by JB Salsbury
It looks like Cohen is staying close to Roy, so I agree. Perry looks apologetic, and I’m reminded of the night I found him in my house after the break-in. They must’ve been there looking for the tickets, but I never brought them home. So why . . . oh no.
I tug on Axel’s shirt. “They stole the tickets!”
He nods and jerks his head for me to follow him. I do my best to keep up with his long strides as I follow him out of the stadium and through a door that leads into a mostly vacant hallway.
“Axel, you have to listen to me. I think it was Roy and Perry who broke into my house! They were looking for the tickets, and when I realized what happened and everyone came over, they left Caleb’s house empty. Unprotected.” I scurry in front of him, making him stop. “Don’t you see! They planned it so they could get into Caleb’s house when it was empty to steal those tickets.”
“You’re probably right.” He steps around me.
I blink, stunned by his casual response, then snap to attention and scurry after him. “That’s it? They need to be arrested!”
He flashes a card in front of a scanner that pops the lock on another door and opens it for me to pass through. “No can do.”
“No can do?!” I follow him to another door where he punches in a security code and lets me in to a hotel-room-sized space, minus the beds.
He motions to the couch. “Have a seat. You want something to drink?”
“No. I want you to tell me why you’re acting like what happened was no big deal.”
His jaw ticks. “Because they’re his houses. He owns them, yours and Caleb’s rental.”
“So? That doesn’t give him the right to enter them whenever he wants.”
“If he has suspicions, knocks, and no one answers, it’s a gray area.”
“You’re saying he has every right to come into a tenant’s house without them knowing?”
“I’m saying he could easily talk his way around what he did at Caleb’s rental.” He blows out a breath, and with it, his shoulders deflate a little. “Demolishing your house, though, that’s another story. Did you sign an official lease after Roy took ownership of your home?”
“He bought it from the bank. I . . .” I shake my head. “He never made me sign anything.”
“According to the paperwork, that house is Roy’s. He can do whatever he wants with it.”
“But I live there!”
“Not on paper you don’t.”
“He demoed my house, Axel!”
“He demoed his house, and all he has to say is that he gave you warning and you ignored it.”
Oh, God, I’m going to be sick. “But he didn’t!”
“Says who? Not him.”
There’s a commotion outside and the door swings open. Caleb walks in, looking bigger than I’ve ever seen him. His muscles are swollen, his jaw hard, and his eyes spit fire as they zero in on me. Jonah and Blake flank him, but their expressions communicate nothing but support, maybe a little apology.
“So that’s it? You disappear into the woods with that piece of shit and give him tickets? What the fuck, Honor!?” Caleb rips his gloves off and throws them across the room.
“Chill the fuck out.” Blake stands in front of Caleb, his back toward me, and mumbles something I can’t hear.
Whatever it is seems to calm him down a little.
Too bad that little pep talk doesn’t matter to me because I’m seconds away from completely losing my shit and not giving a single fuck.
Three . . . two . . .
“That’s what you think I did?” My own voice sends a shiver of terror through me, and judging by the expressions on everyone’s faces, I’d say they hear it too. I stand up and get close to Caleb, grateful when Blake ducks out of the way to allow me. “Is that really what you think of me?”
Caleb blinks as if something I said penetrated the fog of his rage.
“Do you have any idea what I’ve been through tonight?” I curse the tears that spring to my eyes. “Do you have any fucking clue what that piece of shit has put me through in the last couple weeks, not to mention my entire life?” Oh, no, I’m screeching now.
His jaw softens and he reaches for me. “Honor.”
I smack his hand out of the way and point directly in his face. “Don’t touch me.”
He takes the offensive hand and pushes it through his sweaty hair. “I don’t know what to think. I saw the tabloid photos of you and Roy having a secret fucking meeting, and then you’re late with no explanation, and he shows up here—”
“No explanation?” I turn to Axel, who has the decency to look abashed. “You didn’t tell him?”
