by Dyble, S R
“But here I stand and look at you. You remind me of myself. What’s it feel like to be the head of the family, Kid? To take over from me?”
“He didn’t take over from you,” Eric piped up, glaring at his father. “He’s nothing like you."
“None of us are,” Jason added, holding his fists together and moving forward.
“You’re a lot more like me than you care to realise, Son,” he smiled, glancing at Jason’s clenched fists.
“Enough of this,” their father said and he glanced at me clinging to Kit’s arm.
“I hope she hasn’t made you too soft, Kid. The kid I trained would never allow this to happen.”
“I’m not the kid you trained.”
“That much is clear,” the man at his father's side spoke and I wondered who he was.
“Good to know you’re still sucking him off every chance you get. Loyal to your master,” Kit said quickly and the man’s face turned to rock as he took steps toward him and Kit shifted me in to Nick's hold.
“Enough,” his father said, holding his hand to the man’s chest.
The crazy fucker smiled, like the devil himself, and it made me grip onto Nick's arm tighter.
“Let’s see your opponent.”
“What?” Jax moved in front of Kit. “You’re not fighting for him.”
“Look around you,” Kit said, taking his now ruined jacket off. “We’re outnumbered. If she wasn’t here you know I’d fight them all, there’s no other way out of this where she won’t get hurt.”
“We can figure out a way,” Jax answered as Kit draped his jacket over my shoulders, protecting them from the pouring rain.
"Wait until Delta get here." He said in hushed tones.
"I've just come from Delta," Nick said, “they've hacked our servers, everything is down.”
"How is that possible?" Kit asked.
"In honour of this, of course!" Kit's father lifted his arms and we each stared in silence.
“There is no other way,” Kit answered and he stared back at Nick who had a hold of me.
“Don’t let her see this,” he said and he gave me one last look before taking the steps with his father into the man-made ring.
“No,” I cried under my breath and tugged away from Nick to run after him but Nick held me there.
“He can’t do this,” I cried harder, pulling until Kit's jacket fell off of me onto the floor.
“Eves, you’ve never seen him fight like this, not really. You don’t know how good he is. He’ll be fine, I swear.”
“Doesn’t matter how good he is if we have no idea who his opponent is,” Jason said from beside Nick.
“I wish I’d have murdered him myself when I had the chance,” Eric said as we watched Kit walking with his father to the man setting himself apart from the others.
My breath hitched when I saw how huge he was. He was built like a brick and although he wasn’t bigger than Kit I feared for Kit so much it made me feel sick.
* * *
The guy was bare-chested and ready to fight. I could see the hatred in his eyes once he stared at Kit. Kit had taken his shirt off in preparation for the fight, and the rainwater quickly soaked his skin.
"That's Maddox Kain, I recognise him from a report we got in at Delta," Nick said.
"What did the report say?" I asked.
"Illegal fighting. Each gang will train and present their best fighter. Since Kit's disappearance, Maddox has become the new best."
"He'll be eager to prove that he's better, that he's truly the champion," Jason said from behind me.
Staring at Maddox, I could only imagine how he planned on doing that.
"Enough," Jax said, "you're petrifying her. Nick, you heard Kit. Don't let her see this."
"He's right, Eves. Come here," Nick tried to reposition me but I just stared at him, lost in thought.
"No," I began crying again, thinking about what this fight could mean.
The crowd by now were getting rowdy, shouting for them to start and egging them on.
"We have to help him," I said to Nick. "Nick, we have to—"
"Look, Eves," he placed his hands on either side of my face. "You have to trust me. You have to trust us. Our brother is not dying tonight."
I tried looking back at Kit as the horn sounded and the crowd yelled and growled for them to kill each other. Nick pulled me into his chest and held me there as I continued to cry. He held his hand firmly on the back of my head as I continued to listen to the roar of the crowd. When I felt Nick flinch I couldn’t not turn around and just as I did, I saw Kit landing a punch directly into Maddox’s face.
