Chapter 29
K.J.
Walking back from taking Candice to her seat, I see the bitch in the crowd. She thinks she is smart, that nobody will recognize her with a blonde wig on. I’m a detailed oriented person, I knew it was her as soon as I saw her eyes. The eyes now looking back at me, with horror. She turns around trying to make it to the hall that leads to the bathrooms, before I can get to her. What she doesn’t count on is me not giving a damn where she runs, we gave her a warning, she didn’t listen.
Slamming the bathroom door open, I yell at the two underage girls to get the hell out. They rush out the door, probably on their way to get security. Which further pisses me off, because now I am on a time crunch.
London stands at the back of the bathroom, already trying to plead her case.
“I just came to watch the fight, I swear, I’m not trying to cause trouble.”
I walk up to her, grabbing her by the throat, pushing her body flush against the wall. I squeeze just enough to give her a warning, her time to talk is over, now she needs to fucking listen.
“We told you to stay away from Candice. Jasper warned you what he would do. Would you like to know what I’m capable of? What the consequences would be if you pull this shit again?”
I take a step closer, getting more into her personal space,
“What do you think would happen if you disappeared? You’re so willing to spread your legs, letting any guy who shows you attention fuck your nasty snatch, how about I sell you to the highest bidder. It’s a win win situation for the both of us, I make money, and you continue to get fucked like the animal you are.”
She starts scratching at my hands, hearing the actual threat in my voice, “You will hold out hope for months, maybe years, that your rich daddy will come save you. Not after the photos I show him of you and those drug dealers. I’ll threaten to release them, so he would play the broken hearted father, winning his election, not caring enough about you to search.”
She knows it’s the truth the minute I say it, her eyes glaze over, with the same look an dog gets when it’s backed into a corner, “Do what you want with me. At least I’ll wake up every day knowing I destroyed the only person Jasper loves.”
I don’t react to her statement, that would be playing into her hand. She played her card, and now I know she has something planned for Candice. I know my time is almost up, so I take out the syringe I keep hidden in my pants, just in case of emergencies, and stab her in the neck with it. She will be sleeping for at least twelve hours but her memory will be intact.
Turning around I see two security guards walk in, they look from London on the floor passed out, back up to me standing beside her.
“What’s going on in here?”
“Well it’s the classic case of a drunk girl passing out, trying to give head. I gotta go. We got a problem here?”
They look at one another, neither one feeling confident enough to take me on, so they both nod their head.
Right now, I need to concentrate on Jasper’s fight, after, I will figure out what in the hell London was talking about.
Chapter 30
Candice
I take my seat just in time for the lights to go off, and red and blue lights to fill the auditorium, swirling around the crowd, highlighting just how many people showed up. This place is much bigger than I expected, holding at least twice as much as our school gym. The cage has several banners from different advertisers. I see several people from school including Bethany and Izzy, sitting two rows behind me.
People start booing just as Liam’s song comes on, Headstrong by Trapt. The chorus of the song starts blaring, as soon as I hear “Headstrong to take on anyone,” Liam comes walking out of the shadows, wearing white shorts, and white gloves. The crowd finally starts cheering, I only hear a few boos still, and looking behind me, I see that they are coming from Izzy and Bethany.
Looking back towards Liam, he is almost half way down the walkway. His head is down, like he is in his own world, tuning everyone out. He makes it to the cage and takes off his shoes. There is a rounded, bald guy, standing there. When Liam steps up to him, he puts what looks like petroleum jelly on his nose, forehead, and around the eyebrow bones. Then he checks Liam’s gloves and Liam finally enters the Octagon.
As soon as Liam walks to his corner, the lights in the whole building go out, leaving everyone in pitch-black darkness.
“Let the bodies hit the floor…. Let the bodies hit the floor.” Is being played, the singers voice whispering in our ears, preparing us for what is about to come.
Two hits of the cymbal, and the vocalist growls,” Floooooorrrrr”
A spot light shines on a tall figure emerging from the dark, wearing black shorts and black gloves. Jasper is holding his head high walking with purpose. The crowd eats it up, going crazy, shouting finisher, as he walks by. You can tell that this crowd came for one fighter, and it is the one currently marching forward prepared to kill or be killed.
The spotlight is the only light in the room, following Jasper on his descent to the Octagon. His eyes never stray from the cage His face never showing any emotion. He makes his way over to the round guy, going through the same routine Liam did. When he steps into the Octagon, he reaches back, and shuts the door himself looking at Liam smiling.
The spot light switches to the announcer in the center of the ring, “Good evening ladies and gentlemen, now for the main event of the night, two undefeated fighters, both of them having their debut fight tonight. Introducing in the white corner Liam “The Lunatic” Kyler.”
