The Wild Man Who Stole Me: A Bad Boy Romance Novel

by London Casey

  When I got to my feet, Nathan rubbed his jaw. “That’s a hell of a punch you throw.”

  “That was from across the desk,” I said. “Come closer and you’ll really find out.”

  “I’m going to let that one slide,” Nathan said. “I know your relationship to Seth was close. That was my fault for making that comment. What I’m getting at… you step over that line, Noah, and become a killer, there’s no coming back.”

  “I don’t give a shit,” I said. “He’s got Penny. She’s the only woman I…”

  I lost my words. I lost my breath.

  Nathan nodded with a grin. “Ah, I see. Love.”

  “Yeah,” I said. “When we first got together, it was after a fight. We fooled around. Then she was at the next one. That’s why I started booking more fights. It was a little game for us.”

  “Well that game turned into something else, didn’t it?”

  “I can’t lose her,” I said. “She’s done nothing wrong in all this. Erik can take me out. I’ll offer myself up to him.”

  “Uh, sir?” one of the men who had taken me to the ground said.

  I didn’t bother to look back.

  Nathan smiled bigger. “Maybe you don’t have to offer yourself up so quick.”

  “Why’s that?”

  Nathan pointed.

  I turned, hoping to see Penny.

  No Penny.

  The guy was holding a cell phone.

  My cell phone.

  It was ringing.

  “Looks like Penny is calling you,” Nathan said. “I’m sure it has something to do with Erik. Why don’t you answer it?”

  “Penny? Where are you?”

  “Noah… you… are you okay?”

  “Honey, I’m fine. Where are you? The fight…”

  “Did Warren hurt you?”

  “No. He said Dani’s missing.”

  “Oh, shit.”

  There’s noise in the background.

  What the hell is that?

  “Noah… can you save me?”

  “Save you? Of course I can save you. Just tell me where you are.”

  “Come alone, Noah. Okay? Nobody else can get hurt.”

  “What does that mean? Are you alone, honey? What’s happening.”

  “Noah. Just come save me. Please.”

  “Okay. I’ll come save you. I promise. It’s going to be okay, Penny. I love you.”

  I knew it was a set up from the second she hung up without saying I love you back to me. Her words were faked, forced, and had no true meaning to them.

  But what was I supposed to do? Just ignore her and let Erik hurt her?

  I still couldn’t fully make sense of everything that was happening, but I knew the second I opened the door to the small warehouse, I would probably end up dead.

  When the door shut, Penny appeared, just standing there in the middle of the floor. We looked at each other and I didn’t bother running toward her.

  A second later, Erik walked up behind her. He pushed her out of the way and took out a gun, pointing it right at me.

  “Got me,” I whispered.

  “You fucking murderer,” Erik said.

  “Yeah, right. I’m a murderer. That’s right. Now let Penny go. Let Dani go. Take me, Erik. You’ve got me.”

  “No. It’s not going to work that way. Penny knows the truth.”

  “The truth?” I asked.

  I looked at Penny.

  She was nodding. “Sorry, Noah. But Erik told me everything. You and Seth were working together? You knew Seth killed my father? You never told me.”

  “Christ,” I said. “Penny. I wanted to talk to you…” I stepped forward and Erik jammed the gun into my chest. I swatted him away. “Look at everything going on around us. If you think for second…”

  “I don’t believe you,” Penny said.

  I froze and then a second later something crashed against the back of my head.

  I fell to the ground and saw nothing but darkness for a few seconds. I spread my hands out, touching the floor. Blood started to run forward along the side of my neck.

  “Get up,” Erik ordered. “Get up on your feet.”

  I got back up. “I’m standing again.”

  “Yeah? I’m going to do to you what you did to my brother.”

  I nodded. “Fair enough, Erik. I told a lie about your brother and I’m sorry for what I did to him. I had no idea what Seth was doing. Who Seth really was. He got what he deserved. Let Penny go, Erik. Let Dani go. They have nothing to do with this. This is between us.”

