by Ash Johnson
“Well, you stupid bitch, if I’m gonna die then so are you.”
I open my eyes one last time, ready to face the end, and suddenly picture Blake standing behind Dominick with his eyes locked on my face.
I close my eyes once more, wanting Blake to be the last thing I see before I die. I’m hoping with everything that I have that he will take care of Alex for me. She needs someone strong to see her through life.
The sound of a gunshot is all I hear before my world goes silent.
Chapter 40
Blake
I’m trying my damndest to be quiet as I sneak up on this asshole with a gun pressed against my girl’s head. I removed my flip flops and am padding as quietly as I can across the dark hardwood floor in the hope that I go unnoticed. Then the words no one ever wants to hear echo through the room.
“Well, you stupid bitch if I’m gonna die then so are you.”
Harlow opens her eyes, beautiful light blue orbs settling on me one last time before she closes them tight, and a tear runs down her cheek.
Before that tear can make it down to her jaw, I figure that now is the time to jump. I grab onto his right arm and shove the gun up in the air. The surprise makes his finger flex on the trigger, and the gun goes off, unloading a bullet into the ceiling.
I tighten my hold on his forearm to keep him from pulling free. Then my left hand grabs hold of his bicep to clamp it in place as I bring his arm down to meet my rising knee. The sound of the bone just below his elbow breaking against my thigh brings me a sick sense of satisfaction.
He howls in pain and immediately drops the gun to the floor. I take advantage of the break in his focus to kick the gun out of his reach and then wail on him. This fucker hit Harlow. He beat on her, and I use these thoughts fuel my rage.
I step closer and unleash hell through my fists. I swing with my right and connect with his left cheekbone, then almost instantly pivot on the balls of my feet, swinging my left fist. Instead of aiming for his face again, I want to inflict as much pain as I can on this asshole before I end him. I land a solid blow on his lower bicep so hard that I almost feel the jolt shoot through his broken arm with the force.
His whine alerts me to how much pain he’s in but doesn’t make me want to stop my assault; it only fuels my fire. I can hear Harlow’s whimpers in the background, but I can’t focus on them at the moment. I have to make sure this asshole will never come after her again before I can think about how he has her taped, bleeding, and bruised on one of my fucking kitchen chairs.
My fists are still swinging with moves I’ve used before in the cage, making contact with different parts of his body, some to his head, some to his ribs, but mostly to his injured arm.
Finally, it seems as if this guy has gotten over the pain in his arm and grown a pair, because he wants to fight back. With a low growl, he balls up his left hand and swings. Since I wasn’t expecting him to fight back with a broken arm, I also don’t expect the punch, but the stinging sensation to the right side of my face is more welcoming than I thought it would be.
I haven’t been able to really fight for quite a while and this makes me feel like I’m back in the cage. I didn’t realize how much I missed that feeling until I got socked in the face by a man that is out to kill my girlfriend.
I give the prick a sinister smile after his fist connects with my cheek, relishing in watching his face change from anger to confusion at my reaction.
“You’re mine now, fucker,” I growl, feeling like I’m on a cloud and could kick his ass and ten other guys’ right after I’m finished with him.
Then I unleash hell. I use my fists, knees, and feet to get a decent shot on him anywhere I can. He grunts and groans in pain with every connection I make. I’m getting a bit tired of hitting him without any chance of him hitting back-- it’s like hitting a fucking punching bag with sound effects-- so I grab onto his shoulder, spin his body around, and then pull him back toward me, putting him into a choke hold.
After about thirty seconds of being locked in my hold, his face turns a sickening shade of red, and his left hand keeps trying to pull my arm away from his neck. Then all his muscles tense and release, and his entire body goes limp. I hold tight for a few more seconds just to make sure that he’s out before I let go.
He immediately flops to the ground, his body limp and unmoving, which leaves me satisfied that he’s unconscious and I can help Harlow.
I step over him and move closer to her, trying not to get pissed off when I see the dark red mark on her left cheek that is getting more swollen by the moment. The thought of this fucker hurting the girl I’m in love with has me thinking about committing murder. I have to force my feet to move toward her instead of turning around and killing him.
Harlow’s feet are attached to the chair by duct tape, and I think about starting there to free her, but then I glance up at her wrists and see that the skin around her zip ties is bleeding from her struggle to free herself, so I choose to remove those first.
“Hang tight, baby. Don’t struggle against your ties anymore. I’m just gonna run outside and grab the shrub trimmers, and I’ll be right back.”
She gives me a small nod, her body still shaking with either fear or adrenaline, I’m not sure which.
I hustle my ass outside, snatch the small shrub clippers from my shed in the corner of the yard, and sprint my way back into the house. I’m pretty sure that Dominick will stay knocked out, but I can’t be positive, and that thought alone has me moving faster than I have before.
I’m pleased to see that he’s still out on the floor a few feet away from Harlow, but I can tell that even being in his presence is freaking her the fuck out, because she can’t take her eyes off his unconscious body.
I step in front of her, blocking her view from him, and carefully cut the tie around her wrists. As soon as the plastic is freed, the torn skin starts to bleed like crazy.