“Eves…” Nick tried to sway me away but I couldn't shift my eyes away from Kit.
Nick was right, I’d never seen him fight before, not really. I'd never seen him like this. Maybe he'd been like this during my rescue but if he was, I couldn't remember. He looked tainted, as if a dark power had overruled his body. The look he had in his eyes, I’d never seen before. It was pure rage and now with his shirt off and only in his trousers, I could see every muscle in his body stood to attention. He looked huge, his stance was so powerful and he looked like the head of a wolf pack fighting in that ring. He looked like my Kit, but he also didn't. It was a clear reminder that there was this side to Kit that I’d never seen before and despite knowing how strong Kit was, I’d seriously underestimated his power. He had the upper hand until he shifted incorrectly and Maddox used the opportunity to throw in a punch against Kit’s eyebrow. I watched as his head popped backwards then came straight back.
“Oh my god,” I said, watching the blood splatter across his face.
Maddox was already busted up, but seeing Kit getting hurt like that made my stomach twist.
“I’m serious, Eves, stop,” Nick said into my ear, trying to shift my body back with his.
As he did I saw Maddox getting the upper hand again and punch after punch he landed into Kit’s centre, making him hunched over in an attempt to cover himself.
“Give her here,” Jason said then, sounding pissed and he picked me up like he had in the past. The time I’d sworn to kill his little brother. Now I was screaming for him to be saved. For them to help him and stop Maddox from hurting him any longer.
Unexpectedly, as Kit turned to get out of Maddox’s line of fire his eyes fell directly onto mine as Jason lifted me into the air. They didn’t look like his eyes and it scared me. He didn’t look like Kit but some mad man, fighting to the death. His frown deepened when he saw me and we shared a deep stare that lasted less than a second. It was enough for him to turn and face Maddox again, this time with another added strength that I didn't know could be possible after taking such a blow. This time it was Kit’s turn to beat the shit out of Maddox and he did just that. Landing punch after punch into Maddox’s gut, then punching his face, not allowing any space for Maddox to defend himself. Jason’s attempts at holding me here were futile, I wasn’t backing away from this and I fought against him to see Kit. My adrenaline was so high and I could feel my heart beating in my ears even over the roaring from the crowd. In the last few seconds of the fight, everything turned slow motion for me. Maddox looked as if he was winning again until Kit came back fighting, not lacking one bit.
Three punches, that’s all it took.
Three punches—the first, a hard hit to his stomach. The second a fist to the left cheek. Lastly, a full-force punch to the head, knocking Maddox to the floor in a heap. For a few more seconds the place remained silent, waiting for the verdict until a make-shift referee moved forward, declaring the fight over and lifting Kit’s arm in the air. Once the crowd erupted in an uproar of cheering and yelling, everything remained so silent to me. The only sound I could hear was the buzzing in my ears as the adrenaline in my body once at its peak, now began to quickly drop. It was dropping too fast because the ringing in my ears quickly turned into my eyes blackening which meant my body had two choices. Either faint or be sick. Judging by the feeling in my throat and the lo
ok on Nick’s face as he eyed me said it all. I was going to be sick. He held me upright there against the car, gripping my hair in his hand as I hunched over and threw up.
“God, Eves,” I heard Jason and the rest of Kit’s brothers crowded around me. Eric came over to help hold me up as my body weakened under the exhaustion.
“He’s okay?” I looked at Eric and he nodded. “He’s coming.”
“They’re letting him leave?”
He nodded again and moved aside so that Kit could get a hold of me.
“Look at me,” Kit said looking me in the eyes.
“I’m fine,” I said, feeling much better after being sick.
I reached my hand to his face after he'd brushed my hair out of mine with his busted up hand. I began to cry just seeing him, I still felt sick but I was so, so happy to have him here.
“You’re okay,” I cried and he pulled me against his bare chest and held my head there with his hand.
