I look back to the field as her world settles in my mind. I hadn’t even thought about the possibility of him being hurt. That certainly doesn’t help settle my nerves any.
The whistle blows, and everyone jumps into action. Kelly reaches out and grabs my hand, hers trembling violently, making me resist from pulling away like I’m desperate to. The crowd around us starts shouting and screaming even louder, and I can’t help but wince as I try to figure out when I should be cheering and when I should be worried.
I keep my eyes on number eighty-nine the entire game. They manage to take the lead early on and maintain it for almost the whole game, but fifteen minutes before we’re all celebrating, the Rebels manage to score.
The tension around us becomes so thick you could cut it with a knife as the Rebel crowd at the other side of the stadium start cheering and shouting. They’re reigning champions, I know that much, and they’re expecting to leave here with their reputation intact.
The shouts get louder, the chants get more aggressive, and Kelly’s grip only gets tighter. In front of us, Amalie and Camila shout and scream, their own hands locked together as they pray for a chance to take back the win.
I’m not sure I’ve ever felt so sick as the clock starts to count down toward the final whistle calling time on the Bears’ chances, but then all of a sudden, we take possession of the ball. One of our guys runs at full speed down the field, making everyone who wasn’t already on their feet rise from their seats.
Come on. Come on, I chant silently in my head as I struggle to keep my eye on the ball. I glance up at the clock. One minute. One fucking minute. Come on. I want to scream, shout, do anything, but as the tension reaches breaking point all I can do is stand and watch, and pray.
Then the almightiest roar, the volume of which I don’t think I’ve ever experienced before, erupts around me. I lift my eyes from where they were locked on Ethan to see the rest of the team running at Jake before he disappears under the pile of red. The final whistle blows and the stadium vibrates with excitement and energy. A delighted cry rumbles up my throat, my cheeks aching with the size of my smile. I have no choice but to turn to Kelly when she pulls me to her. She has tears rolling down her cheeks, her smile almost as wide as mine.
“They did it,” she murmurs, wrapping her arms around my shoulders. No sooner has she released me does my own mom pull me into her while Eric hollers next to her.
The excitement is palpable and still vibrating around us once we’re able to start making our way out of the stadium. Tonight’s party is at Shane’s, but before we go there, we’re all out for a celebratory family meal, awkwardly with both my mom and Kelly. I’m just hoping that the joy from tonight will be enough for there not to be any tension between them all. They’re all there for Ethan, so hopefully they’ll remember that.
There’s already a massive crowd surrounding the door the guys are going to come out of. Front and center unsurprisingly are Amalie and Camila, along with the entire cheer squad ready to congratulate their team, probably on their knees at the first chance they get.
I run my eyes over them as they bounce in excitement for the guys to appear and notice that Chelsea is standing off to the side, the rest of the squad with their back to her. I’ve been told some of the history there, but it seems she has bigger issues than she was possibly expecting by turning up tonight of all nights. I guess she wanted to be a part of the fame alongside everyone else.
The door cracks open, and a new round of screams sound out before almost all the team emerges with the biggest smiles on their faces. They eagerly get pulled this way and that as everyone congratulates them. I look to Amalie and Camila when none of our guys appear, and I see a flash of concern pass between them, but it doesn’t last long because not even a second later, Jake appears with his two main men on either side of him. Amalie and Camila take off running and immediately jump into their boys’ arms while Ethan scans the crowd, a frown forming. I step forward, the connection that’s always pulling me to him stronger than ever after the night he’s just had. It’s that moment that he finds me in the crowd just a little behind the cheerleaders. He pushes them aside when they try to get a piece of him. He’s not interested. He’s got one destination in mind, and none of them feature.
“Hey, champ,” I say, a wide smile spreading across my face.
“Fuck yeah,” he barks, his elation oozing from him.
He lunges for me and I squeal as he picks me up and spins me around while laughing in delight.
Everyone around us vanishes. It’s just me and him celebrating the epic performance he pulled off tonight. He brings us to a stop, but he doesn’t let me down. Instead, he pulls me tighter to him.
“That win was good, but winning you was better.” His lips crash down on mine, and I put everything I have into my kiss in an attempt to show him just how I feel, although I fear I’ll never be able to communicate the intensity properly.
He pulls back, both of us fighting to catch our breath and stares into my eyes.
“Rae, I—”
I shake my head, stopping him from saying any more. “I love you, Ethan.”
“I fucking love you too.”
We’re dragged from our intimate moment when Jake, Mason, Amalie, and Camila surround us.
“We fucking did it,” Jake screams, and the three of them embrace while we stand there and watch, each of us with tears filling our eyes at watching our guys celebrate the win they’ve been working toward for years.
A flash of red catches my eye, and when I look up, one of the team is pulling Chelsea away from the crowd and into the shadows. I elbow Amalie, who glances at me before following my stare. She just rolls her eyes and turns back to our group.
