HERO (The Complete Series)

by Bella Love-Wins

  “Why did you try to stop her? You should have let me handle it.”

  “You’re already injured. There’s no way I was going to let her get to you again.”

  “I was so worried she did damage when she slashed you with that knife,” I told him.

  “Don’t worry. The paramedics are on their way.”

  “Let me see how bad it is.”

  I pulled away and looked down, only to notice the front of my pink sweat shirt was now blood red. A lump immediately formed in my throat. Tears filled my eyes. Johnny gripped his chest. A spurt of red ran out from under his hand.

  “I love you, Amanda.”

  Chapter 24 - Johnny

  Amanda was covered in blood. It was seeping through her shirt. Then, I felt dizzy. It was my blood. I collapsed in the sofa. Amanda sat at my side. Her lips moved, but I couldn’t make out what she said. I reached over and touched her face, telling her it was going to be okay. Amanda began to cry, pressing my hand between hers and screaming for me to stay with her. I tried, but the dizziness was too strong, and soon, my eyes shut, blocking it all out.

  Amanda.

  * * *

  A slow and steady beeping sound filtered into my mind, rousing me from what felt like a dream. I tried to open my eyes. They were too heavy. My muscles strained inside my limp body, unable to move.

  What the hell happened?

  On the third try, I got my eyes moving. The florescent light above nearly blinded me. I still couldn’t move my body.

  “Mmmanda?” I mumbled, my lips not working the way my brain intended them to.

  Nothing happened. The beeping sounds got louder, but that was it. I couldn’t raise my head to look around. All I could see were white ceiling tiles.

  “Johnny? Oh my God! Johnny! You’re awake!”

  My chest tightened at her voice. The beeping sounds sped up. Several faces were swimming above me. None of them were Amanda. They said things I didn’t understand, and way too quickly. I was still tired. I shut my eyes again.

  * * *

  The next time I awoke, I could move my fingers and arms. I wiggled and twitched, rolled my neck, and my head flopped over to one side. I could see more of the room. Little by little, things became clearer. I was in a hospital room, surrounded by monitors. Tubes and wires ran from my hand and arm.

  Then, it hit me. The stalker. She stabbed me.

  “Amanda?” I tried to sit up, but my body felt too heavy.

  “Johnny!”

  “There you are. God, you’re so beautiful.”

  “Are you all right?”

  She laughed softly, leaning forward to me. “I should be asking you that.”

  “I’ve been better.”

  “I’d bet. I’m so glad you’re awake,” she whispered, her voice suddenly thick with emotion. She reached over and took my hand. Her fingers gently stroked my knuckles, careful to avoid the IV and medical tape.

  “Me too.”

  Tears rolled down her cheeks. I squeezed her hand to give her some reassurance. She wiped away her tears and smiled down at me.

  “How long have I been here?”

  “Four days,” she said. “You woke up yesterday, but not for very long. The doctor said it was for the best. You needed rest.”

  “I can’t feel anything. I can barely do this,” I said, twitching my hand.

  “You’re not paralyzed. They have you on some really heavy meds. Now that you’re awake, they’ll probably dial it back.”

  “Good. So, what happened? To the woman?”

  “She’s where she belongs. She was charged with attempted murder and held without bail.”

  “Who was she?”

  “A superfan who met you four years ago at a bar. Forget about her. She can’t hurt us anymore. Let me get everyone.”

  “Who’s here?”

  “Kevin and Lady. They went out to lunch. They’ve been here every day since you were admitted. I guess I should call the nurse too.”

  “Wait.”

  My hand reached for her. She put them around her waist and leaned down to me. I looked her in the eye. “I meant what I said.”

  “I know, honey.”

  I had a million things to ask her. Before I could, we were interrupted by a nurse who had come to check in on me. I answered her questions, and drifted off before I could talk to Amanda again.

