Always with You (WIth You Trilogy)

by Sable, R. J.

  Jake wasn’t really as big on martial arts as my brothers. He was trained because they made him train and he kept in form so that he could keep up with them when at home, but it had never really been a big area of interest for him. For this reason, I didn’t consider it particularly smart for him to launch himself at a guy who outweighed him by a good stone.

  Evan slammed his fist into Jake’s ribs and he stumbled backwards. The blow looked harsh and I winced for his sake but I doubted it was even close to what he was used to and he recovered quickly. I was still reluctant for him to get hurt so, without thinking twice, I put myself in between them.

  “I don’t want you to get hurt, Jake,” I whispered, watching my brothers gather round again. “This was meant to be fun.”

  “He was being a dick to Alex,” Jake grunted, his eyes locked back on Evan who was smirking, clearly thinking he was winning the physical and mental battle taking place.

  “Need your girlfriend to protect you?” Evan laughed, eyeing me viciously.

  I suddenly understood why Karl thought my outfit was too tight, his eyes on me made my skin crawl.

  “She’s my sister, you asshole,” Jake scowled, testing my strength as he pushed against me, trying to get back to Evan.

  “Really?” His eyes lit up. “Wonder if she’ll be as good a shag as your mum.”

  My world stood still. I felt sick to my stomach with guilt, anger, and repulsion. The ripple of twisted emotions flowed through me and through almost every other person stood by us. With one single sentence, he’d managed to piss off almost every person in the room. My brothers, Jason, his friends. Every single one of them looked about ready to kill Evan.

  In slow motion, they all lunged towards him. I was closest though and I got there first. I was suddenly very grateful to Jason and my brothers for teaching me Krav Maga over the recent months and for very different reasons than I had been previously.

  There’s a scene on Big Bang Theory where a girl described Krav Maga as “a hundred different ways to rip a guy’s nuts off.” I must have missed those lessons, but right then I wished I’d learnt every single one. I settled for kicking him in the balls with all my strength and enjoyed immense satisfaction as the guy dropped to the floor.

  I’m not sure if I would have been so lucky if I hadn’t caught him off guard. The guy outweighed me at a ratio of two to one but I wasn’t exactly worried about him retaliating because an eager queue was forming to decapitate him.

  I contemplated kicking him again, but I really wished I was wearing the pointy high-heeled shoes I’d had on that morning. They would have been great fun to stomp with. I was beaten to the punch though. The twins were already pulling him up from the floor and dragging him towards the back exit, followed by the rest of my brothers.

  I left them to it. I felt like I’d had my revenge and it was their turn. Besides, I needed to calm down.

  “Jamie,” Jason said cautiously, taking me by the shoulders. “Are you okay?”

  I nodded slowly, still feeling a little disorientated. It felt like my body had been temporarily taken over by somebody else. I don’t do things like this.

  “That was…” he paused and pulled my chin up gently to meet my eyes. “One of the hottest things I have ever seen,” he grinned mischievously and I couldn’t help but laugh a little. He wrapped me in his arms and I took a few deep calming breaths and a dose of Jason whilst I waited for my pulse to settle.

  “Seriously though, are you okay?” He asked, his brow wrinkled in concern.

  “Yeah, I just… I was angry,” I admitted, a little ashamed of my actions.

  “I don’t blame you,” Jason nodded, his lips quirking up slightly. “He deserved it.”

  “Damn, girl!” Grayson chuckled, coming over to give me a hug. “Remind me never to piss you off!”

  I laughed and returned his hug and then went to make sure Alex was okay.

  “I could get used to the Carter family running to my defence,” Alex swooned.

  By the time I’d hugged him, I’d cooled off a little and my brothers were filing back into the room looking surprisingly relaxed which meant that Evan was probably lying outside in a bloody mess with a few warnings floating around in his head about staying the fuck away.

  “Jellybean!” Danny laughed. “We’ve taught you well.”

