by Dani Wyatt
“If you know what’s good for you and yours, we’ll see you tonight.” He chuckles as the door closes behind them and they disappear down the sidewalk, tipping their heads at an older lady as she passes and comes in the door of the shop, giving me a wary look.
I nod as she enters and she takes a wide arch around where I’m standing, watching me warily as she approaches the counter and dings the little bell.
I spin and head to the back room. “I’ll go get her.” I manage through gritted teeth, grabbing my gym bag and taking the steps two at a time up to Liza’s apartment.
Maggie and Liza are standing in silence just inside the door.
“You have a customer.” I say, getting blank stares in response. “I mean it, there’s a lady down there at the counter.”
Maggie gives me an incredulous look. “What happened?”
I shake my head. “Nothing. They told me what’s going on.” I grit out. “You should have told me.”
“It’s not hers to tell. It’s not her debt.” Liza snaps. “I got myself into this, I’ll get myself out.”
I rub my forehead as Liza moves toward the door past me and down the stairs.
“You didn’t...” Maggie’s voice trails off and I shake my head.
“I’m going to get the security system working again, then I gotta get to the gym. Everything’s fine. I bought some time. We’ll figure it out.” I reach out and pull her next to me. “Keep your phone on and plug it in if it needs charging. I’ll be checking in. Won’t be home until later tonight though, I have a full workout, then have to get to the bar for a bit...my parents called. Need me tonight for a few hours. I’ll let you know when I’m headed home.”
THE STREET IS DARK as I sit in my car, the clock ticking toward ten PM, trying to keep some semblance of control. I’ve texted and called Maggie four times in the last hour and she’s not responding.
She lets her phone die all the time, but I told her specifically to keep it on her and charged.
I see the lights in the backyard of the house on Elm Street...Papa Pain. Shit. I bang my head on the steering wheel, trying to figure out a way out.
If I take this fight, I could lose everything I’m building with Dominant Alpha. I have my first contract fight tomorrow. Real money. If I take that one, the next will be bigger. And the next...
More than that, if I take this fight, I could lose Maggie.
But if I don’t take the fight, who knows what could happen?
Fuck.
I drop my hand to the key in the ignition. I can’t risk it all for this backyard bullshit vendetta.
I’ll figure out something. I have to.
Just as I start to turn the key, I hear Maggie’s text tone on my phone, then another right after. I reach out and grab it from the seat next to me and tap the screen. What I see has fire and ice colliding inside of me.
Insurance. Wouldn’t want you to bow out at the last minute.
Below is a photo of Maggie and Half-ear, his hand holding a strand of her hair up under his nose, his other at the back of her neck.
Rage bubbles over as I grab my gear and hit the ground at a run, heading toward the lights of the house and the six-foot privacy fence that surrounds the property. There’s a gate with two guys guarding it, letting people in, and by the time I get there I’m ready to eviscerate anyone and everyone involved in this shit show.
“Let me in.” I bark as they block my entry.
“Who the fuck are you?”
“The Nightmare on Elm Street. I’m going in, either with you standing or with you on the ground. Your choice.”
“Let him in.” There’s a guy standing back toward the house in a slick suit with a toothpick between his teeth, looking at me. The guys at the gate give him a quick glance, then open the gate, shifting aside to let me by.
As I approach, his black eyes are trained on me.
“I know you?”
He shakes his head, smiling, a gold tooth shining under the street lights, his dark skin making it hard to read his expression. “Papa Pain, they call me. Lewis is my real name. I know you though. Glad you could make it. You’re going to make me a lot of money tonight.”
“Where is she?” I demand, moving past him to where the scene in the backyard unfolds. There’s about fifty or so people milling around and standing on the concrete deck of what looks like a drained in-ground pool.
“She’s where she needs to be for the moment. Looks like you came ready to play.”
I didn’t bother changing when I left the gym, still unsure what I was going to do.
