Hook'd

by Taisha S. Ryan

  He stood there, taken aback. "What?"

  "Man, don't act like you just got ya balls cut off or somethin’. I did you a favor."

  He scowled. "A favor? Putting a gun to my girl's head, threatening her, is a favor?"

  "The bitch was a distraction, Cam!"

  "A distraction?"

  "Yeah, a distraction. I was just doing my job. I wanted us to win. But you was so pussy whipped to even see it! Now look, you still let that son of a bitch beat you. All for what? 'Cause you were so hurt a bitch broke your heart—"

  Cam charged at him and gripped his collar, yanking his face to his.

  "I should beat your fucking ass right now," he threatened through clenched teeth.

  Slick burst into laughter, only igniting his heated rage.

  "Oh, now you wanna fight somebody? Where was all this anger in the ring, huh?" He taunted. "You know what your problem is, Cam? You're weak. Yeah, you might know how to fight. But you see this right here..." He tapped Cameron's chest. "This big ass heart of yours is gonna be your downfall. You got so much fucking potential. You could be the greatest! And it angers me to see how much you waste it because you let everything get to your head. You should be thanking me. ‘Cause without me, you wouldn’t be shit!"

  Cam clenched his jaw. "You ain't do shit for me. I'm the one who won all those fucking fights!"

  Slick laughed. "Oh, really? So that's what you think huh?"

  Cam tightened his grip, urging to throw him over the balcony.

  "If it wasn't for me paying those judges off, your weak ass wouldn't have gotten this far. You'd be just another, titleless fighter without shit!"

  His chest fell, as the words struck him to the gut. "What?"

  "Yeah, I paid them off. All those times you walked into the ring, doped up, high out of your fucking mind, how you think you was able to win all those fights? You think you would've done that shit on your own? I'm the one who got you this far in your career. You owe me!"

  Loss for words, Cam couldn't even respond. Unable to process the brutal truth.

  "Why you think I orchestrated that rape shit in the first place? It'll be the only way I could light some fire under your ass."

  He blinked. "You set that up?"

  "Yeah, I did."

  Cam stood there in shock.

  "Yeah..." Slick nodded, a sinister smile tracing his lips. "Look at you...already breaking down. You'll never be one of the greats. You'll always be that same, unwanted little bitch from the projects who never amounted up to shit—“

  Cam threw a punch in his face and he toppled into the stool. Slick laughed, wiping the blood dripping from his nose.

  "That's what I like to see! With a punch like that, you would've definitely won tonight—”

  In rage, Cam slammed him to the floor and gripped his throat, urging to snap it in half.

  "Snake muthafucka!"

  Slick gripped his hands, struggling to breathe. He clenched tighter. The thought of him hurting Reese and orchestrating the rape, fired heated rage in his blood and he wanted nothing more than to kill him. Slick's irises clouded, as he slowly began to give out.

  The door swung open.

  "Oh shit, Cam!" Bryson yelled.

  He continued to strangle him, slamming his skull against the tile floor.

  "Aye, ya'll get in here!"

  They all rushed into the room and grabbed Cameron, forcing him off of him. They pulled him away, and he forced to escape their hold. Slick coughed out, gasping for breaths.

  "The fuck is goin' on, man?!?" Bryson yelled out.

  "I love you, man..." Slick struggled to get up, reaching out to him in need. "You always been like a son to me."

  "You're fired."

  Slick's chest fell. "What?"

  "Stay the fuck away from me." He glared at him.

  "Cam..." He shook his head slowly. "Don't do this..."

  He pushed everyone off of him and stormed out the room.

  *

  "I just feel so stupid..." Reese mumbled, as she cuddled with Yasmine on the sofa within her hotel suite.

  Her heart crushed at the mere thought of Cameron hurting her the way he did. She had poured her whole heart to him, only to make a complete fool of herself. She didn't expect him to act so cold. She just had some glimmer of hope that he would have believed her. And would just run into her arms like she so desperately wished. But she was wrong. And she hated herself for it.

  "That's what love does to us. It makes us stupid as hell," Yasmine added.

