Fix You: Bash and Olivia, Book 3

by Christine Bell

  Liv.

  I swallowed hard and held the phone to my ear.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey asshole,” a low male voice muttered. “Your girlfriend wants to say hi.”

  I strained to hear more clearly as sounds of a struggle came over the line.

  “Don’t come outside, Bash. Please.” Liv’s breathy, panicked voice filled my head and I doubled over, heart hammering. “He’s drunk and acting crazy but I don’t think he’ll—” I heard the sound of fist on flesh and Liv gasped.

  “What the fuck is going on?” I bit out, squeezing my eyes closed, trying to connect the dots. Was this Mickey and his boys making sure I showed tomorrow night? If they hurt her—

  Heavy breathing was followed by the male voice again. “Come on out, motherfucker— unless you’re too chickenshit to fight me when my hands are free, that is.”

  Andy.

  He’d always claimed it had been a sucker punch that knocked him out. Probably because his hands were too busy choking Liv to defend himself.

  And now he had her. And he’d hurt her.

  Fury swamped me, and I straightened. “Are you here already?” I asked, moving to the window and peering out through the blinds.

  Andy stood outside his car with Liv in front of him. He had a knife to her neck. My mind reeled as I tried to decide on a course of action. Every instinct was on fire, telling me to go outside and murder him where he stood, but if I didn’t call the police and things went bad…what if Liv got seriously hurt?

  Andy took the choice out of my hands a moment later when he spoke. “I’m here, all right. No cops. Come out alone and I won’t cut her throat.”

  He disconnected and I briefly considered calling for Reid and Matty, but I couldn’t risk it. They might promise to stay out of sight unless Liv was hurt, but if they saw me go down, there was no way they’d keep that promise. I had to do this alone.

  I slid my phone back into my pocket and unbolted the door. All I had to do was get him away from Liv. Get that knife off her neck so she had a chance to run and get help. I could live with whatever happened after that.

  I stepped outside into the cool night air and took a steadying breath to quiet the rush of hot blood flooding my ears. Running up and smashing him to pieces wasn’t an option. I had to move cautiously.

  I walked down the stairs, refusing to look at Liv, knowing it would send me over the edge; I kept my gaze locked on Andy’s face. She was right. He looked crazed. Even from twenty yards away I could see his wild-eyed expression, lips wet with saliva. She’d said he was drunk, but it looked more like meth or something to me. He was twitchy, but not weaving or unsteady on his feet, and that was bad. One false move could send him to do something rash, and the way his eyes were shifting around, paranoia could do the same.

  I held up both hands and moved slowly toward them. “I’m here. Let her go and we can work this out like men.”

  Liv’s whimper as he tightened his arm around her waist broke my concentration and I looked her right in the face. It was a mistake. Her lip was swollen and blood streaked her cheek. It took everything I had not to charge him. My legs trembled with the effort of holding back as I continued inching forward, one step at a time.

  “He took away my trust fund, you know,” Andy spat. “He said until I show some maturity and self-control, he wasn’t going to throw his hard-earned money away on me. Doesn’t he know the only reason he’s still alive is that money? Now he’s worth more to me dead,” he said with a brittle laugh.

  I’d had him pegged as a sociopath early on, but now I wasn’t so sure. Whether it was whatever he was on or if he’d just snapped, the Andy in front of me had none of the icy, calculating control I’d seen in the past. This Andy was stone-cold fucking crazy and that made him even more dangerous than before.

  “I’m sorry that happened, but we can work it out. Put down the knife,” I said, keeping my voice as level as I could manage. I was only five yards away now, but until he let Liv go, I was hamstrung.

  “We aren’t working shit out. I’m going to teach you a fucking lesson and then when I’m done with you, I’m going to teach this whore a lesson.” Almost as if the gods had heard my prayer, Andy lifted his knife-wielding hand and waved it at me. Liv didn’t hesitate. She chopped at his hand with her forearm, hitting the pressure point dead to rights, and the knife clattered to the pavement.