“Fuck this.” I march forward. The time for small talk is over, and when I come around the back of the house the rage that was running hot in my blood boils over.
“Stone!” Maggie is standing next to some new goon, and when she lurches forward to come toward me, he grabs her arm and jerks her back behind him, sitting her down hard in a metal folding chair where a group of other thug-looking assholes are standing around, probably talking about who has the biggest dick.
“Don’t fucking touch her again.” I stomp forward but before I can get to her, I’m surrounded by about six other guys, and then it’s Papa Pain’s voice that comes from behind.
“Save the fight for the fight, boy.” He steps around, everyone’s eyes on him. “I’ve got a lot invested in these boys. And in your fight tonight. You’ll have your chance. She’s just our insurance. Didn’t want you taking the pussy’s way out. Like Teddy always says, you boys these days...Generation Pussy.” There’s a collective chuckle from the crowd as Lewis/Papa Pain looks smug. “Teddy has a way with words. Also, I know his deal. He finds out you’re fighting with me, you’re out with him. You’re in a tough position, young man.”
“You’re about to see how tough my position is.” My chest is tight. “Who’s first?”
I drop my bag, there’s nothing else I need. It’s bare knuckles and no rules and I’m about ready to take down the entire crowd. Maggie’s eyes are on me, full of fear. The ticking inside of me has started and my fuse is burning down fast. It may get me killed, but I don’t know how much longer I can hold back.
That question is answered when the fucker holding Maggie flashes a smile then leans down and licks her cheek.
Oh, fuck no you don’t.I explode forward, two punches to the throats of two of the sorry-ass dudes between me and her, then I’m fucking swinging and kicking, hearing grunts and feeling the sharp pain of blows being returned, but there’s no way anyone here is stopping me.
I grab the fucker that licked her by the throat, digging my fingers in deep as two other guys jump me from behind.
With a snarl of rage, I slam my head back into the face of one and hear the crunch of bone as he drops to the ground. The guy in front of me is swinging on me as I release his throat, spin and drive my knee into the face of the other guy behind me before driving a fist into the Adam’s Apple of the sorry sack of shit meat in front.
I hear voices, screams, but all I see is Maggie. Her blue eyes are round like lakes as her hands fly to cover her mouth, backing away from the melee.
Before I can adjust to the other four guys coming at me, my arms held, one of them drives a foot into my gut while another jackhammers me in the face. I taste the blood flowing over my lips but I won’t stop until I’m dead.
Or they are.
There’s more of Papa Pain’s brigade now, including all three of the fucks from the bar that night surrounding me as I take the punishment. My vision is wavy, I’m losing focus as I feel them slamming my head with feet and fists. There’s no air as two more guys join in, pummeling my gut.
“Maggie.” I spit out, blood and saliva spraying and dripping as I hear her screaming for them to stop. “Run!”
I’m going down. For the first time in my life, I’m losing a fight.
And it’s the one fight I need to win.
13
Maggie
“STOP BEING SUCH A BABY.” I half giggle as I dab the antiseptic onto t
he cut above Stone’s left eye. “Thought you were a tough guy.”
“Do I look tough?” He chides, laying his head back on the back of the sofa in my apartment as I kneel next to him, trying to do what I can to his mangled face. We’ve been back about an hour, the adrenaline finally ebbing and Stone’s breathing starting to slow as his muscles start to relax.
“Yeah, like a tough piece of gristle.” I blow on the cut, drying the medicine, then reach over and pick up the pink towel full of ice. “Hold this here. I’ll be right back, I have some Band-aids...”
I take his hand and put it on the ice pack, but his hand darts out and grabs my wrist. “No. Don’t go. I need you next to me, I don’t need a Band-aid. Just sit. I’ll be fine. Nothing life threatening, my pride got beat down a little.”
“Really? You fought like eight...twelve...or, geez, maybe fifteen guys. Your pride is intact, trust me.”
