Mr. Always & Forever

by Ashlee Price

  Damien kicks her, sending her stumbling forward before picking up his knife.

  I rush him and grab his wrists. He butts his head against mine, sending me reeling back.

  “You’re too young to beat me, boy,” Damien says, grinning.

  From the corner of my eye, I see Ingrid crawling away.

  Good. At least she’s safe.

  I raise my fists. “Aren’t you a little too old for this?”

  Damien snorts. “Who are you calling old?”

  I make the first move, throwing a punch at his jaw. He avoids it, leaning sideways and making a swipe at me with his knife. It grazes my arm.

  Shit.

  Damien makes a clicking sound with his tongue. “You’re going to die, Conner Blake. And then I’m going after the girl.”

  Without thinking, I lunge, aiming for his stomach this time. He blocks the jab and stabs the knife into my thigh.

  I scream.

  He kicks my leg, sending me falling to the ground. As I grip my thigh in pain, he stands above me, holding the knife with both hands. I kick his legs and he loses his footing and falls. The knife goes flying.

  I climb on top of him and sit on him as I punch his face, my knuckles cracking his jaw. He reaches for my thigh and his fingers dig into the wound, drawing more blood and causing me incredible pain.

  I let out another cry.

  Taking advantage of my pain, he pushes me off, climbs on top of me, and wraps his hands around my neck. I swing my fists, punching him, but he doesn’t let go.

  My air supply decreases and my eyes dart around in panic. The gun inches away from me gives me a glimmer of hope.

  “What are you going to do now, huh?” Damien asks, his grip tightening. “You may be younger than me, but I have more experience hurting people. You have no idea how many women I’ve strangled. I didn’t always mean it then, but I certainly do this time.”

  I start choking. My chest hurts.

  My vision blurs.

  “Conner!” Ingrid’s voice from across the room strengthens my will to fight.

  Summoning all my strength, I lift my knee to hit Damien’s groin. It draws a yelp, and his grip loosens.

  I crawl away from him, snatching up the gun and pointing it at him.

  “Don’t move,” I warn, finger on the trigger.

  He chuckles. “Go ahead. Kill me. If you can, that is.”

  My finger quivers. My jaw clenches. Oh, I’d love to scatter his brains all over the floor right now.

  “Go on,” Damien urges.

  I have no reason not to. He hurt Ingrid.

  “Go on!”

  I pull the trigger, shooting his thigh. He screams.

  Now we’re kind of even.

  Moments later, I hear footsteps coming up the stairs. I point the gun, preparing to shoot at the bad guys, but it’s the cops who appear.

  “Drop the gun, son,” one of them says.

  I obey.

  One of them goes to Damien, pins him to the ground and cuffs his wrists behind his back.

  “Careful, will you?” he sneers. “I’m wounded here.”

  “How would you like to be cuffed now?” Ingrid asks, walking towards him with her hand on her lower back.

  Damien growls.

  “Oh, and this time, could you make sure he stays in prison?” Ingrid asks, handing a cop her watch. “I recorded all his confessions. He murdered Ed Parker. He tried to kill Tiffany Jordan, Conner Blake and me. Twice. Also, I don’t know if his fiancée is still alive.”

  “What?” Damien’s eyes pop out.

  The cop takes her watch.

  “Don’t worry. He won’t walk this time,” he promises. “And we’ll search his house right away.”

  “Thank you,” Ingrid says.

  She really is something.

  Smiling, I try to get up but wince as I fail, gripping my thigh.

  “Conner!” Ingrid rushes to me.

  “The ambulance should be here any second,” another cop informs us.

  “Hear that?” I place my hand on Ingrid’s cheek. “You don’t have to worry about me. I’ll be just fine.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Ingrid

  “He’s going to be alright,” the doctor tells me as I stand outside Conner’s hospital room in fresh clothes, my hair still wet from a hasty shower. “The cut on his thigh didn’t hit any major arteries, so we just stitched him up. But he still lost quite a bit of blood, so he’s on some IV fluids. We also did some X-rays and there are no broken bones. The cut on his arm was just a scratch, and the bruises on his face and his neck will go away in a few days.”