Jonah steps in. “We wanted to wait until after the fight, Honor. Please understand.”
Okay, that makes sense. Caleb would’ve irrationally walked out on all this if it meant coming to my rescue. He didn’t know, but that doesn’t excuse his accusing me of being involved with fucking Roy!
“Someone better explain what the fuck is going on before I rip every one of these walls down and beat that asshole Roy within an inch of his life!” Caleb’s roar covers my skin in goosebumps.
“Shit,” Axel mumbles from behind me.
Yep. Shit is right.
I’d say it’s officially about to hit the fan.
Sixteen
Caleb
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Honor’s hands come around me from behind, her fingers splaying against my bare stomach.
I peel her hands away so I can turn to her and crush her to my chest. “It’ll be fine. I promise.” I kiss the top of her head and absorb her warmth while breathing in the sweet scent I’ve come to associate with her. “I’m so sorry for what I said earlier.”
“You’ve apologized every five minutes of the last hour, Caleb.” She tilts her head back to look at me, and it hurts to see her eyes still puffy from crying. “I can see why you’d jump to conclusions. My guess is Roy probably planned it that way.”
I bite my lips and look to the ceiling in the bathroom of my ready room, praying for patience. “I knew he was a scumbag. I didn’t know he was a sadistic scumbag.”
She huffs and presses her cheek back to my chest. “I did.”
After Axel and Honor explained everything that happened in the last twenty-four hours, I proceeded to do exactly what everyone expected me to do. I lost it. I tossed a table, ripped a heavy bag out of the ceiling, and I had my hands on a flat screen TV when Jonah, Blake, and Cameron pulled me off. I had every intention of continuing the destruction until I saw the tears pouring down Honor’s face. Her sadness was a swift kick in the gut that killed my urge to destroy and ignited my need to comfort her.
I held her in my arms and begged her to forgive me. I smothered every inch of her shoulder, neck, and jaw with atoning kisses. I swore I’d make this right for her, vowed to fix it tonight. She slowly calmed in my arms while the men in the room came and went, texted, and made phone calls, until finally we came up with a plan.
“You guys ready?” Jonah’s at the door.
“Are you?” I say to Honor.
She takes a shuddering breath. “Yes.”
We head back out into the ready room to see the population has doubled in size. Some faces are familiar, others new, but now isn’t the time for introductions.
I keep Honor’s hand in mine when Axel sticks his head out into the hallway and then swings the door wide to reveal Perry and Roy with large men at their backs. Perry looks like he may shit himself while Roy is trying hard to wear a mask of indifference that ain’t doing shit to cover up his fear.
So, this is what it’s like to see the bully get bullied back.
I open my mouth to speak, but Honor beats me to it.
“You bulldozed my house.” Her voice shakes with fury, but she keeps her hold steady on mine.
Roy looks at her and a little of his fear dissolves. “I thought we had this conversation. I bulldozed my house.”
“You had no right—”
He show
s his teeth, his mask slipping a little more. “I had every right!”
“Did you steal those tickets?” That’s all I need, for him to admit he took them. After that, this will all become a lot easier.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Blake laughs, but the sound is straight evil. “Your ass sittin’ in those seats is proof, dick-licker. You admit it, and maybe we’ll let it slide.”
“He did!” Perry’s lips quake. “He took them. I was supposed to stay with Honor at her place, and when everyone left the house empty to go check on her, I texted Roy and he got the tickets.”
Blake lifts a brow toward Roy, and I have to commend his patience, because if it weren’t for the soft hand in mine, I’d have taken Roy to the ground the second his foot crossed the threshold.
“Roy, you limp-dicked arrogant fuck, I’d like to introduce you to the man behind you. He works for the Hope Town PD, and your little friend here just turned you in for burglary.” My free hand balls into a fist.
He shrugs, but he can’t hide the panic from his eyes.
