by JB Salsbury
“Come on, then.” Cohen opens the door to the salon, jerking his head toward the truck. “We’ve got an hour to get you home and dressed, and then we need to get to Atlanta.”
Izzy jumps up with a squeal. “Let’s do it!”
Dani kisses Cohen good-bye then waves. “Have fun tonight! And don’t forget about girls’ night out!”
“I won’t! Thanks!” I’ve never been on a girls’ night out, but I agreed to join Dani on the next one. I searched her eyes for a flicker of insincerity when she asked, waited for the wave of unease, but neither came. She genuinely wants to be friends.
I’m grinning to myself as I walk out the salon doors, once again blinded by the sun’s reflection off the gold-glittered sidewalk.
The owner of the salon, a tall dark-skinned man wearing hot pink high-heels, is diligently sprinkling more glitter on the painted concrete.
“Later, Sway!” Izzy calls to him.
His head pops up and he points at me. “You look gorgeous, sister!”
“Thanks—”
The snap of a camera goes off, followed instantly by another one.
Cohen ushers us toward the car while Sway throws a handful of gold glitter at the photographer, giving him an earful of colorful curses.
The photographer follows us, snapping photos as we go.
Izzy leans into me. “Where did this guy come from? I thought for sure they’d all be gone by now.”
“I don’t understand either. The story shouldn’t be me; it should be Caleb’s fight,” I whisper back.
Cohen does his best to keep the guy some distance away, but that doesn’t mean he stops with the photos. We pile into the SUV, and I’m grateful for the dark window tint as we cruise through town and back to my place.
“So?” Izzy says, her pale green eyes bright with excitement. “Which outfit are you going to wear tonight?”
“I don’t know. I mean . . .” I chew my lip but quickly stop when I remember I’m wearing lipstick. “I’ve never been to anything like this before. What would you wear if you were me?”
“The black skinny jeans, boots, and”—she purses her lips— “oh, the blousy top, the black one that falls off your shoulder. Dressier than the average girl in attendance but still casual enough for a sporting event.”
I stare at the pretty face framed in wavy brown hair, my eyes wide. “Wow, you’re good.”
“Thanks! Oh, Cohen, did you get the champagne?”
“Yes, ma’am!”
She smiles shyly. “I hope it’s okay. I had Cohen pick up a bottle of champagne. It’s tradition to drink while you get ready for a big night. Calms the nerves.”
“I don’t drink much, but I’ll take your word for it.”
So, this is what it would’ve been like to have a mom. Someone to guide me in the ways of fashion, dating, and teach me what it means to be a woman.
She claps her hands. “This is going to be amazing. I can’t wait to see Caleb’s face when he sees you.”
A few more minutes and we turn down Lakeside Drive toward my house. I have a flash of insecurity at the idea of inviting Izzy into my place and wonder if it would be better to get ready at Caleb’s. But that would be weird too. She knows I live across the street, and she doesn’t strike me as the type to judge a person by—
The Yukon comes to a jerking halt.
“Holy fuck!” Cohen’s voice is lethal.
I lean around the driver’s seat to see out the front window and figure out what he’s seeing.
“Where is . . .?” I blink. Look around. There’s Caleb’s house, the lake. I—
“Oh, God.” Izzy grabs my hand. “Fuck, what the fuck happened?”
Cohen slams the vehicle into park, and we all drop out. He takes off at a dead run, and I’d do the same if I could feel my legs.
Tears burn my eyes. My cheeks are on fire. My stomach twists painfully, and I’m light-headed. “Izzy?”
“Yeah, honey.” The panic in her voice is undeniable.
“What happened to my house?” I shudder as a sob rips from my throat. “What the fuck happened to my house!” I drop to a squat, and Izzy is right there beside me.
“I don’t know, but I sure as shit guarantee we’re gonna find out.”
Cohen comes jogging back. I stand to meet his stare and he shakes his head. “There are tire tracks in the mud. Big ones.”
“What does that mean?” My hands shake with rage.