  Andy shoved her to the ground and lunged for the blade, but I was on him. I hit him with a full-body tackle, taking him down hard. Andy had clearly done some wrestling and tied my legs up with his own as we grappled, both struggling for purchase. He was a big rugby boy but he wasn’t in the kind of shape I was, and I broke his hold.

  “Now you see this one coming, motherfucker.”

  His eyes went wide as I cranked back my fist and unloaded on him, the terror I’d felt seeing Liv at knifepoint pouring out of me with each vicious blow.

  “Bash, it’s okay. We got him now. Stop!”

  Liv’s voice was muffled by shouting behind me. I could barely make any of it out through the adrenaline buzzing in my ears.

  I felt a hand on my shoulder and heard my brother’s voice in my ear. “Get off him, bro. The cops are on the way. We got you now. We got you,” Matty muttered as he pulled at my arm, stilling me.

  Harsh breath sawed in and out of my lungs as Andy stared up at me through his battered face, and I let Matty pull me off him. Reid came in fast and dragged Andy to his feet, wrenching his arms behind his back as Liv bent to pick up the knife.

  I shook Matty off and went to her, pulse stuttering as I saw her lip again. I touched it gingerly with my thumb and nearly wheeled around to go back and whale on Andy some more, but she grabbed my wrist.

  “Your hand,” she whispered.

  She examined my knuckles, probing them gently and wincing when I flinched.

  “Something’s not right, Bash.”

  Sirens wailed in the distance and I brushed her off, taking her face in my hands. “It’s fine. Are you okay? Please tell me you’re okay.”

  She’d broken up with me, and maybe tomorrow I’d try to accept that, but if she didn’t want me to kiss her right then, she was shit out of luck. I’d almost lost her for real tonight, and I was so grateful I could barely see straight.

  I bent and pressed my lips to the uninjured corner of her mouth.

  “I’m so sorry he did this to you.”

  She stepped back and touched a finger to her lip, leveling me with a stare so stark it took my breath away. “You hurt me worse, Bash.”

  That one was going to leave a mark. I chewed the inside of my cheek as a procession of emergency response vehicles pulled into the lot. We’d have to talk about it later, but I could wait to tell her how proud I was of her. She’d done well tonight. Hell, if she hadn’t disarmed Andy, who knew what could’ve happened? She might not be standing in front of me right now. I wanted so much to protect her, but maybe she was right. Maybe she didn’t need a guy to fix her. Some knight in shining armor to make everything right.

  Maybe she needed a guy to ride by her side. A guy to slay dragons with.

  I only hoped it wasn’t too late for me to be that guy.

  Chapter Eight

  Olivia

  “How did he find you?” Bash asked.

  After an hour long Q&A with the police, the two of us sat on the rear bumper of the ambulance waiting to see what the medic thought of his hand, but I already knew.

  He’d broken a bone.

  There was no question in my mind. Already, it was swelling like a balloon, and I wanted to scream with the unfairness of it all.

  “I was at the library. He must have been following me.” I shivered at the memory. It was like something out of a horror movie. I’d been walking alone and that feeling—the sensation that someone was watching me—got so strong, I actually started sprinting. “He grabbed me from behind and pushed me into the car at knifepoint. He told me you were knocked out and tied up in the trunk. I didn�
�t know if he was telling the truth but I was afraid if I jumped out of the car, he’d kill you.”

  Bash’s face was grim and pale as he leaned closer to me, until our shoulders brushed. “He won’t be able to hurt you anymore,” he said as we watched the police car roll away with Andy cuffed in the back of it.

  The gentle-faced medic looked up and released Bash’s hand. “From the sounds of it, this could have all been a lot worse. I don’t know if you need to go to the ER, but you should definitely go to an ortho tomorrow and have it x-rayed. My guess is a boxer’s fracture, so there probably isn’t much they can do except let it heal.”

  Bash nodded like that wasn’t news to him and I frowned. “There’s a name for it?”

  “Yep.” He grinned at me then, and I wondered if he hadn’t hit his head during the brawl.

