The flash of a steel blade caught her eye. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the detectives racing in their direction. Only they might be a split second too late. She had to take him on.
Panic and doubt reared their ugly heads, but Bella kicked the bitches to the curb. Her training took over. She kicked out, knocking the knife from his hand, feeling momentary satisfaction when surprise flashed in those eyes. A second later they narrowed to slits of glittering hatred.
Bring it on, asshole.
He lunged at her. Bella spun, kicked him in the groin, and followed it up with a couple good chops to the neck and shoulders. He dropped like the coward he was, writhing on the ground.
Red-hot anger surged through her. She leapt on top of him, pummeling his face with her fists, while he tried to ward off her blows. She drew back her arm one last time. “This one’s for Carla.” Her last punch broke his nose, and he cried like a baby.
Someone lifted her off him, while a cop jerked him to his feet and handcuffed the motherfucker.
“You’re fucking lucky I don’t kill you.” She panted with supreme satisfaction. “You’re not such a tough guy when the fight is fair.”
Her only answer was a pitiful whimper.
* * * *
Relief replaced fear as Cedric managed a grin, despite his wildly racing heart. That was the smart-mouthed, sassy Bella he knew and had missed, oh, so much. She’d been such a frenzy of feet and hands that by the time he’d gotten to his feet, she’d overpowered the asshole. And she’d kicked the fuckhead’s ass.
Yeah, that was his Bella. He was damned proud of her, even while being scared shitless for her safety.
“Are you okay, Bells?” He tried to catch his breath and calm himself.
“I’ve never been better.” Bella’s voice cracked on the last word. Cedric saw the exact moment when the gravity of the situation slammed into her. She gazed up at him, and he couldn’t bring himself to lecture her on how foolhardy it had been to engage Snake. Instead he sent up a silent thank you that she was okay.
Exhausted and drained, she started to sway. He caught her just as her knees gave out.
“It’s okay, baby. It’s okay.” He stroked her back and held her close. Her heart pounded against his chest, and her breathing was harsh against his ear, as she clung to him. She buried her face in his shoulder and silent sobs shook her body. They weren’t the heart-wrenching sobs after the first attack, more like sobs of relief and redemption.
Finally, she lifted her head, and he wiped away the tears from her cheeks.
“I kicked ass, didn’t I?” She grinned at him.
“You sure did, baby.”
She extricated herself from his arms as the detectives hovered nearby. Cedric held her hand and watched proudly as she answered their questions with a dignified grace. Hordes of reporters filled the street. When they found out he was a Sockeye, they were all over him. He answered the leeches briefly and politely, continually putting the focus on Bella. This wasn’t about him. This was about Bella and rising from the ashes to live again.
She was literally beaming with satisfaction, and he wouldn’t take this moment away from her.
A bystander stepped forward with a video of the entire altercation. He’d already put it up on social media, and it’d gone viral in less than ten minutes.
He knew how this would go. The media would hail her as a victim turned heroine. She’d be America’s next sweetheart. They’d probably even offer her a reality TV show of her own, but God, he hoped not. Eventually, the story would get old, and they’d move on to another story, but Bella would never get old to Cedric. After everyone else was gone, he’d still be here.
The police finished up and hauled off Snake in the back of a cop car. Bella promised to go down to the station first thing in the morning to give a more thorough statement. Bella’s smile waned, even as the crowd around them continued to grow and people snapped photos and took videos. Weariness dulled her eyes, and her shoulders sagged a little. His baby was dragging ass.
Cedric tugged on Bella’s arm. “Let’s get the fuck out of here. This isn’t my scene anymore. Too much media here.”
“I know.” She tucked her hand in his arm and smiled up at him. “We’re getting old.”
“Or we’re finally growing up, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”
“As long as we aren’t dull and boring.”
“Life could never be dull and boring with you, Bells.”
Glancing around to make sure they weren’t being followed, he pulled her into a darkened doorway and kissed the hell out of her. She kissed him right back, climbing up his body and wrapping her legs around his waist.
Finally, they drew back, their eyes locked, their chests heaving, and smiled at each other.
“There was a time when you’d have taken me up against this wall where anyone might discover us.” She teased him, as if she wished for those wild, carefree days again.
Cedric glanced around and noted how dirty the area was and shook his head.
“There’s something to be said for sex in a clean, warm bed with six-hundred-thread-count sheets,” she noted, reading his mind.
“Let’s go home.”
“Home?” he said with his eyes twinkling.
“Our home.”
“Hell, yeah, let’s go.” He nodded enthusiastically, suspecting she would be too spent for any mattress recreation. A shame, really, because seeing her take down that guy was a huge turn-on. Maybe he’d convince her to wrestle him to the mattress and tie his hands while she had her wicked way with him.
