Page 32

TICK TOCK

I should’ve known better than to trust either of those idiots to tell me the truth.

Hoax, our Tech, and Knuckles were in cahoots. They had been dancing around something for days. Their faces would get tight when I asked what was going on. I saw the way Knuckles looked away, the way Hoax changed the subject. And I let it go for a while, until the itch beneath my skin became too much.

I decided to press them for information and cornered them in the garage.

“What the fuck is going on?” I asked, low and dark.

Hoax tried to lie and tell me nothing was wrong. Knuckles, on the other hand, stayed quiet.

“Wrong answer,” I growled.

Before anyone could stop me, I slugged Hoax in the jaw. His head snapped back, and he staggered. Knuckles jumped in between us, hands up.

“You want some too?” I snarled, blood thundering in my ears.

“Jesus, calm the fuck down,” Knuckles barked. “You can’t go off half-cocked. There’s more to this than you know.”

“Then tell me!” I roared.

They both got real quiet. Someone speak before I take out my gun.

"It's that nurse I told you about."

"Which one? The one that patched me up?"

Knuckles nodded. "Remember how I said she looked familiar."

"Yeah."

He paused again and I gripped him by the jacket. "Fucking talk, man. What about her?"

"I had Hoax look into her. It’s...Natalia."

Everything suddenly went very still. Knuckles kept talking about how she recently moved back. She was living in Los Angeles. It was all a blur of words being vomited until he stopped and said one phrase that brought me back.

"She bought the house, Tick."

I froze.“And when did you plan to tell me all this?"

Knuckles sighed. "I was trying the right time..."

"To what? How long were you going to wait to tell me my woman hadn't burnt away? How long were you going to make me wait? How many more nightmares did I have to go through until you were satisfied?"

"Thats not it, Tick and you know. We had to be sure."

"She alive or not?" I asked.

Knuckles nodded. "She is."

"Fuck you, both."

I didn’t wait for them to say anything else. I grabbed my cut, yanked it over my shoulders, pain tearing through my side with every step. I didn’t give a shit. I had to see her.

"Tick, wait!"

I headed to Hoax's disaster area and found the notes on his desk. They'd been keeping tabs on her since that night at the hospital. Hoax had done his homework, and I found her home address scrawled in his notes. My home address.

Knuckles walked in followed by Hoax who was still holding his jaw.

I grunted, staring at him. "What the fuck is all this? And stop whining like a little bitch, Hoax. I barely touched you. Toughen up."

"Leave the kid alone, Tick. He was only helping me out."

"Just get out of my way."

"There's more that you don't know..."

"I'd rather she tell me!" I roared heading out of the clubhouse and sliding onto my bike. The engine roared to life and within seconds my tires were sliding off dirt and onto the road.

As I rode, the reality of it all hit me like a bucket of cold water and I sped up the bike because it was taking too fucking long to get to her.

My kitten was alive, and all I wanted to do was to hold her again.

* * *

I arrived at half past midnight. Pulling up to the house I noticed the lights go out and out of the corner of my eye I saw movement along the back part of the house. I tried making out whether it was an animal, but I couldn't make it out.

I strode to the porch, knocking over a pot, catching it right before it shattered. I gave out a soft curse and made my way around the back of the house.

When I didn't see anyone around, I turned back to the house. I remembered the key I kept hidden in the gutters and sure enough, as I reached up, it was still there. It wasn’t a break-in. Not really. I just wanted to see for myself. See if she was really there. Still breathing. Still mine.

I wasn’t thinking as I slid the key into the lock. Nor was I thinking as I slowly entered the house, sneaking in. I don't know what the hell my plan was, but it was stopped instantly by the fire that exploded through my damaged shoulder and chest.

From around the counter came a set of familiar, gleaming dark eyes and the metal of a Glock pointed right at my face. She was older and even more beautiful than I remembered. She'd gotten fuller in all the right places and my body instantly reacted to the sight of her.

“You are alive,” I grunted, trying to roll onto my other side. The pain just got worse.

“Why wouldn't I be,” she responded, moving closer.

“I'm dying,” I spit out blood as I tried another movement. Blink on top of existing pain was slightly overwhelming.

She crouched down beside me and stuck the barrel of the gun to the side of the wound. I grimaced in pain, but she didn't care, simply shook her head.

“You’ll live,” she said coldly.

