Fight for Me: The Complete Collection

by Jackson, A. L.

  I nodded, understanding, trying not to let myself get dragged right back into the somber mood from back in the office, knowing neither Ollie nor Kale needed that shit. Dwelling wasn’t going to change a goddamned thing.

  “So, how’s my Frankie-girl?” Kale asked, quick to change the subject.

  The smile on my face was instant. “Good. Started taking ballet. Cutest damned thing I’ve ever seen.”

  “No shit?” He shook his head. “She’s getting so big. Time flies, doesn’t it? Seems like only yesterday she was learning to walk.”

  I roughed a hand through my hair. “Yeah. Goes by too damned fast. Blows my mind she only has another year before she starts kindergarten.”

  He pointed at me with the same hand wrapped around his rocks glass, laughter falling out around his words. “School . . . dude . . . you are so fucked. If I think you’re overprotective now . . .”

  I wiped the sweat that was suddenly beading on my brow. Honestly wasn’t sure how I was going to handle that. Someone else being responsible for her care. The fact that I might not know exactly where she was at all times and who she was with.

  I stomped down those thoughts, refusing to give them voice, and started to tell him about her bitch of an instructor, figuring he’d get a kick out of it.

  That was right when I felt the air thicken.

  I rubbed at the back of my neck, fighting it.

  The shock of awareness that sliced through the darkened bar.

  Tense and tight and hot.

  It was a bitch knowing its origin and not being able to do a goddamned thing about it.

  I barely cut my gaze to the side and peered through the dimmed lights. A smoky glow hugged the room, and my eyes climbed right back to the spot they shouldn’t. I was nothing but a glutton for punishment, because there I was, desperate for a glimpse.

  Still, I was unprepared. Unprepared for the way my skin itched when I caught her stealing a glance at me at the same time I was stealing one of her.

  Quick and furtive.

  Like she’d just realized I was there.

  “Kid really is so damned adorable, don’t know how you stand it.” Kale was rambling, musing about the sweetness of my daughter and how my life had turned out totally different from what I’d ever expected it to. I sat there, shifting uneasily in my seat like a fool, letting myself feel something that had no reason to be there.

  Lust for a woman I didn’t even know.

  Kale was bringing his glass to his lips when he suddenly let it drop a fraction, studying me from over the top. “What the hell is going on with you, man?”

  “Nothin’.”

  “You seem . . . anxious.” One quirk of a knowing brow. That was the pitfalls of having friends for life. Sometimes they knew you better than you wanted them to.

  Because this was obviously not about the anniversary.

  Still, I shrugged. “Nothing at all.”

  Doubt billowed through his expression, and another rush of disquiet had me shifting again. His eyes flicked off to my side before he looked back at me like he’d hit a bull’s-eye. “Nothing, huh? Then why do you keep glaring at Lillith and Nikki like they’ve all of a sudden grown horns? I mean, it’s no secret you’ve up and decided women are the devil, but those two you at least seem to tolerate. What happened?”

  I pasted what I hoped appeared to be a look of indifference on my face. “Don’t know what you’re talking about. Nothing happened.”

  His brow drew tight, and he peered in their direction again, studying what had changed. Then he was cocking his head to the side with a knowing grin. “Who’s the hot new chick? Doesn’t look like she’s from around here.”

  Another shrug. “Dunno.”

  Apparently, that shrug was the indicator of a lie, because Kale laughed. Far too loud and at my expense. “Oh, I see what’s happening here. Seems someone actually is still in the possession of his dick.”

  “Don’t.” The warning came out hard. Nothing playful about it.

  He knew better.

  He shook his head. “That bitch sure as hell did a number on you, didn’t she? You think it’s a good thing for Frankie to grow up with you hating every woman who crosses your path? That shit’s not healthy, man. You need to figure out your issues before you mess up your daughter’s head with that chip you love to wear on your shoulder.”

  Yeah. That stung. My hand clenched around my beer bottle. “You’re really going to sit over there and tell me I’m raising my kid wrong?”