He shoves his fingers through his hair, pinches his eyes closed, and blows out a breath as if he’s also trying desperately to stay calm. “If I had to guess, I’d say the house was demoed.”
“Demoed!?” Izzy rips her phone from her back pocket, hits buttons, and presses it to her ear. “Axel, we’ve got a fucking situation over here at Honor’s place.”
I hear her, but it sounds like she’s far away, at a distance, like I’m floating above the situation as she barks into her phone.
“Demoed.” I test the word on my tongue and . . . my cats. “Oh my God!” I take off, running toward the home I was raised in, the home I’d lived in my entire life that is now nothing more than a pile of old wood and rock. “My cats!”
“Shit.” Cohen is right behind me when I hit the pile, pulling away and throwing boards. He gets his hands in there and helps me, and within seconds, Izzy’s there too.
I wipe away the tears blurring my vision, and my chest cramps. A series of snaps comes from behind me. The photographer from earlier has his lens pointed at me.
“Why are you doing this?” My voice is beyond hysterics and catches Cohen’s attention.
He jumps from the pile of rubble and pounces on the photographer. “You motherfucker!” He rips the camera from the man’s hands and, using the neck strap, swings it and shatters it against a tree.
“Hey! You’re gonna pay for that!” The photographer lunges for his camera just as Cohen swings it again.
“Oh, yeah? Bill me, asshole.” With one final swing, he hurls the thing deep into the woods, sending the slimy photographer on a hunt to find it. “Prick.”
“Thank you,” I say through sniffles.
He nods and squeezes my shoulder as he passes me to continue searching for my cats.
Piece by piece we dig through the rubble, calling the cats’ names. Tears pour down my face as I imagine how scared they must’ve been, but they quickly dry as the fury of what’s been done takes root.
“That fucking asshole.” I pull more wood away. “Audie, Teddy . . .” More wood. “Harriet?” I shove over a piece of roof. “He should go to prison for this,” I mumble to myself through my tears.
I don’t look up from my hunt for the cats, but I get the distinct feeling that more people have joined in the search. Angry male voices converse while I rip through the remains of my home.
Not my home. Not anymore.
I don’t know how much time passes, but it becomes hard to see as the sun dips behind the mountains. If we don’t find them soon—
“Got one!”
I whirl around to see a tall man with light-brown hair holding a dirty and shivering Teddy.
I race over and take the ball of fur into my arms. “You’re okay.” I choke on my tears. “I’ve got you. You’re okay.”
A faint meow comes from my right. The same guy goes in, slowly pulling back debris, sweetly saying, “Here, kitty.”
Izzy comes over to help, and when she stands upright, she’s holding Harriet.
“I have something in my truck we can put them in,” the tall guy says.
I sniff and let my tears of relief fall to drip off my jaw. “Thank you, um . . .”
“Greg.” He has kind blue eyes, but they’re a sharp contrast to his brutal frown. “Whoever did this is going to pay.”
I’m sweaty, my hair, makeup, nails, ruined. My night ruined. But am I really surprised? Roy has always been a bully. This was the lowest he’s ever gone, but it’s just an evil, more grown-up version of what he did to Ulysses at the lake when I was sixteen
.
“There’s only one person who could’ve done this, and his name is Roy Gibson.”
Greg’s eyes widen, and he pulls out his phone, hits a button, and puts the device to his ear. “I’m on it.” He squeezes my shoulder and walks away just as Izzy comes to me with a box large enough for the cats.
I put them inside, knowing that they’ll be safer in there then out here.
“How many more are there?” Izzy closes the top that I see has holes punched into it.
“One, just one more.” We both scan the area, and I was right about what I thought earlier. The entire pile that used to be my house is littered with men and women working, pulling away debris, even setting aside things that are salvageable. “Who are all these people?”
Izzy puts her arm around my lower back. “These are our people. Now, they’re your people too.”
The tears fall in silent waves as I watch those who don’t even know me show me their love. They’re not surrounding me with words of affirmation and approval; they’re getting dirty, sweating, bleeding, and all to help me.
Bug.
