by Jayne Blue
“Can I stay anonymous?”
“What?”
“I don’t want my face plastered on everything. I don’t want the newspapers to be in my face the rest of my life over this. Is that possible?”
“I don’t really know. But I can do some research. If there’s a way, I’ll find it.”
“Thank you.” It was hard to look into Kyle’s eyes. I saw deep concern. There was a wrinkle in his brow. He was so gentle with me, like he thought I would break. But I knew I wouldn’t now. I knew I was as tough, or almost as tough as my fighters. It was going to be tough convincing Kyle that I was okay.
But I was okay. I had survived.
“I— I’m so relieved.” Kyle kissed me and I felt more of the cold disappear, replaced by the warmth he gave me.
“Did you see my right hook?” I asked him. I needed him to smile and to laugh with me. I needed to find normal again.
“You’re a scrapper. Remind me not to mess with you.”
“Don’t mess with me.” Kyle had his lips on mine again before I finished the sentence. The kisses were longer, sweeter, and I hoped they never stopped.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Kyle
The argument was clear-cut and effective. Because the body of Gwen Stock had not yet been found, Sam Bosque was still in danger. I made the case that revealing her name in public records, letting people know Gwen Stock had fixated on her, would cause additional risk to her.
First, from crazies who emulated serial killers. There were people who sold the possessions of Jeffry Dahmer and Ted Bundy on Ebay. Already memorabilia of The Las Vegas Ripper, The Female Ripper, was being sought out by sickos. We had every scrap of evidence on lock down because of it. People love the macabre.
In the case files, Sam Bosque became Jane Doe. I looked over every police report, every FBI dossier and every transcript. Sam’s name was gone. The truly skilled could trace the employees of Arm Up and find her. But as far as media, or official fascination went, we had made Jane Doe faceless for their stories.
They had enough to know that Jane Doe and Gwen’s mother looked alike. There was enough to trace the lines between a woman who had been abused by one woman fixating on someone who looked like her over and over again.
Jerry Moore left Grand City and Arm Up management. His conduct with female staffers was enough to get anyone fired. In his case, the resulting carnage evaporated any support he might have had from upper management. He had faded from Sam’s life and her office before she’d gotten out of the hospital.
“Did she get away or did she die in the river and float into Lake Michigan?” That was my question to the dive teams.
“It’s impossible to say, however the odds are that she died. It was incredibly cold. She’d exerted herself in a fight prior to jumping in. And we have zero knowledge of whether or not she could swim.” They reassured me that they believed Gwen had died. That though they had no trace of her, it would have be impossible for her to survive. But I kept a small kernel of wariness in my chest at all times. And it made me vigilant about Sam Bosque’s protection.
The final total for The Vegas Ripper was eight. Eight women who she’d killed. Based on what Sam said, it appeared she used the taser to surprise them and keep them incapacitated. They also probably had a chance to talk and bargain for their lives, as Sam did, before Gwen killed them with her knife.
Gwen Stock looked for small women who she could overpower, along with the dark hair. We hoped we knew all the victims, but there was always a chance in a case like this that there were bodies buried we didn’t know about.
When it was all said and done, there was Sam. She was a little more serious about her personal safety. She’d taken those fight moves and made a habit of practicing them. She didn’t walk to her car alone anymore.
She let me do what I needed to do, and that was protecting her, and be sure she was safe.
It had been six weeks since Gwen Stock had jumped into Grand River. And things were almost back to normal for Sam. Arm Up had made her the primary agent at the Grand City offices and she dove into her new responsibility. She added clients, another agent, and a receptionist.
I pushed the button for the Arm Up offices. I pulled at my collar a little. The suit wasn’t my favorite thing to wear, but I did it for Sam.
I walked into the office and the new receptionist greeted me.
“Hello, Agent Duvall. Nice suit.” I grumbled an answer.
The new receptionist was a retired fighter named Jake Hathaway. He was as big as I was and he knew how to file, type, handle her schedule, and answer phones like a dream. He also knew to keep a close eye on Sam. He still had a killer takedown. I liked him a lot, and Sam didn’t feel smothered by him, just a little by me. But she’d probably have to get used to that.
A lot of days Jake walked Sam down to her car. But today? Today it was my turn.
“Meet at you ringside ,Carrie, you’re going to love it!” Sam had moved to the bigger office. I walked in and my heart pumped a little faster in my chest. Sam was at her desk, wearing a skin tight red dress that plunged in the front and back.
“You trying to get me killed?” I put my hand to my chest.
“What? This old thing?” She spun around and I decided to close her office door. And lock it.