“You better get your asses to Shane’s the second you’re done with your family shit,” Jake says to Ethan.
“Too fucking right.” Ethan says his brief goodbyes before pulling me into his arms. “You ready for this, baby?”
“A meal with our parents? No, probably not.”
“No. That’ll be a piece of piss. I meant this. Us, our future. You ready for that?”
“Too fucking right. Bring it on, baby. Bring. It. On.” With his arm wrapped around my waist, we make our way out to the parking lot to embark on our new lives together with wide smiles on our faces.
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Acknowledgments
Ethan, Ethan, Ethan… where do I start. I knew this was going to be a rough ride but hell, I didn’t quite expect this. But I guess, Savage by name, Savage by nature.
This book consumed me. I was totally addicted right from the get go. I loved Rae’s fire as much as I loved their mutual hate for each other. I found myself typing so fast during their intense interactions, I just couldn’t get enough. Ethan needed a strong woman to bring him to his knees and I hope you agree that Rae was the right woman for the job.
This book is by far the longest I’ve written. But it just wouldn’t stop. Rae and Ethan just kept talking so I kept writing. I really hope their story engulfed you as much as I has me.
I need to say a huge thank you to Michelle who one once again alpha read this as I typed. She put up with my typos without complaining too much.
My betas, Deanna, Nicole, Lindsay, Susanne and Tracy for dropping everything and diving into this bad boy. I’m so glad you all fell for Ethan like I did. He might seem tough but really, he’s just a huge teddy bear… he’s got the evidence to prove it!
Sam, I keep saying it but I’ve no idea how I ever survived without you. You make everything so much easier and give me time to continue with these crazy characters.
Ellie, at My Brother’s Editor, thank you so much for working your magic on Savage, and Evelyn, at Pinpoint Editing, for the finishing touches wit
h proofreading.
To you for following this crazy journey with me and these guys. I wouldn’t be able to do it all without your support. So, THANK YOU!
Originally, Savage was going to be the end but there is no way I can walk away from this group yet. Rosewood High has a lot more to give and I’m so excited for what I have coming your way… are you ready to really get to know the Queen Bitch? Chelsea is back and man, has she brought a secret with her. Keep your eyes peeled because it’s coming this summer!
Until next time,
Tracy xo
About the Author
Tracy Lorraine is a M/F and M/M contemporary romance author. Tracy has just turned thirty and lives in a cute Cotswold village in England with her husband, baby girl and lovable but slightly crazy dog. Having always been a bookaholic with her head stuck in her Kindle, Tracy decided to try her hand at a story idea she dreamt up and hasn’t looked back since.
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Also by Tracy Lorraine
Falling Series
Falling for Ryan: Part One #1
Falling for Ryan: Part Two #2
Falling for Jax #3
Falling for Daniel (An Falling Series Novella)
Falling for Ruben #4
Falling for Fin #5
Falling for Lucas #6
Falling for Caleb #7
Falling for Declan #8
Falling For Liam #9
Forbidden Series
Falling for the Forbidden #1
Losing the Forbidden #2
Fighting for the Forbidden #3
Craving Redemption #4
Demanding Redemption #5
Avoiding Temptation #6
Chasing Temptation #7
Rebel Ink Series
Hate You #1
Trick You #2
TBC #3
TBC #4
Rosewood High Series
Thorn #1
Paine #2
Savage #3
Ruined Series
Ruined Plans #1
Ruined by Lies #2
Ruined Promises #3
Never Forget Series
Never Forget Him #1
Never Forget Us #2
Everywhere & Nowhere #3
Chasing Series
Chasing Logan
The Cocktail Girls
His Manhattan
Her Kensington
Co-written with Angel Devlin
Hot Daddy Series
Hot Daddy Sauce #1
Baby Daddy Rescue #2
The Daddy Dilemma #3
Single Daddy Seduction #4
Hot Daddy Package #5
B.A.D. Inc. Series
Torment #1
Ride #2
Bait #3
Break #4
Provoke #5
Hate You
Prologue
Tabitha
I stare down at my gran’s pale skin. Her cheeks are sunken and her eyes tired. She’s been fighting this for too long now, and as much as I hate to even think it, it’s time she found some peace.
I take her cool hand in mine and lift her knuckles to my lips.
“It’s Tabitha,” I whisper. I’ve no idea if she’s awake, but I don’t want to startle her.
Her eyes flicker open. After a second they must adjust to the light and she looks right at me. My chest tightens as if someone’s wrapping an elastic band around it. I hate seeing my once so full of life gran like this. She was always so happy and full of cheer. She didn’t deserve this end. But cancer doesn’t care what kind of person you are, it hits whoever it fancies and ruins lives.
Pulling a chair closer, I drop onto it, not taking my eyes from her.
