An Act of Redemption

by K. C. Lynn

  *

  Oh god. My heart beats wildly as we make our way down the dark, narrow stairwell.

  “Just hang in there, we’re almost down,” Charity shouts behind her shoulder and gives my cold, clammy hand a reassuring squeeze.

  I can’t believe she didn’t warn me about this. She damn well knows I’m claustrophobic. I knew the moment I saw the abandoned-looking brick building with bars on its windows that this was a mistake. But there’s no turning back now, not unless I want to subject myself to the continued torture of being stuck in this small, confined space to go back up the fifty steps we just walked down.

  At the bottom a big, steel door opens to where a giant hulk of a man, who looks scary as hell, takes our tickets. We enter into the massive area that’s already way past its capacity.

  “Shit! The main fight has started. Come on.” Charity tugs on my hand and drags me through the crowd. Screams and cheers assault my ears while hot, sweaty bodies slam into me. I try to calm my racing heart, but all I want to do is rip out of her grasp and bolt back the other way.

  She gets us as close as she can to the ring then starts cheering as loud as everyone else. I stand stiff as a board, my muscles so tense they start to ache. My gaze scans the room, trying to locate the nearest exit so I can make my escape sooner rather than later. No way am I going to make it through the entire night. I take in the chaos around us. Girls are screaming and lifting their tops, flashing their breasts at the fighters, who aren’t paying attention since they’re too busy pounding on each other. Guys are hollering out vile things like, ‘Come on, let’s see some more blood’, or ‘Fucking end him’.

  I’ve been to a professional fight once before. Jaxson and Julia took me out with them when they went to watch one of the events Katelyn’s brother was fighting in. I found it a little hard to watch, but it was a sporting event nonetheless. This though? This is completely barbaric. I don’t understand how anyone would find this entertaining.

  Charity turns around, a huge smile on her face, clearly not sharing my same opinion. “That’s the new fighter I was telling you about,” she shouts to be heard over everyone. “You have to look at him, Anna, he’s sexy as hell and the guy is a fucking machine.”

  With a heavy sigh, I look up at the ring and see one of the fighters not looking so good. He swings his arms wildly out in front of him, seeming clumsy and disorientated. My stomach recoils at how much blood is smeared on his face, almost making him unrecognizable. I swing my attention to his opponent who dances gracefully on the balls of his feet, dodging every sloppy blow thrown his way. Something about him seems almost familiar. I try to get a closer look but his arms are up by his face, protecting his head. I begin to wonder if he goes to school with us, but I thought Charity said he wasn’t from around here.

  “Come on, what are you waiting for? Finish him!” The shout comes from a guy who stands just on the other side of the ropes.

  The fighter obeys and moves in for the finish. My heart stops at the familiarity of his blows. Shot after shot, I watch in a trance as I’m thrown back to a nightmare from four years ago. Everyone’s cheering fades away and the only sound I can hear is the blood rushing in my ears.

  No, it can’t be, there’s no way. It’s not possible.

  Even as I say this I still can’t push away the nagging feeling, and then I see it. After the guy lands the final hit he turns, giving me a view of the other side of his body, the side that is marked with a black tribal tattoo and has been forever ingrained into my memory. All of the air leaves my lungs in one swoosh and I grab onto Charity’s shoulder to steady myself, feeling like my legs are about to give out.

  The ref runs up and raises the fighter’s hand, showcasing his victory. They turn to face me and it’s only a beat of a second before his sharp blue eyes collide with mine, rocking me to my core. The same shock I’m feeling washes over Logan’s expression. Everyone and everything falls away and time seems to stand still as the two of us stare at each other.

  Through blurry vision I watch him shout my name, but I hear nothing—only silence. I finally snap back into myself when he moves to jump over the ropes. Knowing he’s headed right for me, I push away from Charity and run. I slam into bodies as I try to fight my way to the side door I spotted earlier, praying it leads me outside.