“Don’t worry, baby, we’ll get you to the doctor. We need to get you out of here now, though,” I tell her, trying to keep some strength in my voice and focus on getting her away from Dominick and calming her down.
She wraps her palms around each wrist, her hands linked like they’ve become her own personal restraints to try and staunch the blood.
As I lift my hand to remove the tape on her mouth, her eyes widen in terror. I twist my head to find that Dominick is now on his knees behind us. A smaller gun than the one that was pressed to Harlow’s head is now pointed at me. His eyes are glassy, and he’s breathing hard enough that his entire body moves up and down with each breath.
“Time to die, fucker.” His voice is gravelly through his pain.
I know I can’t get close enough to him to remove the gun from his hand before he shoots me, so I just need to prepare for the shot and hope he doesn’t hit anything vital. Instead of glaring at him before he shoots me, I turn my head back to Harlow, wanting my girl to be the last thing I see, in case I’m done on this earth.
Her eyes connect with mine for a split second before I close mine and wait for the end to come.
Then a gun goes off.
Chapter 41
Harlow
I’m staring into Blake’s seemingly calm eyes and trying to convey every ounce of love I have for him through my own before his lids close.
Then I shift my gaze from Blake to Dominick when the shot rings through the air, followed quickly by a second bang.
Dominick’s eyes widen slightly, and his body slumps to the ground, his face hitting the hardwood with a strong thud.
I glance to the base of the stairwell to find an extremely tall and well-built man standing there with a gun pointed at the spot where Dominick was just kneeling. When the man’s eyes connect with mine, his gun finally lowers, and he releases the breath he was holding.
Blake opens his eyes and blinks at me. He seems slightly confused as to why the gun went off but he’s not wounded; and then he shifts his gaze from mine to the stairs and gives the other man a slight smile.<
br />
“Jesus, Ro, I thought I’d be dead by the time you got here, man.”
The other man smiles as a group of uniformed officers rush into the room toward Dominick’s body.
“Yeah, yeah, complain all you want asshole but I just saved your bacon,” the man he called Ro says as he starts toward us.
Another man, wearing what appears to be a paramedic uniform, steps closer to me and lifts his hand like he’s going to take the tape off my mouth, but Blake stops him.
“I got it,” he tells the man, who takes a step back but stays close with a medical bag next to his feet.
“This is gonna hurt for just a second, baby, but bear with me here.”
I nod and try to grit my teeth, but pain shoots through my jaw. Blake is careful with his movements but quick enough that the tape is off with minimal pain. I barely open my mouth, and part of one of my back molars comes tumbling out.
Blake’s eyes widen in shock and then narrow in anger as he realizes why I’ve just spit one of my own teeth out. His focus switches from me to Dominick’s body, which is now being covered with a white sheet.
When he shifts back at me, his jaw is tight, and there are unshed tears in his eyes. “I’m sorry, babe. I tried to get to you in time, but I didn’t make it.”
“Blake, if it weren’t for you, I’d be dead right now,” I whisper, my voice hoarse either from my pneumonia or from screaming behind a piece of tape. The throb in my jaw is unavoidable, but he already feels bad about me getting hurt; I do everything I can to hide the pain so he doesn’t feel worse.
He gives me a small nod but says no more and leans forward to touch his forehead to mine. After a few seconds of absorbing each other’s presence, someone clears their throat next to us.
The paramedic is still standing there, seeming ashamed that he broke us apart.
“Sorry to ruin your moment, man, but I need to make sure she’s okay before we move her to the ambulance.” Blake nods and small step back, which makes me feel better. I know that this man is only going to make sure I’m all right but having Blake here to protect me calms my nerves.
Once I’ve been painstakingly assessed, I’m led outside by the police, Blake stuck to my side. I’m ready to get into the ambulance when I remember something.
“Alex,” I gasp and then wince through my pain in my jaw. Blake’s eyes widen, but then Ro appears beside the ambulance door with Alex standing next to him, her face a splotchy red from crying.
“Is this who you’re looking for?” he says and places his hand on her back to help her up into the vehicle.
“I was so scared, Lo,” she says, calling me the nickname I haven’t heard from her in years. She and my gran used to call me that, but after gran died and we moved to Phoenix, she either called me Harlow or something much harsher.
I nod, unsure of what else I can say to ease her, and grab hold of her hand to let her know that I’m still alive and that she’ll never have to worry again.
Blake is standing outside with his police friend, his face suddenly calm.
“I’ll meet you at the hospital. I’m gonna ride with my buddy Ronan and give him my statement of what happened on the way. We’ll be right behind you, okay?”
I nod again. Then the ambulance doors shut, and we’re moving. I close my eyes and lay my head down on the gurney, smiling slightly when Alex’s hand tightens around mine.
***
After being seen by a doctor and having a full CT scan, it’s determined that my jaw is fractured in three places, four of my ribs are bruised from falling onto the chair, and I have a slight concussion from being knocked over the head with the butt of Dominick’s gun twice. There are multiple spots on both of my wrists that need a few stitches from the zip ties digging in too hard.
An oral surgeon attempts to replace my broken tooth- but, with the amount of pain I’m in, suggests that I wait until I’m healed to get a cap put in its place- then wires my jaw shut.