  “What could possibly be funny right now?” I asked incredulously. “You realize this means you’re not going to be able to fight Victor Spada, don’t you?”

  “What’s funny is that when I taught you those self-defense moves, I showed you how to punch the right way, specifically to avoid this injury. And then, in the heat of the moment, I’m the one who loses my shit and now look at me.” He held up his hand. “I go and do it myself. Rookie move.”

  The medic moved away to talk to Matty, who’d come over asking questions, and Bash scooted closer to me. It took what little strength I had left to keep from melting into him, holding him tight, and bawling my eyes out, but I held strong. There was still a wedge between us and ignoring it now would only cause more pain in the future.

  I wanted to support him through this latest blow with having to pull out of the Spada fight, and I would, but I couldn’t fall back into his arms again knowing he didn’t trust me.

  “We’ve got to call Mickey. I’ll give him his money, and you just tell him what happened. That you can’t fight now and—”

  “Shh. I don’t want to talk about that right now,” he said softly. “I have something way more important to say. I was wrong, Liv. I was so wrong, and I’m sorry.”

  I turned to face him, my heart stuttering in my chest. His blue eyes were solemn and he threaded his uninjured fingers with mine.

  “You’ve proven again and again how tough you are, from leaving Andy to sticking by me through all of the shit that came after. Every time, you rose to the occasion. Me wanting to protect the people I love is the reason I did what I did, but it’s not an excuse.”

  I opened my mouth to respond, but he cut in before I could.

  “I’m not saying that I still won’t have those urges, but I swear to God, I’ll never lie to you again. We might not agree, but we can go toe-to-toe and fight it out until we do if you give me one more chance.” His voice sounded choked as he leaned in and breathed into my hair. “Give me one more chance and I promise I won’t need another.”

  It was a risk. He’d gone back on his word once. But what good ever came of playing it safe? Could I settle for a guy from a great family, with a lot of money who could offer me an easy lifestyle? I could. I had. And his name was Andy. I’d rather aim for the gold and roll the dice with Bash.

  I buried my face in his neck and breathed him in, blinking back fresh tears. I’d thought I was all cried out after the past few days without him, but apparently my emotions regarding this man were limitless.

  “Okay,” I sniffled against his skin. “One more chance. And you better not blow it, Bash McDaniels.”

  “Are you two done weeping like a couple of schoolgirls yet?” Matty drawled. Bash and I broke apart and I met Matty’s gaze. In spite of his teasing tone, there was no question he looked worried.

  “Yeah, we’re done,” Bash said, keeping one arm slung around my shoulder. “For now.”

  “We’ve got some talking to do, bro.” Matty’s face went serious, and Reid came up behind him to join the conversation.

  “We do at that. But for right now, I’m going to go upstairs, get some ice on this hand, and spend the rest of the night with my girl. Everything else can wait until tomorrow.”

  Matty leveled a frown at him. “This is serious shit, Bash. Eye on the fucking prize.”

  Bash stood and drew me up to stand with him. “So right, bro. And I already won. The rest will work out exactly how it’s supposed to.”

  He led me across the parking lot and I followed behind, torn.

  “I can hear your gears grinding, Liv, and you need to stop,” Bash said, giving my fingers a squeeze. “I watched a guy hold a knife to your neck tonight, and before I do another fucking thing, I need to hold you in my arms and thank God you’re still here, okay? I promise we’ll work the rest out in the morning.”

  He was right. We’d gotten this far and come out on top. This was just one more hurdle to jump over, and we would do it together.

  ***

  Bash

  My hand throbbed, Liv’s lip was split, I’d likely missed out on the best fight I’d ever landed, but I’d never felt so content. My brothers had finally gone to bed, and Liv was standing in the hallway in her underwear, hip hitched against the jamb of the open door of the bathroom that acted as a frame for the world’s sexiest picture.

  “Well, don’t just stand there. Your muscles have got to be sore. I’ll run you a bath.” Without another word, she disappeared into the next room.

  When I met her inside, the water was already running and she was sitting near the faucet, pouring something into the stream. “This will help.”