  “I’ve never been so proud,” Rick agreed. “Seriously, you could graduate with a first and it still wouldn’t beat that!”

  “Thanks,” I grinned, turning to face Jake. “Sorry, Jake. I should have just let you kick his ass.”

  “No worries,” he laughed. “It was way more entertaining watching you do it.”

  I grinned back and Karl called everyone in.

  “That solves one problem,” Matt announced to the group. “At least we’re even numbers now.”

  A couple of the guys laughed, seemingly relaxed. Nobody appeared to be bothered and I got the sense that most of them had thought he’d had it coming.

  There were twenty fighters in total, so the winnings were £200 and a few of the guys seemed eager to start. I thought it was a pretty dastardly plan since my brothers probably already suspected that one of them would be the one to win.

  Since there were no judges, the rule was that the match was over when one player tapped out. After five minutes, if neither fighter was obviously dominating, then they’d get a one-minute break and start again.

  “What’s Jason’s secret weapon?” I asked Ben.

  “He didn’t tell you?” Ben looked up at me with apparent amusement.

  “No,” I shook my head and pouted a little.

  Ben just grinned back and I recognised the glimmer of mischief that was so like his brother’s. It was then that I remembered Ben and Jason’s history with fighting.

  “It’s you!” I exclaimed excitedly. “You’re gonna use your math voodoo on him.”

  “Shh!” He grinned. “Don’t give away our trade secrets,” he winked.

  I giggled and set myself up for an amusing afternoon. The guys all put their names in a hat and then ten of them drew names to select who they would be fighting first. One person from each of the first ten fights would be eliminated straight away. The same would be true for the second round, leaving us with five fighters and a total of ten fights to establish a first, second, and third place winner.

  Any tension left from the unpleasantness seemed to have disappeared and the room buzzed with an excited energy. There were two training cages, so for the first round, there would be two fights fought simultaneously. Elise and Hannah were keeping track on a large whiteboard whilst Grace slept happily, blissfully unaware of the testosterone filled atmosphere.

  The difference between some of the fighters was staggering, they’d never usually have been put up against each other. However, these fights would be over quickly and rely heavily on luck. If you were paired with a much stronger fighter in the beginning then you’d have no chance, but you could face the same fighter in the final round and he might have exhausted his energy and put up little resistance. It would be interesting to see.

  As the fights started, I could see Ben studying each of them with a curious interest, his eyes following each fighter’s movements. Jason watched as well, just as intently.

  My brothers were doing the same. They were fans of the ‘know your enemy’ philosophy and weren’t about to pass up a chance to learn what they were up against.

  Some of the fights were over pretty quickly. Simon had picked Tony’s name out of the hat and I swear he’d had him tapping out in less than thirty seconds. It was impressive to see. Craig had picked Danny’s name out which lead to an interesting fight. They sparred with each other often enough that they knew each other’s styles. The twins had been instrumental in teaching Craig a lot of what he knew, but Craig had picked up quickly and I suspected that, one-on-one, he could win. It took the full five minutes, but eventually he got Danny to tap out.

  They were fine about it afterwards, Danny only seemed bot
hered by the fact that Rick had progressed to round two and he hadn’t. By the third round, only five fighters remained: Rab, Josh, Simon, Karl and Jason. This will be interesting.

  The last nine matches were some of the best yet. Unfortunately for Rab, he wasn’t so lucky. He lost all four of his matches, but Alex looked eager to console him and he just seemed happy to have gotten to the final round. Simon won one, Josh won two, and Karl and Jason had each won three matches, leaving them alone in the final match to decide a winner.

  “Third place,” I beamed at Josh, giving him a hug. “Not bad, big guy.”

  “Thanks, Jamie,” he smiled happily back and joined us, ready to watch the final.

  “Come on, Gracie, let’s watch Daddy kick some ass,” Elise grinned, rousing Grace from her nap.

  “What if he loses?” I teased.

  “Then Grace will learn a valuable lesson about being humble,” she grinned. “But he won’t.”

