by Aly Martinez
It was Liv’s quiet voice that caught my attention.
“Proposal?” she squeaked.
Opening my eyes, I found her staring up at me with tears pooling.
It was not at all how I had planned it.
I had the grand idea of us being alone—together in our new house. Lounging in front of a crackling fire with the twinkling lights of our Christmas tree glowing in the background. Liv’s small body tucked into my side—my strong arms protectively wrapped around her. I’d nuzzle into her hair and remind her that, while we had only been together a few months, we had already spent a lifetime together. She’d smile up at me with those big, brown doe eyes. I’d place a gentle kiss on her lips, and when she opened her eyes, I’d be holding the diamond ring I’d had custom-made for her the day after she’d told me that she loved me.
That had been my plan.
This—in the middle of Till’s living room with both of our families looking on—was definitely Leo’s plan.
However, the yes shining bright in her eyes was more than enough to have me abandoning my plan altogether.
“So…funny story,” I started nervously. “I asked your dad a little while ago if he’d be okay with me proposing.”
“So I’ve heard,” she breathed.
I glanced up to find every eye in the room glued to me. Ash, Eliza, Erica, and Sarah were crying already. Slate was grinning impossibly wide. Flint was wearing a crooked grin I’d long since discovered beamed with pride. And Till and Leo looked every bit of the emotional fathers they were. Every face, no matter the emotion, was covered with a huge smile.
Maybe surrounded by family wasn’t the worst way to do this.
I looked back down at Liv, who was staring up at me with rapt attention.
“Hang on. Okay?” I said. Then I released her and jogged from the room.
I could hear the loud chatter of questions as I rushed to my gym bag hidden in my old bedroom and pulled out the ring I’d shown Leo.
Shoving it in my pocket, I made my way back into the living room.
“Sorry,” I said, wiping my suddenly clammy palms on my jeans.
Why was proposing so nerve-racking?
I knew that Liv was going to say yes, but my heart still raced as I took her small hand in mine.
Her bright eyes sparkled with unshed tears as she looked up at me. “You don’t have to do this just because of my dad.”
“You’re right. I don’t. Technically, I don’t ever have to do this.” I smirked, pulled the huge, square diamond solitaire out, and lifted it in her direction.
Her hand flew to her mouth, and she reached toward the ring before pulling her hand away. It was as though she were afraid to touch it for fear it would disappear.
“This. Changes nothing, Rocky. Sliding this on your finger won’t make me love you any more than I already do. A romantic vow won’t change my dedication to you. A marriage license won’t make us any more serious. This ridiculously expensive ring changes absolutely nothing but my bank account.” I paused as she giggled. “With or without this ring, I’m going to spend a lifetime with you. I’m still going to love you until the day I die. Nothing changes, Liv. Nothing.”
I sucked in a deep breath, but I didn’t hold it.
Not now. Not with Liv.
Dropping to a knee, I said, “I will love you forever. But that doesn’t start when I give you this ring. It started the very first time I laid eyes on you—and it will never end. Marry me, Liv.”
She didn’t say a word as she flew into my arms and buried her face in my neck. Her shoulders shook, but I had no idea if she was crying or laughing. I figured, either way, it was a positive sign, so I squeezed her impossibly tight. Glancing up at the warm faces of our family surrounding us, I couldn’t even be pissed at Leo anymore. The smiles were bright as love illuminated each one of them.
Some minutes later, Liv still hadn’t answered.
“I know I said that you don’t have to say yes, but it would go a long way in not making me look like a dumbass right now.” I whispered.
She barked a laugh and leaned away, replying with a megawatt grin, “Yes.”
No sooner had I slid the ring on her finger than she was gone.
Her mother hugged her. Her dad shook my hand, welcoming me into the family. Ash and Eliza squealed over the ring, while Till and Flint each took their turns wrapping me in a painful bear hug.