  Chapter 25 - Amanda

  Since the RHVAs, a high-speed whirlwind tore through my life and tried to shift all my plans. My identity had already been revealed to the media. After the stalker attacked Johnny on stage however, my phone and social media accounts emails had blown up with nonstop requests for interviews, TV appearances, endorsements, and a publisher contacted Gary about a book deal. Everyone wanted to detail my story, to learn how I went from being a former MMA fighter to the personal bodyguard of one of music’s hottest stars, and somehow ended up saving his life.

  Except he saved me.

  So far, I managed to gracefully sidestep everything and had started forwarding all requests to Gary. He was thrilled—he knew one good offer could be somewhere in there, even if I had no interest in entertaining any. I had been too busy being with Johnny at the hospital to worry about what would happen next for my career. That was Gary’s problem.

  Outside the hospital doors, there was a sea of media hounds waiting to talk to me, or have me help them get to Johnny. I ignored it all, and focus only on waiting for him to wake up and recover. After that first conversation, he had drifted back to sleep. The nurse assured me he would wake again soon, and would be able to stay awake for longer periods of time. If all went well, he would be released to go home within a week. From there, the outlook to making a full recovery was promising.

  It could have been a lot worse. I tried to keep myself from thinking about that. The knife wound Johnny suffered caused a lot of damage when it ripped through his chest. It was pure luck that he had made it.

  I curled up on the sofa in his private recovery room. I was walking without crutches now. My leg wound was almost completely healed, and would only leave a thin line of scarring. Eva had stayed back as long as she could, but duty called, and she had to return to her job in Miami.

  I stared at Johnny as he slept. His hands would twitch at his sides every now and then. I wondered if he was dreaming. There were one or two nights where I had dreams about the incident, but they soon passed, only to be replaced with one recurring fantasy—Johnny, telling me he loved me at an altar.

  Four days in the hospital, watching, worrying, and wringing my hands over him, and I had reached one conclusion… I was hopelessly in love with Lorne Stein.

  Chapter 26 - Johnny

  The next time I opened my eyes, Kevin was sitting in the chair that Amanda had occupied before.

  “Hey, Lorne. It’s so good to see you, kiddo. Hold on, I’ll go get Lady.”

  While he stepped out, I tried moving around again. I was stronger. I could lift my head up. As soon as I did, an alarm went off. A nurse came rushing in, followed closely behind by Kevin and Lady.

  “I want to sit up,” I explained to the nurse.

  She helped raise the bed so I could look around, and reattached a wire that had disconnected from the monitors.

  Lady was the first to make it over to me when the nurse left.

  “Oh thank God! Lorne!” She came to the side of my bed and wrapped me in a warm but gentle hug. “We were so scared.”

  I nodded against her shoulder. She held onto me for quite a while. I didn’t mind. Second to Amanda, she and Kevin were the only people in town I wanted to see. When she let me go, Kevin extended a hand for me to shake. I held it. He leaned over and wrapped his free arm around me in a bro hug.

  “So, how are you? Do you remember what happened? Have you spoken to the doctor? Do you need anything in here?” Lady started, firing off questions at a rapid pace.

  Kevin set a hand on her shoulder, and she stopped.

  They sat in the two guest chairs, pulling them closer t
o my bed. She leaned forward to take my hands. “I’m sorry, honey. I’ve just been sitting here with all these questions piling up for days now.”

  “I know. It’s all right. I’m feeling pretty good. I’m sure that’s mostly thanks to the meds, but I’ll take whatever they give me.”

  Lady smiled and squeezed my hand. “Well, you look great!”

  “As for what happened, I do remember. Amanda told me the stalker is in jail awaiting trial. I’m glad it’s over.”

  “We are too,” Kevin said. “The doctors mentioned you’ll be out soon.”

  “I’m looking forward to it. Did they tell you when exactly?”

  “Probably in the next two or three days. Now that you’re awake, they’ll run some more tests. After that’s out of the way, you should be good to go.” Kevin answered.

  “Nice. Any reason the window blinds are drawn?”