  "I fucking hate love."

  "Cheers to that."

  They clinked their glasses together, then took gulps of their Champagne. The tasty drink blessed her taste buds, inducing her with the buzz she so desperately needed.

  "You think I'm on TMZ right now?" Reese asked, fiddling with her phone.

  "Yup."

  "Great."

  With as many people recording the scenario, she wouldn't be surprised.

  "Aye, at least you gave it a try, you know?"

  "And it backfired."

  "Nope. It freed you, that's what it did."

  "Huh?" Reese said, confused.

  "For once, you allowed yourself to live in the moment. You didn't give a fuck what anyone else thought. Just did what your heart told you, all for the sake of love. Not everyone has the balls to do that. Shit, I respect it."

  "At what cost, though?"

  She was left with nothing now but a broken heart, lack of dignity, and probably a tarnished reputation. It wasn't worth it.

  A knock on the door grasped their attention.

  "That better be room service. Got my ass starving up in here," Yasmine complained, standing up.

  She had ordered room service about an hour ago, or so it seemed. Reese on the other hand, had no appetite to eat. She was too depressed to even think about food right now.

  Yasmine walked to the door and opened it.

  "Oh...it's you."

  Reese glanced at the door and her heart stopped.

  "Can I come in?" Cameron asked softly.

  Yasmine glanced over her shoulder. "Can he come in?"

  She urged to say no. She wanted to curse him out. Shun him, for crushing her heart the way he did.

  She placed her bottle down and walked toward him. Yasmine stepped aside as Reese stood at the entrance. She folded her arms, glaring at him.

  "What do you want?"

  "I wanted to come over here and apologize. I'm sorry for what my manager did to you, you shouldn't have gone through that. But I took care of it, so he'll never touch you again."

  She listened. Not even bothering to speak.

  With a sigh, he licked his lips. "And also, I wanna apologize for the way I acted earlier. I was wrong for treating you the way I did and I'm sorry."

  Reese tapped her foot, his apology not sitting well with her. That was not what she wanted to hear. She wanted to hear more. Something. Anything to make her feel that she wasn't alone in the whirlwind of feelings she had unknowingly engulfed herself into. She wanted him to make her feel less of a fool for putting her heart on the line. To heal the aching pain she felt, just staring into the face of the man she had fallen in love with.

  "Is that it?" She forced a terse tone.

  He stepped closer. "I love you."

  She froze. His hands brushed her hair, as he stared into her eyes. Lost for words, she swallowed the dry air in her throat.

  "I made a lot of fucked up mistakes in the past. And I know you're unsure about trusting me with your heart, but I'm standing before you as a man, and telling you right now, that I wanna be with you. For as long as I can. You're a good woman, Reese. Beautiful, Strong. Everything a man could ask for. You deserve to be loved and to be happy. And I wanna be the one to give you that. I wanna make this work," He whispered, rubbing her face. "I love you.”

  Her heart rushed with a myriad of emotions, as she stood before him, overwhelmed by his words.

  “Do you feel the same?" He asked, his gaze locke
d with hers.

  Tears filled her eyes, she nodded. "Yes."

  "So this moment right here, right now, I want us to take this journey together. No bullshit this time."

  On impulse, she placed her lips on his, accepting his plea. He kissed her back with a tight embrace, and she welcomed his soft lips and tongue, missing him so desperately.

  “Aww, see, now ya’ll ‘bout to make a bitch cry."

  They broke their kiss. With a grin, Reese spun around to see Yasmine waving her face dramatically, and she shook her head at her antics.

  "Where are you sleeping at tonight?"

  Reese faced him to meet his heated stare. She blushed.

  "Well, I was going to be with Yas, but—"

  "Nope, go. Bye!"

  She laughed at her response. "Okay, I guess not."

  "Good, then you're coming with me." He bit his lip, bringing her closer. "And I ain't letting you go this time."

  Chapter 46

  Cameron groaned as he woke up from his slumber, his entire face and body aching with excruciating pain. He lifted his head to see blood stains on his pillow. He rubbed the blood off his bruised lips, spewing out a curse word under his breath. In that moment, the cold reality struck him with the painful memory of his defeat, igniting a deep hollowness in his chest. The most disappointing moment in his life.

