by Lee Rose
“I’ll give you some privacy,” Jessy said into the tense silence. Royce didn’t look happy to see his ex and Jessy wondered if he was still harboring hurt feelings. Maybe he still wasn’t over what Trina had done to him. She felt all her doubts rush right back to her.
“That’s okay, Jessy. I have nothing to say to Trina.” His voice was hard and determined.
Trina looked surprised. “It’s been awhile, Royce. Maybe we can have a drink and catch up with each other.”
“Not interested, besides, isn’t Chase waiting for you?” His voice was cold and hard and Jessy was so glad he had never used that voice on her. She would have been devastated.
She frowned. “He, um, broke up with me. I’m here with another fighter, Slade.”
“Well good luck with him,” Royce offered politely, and grabbed Jessy’s hand, squeezing it. He looked down at her and gave her a soft look that showed what he had in mind. “I promised my girlfriend some alone time in our room.”
“Girlfriend?” Trina looked at Jessy for the first time as if she just realized Jessy was there.
“This is my girlfriend, Jessy,” Royce announced, sounding happy, and Jessy smiled at Trina, then up at him. He was over the past. She could see it in his eyes and smile. She felt the tension leave her body and she relaxed against him.
He looked at Trina politely when the elevator doors opened. “Excuse us, Trina. We have to go.”
He pulled Jessy into the elevator and into the corner. He flattened her against the wall and devoured her mouth in a hot, steamy kiss. She felt his hand roam underneath her dress and squeeze her bare ass cheeks. She moaned into his mouth but he didn’t stop there. His hand went around to her front and he felt the lace covering her pussy.
He looked at her, breathing heavily. “You’re lucky you have underwear on.”
His finger found her wetness and she moaned softly. “There are cameras everywhere.”
He shrugged but didn’t remove his finger. “All they see is me kissing you. They don’t see how wet you are for me or how pink your cheeks are turning. I see you waxed at the spa today. I need to slide my tongue all around your smooth pussy.”
He gave her the same look a dangerous animal gave its prey, but it excited her. He fixed her crooked dress and kept her against his body as the elevator went up to their floor. As soon as it opened, he headed for his room and she guessed she would be spending another night with him.
He unlocked the room door and smiled down at her. “Ready?”
“Oh yeah.” She gave him her answer and entered the room, closing the door and the world out.
Chapter 23
They arrived back to the gym after being gone for three days. They were all ready to resume their normal routine. Graffiti lettering greeted them on the doors of the gym and along the walls. Jared cursed as he opened the gym doors. Everything inside was fine and everyone sighed with relief.
Royce sat with Tom and Jared in Jared’s office.
“I don’t see this ending in any good way,” Tom admitted. “They ignored us before because we kept to ourselves. Once we invited Gabe and Chico in here, they didn’t like that. Then with us having one of theirs taken away for good, it heightened the tension.”
“We became their competitors. They considered us taking Gabe away from them as a challenge,” Royce agreed, sounding frustrated.
“Why don’t they put all that determination and energy into something good?” Jared mumbled angrily.
“Gabe told me the leader is not as bad as the punks we have been dealing with,” Royce spoke up, thinking back to one of his past discussions with Gabe about the gang. “If we got the leader to meet with us we could at least try to end this thing peacefully.”
“Do you really think he would listen?” Tom didn’t sound very enthusiastic about that idea. “One of them was willing to shoot you in the back and did shoot Jessy, a defenseless woman.”
“I know it’s a long shot, Tom,” Royce admitted with a sigh. “This has to end once and for all. The way I see it either we move to a different location or we live on the edge, always waiting for the next bad thing to happen.”
“Well I bought this building when it was worth something twenty years ago. Now with the neighborhood crumbling I am not so sure I would get anything if I sold it,” Jared spoke up seriously. “I think we should give it a try. Lucia and Gabe will be coming by a lot now. Jessy comes in alone and stays late a lot. We can’t watch them every second. We’ll never concentrate on the fights. Adam is fighting Bryce Logan in the next few months. That’s a championship fight for his division and he needs to concentrate.”
“Okay then,” Tom gave in. “Do we have Gabe contact them or do we do it ourselves?”