  “Yes. Believe it or not, the paparazzi has been lurking…with camera drones and quadcopters. It was not all bad, though. A few fans hitched up a ‘get well Johnny’ sign to two drones, and had it at your window for about an hour yesterday. After that we had to keep the blinds shut.”

  “Cute.”

  They spent another hour with me, filling me in on the outside world. They told me about their plans to head to Arizona in three weeks. They owned the farm adjacent to one my parents left in my tight-knit home town of Oro Valley.

  “Maybe Amanda and I will come join you for a few weeks when I’m better.”

  “That would be lovely,” Lady said, already looking excited.

  “Speaking of which, your cousin Ace is in town.”

  “Nice! Good old Ace Grady. How’s he doing?”

  “Great, I think. He’s taken over from your uncle. Lou Gehrig’s disease hit him hard.”

  “Sorry to hear. I’ll definitely come out for a visit to see them. If Ace comes by, I’ll make some plans with him.”

  I looked past them when the door opened. Amanda came inside. She nodded at Kevin and Lady, and broke into a smile for me.

  “Hi Kevin. Hi Lady. Johnny! You look so much better!”

  She strode right up to the bed and planted a sweet kiss on my cheek.

  “Thanks. I feel great.”

  Lady and Kevin stayed a while before they said their goodbyes. “We’ll be back this evening to check on you, son,” Lady said after kissing my forehead.

  She squeezed Amanda’s hand before she left. That was a good sign. Over the years, I had come to know first-hand that she only touched people she really liked.

  “So how are you holding up?” Amanda asked when the door closed behind them.

  “Better every time I wake up. Can I ask you a favor?”

  “Anything.”

  “Call me Lorne, please.”

  She held my gaze for a moment, and finally nodded. “Okay. Lorne.”

  The way she said it made me want her so bad right now. I reached out for her hand. She took it in hers and kissed it softly.

  * * *

  The days had moved slowly, but it was finally release day. The nurse left to complete the discharge paperwork, and Charles was waiting downstairs in the limo to take us home.

  “Go lock the door, Amanda,” I told her after the nurse left.

  “Why?” she asked.

  “I thought we could use some privacy.” I smiled and raised my eyebrows. She did what I asked. When she returned to the side of the bed, I wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her down on top of me.

  “Are you sure I’m not hurting you?”

  “Positive.”

  I reached my hand through her hair and pulled her in, pressing my lips to hers.

  “Mmmm,” she moaned. “I like where you’re going with this.”

  I kissed her again, and brought my hands to her hips, pulling her up until she straddled me on the bed. My cock grew under her, pressing through our clothes to her pussy. “See?” I groaned through the kiss. “Everything still works. Plus, if I’m strong enough to pick you up like this, I’m healthy enough to take that pussy…right here.”

  “Oh God,” she purred, kissing down the side of my neck. “I’ve been so hot for you, Johnny.”

  “Well, I did get stabbed,” I said. “Now I can make it up to you. It’s the least I could do.”

  She playfully slapped my arm and I pulled her in firmly. She ground down on my cock.

  I had to have more.

  Right now.

  “Take off your panties,” I told her.

  “Hospital sex, huh? I guess not everyone gets to do this.”

  “I’m sure it’s on a few bucket lists.”

  She laughed and hurriedly stood from the bed, hiking up the skirt she was wearing to pull her panties down her legs. I unzipped my pants and shifted them down past my hips with my boxers, freeing my rock hard cock. She climbed back on top of me, rocking her hot pussy up and down my shaft, already wet with desire. For me. I was over-excited. My firm cock was ready to reclaim what it owned.

  Amanda.

  I felt the rush. She held the base of my shaft, and positioned it at her soft, wet opening, lowering onto me.

  “Fuck. I’ve missed this,” I growled, sliding my hands under her skirt to slip it up around her waist. I gripped her hips and rocked her back and forth, already pumping into her, filling her tight, wet channel. I groaned, and her eyes flew open, asking if I was okay. I nodded and kept impaling her channel. I told her to ride me hard, thrusting deeper into her, driving her to the brink of insanity.