“Now.” I release Honor’s hand and take a step forward, and Perry tenses and retreats until he hits one of Axel’s guys behind him. “I’m willing to make a little deal with you. You sign a quick-claims deed giving Honor the property her house was on free and clear, and we won’t press charges against you for robbery.”
“No fucking way.” Roy shakes his head. “I’ll never do that.”
Cameron makes a tsk-tsk sound. “Hate to hear you say that. I’m putting in a call to your governor that the UFL will never again fight in Georgia, and I’ll make sure he knows it’s because of you. Too bad too, he’s a big fan.”
“Hmm . . .” I scratch my jaw. “I wonder what that’ll do for your business once we tell the media that you freely enter and steal from your renters. That you randomly bulldoze houses just because you can, even with animals inside.”
“You can’t do this,” he says through a dazed expression.
“I assure you, Roy boy, we can.”
“Fine, whatever, I’ll have my lawyers draw something up by next week—”
Izzy steps forward with paperwork in hand. “No, you won’t, you greasy little shit.” She smiles sweetly. “We got ’em right here.”
“I’m not signing that until I have my lawyer look—” We all move toward him as a group, slowly closing in on his personal space until I’m chin to chest with the dick.
“You will sign. Right now. Or we’re going to the press.”
“Which’ll be easy, seein’ as there’s about fifteen of them just waiting outside for a story.” Blake nods to the papers. “Sign ’em now with a pen, or I’ll have you sign them later with the blood that leaks from your dick after I beat you ’til your insides bleed.”
“Oh, God.” Perry’s eyes tear up. “Just fucking sign it, Roy. You never wanted that land anyway.”
Of course he didn’t. His rescuing Honor, paying off her debt, it was all a way to control her, just as he controls Perry, just as he’s controlled everyone his entire life.
“Fuck you, Perry, you fuckin’ sellout!” Roy glares at Honor. “Like I said the other day, you’ll be back. When this wannabe hot shot moves on to some other piece of ass and you’re left alone, you’ll be back, begging to suck my dick for a dollar—”
The snap of Roy’s jaw echoes through the room when my fist connects. He goes reeling back, only to get caught by the line of men behind him.
“Owie, Roy. That sounded like it hurt.” Nate lifts him to his feet and shoves the pen in his hand.
Roy cups his jaw, and there is no question that it’s broken. Tears pour from his eyes and snot from his nose. He mumbles something incoherent.
“What was that?” Liam, who’s practically holding Roy upright, cups his ear. “I couldn’t quite hear you.”
“Awest ’im.” Roy points at me.
“No can do, pecker-nose. You went for the girl. He had the right to defend her.”
Roy makes a noise of protest.
“That’s how I saw it,” Jonah says.
“Me too.” Blake nods.
“He was defending Honor.” Izzy grins. “I saw it.”
Roy holds his jaw with one hand and scribbles his name in all the appropriate places before tossing the pen across the room with an incoherent curse.
I take the papers and hand them to Honor, who smiles up at me so big I swear it lights up the entire fucking room. “All yours, baby.”
“I love you!” She jumps into my arms, and I hold her there, so grateful she’s forgiven me for being a dick earlier.
I turn to Perry. “Neither of you are ever to speak to Honor or about her again, is that understood?”
“Yeah, yes, sir.” Perry nods frantically. Pussy.
“Now get the fuck out of my face.”
Perry grabs at Roy, who shoves him off, and they scurry out of the room.
Axel crosses his arms at his chest, watching them go. “I think that went well.”
“Thanks for your help.”
“Are you kidding?” Izzy comes in close and rubs Honor’s back. “We do whatever it takes to protect our own.”
Honor pulls away from me and throws herself at Izzy, who hugs her back.
My girl went from being alone without relatives, to having two families who will always have her back.
But they’ll do it standing behind me.
Epilogue
Three years later . . .
