Impulsively, Mikai jumped up and hugged Joe.
“You have always protected me, especially from myself. I love you, Joe. You never have any reason to be sorry for anything. I am sorry I let you down.”
The men held each other for a moment longer and then released one another.
“In the future, I want you to know that you can always come to me. There is nothing you can do that I won’t understand.” Mikai laughed ruefully.
“I guess not, huh?”
“Come on, I’ll drive you home. Unless you want to sleep here tonight.” Mikai shook his head.
“I think I should sleep in my own bed tonight. I need to think of what to tell Caitlyn tomorrow. She’s going to think I went all stalker on her or something.”
“You’re not going to tell her that her husband has a gambling debt to the mob?” Joe asked half seriously.
“I don’t think I should be the one to tell her that,” Mikai replied. He shook his head as if to convince himself. He had considered being the one to break the news about Patrick to her but he reasoned that she might regard it as an act of petty jealousy and accuse him of making up stories to break up their marriage.
Mikai scooted up the stairs to his apartment, his mind racing at what he had learned. He had no idea how deep and sordid Miles’ and Joe’s history had been and he felt sad when he thought about how close they had once been. As he entered the hallway, his blood turned to ice and he let out a feral howl. Collapsed on the floor in front of his door was Caitlyn, swollen, bruised, bloody and unconscious.
The same officer who had caught him pacing Caitlyn’s neighborhood was the one who slapped the handcuffs on him.
“Oh, buddy, you didn’t tell me your girlfriend was married,” he said, shaking his head as he led Mikai into the waiting cruiser. Mikai hung his head and looked at his inflamed knuckles.
“You should have just gone to the bar like I told you.” He chuckled but Mikai was solemn faced.
“Is he dead?” Mikai asked, craning his neck to look at the stretcher leaving the house. He was torn on which answer he wanted to hear more. I kind of wish I killed him. No. I want him alive and suffering for a long, long time.
“Nah. But he isn’t pretty anymore. I will never understand how men get so worked up over a woman,” the officer continued, guiding him inside the back of the police car. “There are just too many fish in the sea.”
Mikai almost laughed at the cop’s words. Yes, but there are so few mermaids, Mikai thought. Inwardly, he was glad that Patrick was still alive. He wasn’t sure he would be able to live with himself if he had killed the deserving bastard. The beating Patrick had administered upon Caitlyn had caused her two cracked ribs, internal bleeding, a concussion and a broken cheekbone. Mikai hoped that Patrick’s injuries were at least double that. He was later to discover that he had successfully broken all of his extremities, his nose and splintered three ribs, causing them to puncture his lungs. Mikai was satisfied with that.
Joe came to visit him in the holding cell.
“I got you a good lawyer, Mickey,” the trainer said. “He thinks you will get off light. It’s your first offense and you had good reason.”
Mikai nodded gratefully but Joe proved to be a poor prophet. The judge sentenced him to three years with eligibility for parole after a year with good behavior.
“With your background in boxing, Mr. Duquette, you should have self control knowing the amount of damage you can cause a civilian. I understand the circumstances aroused your passions given the assault Mr. Johansson allegedly administered upon his wife, your girlfriend Caitlyn Johansson.” The rest of the judge’s words were a drone after that as Mikai was secretly pleased at Caitlyn being called his girlfriend. He accepted his sentence grudgingly and vowed to be a model inmate.
Caitlyn eventually recovered fully from her injuries and testified against Patrick. It was the first time in her life she had ever stood up to her abusers and it was the first time that anyone had ever stood up for her. She had never been more in love with Mikai than after the trial of her husband. If it hadn’t been for Mikai, she would never have ever had the courage to end the pattern of abuse she had endured. Patrick was sentenced to five years.
“Five years? That’s all that bastard got?” Mikai was furious. “I almost got that much! How long before he’s out again?”
Joe smiled wryly through the glass partition.
“I wouldn’t worry about Patrick Johansson too much, Mickey.”
“That’s easy for you to say! Caitlyn isn’t safe until I’m out! She filed for a divorce! He’s going to kill her!”
Joe examined his nails, still smirking.
“I think you’ve forgotten something very important,” he murmured quietly. Mikai arched an eyebrow pressing the receiver to his hear to better hear Joe through the din of the prison.
“What’s that?” he asked.
“Patrick still owes Carlucci money.”
And suddenly Mikai felt a great sense of relief overwhelm him. Patrick would never hurt Caitlyn again. She was free and he was free to love her. Well, he would be free soon. Caitlyn was finally his to love and only his.
Epilogue
“It’s okay! Everything is okay!” Mikai jumped down the stairs three at a time, almost breaking his ankle at the landing. Caitlyn looked up at him, laughing before her face contorted in pain. She put her slender hand on her belly and took several quick breaths.
“Ooooh! Ouch! Ouch!”
Mikai reached for her and embraced her around the waist.
“Shh, it’s okay. I’ve got you. Let’s go. I got everything. Can you make it to the car?” Breathing in short breaths, she nodded and started out the front door. Mikai grabbed the bag and keys off the entrance table and followed close behind her.
