Hooked (TKO #2)

by Ana Layne

  “Of course,” Mom says, reaching for my other hand. She’s shaking too. “We don’t mind at all.”

  “Thank you,” he tells her softly.

  Dad extends his hand, taking a deep breath. “Thank you for saving her from him when you did. If you hadn’t, well…I don’t want to think about what may have happened. What matters is that she’s safe now, and we have a lot to be grateful for.”

  Lance shakes his hand. “Yes, sir, we do have a lot to be grateful for.”

  “We’re going to go try to rest. If either of you need anything, don’t hesitate to come wake us up.”

  Each of them hug me, and it seems to last a lifetime. I don’t want to let them go. They were kept safe too, and I’m grateful for that. Lance and I are left alone in the living room. He offers to turn on the television for noise, but I shake my head.

  “Lance?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I was so scared. I didn’t know if I was ever going to see you again. I was scared you’d never know just how much I really love you. All I saw was my parents, you, and the baby.”

  He doesn’t say anything. He just pulls me closer and wraps his arms around me. I love how he knows that no words are needed. He just seems to know that I want to be held. In his arms, I’m safe. I know nothing can happen, and when I close my eyes, I don’t see the nightmare right away. I don’t trust it enough to actually attempt to go to sleep yet. I may as well stay awake because at the rate I’m going, the sun will be rising soon.

  I’m sure this will be all over the news tomorrow. I hope it won’t, but the media is always looking for a story, and I gave them the perfect one. What media outlet wouldn’t be dying to get their hands on it? I wish it weren’t real. I knew there were sick, crazy people in this world, but I never imagined I would encounter one in my life.

  Chapter 30

  Lance

  A week later, my Hilary is almost back to her normal self. I’ve spent the past few nights at her house with her. She refuses to sleep in her bedroom and I can’t blame her. Her dad is already making renovations. He told her she’ll hardly be able to recognize it, but if I know her, she’ll never go in there again. I helped her father move her dresser and a few things into one of the spare rooms. Her nightmares are continuing. She wakes up crying, and I just hold her tightly. I’ve put off life at the gym for the past week. Raegan has come by once or twice to talk with Hilary but the conversation rarely goes anywhere. She’s more or less there for my moral support, and I’ll take it.

  Hilary has been cooped up inside for the past week and today I want to change that. I want to get her outside in the sunshine where she belongs. I want to see the smile on her face that I miss so much. It’s killing me to know she’s still hurting as badly as she is. I can’t imagine exactly what she’s going through, but I’ve had my fair share of demons.

  She walks out of the bathroom with her hair sitting on top of her head in a bun and she’s twirling that one strand around her finger. That’s my girl. I wrap my arms around her. “Let me take you somewhere today. Get you out of this house.”

  She looks up at me with her saddened eyes. “I don’t feel safe leaving.”

  “He’s gone, Hil. He’s never, ever coming back.”

  She sighs and closes her eyes. I imagine she’s thinking about the decision. “Okay.”

  I squeeze her body tightly against mine and kiss her forehead. “I love you. Get ready and we’ll take a drive or something.”

  She nods her head and disappears into the spare room. I decide to let her mom know the progress I’ve made. She’s elated. The smile on her face soon spreads to mine. We’re going to get our Hilary back. She won’t stay down for long.

  ***

  It’s a little after five in the afternoon, and we’ve had lunch, gotten ice cream, and sat at the park. It’s almost just like before the Travis incident. She’s let me hold her hand, and she’s laughed at some of my corny jokes. I just want to see her back to her old self. I revel in her smile. Garrett texted and told me that he’s fighting tonight. I thought about asking Hilary if she wanted to go, but it may be too soon. The last place we saw him before the incident was after my last match and I’m not ready to pour salt into the wound. I’m afraid of regression when we’re just beginning to make progress.

  For me, this past week brought a lot of things to my attention. I already knew life was short. Losing my mom was one of the worst things that ever happened to me. The fact that I could have lost Hilary still terrifies me, but it didn’t happen. It’s just another reminder of how short life is. I’m not ready to lose anything else anytime soon.

  “Hil?” I ask, quietly pulling her hand into mine.

  She looks at me with curious eyes. “Yeah?”

  “I want to ask you something. I know things are still tough for you and this may not be what you want, but I’m a risk taker and I’m just going to go for it.” I hate when I babble. I sound like a damn idiot. She raises her eyebrow in curiosity so I decide to continue. “I love you, and I know you love me. What would you think about me getting a place for the two of us?”

  She looks at me skeptically. “Are you sure you want to live with me?”

  “I’m positive. Babe, I’ve been practically living with you for the past week. Just think, we’re going to raise the baby together, so why not have a place of our own? This may help the nightmares stop.”

  She perks up a little, cautiously watching me. “Do you really think it may help?”

  “I do.”