“We need to take her to get checked,” Kit then said to his brothers.
“I’m okay,” I said again, moving away from his chest so I could see him.
“We’re leaving, and we're taking you to get checked.”
I didn’t have a chance to answer him because he took my hand and led me over to the car his brothers had arrived in.
“He’s letting us leave?” I asked in amazement.
Nodding, Kit pulled me onto his lap so that Nick could slide in beside us in the car. I did my best to pull my now sopping wet dress into position with me. I didn't even care that my leg was on show through the slit to the front. The weight of the wet fabric was enough to keep it open and Kit's hand rested against my thigh as he pulled me further onto his lap. I wasn’t sure what was going on, and at that moment I wasn’t going to ask any more questions. I just sat on Kit’s lap, wrapped in his arms with my head against his shoulder and I allowed myself to fall into a daydream, reliving what had just happened. When Kit rubbed his face with the back of his hand, I moved my head away and stared up at him.
“You need to go to the hospital,” I reached my hand to his face but he moved away. I wasn’t sure why and it hurt that he’d rejected my touch. I just wanted to help him, to give him that love but his face was set like thunder and it was as if his eyes weren't his own. It was as if his mind was still back in that fight circle.
He saw it too. He saw the look on my face after he’d rejected me and somehow his face sort of softened towards me.
“I’m sorry,” he said, then blinked and brought his head towards mine.
“All I care about is getting you checked, I’m fine.”
Staring at him, I tried bringing my hand to his face again and this time he allowed me to cradle his face, careful not to inflict pain against his injuries.
Once I did, he brought his mouth into my palm and kissed me there and then on my face.
“Come here. Please,” he asked, directing me to cuddle him.
Once I placed my head back onto his body he snuggled his head into mine and held me there, allowing me to hear his heartbeat against his skin.
Once the car stopped, I looked out of the window and frowned. I wasn’t eager to go to the hospital but that was where I was expecting to head after Kit had been so eager to have me checked.
“There’s someone here to see you,” Kit said after all of his brothers piled out of the car and looked around cautiously.
“What do you mean?” I asked, staring at him and not moving off of his body.
“I’ve hired a private doctor. I did it a while ago and didn’t tell you. They're here, ready to see you. That’s who Eric was on the phone with on the way here.”
“You hired a private doctor and didn’t tell me? I went to the hospital with Lilly today.”
“Eves, I don’t care about explaining that right now. I care about having you examined and making sure our baby is okay, alright?”
I nodded, feeling hurt. I agreed with him because I wanted to make sure our baby was safe too so I got off of him and marched into Kit’s house, ready to meet this private Doctor Kit had hired behind my back.
"Eve, I'm Doctor Simone," the fairly young doctor spoke to me the second I came into the living room and each of Kit's brothers stood around with their arms folded like a set of bodyguards. Kit was behind me, although I didn't look at him. Once I sat down on the couch, Doctor Simone shifted to face me.
How was this guy a private doctor? He didn't look any older than me.
"I've been told you've experienced some nasty sickness and you're currently pregnant?"
"Fourteen and a half weeks" I answered him.
He nodded, "Well, now that you're technically my patient I can hold your twenty-week scan for you when you reach twenty weeks."
"You can?"
"Yes, I'm a certified Obstetrician-gynecologist. That's why I'm told I've been hired by Delta. I have all of your medical records here. I also understand you've had some high blood pressure that's caused you to faint? "
I nodded. "That's correct."
"Is she gonna be okay?" Kit asked.
"Let's take a closer look," the doctor said and each of Kit's brothers spontaneously left the living-room.
"I'm gonna do a few observations—check your blood pressure, your heart rate, the baby’s heart rate. Would you like to go get changed into something more comfortable?"
I hadn't even noticed I was still sitting in my ball gown. I probably looked a bloody state, god knows what he must have thought. Nodding, I got up and headed to Kit's room where Kit found me there shortly after.
