“What’s wrong, hard man? Huh? Don’t like it when you haven’t got the upper hand? Well, guess what?” he says, pushing the gun against his temple, “I’m not scared of you, and I think I’ll enjoy burying this bullet deep inside that empty fucking skull of yours.” He laughs menacingly, and I can’t stop my feet from moving. I charge forward, only to be pulled back with force, my back landing heavily against an unknown object.
“What the…?” I speak, turning my head to see what’s going on. It’s all happening so fast; my mind can’t catch up. I turn to see his face, and my stomach flops.
Jax.
Tears roll down my face. My breathing stills, and I open my mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. The fear has taken hold of me, and my body and mind have shut down on me. His grip tightens around my wrists as he pulls my hands behind my back.
“Get your fucking hands off her,” Ryder roars at Jax, stepping forward. Before he can move any farther, my dad moves in front of him, pressing the gun against his forehead.
“One more move, motherfucker, and I will pull the trigger.”
I push down the bile that rises in my throat.
“Don’t do this, Dad. Don’t hurt him; he doesn’t deserve it.” I finally force out the words. His head snaps in my direction, eyes glaring intensely.
“You’d risk your own life for… him?”
I laugh. “He’s every bit the man you’re not. He’s shown me true love; something you failed to do these past few weeks. Oh, no, you were too busy trying to sell me off for your own selfish gain. What sort of father does that?”
“One who has no other choice, Kailee. That’s who,” he shouts back; his words come out with a hiss because his teeth are clenched together.
“You’re no father of mine,” I scowl at him, venom in my tone.
“Take her away. Donny will be waiting.”
“No,” I say, screaming and kicking out my legs. I watch as Ryder wrestles with Dad. Thrusting his arm toward him, Ryder smashes his elbow against Dad’s face. But I’m helpless as Jax drags me backward, my feet scraping against the ground as I try to fight back, as I try to resist him. Dad cowers, instantly dropping his head, and Ryder reaches down for the gun. Jax stops, alerted by the shouting between the pair as I watch him fight to take the gun from his hands.
Bang.
The sound exploded so closely to my ear, crackling through the air.
Jax and I fall to the ground. My head hits the ground with force, and I let out a yelp.
“What the fuck?” Ryder roars, his voice echoing in the distance.
I look down to see blood everywhere. I reach up and touch my face, which is now coated in thick, warm red blood. I hold out my hand, trying to focus on it as it shakes uncontrollably. The full weight of his limp body is on top of me, making it hard to breathe, and the more I try to make sense of what is happening, the more black dots appear in my vision.
Ryder suddenly appears beside me, holding a gun in his hand. He rolls Jax off me, pushing his lifeless body to the ground and finally freeing me from his weight. But it doesn’t help. I drop my head back to the ground, bringing my hand up to my head. I can’t feel anything. My body feels lifeless, and the darkness is coming.
“Please, Pip, hold on for me.”
I fight to open my eyes, but I can’t. I attempt to open my mouth, to say something to him, to tell him how much I really do love him, but I feel like my body is shutting down.
The darkness becomes heavy, and I can no longer fight it.
I can no longer hold on.
The darkness lures me, finally taking me as I can no longer fight the inevitable.
5 years later…
Ryder
I kneel beside the grave, setting down the roses I bought on the way here. Every week is the same. Every Sunday, I come and spend time with her. I talk to her about all the things I’d hoped we could have done together and all the things she’s missed since she passed away. I tell her about the gym, but mostly, I talk about the boys.
The twins born on her birthday — the identical boys who are every bit like their mom and nothing like me.
“I wish you could have met them, Mom. I wish you could see how great things are for us.” I arrange the roses into their vases at the side of the headstone. Rising to my feet, I push my hands in my pocket. I often wonder just how I got so lucky. How I made something out of the wreckage that had been my life for so long. And I know exactly what made me change, or should I say who.
Kailee.
I thought I’d lost her that day her fucking asshole of a father turned up at the trailer park. Luckily, she wasn’t hurt badly. But Jax was.
He was pronounced dead at the hospital. Kailee’s father ran, but the police caught up with him. He’d been hiding out at the apartment that Kailee and he had lived in for a short time; the whole story about being on the run was bullshit. He’s currently serving a life sentence for Jax’s murder.
I’m not going to say things weren’t tough because they were real fucking hard for a long time. Coming to terms with losing my twin and also dealing with my mom’s decline was some of the hardest shit I’ve ever had to deal with. I wasn’t sure I could ever get through it. But I did. And it’s all because of her. To the woman who holds my fucking heart so tightly in her hands, I don’t ever want her to let go.