  The doctor smiles and pats my arm reassuringly.

  “You’ll get your good-looking boyfriend back in one piece.”

  I smile back. “Thank you so much.”

  She nods, leaving me.

  I enter Conner’s room and find him sitting up on his bed in his blue-and-white hospital gown, a tube attached to his arm.

  “Hey,” I greet him with a smile as I rest my hands on my back pockets.

  “Hey.” He smiles back, dimples showing.

  I stop by his bed. “Nice shirt.”

  He glances at mine. “I like yours better.”

  I glance at it, too—a shirt with red and white stripes, the first shirt I pulled off the top of the pile in my closet. Not my favorite, but at least it’s not tattered.

  Conner touches my arm. “Are you alright?”

  “You’re the one in the hospital bed,” I point out, lifting my head.

  “Yeah, but he hurt you, too.”

  The sadness in his voice and in his eyes makes my heart melt.

  I run my fingers over the Band-Aid on my neck. “I’m fine.”

  “That’s not what I was referring to,” Conner says. “Did he do anything to you before I got there?”

  “Just words,” I tell him. “He didn’t really hurt me. I didn’t let him.”

  Conner smiles.

  “But he did threaten to hurt Alexa,” I add.

  The smile instantly vanishes from Conner’s face. His jaw clenches.

  “I should have killed that bastard.”

  “Shh.” I place my hand over his. “He’s the murderer, not you. Besides, death would have been too easy for him. He’ll get what he’s due now.”

  “Thanks to you. Again. Where do you get these tiny devices of yours?”

  I sit on the stool. “Online. I had Janine modify the recorder, though, so that I could voice-activate it, which was really helpful.”

  “Wow.” His brown eyes grow wide. “You’re like Lois Lane and James Bond combined into one.”

  “And you were super,” I tell him, touching his arm. “You brought the bad guy down.”

  He smiles.

  “Speaking of Janine…”

  We stop, having both spoken at the same time.

  “You go first,” I tell him.

  Conner shrugs. “I was just going to say I met her. She was at your apartment with Alexa when I went to check on you.”

  “Yeah. She told me. She seems to like you.”

  “Really?” His eyebrows arch. “What did she say?”

  I shake my head. “Not telling.”

  Well, she said Conner was hot and that I shouldn’t let go of him.

  “But I will tell you what we talked about earlier,” I add. “Believe it or not, Janine was the one who sent the cops.”

  “I was wondering about that. They just appeared out of nowhere and right at the right time, too.” Conner scratches his head. “How did Janine send them?”

  “As you know, Janine is a genius. Apparently, she installed security cameras not only outside her apartment but outside mine. She just wasn’t them watching them live. After you left, she reviewed the footage and she found that the man had this tattoo…” My eyes narrow as I try to remember the details Janine gave me. “And she started running a search. She basically hacked into the city’s security cameras to find the guy, and then she sent the cops to
the location.”

  “Okay.” Conner nods. “Remind me to be nice to Janine.”

  I grin. “Don’t worry. She knows Alexa adores you. She also knows you’re her father. I told her.”

  “Okay.”

  I let out a sigh. “I’m just glad all this is over. I still can’t believe Damien Shore arranged that job offer, though.”

  “I thought I recognized the man in that photo with Cassie,” Conner says. “He was at that party. He’s friends with Damien Shore.”

  “Apparently he’s Cassie’s uncle,” I inform him. “Cassie called me.”

  “What did she say?”

  “That she’s sorry about everything and she didn’t know about it.” My shoulders heave. “Frankly, I’m not sure I believe her.”

  “What about the job?” Conner asks. “Is there still one?”

  I give another shrug. “All she said was that we still have to bring our stories to the office on the deadline.”

  “Which is just a few days away.”

  “I know, but I’m not worried.”

  He look surprised. “You’re not?”

  “I have a story,” I tell him.

  “You do?”