I’m then pumped full of antibiotics for a great many number of things ranging from my jaw, to pneumonia, to the now growing thrush all over my mouth from being sick. I’m a high-risk patient and have nurses and doctors in to monitor me every half an hour for what they tell me will be about five days; I know it will be almost impossible to get any sleep in that time.
Blake never leaves my side other than to take Alex down to the cafeteria. He called the manager of his gym to let him know that his physical therapy sessions need to be put on hold until I can get out of the hospital. He tried to push it until I could get the wire removed from my jaw, but I wouldn’t hear of it. No one needs to miss six weeks of work just to take care of someone whose problem is that she can only drink smoothies.
Blake’s friends all come to visit me. Ada, who has become a strong presence in my life since I’ve been in the hospital, brings her husband Jay in to say hello. He’s super tall, super big, and super hot- but doesn’t hold a candle to Blake in my eyes. Plus, Jay’s dark brown eyes only shine when he’s staring at his petite wife.
The day after I’m submitted to the hospital, the man I now recognize as Ronan comes in with a bouquet of sunflowers in one hand and a gorgeous brunette holding onto the other. Blake smiles at them and then stands from the chair next to my bed to greet them.
When he reaches the brunette, he leans in and places a small peck on her cheek.
“Hey, get your lips off my wife you ass, or you’ll get shot next,” Ronan growls.
Blake chuckles and backs away from the woman. He takes the flowers from Ronan and places them next to the window with the two other bouquets that I’d received from him.
“Harlow, this is my wife, Elle.”
I nod and try to speak, but only mumble a few words before I give up. Having my jaw wired shut and a mouth full of thrush has made conversations almost nonexistent.
“It’s okay, Harlow, I’m a nurse and I understand just how hard it is to talk with your mouth wired. Just relax.” I start to nod but stop when Blake starts speaking.
“You’re a nurse at a pediatrician’s office, Elle. How many times have you had to deal with people who have their jaws wired? They normally come to the E R with shit like that, not their kid’s doctor.”
Elle flips Blake the bird, and I smile a bit as everyone else laughs. These three seem very close, and I’m envious of their relationship. I haven’t had time to get close to anyone outside of work in a very long time. Then I realize that I’m with Blake, and these people could very well be my new friends, too.
“I hate to bug you while you’re so busy here, Harlow,” Ronan says with a smirk, I narrow my eyes at him, and Elle laughs. “But I need to get a statement from you about what happened yesterday.”
I point to my jaw and raise an eyebrow. He nods a few times and steps closer to me. “I know you can’t speak well, so I brought you some paper and a pencil, thinking you could write down everything you remember and who that man was. It would really help us out.”
He drops the spiral notebook onto my tray table and lays a pencil next to it, and I nod at him and then set to work. During this time, he tells me about how Dominick was shot twice in the chest, one bullet grazing his heart and killing him almost immediately.
He then hands Blake a manila envelope across the bed. “And here are the papers for the restraining order that you requested. I hand delivered a copy to Heaven this morning. I can tell you that she was very upset and cried a lot, but she did promise to leave you alone.” Blake sags in relief but says nothing else on the subject.
Almost an hour and a half later, my wrist is hurting so much from writing I’m tempted to call the nurse in to administer some pain meds, but my statement is finished.
“Thank you for this, Harlow,” Ronan says as he scoops up the paper and then grabs Elle’s hand. “We should be going. We left our little hellion with Jay and his kids. I’m guessing that Orion and Axel have made him want to pull his hair out by now.”
I tighten my hand around Blake’s, and he shifts his e
yes to me. “Axel?” I say when he leans closer to me.
I can see confusion for a moment before his brows even out, and he smiles at me. “Yeah, Jay and Ada have two kids-- Maya and Axel. You met them when I was babysitting. Ronan and Elle have a son named Orion who is just a couple months older than Axel.”
I nod, finally getting everything straightened out from the time I found two little kids peeking around his legs.
“Yes, and if we want to see that little boy live to his next birthday, we’d better go get him before Jay goes thermo-nuclear.” Elle giggles and gives me a small wave before she and Ronan disappear out of the room.
After a few minutes of silence, Blake leans in and touches his forehead to mine. This is something he’s doing a lot lately, like he’s reminding himself that I’m still alive and breathing.
“I love you, you know that?” he says. I nod against him and close my eyes, relishing his words.
“Love you too,” I whisper through the half inch gap between my teeth.
“Life is going to be so good now, babe. We don’t have anything to hold us back now. Things are done with your dad’s debt, Alex is back on track with school, and you don’t have to work three jobs now. You can do whatever you want.”
I open my eyes and realize that he’s right. Mr. E settled everything with my dad’s debt after he found out all that I’d been through with Dominick. He told me that he’d take the payment out of Dominick’s account to cover what was owed. I’m not sure how that’s going to work now that Dominick is dead, but I don’t care enough to call Mr. E and ask.
Alex also confessed to me that she hadn’t been going to school for a while but, after I took about ten minutes and almost requested a sedative from the nurse to calm me down, assured me that she was back where she needed to be.