  I smiled, kissed my beautiful niece, and went off to talk to Jason before the final fight.

  “You’re kicking ass today, birthday boy,” I grinned.

  “Thank you, beautiful,” he smiled, scooping me up in his arms to kiss me.

  I noticed Ben was at his side and seemed anxious to talk so I left the two of them together to do their voodoo thing. Whatever it was, it was working so far, but I wasn’t sure how much of it was down to Ben, and how much of it was down to Jason’s impressive training routines.

  “You alright?” I asked Craig, joining him next to the cage. He’d been paired with Karl in the second round and he’d been eliminated after a very close fight.

  “Yeah,” he smiled a genuine smile. “I wasn’t expecting it to go any differently.”

  I nodded in understanding. Karl worked training the best of the best in the UK and abroad, there was no shame in being beaten by him. I just hoped Jason would understand that.

  “Jason’s been holding back so far,” Craig nodded his head towards where my boyfriend was still chatting with Ben.

  “I think he has a plan,” I grinned.

  “I hope he doesn’t expect it to work,” Craig shook his head with a wry smile.

  “We’ll see,” I laughed.

  I’d love it for Jason’s sake if he managed to win, but I knew Karl was incredibly talented. He’d not gotten his job through pure chance. He was the best of the best in hand-to-hand combat and he was no stranger to cage fighting.

  There was an excited buzz in the hall as the two of them entered the cage. They bumped fists happily and Rick announced the start of the fight. Neither seemed prepared to make the first move. I knew their styles well; both were much more inclined to let their opponent make the first move.

  They circled each other for a few seconds before Jason’s eyes met mine and I swear to god he winked at me just before he made his move

  He was fast, I’d give him that. He zipped around that cage faster than I’d ever seen him move. It was indescribably hot to see him so focussed and effective.

  At first, Karl seemed a little caught off guard as he blocked blows but he quickly adapted, anticipating Jason’s attacks and, in some cases, pre-empting them. Jason adapted as well, at first he’d been raining fast, sharp jabs in rapid concession, but he changed to strong, powerful kicks and punches.

  It was incredible to see them fight in this way. An awed silence had fallen over the room instead of the usual cheering and shouting. Everybody seemed to sense we were watching something different.

  I caught site of Ben’s face across the cage. His expression probably matched my own. It was a mixture of awed admiration and fear that a loved one might get hurt. I imagined it was harder for Ben after having watched his brother take regular beatings from their father.

  There was something to be admired from the two of them though. They’d turned the violence they’d been subjected to into something they could control. The thing that had broken their family had also become the thing that bound the two brothers together. Not to mention the financial support it had given them over the years. I was insanely proud of both of them.

  I drew my attention back to the fight and when Karl finally grappled Jason to the floor, I thought it was over. When they’d fought before, Jason had struggled to get Karl’s weight off of him, but that was while ago. This time, Jason wriggled in a way that looked barely possible and pinned Karl down.

  Again, the crowed sensed a change. Karl was in trouble. He didn’t seem to be able to free himself and the clock was ticking down. With just two seconds left, he was trapped. He used all his might as the clock ticked but he wasn’t getting free.

  When the buzzer sounded, Jason immediately released Karl and pulled them both to their feet. I was so in awe that I wasn’t sure what to think. I’d never seen Karl lose to anyone but Ian. None of my brothers had seen anything like it either. I wasn’t sure which of us looked most shocked.

  The guys burst out into a very loud round of whooping and cheering and Jason offered his hand to Karl and they shook. Karl’s facial expression was priceless. It was something between the expression he’d had when I’d first gotten my period and he’d been the only one home, and the terrified one he’d had when Elise went into labour.

  He returned Jason’s handshake and slapped him on the back, his face breaking out into a smile.

  “Holy fuck,” Craig whispered.

  I nodded my agreement. None of us had actually been expecting Jason to win. I jumped up and down excitedly as they came out of the cage, throwing myself into Jason’s arms.

  “That was awesome!” I grinned.