Maybe I’m not as small and insignificant as I once thought.
“Cat!”
I jerk my head around to see Nate, the guy with the BB gun from a few nights before, and he’s carrying Audie toward me.
“Here—ow!” His glares at the cat. “You scratched me!” He looks up at me. “Is he always this feisty—ow! You little fucker.” He hands me Audie, and I can’t help it. Maybe it’s the relief that he’s okay, or just the fact that in the midst of this tragedy I’ve never felt more part of a family than I do right now, but I laugh.
“I’m sorry.” I nuzzle his fur and he purrs. “He’s not all that friendly with men.” I freeze. Most men. But he loves Caleb.
Caleb.
Shit.
I turn to Izzy. “I have to go to Caleb’s fight.”
She takes me in from my hair to my feet and smiles sadly. “Honey, I don’t think we’d make it.”
“I promised him.” I kneel and put Audie in the box, grateful they’re all alive and uninjured.
Another flicker of anger rages into an inferno at the thought of Roy doing this just to hurt me, but I brush it off.
“I’ve got everything I need in the car. I’ll take a quick shower at Caleb’s and get ready.”
Cohen strolls up beside me.
“You can still take me, right?”
He checks his phone. “Yeah, if you can be ready in thirty minutes, we can make it.”
Greg strolls up, shoving his phone in his pocket. “I’ll pick up some supplies for the cats and set them up at Caleb’s.”
“Thank you.” I look at Izzy. “I’ll need your help.”
She grips my hand, and her expression is pure determination. “You got it.”
Fifteen
Caleb
“I don’t understand, Axel. She should’ve been here by now.” It’s close to fight time, and not only is Honor not here, but I haven’t heard a word from her.
“It’s under control, man. She’ll be here. They just got hung up.”
“On what? She’s two and a half hours late.”
He shrugs. “Girl shit.”
“What is this girl shit?”
The cutman wrapping my hands shakes his head. “I don’t know, but I know females get hung up for hours doing it.”
It seems so unlike Honor. I hope she had fun and just lost track of time.
Thank God she’s with Izzy, who keeps calling in to Axel, or I’d probably be crawling the walls, worrying about her.
“You good, man?” Blake comes up behind me and rubs my shoulders. “You ready to fuck this prick up.”
“Yeah, hell yeah.”
Jonah turns up some Tupac, and the vibe in the room turns electric. The cutman finishes up and Jonah motions for me to stand. “Let’s loosen up those muscles, my brother.”
I stand, jog in place, shadow box, whatever it takes to stay warm.
Minutes pass, and every time I see Axel on his phone, my heart explodes in my chest.
He finally looks up at me. “They’re here.”
“Great, finally! Bring her back—”
“No time, my man.” Blake grips me by the back of the neck. “Her seats are right up front, your corner. You’ll have time for a hug, but everything else will have to wait.”
“Dammit.” I look at Axel. “Tell her I’ll see her soon, okay?”
He punches something into his phone. “Yeah. I’ll tell her.”
Something’s off. I can feel it.
Whatever it is, it’ll have to wait.
Sooner I knock this son-of-a-bitch out, the better.
~~~
“Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the UFL debut in Atlanta, Georgia.”
The crowd erupts as I stand at the top of the stairs with Jonah and Blake at my sides and Axel up front. Music blares through the speakers, and energy drums through my veins while I bounce on the balls of my feet and shake out my arms.
“Give him a big Georgia welcome, all the way from Las Vegas, Nevada, Caleb The Destroyer Dean!”
We move toward the octagon as “A Country Man Can Survive” by Hank Williams Jr. pours from the speakers. Power roars through my veins; my muscles coil and ready to be put to work. As we push out from the masses, I see Graham in the cage, making a show of booing me and flipping off those who are cheering. I can’t wait to knock that grin right off his smug face. We close in on the front row, and I immediately catch a flash of blond hair.
A smile pulls at my lips as we get closer. She must follow the spotlight, know I’m close, because she turns just as I round the corner seat.