“We can have Gabe go through Chico to set up a meeting. I don’t want to send him in person and risk him getting hurt.”
Jared agreed. “Yeah, I agree, Royce. Lucia wouldn’t be happy with me if I let something happen to that boy.”
Tom nodded, still looking doubtful. “Okay, but have the meeting here, early in the day when not many people are around. At least it’s not in some dark alley where you can be ambushed.”
Royce went to call Gabe and came back an hour later.
“It’s set up for tomorrow morning,” Royce told Jared and Tom.
“I hope we can end this once and for all,” Jared grumbled, looking pensive.
* * * *
“Why do I have to stay hiding in my office?” Jessy asked Royce angrily. Her arms were folded across her chest and she was frowning. She had heard about the meeting Royce set up from her dad. She knew everyone was worried.
Royce leaned in and kissed her until she was breathing hard. She sure was cute when she got grouchy. “Because I love you and I want you safe. We want to squish this fight with Los Diablos. If they see how beautiful you are, they might just try to kidnap you. Then I would have to kill them all.”
Jessy didn’t look very convinced by his remark. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at him, then at her father, who was being quiet and letting Royce handle her.
“Fine. But I want to hear all about it when they leave,” she insisted. She looked at her dad. “If not I’ll tell Lucia what a chauvinist man you are being. Does she know what is going on?”
Jared laughed and hugged his daughter. “Yes, Gabe helped us set this up, but we did it while he is in school to avoid confrontations between him and them.”
Jessy went to her office and Royce let out a sigh of relief. He had expected more of an argument from her.
Jared slapped him on the back. “And you were scared to order her to stay put.”
“It wasn’t an order, Jared. It was a request. That works better with the females.” Royce smiled. “I learned to never give them orders, otherwise they will agree, smile, and do what they want anyway.”
“Good to know.” Jared chuckled as they went out into the main part of the gym.
Royce, Jared, and Tom were handling the meeting alone. Santiago entered the building with two young men in their late twenties. Royce was surprised to see that Santiago was about thirty.
The group shook hands and sat on the bleachers. Jared had already told Royce to do the talking. He was afraid he would lose his temper and start yelling. Jared was still angry one of them had shot Jessy. Royce was too, but he also knew they had to find a way to end this. They couldn’t live being stressed and on alert every second of the day.
“I want to start off by saying I don’t like what Benny did, trying to shoot you in the back,” Santiago said. His brown hair was cut very short and his brown eyes were cold and hard. He wore regular jeans and a T-shirt but he sported tattoos down both arms. “I don’t like cowards and that was cowardly. Then he shoots a defenseless woman. He knows I am pissed and hopefully he won’t be out for a long time.”
“He shot my girlfriend and his daughter,” he said, pointing to Jared.
Santiago nodded to Jared and told him he was glad she was better.
Another
man looked at Royce. “Chico tells us that your daughter has treated him and Gabe like a friend from the very beginning. We did not know how bad things were getting here.”
Jared nodded. “My daughter has a big heart. And now that Lucia is my woman, my daughter views Gabe as a brother.”
“This all started because we invited Gabe and Chico to work out here after they met Jessy. We were not trying to interfere in gang business,” Royce assured them. He went on to explain about Gabe getting beat up, the vandalism and fights. “When Chico showed no interest in working out we were fine with it. We never mentioned the gang or told him not to join. Gabe likes being here and he is part of our family now.”
Santiago nodded. “Chico’s older brother Carlos was the one who took offense. He wants Chico in the gang and thought you were trying to talk him out of it. I see now it wasn’t that way. I think Carlos let his temper get the better of him.”
“We don’t want to be feuding with you or be afraid to let Jessy or Lucia come and go,” Royce told him honestly. Santiago seemed calm and mellow, nothing like the other guys who attacked them. “We train our fighters here and that’s what we want to concentrate on. We have no problem with any of you and we have never gone into your territory looking for trouble. Fighting with your boys on a daily basis is not what we want to be doing.”