“I’m going to have to fight everyone tonight. This dress has got to be illegal on you.” I closed in and slid my hands around her waist and down. I pulled her in close. She stood on her tip toes to be closer.
“I haven’t put my lipstick on yet.”
“That’s very good news. I wouldn’t want to mess it up.” I kissed her and felt her lips on mine. There was a serious risk of messing up more than her lipstick. Luckily there was a very high slit in this scandalous outfit she wore. I ran my hand up and in, and she swayed in closer.
“We’ve got ten minutes before the car I ordered gets here.”
“No problem. The only question I have is desk or office couch?” I leaned down and kissed her neck and then her shoulder. I was careful to kiss every inch of the fading line from the scar she had there.
“Desk please.” I leaned her back and hiked up that dress a little more. I was so fucking lucky to have her.
“Yes, Boss Lady.”
In my eyes, Sam Bosque had rescued herself. She was tougher than I’d bargained for, smarter than the FBI, and more resilient than anyone I’d ever met. The light, the life force, the love she gave off chased away the darkness I’d lived with for years.
And I vowed to chase away anything evil that looked her way again. For the rest of my life.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Sam
I held tight to Kyle’s arm as we walked into the arena. It was Friday Night Fights in Grand City. It was a premier event for MMA fighters and two of my guys were in it for big money. Jessie Hoolihan was the main event, but the last undercard was Zane Diggs. Diggs was the underdog, the unknown, but I’d got him good money for this fight. And the 21C Fighting League bosses were there.
If Diggs won, I’d help him write his ticket. If Jessie Hoolihan won, he’d add another cool quarter-million to his bank account. It was going to be a great night.
Kyle kept me close and I liked it. Usually at these things I had to tell a dozen fighters I was spoken for, had decided to become a nun, or wasn’t interested in men. It got a little tiresome. With Kyle there, I was spared the annoyance. And I had Kyle there.
Bringing him into my world was so much fun for me.
We had seats in the front, near the center.
“Pretty fancy, Miss Bosque,” he said, and I blushed remembering us in my office just a little while ago.
“Thanks. Wait until we head to Vegas.”
“Sam!” Craddock Flynn, my superstar client, was there with his lady. He kissed me on both cheeks and I felt Kyle stiffen up a little.
“Craddock Flynn, I’d like you to meet my fiancé. This is Kyle Duvall.” Flynn put out a hand and Kyle shook it.
�
��Congratulations. You must be one hell of a guy. I think every fighter at Great Wolves Grand City has asked her to marry them,” Flynn said and I’m pretty sure I saw Kyle’s jaw clench.
“Give me a break, Flynn. They were asking me to be their agent, not wife. Only Kyle’s tough enough to handle that gig.”
“I don’t doubt it. Well, we’re doing a little party back at the gym after, if you guys don’t have plans. You should join us! Jessie and Jake would love it.”
“We’ll see. Thank you.” Flynn flashed one of those famous smiles and walked back to his seat. I waved to his girl and she waved back. I picked great clients and they had great people around them. I was gratified to know I was helping them secure futures for their families.
“So, that was the movie star?” Kyle asked as we found our seats.
“Yep. And Greatest of All Time in the making in MMA.”
“He’s smaller in real life.” I laughed. No one ever called Craddock Flynn small. Of course, Kyle could probably get away with calling everyone small.
“I noticed something else.”
“Yeah?”
“I’m your fiancé?”
“Yep. Got a problem with that?”
“No, though I had this whole proposal planned with sky writing, a balloon drop, and harps.”
“Really?” I didn’t know when Kyle was going to ask me to marry him, I just knew I wanted to. So I closed the deal myself.
“No. But here.” And he produced a ring. A gorgeous, huge, round solitaire.
“Jesus Duvall, you can afford that on what Uncle Sam pays you?” He slid it on my finger and I couldn’t contain myself. I kissed him. Then I leaned back to look at it.
“Wow, I had no idea.”
“You liar. You knew I was going to ask.”
“I did. But when I decide to commit, I want it to start right away.”
“Don’t you want your lawyer to check the fine print?”
“Nah, my cousin knows a lawyer. I’m sure it will be fine.”
“I love you, Sam.”
“I love you too, Duvall.” We kissed again as the announcer started in his signature booming voice.
“In this corner from Holland, Michigan…”
The End.
Get ready for another Tortured Hero!