  She covered her mouth when she hit her peak, moaning into her hand, shuddered as I pumped into her a few more times before I came. It was a sweet release, over two weeks in the making. She collapsed on top of me afterward, pressing her forehead against the good side of my chest. Eventually, she rolled over and snuggled against my side before getting up to straighten herself out in the bathroom.

  I went in after she was finished, and the nurse was walking in with a wheelchair when I came out.

  “Give us a minute, please,” I told her.

  She nodded and slipped out of the room.

  Once the door was closed, I went over to Amanda and took her in my arms.

  “I know you want to tell me something,” I told her.

  She briefly looked away. When she turned back to me, she said, “I’d like to stay with you in LA.”

  “Great! Now tell me more.”

  “I heard what you said after you were stabbed.”

  “I meant it.”

  “Good, because I love you, Lorne.”

  “I love you, Amanda.”

  Epilogue

  Johnny - Six Months Later

  We had been in Miami for less than twenty-four hours. I was losing my shit. This was my first performance since the RHVAs, but that’s not why I was nervous.

  Things had been changing, faster than I could keep up. I would return to LA and start on my first album—with my own music. Somehow, after much arguing, negotiating, and arm-twisting, Kevin came around. He and Terry, my music producer, collaborated on the first song I had recorded. It was a hit, and Kevin was happy. My name would be in the credits for every song on the upcoming album. It couldn’t get much better than that.

  I turned and started back toward the arena.

  It was my time to take it by the balls.

  * * *

  “What’s up, Miami?” I shouted into the mic, my voice booming over the screaming fans. “I’m so glad to be here tonight. A lot of you know what happened to me at the RHVAs in Hollywood all those months ago. I’m here with a wicked scar now, feeling more badass than before!”

  Laughter and a deafening burst of applause came from the crowd.

  “Thank you for having me here tonight, to celebrate the holidays with you. Let’s get this started!”

  Another deafening roar filling my ears.

  “Tonight is special for me too, because I have something big that I want to share with all of you.”

  The audience volume died down. The chee
rs dialed back and people became more attentive.

  “Tonight, I am going to share a song called Your Fighter. I think some of you know who I wrote it for.” I looked side stage, and caught Amanda’s gaze. “This is for you, love.”

  I perched on the stool and brought the guitar into my lap and ran my fingers along the strings, releasing a melodic sound.

  It was now or never.

  I gestured to the band behind me, and they started to play. I joined in and started to sing, closing my eyes until the song was finished.

  At the end of the song, the music faded and the lights came back up. For a split second, I panicked at the silence in the crowd, but then, the roar came up louder than before. A smile cracked my face. I took a slight bow before I looked up. Now it was time.

  “Wait one second, y’all. That was not it. Hold on, now.” I walked side stage and pulled on Amanda’s arm. She looked at me, confused. I nodded to let her know it was okay. She took my hand and followed me out. “Ladies and gentlemen, this is my girlfriend Amanda Baker. Some of you know her as Rachel Preston, or Roxy Punisher, or more recently, president and CEO of Strong Security Consulting. She’s all of that and more. So, ladies and gentlemen, here’s what I wanted to share with all of you.”

  I got down on one knee and looked up at her.

  “Oh my God,” she mouthed to me, tears already filling her eyes.

  The ‘oooos’ and ‘ahhhs’ of the crowd were impressive.

  “Amanda Baker, my life will only be whole if I have you beside me to share it. I love you, darlin’. I’ll make this promise and spend my life keeping it. I promise you, I will do everything to make you happy. I’ll cherish you every day, worship your body, and support anything you put your mind to. We’ve been to hell and back, and got the scars to prove it. I can’t wait for what’s around the next corner. Amanda Baker, will you marry me?”

  She nodded wildly. I lost it.