by Lane Hart
After sitting alone in a holding cell for at least an hour I'm finally taken into the courtroom. The same judge from the trial is on the bench. Logan is sitting at the defense table instead of Page. I look around the room and…my heart stops when I find her in the front row, sitting beside my dad and Jude. They're all smiling, so I take that to be a good sign about why I'm here, even though it looks like Page is about to cry.
"Mr. Malone," Judge Bray starts. "You've been summoned to court because we've reopened your case after an investigation of juror fraud. There is evidence to suggest that one of the jurors was bribed during your trial, therefore I've declared a mistrial and ordered that you be granted a new one. Until such time you will be released on the same bond conditions as before, a fifty thousand dollar secured bond, no travel without prior approval is permitted, and you are to have no contact with the alleged victim."
They're fucking letting me out. After only two and a half weeks I'm getting released from prison. Jesus!
"Thank you, your Honor," I finally manage to say.
"We'll go ahead and calendar the case for retrial the week of September third. Any objections?"
"No, your Honor," Logan responds.
"No objection," the District Attorney says.
"Then let's adjourn court for the day. Bailiff?"
"All rise. This honorable court now stands in recess until tomorrow morning at nine a.m."
With that, my handcuffs are removed, and I'm once again a free fucking man.
Logan is wearing a cocky grin that he definitely deserves.
"Thank you so much. I don't know how to ever repay you," I tell him.
"Oh, you already have in a big fat fee." He laughs. "Now go see your wife," he says with a slap to my shoulder. "She missed you."
I turn around and look for Page. She hadn't moved, so I go to her.
"Hey," I say, unable to help my smile.
"Hey," she replies hesitantly.
"Hey, bro, glad to see you out of handcuffs," Jude tells me.
"Good to have you home, son," my dad says, giving me a hug.
"It's damn good to be free. I'm sorry about how I acted last weekend," I apologize to them all. “That place…it does something horrible to a man.”
"You were being held in a shitty prison for something you didn't do. That would make anyone go a little crazy," Jude replies with a shrug.
"Yeah, it was pretty shitty, but it's no excuse for how I acted. Now let's go home," I say, talking to Page. "Forgive me?"
"Yes. Even on your worst day you're better than Elliot on his best. Oh and he's sitting in a cell right now, getting drilled by federal agents," Page replies with a smile.
"Welcome back to the free world," Page's dad, who had gone unnoticed, says from beside me. I turn toward him and shake his offered hand. "And welcome to the family."
"Thank you, Mr. Davenport," I say in surprise. I'm glad he doesn't seem pissed at Page for marrying a jackass like me. Turning my attention to Page, I ask, "Come home with me?"
"Of course," she agrees.
"They're ready to release your belongings back to you, and as soon as that's done you can go," Logan tells us.
After I get rid of the orange jumpsuit, I change into the jeans and tee Page brought me, then slip my wedding ring back on. All that was left was for us to make our way through the maze of reporters to my dad's SUV.
I reach across the backseat to hold Page's hand, but that's not enough contact. I grab her and pull her on top of me so that she's straddling my lap, and bring her lips down to mine. Our kiss is hesitant at first, but quickly escalates until we're clinging to each other like we can't get close enough. I feel the wetness of Page's tears on my cheeks, and at least now I know they're happy ones.
We kiss like that for the entire three hours home. After saying goodbye to my dad and Jude, I carry her up to my apartment and start undressing her before the door shuts. I need her, need to feel her warm skin against mine to truly feel alive and free again.
Page is gorgeous laid out underneath me, her blonde hair down and fanned out on the bed, her blue eyes lit up with happiness.
"I missed you so damn much," I tell her.
"I missed you, too," she says with a smile. "Now make love to me."
"Do you want me to get a condom?"
She bites her bottom lip and smiles wider. "No, and you don't have to stop either."
"You don't have to tell me twice," I say as I ease inside of her. She's definitely ready after three hours of foreplay. "I love having you like this, with nothing between us. Whatever happens...well happens, if that's okay with you."
"Um, well, you don't have to worry about getting me pregnant," she says, making me go still.
"Oh?"
She's gone on birth control. I shouldn't be surprised. She's several years younger than me, right out of law school. We just got married two weeks ago and I've been a jackass the entire time. I guess it shouldn’t come as a shock that she doesn't want to get knocked up so soon.
Even understanding all that, it's still hard not to take it personally. That she just doesn't want me to get her pregnant.
"If you want to wait that's fine...I just thought, after that night..."
"Jax?"
"Yeah?" I ask, pulling back to see her face.
"You don't have to worry about getting me pregnant because, well, I already am," she says, practically flinching away from me while her eyes stay locked on mine.
"You're already..." I rewind her words to make sure I understand them. "You're...pregnant? Like right now?" I ask and she nods.
"We're gonna have a baby?"
"Yes," she confirms. "Are you freaking out? Because...I'm sorry, Jax. I knew you'd be upset..."