Burned out from living life on the edge, former Navy SEAL Beckett Finch just wants a quiet, simple life where he can leave behind the horrors he’s seen and done. When he takes a job as Sheriff of Crystal Falls, Texas, population 6,158, he hopes he’s found it. But there, he meets Lila, the one woman he knows he can’t want when the demons of his past catch up to him. Don’t miss Edge, the next installment in the Tortured Heroes series. Click here for more information.
Don’t Miss Hooked
You met the handsome and charming, Zane Diggs, in Ripper. Don’t miss his passionate and dangerous path to love in Hooked.
A Brand New Biker Romance Series Heading Your Way!
I’ve got some exciting news to share. If you loved the men of the Great Wolves M.C., you’re going to REALLY love the men of my brand new biker romance series, the Dark Saints M.C. While the Great Wolves finally found a way to go legit, the Dark Saints still relish the outlaw lifestyle and have no plans to change. They’re bold, dark and dangerous. These alpha male bikers will take you on a ride you won’t soon forget. So, come along with me to Port Azrael, Texas and let these bad boys heat up your ereaders and hold you close.
The series kicks off with Dark Vow featuring Axel Hart. You might remember Axel from his smoldering appearance in King. Here’s a little preview of what’s in store…
As club enforcer Axel Hart lives by one creed. Protect the club interests at all costs. When he’s asked to neutralize a material witness that could hurt a club ally, he doesn’t think twice about what that could mean.
Until he lays eyes on her.
Gorgeous Maya Ballard is the only eyewitness to a brutal crime. She believes the cops when they tell her they can keep her safe until she testifies. Then she runs headlong into Axel Hart. He oozes danger and sex appeal and every instinct in her tells her he’s trouble. But one tantalizing touch of his lips against hers sends Maya into a tailspin.
For Axel, he knows he’s got to take Maya down. He just never counted on letting her get under his skin. Though it might bring the world crashing down around his ears, his feelings may be too strong to deny,
Don’t Miss the first full length standalone book in the Dark Saints M.C. Series. Click here for more information about:
Dark Vow
By
Jayne Blue
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Ride Bonus - Chapter One
Mace
After several months on the road, it was good to be home. But the trip had left him with a bitter reminder of the life he could not really have. The life that had been ripped from him.
He watched from the corner as other fighters trained and then pummeled opponents. It used to be his life too. All he could do now was hover ringside, lend a hand, but then fade into the shadows.
If they found him again, he would be their puppet. He was no one’s puppet.
Mace Alois knew it was better to live alone and hidden than to be under their control. No dream was worth the price they made him pay.
When he stopped letting them pull his strings, it got dangerous for everyone around him.
He saw to it that there was no one around him anymore for them to hurt. There couldn’t be.
Unfortunately touring with the pros ignited his old desire to fight. To be the best.
Mace was Zeke Powell’s sparring partner during the high profile 21C Fresh Blood Tour. Now that Zeke was out of the fight game Mace was out of it too, again.
Zeke had dropped out in disgrace. It was not Zeke’s disgrace; it was the disgrace of his father. Zeke’s predicament seemed minor to Mace compared to his own past.
His own disgrace was so much worse.
After touring with the 21C fighters and working out in the Great Wolves Gym, he knew he still had the fierce ground game he needed to ride any opponent into oblivion.
I was not worth his life, though, or his family�
�s life.
If he wanted to stay alive and keep his family safe, even be his own man, it meant never fighting professionally again. It probably meant another move soon too.
He shouldn’t have taken the job with 21C. He risked being recognized. He hoped that with his old beard gone and by staying away from the cameras, he was safe enough. The spotlight was on Craddock Flynn and Zeke. G-Man’s death took even more focus from Mace. All of that was good.
Mace was on the periphery looking in. He loved it and hated it.
It was time to go back to underground fighting. Fighting in bars paid the bills and there were no sports networks involved. The occasional bouncing job also kept food on the table.
He had dreamed of so much more.
The smell of the gym, the tape, the fierce drive, pushing your body and your opponents farther than you thought possible. He missed it all. Mace hauled his bag over his shoulder and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. He was letting regret and the past overtake him. Normally he had it under control.
The image of her. That is what he needed to keep in the front of his mind. His MMA dream was tangled up in death, and he did not want a part of that ever again.
He needed to put the thoughts of professional MMA fighting away. The 21C tour was over and so were his fantasies of reclaiming some kind of career.
Mace put the key into his apartment door lock and swung it open. He knew it would be empty inside, sparse, except for his beautiful girl Estelle.
She would be happy to see him. She would run into his arms.
She was his baby girl.
Raleigh
Estelle was a beauty. She had been with Raleigh for over two weeks. It made Raleigh angry to think about it.
