I charged Ray and he laughed as he quickly moved and hammered me with a quick flurry from his fists. I staggered into the corner and fell against Reggie’s vest. My blood mixed with his and I pushed myself off the ropes. I didn’t have much left. My knees were weak and the pain was like fire running through my veins.
“Time to die.” Ray took a fighting stance and advanced on me. “Say hello to Reggie for me.”
“Fuck—you.” I lunged at him, but felt his fist connect with my skull.
“I promised your wife she would watch you choke on your bones.” Ray locked a hand around my neck and drove a knee into my sternum. One wasn’t enough—a second one landed and it felt like he had splintered it from the impact.
“You talk too much.” I swung wildly and my fist ricocheted off his shoulder before it weakly landed on his jaw.
“Just imagine.” He wrapped an arm around my neck and he drove a fist into my midsection. “My cock—fucking her in that tight little pussy that has never felt a real man.”
“You’ll never lay a hand on her!” I pushed him off and swung with my fist, but before it landed, I folded my arm and drove an elbow into his jaw. “You’ll never touch her!”
Ray staggered and I quickly leapt into the air, using what little strength I had left to drive a knee into his sternum. He hit the ropes and the force propelled him forward, where my fist was waiting. I drove it into his jaw and saw his head spin. I was fueled by rage and adrenaline, mixed with the fury of a husband and future father that didn’t want to lose what was in front of him. He swung, but I went on the defensive. I caught him under his arm and instead of delivering a punch, I used his momentum to flip him. He hit the mat and immediately started to stand, but I was enraged. I caught the back of his head and drove a series of knees into his face.
By the time the exhaustion stopped me, he was bleeding from his mouth and his eye. He smiled, rising to his feet and wiping away the blood. I had hit him with everything I had, but he was still coming for me. I dodged a couple of weak punches and we staggered to the center of the ring. The emotionless stare I normally saw from him reflected something else—fear.
“I guess you’re as good as people said you were.” He spat blood and raised his fists. “It’s too bad that it won’t be enough to finish me.”
“You’re wrong.” I lunged at him, and as he tried to defend, I spun around behind him and clamped my arm around his neck.
“You think you can break my neck?” He twisted in my grasp.
“Give up, Ray.” I tightened my grip and squeezed his esophagus. “It’s over.”
“No!” Ray turned to his side and pushed me away. He threw a weak punch and tried move behind me, but I locked my arm around his neck again.
“Do it!” I hear Monica’s voice echo above the crowd.
Ray wasn’t going to give up. There was no way he would stop until one of us was dead. I kept my arm around his neck as he tried to fight, but I had no way to end the fight without killing him. My body was exhausted and I couldn’t go toe-to-toe with him. All it would take was one more of his powerful punches to put me on my ass and then I would be dead, just like Walter. Just like Reggie.
I couldn’t let him win—I certainly couldn’t let him touch my wife. There was simply too much at stake and it transcended the importance of his life. I squeezed my hand around his jaw and yanked with everything I had left. The sickening crack echoed through the building and Ray went limp in my arms. I let him fall to the mat and saw the blank stare of death reflected in his eyes.
The crowd went silent as I staggered to the corner. The men that were holding Monica released her and she charged into the ring. She practically tackled me as she hugged me and our lips met. As good as it was to hold her, I couldn’t enjoy the moment because the danger wasn’t over. I walked to the ropes and leaned over them, looking at the men that supported Ray. They looked nervous, and most of them seemed poised to flee.
“I don’t want any more bloodshed.” I pointed at Ray. “He ordered the hit on The Devil Knights, but everyone who participated in that massacre deserves to die. If you walk out of here right now and leave Las Vegas, I will make sure you don’t pay the same price he did. If you stay and you support this motherfucker, then you’ll have matching coffins!”
I wasn’t sure how they would react. They could have easily stormed the ring and ended my life. I watched as they shared glances. After the first one headed for the door, it was like a domino effect. Regardless of how much faith they had in Ray, they knew I was offering them one chance at redemption. The room started to clear and a few remained, but once they saw their numbers diminish, they quickly ran for the door. The crowd that remained was made up of locals that had assembled to watch the fight. Money started changing hands and Monica returned to my arms.
It was over. The debt would never be repaid, but there would be nobody to collect it. I took once last look at Ray Stone’s lifeless body before I collapsed in Monica’s arms. The effects of the fight was finally starting to catch up with me. She helped me out of the ring and we started walking towards the door.
Epilogue: Monica
“I now pronounce you—man and wife.” The preacher smiled as he looked at the two of us. “You may kiss the bride.”
I didn’t remember my first wedding and I needed a memory that I wouldn’t forget. Grady lifted my veil and our lips met. It was like fireworks with the same magic I had felt every time his lips met mine.