  And just like that, he thought back to Slick's betrayal. And that cut even deeper than the fight itself. He still couldn't believe what he had done. From the lying, paying for his wins, to orchestrating the rape, he just couldn't imagine Slick would ever do that to him. He had truly been like a father to him. He respected him. Trusted him. Only for him to turn on him the way he did. And it hurt. It really did.

  Cameron turned over to find Reese nowhere in sight.

  "Reese," he uttered weakly, wincing at the sharp pain in his rib.

  Too sore to go looking for her, he slowly sat up. Planting his feet on the carpeted floor, he sat at the edge of the bed, rubbing his fingers through his fade with a sigh.

  Fuck. He was in so much pain.

  The bathroom door swung open.

  He turned his head to see her entering the room, dressed in his oversized T-shirt, with her long thick brown legs exposed to his view. The beautiful sight brought him back to the memory of him exploring her body in all different positions as they made love all through the night. Damn, he missed her. All those groupies didn't amount to having that one woman he loved. At all. And he wasn't ashamed to admit that.

  "Feeling okay?" She eased herself between his legs.

  "Yeah," he sighed.

  She rubbed his bruises, her soft hands soothing him. "Still hurts?"

  He nodded.

  Her fingers ran through his fade as he rested his head against her stomach. Her presence brought more comfort than she would ever know. Emotionally, mentally, physically, he just felt...broken. He was so damn disappointed in himself. He had worked so hard to get here. Thought he had done the best he could. Only to realize his career had all been a lie.

  Slick's words echoed in his brain. Maybe he was right. Maybe he would never be one of the greats. Deep down, he would always be that weak kid from the projects that would never amount to anything.

  "You know what I’d always see when I was in that ring?" he broke the silence.

  "What?" she asked softly.

  "Myself."

  Her hands stopped moving.

  "Every fight, I used to be intimidated getting into that ring. You never know what could happen. Some dudes might fight better than you. Might have more skills than you. But myself...I wasn't afraid of. I was only afraid of becoming that weak kid that I promised I never would. And in that ring, all I saw was him. That same weak kid that was told he wasn't shit. That he would never amount to anything. I wanted to get rid of him. I wanted to beat him down so fucking bad. And it'd helped me win. But now, I realize...that that same kid I was tryna get rid of, never left me. He'd always be there...no matter how much I try to fight him away." His heart pained as emotions he could no longer fight, burst from the depths of his soul. Tears emerged as he finally stopped holding it all in.

  Reese held him tighter, soothing him.

  "Shh..." She bent down and kissed his temple. Her lips caressed his face, kissing his tears away. "Look at me..."

  He met her warm gaze.

  "I know it hurts right now, but you can't let this break your spirit...you can't," she whispered, rubbing his nape. "You're stronger than that."

  He lowered his head, and she forced him to meet her gaze. "Remember what you told me?"

  He shook his head, unsure of what she meant.

  “It’s just you and fear in that ring. No one else. And you could either let it knock you down, or you keep fighting that mutherfucker till the bell goes off. Remember that?"

  He cracked a smile. He did remember saying that. It just sounded funny hearing her say it for some reason.

  "Yeah, I do." He nodded.

  "Then you do that. Okay?"

  He nodded, her encouragement bestowing a sense of strength he had lost. She was right. He couldn't let something like this get him down. He had to keep fighting no matter what.

  He stared into her beautiful face, running his fingers through her short tresses. He thought back to the first time they met. Just the thought made him smile. Who would've ever thought that the mean, bold, feisty woman that cussed him out in that restaurant, would've grabbed his heart the way she did? He sure didn't.

  But that was life.

  Unpredictable like a mutherfucker.

  "I love you," he said, meaning every word.

  "I love you too." They kissed passionately. After a moment, she pulled away. "Oh, and one more thing..."

  "What?" he asked.

  "I might be pregnant."

