OtherSide Of Fear (Outside The Ropes #3)

by Ashley Claudy

  “Where are we going?” he asked, walking in a wide path around his wife.

  “Back to the main room. Go.”

  “Think this through. They’ll kill you on sight.” He paused at the door.

  “Not with you blocking me.” But I was seeing the holes in my plan.

  Firing from the next room had me moving, not caring about a better plan. One. Two. Three shots. Then silence.

  I had three guns, and Rusnak at the end of one of them. That was going to have to be enough.

  “Go,” I commanded, but Rusnak still walked slow.

  And I still wasn’t willing to get close enough to push him. I knew he was quicker than me.

  I heard the commotion in the hall but wasn’t at the door yet.

  “Where is she?” Gage’s voice was savage.

  “I’m here. I’m fine,” I yelled to him, almost crying out in my rush of relief. I couldn’t see him and who may be with him, but I wanted to make sure he didn’t take any risks when I had the leverage.

  “Stay still,” Gage demanded and Rusnak stilled at the entrance of the door.

  He glanced towards me before looking back at Gage. “I’m not moving.”

  “Regan, Baby, are you hurt? Can you come out?”

  I was moving towards that voice, the strain of it filling me, pulling me. But I still kept my gun raised, not losing my head enough to make myself weak to Rusnak.

  “Back up from the door,” I directed him.

  “Do it,” Gage confirmed.

  “And what about you, Cherry?” Rusnak questioned with a sneer. “You’re choosing his side? I made you.”

  That took me off guard, and when I turned the corner, I saw she was standing with Gage, gun aimed at Rusnak.

  “I make myself.” She raised her chin, gripping her gun with both hands. “You only brought me here.”

  Rusnak moved in a snap as she spoke, reaching for the gun in my hand and bending my wrist in the process. But I didn’t let the pain interfere, and I brought my other hand up and shot into his stomach. But his head snapped back with another bullet in the center of his forehead.

  He dropped to the ground, and I stepped back, unable to look away. Still not believing the sight. Hazel eyes staring at me, shock frozen on his features. Anatoli Rusnak. Lifeless. Dead.

  Arms wrapped around me from behind, and I collapsed into the warmth, the familiar smell and feeling of safety, of home. I clung to him, letting his strength hold me up. The relief was painful as it racked my muscles.

  “Oh God.” He pulled back, looking at me. “You’re bleeding?” His eyes continued their frantic scan. “But only there, you weren’t shot? I heard gunfire.”

  “Alessandra.” I nodded into the room but held him tighter so he couldn’t go check, not wanting him to leave my side. Not wanting to let him go. “She’s dead. What about you? I heard shots.”

  He shook his head. “Cherry freed me after Alessandra left, and I shot the others.”

  He looked past me to where she stood, the corner of his swollen mouth turning up. “Jesus Christ, I thought you were going to fucking kill me.”

  I turned to look at her but didn’t let Gage go.

  She shook her head, a tight smile on her lips. “I owed you. You always looked out for me.” She inhaled looking around. “Now what? The place is empty now, but his guy will be here tomorrow to drop off his money.”

  “I say burn it and then get the hell away. And stay away,” Gage answered and I agreed.

  “Stay away? What about the money?” Cherry looked like she was disgusted with the idea.

  “You do what you want. But I’m out. We’re lying low from now on. If you want to get it, I won’t stop you, but I’m not helping.”

  She stared at him for a moment. “But you won’t stop me?”

  “You’re free to do things your way. I won’t interfere. I won’t say shit to anyone. Just make sure you don’t say shit to anyone about us being here.”

  She took a step towards Rusnak’s body. “I wasn’t here. I don’t know anything. But if the cops see this, you two are screwed. You fucking bled everywhere.”

  The collar of Gage’s shirt was bloody, dried blood streaked his cheek, neck, and forehead.

  “That’s why we have to burn the place. You get out of here.” He nodded to Cherry and then his lips landed on mine.

  I moved against him, welcoming the ache as he reopened the cut and wiped away the taste of Rusnak. But he pulled away all too soon.

  “Go out to the car. Start it. I’ll be there soon.” When I hesitated he reassured. “There’s no one else here. Go. I’ve got to do this quick.”

  Gage ran into the room where Alessandra lay dead, and I followed Cherry out through the main room, where it all started. Where five corpses laid around a toppled over chair. The chair Gage had been strapped to.

  Cherry was just going to keep walking when we got outside, but I called to her and she turned around, raising an eyebrow at me.