  I nod. Somehow, while I was taking that hasty shower, an idea came to me.

  “Besides, it’s just you and me left, so whoever wins, it’s fine, right?”

  He nods. Then his eyebrows crease. “Wait. What do you mean it’s just you and me left? Tiffany’s still alive, right?”

  “Yes. I spoke to her, too,” I inform him. “She doesn’t want this job anymore. She just wants her old life back.”

  “I don’t blame her.”

  “She’s starting a new blog, actually, with Margot, Damien’s ex-pretend fiancée. They found her all tied up and beaten, but she’ll be fine.”

  “Good for both of them.”

  “She also sends you a kiss,” I add.

  “What?”

  I peck on his cheek.

  Conner gives me a puzzled look. “Wait. You don’t still think something happened between us, right? Because…”

  I put my hand up. “No need to explain. Damien Shore did.”

  “He did?”

  “He said he threatened you in Dallas, and I’m guessing that’s why you wanted to leave me,” I tell him.

  “It was,” he confirms. “I was trying to protect you.”

  “Except I already had a target on my back. Damien found out I was at that party with you.”

  “Yeah.” Conner nods. “I think you said that. Still, things were made worse for you because he found out how much I cared about you. If the cops hadn’t arrived…”

  “But they did,” I cut him off, holding a finger to his lips.

  I’ve thought about it, too, and I think what could have happened will appear in my nightmares one of these days, but I’m not going to go there. I’m not going to let that cloud hang over me.

  “Besides, it was my story all along that put him in prison. I’m the one he should have been after the whole time. If anything, I got you in trouble. I was the one who took those pictures.”

  “And I was the one who published them with an article that had my byline,” Conner points out.

  “Yeah. Big mistake, right? Your life would never have been in danger if you had never stolen my story.”

  “I’m sorry I stole your story,” he says, holding my hand. “But I’m still glad it was me he went after, because I wouldn’t have wanted anything bad to happen to you.”

  I purse my lips, placing my hand over his. “Also, Tiffany told me nothing happened between the two of you.”

  He grins. “You two sure had a long conversation.”

  “And I told her that you and I were together. It just… slipped out.”

  “You did?” Conner gives me a look of disbelief.

  I nod. “I don’t know, though, if we are together. I mean, I did sort of break up with you.”

  “You told me to go to hell,” he reminds me.

  “Yeah, I did. And we kind of did, didn’t we? But now, we’re back. We survived hell.”

  “We sure did,” he agrees.

  I squeeze his hand. “So, does it mean we’re still together?”

  “I don’t think we were ever not together.” He strokes my cheek. “I love you.”

  “I love you,” I tell him, leaning over so I can press my lips to his.

  “Wait,” he says. “If you told Tiffany we were together, why did she still send me a kiss?”

  I chuckle. “I was just teasing you. That kiss was from me. And this one.”

  I’m about to give him another kiss, but suddenly the door opens and Alexa bounces in.

  “Mommy!” She throws herself at me.

  “Hey, sweetheart.” I stroke her hair.

  “I’ll be outside,” Janine tells me from the doorway.

  “Hi, Janine.” Conner waves at her.

  “Hi.” She closes the door.

  “Daddy!” Alexa stands on the tip of her toes to give Conner a hug.

  My eyebrows furrow. “Wait. Daddy?”

  She turns to me. “Conner is my daddy, isn’t he? Janine told me.”

  I scratch my chin. “I see. No wonder she was in a hurry to get out.”

  “It’s true, isn’t it?” Alexa asks.

  I glance at Conner who gives me a questioning look. I nod.

  “It is,” Conner answers the question, pinching Alexa’s nose playfully. “You’re my little girl.”

  “Yes!” She throws herself on Conner.

  “Ouch!” Conner winces.

  “Easy.” I pull Alexa back. “Daddy is a little bit hurt.”

  “But only a little bit,” Conner says. “I’m sure I’ll get better faster if you dance for me.”

  “Of course.”

  Alexa starts dancing.

  Watching her, I smile, my hand on my chest that seems about to explode with joy.