There was a cheer from the group that had assembled and we walked through them hand in hand. We didn’t know most of them, but there were a few familiar faces. Grady’s mother actually showed up, although Dane still wasn’t quite ready to embrace our union. I wasn’t showing quite yet, but the baby bump was coming. I was happy that our child would know the man who sacrificed everything to be there when they came into the world. He put his life on the line and while his wounds hadn’t completely healed, the rampage was over.
We made our way to the waiting limousine and climbed in the back seat. The minute we were seated, out lips met again and we kissed as the limousine drove away from the church.
“I guess I should change my last name now that we are officially married.” I snuggled next to him and he put his arm around me.
“You could hyphenate it.” Grady chuckled and squeezed me tight. “Adamson-Faulkner has a nice ring to it.”
“That’s a mouthful.” I laughed and shook my head.
“I got a mouthful for you.” He moved his hand to his crotch and started stroking his cock through his pants.
“Don’t get too excited—we still have a reception dinner.” I leaned against his shoulder.
“And after that?” He pressed his lips to my forehead.
“After that, you can have anything you want.” I smiled and let my hand rest on his leg.
Three years later
“NATHANIAL FAULKNER, you better settle down!” I glared at my son who immediately sat down in the middle of the living room and glared at me.
“He’s got your glare.” Grady chuckled and put his arm around my shoulder.
“No.” I shook my head. “He gets that from you—along with that devilish grin.”
“You’ve never complained.” Grady leaned forward and picked up the television remote.
“Dane’s story starts soon. Did you set it to record?” I watched the television as he turned it on.
“Yeah, but we can watch it live.” He turned the channel until we saw Dane’s face.
“I’m proud of him.” I smiled and nodded. “He’s come a long way.”
Dane had went off the deep end for a couple of years and he had even lost his NFL contract, but he was on his way back. A film crew had been following him as he reclaimed his faith, learned to love God again, and gave up all of the vices he had embraced during his period of debauchery. The story was glossed over and didn’t exactly paint us in the best light, but I was happy to see Dane looking like the man I remembered. The story ended with him walk
ing into the locker room with his previous team, praying with them, and then signing his new contract.
Grady turned off the television once it was over and we cuddled on the couch while Nathaniel played in the floor. Grady’s hand reached out and ran across the curve of my stomach. I was pregnant with our second child and we had already learned it was a girl.
“Do we have any more chips?” Grady picked up the bowl on the table and shook it.
“Yeah.” I smiled and leaned forward. “I’ll be right back.”
I walked into the kitchen and Nathanial followed me, immediately sitting down on the floor when he saw the firetruck he had left there earlier in the day. I started filling the bowl with more chips as I watched my son play. My life had become the one I envisioned in my dreams. Grady was holding down his first real job, and a loan from the bank had given us a beautiful house on the edge of Las Vegas with the white picket fence I always wanted.
I walked back into the living room and put the chips in Grady’s hand before cuddling next to him again. His hand rested on my stomach and lightly rubbed it while he stuffed a few chips in his mouth. I loved the life we had built and I couldn’t wait to have two children to yell at when they got out of hand. Nathanial ran into the room and jumped between us, forcing us apart as he nestled against his father.
“Can we watch cartoons now?” Nathanial looked at Grady and then to me.
“Sure.” Grady smiled and flipped the television back on.
“I love you.” I looked at Grady, mouthing my words.
“I love you too.” He nodded as his whisper matched mine.
The End
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BONUS CONTENT: MR. MOUNTAIN
Chapter 1: Heather
The sun had been down for a while and what was supposed to be a great trip to the Appalachian Mountains with friends had turned into a miserable tour of falling snow as I drove down a long, seemingly deserted road. Even the radio had given up on me as I fought between bouts of static for a brief melody of actual music. I didn’t even care if it was a genre I hated if it kept me company and reminded me I wasn’t alone in the world. Each push of the radio’s scan button brought a little bit of hope, but it wasn’t long until the static started again and the music was drowned out.
“Come on. Give me something.” I tapped the radio and hit the scan button again.
My cell phone was dying and I hadn’t even thought to pick up my car charger because I thought I would find the cabin I was searching for long before it ran out of juice. It wouldn’t have helped anyway because the reception was so bad my GPS couldn’t even get a signal. I stared at the spinning circle indicating it was searching for satellites, but it always timed out before anything was found.
Ugh.
I cranked the heater up another notch and tried to peer through the mixture of snow and ice forming on my windshield. The wiper kept pushing it out of my line of sight, but the cold outside was making it harder to defrost as the temperature dropped. I squinted my eyes against the darkness and tried to see with the abysmal light the high beams were managing to produce in the falling snow. Mostly I just got a reflection of snow that seemed to be falling in sheets instead of flakes.
Yeah, this is bad.
The situation was going to turn from bad to dangerous very soon if I didn’t find a road sign to guide me back to civilization. I wasn’t even sure where I took a wrong turn. I tried to remember the landmarks and follow my GPS even when the signal went out, but I had made a terrible mistake somewhere along the way. The road stretched on, my eyes got weary, and the gas meter signaled that the end of my journey was coming fast.