  He scowled. “Isn’t that what friends are for? To call you out when you aren’t seeing straight? Because it’s time you realized your vision is completely skewed. It’s been three years. And fuck, man, you know you’re a great dad, but don’t sit over there and act like there’s not something missing.”

  He rocked back in his chair, arms going across his chest, like he was offering up a dare. “When’s the last time you got laid?”

  Ollie took that opportune time to show up at our table with a fresh round of drinks. He placed the rocks glass down in front of Kale before he slid an icy bottle my direction.

  Ollie forced a smile, dude wearing his own special kind of veneer, shoving all the bullshit down, locked up and contained. “Pretty sure this one’s cock has shriveled up and died. It’s a sad, sad state of affairs.”

  My brow rose. “Thanks, man,” I said, totally dry.

  “Hey, just keeping it real,” he said, giving me a clap to the back.

  Taking a swig of my beer, I shook my head. “Why don’t you keep it ‘real’ with someone else?”

  A smirk pulled beneath his beard. “Now, what would be the fun in that?”

  Kale leaned forward. “Seriously, man. Think about what you’re doing. The vibe you’re feeding and how that affects not just Frankie but you, too. You can sit there and pretend all you want, but I know you’re lonely.”

  I swallowed around the lump, doing my best not to look Rynna’s direction.

  Call me a failure.

  Because my gaze was slanting that way, drinking her in.

  Fuck, I was a fool.

  The way I welcomed the bolt of need that slammed me.

  It was so goddamned wrong. But this unwanted feeling bubbled up inside me, latching on to the sight of her laughing from across the room. The way her chin lifted and her mouth curved. Something so free.

  A quality that didn’t belong to me.

  In discomfort, I looked back at Kale. “Believe me. Frankie’s the only girl I need.”

  My everything.

  The one I lived for.

  The one I’d gladly die for.

  And I’d never give anyone the chance to threaten that.

  7

  Rynna

  “Who do you keep looking at?” Nikki swiveled on her stool, straining to look behind her. Muted light cast a shimmery drape of warmth over the bar, tossing it with shadows and mystery.

  But one man stood out amid it all. And he was looking right back at us.

  I smacked her leg, my voice a panicked whisper. “What are you doing?”

  She had no shame.

  She looked at me as if I were crazy. “Um . . . trying to figure out which lucky bastard has already snagged my new friend’s eye. That’s my job, you know. I’m head matchmaker, right, Lily Pad?”

  She smirked in Lillith’s direction.

  Lillith just wagged her ring finger adorned with the huge rock as proof while she took a sip of her wine.

  “No one’s caught my eye,” I said.

  Honestly, it was a useless defense. Not with the way I couldn’t stop from stealing another glance at the man who was beginning to consume my every thought. I wasn’t one prone to obsessions. Or stalking. Or spying.

  But there was something about him that wouldn’t let me go.

  Something that fascinated and enthralled.

  Maybe it was his adorable daughter.

  It had to be. It was the only explanation.

  Nikki followed my gaze. She froze for
a beat before her head whipped back in my direction. Her mouth hung open in blatant shock. “Oh my God! Tell me Rex Gunner isn’t the one who has you all spun up over there?”

  Before I could give her another futile excuse, awareness dawned on her face. “Holy shit. He lives right across from you.” She rapidly snapped her fingers in front of my face as if she were on to something. “Oh, and his company has the contract for the hotel that’s on Fairview . . . right across from Pepper’s Pies.”

  My shoulder lifted as if I didn’t care at all. As if he didn’t actually have me so spun up I could feel the knots lining my stomach. “I went over and introduced myself to him the other day. That’s it.”

  I conveniently left out the part where he’d slammed his door in my face. I figured guilt was found in the small details.

  The ironic laughter dripping from Lillith’s tongue sounded like a warning. “You should probably leave it at that. The only women Rex Gunner likes are his daughter and his momma. Otherwise, watch out. That boy is as cynical as they come.”