  “Excuse me. Excuse me. I’m so sorry,” I apologize as I bulldoze into people.

  Just as I’m close to making it to the door someone snags my arm. I turn around and brace myself, thinking it is Logan, but end up looking into an unfamiliar pair of drunken brown eyes. “Hey, beautiful. Where are you going in such a hurry?”

  I ignore his slurring question and try to pull out of his grip, but he tightens his hold on me. “Let go!”

  His smile broadens. “Wait up, I just want to—”

  His words are cut off when Logan comes out of nowhere and lands an upper cut to the side of his jaw, the powerful blow sending him backward.

  I don’t wait to see what happens, I start off again, continuing my escape. Unfortunately, I don’t make it far before I’m grabbed from behind, this time by arms that I know all too well. Ones I could never forget.

  “Not so fast, sweetheart.” I still at the rough sound of his voice in my ear and try to ignore the shiver of awareness that shoots down my spine. He continues forward to where another giant of a man stands guard at the end of a hallway, right next to the door I had planned to make my escape out of. He greets Logan with a nod, as if it’s completely normal for him to be kidnapping me then steps aside for him.

  I fight harder to get free as he carries me to god knows where, but my efforts prove fruitless. “Let go of me, right now!” I demand.

  He blatantly ignores me, and charges through the last door at the end of the hall. As soon as my feet touch the floor I try making a run for it again, but he snakes his arm around my waist and slams me up against the wall. I fight to free myself but he pins my struggling arms above my head. I tense and suck in a sharp breath at feeling his hard body flush against mine. I stare back into his familiar midnight blue eyes, the same ones I thought I would never see again. I quickly notice that there’s something in them that wasn’t there before, something colder—harder.

  No words are spoken as we stare at one another, our chests heaving together as one. The air around us becomes so thick it’s stifling. It’s as if we are in our own universe, one I remember all too well.

  “What the fuck are you doing here?”

  I flinch at his heated question and it breaks the spell. My gaze narrows. “What am I doing here? How about, what the hell are you doing here?”

  His jaw flexes. “Just answer the fucking question, Anna.”

  “It’s none of your damn business.” I seethe and try to push him away, but he doesn’t budge. “Let go of me right now!”

  After a long pause he finally steps back, but remains close, too close. I briefly take in our surroundings and realize we’re in a dressing room that I assume is Logan’s. My assumption is confirmed when he swipes a shirt off the small love seat and throws the white muscle tank over his head, covering up his body that’s stained with his opponent’s blood. “Does Jaxson know you’re here?”

  My eyes snap to his face at the question. “I’m a grown woman, I don’t need permission to go out from anyone.”

  He grunts. “That’s what I thought.”

  My irritation escalates at his know-it-all attitude. “Why are you here, Logan? Shouldn’t you be in prison for another two years?” Shoot, that makes it seem like I’ve been counting, which I haven’t. Not really.

  “Never mind that,” he says, evading the question, his expression remaining stoic. “All that matters is you are never to come back here again, Anna, do you hear me?”

  Oh hell no.

  My temper spikes, going from zero to sixty in a matter of seconds. I storm over to him and get up in his face. “Just who the hell do you think you are barking orders at me? I will go where I damn well please!”

&
nbsp; “Like hell you will. This place is not for someone like you, and you goddamn know it.”

  “Someone like me? What the hell does that mean?” I cut a hand through the air before he can answer. “You know what, save it. I’m not listening to any more of your bullshit.” I bolt out of the room and back down the hall, needing to get the hell away from this place before I completely lose it.

  “Anna, wait, get the fuck back here!”

  I scoff. That bossy asshole has another thing coming if he thinks I’ll obey his damn orders. Before I can make my escape he catches me by the arm and spins me around. I’m just about to unleash my frustration on him when a blaring alarm sounds throughout the building. It’s so loud that I startle and cover my ears.

  “It’s the feds, everyone out now!” Someone announces over the speakers, and the place erupts in absolute chaos.