I lean down and kiss her lips to stop her rambling. But then...has it even been long enough for her to know? "Oh princess, I swear I'm not upset. I'm just surprised. I mean, are you sure? How do you know, because it's only been what, just two, maybe three weeks?" I ask.
She exhales likes she's been holding her breath the whole time. "I'm sure, and I'm, um, about six or seven weeks along."
"Okay, you lost me." I'm not all that great at math, so maybe I'm missing something.
"There was a condom recall."
"You're shitting me." I laugh and she shakes her head with a smile. "I'll be damned. So the night we got married, you were already..."
"Yeah. I found out the day after they moved you from Atlantic City. I was dizzy so Jude went with me to the doctor's office and they told me."
"God, and I acted like such an asshole to you!" I exclaim, now understanding what Jude was trying to tell me. What Page had been trying to tell me when I went ape-shit on them at the prison.
"Don't worry about that. It was a stressful time. I can't imagine how hard it was on you. Being in there, all alone."
"I missed you so damn much," I tell her. "So when? When are you due?" I ask, rubbing my palm over her lower belly, that doesn't feel any different yet.
"April fourth."
"April? Wow. Do you think we'll have a girl or a boy?" I ask with a smile.
"If it's a girl, you're not going to make her fight are you?" she asks.
"I guess we'll just have to wait and see if she comes out swinging,” I joke. “All I know is that we're going to let him or her do whatever the hell they want."
Then I make love to my pregnant wife. I've never been so damn happy, and have no idea how I could be this lucky. I have everything I could ever want, and I owe it all to a lying bitch. Who would've thought that in the end I'd be thanking her? Instead of making my life hell, she helped me find my way into heaven.
Epilogue
Page
The sold-out crowd of ten thousand in the Patriot Center in Fairfax is a force to be reckoned with. Kind of scary actually.
"These people are nuts," I have to yell to Sadie, so she will hear me over the noise.
"Yeah, they are. Especially the women," she giggles.
"Jax is clearly
the fan favorite," I notice, from all the signs and the Havoc griffon logos in the stands.
"Uh-huh. Jax is the best, and I’m betting Jude will be, too, soon," she says wistfully.
I know Jax is incredible, but seeing it is a whole different thing.
The lights in the arena dim and the theme song from the Halloween movies pump into the stadium after the announcer finishes the intro for Jax's opponent, Michael Evans. A few fans chant the first name of the man with a shaved head and solemn expression as he makes his way down the aisle to the raised octagon. Both of his arms are covered with black tattoos of screaming skulls and fire, which up his bad-assness.
Jax will never have any ink work done on his magnificent body. He's afraid of needles. Needles and small spaces are what freak out my big, incredible husband. But he doesn’t need the ink to be tougher. He manages that just fine on his own.
Once the ref cleared the psycho looking dude to enter the cage, the announcer goes through Jax's many wins. The world championship belt is on the line with this fight. Jax is fighting to keep the title that was taken away after the criminal charges. If he wins, this will make it six consecutive years as the reigning champion.
The first guitar riffs of Sick Puppies’ rock song "You're Going Down" comes blasting from the stadium speakers, making the crowd go even wilder.
The colored spotlights swirls, searching the arena for him until he finally steps out of the tunnel. He’s wearing tight black shorts, with almost every inch covered by sponsors, and a red Havoc hoodie, pulled up over his head but unzipped to show his cut upper body. Incredible is the only way to describe him.
Watching one of the big screens in the stadium, the camera goes in for a close up on him walking to the cage. He's the raging volcano again, scary and beautiful at the same time. I can only stare and drool as he approaches the ref and strips down to his shorts. I don't care much for the roar of approval from the thousands of women cheering for him. That's my husband, damn it!
Finally he's cleared to enter the octagon, just six month after his case was dismissed by the district attorney.
We found a witness to testify that the bitch had confided in her that she'd lied and given herself the marks on her neck. And somehow, mostly because of my brother, I'd managed to keep my law license. I've finally figured out what type of law I want to practice. I decided to specialize in sport contracts, and I already have a few MMA fighters as clients. Now that we're married, I can even represent Jax. I also plan to spend some time volunteering at the local animal shelter after the baby’s born. We’re currently looking for a house with a backyard to move into, and once that happens Jax has promised me all the puppies and kittens I could ever want. I know that if it was up to him he’d give me the world.
I'm doing great with my nerves seeing Jax in his very first fight, or at least I was until the bell rings and the two men collide.
"Oh shit!" I exclaim when fists start flying. I hold my breath as I watch the two angry men face off.
The psycho fighter dodges one of Jax's jabs and starts laughing like a cocky bastard, motioning to himself with both hands, telling Jax to bring it on. The leer stays on his face right up until Jax lands a cross on his jaw. The other man falls back so stiff and fast there isn't even time to yell, "Timber!"
"Oh my God! Jax won?" I ask Sadie, jumping, well easing to my feet as fast as an eight month pregnant woman can. “But it just started like ten seconds ago.”
"Oh yeah. That dude won't wake up until next week!" Sadie replies before we both shout and cheer for my man.