"Do you need help?" he asked as I reached for the tie on the back of my dress.
Hearing his voice, I froze and then shook my head. He watched as I undid the cord and eventually pulled the dress over my head before pulling on my hoodie and leggings. He moved aside for me in the doorway and I didn't look him in the face as I passed and made my way back down the stairs.
"I'd like to organise a scan for tomorrow morning," Doctor Simone said and I nodded.
"If it weren't evening we would be able to hold the scan tonight. Except for emergencies we only hold them during daytime hours."
"What if this is an emergency?" Kit said from behind me.
"I don't think that's the case here."
"How do you know that?" Kit asked back quickly, upping the awkwardness tenfold.
"Kit, perhaps you should leave," I said without turning to look at him.
Doctor Simone stared from me back to Kit until eventually, he watched Kit stalking out of the room.
"I'm sorry about him," I said.
"Don't apologise. By the looks of him, he's had a terrible night. I understand he's only worried about you."
Nodding, I tried to agree the best I could as he set up the observations.
"Everything seems fine here," he said after monitoring my blood pressure and heart rate.
"Now, I need you to lay down so I can hook you up to my baby observation kit."
I did as he said and watched in fascination as he placed bands around my stomach and then hooked them up to his machine that displayed the baby’s movements and heart rate.
"It's difficult to say what we'll pick up with you still being under twenty weeks, but this should pick up their heartbeat."
All I could do was nod and stare at the machine.
"I'll leave this for thirty minutes so I have a full report."
I placed my hands flat on either side of my body.
"That looks like an expensive piece of kit."
"That's why only private doctors carry them," he smiled.
I nodded, glancing at his hands pressing buttons on the screen.
"Give it thirty minutes so I can get a good reading."
I nodded again and Doctor Simone took a seat and began filling in some paperwork. I watched the clock addictively, counting every second until twenty minutes had passed and Kit returned looking much more put together than he had when he'd left. Firstly, he was wearing a t-shirt, and it looke
d like his injuries had been cared for because his face wasn't covered in blood anymore and he had a strip across his eyebrow.
"I just need to grab something from my car, I'll be right back," the doctor said and I nodded, offering him a faint smile.
I wasn't expecting Kit to take a seat at the single chair across the coffee table. Once he did, I heard him take a deep intake of breath and he brought both of his hands together at his mouth before taking me in.
"How much does he know?" I asked him, looking at the door that Doctor Simone had left through.
"He's hired under strict confidentiality, he pretty much knows everything apart from the fact that you are indeed the head of Delta."
"I'm not the head. I handed those roles to you."
"You handed me your roles, not your ownership. No matter what, Delta belongs to you."
I stared at my stomach, bare with the bands wrapped around.
"So, he probably thinks I'm just another rich girl that needs protecting from the bad men trying to steal my daddy's money," I rolled my eyes. I wished that was the case, at least then I'd still have my dad.
"What does it matter what he thinks?" he frowned. "Besides, he wasn't even supposed to be here. I requested a female doctor. He will have been briefed at the last minute."
"Why you hired a private doctor at all, I have no idea. Why you didn't even think to tell me about it is a whole different thing entirely."
Sighing, he sat back in his seat and slouched.
"If we rush into a public hospital every second, questions will be asked. Although Delta is top secret, we don't need anyone snooping around, especially now. With everything that's happened, I wanted a doctor ready on stand by if anything like this were to happen. I didn't think I'd ever actually have to use them. That's why I didn't tell you. That's why you've been attending your normal hospital appointments. How would it sound if I told you I'd hired a private doctor in case you're kidnapped again, or in case something terrible happens to you or the baby?"
He stood up unexpectedly. "I know you won't understand my reasoning. You're gonna be mad because I didn't tell you. I used your details and created a patient's profile so should it be needed, you and our baby would be cared for. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you thinking that I was expecting something bad to happen, because I wasn't expecting tonight to happen, honestly—"