The crowd starts cheering again, some of them shouting his name. I hear Izzy and Bethany boo. I just shake my head, not really wanting to boo someone I consider a friend.
“Now introducing in the black corner, Jasper “The Finisher” Johnathan.”
The deafening roar that comes from the crowd has me smiling, cheering right along with them. I may not agree with the fighting. I may not like it, but Jasper loves it, and from the reaction of his fans, he’s good at it.
The ref gets on the mic and explains the rules, half the size of the two beasts he is standing between. The entire time he is talking, Liam is looking at Jasper smiling, and Jasper is mouthing something to Liam. Whatever it is can’t be good, I can see some fear enter Liam’s gaze. That same fear I get when I hear Christopher’s name.
They touch gloves, and then walk to opposite sides of the octagon. As soon as the bell rings, Jasper is charging at Liam, barreling into him as if he is a linebacker. In just a blink of the eye, Liam is on the cage floor, while Jasper is on top of him, throwing punches at lightning speed. Liam somehow manages to roll, and reverses their positions. He swings twice, hitting Jasper in the head, before jasper manages to free his legs good enough to shove him off.
My heart is racing. I don’t know how I am supposed to get through this entire fight, let alone round one.
“He’ll be alright sweetie,” Dalton’s mom tells me, “Although I’ve never seen him attack his opponent with such hatred before. The two must have history.”
I just nod my head and keep watching the fight.
Jasper stands up, wiping the blood off his eyebrow. Liam spits on the mat, blood splatters flying everywhere, saying something to Jasper. Jasper shakes his head, walks forward, and hits Liam right in the nose. This seems to piss him off, because he spins, and raises his leg hitting Jasper on the side of the head.
They stay on their feet, dodging and ducking, from each other’s flying fists. They occasionally get a good hit in, mainly to the body. I hear the bell ring, and the ref rushes between them, before another punch can be thrown.
Chapter 31
Jasper
It’s the end of round one, I feel no pain, no emotion. Other than the jealousy that is running through my veins imagining my girl wrapped in his arms. Roy tries to talk to me as I sit on my seat, drinking water, but I just keep staring at Liam. Watching Candice out of the corner of my eye. She only cringed a few times durin
g the fight, other than that, my girl is staying strong. Liam got a few good hits on my liver, but I’m just getting started. When the ref was reciting the rules, I made sure to look him dead in the eye, and mention those photos I got. The moment it registered, I could smell the fear coming off him in waves. He knew I would be a tough fight, fighting to win, but I’m unstoppable when it comes to fighting for what’s mine.
We both stand back up, waiting for the bell to ring indicating the start of round two. When I hear that familiar sound, I decide to let him come at me this time. It takes only a second, he is charges forward, going for an upper cut that I see coming. I maneuver out of his way, throwing my left hook, landing him right on the chin. He takes a step on wobbly legs. It’s time for me to end this. I charge forward, throw a combination that knocks him off his feet, onto the mat. He is protecting his face, with his arms, defending himself from my ground and pound. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Candice’s aunt approach her, taking her by the arm leaning in to whisper in her ear. This causes me to lose focus on the fight, allowing Liam to squirm out from underneath me, and stand back up.
He waits for me to get back to my feet. When I get up, I take a few steps to my right, allowing me to see Candice. Her face is pale white, and she is crying. Liam takes this opportunity to land a punch to the side of my face, splitting my eyebrow further apart. With blood trailing down my face, I look up to see Candice walking off with her aunt, both of them practically running out the door. I follow my instinct and kneel down on my knee, tapping the mat three times. I slam by Liam rushing to get out of the Octagon.
“Candice…” I yell.
She hears me and turns around halfway out of the door. I would give anything to change the look in her eyes, the look that shatters my world. I’ve seen it before. Many times. She’s leaving and I know she’s not coming back.
Roy is at my side immediately, wanting to know what the hell is going on. There is no point in trying to explain this to him. I need to get to my locker room. I run up the entrance the fighters come out of, rushing to get my keys, to make it to Candice’s house. I hear footsteps behind me, but don’t bother listening to the voices of my two best friends telling me to slow down.
“What in the fuck just happened out there? You had the win?” Dalton comes in yelling.
K.J is next to rush in, then Roy. Roy demanding answers just like Dalton, and K.J. just standing there. Arms crossed waiting for my reply.
“It’s Candice, her aunt came here and told her something. She left crying. It has to have something to do with her weird behavior all week.”
“Okay… You could have talked to her after you won. You do realize you just threw away your MMA career for a few tears.”
