“Are you okay?” she asked him.
Alexei tried to smile at her. “Fine. Just wishing we’d gone straight home to bed.” He let his eyes drift over her cleavage, proudly displayed in the dress that hugged her to the waist and flared out.
Evie’s eyes darkened and she smiled into her wine. “Patience,” she teased him. “It’ll all be yours soon enough.”
He laughed, feeling better. By the time he’d drained his drink, he’d forgotten about the men in their suits, too busy noticing the happy flush in Evie’s cheeks.
“Another drink?” he asked.
She thought about it for a moment. “One more,” she said. “Then we can go home.”
Alexei headed to the bar and ordered. While he waited, he went to the bathroom out the back of the bar. He came out minutes later, and raged flushed through him at what he saw.
Evie still sat at the table, but now she was surrounded by the four men who had been sitting a few tables over and laughing. She’d shrunk down, one hand clutched so tightly around her empty wineglass that her knuckles were white.
The men were all leaning over her, boxing her in so she couldn’t escape. They’d waited until Alexei had left her alone for a minute before they pounced when she was undefended. Cowardly predators.
He strode over to them, ignoring the drinks waiting for him at the bar.
Blood rushed in his ears, a need to protect Evie, to tear these men apart for scaring her. They didn’t know what she’d been through, what she’d survived. They only cared about what they wanted, not about her.
Relief flooded her face as she noticed Alexei coming towards the group. But something in his expression must have scared her, because her smile faded as he came closer.
“Can I help you?” he asked the men through a clenched jaw as he arrived at the table, his gaze going to each one in turn. His accent thickened with his anger, and the nearest guy narrowed his eyes as he heard it.
All four men straightened and faced Alexei. None of them looked ashamed at what they’d been caught doing. In fact, they all looked slightly smug.
“No,” said one. “We were just talking to your girlfriend here.” He clapped one hand on Evie’s shoulder and she jumped like a frightened kitten. The rage building in Alexei’s gut grew stronger.
“You can stop now,” he gritted out.
The guy nearest to him tilted his head. “Why would we do that? She’s having fun, aren’t you sweetheart?” Evie sat frozen, staring up at the man with wide, terrified eyes. He didn’t notice or care.
“Leave her alone,” Alexei tried, stepping forward into the man’s space. Alcohol reeked on his breath, his eyes the unfocused belligerence of a drunk man looking for a fight. The guy took one step back as Alexei advanced, a look of trepidation fluttering across his face before his expression hardened. He straightened and glanced at his friends. All of them stepped towards Alexei, now surrounding him instead of Evie.
“Make me, big man,” said the nearest guy.
Alexei flexed his fists. These men were all shorter than him, but they seemed to enjoy the gym enough to have muscles beneath their shirts. Worse, there were four of them and only one of him. One-on-one he was sure he could beat them. But four-to-one was not good odds.
Still, the need to hurt them for scaring Evie obliterated all the rational reasons he had for walking away. He wanted to tear these men apart, show them that scaring women was not a fun group sport. He had no doubt that in private these guys could be like Jimmy, like his own father, and get off on scaring women. He wanted to teach them a lesson.
“What, too pussy?” asked one of the men behind him.
They didn’t seem to notice the fury racing through Alexei, or his superior size and strength. They were too busy congratulating each other with mocking smiles for Alexei’s benefit.
“Leave,” he growled. It was all he could say as anger focused his mind on a need to punish these men.
They laughed. The man in front of him kept smiling as he drew back his fist, ready to punch Alexei. The world grew quite as Alexei focused on the man before him, of his fist plowing through the air towards Alexei’s nose.
He sidestepped, avoiding the blow with the ease of practice, aided by the fact that the man’s drunkenness made him sloppy. The table rattled as he stepped into it, and glass shattered. Alexei didn’t take his attention off the man who’d thrown the punch. As the guy stumbled, Alexei placed his big hand on the back of the guy’s head and slammed it into the already unstable table.
The man dropped to the floor groaning, but Alexei wasn’t done. He glared at each of the three remaining men in turn, his chest heaving as adrenaline raced through him. This was the fight, this is what he was good at.
The three guys glanced between their friend, lying on the floor between them, and Alexei’s furious expression. They hesitated a moment, until their friend said “Get the fucker!” and they raised their fists ready to fight.
Alexei didn’t wait for them to swing. He took out the guy on the left with a solid punch to the nose, and he flew back into the table behind him and toppled over it, landing at the feet of a shocked couple on the other side.
Two more. One guy’s nostrils flared, and Alexei knew he’d be the next one to punch, so he waited while the guy shifted his stance and then tried to hit Alexei with an uppercut. But the guy next to him had been harder to read, and Alexei suddenly had two men swinging fists at him at the same time. He blocked the guy with the tell, but the unexpected puncher managed to get a solid hit in Alexei’s stomach.
Alexei grunted, but didn’t crumple. Instead, he kicked at his attacker’s groin, then slammed the other man’s head into the table and let him fall on top of his friend. One guy left. Alexei’s target backed away, eyes darting between his crumpled friends and Alexei.