  Chapter 47

  Epilogue

  ~7 Months Later~

  "As you all know, it’s my last day..." Reese announced within the boardroom. "After today, I will no longer be the CEO of this organization."

  She stared at the 37 members of her executive team, from board members to management, each one playing a key role, no matter how small.

  "It's been a successful 15 years, and it's going to be hard to leave after so long." She swallowed the lump in her throat. "When I started this organization, I was just a young woman trying to find herself in the world. I didn't know what my purpose was, but I knew I wanted to make a change. So one day, after feeling so broken, and lost, I did some soul searching... I said, 'you know what? I want to help women who've been where I've been. Who knows what it's like to lose hope.’ And I wanted to restore that, however way I can.

  "And I did. With the help of every single one of you. There's some of you who've been with me since the beginning. When we barely had any funding. Back, when nobody believed in us. But the most important thing was, that we believed in our mission. And we didn't stop. We kept pushing. And years later, look where we are now. Free The Heart has grown so much." She softly smiled. "And I have all of you to thank for that. Each and every single one of you has been a key to this organization's success, and there is no way I would've gotten this far without any of you. So, thank you. From the bottom of my heart."

  The room filled with applause. Reese took the tissue Naomi handed her, and wiped her eyes.

  "Wait, wait, wait. I just wanna say something," Lillian announced, grasping everyone's attention. She stood next to Reese. "Sharese, you are just...God sent. You've been such a wonderful leader for this organization, and again, I thank you so much for blessing me with the position to do the same. I'm going to have some very big shoes to fill. But I thank you, so much. Your heart is much bigger than what you give yourself credit for. It's because of you so many women's lives have been changed for the better. We ourselves, have become better people working for Free the Heart. And we as a team appreciate you, more than you could ever imagine. So, thank you. To the wonderful, Sharese..."

  Everyone lifted their glasses, cli
nking them together in her honor. She gave a soft smile, whispering, 'thank you.'

  *

  "Hold on baby, I gotta make it nice and hot for you," Cameron told her.

  Reese waited patiently as he prepared the Jacuzzi. He placed his hand in the bubbling water, then nodded with satisfaction. "Alright, c'mon...let's get you in." He approached her and grasped her hand, leading her to the tub.

  She eased one foot in at a time, before immersing herself in the water. She basked in bliss, as the warm bubbling water put her aching body at ease. God, she needed this.

  "How does it feel?"

  "Like Heaven."

  "Good. Now let me put some music on."

  Fetty Wap's, My Way blared through the speakers, and her eyes shot open.

  "Are you serious right now, Cam?"

  He smiled, dancing to the music. "This song goes hard, baby."

  "Boy, if you don't turn this mess off..."

  He swayed his shoulders to the up tempo beat, before thrusting his pelvis in the air, only causing her to burst in laughter.

  "What the hell are you doing?"

  "I'm giving you a show. You know you feelin' it! 'Baby won't you come my wayyyyy...got something I want to sayyyyy!" He sang along, in the most ear wrenching voice she ever heard.

  "Seriously Cam, this is torture!"

  He stopped singing. "So, you really just gonna disrespect my beautiful singing like that?"

  "Beautiful? It sounds like death."

  His jaw dropped. "Oh, you got jokes. You lucky you cute and shit."

  "Shut up."

  "Alright, what you wanna hear then?"

  "Anything but this. The last thing we need is this baby to pop out, twerking."

  He laughed. "Twerking? My daughter ain't gonna be doing that shit."

  She lifted a brow. "And how do you know? She just might."

  "Yeah, you right. Let me go ahead and change it. Put on something a lil' more sexy."

  He shuffled through the playlist of his IPod, and Jodeci's, My Heart Belongs To You, reverberated from the speakers. She shut her eyes in bliss.

  "Yesss, this is what I'm talking about."

  "Sets the mood don’t it?" He bobbed his head to the music. Soon after, he stripped off his clothing then slid himself in the tub. As he sat behind her, she leaned against his chest, snugging herself in his brawny arms. He softly massaged her shoulders, alleviating her with just the mere touch of his rhythmic fingers, and she moaned. He just didn't know how much she needed this. He truly was god sent.