilled when we leave the bedrooms without any trace of Ash.

  We get back out in to the living room as Luke starts mumbling to himself. “Okay so she escaped, no biggy. I just need to move this show along before anyone shows up. No doubt that bitch has gotten to someone for help by now.” The way he is muttering to himself is really unnerving. It’s what the psycho killers always do in the movies.

  I notice movement in the back window and I see Ash pop her head up as I release the breath I had been holding. She must have jumped out her bedroom window. I realize without her in immediate danger this is my time to escape so I race towards the front door. She signals to me that she is going for help holding up her phone and pointing towards the road. I subtly nod letting her know I understand. I look around and realize that Luke is on the other side of the room, now is my chance to make a run for it.

  At an arm’s length from the door I’m yanked back into the living room by my hair. I try to fight him but he’s too strong for me. Throwing me on the floor he kicks me in the ribs. Gasping out I can barely take a breath from the force of the kick.

  “Where do you think you’re going? Back to your fake husband?” he spits on me. “He won’t want you after I’m done with you. When he realizes you’re really a whore!”

  He kicks me again in the side making me yell out in pain as I feel bile trying to make its way out of my mouth. Trying to swallow it back down he grabs my hair pulling me up to my feet. What did I learn in those self-defense classes? Never stop fighting! I need to fight!

  He leaves me with the perfect opening so I pull my foot back and kick him with all the force I can muster right in the balls. Dropping to his knees I seize my chance to run. Trying to get around him he grabs my ankle making me crash to the floor landing the wrong way on my arm. Wincing in pain I try to fight him off. I clearly pissed him off with the ball shot because he pulls me back towards him and straddles my waist as he smacks me right across the face. Son of a bitch that stings! Tears form in my eyes as I try to stay focused.