  “Shit!” Logan tries to pull me back down the hall toward his dressing room, but I dig my heels in.

  “Wait, my friend. I came with my roommate.”

  He leans in to be heard over the piercing alarm and even in all this turmoil my heart kicks up another notch at his close proximity. “You aren’t going to find her in that.” He gestures over my shoulder. I turn around to see a stampede of people, pushing and trampling one another to get out of any exit possible. The entire thought of walking through that has terror gripping me, but I don’t want to leave Charity either. “We have to move, Anna, now!”

  I reluctantly follow him back to his dressing room. As he tosses a bunch of boxes that are in the way of the back door, I pull my cell phone out of my pocket to text Charity only to see I already have one from her.

  Charity: I’m with friends, we’re out and okay. Where are you?

  I sigh with relief then text back, letting her know I’m okay and that I’ll meet her back at the dorm.

  At the sound of the heavy metal door opening I shove my phone back in my pocket and follow Logan outside. A tingle of unease starts at the nape of my neck when we walk out into a dark alley that looks about as safe as the building we just walked out of.

  Logan senses my edginess and grabs my hand. “It’s okay, Anna.”

  I glance down at where we’re joined and hate the sense of security it makes me feel. It shouldn’t at all. He broke my trust a long time ago. I pull my hand away and make sure not to look up at him, even though I feel his eyes boring into me.

  The sound of sirens grow closer and he breaks the silence between us. “Come on, we have to go.” We head over to a motorcycle that I’m assuming is his, but it’s not the same one he had four years ago. He goes to put his helmet on over my head but out of instinct I back out of his reach, reluctant to get on the back of this with him. “Now is not the time to fuck with me, Anna. Get on here before we both get in shit!”

  With a huff, I rip the helmet from him and fasten it on my head. The last thing I need is to explain to my father that I was arrested for going to an underground fighting ring, or hell, even Jaxson for that matter. He would probably be worse to deal with than my father.

  I climb on behind him but try to keep as much distance between us as humanly possible. I manage this for only a second because he starts the bike up and shoots out of our spot with a speed that makes my heart jump up to my throat. My arms hug him tighter on their own accord, crushing my body against his.

  He keeps pace, speeding through the dark night until we are a safe distance away from the trouble behind us. I try to ignore the intimate feeling of being behind him like this, but it’s impossible. One of my favorite things that we used to do was ride, and I haven’t been on a bike since. I forgot how freeing it could be, but I refuse to let myself enjoy it. It’s something I don’t want to miss, not ever again.

  For not the first time tonight, I wonder what the hell is going on. What’s he doing here? I talked to his sister a month ago and she said nothing about it. Usually he’s off limits in our talks, has been from the beginning, but surely she would have told me that he was getting released early. Unless she doesn’t know either?

  Ugh…just let it go, Anna. It doesn’t matter, not any more.

  Unfortunately, my heart has a hard time grasping this concept. I’m about to tap his shoulder to provide directions when I realize he’s already headed to campus.

  So he knows where I live, and I know nothing about him?

  Shaking my head, I mull this over, my anger only escalating. By the time we pull up in front of my dorm I’m downright livid.

  As soon as the bike comes to a halt I jump off, putting much needed distance between us. I remove the helmet, and without making eye contact I toss it at him. As I start to walk off the asshole stops me again, but this time, when he snags my arm, I spin around and lose it. “What? What the hell do you want?” I scream so loud that I’m sure the entire campus hears me.

  His calm expression never wavers, which only pisses me off more because it makes me look like a lunatic. “I want your word that you won’t go back there again.”

  I grind my teeth so hard that my jaw aches. “I’ll do no such thing. I will go where I want, whenever I want. You have no say.”

  That gets a reaction out of him. His grip tightens on my arm and he yanks me against him. “Don’t tell me you were there to watch that shit. That’s not your fucking scene and we both know it.”

  “How the hell would you know? You have no idea who I am any more.”

  “You think I’ve forgotten who you are, Anna?”