  “And she’s going to watch,” Erik said. “For her own revenge. For the murder of her father.”

  I opened my arms and nodded. “Do what you need to do.”

  Erik took the clip out of his gun. He slid the clip across the floor and then tossed the gun over his shoulder. He then put his hands and balled them into fists.

  “You’re kidding me,” I said.

  “Nope. I’m going to fight you, Noah. I’m going to kick your ass.”

  I looked around and felt the back of my head throbbing. “Okay, Erik. Let’s do it. Let’s fight.”

  Erik came right at me. He was inches away and then stopped. “I’m going to fight you, then I’m going to kill you.”

  Chapter 43

  (Penny)

  There was nothing I could do.

  This was the only way I could save myself and save Dani.

  I didn’t believe for one second that Noah would have done anything to hurt my father. Right? It was all Seth. Maybe I didn’t know them back then or the fact that I never knew Seth at all, but what I had seen, it was all Seth. He was the one who kidnapped me. Tied me to a chair. Got drunk and wanted to take advantage of me. Noah had been saving me since that night.

  Then again, it did hurt that he knew about my father and Seth but never told me.

  I stood there and watched as Erik started to punch Noah.

  Noah didn’t lift a fist. He took the punches from Erik. Smack after smack, Noah’s head moved to the left, to the right, snapping back. Soon Noah was bleeding.

  What are you doing?

  Erik grabbed Noah by the shirt and walked him back to a wall. He slammed Noah against the wall. Then he punched him again.

  “Come on!” Erik yelled. “Fight me! Hit me!”

  “No,” Noah said. “I deserve this. Do it. Knock me out, Erik.”

  “I’m going to kill you.”

  “Then do it.”

  Erik punched Noah in the stomach. Noah reached forward and grabbed Erik’s shirt. Erik punched again and again to Noah’s gut and ribs. Soon Erik looked like a mad man, the same punch repeated, his face turning red, sweaty, his teeth gritted as spit dribbled down his chin.

  The punches started to weaken and that’s when Noah finally made his move.

  He stood up and grabbed Erik by his shoulders. Noah lifted Erik like he was a toy and threw him. Erik hit the floor and scrambled to get to his feet. He charged at Noah and Noah slammed his head forward into Erik’s.

  The crack made my stomach flip.

  Erik stumbled back, arms out and flailing. The look in Noah’s eyes scared me. He looked like a killer now. So much so that I started to second guess myself and my thoughts. The way he slowly stepped toward Erik and then threw a hand out and grabbed Erik’s throat.

  “Listen to me carefully,” Noah growled. “I didn’t know who the fuck Seth was or what he was doing. All I know is that a woman I cared about said your brother touched her. I went with the truth I had. If your brother was killed by a hit man then he had his own problems that took him there. I hit him, yes. I wanted to hurt him, yes. And maybe I did kill him. But the truth is that the second Seth took out a gun, I attacked Seth. I tried to get the gun away from him to protect your brother. That’s it. Now let Penny walk out of here alive and well. Tell her where Dani is. You don’t want her father after you. You don't want my boss after you. Just end this.”

  I stepped toward the two of them. I had seen and h
eard enough. I had no idea what I was actually going to do, but I didn’t want Noah to end up dead. And I didn’t want Erik dead, at least not by Noah’s hands. He was a fighter, not a hit man. He put himself into this position for me.

  “Okay,” Erik said. “Then let’s end this. Right now.”

  Before I could take another step, two men charged from nowhere and grabbed Noah.

  “No!” I yelled.

  Erik grinned and wiped blood off his face. “It has to end this way.”

  Chapter 44

  (Noah)

  Erik reached back and opened a container. There were a few pallets in the warehouse and Erik knew the exact one to open. Of course he did. He set this entire thing up. He used Penny to get me there and now he was going to finish it.