Dalton has never known when to shut up. I can’t find my keys, and the events of the night are building up, causing me to lose it. I end up pinning him to the wall, with my forearm on his neck, getting in his face.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Candice was scared shitless when she left here There is only one person who can scare her like that. I have to find her. So I can protect her.”
“Alright man, you’re right, I don’t know, why not tell us so we can help you.” Dalton says, after I loosen up my grip.
Then I hear the voice of the luckiest bastard in the world, “I think I could help you with that too.” Liam says, walking into the room, “I know why Candice was scared and I know who caused all of this.”
Liam tells us everything, going into detail about London and her contacting Candice’s dad. After he is finished, I have a feeling deep in my gut telling me she is gone, gone for good. She didn’t trust me enough to come to me with her problem. I failed at making her feel protected. She went to Liam, not me.
Looking at him, I escape back into my world before Candice. My world of complete darkness and let my anger take hold. There is nothing that can stop me from killing this mother fucker now. Everything I wanted is gone and he is the cause.
Chapter 32
Candice
Stacy came to the fight to tell me my father was set free two weeks early. He could be in Tampa by now. We are at the house, gathering the clothes I have already packed. We talked to the school this week and let them know the circumstances of my leaving. They agreed to let me do all my classes online. Still allowing me to graduate early.
Uncle Troy has a sister that lives by herself in Tennessee. She is more than happy to have me stay with her and help around the horse farm she owns. Once she heard my situation, she assured my Aunt her guns would do the talking if anyone showed up trying to hurt me.
I was supposed to leave tomorrow, I wanted to have time to say goodbye to my friends, and explain to Jasper why I am leaving. I know he could protect me, but who is going to protect him. Christopher doesn’t know about Jasper, and I want to keep it that way. I honestly believe that Jasper would kill for me but I’m not willing to let him do that. I know what it is like to take a life. Regardless of the person’s faults, it’s hard to come back from being the cause of their nonexistence. I will always remember Jasper and be forever thankful for him healing the scars no one else could see. For the first time, I don’t want to run away scared, but my aunt and uncle agree that it is for the best. Call it intuition or a gut feeling, but I just know I should stay. So why am I getting in the back of this car, driving across country to yet another home.
Why am I running?
About the Author
Dusty Lassetter lives in a small town in East Texas where she cares for her four beautiful children and, yes, husband. Dusty first got her inspiration to write her first novel when she was unable to find a book she could fall head over heels for. Long story short, she decided she would just write her own. Molding a world that was completely unique and completely swoon worthy, Dusty debuted her first novel, Tearing Away. When she's not researching her favorite Irish fighter or correcting homework, she's wielding a pen, or in this case her keyboard, and creating new stories filled with all the things she loves in life: UFC, rippling abs, and love.
Dedication
I would like to start off by thanking my husband for giving me the idea to write a book. He eventually got tired of my whining about not being able to find a good book, and suggested I just write one myself. I would also like to thank my sister Kasey, who read and reread chapter after chapter for me, sometimes freely throwing her opinions out about certain characters. Finally, my new found friend Josie, the drawing and comments you left on the side of my pages, not only made me laugh, they made me realize I was not the only person catching feelings for these characters. Without all of you, none of this would have been possible. I truly appreciate all the help and support. Also, don’t forget to go purchase your very own copy.
Read on for the prologue to Torn Apart.
Book 2 in the Fatally Flawed series.
https://www.amazon.com/Torn-Apart-Fatally-Flawed-Book-ebook/dp/B01D2AK89M?ie=UTF8&keywords=torn%20apart&qid=1463077258&ref_=sr_1_3&sr=8-3
Prologue
K.J.
The pool hall in this shit hole of a town smells like stale tobacco and Old English Oil. This wooden bar I’m currently sitting at is leaving a residue on the inside of my forearms. Someone really needs to inform the owner that it will take a hell of a lot more than just oil, to make his place look decent. Tapping the surface with my index finger, the bartender brings me another beer.
“That your girl that just walked in?” He asks, motioning his head toward the door.
I don’t have to turn around to see who he is referring to. Candice and I lock eyes in the mirror mounted on the wall, behind the bar. She looks the same as the day she walked out on Jasper. Let’s just hope for her sake, she has formed a backbone since her running act. She may have fooled herself into believing she left my brother broken, to protect him, but I know the truth. She is a coward. If her life taught her anything, it should have been to stay and fight, not flee.
Jasper has spent the last three years spiraling out of co
ntrol. No one has been able to get through to him. So here I am, about to threaten the very person who started this train wreck. She no longer has a choice. I warned her from day one not to fuck Jasper over. Now she will go back to Tampa and fix what she did. If she refuses, Christopher will not be the only man she needs to run from.
Tearing Away (Fatally Flawed Book 1) Page 14