  Angry tears sting my eyes and know I have to get out of here. “Actually, Logan, I don’t think you ever knew me.”

  “That’s bullshit and you know it.”

  “No, I don’t!” I scream back, my throat burning hotter every second. “But what I do know is you can take your demanding, self-righteous attitude and shove it up your ass.”

  This time, when I rip away from him, he lets me go, but I feel his eyes bore into my back the entire time. Hot tears track down my cheeks before I’m even in the building. I rush inside and don’t slow down until I’m in my room. After closing the door behind me I fall back against it and slip to the floor in agony. Hugging my knees to my chest I remember that time four years ago. A time that left the deepest of scars, not only on my heart but my soul.

  *

  Logan

  I watch Anna run into her building, my chest constricting so goddamn tight I can’t take in a fucking breath. As soon as she’s safely inside I head to my apartment and try to wrap my head around tonight’s events.

  I knew she was going to the University Of Charleston, and in the three weeks since I was released I only broke down once and came to see her. I parked a fair distance away to avoid being seen, and ended up waiting for almost an hour. I was about to give up when I finally spotted her walking with her friend across campus, and I swear my heart stopped fucking beating. She was everything I remembered her to be—beautiful, vibrant and perfect. She laughed at something her friend had said, and even from where I stood I could hear it. The long, but not forgotten, sound washed over me and brought physical pain. I ached so fucking bad to go to her, to touch her, to pull her against me and never let her go. I’ll never forget the anguish that was in her warm brown eyes all those years ago. It still fucking haunts me. I quickly got the fuck out of there before I did something stupid.

  Little did I know I would be seeing her two weeks later, and at the fucking club of all places. The shock that shot through me when our eyes first connected still hammers inside of me.

  Jesus, what was she doing there tonight?

  I don’t care what she says, that’s not her scene and I’ll make sure she never steps foot in that fucking building again. It’s not a good place for someone as sweet as her. Just thinking about that prick who put his hands on her earlier, has my rage coming back full force.

  Once I pull up to my place I park my bike, then head inside and make my way up the narrow staircase until I reach the third floor. I walk into my apartment that to most people would be considered
small and nothing special, but was fucking paradise to me.

  Just as I close the door my phone vibrates. Pulling it out of my pocket, I see it’s Lewis. I expel a tired breath before answering. “Yeah.”

  “Tell me you made it out of there?”

  “Yeah,” I repeat, feeling too drained even for small talk. My body aches like a motherfucker from where that guy got a few shots in on my ribs.

  “Good. Fucking feds. I have no idea how they found the new location, that shit was under wraps.”

  I feel like telling him it could have been from any number of the thousands of college kids he lets in. Either way, Brooks and Davis were supposed to take care of this. How the hell am I supposed to get any information if this shit keeps getting busted up?

  “So tell me, who the hell was that chick you were chasing after tonight like a pussy?”

  I tense at his question, not liking that he saw me with Anna “No one, just someone I used to know.” My reply is casual, and his silence has suspicion rearing its ugly head. “Why?”

  “No reason, just curious. She doesn’t seem like your type. Don’t get me wrong, she’s a fine piece of ass, but in a classy, uptight sort of way.”

  “Watch it, Lewis,” I say in warning, making sure my threat is clear.

  “Hey, man, all right, chill out. I didn’t mean anything by it. I’m just surprised. You could’ve been getting pussy for the last few weeks, but you paid no attention to the bitches throwing themselves at you. Then that chick walks in and you fucking chase it.”

  I thought about it. I haven’t fucked in four years, and every goddamn offer made me want to fuck for the next four. But every time I considered it, soft brown eyes assaulted my memories and reminded me of the last pussy I had, the sweetest one that I’ve ever felt, and I couldn’t go through with it. So instead I came home and jacked off. But seeing Anna in her skin-tight jeans and snug, white tank top that showcased every one of her slim curves made me so goddamn hard that I was sure my dick would break off.