Alexei stepped over the two on the floor and stalked toward him, wanting to finish the job. The guy banged into a table and stopped, starring at Alexei with wide, frightened eyes as he gripped the edge of the table. Three men sat behind him on barstools, watching the fight with shocked expressions. No one in the entire bar said a word.
Alexei grabbed the man’s collar and hauled him forward as he drew back for a punch. He grinned savagely and the man paled.
Evie’s voice rang out in the silence. “Alexei, stop!”
He scowled and whipped his head around to look at her. The bottom dropped out of his stomach at her expression, all the rage leaving him in a rush.
She looked horrified. At him. She trembled with fear as she met his gaze, but she didn’t back down, didn’t look away.
“Stop,” she whispered, her voice a strangled sound as if she could barely get the words out.
He immediately dropped the man he held, who fell to his knees on the hard floor. Alexei didn’t notice, because seeing Evie’s face, he already knew it was too late.
She’d seen the beast, and she was afraid.
Of him.
Chapter 17
Evie stalked through the dark streets towards her apartment, Alexei following at her heels. For the first time, his presence didn’t make her feel safer. In fact, it added to the creeping chill currently making its way through her body and into her heart.
Finally her apartment building came into view, a welcome beacon in the darkness. She quickened her pace, heart beating as Alexei followed suit. She knew it was him, the footsteps baring down on her, but it still sent shivers down her spine as if she was being followed.
“Evie,” he said, he voice apologetic, but she ignored him, moving even faster until she jogged in her heels.
The trust she’d so carefully bestowed on him had been crushed and now lay bleeding like her heart. Tears pricked her eyes. She’d known he’d been too good to be true. She should have listened to her first instincts, the ones that had warned her he lived a violent and dangerous life.
But she’d been too messed up to trust herself. She’d wanted to believe she was fixed and healthy, and could choose the right man
this time around. Instead, she’d given her heart to another violent man.
“Evie,” Alexei said again, firmer. Evie wiped away tears and stepped into the interior of her apartment building. She didn’t stop, running up the stairs as fast as her heels would take her. Blisters were forming on her feet and her calves were on fire, but she ignored them, too determined to get away.
She knew Alexei could have caught up to her any time he’d wanted, with his long legs. But maybe he still had enough humanity left to understand she needed space. That hope was dashed, however, when he walked straight past his own apartment door towards hers as she fumbled with her key. She managed to insert it into the lock and push it open before he reached her. She slipped inside and tried to close the door but he held out a hand to stop it before it latched.
Evie swallowed as terror gripped her. Would he push his way inside? She’d be powerless to stop him if he did.
“Leave,” she choked out.
“You need to talk to me,” he said.
She let out a bitter laugh. “I don’t need to do anything.” She shoved against the door again but he wouldn’t budge. His jaw was tight with anger.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “Okay?”
“No,” she hissed. “Not okay.”
He hesitated for a long moment. “I don’t…” He stopped, eyeing her. “I don’t understand why you are mad,” he said eventually.
Evie’s eyes widened in shock. “You don’t know? After what you did?”
He shrugged helplessly. “I protected you.” It was almost a plea, trying to get her to see his point of view. But she shook her head, not listening. She’d been through this before, the excuses and lies. This time, she’d trust herself.
“You incited a bar brawl,” she countered, angry he’d make her explain this. Why couldn’t he see? Why couldn’t he understand?
“They were threatening you.” His voice was rough, his accent thick.
“No, they were intimidating me.”
“I don’t understand the difference.”
She took a deep breath, trying to control her fury. She didn’t want to talk about this now, but there was no way she could get him to leave unless she did. His expression was pure stubbornness.
“The difference is that you didn’t need to hit them. We could have walked out at any time.”
“He swung at me,” he countered.
“Which, if I remember correctly, you dodged with ease.”
He shrugged. “They deserved it. They scared you.”
“Yes, they did scare me. And I didn’t want them there. But there were so many other things you could’ve done which didn’t involve violence. Instead, you chose to punish them. They were drunk, and not professional fighters. And you’re huge and very dangerous with your fists. You could have seriously hurt one of them!”
He narrowed his eyes. “They still would have deserved it.”
“The fact that you don’t even regret it means I’m right in this decision. I don’t want to see you anymore. We’re officially over.”
Alexei’s eyes grew stricken, his head shaking as if denying what she said. Guilt gnawed at her, but she had nothing to feel guilty about. She’d just been conditioned not to upset the men in her life.
“I can’t lose you.”
“It’s too late,” she told him as firmly as she could, but her voice wobbled. The twist in her heart made tears spring to her eyes. Her entire soul shattered into pieces and she didn’t know if she could ever put it back together. She blinked back the tears so he wouldn’t see.
“What should I have done? Let them hurt you?”
“Alexei, we were in a public place. They wouldn’t hurt me there. Yes, they enjoyed frightening me, but I doubt they planned to rape me on the bar, or whatever the hell you’re thinking.”
“They needed to stop.”
“Both of us could easily have walked out. There was no need to get violent. But you wanted to hurt them, I saw it in your eyes.”