  I glanced his way again, snared by the way his throat was exposed when he tipped back his beer, the way the thick muscles rolled as he swallowed, that short, trimmed beard little more than a five o’clock shadow.

  God, he was gorgeous in an earth-shattering way. As if I could feel the vibrations coming from him rippling under my feet.

  I edged forward, my voice quieted to a whisper, way too eager for my own good. “What happened to him?”

  Lillith and Nikki shared a look.

  Nikki leaned forward, dropping her tone to match mine. “His wife just . . . disappeared. No one knows for sure what happened to her.”

  Was it fear that flashed through my blood? The man screamed danger and peril and risk. But my heart told me for an entirely different reason than the flicker of morbid intrigue that tickled my consciousness. Still, my eyes were round as I leaned even closer to her. “Like . . . do people think she’s . . . dead?”

  Nikki howled with laughter and sat back, smacking her knee, obviously thrilled I’d followed her into that trap. “Ha! He probably wishes she was. My guess is she’s just a selfish bitch who walked out when taking care of a baby became too much. Not that anyone knows since he doesn’t talk about her, but I was never a fan.”

  She shrugged and took a sip of her cosmo.

  Case closed.

  “Not about her or about anything really,” Lillith added, back to waving a caution flag. “I’ve known him since we were kids. We went to school together on the other side of town with Ollie and Kale. The three of them have had some horrible stuff happen in their lives. It affected them, shaped who they became. But Rex? He changed after his wife left. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a great guy. Honest. An incredibly hard worker. He grew his small construction company into the most successful contractor in the area. Loyal to the bone, and there’s no doubt he loves that little girl. But I’m pretty sure his bitterness has seeped all the way to the marrow.”

  That sense I’d been feeling grew stronger. The need to look deeper inside the man who’d built a fortress around himself. Needing to protect himself from the pain so clearly etched in his eyes.

  Mournful eyes I could feel continually flashing my direction.

  Scorching me deeper with each hidden pass.

  Nikki laughed. “You should see your face right now. Girl, you’re in so much trouble. It looks to me like you’re taking that warning as some kind of invitation. I told you I was the queen matchmaker, but I don’t think even I’m that good.”

  Lillith almost rolled her eyes. “This from the girl who’s been trying to get Ollie to look her way for the last five years.”

  “Hey! Sometimes these things take time. I’m a patient woman.”

  Her attention jerked toward a man who came out from the back of the bar.

  “He’s back. Look, there he is. That’s who I was telling you about. That’s my Ollie,” Nikki raved not so quietly as she slapped my thigh a bunch of times to get my attention.

  With the way she shivered at the sight of him, I would say her patience was wearing thin. I understood her fascination.

  Ollie was rough and hard and incredibly good-looking. As good-looking as the other straightlaced guy who sat on the other side of the table from Rex.

  There had to be something in the water, because both of them were almost as beautiful as the man who’d taken my thoughts hostage.

  Almost.

  But there was something about Rex that completely set him apart. Something that made him shine in all his surly darkness. Something that twisted my belly into a mess of anxiousness, attraction, and intrigue.

  This prodding force that insisted I get to know someone who seemed desperate to remain unseen.

  Nikki sighed when Ollie grabbed a couple drinks from behind the bar and carried them to Rex’s table. “God, I love him.”

  With a sip of her wine, Lillith shook her head. “I’m beginning to think you’re just infatuated with what you can’t have.”

  Nikki blinked at her. “Isn’t that the same thing?”

  A tumble of laughter rolled from Lillith. “Not even close.”

  Nikki’s gaze trailed back after Ollie. Not even trying to hide her stare when he rounded back behind the bar to help the other bartender. “For real . . . love or not, I would eat up that man.”

  I giggled quietly. On the drive over, I’d worried I had made the wrong choice. Worried I’d be continually looking over my shoulder. Wondering who might recognize me. If there would be rumbles and whispers and rumors.