The image brought a broad smile to his face, as they walked hand in hand to where he’d parked his car.
Chapter 14—Final Period
A month later, Bella and Cedric were wrapped in a blanket and cuddled on his balcony overlooking the Space Needle and the city. Rumble lay nearby, snoring as usual.
She felt safe, warm, and protected, yet empowered by the love of a good man and by her confidence in herself to turn a bad situation into a better one.
Things had changed these past few weeks, just as they’d changed the night of the near-rape. Only this time the pendulum swung back toward the middle.
No one should do this alone, and Bella understood that now. She’d called Riley’s counselor and had two appointments already. She liked the woman immediately and found she was helping with more than the attack.
Bella suspected she’d never completely recover. She might be jumpy in certain situations, but she’d be more cautious and pay better attention. She’d practice the advice she preached in her classes.
She’d seen the pride in Cedric’s eyes when he looked down at her holding Snake to the ground. She didn’t give a shit about the attention showered upon her since the takedown. She’d turned down multiple offers for high-profile exposure, even modeling offers and one recording contract. Yes, she sang and danced, but neither was something she wanted to do full time.
Cedric helped her track down the homeless man who’d saved her from a fate she didn’t like to think about. He was a Vietnam veteran with PTSD living on the streets because he didn’t know how to be an advocate for himself. They set him up with an apartment and a good counselor, and George had become a frequent visitor, welcomed into the family like a long-lost grandfather.
Bella heard from her mother, who sounded tired and worn out, but in good spirits. Tomorrow was never guaranteed for anyone, and Fawn Maxwell had lived her life to the fullest and lived it on her terms. Bella might not have agreed with her choices, but she knew her mother would put up a good fight, regardless of the outcome.
Bella still felt restless, still needed to find her niche, but she teetered on the verge of figuring it out. She planned to pursue her writing and self-publish her novel, and maybe after that another.
Whatever she finally decided, she’d stick with it, even when it got tough.
Just like she’d made the decision to stick with Cedric.
Bella wondered why she
hadn’t seen it before. She’d been so busy running from him because the feelings she felt for the man scared the crap out of her. Now she wanted nothing more than to run straight into his strong arms.
After the attack, she’d turned to him because the outside world had scared her more than her mixed-up emotions toward him. Now she was in a better place and wasn’t running anymore. Not from him and not from her fear. She was facing it straight on, and she loved that.
“What are you thinking, beautiful?” he asked as he gave her a kiss on the nose.
“I’m thinking I might keep you.” She tossed him one of her sassy, I-dare-you-to-argue-with-me looks. His slow grin told her all she needed to know.
“And I might keep you.”
“Then we’re on the same page.” She leaned in and kissed him, a deep, meaningful kiss, a dancing together of their tongues, and a perfect union of their lips.
“Good. What are you going to do with the rest of your life, Bellani Maxwell?” It was a loaded question, and they both knew it.
“I’m going to love you, Cedric Pedersen, because I am in love with you, and only you.”
“I knew it,” he said cockily.
She rolled her eyes. “Conceited much?”
“Actually, quite a lot.”
Bella laughed. His cockiness was one of the things she loved about him. And love him, she did. Even better, he loved her. All these years trying to prove she didn’t care if people loved her or not because she had honestly believed she wasn’t loveable. Now she saw the truth.
Bella was loved and she was loveable. She deserved Cedric’s love as much as he deserved hers.
* * * *
Bella tried not to be nervous as she waited for Ethan’s assistant to give her permission to enter his office. Instead, Ethan himself came to the door and waved her in. Inside sat Cooper and Izzy, Isaac and Avery, Cedric, Lauren, and an elegant older woman introduced as Ethan’s mother. Bella hoped she looked as stunning as Mrs. Parker when she was her age.
Bella took the seat offered to her. She had no idea why Ethan had asked for this meeting, and especially why she, of all people, had been included. Cedric smiled at her from across the table and gave her foot a little nudge. She raised her brows and watched him through lowered lashes.
Ethan cleared his throat, and Bella jumped to attention with a guilty start at being caught playing footsie with Ethan’s star right winger.
“I’m squeezing everyone in between appointments, so let’s get right to the point. My family and I have long been supporters of the homeless, women’s shelters, and fighting domestic violence.”
Mrs. Parker nodded. “We’re starting a foundation to give Seattle citizens better tools to fight victimization, be it sex trafficking, domestic violence, crimes, or other circumstances. We’re partnering with the Sockeyes, and we think Bella would be the perfect spokeswoman.” The older woman’s eyes lit with enthusiasm as she spoke in a calm, precise manner.