  “Thanks.” She gave me a funny look and I continued, “For in there.”

  Cherry snorted, face twisting. “I didn’t do it for you.”

  I shrugged, not caring who she did it for.

  “Don’t think I would lift a finger to save you, but he didn’t deserve what you put him in. Because I know he didn’t do any of that, he wouldn’t. So it had to be you.” She walked backwards, away from me, shaking her head. “Thing is, I can’t save him from you.”

  “He doesn’t need you to.” My new found appreciation for her was wearing off quick.

  She kept walking backwards, facing me. “He’ll figure it out one day.” Then she turned around and slid into her own car, pulling away before I even made it to our SUV.

  I sat in our car, waiting, staring at a silent building filled with memories that nightmares were made of.

  I saw the flicker of flames licking at one window in the corner, and then the glass shattered in the heat. I opened the door, about to go back in to search for Gage when he came sprinting out.

  He hopped into the drivers seat with a breathless energy, pulling the car away without words.

  Looking in the rearview, I could see the smoke rising into the sky, intensifying with each moment.

  “It should go quick. I set up several small fires with the construction debris and bodies. It should cover our tracks.” He looked over at me, gasping as his hand slid up my leg. “We just need to get rid of the guns. We’ll toss them in the Hudson.”

  The farther away we drove, the more the tears and emotions built, choking me. I couldn’t help myself. When we were on a straight road, I undid my belt and raised up in my seat, leaning across the console to kiss his eyebrow, his cheek, caressing the bruises and cuts with my lips, not caring about the blood.

  He brought his hand up to the back of my head; holding me still while he turned into my kiss, tongue delving into my mouth, connecting with mine. Swirling and licking. He pulled back, panting, still holding my face close.

  “Wait.” His warm breath blew over my skin. “We have to get home. Believe me, babe, I need you too. Fuck, after today, I need you more than ever. But talk to me. Talk to me while we drive. Keep me calm, focused. Then when we get home, I need you to tell me everything.”

  I pressed my forehead to the side of his, sucking in a breath, inhaling him. “Okay. Okay,” I reassured him, reassured myself, smoothing his hair before slipping back to my seat, immediately feeling the separation.

  “It’s really over,” I talked, letting the words sink in, feeling the uncertain giddiness they caused. “It’s over, and soon we’ll get to start over. We’ll get to put this behind us and start over.” I couldn’t tell if these words were calming him in the dark.

  He stared forward at the road, hand firm on my leg, and I kept talking. Sinking the more I talked, the relief of the night shadowed by what we had to do next, and the people we were leaving behind. But as I watched him, felt him, I knew it would be worth
it. Everything would be worth it for him. For us.

  ***

  I held the two pictures in my hands. Weighing them. They were too heavy to lift, too big to get around, I was stuck staring at them and what they meant. The blood stained on the carpet taunted me, and I gripped the photos like they were in danger of being touched by it.

  The photos vibrated as I separated them into each hand, studying them. I had found them in Gage’s jacket. We weren’t supposed to take anything with us, but he was taking these.

  The older one had rounded edges and a yellow tinge, a picture of two boys and their mom. Gage and Dexter. It was a candid shot, none of them looking at the camera. Dexter was young enough to sit on his older brothers lap, his mother sat beside them, reading them a book.

  The other picture was more recent. He must have had it printed, and we never printed photos. It was of Dexter and Felix at the gym, in the ring. Felix wearing gloves that swallowed his little baby arms, but his smile was larger than life.

  I set them down as my tears hit one, not wanting to ruin them. I swiped at my slick cheeks and rose to my feet, brain scrambling, unsure what to do. Nothing felt right. Nothing felt sure. My anxiety rose and burst in bubbles in my veins, making me need to move. I should put the photos away before—

  Gage walked in. “We’ve got ten minutes, come on.” He rushed to the living room, not really looking at me yet. “Ten minutes till the cameras start recording again.” Then he looked around, finally noticing me. “Babe, are you all right?” His arms circled me. “I know this is hard, but it’s what you want. It’s what we planned.” He pulled back, meeting my eyes. “We’ve got to go.” Then his eyes landed on the pictures on the table and he paused.

  I hated the look that filled his once light eyes, I hated that I caused that depth of pain. And he was still trying to reassure me and hide it. It scared me to think of what that might turn into one day, how much of him would die because of it.

  “Maybe we don’t”

  He moved slow, his eyes narrowing. “What?”

  “Maybe we don’t have to go.” I know it was crazy to back out when so much had been planned, but as I spoke it, my heart slowed and breathing evened, and I felt calm. It felt right.