“How are you doing today?” I hate asking the question, because there really is only one answer. She’s waiting, waiting for her time to come to put her out of her misery.
“I’m good. Christopher upped my morphine. I’m on top of the world.”
She might be living her last days, but it doesn’t stop her eyes sparkling a little as she mentions her male nurse. If I’ve heard the words ‘if I were forty years younger’ once while she’s been here, then I’ve heard them a million times. She’s joking, of course. My gran spent her life with my incredible grandpa until he had a stroke a few years ago. Thankfully, I guess, his end was much quicker and less painful than Gran’s. It was awful at the time to have him healthy one moment and then gone in a matter of hours, but this right now is pure torture, and I’m not the one lying on the hospital bed with meds constantly being pumped into my body.
“Turn the frown upside down, Tabby Cat. I’m fine. I want to remember you smiling, not like your world’s about to come crashing down.”
“I know, I’m sorry. I just—” a sob breaks from my throat. “I don’t know how I’m going to live without you.” Dramatic? Yeah. But Gran has been my go-to person my whole life. When my parents get on my last nerve, which is often, she’s the one who talks me down, makes me see things differently. She’s also the only one who’s encouraged me to live the life I want, not the one I’m constantly being pushed into.
That’s the reason I’m the only one visiting her right now.
When my parents discovered that she was the one encouraging my ‘reckless behaviour’, as they called it, they cut contact. I can see the pain in her eyes about that every time she looks at me, but she’s too stubborn to do anything about it, even now.
“You’re going to be fine. You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for. How many times have I told you, you just need to follow your heart. Follow your heart and just breathe. Spread your wings and fly, Tabby Cat.”
Those were the last words she said to me.
Hate You
Chapter One
Tabitha
The heavy bass rattles my bones. The incredible music does help to lift my spirits, but I find it increasingly hard to see the positives in my life while I’m hanging out with my friends these days. They’ve all got something exciting going on—incredible job prospects, marriage, exotic holidays on the horizon—and here I am, drowning in my one-person pity party. It’s been two months since Gran left me, and I’m still wondering what the hell I’m meant to be doing with my life.
“Oh my god, they are so fucking awesome,” Danni squeals in my ear as one song comes to an end. I didn’t really have her down as a rock fan, but she was almost as excited as James when he announced that this was what we were doing for his birthday this year. Although I do wonder if it’s the music or the frontman who’s really captured her attention. She’d never admit it, but she’s got a thing for bad boys.
I glance over at him with his arm wrapped around Shannon’s shoulders and a smile twitches my lips. They’re so cute. They’ve got the kind of relationship everyone craves. It seems so easy yet full of love and affection. Ripping my eyes from the couple, I focus back on the stage and try to block out that I’m about as far away from having that kind of connection with anyone as physically possible.
I sing along with the songs I’ve heard on the radio a million times and jump around with my friends, but I just can’t quite totally get on board with tonight. Maybe I just need more alcohol.
“Where to next?” Shannon asks once we’ve left the arena and the ringing in our ears has begun to fade.
“Your choice,” James says, looking down at her with utter devotion shining in his eyes. It wasn’t a great surprise when Shannon sent a photo of her giant engagement ring to our group chat a couple of months ago. We all knew it was coming—Danni especially, seeing as it turned out that she helped choose the ring.
Shannon directs us all to a cocktail bar a few streets over and I make quick work of
manoeuvring my way through the crowd to get to the bar, my need for a drink beginning to get the better of me. The others disappear off somewhere in the hope of finding a table
“Can we have two jugs of…” I quickly glance at the menu. “Margaritas please.”
“Coming right up, sweetheart.” The barman winks at me before his eyes drop to my chest. Hooking up on a night out isn’t really my thing, but hell if it doesn’t make me feel a little better about myself. He’s cute too, and just the kind of guy who would give both my parents a heart attack if I were to bring him home. Both his forearms are covered in tattoos, he’s got gauges in both his ears, and a lip ring. A smile tugs at the corner of my mouth as I imagine the looks on their faces.
My gran’s words suddenly hit me.
Just breathe.
My hand lifts and my fingers run over the healing skin just below my bra. My smile widens.
I watch the barman prepare our cocktails, my eyes focused on the ink on his arms. I’ve always been obsessed by art, any kind of art, and that most definitely includes on skin.
I’m lost in my own head, so when he places the jugs in front of me, I startle, feeling ridiculous.
“T-Thank you,” I mutter, but when I lift my eyes, I find him staring intently at me.
“You’re welcome. I’m Christian, by the way.”
“Oh, hi.” A sly smile creeps onto my lips. “I’m Biff.”
“Biff?” His brows draw together in a way I’m all too used to when I say my name.
“It’s short for Tabitha.”
SAVAGE: Rosewood High #3 Page 37