Bella gasped and put her hands over her mouth.
Mrs. Parker smiled kindly. “We want to do more than raise money, but we don’t want to take on too much at a time. We would like for you to develop and teach a program targeted to assist those most vulnerable and helping them gain back some of their power. You’ll have multiple resources at your disposal, but initially we would like to offer a set of self-defense classes for the homeless and crime victims. We want you to teach those courses. Eventually, you’ll be managing other instructors, possibly helping spread this program elsewhere.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Well, that’s a first,” Cedric, Izzy, and Cooper all said at the same time, causing everyone to laugh.
“I don’t think I’m qualified.”
“How does one qualify for something like this?” Mrs. Parker asked, then continued, obviously not expecting an answer. “You’re perfect because you’ve been a victim who refused to allow her attack to victimize her. You’ve lived with the overwhelming fear and survived. You’ve come out stronger, and you confronted your attacker and won. That’s the woman we want leading this organization.”
“I would be honored,” Bella said, still pretty sure she’d wake up tomorrow and find out this was all a dream.
After more discussion they filed out of Ethan’s office, and Cedric followed her to the parking lot.
“You’re perfect for this,” he assured her. “And you’re perfect for me.”
“I’m hardly perfect.”
“I love everything about you, especially those imperfections.”
“Really?”
“I know, it’s tough, being so perfect and all, but I like variety.”
She socked him in the arm, and, laughing, he pulled her into a tight hug. “I’ll help you manage your perfection. It has to be a tough battle.”
“You have no idea, baby. No idea. It’s a cross I was born to bear.”
“There’s more, Ced.” Bella glanced nervously at him.
“Do tell.”
“Izzy wants me to be an equal partner in the Party Crashers. I told her yes.”
“Good.”
“Keeps me off the streets when you’re on all those road trips.”
“As long as it doesn’t keep you out of the sheets when I get home.”
“That, my dear man, could never happen. I love you, and you’re stuck with me and my imperfections.”
“I love you more, and you’re stuck with my illusions of perfection.”
“I’ll take you any way I can have you.”
He sealed their future with a kiss and together they took a step toward the rest of their lives.
~ THE END ~
Thank you for spending time in my world. I hope you enjoyed reading this book. If you did, please help other readers discover this book by leaving a review.
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COMPLETE BOOKLIST
The following Jami Davenport titles are available in digital and some are available as trade paperbacks.
Madrona Island Series
Madrona Sunset
Evergreen Dynasty Series
Save the Last Dance
Who’s Been Sleeping in My Bed?
The Gift Horse
Game On in Seattle
Skating on Thin Ice (Seattle Sockeyes Hockey)
Crashing the Boards (Seattle Sockeyes Hockey)
Crashing the Net (Seattle Sockeyes Hockey)
Love at First Snow (Seattle Sockeyes Hockey)
Melting Ice (Seattle Sockeyes Hockey)
Blindsided (Seattle Steelheads Football)
Hearts on Ice
Bodychecking (Seattle Sockeyes Hockey)
Daring to Win (Carly Phillips Kindle World) Summer 2016
Bottom of the Ninth (Seattle Skookums Baseball)—Summer 2016
Game Changer (Seattle Steelheads Football)—Fall 2016
Seattle Lumberjacks Football Series
Fourth and Goal
Forward Passes
Down by Contact
Backfield in Motion
Time of Possession
Roughing the Passer
Standalone Books
Christmas Break
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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USA Today Bestselling Author Jami Davenport writes sexy contemporary and sports romances, including her two new indie endeavors: the Game On in Seattle Series and the Madrona Island Series. Jami's new releases consistently rank in the top fifty on the sports romance and sports genre lists on Amazon, and she has hit the Amazon top hundred authors list in both contemporary romance and genre fiction multiple times. Jami ranked Number Seven on Kobo's Top Ten Most Co
mpleted Authors, an honor bestowed on the year's "most engaging" authors based on an average page completion rate by their readers.
Jami lives on a small farm near Puget Sound with her Green Beret-turned-plumber husband, a Newfoundland cross with a tennis ball fetish, a prince disguised as an orange tabby cat, and an opinionated Hanoverian mare.
Jami works in IT for her day job and is a former high school business teacher. She's a lifetime Seahawks and Mariners fan and is waiting for the day professional hockey comes to Seattle. An avid boater, Jami has spent countless hours in the San Juan Islands, a common setting in her books. In her opinion, it's the most beautiful place on earth.
Website: http://www.jamidavenport.com
Events Blog: http://jamidavenport.blogspot.com
Romancing the Jock Blog: http://www.romancingthejock.com
Twitter Address: @jamidavenport
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