  “We don’t have time for this. We have to go. You wanted this.”

  “This is the only time. There’s no other chance to turn back. I can’t make you cut off your family.”

  “You’re my family.” I couldn’t read what emotion was flooding his gaze; it was a mix of everything.

  “And you’re mine.” I stroked his cheek with my hand, barely touching the bruises still present. “They are too, and I don’t want to leave them.” I glanced at the photo and back to him. “I thought we had to, but everyone we were running from are dead. The people we were setting up with our fake death are dead.” After the FBI fell through, Gage had changed our plan so our death looked like a murder and clues with our connection to the Rusnak’s would be left. “Our enemies are gone.”

  While my breathing was steadying with the idea, his was increasing, erratic.

  He sucked in a breath, looking into open space and then back at me. “There will be more if we stay.”

  “We’ll probably make new ones if we go.”

  “You’re sure about this?” He stepped towards me and I saw that light flicker in his eyes, he wanted this too.

  “But we still stay out of everything. We say no to anyone who tries to pull us back. We don’t let any of them take control.”

  He shook his head. “No, no one can tell us what to do. We fucking proved that. We fought to get here. And I’ll continue to fight for us. For you.”

  “Then we stay.” I slid my arms around him, hugging him tight, pressing my ear to his chest where his heart beat its strong, steady rhythm.

  He dropped down to the sofa, pulling me with him, kissing my hair.

  “What now then?”

  I shook my head, letting the ideas expand beyond the limits we had when we were considering a life of hiding.

  “You have a title to defend.” I pressed my lips to his. “We should start training for that.”

  His chest rumbled under me, his laughter nearly making me cry. But the smile that filled his face called to me, making me kiss him. Needing to feel that beautiful smile. The energy flowing between us was light, weightless, and stress slipped away as the world opened up, looking brighter from this new view.

  He hovered over me, lips still grazing mine. “You should start training. You can go for a title now.” His smile spread against my smile, teasing me, making me melt. “If you want.”

  I nodded, gripping his shirt with both of my hands.

  He smoothed his hand over my face, pushing back my hair, eyes clouding. “Thank you,” he spoke low, with an honest intensity that enveloped me.

  Then he looked around the living room and fell back against the couch, bringing me with him. “We’re going to have to tear up this carpet.” His sigh was somehow heavy and light.

  And I laughed, looking at the bloodstains, feeling like I escaped another bad decision. Or maybe this was the bad decision, but I didn’t dwell on it because I had Gage wrapped around me. My decisions may be crazy, I certainly felt crazy, but he was there with me, on the highs and lows. The one constant through the madness was that he loved me, and I loved him, with a powerful love that was a madness all of its own.

  THE END

  Thank You

  Thank you for reading. Please consider sharing your thoughts and reactions in a review on Goodreads and/or Amazon

  A Note From The Author

  Thank you, thank you, and thank you for reading this story. I hope you have enjoyed the twisted journey.

  I know the ending leaves a lot open, but this is NOT so there can be another book in the series. I don’t think there will be (although I never say never since inspiration is strange and at times unpredictable). It’s just that I don't really see these two being happy with a happily ever after in the traditional sense. They will like a temporary calm, but inevitably one, or both, will do something to rile things up because they thrive on that. That doesn't mean that deserves another book though. It's just how I see their life always going. But as long as they have each other, they are happy. And I truly believe they are at that point now.

  If you would like more of these two, be sure to sign up for my mailing list so you can receive bonus chapters for this book in Gage’s perspective. Signing up will also allow you to find out when I release new books. Sign up here: http://eepurl.com/6Hsfz

  About The Author

  Ashley Claudy is a mother, wife, teacher, proud UMD Terp, and perpetual Learner with a wild imagination fueled by coffee. She’s also an occasional runner, a late night book junkie, and a daytime dreamer.

  She loves to interact with her readers and can be contacted/ found here:

  Website: http://ashleyclaudy.blogspot.com/

  Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/AshleyClaudy

  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AshleyClaudy

  Twitter: https://twitter.com/AshleyClaudy

  Instagram: http://instagram.com/AYClaudy

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  Fun Stuff

  A few fun extra’s to take you Inside The Book

  ~ Bonus Chapters in Gage’s POV: To receive these exclusive chapters please sign up for my mailing list here: http://eepurl.com/6Hsfz

  ~ Listen to the Inside Danger Playlist on YouTube

  ~ See Outside The Ropes series inspiration on Pinterest

 

 

 
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