Page 49

Dustin

T he fight is in less than an hour and there’s been no word from Tina. I can’t shake this feeling in my gut that something isn’t right. Sure, we have things to talk about, unpleasant things, but this is different. I tell myself it’s just Hernandez’s threat looming over my head, making me paranoid. But it sure would help if she answered her damn phone. I check the feed from the camera again and get the same error message as the last time I checked.

Colin enters the locker room and rolls his eyes when he sees my phone in my hand. “Shouldn’t you be getting ready?”

“What’s there to get ready?”

“Right.” He seems to remember the outcome of the fight has already been sketched out for me. Colin lowers beside me on the bench. “Having second thoughts?”

My reward for losing is Tina’s safety and I can’t think of anything more important. I eye my brother. “Wouldn’t you do it for Stacy?”

“In a heartbeat.”

I nod and show him my phone’s screen where the app message is displayed. “Did you turn it off?”

“What? No. Although, if I’d thought of it myself, I would have. I’m tired of feeling your eyes on me all the time. Stacy and I like to have the freedom to fuck wherever we want.”

I bump his shoulder with mine. “‘Wherever’ better not be anywhere in the kitchen.” His dirty smile tells me I’m too late. “Asshole. I eat there.” I make a note to bleach the shit out of the whole space.

He taps my screen. “I’m sure she’s fine. You said when Dee left, everything was okay.”

“Yeah.” I run a hand down my face before throwing the phone in my locker. A part of me is glad Tina isn’t going to watch this shit show. As okay as I am with what I’m about to do, the last thing I want is for the woman I love to witness me fall from grace.

Love. It’s not a huge revelation. It doesn’t even stop me in my tracks. Because I’ve known I’m in love with Tina since before I turned sixteen. She’s the one who doesn’t know it and I plan on telling her the minute I see her again.

I just have to lose for her one more time.

As planned, we go the full three rounds. We give the crowd a good show. I bloody him up some—not enough, but it makes me feel better to see him bleed for his part in threatening what’s mine. The crowd is small because of the short notice, but the people here become deathly quiet when their reigning champ takes the fall. It’s not nearly as soul-crushing as I thought it would be. My father’s ghost doesn’t appear with a disappointed look and the boos I hear rumbling through the stands are for Hernandez’s man, not me.

Flat out on my gut, with my head turned from the crowd, I wait until my opponent’s eyes meet mine before mouthing, Fuck you.

He lowers to his haunches, sweat covering the stupid horn tat on his forehead, and a sickening smile splits his battered face. “I’d be careful if I were you, puta . One word from me and your bitch is as good as fucked.” He laughs before spitting blood on the ring floor. “Where are my manners? I should be thanking you for planting those cameras all over your house. So efficient.”

My blood begins pumping life back into my limbs. I gain my footing and square off with him. “You didn’t.”

“Oh, yeah, we did. We tapped into that shit first thing and let me tell you, watching your sister-in-law and your bitch get dicked up good was better than any porn.” He licks his lips, and I want to punch him all over again. “Yours is my favorite though. All pink and fair. Perfect for leaving my marks.”

I yank off my gloves and lunge, taking him to the ground. It’s no organized fight this time. It’s all back alley, raw and wild. He must see the murder in my eyes because like the pussy he is, he covers his head with his hands. All too soon, strong arms grip me from behind and drag me away. “Enough,” Christian growls in my ear.

The asshole regains his feet, fresh blood pouring from his nose, and points a finger at me. “You better hope someone doesn’t sample the goods before you get home.”

He limps to where an older man is leaning by the exit, a cigar in the corner of his mouth. He does not look pleased. He nods, but not at me. My gaze darts to Lucius and he looks guilty as shit. I pull against Christian’s hold, growling, “God dammit, let me go.”

Christian grunts when I elbow him in the ribs. “Not until you calm down.”

In my peripheral vision, through blood and sweat, I can see my brothers and their wives making their way toward me with worried looks on their faces. All I can think about is the more people around, the less likely Lucius will talk. “I’m good,” I say, and Christian releases me. I tag Lucius with a glare. “What did you do?”

He shakes his head, tapping away on his phone like this is some fucking business deal. He finally pockets the device and gives me his full attention. “I promise you, Tina was protected.”

I need to get to her and see with my own eyes that she’s okay. I turn and practically run head first into Anderson. He grips my arm when I try to barrel past him. Lines crease his brow as he scans my beat-up features. “You’re in no condition to drive.” Anderson looks at Lily. “I’m going to drive him. You catch a ride with Bryce and Ember, okay?”

“I’ll take him,” Lucius says. “You guys head home to your kids.”

“What the fuck happened?” I say the moment we’re alone in his car. “You said Hernandez wouldn’t touch her if I did what he wanted.”

“What I said was no harm would come to her.”

Sheer frustration has me grinding my teeth until my jaw pops. “I’m in no mood for your word games.” I’m even more angry remembering what the fucker said about the cameras. “They were watching us through the cameras.” My throat burns with bile and guilt. If I hadn’t been such a possessive ass, they never would’ve violated our privacy.