  “You think?” He laughed, returning my embrace.

  “Yeah, you and Ben must make quite the team,” I smiled happily, following him back to the white board.

  “£200,” Matt nodded, handing over the wad of cash.

  “Cheers,” Jason grinned, splitting it in half and giving the other half to Ben.

  “Woah, that’s generous,” Craig exclaimed, eyes going wide.

  “How come you never give us half?” Danny demanded, punching Craig in the arm.

  Craig just laughed. He’d split his winnings with my brothers for years, helping to contribute to the bills. He’d also given a chunk to whichever brother had helped train him prior to major fights. He wasn’t selfish with his money at all.

  “Ian’s never gonna let me live this down,” Karl shook his head despairingly, rocking Grace in his arms.

  “It was pretty close,” Jason shrugged it off. “Thanks for organising this. It was great fun.”

  “No worries,” Karl nodded, smiling down at Grace.

  I wondered if he’d have taken a loss so well a few years ago. I didn’t think so. Being a father seemed to be doing wonders for his temper.

  Chapter 19

  Saturday, 3rd August 2013

  We picked up ridiculous amounts of pizza on the way back. The twins had work early in the morning and Karl and Elise wanted to get back with Grace so they couldn’t stay all day. A lot of the guys came back with us to the house. We’d be going into town that night, with Xander in tow, and the numbers were already pretty high so I didn’t think Jason would mind most of my brothers disappearing before then.

  “So, am I allowed to ask how it works?” I asked Ben, sitting next to him and Hannah next to the sofa.

  “You want me to reveal our secrets?” Ben grinned.

  “I was just curious,” I smiled. “You don’t have to tell me.”

  “Nah, I was just kidding,” Ben laughed. “It’s not really a secret. I’ve just always been good at maths. I can’t really help it. I see patterns everywhere, some simpler, some more complicated. There are patterns in everything. Sometimes takes me a while to figure them out, but they’re always there.”

  “So you see patterns in people’s fighting styles?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” he nodded happily. “Jay and I both watch a fight, then compare notes. Simple as that.”

  “So you knew he’d win against Karl?” I asked curious t
o understand.

  “No,” he grinned. “We weren’t sure there. Your brother is incredible. He shifts patterns all the time, and they’re not simple patterns either. They’re complicated shifting algorithms that-”

  “English, Ben,” Hannah giggled.

  “Sorry,” Ben blushed with a smile. “Either way, I couldn’t tell Jay exactly what to expect so I gave him two potential patterns that I thought Karl would use and he had to be able to react quickly enough to whichever one he was up against. If the fight had lasted thirty seconds longer, it wouldn’t have worked.”

  I nodded in awe. It sounded like the sort of system that only worked because they’d spent so many years together. I doubted the information Ben had given Jason would have been much use to anyone else.

  “Gah, Benji,” Jason sighed, sitting down with us. “Could you not have just told her I won because I’m awesome?” He nudged Ben and slipped his arm around my waist.

  “There’s that too,” Ben laughed, helping himself to a slice of pizza.

  “Well, I’m impressed with both of you,” I smiled, leaning closer to Jason’s side.

  Everybody was relaxed and joking around whilst we ate pizza and watched TV. The lounge was pretty packed and we’d had to move the coffee table to the side to make room for everyone on the floor.

  Craig, Alex, and Jake stayed behind when everyone left. Jake was riding back with Ben and Hannah the following morning and Alex and Craig were going to get the train back.

  “So where are we going tonight?” Josh asked.

  “Wherever, I don’t really mind. Where do you fancy?” Jason replied.

  “I’ll make some calls,” Josh grinned.

  “Somewhere with hot girls,” Jake chimed in.

  “Hard up for it, Jake?” Craig teased.

  “Fuck off,” Jake retorted. “Never been a problem for me.”

  “Sure it hasn’t. I bet girls love the lanky look,” Craig laughed, obviously winding him up. Sure, Jake was the least bulky of my brothers but he was no means lanky.