There’s a knock at the door and Stone’s head snaps around, his body tense, but it’s my Aunt’s voice that comes through.
“Can I come in?”
I look at Stone and we both answer in unison. “Come in.”
The door opens and there’s worry on her face.
“What’s wrong?” I ask as she closes the door and comes around to stand by the coffee table in front of us.
“I’m just checking on Fight Club Freddie here.”
“I’m fine. Cops all set?”
She nods. “For now. Said they would probably be back to talk to us more, the detective left me his card. Never thought that security system would come in so handy. Certainly not so fast.”
“Paid off, that’s for sure.” I sigh, turning to Stone with a smile.
After those Papa Pain thugs visited the flower shop, when Stone left to go to the gym, I left to go to work. And everything seemed to be fine the whole day. I was thinking that Stone had scared them off or something. Well, those assholes came back to the flower shop just as I was getting home. Liza was in the back room, apparently she heard my screams, but when she came out all she found were my backpack and laptop case, lying there on the floor, but with me nowhere to be found.
Luckily for all of us, she thought to check the footage on the security system Stone installed. It was just fate or something that Stone made sure it was working before he headed to the gym. Right there, on the security footage, they were dragging me out the front door.
I guess they didn’t even consider that we might have had cameras installed.
Liza called the cops and turned over the video, and I guess the police department thought Christmas had come way early this year. Turns out Papa Pain’s little backyard funhouse was well known to them, and some of the fighters were on their radar for a variety of reasons.
But when they saw them dragging me away...well, that is a whole new deal. Kidnapping caught on camera.
They busted the fight just in time, as Stone was starting to lose the stamina to go on.
“Sounds like they’re going to re-open your brother’s case.” Liza smiles. “The cameras weren’t working before Stone fixed them, but apparently the microphones still were. Recorded the whole conversation from earlier, when we were upstairs, about how they set him up...” She shrugs. “Hopefully some good will come out of it all.”
“Really?” My heart jumps in my chest, the idea of my brother coming home almost too good to be true. “God, I knew it. I knew he didn’t do it! Those assholes...”
“Assholes.” Unicorn chimes in, and we all release a chuckle of relief.
I know it hurts Stone, knowing they hurt his woman and her family before he was around to stop it. He’s told me it makes him want to take them on all over again. But I’ve persuaded him to let it go and move on with our lives without them in it.
We chat for a bit about the events of the day, then Liza says her goodbyes and tells us she will see us tomorrow when she opens the shop. Stone pulls me into his lap, wrapping his arms around me, and I wonder if he’ll ever want to let me out of his sight again. He still smells of the fight, and the antiseptic I dabbed on his cuts, but his eyes are relaxing now and I see something else flickering behind those mesmerizing dark eyes.
“You’re a good nurse. I love the way you take care of me.” He pauses, his mouth open like he’s not finished, and I start to speak but he holds a finger to my lips. “I’m not done.” He sits up, grabbing me around the waist and pulling me over to straddle him, his hard length already thickening against my panties as he shoves my shirt up around my hips.
He swallows, his hands pushing my hair behind my ears, then he finishes. “I love you, Maggie. There is zero doubt in my mind this is it. Something I never knew I wanted, I’ve found, and now I can’t live without you. I won’t. Do you get it? I. Love. You. In a way I didn’t understand could be.”
My eyes burn and my heart is in my throat as I squeak out the words I’ve wanted to say from that first moment, when he showed up with coffee, pounding on my door at eight in the morning. “I love you too.”
“When I was going down at that fight. All I could think of was you. If anything kept me alive, it was you. I’ll never put you in danger like that again. I’m going to head to see Teddy after we get some sleep. I’m going to make a life for us, Maggie. And when I say us, I mean our family. If I had my way, there would be twins growing inside you right now. I want it all with you. The picket fence, the dog, the diapers, the puke and chaos and the fights and the love. I’m going to make this right. For you, me and us.”