  As Erik took the gun out of the container, I started to laugh. Erik didn’t know why I was laughing… hell, maybe I didn’t know either. Everything around me was such a huge risk. Too many lies, secrets, and skeletons. Demons crawling all around, death ready to strike. I was seconds away from death. From there, I knew there was a good chance Erik would kill Penny. Why not? What use would she have? She had seen too much. And she knew too much.

  “You lost your badge,” I said. “You couldn’t even do your job right then or now.”

  “Keep running your mouth,” Erik said.

  “Oh, I will. What happened with Aiden? He was the fuck up, wasn’t he? The mistake, I bet. Your parents probably got drunk one night and had a whoops. Or maybe that was you. You were the first mistake and then your parents had to stick it out. Yeah. You couldn’t protect Aiden. You couldn't protect your job. Look at what you’ve become.”

  Erik put the gun to my head. “No, Noah. Look at what you’ve become. You’re done. Dead.”

  It got really quiet for a couple seconds.

  Let me get one thing straight… I was not going to go down without a fight. I would never stand there and take a bullet to my head without a fucking fight. It’s all I knew. To fight and survive.

  I flexed my arms and pulled a little at the two guys holding me. I figured they were the same two guys that beat up Dalton. Poor Dalton. Another innocent person dragged into this fucked up mess.

  “Hey, Erik,” I said. “Can I have my last words?”

  Erik nodded. “Sure. What do you have to say?”

  I growled in my throat and spit right in Erik’s face.

  Erik shook his head in shock.

  Penny then let out a scream.

  Everyone looked at her as a man dressed in black grabbed her and ran.

  I pulled my arms as hard as I could, breaking free from the two men holding me. My first instinct was to get the gun from Erik. I grabbed his wrist and twisted it, breaking it like a twig. He let out a scream and I drove him back.

  I wanted to say something really important then. Tell him how fucked he was. Tell him he shouldn’t have fucked me. Because now it was his turn to be put in the hot seat.

  Before I could say a word, something hit the back of my head, in the same spot where Erik had hit me.

  My body instantly lost all feeling. Yet I didn’t pass out right away. Instead, my knees slowly buckled and I started to fall back.

  Right before my eyes shut, I was able to see one last face.

  A face that was supposed to help me, not turn on me.

  It was Nathan.

  Chapter 45

  (Penny)

  I was in the backseat of the car, cradling Noah. I held his bleeding head in my hands. Nathan was in the passenger seat of the car, some guy I didn’t know driving it. I had no idea what to think or to expect.

  When I was grabbed (for the third time since meeting Noah) my mind couldn’t figure out who it was. The man carried me to the waiting car, the trunk open. The moment I saw the open trunk I started to freak out. I fought as hard as I could, until the equalizer of a weapon was pointed at me. I was really tired of guns being pointed at me.

  I was ordered into the backseat.

  A few minutes later Noah was brought to the car. He was literally dragged with Nathan following. I was then told to keep checking Noah’s pulse to make sure he stayed alive.

  I waited and held Noah, rubbing his cheeks and talking to him. Begging for him to open his eyes. I wanted him to see that I was alive and okay. And that he was going to be the same.

  The trunk slammed shut, Nathan and his driver got into the car, and we were off.

  “How’s he doing?” Nathan asked me, turning slightly.

  “What is this?”

  “Keeping promises,” Nathan said. “You’re alive. Noah is alive. Erik was dealt with. And now we’re going to get Dani. Warren will be meeting us in a few.”

  “What the hell happened to Noah?” I asked.

  “Nothing,” Nathan said. “Check his pulse again. If he dies, we’ll have to dump him.”

  Hearing that shocked me.

  They were just willing to dump him off like he was nothing? To Nathan, Noah was nothing. He was a fighter. As long as he fought and won, he had a purpose. Just like that, sitting in the backseat of the car, I started to envision my story. I’d never get to tell the story, but it was there. Beyond the fight for survival, this was the fight to have purpose. To have a reason to breathe. It was deep, archaic, yet it was somehow beautiful. The scars were mere warnings of what could have really gone wrong. The victories were symbols of what had gone right. The money simply a means to an end. The ability to live a pretend life while hiding the beast in the back of the mind, waiting for the next fight to be called.