“Natalia,” I say softly, reaching out to touch a strand of her hair.

She moved away, and I quickly grabbed her wrist, noticing her hands were shaking, and so did she. “I deserve this. I know I do.”

“You deserve worse. I just missed,” she said coldly.

She yanked her hand away, leaned down and took my phone from my back pocket. Her scent wrapped around me. Honey and flowers, and even through the pain she made my body react.

Only she’d be able to do that.

She stepped over me and paced the expanse of the kitchen as she waited for the call to go through. It was answered on the second ring.

“Where the hell are you?” I heard Knuckles’ familiar voice on the other end.

“I suggest you come get your man, he's bleeding out in my kitchen. “I grunted, half amused and half in awe of how cold she’d become.

“Who is this?”

“Natalia Ramirez.”

There was a long pause before he replied. “Which man are you referring to?”

He knew damn who the hell it was. “He knows damn well who it is,” I half muttered, half groaned.

“Who else would be at my place at this hour? Tick Tock.”

“Well, fuck.” He gave a solemn response.

“I'll send someone out. What happened?”

She walked back over to me, gun in hand as she looked down at me. “He got shot.”

“Who shot him?”

She paused before responding. “I did. And I suggest you come get him quickly before I change my mind and put another bullet in his skull.”

My sweet, gorgeous, innocent woman no longer existed. I could see in her eyes how serious she was. She was set on killing me and I couldn’t blame her. I broke her trust and her heart and there was no going back from that.

“Ahh, hell.” Knuckles shouted orders in the background before returning to her. They'll be there in fifteen. And Natalia, if he dies, I'm not the one you'll have to respond to. And I can tell Jameson doesn't take lightly to his men being killed in cold blood.”

“Self-defense,” she corrected, Crouching down by my side as I continued to cough.

“Doesn't. Matter. He better be alive when we get there.” The line went dead, and she just stared at me. This dark, cold look in her eye.

“What the fuck are you doing in my house, Tick Tock?”

“Knuckles said you were alive. I didn’t believe it.”

“So, you decided to break into my house to what? Double check?”

“I didn't break in. I used the key.”

“Smartass,” she whispered.

She set the gun on the kitchen counter and returned with a towel that she pressed to my chest. “Take deep breaths,” she said, and I did as she said, breathing her in and just staring at her.

“I thought you were dead,” I slurred, my vision blurring as I took shallow breaths.

“Might as well have been. While you were killing my father, I was left at the mercy of that rat, Rancid. What did you expect me to do? Wait around for what, exactly? I could never love a murder.”

I didn't say a word, just let my head drop. I knew begging for a second chance wasn’t an option in our story. In the intense silence, I heard a small voice.

“Momma.”

Natalia's head jerked up. She pressed one hand to my chest and pressed a finger to her lips. “Keep Pressure on the wound.”

She stood up quickly and walked around the counter, keeping me hidden. “Hey baby, what are you doing up?”

“I'm thirsty, momma.”

Okay, well, run on upstairs and get into bed and I'll come bring you a glass of water into a minute, honey.”

“But, Momma…”

“Just do as I say, I'll be right over.”

I heard a shuffle, then silence before she returned, a look of concern in her eye. “I want you out.”

“Kind of bleeding out here, Kitten. Your fault, not mine.”

She frowned, placing her hands on her hips before she began to pace.

“Who's the boy, Natalia?”

“None of your business.”

“Who's the boy?” She didn't respond, just continued to pace. A sign she was in distress.

“He's mine, isn't he?” I uttered, knowing full well he was mine. Realizing that was what Hoax and Knuckles were keeping from me. I'd have to deal with them later.

Suddenly she whirled toward me, grabbed the gun and pointed it at my forehead. I leaned my head back so I could get a good look at her.

“He's mine.” I confirmed.

“Even If he was you have no right over him. And if you dare to do anything to take him, I'll kill you, no questions asked.”

I gave out a sorrowful chuckle. “Of course you will, Kitten. Funny how life is, ain't it? I suppose this is how you get your payback. At least I saw you…one last time.”

“Jose.” I felt her nudge at my leg with her foot as I started to wane.

“Jose!” Her shout of concern sounded very far away as I let the darkness consume me.

The last thing I saw before I passed out was the outline of her legs and the glint of that damn gun still in her hand.

She was still fire.

Still mine.

And if I survived this, I was never letting her go again. Not her or my son.