We stop at a red light, and he turns his head towards me. “The second I found out they’d tapped into the feed, I crashed it.”

“Found out how? What the fuck are you involved in?”

“It’s a long-ass story. And honestly, the less you know the better.” The light turns green, and he returns his eyes to the road.

“The less… are you for real? Do you even hear yourself? If you’d told me Hernandez was going to hold Tina hostage, I could’ve protected her.” I hit the dashboard, leaving a bloody smear on the rich leather. “I could’ve protected her, you asshole.”

“I’ve protected you all!” I’m momentarily speechless at his outburst. He grips the steering wheel so tight that the material squeaks and his knuckles turn white. “Jesus, for years that’s all I’ve been doing.”

We pull into my driveway, and I reach for the door handle, only to find the child lock engaged. There’s a pop when the lock unlatches. “Hey,” he says, halting my exit. “I’ll take care of all this, give you a few hours before calling the cops. Focus on who you took the loss for tonight. She’s upstairs scared and confused—”

“And whose fault is that?” I interrupt, but deep down I know I can’t lay all the blame squarely on his shoulders.

“I’ll share this one with you.” His somber parting words reach their target.

I find Tina in my bedroom sitting on the bed with her hands and feet bound. The reality of what could’ve happened to her brings tears to my eyes. How could I forget how fragile life is? How did I let years go by without making things right between us? No more , I think as I rush to her aid. She’s so busy tearing at the tape at her wrists with her teeth that my sudden approach startles a scream out of her.

I pull her in for a hug. “It’s okay, babe. It’s me.” Awareness dawns and she buries her face in my neck with a gut-wrenching wail. The flaps of loose tape scratch the back of my neck. We embrace for a minute—her crying on my shoulder, me wishing I could do more. After a time, I pull back, searching for injuries. Other than her red eyes from crying, she seems in one piece. At least physically. “Are you hurt?”

Finishing what she started, I gently free her hands and work on the tape at her ankles next. As I’d feared, red angry welts cover her skin.

She shakes her head with a sniffle. “No. He left after receiving a text.” Then she gets a good look at my face and her eyes triple in size. My mug took the brunt of the battle in the ring for sure. “You lost?” she asks, all vulnerable and unsure.

Like anything could be more important than her for me.

I frame her face with my hands. “I’ll always choose you.” Her face collapses like I’ve said the opposite.

I lower to my knees and take her hands in mine. That’s when I notice the piece of paper she’s clutching. I reach for the note, but she pulls it out of reach, pushing me away at the same time.

She stands, putting distance between us. “Did you take this from my things?” I frown, not understanding her. “You lied to me about Aldo, put cameras in the house, and then I find this.” She waves the note in my face. My chest aches at seeing her so distressed. “Was it all because of Connor?”

Hearing his name from her lips is almost my undoing. “Don’t bring him into this,” I say through gritted teeth. “Not now.”

She waves the note again. “ You brought him into it with this.” Something like panic takes over my mind when she looks like she’s about to tear the note up. I lunge for her, and we tumble to the bed. She beats on my back with balled-up fists. I can go rounds in the ring getting my ass beat, but nothing hurts more than being the cause of her pain.

“Stop.” Emotionally torn to shreds, I pin her wrists to the bed, take the note from her hand, and set it safely aside. She’s a mess of tears and snot, but she’s never looked more beautiful to me.

Her green eyes plead with me. “Make this make sense.”

The anguish and confusion on her face can’t be faked. Ten fucking years… she had no clue. Needing a minute, I roll to my back and cover my face.

“Dusty?”

I face her again, wiping a tear clinging to her lash. “At first, I figured we were both in a bad place after Connor and my parents died, and maybe it was too soon to deal with it, I don’t know, but as the years went on and you continued to act like there was nothing between us, I gave up trying. Then you came back into my life, and it tore the old wound wide open. I did lie to you,” I admit. “At first I wanted to hurt you like you hurt me.”

She stares up at me with lines between her brows. With those damn pouty lips, it’s impossible not to kiss her. I dip down, a quick press of lips, tasting the salty tears. It takes her a second to respond, but when she does, she’s the one to deepen the kiss.

The cut on my lip bleeds anew. A metallic tang mixes with her sweet taste. I lick and breathe the rest of my confession into her skin. “I lied to you about Aldo because I thought manipulating you was the only way to have you.” She closes her eyes. “No. Look at me.” When she does, I continue. “I installed the cameras because the drugging in Vegas freaked me out. The thought of losing you again was unfathomable. I needed eyes on you. If not mine, then someone I trusted. Ben, Rosa—”

“Tucker.”

I nod. “Tucker.” I take a deep breath and tell her about all the times I watched her at the beach, hating her and needing her. She doesn’t seem surprised by this, but maybe it’s because, on top of every crazy thing I’ve done, it’s barely a blip. “I lost my parents, Connor… but I couldn’t lose you too. You didn’t want me, but I never stopped wanting you. Remember when you said you were afraid that I’d break your heart?” I toy with the hair at her temples. It’s darker from sweat and silky to the touch. “What I should’ve told you then was my heart has been in pieces over you since we were kids. Every shattered piece has been yours, ever since the first night we made love.”