His gentle hands in my hair turn rough, grabbing me and pulling me into a kiss so hard I’m left dizzy and gasping for air.
“I’m never letting you go.” He whispers into our kiss, his words desperate.
“I’m never leaving.”
“Good. I’ll probably have to remind you that you said that, a thousand times, because I’m not perfect. I’m going to screw up. I’m going to make you mad. But in the end, it’s us against the world. Never us against each other. Those fights, I’ll save for the cage.”
His loving, dark eyes tell me the deep truth in his words, as his hands slide down my back to grip my ass, and then he reaches the sides of my panties and tears them from one hip, then the other, pulling me up and moving to yank his shorts down, kicking them off.
“Now, ride my cock. Show me who you are, my dirty, sweet, princess. You’re my princess, and I’m your king.”
My pussy is so wet already as I look down at his muscular torso, his massive cock standing up, ready and dripping.
I put my hands on his cheeks as his settle on my hips, driving me down in one thrust onto every inch of his thick cock, forcing the air from my lungs.
I hold onto his face, my eyes on his as I move his cock in and out of my slick pussy. I’m full, stretched, and there’s still a bite of pain when I take all of him, but I’m beginning to understand, pain is part of the pleasure.
“You belong to me, Maggie. Now and forever.”
I lower my face and see the danger in his eyes. I know he’s a fighter. He will always be a fighter.
But as long as we are fighting for each other...I’ll never tap out.
14
Stone
TEDDY’S OFFICE WALLS feel like they are closing in. His face is frozen, the disappointment in his eyes when I walked in already there and I knew he knew.
“That’s the whole story.” I clear my throat. “One thing I said, I’m no liar.”
He looks down, his hands clasped over his belly, his thumbs moving in a slow circle around each other.
“Sorry, kid.” He says finally, and the clench that’s been in my gut since I walked in knots tighter. “I was clear. I make an exception for you...” He shakes his head. “Sorry, kid. Rules are rules.”
I drop my gaze, looking down at my hands braced on top of my thighs, my knuckles bruised and my face and body throbbing from the beating last night. But what hurts the most, is I feel like I betrayed him when he took a chance on me even though I didn’t see another way out.
>
I finally meet his gaze and nod. “I understand.” I stand, outstretch my hand and he clasps it in a hard shake.
“Wish you the best. Don’t give up. You’ve got it. I just have to stick by—”
Before he can finish, there is a knock on the door and Maria walks in, her face tight, giving Teddy a look before her eyes turn on me. I swallow hard, Teddy is one thing, but Maria is the mom to all the guys here and when she gives you the look, you feel it down into your soul.
“Give us a minute.” She says, and I nod, spinning around toward the door when she finishes. “Don’t go far.”
I’m not sure what’s going on. Outside the office, I look down to see Maggie eating a cupcake and drinking a cup of coffee out of the awful brown mugs they have where she was sat with Maria as I took the walk of shame up with Teddy to his office.
When she sees me, she gives me a sad smile. We both knew coming here today the outcome was pretty much set in stone.
Teddy’s rules said no backyard brawls. No Papa Pain.
My first real G & P fight was tonight, and even with my body rough, my mind was right and I was ready.
If given the opportunity.
Just wasn’t in the cards.
She gives me a look and shrugs, wondering why I’m not coming down. I hold up a finger and point toward the office and she nods. Evan comes in the front door, and he must know the story because he gives me a nod and fist to the chest in support.
I pace the little walkway outside the office until my heart jumps when the door clicks open and I see Teddy there with Maria standing behind, him giving me a wink.
“Here’s the deal.” He starts, his voice hard. “You fucked up. But you were honest and the circumstances...” He trails off, but Maria gives him a soft shove with her hand and he takes a step my way, clearing his throat. “I don’t know that I would have done anything different.”
I take a breath to say something, but he cuts me off.