Honor
I love the way the sun shines through the bedroom window first thing in the morning. No matter which position I lie in on the bed, the rays reflect off the glassy surface of the lake. It’s no accident that I have unlimited views with floor-to-ceiling windows in our second-story bedroom. After all, the house was designed this way.
I insisted on it.
Caleb’s big, warm hand slides around me from behind to splay across my belly. “Good morning, ladies.”
I cover his hand with mine. “Good morning. How’d you sleep?”
He grinds his hips into my backside, waking up parts of my body that always come alive around him. “Great. You?”
I grin and play with the opalescent reflection off the two-carat diamond sitting proudly on my left finger. “Other than the fact that I was up every two hours to pee? Pretty good, actually.”
He groans and nuzzles my neck. “I’m sorry.” His hand dips below my belly button, cupping the enormous swell of our daughter from underneath. “Baby girl, you need to give your momma’s bladder a rest.”
Responding to her father’s voice, she moves against his hand.
“Oh . . .” I clench my thighs together. “I should probably go again. It’s getting so tight in there I swear every time she moves even a little it makes me have to pee.”
He kisses my jaw and releases his hold with a quick squeeze to my ass. “Go on, then. We should probably get up anyway. I heard Raven talking about how she wanted to make breakfast this morning.”
“What? I’ve been giving her lessons down at the restaurant. I think she can do it.” My restaurant.
Honor’s Kitchen.
Caleb helped me take a loan out to get it started, and in the first year of business, I paid it back, including interest.
Everyone said Hope Town needed a place that served good ole southern home cooking, and that’s what I gave them.
My bare feet slap against the hardwood floor as I head to the enormous bathroom in our master suite.
It wasn’t long after Caleb’s fight in Atlanta that he took the money he made and bought the big house he spent summers in as a kid. He said Roy gave him a screamin’ deal. I wasn’t there for the exchange, but I can imagine there were threats of bodily harm involved.
The day Caleb obtained legal ownership he had the place completely demolished. He showed me plans for the new house and then told me it wouldn’t be built on the lakeside property. It would be built on mine, and it would include full lakefront views.
<
br /> While construction went on, Caleb and I traveled the world for months. We went to all the places on my list and spent the most time in Las Vegas with his UFL family. It was there that he proposed.
I finish up in the bathroom and brush my teeth before heading back into the bedroom to find Caleb dressed. I lift a questioning brow.
“Blake already popped his head in and said Raven would burn the place down if we don’t get in there and supervise.”
“What is she making?”
He shakes his head. “No clue, but if fire’s involved, we should be there.”
Laughing, I slip on some more presentable clothes and follow Caleb downstairs.
He made sure when he planned the house that it would be big enough to fill with kids and family. We’re working on the kids’ part. Until then, its five bedrooms are filled with Caleb’s Las Vegas family a few weeks out of the year.
“Thank God you’re here.” A heavily tattooed arm comes around my shoulder, and I look up into Jonah’s smiling face.
I am in love with my husband, but I’ll be damned if Jonah’s dimples still don’t make me swoon.
“She’s fine, you guys. I don’t see what the fuss is about.” I turn the corner into the state-of-the-art kitchen and see Raven, Jonah’s wife, covered in flour and up to her elbows in sticky dough.
“I don’t understand what I did wrong.” She stares up at me with worry flashing in her aquamarine eyes. “I did what you showed me.” She chews her lip. “Maybe I need more flour.” She reaches for the flour tin.
“Um . . . Raven, maybe you should let Honor take this one.” Layla, Blake’s wife, comes up beside me and wraps an arm around my back. “How are you feeling this morning?”
Between her and Izzy, I’ve had more mothering in the last few years of my life than most girls probably get in a lifetime. I rub my pregnant belly. “Good, but I’m ready for this baby to get here already.”
Layla grins sweetly. “It’ll happen, and then when she’s going through the terrible twos—”
“And traumatizing threes!” Raven says from her over-floured mixing bowl.
“—you’ll wish you could shove her back up in there.”