Eventually, Eliza rushed to the kitchen and made quick work of uncorking the champagne she had on hand for New Years, all the while scolding Till for having bought the cheap stuff. Ash went to work passing glasses to everyone, and Flint made a toast, but I couldn’t concentrate long enough to hear what he was saying.
I was in a state of absolute shock while staring down at Liv James tucked under my arm, admiring her engagement ring—my ring.
I was right. The ring changed nothing.
That one simple syllable in the word yes though?
Changed my entire life.
“YOU HAVE A GOOD NIGHT,” Rich, the night guard, said.
“You too.” I smiled warmly and drove out of the parking lot.
At the first stoplight, I dug my phone out of my purse in order to type out a text to Quarry, letting him know I was on my way home. But I realized my phone must have died somewhere over the last three hours, and my charger was connected to the wall in my office.
“Shit.” I breathed, debating the merits of circling back around to get it versus just driving all the way to the new house without a phone.
It had just started snowing, and the roads were bound to be icy. Quarry would probably have a shit-fit if he knew I was even considering driving without a phone. I groaned to myself then pulled a U-turn.
The parking lot was empty, and the building was dark. It scared the crap out of me, but I sucked it up and managed to get through the front door, immediately clicking the Christmas music on over the new intercom.
Less than a minute later, I was once again arming the alarm when a sudden pounding on the glass door made me jump.
“Shit!” I screamed at the top of my lungs.
My heart was pounding as I took in the large shadow lurking outside the door. It took me a second, but I smiled when I recognized the bright-blue eyes staring through the glass.
“Sorry,” he mouthed, lifting his hands in apology before shoving them into the pockets of his heavy coat.
I twisted the lock and pushed the door wide. “Jesus, Don. You scared me to death.”
“I knocked quietly at first, but I guess you didn’t hear me.” He looked up at the speakers on the ceiling. “I see the intercom system got fixed.”
I sighed and locked the door behind him. “Yeah. A lot of things have changed around here.” I took a giant step back and dramatically lifted my arms.
The room instantly illuminated with lights.
Don laughed and nodded approvingly. “Motion sensors. Nice.”
“Oh, you have no idea. My dad and Quarry got their hands on this place right after you left. New security system. New lights. New intercoms. Guard at the door.”
He leaned away and frowned. “Is the guard imaginary?”
“Ha! No. Rich just left. I circled back around to grab my charger.” I lifted the cord as evidence when his frowned deepened.
“You shouldn’t be here alone, Liv. It’s dangerous.”
“Well, so is driving in the snow with no cell phone.”
He gave me a you-should-know-better glare that made me roll my eyes then smile.
“Okay, Pops. I’ll be more careful next time. But I’m glad I came back. What are you doing here?”
He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans and rocked onto his toes. “I was on my way home and saw your car. Decided to stop in and see if you’d already replaced me.”
“Replace you? Are you kidding me? No way.” I playfully slapped his arm.
He immediately grabbed my hand. “Holy shit. Look at that rock.”
My cheeks heated. �
��Quarry proposed last night.”
“Uh, yeah. I noticed.” He lifted my hand to inspect my ring. “Christ. I bet the astronauts on the space station have probably noticed too.”
“Quarry isn’t exactly a simple and understated kind of guy.”
“I’d say not.” He smiled tenderly. “You got a minute? How about you plug in your phone and catch me up on the last month while it charges.”
“Well…” I drawled, glancing down at my watch.
My parents and the Page family would already be waiting for me at our house, but if it meant I got Don back, Quarry would happily keep them entertained.
“Only if you being here means you’re back.”
He patted his stomach. “I don’t know. Are there any Christmas cookies left? I’ve lost five pounds over the last month. I’m borderline emaciated.”
“You happen to be in luck. I brought in a batch tonight.”
Ten minutes of catching up with Don wouldn’t hurt anyone.
It hurt everyone.
“We need to talk,” Flint said when I opened the front door.
Leo and Slate were stoking the fire, and Sarah and Erica were cooking in the kitchen.