“They scared you,” he said again as if this was answer enough, a pleading in his gaze for her to understand.
“We could have walked away. Left the bar. They never would have followed us. They were afraid of you, and you could have scared them into leaving. You could have talked them down. There were so many options.”
“Me? Talk? I can barely speak enough English to get by. I do actions, not words.”
“Bullshit. You talk to me well enough.” The anger was back, mixing with the guilt for a potent combination of fear and regret and fury. But she couldn’t deny the truth of his last words. He was a man who showed who he was through gestures. Walking her home, giving her his jacket, letting her tie him up when she was nervous. Words had never been his strong suit. His actions had turned out to be both a blessing and a curse. What had been so wonderful when she’d felt safe with him had now been tainted. The same man who had shown her such care and kindness in his gestures now proved his actions extended to violence, too.
“Not enough to stop men scaring you,” he said, and Evie tried to regain the thread of the fight.
“You don’t get it, do you?” she asked softly, studying his face. He looked like he was in agony, his face pinched tight and his eyes pleading with her. Did she truly believe this man could hurt her? She simply didn’t know, couldn’t be sure anymore.
He shook his head and Evie sighed. “I can’t be with a man that solves his problems with violence. Surely, surely, you understand that.”
Alexei’s eyes widened as he stared down at her. “I’d never hurt you,” he whispered fiercely.
Tears spilled down her cheeks. “I wish I could believe that,” she choked out, tears streaming faster now. “But I don’t know if I can.”
“Evie,” he pleaded, stepping forward.
She swallowed and shuffled back, away from him. “No. I can’t take the risk. Not again. I have to protect myself this time, and get out while I still can.”
“Evie, you have to believe me,” he said.
“No. I don’t. I only have to believe myself.”
His arm slackened where it was held against the door, his expression conveying his shock. Evie took advantage, finally slamming the door shut on him and clicking the lock. She turned and slid to the floor with her back to the door, letting the tears fall freely now. She didn’t think he’d try to break down the door, not after he’d got her such a tough one.
Deep down, before tonight, she believed he wouldn’t hurt her. But now, she didn’t know, and couldn’t be sure. It didn’t make it okay if he was willing to hurt anyone but her.
Confused, heartbroken, and emotionally weary, Evie crawled into bed and fell down onto it face-first.
She was doing the right thing, she was sure.
So why did she feel so utterly miserable?
Chapter 18
Alexei prowled the streets. He was too furious to stay in his apartment, pacing, thinking of her next door. Blood thumped through his veins, urging him to fight, but he had no enemy to confront.
Except, perhaps, himself. But Evie had to be wrong about him. He’d never hurt her, never hurt any woman. He wasn’t his father. He’d done what he could to escape that life and distance himself from that past.
Why couldn’t she see he wasn’t like that?
The fact that she saw him that way hurt, deep in his soul. It was the wrenching pain of betrayal, one he’d never experienced before. He never should have given his heart to a woman that would believe that of him.
He found himself at the doors of Golan’s Gym. He shouldn’t have been surprised his subconscious mind had taken him here, to a place that had always been his solace. Here, he’d always known what was expected of him. Where his size and strength had always been a bonus, not something to be feared.
He pushed open the door and stepped inside, finding it empty in the early hours of the morning. He switched on the lights and stood just inside the door as they reluctantly flickered on.
The sight of the tattered eq
uipment did little to soothe him. It was a sad reminder of the life he led, a worn out second-rate fighter with no future. As soon as he was done in McCready’s fights, his career was over, that much was obvious.
No wonder Evie wanted to escape him. Maybe her talk of him being violent had just been an excuse. That would make more sense, since he’d never threatened her in words or action. But, no, he’d seen the fear in her eyes, the pain and heartbreak that had mirrored his own. There was no faking that.
Alexei stepped into the gym, his eyes drifting to the place he and Evie had often trained together on the mats. Her presence was now imprinted in every aspect of his life. On this gym, on his apartment. On his mind and his soul. He felt like he’d never escape her. Never stop wanting her.
Her words had hurt, and still did. But he didn’t think the sting of her parting words would ever be enough to erase the memory of everything they’d shared. He’d seen a different side of himself with her. A side he’d never anticipated, but didn’t actually hate.
But had all that been a lie?
Alexei slumped on the bench nearest to the punching bag and stared at the gym without really seeing it. Silence echoed back. His mind kept circling back to the moment in the bar, Evie’s words repeating on a loop in his head.
Could he have stopped the fight before it even began? He eventually, reluctantly, decided maybe he could have. Should he have? That was the real question. He firmly believed those assholes had deserved the beating they’d got. All four of them had intentionally scared a woman, waiting until her boyfriend—and even that word sent an ache to his heart, since he’d never officially been that and now never would—had been out of the picture before approaching while she was vulnerable.
Maybe next time the creeps would think twice before harassing a woman.
But then an image of Evie’s stricken face as she’d looked at him would burst into his mind. In that moment, she’d seen him as a beast.
And Alexei couldn’t be sure she was wrong.
Underground Fighters Trilogy Boxed Set Page 27