  I thought she’d be mad at me for keeping her father a secret from her, but she’s simply happy to have the father she needs and deserves. And I couldn’t be happier for her.

  “That means we’re a family now, right?” Alexa turns to me.

  I give her a hug. “Of course. Although you and I have always been a family.”

  Alexa’s eyebrows crease. Then she shakes her head. “No. It’s not the same.”

  “What do you mean?” I tickle her. “You sound like you didn’t like me.”

  “I like you a lot,” she tells me when she’s done laughing. “But there are things only daddies can do.”

  “Like?”

  “Like buy pets and carry me on his shoulders,” Alexa answers.

  Conner and I laugh.

  “And make Mommy happy,” she adds.

  I touch her cheek. “Yeah, Daddy can make Mommy happy in a very special way.”

  Conner reaches for her hand. “I promise I’ll always make Mommy happy.”

  I smile.

  “One more thing,” Alexa adds.

  “What?” I ask her.

  “Daddies let their kids eat pizza.”

  Conner laughs.

  “Can we have pizza tonight?” Alexa asks. “Pretty please?”

  I turn her around so she can face her father.

  “Please?” Alexa begs him.

  “Ask your mother,” Conner says.

  “Good answer,” I tell him, grinning. Then I squeeze Alexa’s shoulders. “Maybe not tonight, since Daddy still needs to stay here at the hospital, but tomorrow night we can have pizza—”

  “Yay!” Alexa cheers before I can finish.

  Above her, I gaze into Conner’s eyes with a soft smile as I continue.

  “To celebrate Daddy coming home… for good.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Conner

  Home.

  Sitting on the couch with a slice of pepperoni pizza in my hand, my daughter giggling beside me and a cage with two mice on the other side, I can’t help but smile.

  I’ve liked this apartmen
t from the moment I got here, even though it’s not exactly spic-and-span. It was always cozy. Warm.

  Now, it’s home.

  “I think I’ll go now,” Janine announces from behind the counter. “Thanks for the pizza.”

  “You’re welcome,” I tell her.

  “You’re leaving already?” Ingrid comes out of the bedroom.

  “Yeah. Time to go back to my apartment so I can slave away and leave your happy family to bask in your newfound joy.”

  “Oh, don’t say that.” Ingrid squeezes her shoulder. “You’re family, too, and you’re always welcome here.”

  Janine frowns. “Nah. I don’t think so. Speaking of which…”

  She hands Ingrid her key.

  “Why?” Ingrid looks at her in surprise.

  “You know, so I don’t accidentally walk in when the two of you are…”

  “Okay,” Ingrid cuts her off as she takes the keys, blushing. “Alexa, say good night to Janine.”

  Alexa leaves the couch to give Janine a hug. “Good night.”

  “Good night.” Janine kisses the top of her head before waving at me. “I’ll see you around?”

  “You will,” I assure her.

  After she leaves, I turn to Ingrid. “I like her.”

  Ingrid chuckles. “Why am I not surprised?”

  “I thought she’d be weird since you said she coops herself up in her apartment most of the time. I was imagining someone with messy hair and thick glasses and… well, you get the picture.”

  “Janine’s hair gets messy sometimes,” Alexa pipes in.

  “She’s still a cool person, though,” I say.

  “Yeah.” Alexa nods, sitting beside me again. “I agree.”

  “So do I.” Ingrid points to the bedroom door. “I have to go finish that story.”

  “Okay.”

  She goes inside the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

  She’s been working on it all afternoon, and she hasn’t given me any clues about what she’s writing about. Still, that look on her face tells me she has something good.

  “Don’t you just love it when your Mommy is writing a good story?” I ask Alexa as I take another bite of my pizza. “She looks like she’s on this journey, like she’s in another world.”

  “Yeah. She doesn’t hear a thing I say,” Alexa says.

  “I heard that!” Ingrid shouts from inside the bedroom.

  Alexa and I laugh.

  “Do you want to be a writer when you grow up?” I ask her, stroking her hair. “Or a journalist?”