“Hey, Q.” Ash pushed to her tiptoes and kissed my cheek. “Where’s Liv?”
I held Flint’s troubled gaze as I replied, “She should be here any minute. She had a class to teach tonight.”
“Babe, can you go call the babysitter and check on the boys?” Flint asked.
She huffed. “We’ve been gone ten minutes. I’m sure they are fine.”
“Humor me,” he ordered dryly.
She rolled her eyes and flittered away.
“What’s going on?” I asked as soon as she was out of earshot.
“This is not public yet, but I just heard from my guy at the boxing administration that Davenport is being stripped of his belt.”
“What?” I gasped.
“Two fighters have suddenly stepped forward about Davenport pulling the same shit he did on Liv with their women. Loman and White. Loman had a surveillance video, but considering his girl was actually his mistress, he wasn’t all that excited about releasing the footage of her being assaulted. Davenport’s manager paid off the chick, and then, after White lost the fight, it all disappeared right along with him. However, Loman’s footage magically landed on the boxing commissioner’s desk last night.”
My jaw ticked, but my smile grew. “Apparently, Leo’s been really fucking busy over the last month. Good to see my dollar’s being well spent.”
Flint narrowed his eyes. “You knew about this?”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “No. I knew that Davenport was a piece of shit. There is no way that motherfucker hadn’t pulled this shit before. I only funded Leo’s efforts to take him down. Liv would have stroked out if I’d ripped his dick off the way I would have liked to, but no fucking way I was letting him get away with the shit he did to her.”
He blew out a frustrated sigh. “Fucking hell. I guess this is a good thing, seeing as to how it doesn’t end with you in prison, but bad news—fight’s off.”
I shrugged arrogantly. “Shame. I was looking forward to it.”
Flint laughed. “I’ll make sure you’re in the ring to claim his vacant title.”
“Twenty-two percent of sixty million? I bet you will.” I playfully jabbed at his shoulder.
“Hey! Feeding all of Ash’s stray dogs is expensive as fuck.”
I arched an incredulous eyebrow. “Thirteen million dollars’ worth of dog food?”
He threw a hand to his heart in mock surprise. “Dear God. The dumbass can do math! I should probably stop padding my fees now.”
I laughed and kicked his cane, but he didn’t even stumble. “Shit. Between you and Liv skimming off the top, it’s a wonder I have any money at all.”
He started toward the living room. “Have you spoken to your accountant recently? You might not.”
“So then he dropped to a knee, and obviously, I said yes. I’m thinking a summer wedding. My mom is already chomping at the bit though. We’ll see if I can hold her off that long.” I lifted my phone to see that Don and I had been chatting for well over twenty minutes. “Shit! I need to get out of here.” I pushed to my feet.
Don stood with me. “Well, congrats. I’m glad to see he finally did it.”
I smirked. “Finally? We’ve only been together for a few months. This was fast.”
He sheepishly glanced down at the ground. “Right. Well. Since, it’s Christmas and all, I have a bit of a confession. When I first came in for my interview, I recognized you. I’m a huge boxing fan, and I’d seen you in pictures with him. Everyone thought you were his girlfriend. I forget sometimes that you two were just friends at first.”
My eyes went wide, but a laugh bubbled from my throat. “You rat! I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”
“Like you would have hired me if I’d spent the entire interview talking about boxing.”
“If you were signing, I doubt I would have cared. I was desperate. What else have you lied about? Do my cookies suck too?”
“Uh, no. But I will admit your brownies are better,” he teased.
I started collecting my phone and my charger in preparation to leave. “You know, now, I don’t feel so bad about basically abusing your volunteer assistant services.” I smirked. “Come on. Let’s get out of here. I need to get home before Quarry sends in the SWAT team to look for me.”
“Smart girl,” Don said, turning the lights off.
After flipping the Christmas music off and arming the security alarm, I was digging my keys from my purse when Don clicked the inside lock and pushed the door open. The alarm started beeping our warning that we had sixty seconds to exit the building just as the cold, biting wind rushed in.