  This time when our gazes met, I was relieved to see that the last of the fear and anger had melted away into the soft glow of affection. And something else. A pink flush painted her cheeks, and whether it was from the stream of the water or from some dirty thought in her mind, I didn’t know.

  But I was dying to find out.

  “You don’t have to take care of me, you know. I’m fine.” I edged toward her, boxing her in against the counter until there were only inches between us.

  “I know. I want to,” she said. Her voice was husky, her lids already half-closed.

  Tentatively, I pressed a gentle kiss to her lips, avoiding the cut. I kissed her the way I’d wanted to from the first moment I’d seen her. Not forcefully or filled with want, but slowly. Carefully. Cherishing her. Because this was so much more than want.

  It was tenderness and love, and I fell into her kiss the same way I’d fallen into her. Not because I wanted to, but because I needed to. Because when I saw her, I had no other choice.

  Too soon, she pulled away and murmured, “The bath will overrun.”

  I turned off the water, then pulled my shirt overhead and returned to where I’d left her, pressed against the bathroom counter. That pink flush had bloomed into a bright, full red that trailed down her neck. A sweet, cherry temptation.

  “You coming with me?” I asked, closing the space between us again.

  “Always,” she breathed I kissed the length of her neck, pausing on each of her collarbones to nip at her satiny skin. Then my tongue moved lower, tracing the place where the hem of her bra dipped into her cleavage.

  She moaned, and with a flick of the wrist her bra was gone and she was laid bare to me, all creamy white skin and pert pink nipples. More beautiful than anything else on earth. The blood rushed to my groin and I growled her name.

  “Get into the water.” My command was soft but firm, and she obeyed. Sitting on the edge of the tub, and then, with torturous slowness, she eased her tight black G-string off.

  She made to step into the water, but I couldn’t resist. “Stop,” I said.

  “What?” She was all huskiness and sex appeal.

  “Turn in a circle. I want to see you.”

  She smiled and did as I asked, twisting slowly for me to admire every inch of her beautiful body. Her sleek, angular hips. Her beautiful round backside. The swell of her perfect breasts.

  And the gorgeous face that completed the package.

  “You’re perfect,” I breathed and hoped she knew I wasn’t just talkin
g about her body. She was the most beautiful person I had ever known, and that was true inside and out. If it took a lifetime, I would spend every day showing her I meant it.

  “Now my turn. Take it off,” she said. Her eyes shone in the soft bathroom lighting, and there was no denying her. I undid my belt and removed my jeans and underwear.

  “Looks like you’re pretty perfect too.”

  Her lips quirked to the side in a gentle half smile and without waiting for my cue, she stepped into the bubbly water, disappearing beneath the foam surface to her waist.

  “You getting in or what?”

  This time, I was the one following orders. Her knees appeared above the surface as she made way for me to climb in across from her. The ancient claw-foot tub was just big enough to fit us both, but I didn’t care one way or the other. It didn’t matter to me if water sloshed over the sides until we flooded the whole fucking apartment. I was with Olivia and nothing else mattered right then.

  Our legs tangled together as I leaned into her one inch at a time until I was a breath away, savoring the heat of the water as it was replaced with the heat of her skin.

  “You are so stuck with me now, Liv,” I whispered into her mouth.

  “Sounds like you have a deal.”

  She pulled me to nestle between her thighs, her long fingers cupping my neck and sending droplets of water running down my back, but I hardly felt it as our hips met.

  “Please,” she whispered, and that was all I needed.

  I pulled back and then guided myself into her. In that instant, my head nearly exploded. She was the best kind of warm, the most amazing kind of tight. Being inside of her was enough to make a man lose his mind.

  Then she rocked against me, grinding her hips into mine like a woman on a mission. I fell into her rhythm, matching her breaths, her thrusts, until the blood hummed in my head and her soft gasps threatened to drag me over the edge. We rocked faster until water spilled over the sides and splashed to the floor. She clutched at the sides of the tub as I nibbled a line from her ear to her collarbone, pausing every so often to nuzzle the hollow of her throat.