“Please, just a bar. A half a bar? A quarter of a bar?” I picked up my cell phone and tried to get a signal but I was still met with nothing. I even tried flipping it into airplane mode in hopes of somehow picking up a distant service tower, but it went right back to zero bars when I told it to search for a cellular signal.
Driving around in the dark until my car ran out of gas wasn’t going to help the situation and there was nothing for miles that I could see. It certainly didn’t help that my vision was fairly obscured by the frost on my windshield and the blinding snow falling in front of me. I let my car roll to a stop and kept the engine running as I thought about my situation.
Am I the only person on this freaking road?
I pulled my coat from the bag behind me and opened my door. I just needed to get a lay of the land and see if I could somehow get a signal if I wasn’t confined to my car. My coat did little to protect me from the elements as I wandered away from my headlights with my phone in the air, searching for any sign of service. I was met with a constant row of empty bars, and every step I took plunged me further into the darkness.
“Come on...” I muttered through chattering teeth.
I heard noises in the distance and felt fear creeping up my spine. It was cold, but there were still wild animals out there, especially in the mountains. I turned towards my car and quickly ran back to safety.
Yeah, forget that.
Exiting and entering the vehicle had broken the warm seal I was enjoying from my heater, so I cranked the heater up as high as it would go and blew into my hands. After a few minutes, I could no longer see my breath so I took off my jacket and killed the headlights. It wasn’t like anyone was going to see them anyway.
What in the world am I going to do?
Somewhere in the distance, further up the mountain, was a cabin filled with some of my closest friends. It was supposed to be a party far from civilization, a party that lasted several days. My friends were probably already drunk, and rightfully so. I would have been doing the same thing if I wasn’t lost in the middle of nowhere facing the darkness and starting to panic.
I wasn’t sure how long my car would run if I just left it sitting there with the heater going, but I was certain it wasn’t going to last the night. I had no idea if the road I got lost on was traveled or if I was going to be stuck there until I eventually froze to death.
I peered out every window, looking for some sign of light—any sort of beacon to guide me towards civilization—but the only light I saw was the reflection of the moon peeking through part of a cloud and bouncing off of the snow around me. It was accumulating fast. If I hadn’t gotten started late, I would have made it to the cabin before nightfall and everything would have been fine. I silently cursed my terrible sense of direction.
“Drive until I run out of gas or sit here and hope someone shows up before I run out of gas...” I stammered angrily. “I’m too far down this road to just turn around.”
It was a risk either way. I could get ten miles out of the gas I had left if the screen on my dash was correct, but I had no idea if ten miles would put me any closer to safety. If I just stayed in one spot, I would be able to last a lot longer, but I was gambling on someone finding me. I wished I had Google to tell me what to do instead of needing to rely on my own intuition because I was certain I shouldn’t be trusted to decide my fate in a life or death situation like the one I was in.
Nature seemed to make the decision for me as I realized exactly how tired I was. The adrenaline of the situation was starting to wear off and the coffee cup in my console had been empty for a very long time.
If I was going to be forced to walk, doing it in the daylight seemed like a lot better option than trying to do it in the dark, and I seemed to remember my friends saying we might get bad weather Friday night, but the rest of the weekend was supposed to be clear. If they were right, I would only have to battle melting snow and ice when morning came. I decided that I was there for the night, or until I was found, so I tried to make myself comfortable.
“I’ve slept in a car before.” I said aimlessly. “I’ll just bundle up.”
I felt fear rising inside of me as the gas gauge dropped and finally gave out. Once the engine stopped, the heat that was blowing out of
my vents was sorely missed. I had no options after that. If I was going to survive until morning, I was going to have to do it in the cold.
The fog on my windows started to frost over even worse and it got really dark when the moon disappeared behind the clouds that seemed to come together and close the crack. My car didn’t do enough to insulate me from the sounds all around me without the engine running. I could hear the whirling wind whipping against the car and I could hear the trees shaking—creaking. I could even hear the distant howls of a wolf but thankfully it sounded far, far away.
I closed my eyes and tried to force sleep, but while I was tired and drained, I was also starting to get colder. I pulled my coat around me, and then stacked a couple of shirts on top of it. My face was still cold, so I pulled a couple of shirts up over my nose, letting my breath warm them enough to dull the chill.
I felt like a natural survivalist for a moment, somehow managing to improvise with the meager supplies I had to create a cocoon of warmth. I dug into my bag again for more clothes, stuffing them in the seat around me to provide more insulation. When I got to the bottom of the bag, I felt the bottle of wine I had packed as tribute for the communal alcohol pool we planned to drink our way through before the end of the weekend. I thought about it for a couple of minutes and then pulled the bottle out.
Vegas Revenge Wedding Page 11