We yell louder when Jax's arm is officially raised by the ref. Once again he’s the undisputed, middleweight champion of the world. To celebrate he climbs to the top of the cage, straddling it with both hands in the air while waving the black and white Havoc Fight Club banner proudly.
Jude and Sadie's dads head into the cage to congratulate him with hugs when he jumps down and cameras begin circling. One of the TV announcers shoves the microphone in Jax's face that shows up on all the big screens around the stadium. My husband didn't even work up a sweat.
"How does it feel to get back in the cage and come out with a win in the first thirty seconds of the first round after all you've been through this past year?"
"It feels great. It's been a helluva year, and I've faced a lot of challenges, but it's the best feeling in the world to get back to fighting," Jax says, finding me in the front row and winking.
"For a while it seemed like we might not see any more from The Mauler because of the criminal charges. How did you deal with the stress of your court case?"
"I've got to say that if it wasn't for my beautiful wife, I probably wouldn't be standing here today. She fought for me through it all, so I credit this win to her. I'll have to spend the rest of my life trying to repay her for saving me."
"Um, Page? You're leaking," Sadie says.
"Oh, I know. He's too freaking sweet," I reply, wiping the tears from my cheeks. I wasn’t a crier until I got pregnant.
"Ah, not from your eyes, Page," she says, pointing down at my toes.
"Oh my God. Did I just get so excited I actually pissed myself?" I ask, glancing down my long maxi dress, finally noticing my wet legs. Then I feel a sharp pain in my lower back when my belly tightens like a fist. Again. "Oh shit!"
"I'm guessing your water just broke?" Sadie asks. I nod, sitting gingerly back down in the seat until I figure out what I should do. We're in Virginia, hours away from my OBGYN and hospital. I'm not even due for four more weeks!
I notice movement in the cage. Jax is climbing up and over the top, heading for me the quickest way since it’s filled with people.
"What's wrong?" he asks going down to his knees in front of me.
"Congratulations, Jax, you were awesome!" I tell him with a hug. "Oh, and the baby's coming."
"Shit, you mean like right now?" he asks several octaves higher than normal, his eyes wide. I worry he might be freaking out when his tan skin pales.
"Yep. My water just broke and there's this pain in my back I've had since this morning. I thought it was just the shitty hotel bed, but-"
"You're in labor?" He finishes for me.
"I believe so, yeah. I think your son's decided to bump up his birthday by a month."
"Holy shit!" he says before getting to his feet and scooping my fat ass up into his arms with a smile. "Then let's find you a hospital, princess."
"Good idea. You want to let your brother and dad know it’s go time?"
"Dad! Jude!" Jax yells to them across the huge arena. "Let's go! It's time to meet Xavier!"
The End
JUDE
A Cocky Cage Fighter Novel
By Lane Hart
COPYRIGHT
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue were created from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual people or events is coincidental.
The author acknowledges the copyrighted and trademarked status of various products within this work of fiction.
© 2015 Editor's Choice Publishing
All Rights Reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator” at the address below.
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Edited by Wendy Ely
Cover by vocaldesign
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Photo ©canstockphoto.com
WARNING: THIS BOOK IS INTENDED FOR MATURE AUDIENCES 18+ ONLY AND CONTAINS EXPLICIT SEX SCENES AND ADULT LANGUAGE!
Chapter One
Jude Malone
After a long day of blood, sweat, and coming damn close to tears, I'm so ready to head home, shower, and hit
the sack. Tomorrow I’ll be back here at the gym, rinse and repeat. The same as today, the same as yesterday. Fighting is my life, but the monotony of constantly training for the past seven years is starting to wear me down. "Yo, Jude," Coach Briggs calls out when I walk past his office.
"What's up?" I ask, poking my head in his door. Like usual, his desk is littered with stacks of papers, coffee cups, and take-out debris.
"You in a hurry?" he asks. Leaning his rolling chair back, he adjusts the tightening waistband around his ever expanding gut. Coach is naturally a big guy, a heavyweight boxer back in the day, but now his muscles have turned to chub in his lazy, old age.
"Ah, not really. I think my bed can wait on me a few more minutes, but I better send her a text so she won't get pissed when I'm late," I joke. Other than training, eating and sleeping I don't have anything else.
"Shut the door and have a seat," he says, nodding to the blue plastic chair across from his desk.
Curious, I do as he asks. I have a feeling something is up, and that whatever it is, I'm not going to like it if it requires privacy.
"I need you to do me a favor," he starts.
After training with Don Briggs since I was fifteen, I don’t think he’s ever asked me for a favor. This must be pretty damn important.
"Sure, name it."
"It's about Sadie."
Now I really have no idea what he might want. Sadie is Coach's one and only daughter that hangs out in this place probably more than is good for a teenage girl. I know Coach divorced her mom years ago before they moved back here to his hometown of Silver Spring, Maryland, and, from what I hear, the girl has always lived with her dad, rarely visiting her mom up in Jersey.
"Her senior prom is this weekend," he adds.
"Okay?"
"And her idiot boyfriend just broke up with her."