Our eyes meet and it’s instant. Our bodies crash together in a hug that only makes the crowd go crazier.
“Baby . . .” I squeeze her tight and bury my nose in her hair. “I was worried.”
“I’m so sorry I’m late. But you know I wouldn’t miss this for the world.” She presses a kiss to my neck, and fuck if it doesn’t charge me up with another boost of adrenaline.
“I’m winning this fight for you, Honor.” I grab her face between my gloved hands and look into her eyes. “Are you okay?” The whites of her eyes are red and the skin surrounding them a little puffy.
“I’m good. Just excited.”
“Caleb.” Jonah nudges my side. “Get up there, bro.”
“Right.” I lean in and press a kiss to Honor’s lips. “This one is for you.”
When we break apart, the crowd erupts again in a deafening roar. They chant my name, scream for me to knock Graham out.
I climb into the cage, and the ref gives us the rundown while my opponent spews insults and threats in my face.
Dumb fuck.
If he only knew I’m not fueled by fame.
Not by notoriety or status.
What drives me is much stronger. Undefeatable.
It’s love for the girl who stole my heart fourteen years ago and never gave it back.
I turn to get one more look at her, to absorb the strength she lends me by simply being here and—what the fuck?
I squint at the two men who’ve settled in beside her.
“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding—”
Graham’s fist plows into my jaw and stars burst in my head.
Oh, fuck no!
~*~
Honor
I gasp and cover my mouth at the hit Caleb just took to the side of his head. He shakes it off quickly and begins circling the other fighter with his fists raised.
Someone bumps into my shoulder. “Sorry.” I do a double take at the familiar face next to me. “Perry? What are you doing here?”
He looks a little embarrassed when he smiles and jerks his head to the guy next to him. “Roy scored tickets.”
Roy.
Roy!
I lean over, and sure enough, that bullying, self-righteous, back-stabbing, manipulative piece of cockwood is grinning right at me.
“Hey, Bug. Didn�
��t think I’d be seeing you here.” He takes a sip of his beer, but there’s a smile in his eyes.
“You son of a—ugh!” I lunge for him only to be stopped by Cohen and Perry.
Roy laughs, but when Cohen gets in his face, his smile turns cocky. “You got a problem, kid?”
Cohen pushes up close and says something to Roy I can’t make out, but it’s enough to drain the color in Roy’s face. “Who’s the kid now, motherfucker?” He shoves Roy, and before I’m aware of what’s happening, Axel is there too.
I peek up at the octagon, grateful to see Caleb on his feet, landing punches. The crowd is going crazy, and no one seems to notice what’s happening down here except those in the seats behind us.
I want to jump in Roy’s face and demand answers for what he’s done, but he’d barely hear me. I take one more look at Caleb. He swings and connects with the other fighter’s face, sending him to the ground. In seconds, Caleb is on him, his body wrapped around the man like a python. Jonah and Blake are going crazy, calling out to Caleb through the chain link, and then just like that, the ref slaps the ground and the crowd explodes.
That’s it.
It’s over?
Caleb jumps to his feet, and in two strides, he’s at his corner. He throws himself up over the top, and I brace in the seconds before his body slams into mine. He’s sweaty, but looks otherwise unharmed as his arms wrap around me.
I do my best to hold him too, but he’s so big and all-consuming. “You did it! You won!”
“Yeah.” He’s breathing heavily in my ear. “How the fuck did those assholes get your tickets, Honor?”
I lean back and away. I have to see his eyes because the accusation I hear in his voice has to be a mistake.
He looks from Roy and Perry to me. “Well?”
“You think I brought them here?”
Jonah grabs Caleb’s elbow. “Get back in there and claim your victory.”
He looks conflicted but allows Jonah to pull him away, shouting at Axel and Cohen, “Take Honor to my room!”
Axel says something to Cohen then motions for me to follow.
“No, I’m not leaving until Roy gets arrested for what he did!” I yell over the noise.
Axel leans in. “Come with me. We need to talk.”
“But—”
His intense green eyes bore into mine. “Honor. Please.”