  But I hadn’t felt it. Not for a second. I loved that these two had invited me out. That they were happy to make me feel a part of their tight-knit world. That they seemed to have no qualms about welcoming me into it.

  I startled when a tall figure suddenly cast a shadow over us. I looked up to find a man towering at my side, his brown eyes raking me up and down, a grin riding his full lips.

  I would have shrank away if I hadn’t been one-hundred percent sure I’d never seen him before.

  Apparently, there really was something in the water.

  He was ridiculously attractive. Clearly, he’d discarded the jacket of his dark gray suit, the sleeves of his button-down rolled up his forearms. His stance was so casual and confident as he looked expectantly at me.

  “I just noticed you sitting over here, and I thought I could buy you a drink,” he said, his attention fully trained on me. “Name’s Tim.”

  Nikki cleared her throat, the words ripe with mock offense. “I do hope that drink buying includes the rest of us.”

  He glanced at her. “If that’s what it takes.”

  Tim was a little cocky for my taste.

  And he wasn’t Rex Gunner.

  I lifted my margarita toward him, the green yummy goodness swishing in the salt-rimmed bowl. “I think I’m just fine. But thank you.”

  “You sure about that? You look awful lonely over here by yourself.”

  Irritation bristled beneath my skin. I was sitting there with my friends. How the hell could I appear lonely? But I was used to these kinds of pick-up lines in San Francisco when Macy dragged me out with her.

  So I pasted on a fake smile and said, “I’m sure.”

  The guy shrugged. “Whatever. Your loss.”

  He turned on his heel and sauntered away.

  “What an asshole,” I mumbled under my breath, my eyes trailing him with a special kind of disgust.

  Nikki jerked my attention back to her by swatting me on the knee and lifting her spent glass. “Speak for yourself, Ryn-Ryn. I totally could have used another drink.”

  I laughed. “At what expense?”

  She widened her blue eyes. “Oh, come on. Take one for the team.”

  Giggling, I dabbed at the trickle of margarita clinging to the edge of my lip. “He might not be bad to look at, but he was kind of a jerk. No thank you.”

  Nikki nudged Lillith with her elbow. “Yet, she likes Rex Gunner.”

  Lill
ith grinned before her expression shifted, swelling with soft affection. “I guess we like what we like. Broderick was definitely an asshole of the worst kind when I first met him.”

  I made the mistake of letting my attention wander back to Rex. Ollie was back at his table, and he and the other guy were engaged in their own conversation.

  Rex seemed totally removed from it.

  Just sitting there.

  Glaring at me.

  Unabashedly with intense, heated hatred.

  “Maybe there’s hope for everyone,” I mumbled.

  Tearing my gaze from him, I pushed to my feet, cleared my throat, and pasted a smile on my face. “I need to use the restroom.”

  Lillith gestured toward the hall to the right of the stairs. “Down the hall and on the left.”

  “Thanks.”

  I wound through the crowds huddled around the high-top tables. Voices were lifted to be heard above the hum of the band, laughter loud as people let go of the stresses of the week, embracing the chance they had to unwind.

  I took the hall and ducked into the restroom, used it, and then washed my hands. I let a small smile lift the corner of my mouth.

  Being there felt so right, even if Rex Gunner was messing with my head.

  I dried my hands, swung open the door, and stepped out into the haze of the dimly lit hall. I gasped when the same guy who’d approached me at the bar stepped out in front of me, stopping me in my tracks.

  “Hey,” I said uneasily, peering behind him at the people loitering at the far end of the hall. The noise level had escalated to a dull roar, the mood becoming rowdy, increasing with every second that passed.

  I shifted anxiously on my feet, wondering if anyone would even hear me if I called for help.

  Okay.

  So maybe I was getting ahead of myself.

  But getting backed into a corner by a guy I didn’t know wasn’t high on my list of safest situations. Not when a shiver of apprehension skated down my spine. A cold warning.

  “Finally got you alone,” he said.