Mom didn’t survive long, only about three months after her cancer diagnosis.
“Still miss you like crazy, Mom,” I whisper, looking back over my shoulder as I walk away. I jump in my truck, driving the short distance to the gym.
The one place where I could forget. Where I could focus all my attention.
Blackheart’s Gym.
Has a fucking ring to it and I have to admit that every time I see the name, or I hear someone talking about it, my heart expands with pride. With the help of Marco, I’ve built my own empire and have not just one but three gyms in the area. The youth programs have been a huge hit, but most of all, the best fighters want to train here. And that’s because of Kailee. She’s the best sports physio in the area and is exclusive to our gyms. She spreads her time across the three gyms, and I love that I can keep my eye on her. After what happened before, I’m taking no fucking chances. I thought I’d lost her once; it ain’t happening again.
I’m thankful every day that Marco took a chance on me, that he helped and invested in the gym. He and Francis are married now, and since going completely straight, I don’t see as much of him, but we still keep in touch.
“Hey, honey.” She waves over to me, jogging toward the truck.
“Hey, Pip. How did today’s sessions go?” I ask, pushing open the door and stepping from the truck. I take her in my arms and lift her from the floor. She wraps her legs around me, and I reach down, kissing her lightly on those plush fucking lips of hers. “You know, I’m starting to think having your hands all over these other guys might not be such a good idea, after all.” I pull back, a smile tugging at the corner of my lips, despite trying to fight it back.
“Well, you know, it’s a temptation,” she says with a flimsy lift of her shoulders.
“All right, that’s it,” I say, setting her on the ground. “You’re fired. I’m going to find a new physio,” I say, stomping toward the entrance to the gym.
“Fine,” she shouts, “but I’m taking all my clients with me.”
I spin on the spot and turn to see her with her arms crossed firmly over her chest. Fuck, I think she’s pushing them up on purpose.
I shake my head, laughing, and she softens her stance, laughing too. Walking over and shimmying her hips as she does, she stops just in front of me. “I love your jealousy, Ryder. But you have nothing to fear. I’m a one-man girl, and my heart belongs to you.”
“Glad to hear it,” I say, swiftly slapping her on the ass. Even after all these years, she still drives me wild.
I turn and make my way inside; the thud and sound of voices will never get old.
“I’m going to get my
purse from the office; the boys will be here soon.”
I nod, making my way over to the ring. Resting on the side, I watch the two go at it in the ring.
“Daddy.” The sound of the most angelic voices I’ve ever heard catches my attention.
“Hey…” I say, turning to see the pair running toward me. I kneel, opening my arms. “Have you boys been good for Auntie Layla?”
“Uh-huh,” they both say, nodding their heads.
Layla works at the nursery the boys attend during the week, and they have really taken to her. She also helps us with the boys on the weekends so Kailee can do a few appointments at the gym.
“When can I boxing, Daddy?” Carlton asks, his words jumbled as he holds his fists in front of his face.
“When you’re older, Cal,” I say, rubbing the top of his head as I let out a small laugh.
“Carter, wook at me,” Carlton says, pushing his fists out as he mocks the guys in the ring.
“Noooo… stop it,” Carter whines, wrapping his arms around my leg as far as they will stretch.
“Daddy, tell Carlton to stop.”
“Boys, come on.” Layla holds out a hand to each of them. “Let’s go find Mommy.”
The pair wave back at me as they walk to the office. As soon as they see Kailee, they run to her, and she picks them both up, resting one on each hip. The boys wrap their arms around her neck, kissing her cheeks repeatedly.
I stare at the three who belong to me, and my heart is as full as it’s ever been. I never expected to have this life, but fuck, it’s every bit the life I want, the life I never realized I wanted.
“I love you,” she mouths. I nod at her my smile wide and my heart full. She’s my best friend, the one who has never given up on me. The one who believed in me, even when there were plenty of reasons for her not to.
I’d risked everything for her, not knowing which path it would take me down, but I’m glad I did. Some days are still hard; the memories of what I’ve lost have faded but never completely disappear. But it was all part of the road I needed to take to get here.
To get to my own version of perfection.
Broken Girl Series:
Beautiful Broken Girl
Keeping Hope
Standalone Romance:
Burn With Me
Worth the Wait
The Blackheart Twins Series:
The Edge of Life
The Edge of Forever
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The edge of forever: A Blackhearts twins novel (Book two) Page 15