I was still focused on my purse when Don’s back suddenly collided into me, sending us both to the ground. I was in such shock that I didn’t even have time to get my hands under me to break my fall. My head cracked hard against the tile floor, and my vision tunneled.
Then I heard a deep malicious voice roar, “Where the fuck is he?”
Don climbed off me.
I couldn’t get my bearings to figure out what the hell was going on, but my questions were soon answered.
“Back the fuck up, Davenport!” Don growled.
My eyes came into focus just as the icy metal edge of a knife landed against my throat. I froze as panic overwhelmed me.
“Where the fuck is Page?”
“I-I don’t know,” I lied, my eyes filling with tears.
Dropping to his knees over me, he gripped the crown of my hair and pressed the knife even deeper into my throat until I felt the warm trickle of blood slide down to my collarbone.
“Where is he?”
I opened my mouth to answer, but it was too late.
I ran out of time.
“Shut the fuck up!” I laughed at Till, who was telling yet another embarrassing story from my youth.
“Dirty shirt and all. You didn’t give one single damn. Six years old and you were asking out my girl.”
The whole room was laughing when, suddenly, Leo’s phone started screaming in his pocket. It was an annoying-as-hell ringtone, but it was the way his face paled that really caught my attention.
He quickly released Sarah and frantically started digging out his phone. His wild gaze lifted to mine from across the room. “Call Liv,” he ordered.
My heart lurched, but I followed his direction without question.
“What the hell’s going on?” Slate asked, reading the sudden shift in the room.
Leo ignored him and began pacing the room with his phone at his ear.
The drone of an unanswered phone played in my ear as my eyes remained glued to Leo.
“Rich, tell me all is good,” he barked. After several agonizing seconds, he growled. “Well, she’s not fucking here yet!” Pinching the bridge of his nose, he lifted his distraught eyes to mine in question.
I shook my head and fear sliced through me—the sound of her voicemail iced my veins even further.
“Get your ass back over there. I’m en route.” He lowered his phone.
His legs were already moving to the front door when I caught his arm.
“What the fuck?”
He snatched his arm out of my grip, not even sparing me a glance as he raced out the door, yelling, “She supposedly left over a half hour ago, but now, the alarm is going off at the community center.”
Terror and fury mingled in a dangerous cocktail within me. Snatching my keys from my pocket, I rushed out of the door after him.
“Please. Stop,” I cried as Davenport used my hair to force my face into the security panel by the door.
“Turn it the fuck off!” he shouted.
“I-I can’t think!” I sobbed.
The alarm was blaring, distracting my already-hysterical mind even more.
He yanked my hair so hard that my knees almost buckled from the pain. “Turn it off!” His face shook with exertion, and spit flew from his mouth.
My eyes bounced to Don’s body unconscious on the floor. The moment the alarm had sounded, Don had made a move, but Davenport had been quicker. He’d never even let go of me as he’d landed a nasty right to Don’s chin. The only positive of this was that the knife he had been holding had gone skittering across the floor.
“Now!” he barked, shoving my face back into the security panel.
I sucked in a deep breath and tried to get myself together. Finally, I came up with the right combination of numbers and the room fell quiet.
“Damn it!” Davenport slung me forward.
I stumbled before slamming into the tile and then skidding to a halt on my knees.
Just as quickly as I’d gone down, I popped back up, scampering to get away. I didn’t make it but a few steps before his thick arm hooked me around the waist.
“Where you going, Livvie?” he purred, lifting me off my feet and holding my back to his front.
Bile crept into my throat as he rubbed his scruff into my cheek.
I wanted to fight any way I could. Claw my way out his arms, biting and scratching before jamming my high heel into his balls. I wasn’t usually a violent woman, but I had an overwhelming urge to watch him bleed out onto the floor in a slow and agonizing death. I wasn’t going to be able to do that to him though. Quarry had told me not to challenge him, and right then, I knew exactly why. Physically, Davenport was superior to me in every way.