  I leaned down and kissed Noah’s head. “I love you so much, Noah. I understand everything. I want you to know something. Please hear me. Okay? I want you to know that I…”

  Chapter 46

  (Noah)

  “… know you didn’t hurt anyone on purpose. You didn’t hurt my father. You weren’t there. I know that. I had to do it, to say it. I had to keep Erik happy. I had to get you there to fight him. To have some kind of chance at getting through this. We’re okay now, Noah…”

  It was darkness with a voice speaking to me.

  So soft, so sweet.

  I demanded my eyes open.

  When they did, Penny was there. Her hand touching my cheek. Without saying a word I kissed her. If I was going to die, I wanted to taste her mouth one last time.

  We kissed deeply for just a few seconds.

  She then pulled away. “You heard me?”

  “Yes,” I said.

  I realized I was in the backseat of a car. I forced myself to sit up. The back of my head hurt like hell, a deep fire raging down into my back. I saw the blood in Penny’s lap.

  “Shit,” I whispered. “Are you hurt at all?”

  “No.”

  “Noah,” Nathan said from the front seat. He looked back at me. “Good to see you awake.”

  “What the fuck was that?”

  “You were going to do something very stupid,” Nathan said. “I warned you, Noah. Now please try to catch your breath and relax. We’re almost there.”

  “To do what?” I asked.

  “To finish all of this.”

  The car went silent.

  I felt something touch my hand. When I look down, I saw Penny’s hand, smeared with my blood, reaching for me.

  We then held hands, bloody and beat up, but we were together.

  It was a rundown gas station with boards on the windows. The gas pumps were missing, but the skeleton frame remained. The car pulled around back and stopped. I wasted no time in opening the door and going right after Nathan.

  “I want fucking answers,” I said.

  “Noah,” Nathan said. “You’re not out of this just yet. Attacking me is only going to get you killed.”

  I backed up. “Fine.”

  “You did good. With all of this.”

  “Meaning?”

  “You did your own research, gave up the information to me. I could trust you. You may not realize it, Noah, but Seth really fucked you. That black book
of his was filled with names of people that should have never been touched. He had been taking offers from other families for years.”

  “Christ.”

  Nathan nodded. “The same for Erik. He was on the take and had a lot of heat coming his way no matter what. I had to do this the right way, Noah. To reset all that had gone wrong. Marcos ran the town and everyone connected like it was his own video game. We were watching him for a while but could never do anything. His father was the deciding factor in all this. After he killed Seth, I was able to help facilitate and persuade his father into making the decision. It’s not easy to do. Everyone involved needed to be taken out. That included you.”

  “Yet I’m still here,” I said.

  “Because of your skill. Fighting is lucrative to my family. It’s in our blood. Legal fights, illegal fights, whatever. You’re the best at what you do, Noah. You never lose. You’re tough as anyone I’ve ever met. The risk of keeping you alive though…” Nathan shook his head. “See, if I told someone to figure Erik out on their own, what would they do? The guy was attacking everyone you cared about. Yet you stood strong and pushed through it. That takes guts. You set it up perfectly.”

  “What happened to him?”

  “Well, we obviously needed this location. That’s why I couldn’t let you kill him. Sorry about hitting you in the head.”

  “I’ll live. Where is Erik now?”

  Nathan pointed behind me.

  I quickly turned, fearing Erik would be standing there with a gun ready to blow my head off.

  Nobody was behind me.

  Nathan walked by me and put a hand to the trunk. “You don’t have to worry about him anymore, Noah. I talked with my family and we decided it was worth taking care of.”

  Erik was in the trunk of the car, dead.

  When Nathan looked at me again, he nodded. “Any questions?”

  “None. I’m glad this could all work out. Now can we go save Dani and make sure Warren doesn’t try killing anyone?”

  Nathan grabbed for my arm and shook his head. “I’m sorry, Noah, but it’s not going to be that easy.”