  A genuine smile spreads across her face. It’s the first real one I’ve seen in a week and it lights my world up.

  “There’s my beautiful girl’s smile. I’ve missed it.” I place a kiss on her lips.

  “I’ve missed it too. I’m sorry, Lance. Thank you for being patient with me. I’m going to be better, I promise. I’m going to try harder.”

  “Hil, take all the time you need. I’m here for the good and bad. I was so worried about you, but I knew you would be okay. You’re tough.”

  “I’m still not one hundred percent, but I’m better than I was. What do you think our place will look like?”

  A sense of euphoria drifts through me. Our place. “Whatever you want it to look like. I’ll leave that to you.”

  “I’m excited. When can we start?”

  “Whenever you want, sweetheart.”

  Epilogue

  Hilary

  One Year Later

  With time, things improve. It’s hard to believe our lives took such drastic changes only a year ago. I became a victim in a game of terror I never bargained for, and literally had to fight for my life. But my knight in fighting shorts came to my rescue.

  I’ve just finished cleaning our home, and our baby Laney is napping. It took some time for me to adjust to being alone in the house. I don’t have to worry about who or what may be lurking in the shadows anymore. My therapist has helped me tremendously. Mom helped me get the little bit of extra help I needed. It turns out moving out of the house wasn’t the only help I needed. Travis has affected me mentally, and my family was immensely worried about me. I’m waiting for Mom to come over and watch Laney so I can go to my appointment.

  Lance has been so supportive in all of this, and I love him for it. Without him, I’d be completely lost. I was terrified to admit to him I was going to see a therapist, but when he told me he thought it was a great idea, I remembered exactly why I fell in love with him.

  I’ve put him through so much, yet he helps me get through it all. The therapy has strengthened me personally as well as my relationship with Lance, and tonight is the night I’ll tell him that I’m pregnant again. This time, the baby is one hundred percent his.

  My phone rings, and it’s my therapist. She’s calling to cancel because something came up. I thank her, then hurry to call Mom and tell her I don’t need her. A few minutes later, Lance comes home. He grins and struts right over to me. He picks me up by the hips and places me on the kitchen table.

&n
bsp; “Hey, beautiful, I missed you. Do you need me to watch Laney since I’m home?”

  “No, the therapist canceled. But you and I could talk.”

  “By talk, what do you mean?” He wiggles his eyebrows, and I laugh.

  “Well, that too, but I do have something serious to tell you.”

  “Okay, spit it out.”

  “Well, you know how I went to the doctor yesterday?” He nods, and I continue. “Lance, I’m pregnant again.”

  “Are you sure?” His eyes widen.

  “Yes.”

  He pulls me close as his lips crash against mine. He breaks the kiss and grins. “You seriously just made my day. I’m so happy.”

  “Promise?” I still doubt myself on a lot of things, and it drives him crazy.

  “With you, I always mean it. You know it, silly girl. Now, how about I take you to the bedroom and we celebrate this news?”

  “Or you could just take me right here and now,” I suggest, lifting my shirt over my head. My breasts are still pretty large from my pregnancy with Laney, and he loves it. He wraps his lips around one of my nipples, and I whimper. I’m so wet already and he hasn’t even done anything. I reach down and cup his dick in my hand. “Please, Lance, I want you now.”

  That’s all he needs to hear. He pulls my shorts down and unzips his jeans. With one quick thrust, he fills me. I wrap my arms around his back and pull him closer as he thrusts in and out. He groans as I wrap my legs around his waist. He finds my clit with his thumb and he begins to rub circles around it, sending me over the edge. I yell his name louder than intended as I come hard. He brings my body to places I’ve never known before. Situations like this is exactly how we ended up pregnant again.

  “Damn, Hil, I’m about to come.” As soon as he says that, Laney begins crying. I hate to laugh but it slips out. He collapses on top of me and kisses my forehead. “You clean up, babe, I’ll check on her.”

  I never get tired of watching Lance with her. He sure has grown up from the guy I knew in high school. He is the love of my life. Without him, I don’t exist. He’s saved me more times than I could have asked for, and he never ceases to amaze me.

  I gather myself and sneak into the bathroom to clean up and adjust myself. When I step out, I peek into Laney’s room. Lance is holding her and humming a song. My eyes widen and I stifle a laugh as I listen. I swear to God he’s singing ‘Shake It Off,’ but I don’t dare pry and ask.

  I just watch him holding her, and my heart melts. If this is my life, I’ll take it over and over again. And if it’s a dream, I never want to wake up.

  THE END

  Acknowledgements

  Thank you to the team at Limitless Publishing for believing in this book. Also, thank you to each and every one of you for your amazing support. I couldn’t do this without you.

  About the Author

  Ana Layne was born and raised in south Louisiana where she still resides with her family.

  She owns more books than she will probably ever read, but can't resist a good story. When she's not reading or writing she loves to relax and enjoy life.

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