“Deep breaths, Cate. We’ll be at the hospital in seven minutes. I timed it.” Again, Caitlyn grinned and allowed Mikai to help her into the car. Once she was secure, he strapped himself into the driver’s seat and barrelled out of the driveway, almost crashing into an oncoming car.
“Oh Jesus, Mickey! Be careful! We have time. Just watch the road.” Nodding sheepishly, Mikai slowed his driving and headed toward the hospital, shooting glances at his laboring wife. The car swerved into oncoming traffic as he did.
“Watch the road!” she laughed. “You’re causing me more stress than the babies!”
Mikai tried to focus but the excitement was overwhelming. He was about to become a father not once but twice in one day. It had been a harrowing road but he had never been happier. Caitlyn was at his side, his career was shaping up once more and his relationship with Joe had become unbreakable. Caitlyn’s brothers had started to visit frequently and in them, Mikai had discovered the siblings he had never had but always desperately wanted. He could not ask for anything else except to get Caitlyn safely to the delivery room.
He parked in the emergency vehicle spot and ushered his new wife from the passenger side.
“Mikai you can’t park here!” she warned. “You’ll get towed.”
“I don’t give a damn. I will move the car when I know you’re safe and sound,” he answered, locating a wheelchair and depositing her into it. At breakneck speed, he headed to the maternity ward.
“My babies are coming!” he yelled. “Help! Our babies are on their way into the world!”
A nurse bolted around the station, giving Mikai a furious look.
“Sir, this is a hospital! Lower your voice at once!”
“If this is a hospital, get this woman into a bed! My wife is having twins!” Mouth pursed into a reproving frown, the nurse took Caitlyn from Mikai and brought her into a room. Mikai tried to follow but Caitlyn yelled, now in hard labor.
“No! Go move the car! I am not paying impound fees!”
Like a squirrel watching a tennis match, Mikai looked from Caitlyn toward the doors and back but she had already disappeared with the nurse. Reluctantly, Mikai bolted back to where he had left the car. To his relief, it
was still there. He found the parking lot and rushed back to his wife. When he arrived at the nurse’s station, no one was there. Impatiently he waited, listening for sounds of Caitlyn’s voice down the hallway. He needed to be with his wife. There are so many complications with multiple births, Mikai thought nervously. I need to be in there with her, holding her hand and reassuring her. She’s already nervous about having twins. Where is the damn nurse? Mikai craned his neck to look back but no one was in sight. He tried looking through the windows but the glass was frosted.
“Mikai!” The father-to-be spun on his heel at the sound of his name. Joe came rushing toward him.
“How is she? Did she have them yet?”
“No…I don’t know. I can’t find anyone. Hello?” He yelled back into the maternity ward but no one materialized. A stab of fear sliced through his heart. What if something was wrong? Joe saw the distress on his face.
“I’m sure she’s fine,” he reassured the younger man. “Women have been having babies since the beginning of time. Come and sit down. You’ll need all the rest you can get after this. Enjoy your last few minutes of being able to sit down uninterrupted.”
Mikai followed Joe into the waiting area but continued to watch for the nurse. He began to pace in his nervousness.
“I can’t believe you guys didn’t find out the gender,” Joe told him, trying to make small talk to ease his mind. Mikai shrugged, his anxiety mounting. Where the hell is everyone? Where did they take Caitlyn? I should be in there! Someone should be out here. Something’s wrong. I can tell. Something’s wrong.
“So Mickey, I know you probably don’t want to discuss this right now,” Joe tried a different tactic to distract him. Mikai was only half listening.
“Yeah?”
“I have a fight lined up for you next month. This guy is an up and comer but late to the game.”
“Uh huh,” Mikai answered absently. “Sounds good.”
“Yeah, he’s a slugger. Packs a mean punch and he’s a grade A asshole apparently.”
“Okay.”
“But he’s from your neighborhood so you may know some of his people.” Mikai turned, slightly curious.
“Oh yeah? What’s his name?”
“Derrek Jameson.”
Mikai stared at Joe for a long moment and then burst into laughter.
“What? Really?” Joe looked perplexed by his reaction but nodded. The smile on Mikai’s lips died as the nurse approached the station looking grimmer than she had upon their first meeting.
“Mr. Duquette?”
He rushed over to greet her.
“How is my wife? Is everything okay?”
The nurse broke into a huge, happy grin.
“Congratulations! You have a healthy boy and a girl!”
Mikai knew the prize was truly his.
Thanks
Thank you for reading Eye on the Prize. If you enjoy this novel, please consider leaving a short review on Amazon or Goodreads, and share it with your friends. As always, your support encourages and motivates me to write more for you.
About the Author
Dmytro Holmes, a Ukrainian-born American author and boxer. Born in Kiev, he emigrated with his family to the United States at the age of seven, living in Albany, New York. He later graduated from Manhattan College with a Bachelor of Arts degree.
As an amateur boxer, Dmytro won the Junior Olympics national championship. Dmytro was ready to become a professional boxer, but right before his pro debut he was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma, a life-threatening form of bone cancer.
He went on to make a recovery after spending 2,5 years fighting cancer. Despite of disease, Dmytro found a new passion and become an author. His debut novel Eye on the Prize was originally published in February 2017.
Dmytro loves to hear from his fans! Please contact him at [email protected]
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