Santiago stayed silent for a moment, then looked at Jared. “I knew Lucia’s ex-husband. He was a friend of my father’s. She is a good person and she has had it tough since he took off. He got in some trouble with some bad people and hasn’t contacted anyone. I told Chico to recruit Gabe, thinking it would help them financially. I like taking care of my people.”
Jared spoke up. “Then we have that in common. I am the same way. I love Lucia and Gabe and I plan to make sure they never want for anything. We are not so different after all.”
“I see that. I am glad Lucia and Gabe found something good here.” Santiago sighed and looked around the gym. “I saw you fight on TV once, Royce.”
“I hope it was when I won and not when I got my ass kicked.” Royce smiled.
Santiago laughed. “Yeah, you won.”
“I will make sure none of my people bother you and your family. I’m glad Gabe is off the streets. It’s a dangerous place out there. I was angry when I heard Carlos and a few others jumped him. I also heard he got some good licks in. Obviously he is doing well here.”
Royce shook his hand, feeling a load off his shoulders. “I appreciate it, Santiago.”
They shook hands and the men left.
Royce looked at Jared and Tom. Tom had stayed quiet and out of the way. “What do you think?”
“We can only hope and see,” Jared said. “I was worried about Jessy and Lucia. I still think we should have cameras outside just in case.”
“I feel better. He seemed sincere,” Tom admitted, standing up. “I think they weren’t very informed of what was going on here. Hopefully Santiago will keep those other punks away from us.”
“Me too,” Royce agreed. He hoped this was the end of it. He had so many good things he wanted to concentrate on. For once his career and his personal life were going good. He wanted to keep it that way.
Chapter 24
Three months later
Jessy leaned against Royce as he slipped his arms around her waist. Her dad and Lucia had just taken off for their honeymoon. They looked so happy together and Jessy was thrilled to extend her small family. Jared never stopped grinning these days and it warmed her heart to see him that way.
“Hey, Jessy. Blake and Sam are taking me out tonight,” Gabe told her with a wide smile. His mom had made him wear dark dress slacks and a white dress shirt. He looked so handsome and she thought he might just break a few hearts along the way. He was out of school for the summer and his teachers were impressed with the change they had seen in him. He still hung out with Chico, who came by to work out. Chico was always on his best behavior when he was here. The gang members that had messed with them had apologized and left them alone.
Gabe and Lucia had already moved in to the house and had settled in. Lucia was no longer working as a waitress and she looked more relaxed these days. She and Jessy got along well.
“Have him home by midnight. I’m supposed to be responsible for him,” Jessy yelled out to Blake and Sam, but they just laughed and told Gabe to hurry up.
She looked at Royce with disbelief. Her eyebrows were arched in annoyance.
“Can you believe those two knuckleheads? If they get me in trouble with Dad and—”
Royce stopped her tirade with his lips and took possession of her mouth in a hot kiss until she forgot what she had been complaining about.
“While they are gone, we can go upstairs and I can peel this dress off of you. As nice as you look in it, I’d rather see you out of it,” he told her while he kissed her neck softly. She had worn a light-blue short dress with thin straps, leaving her shoulders bare. She had been Lucia’s maid of honor for the small wedding they just had.
Jessy laughed and decided to tease him a little. “Well I thought I should address those wedding invitations and maybe you should help me. Six months passes by quickly.”
They had decided on a long engagement. Jessy did not want a rushed wedding like her dad’s. This would be her one and only wedding and she wanted time to plan it right.
Royce groaned and Jessy hugged him. She squeezed his waist and leaned against him. “Just kidding. There is nowhere I’d rather be than naked with you.”
He picked her up off her feet and swung her around in a circle. “Magic words, babe. I love you.”
Jessy laughed when he set her back down. Fighting for love was a tough battle, but so worth it. If she had listened to fear and doubt then she wouldn’t be feeling so happy right now. Because of love her family had grown and she had a strong man she loved standing by her side.
Royce held her hand as they climbed the stairs leading to his place and she sent up a silent prayer of thanks for her happiness. A happiness she would never stop fighting for.
THE END
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I have always loved losing myself in a good book. Now I love seeing the stories come together as I write them. I feel incredibly blessed. I love hearing from my fans, find me on Facebook or Twitter.
For all titles by Lee Rose, please visit
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