A Fighter's Choice (16 page)

Chapter Fourteen

Jasper recognized him. Not only did he recognize him
but he was fucking pissed off that he’d hurt Amber. This man hadn’t been
interested in Amber at all. He’d been using Amber, trying to get to him. Jasper
didn’t even want to know what the bastard had planned to lure him out. Harold
followed behind him as he led the man out the back. With all the women working
inside, and the customers watching, the back was secluded offering them the
right amount of privacy.

Slamming the guy he held against the brick wall with
as much force as he could muster, Jasper waited for him to get to his feet.
“Now, it seems we need a little chat,” Jasper said. He removed his hoodie and
handed it to Harold. “You’re not getting involved with this. This is between me
and him.”

The man laughed, standing up and running his hands
down his shirt. “You know, it took some time for you to work it out.”

“I only started fucking Amber recently. I’ve seen you
a handful of times. What the fuck do you want?” Jasper asked. This was Steve’s
brother. He’d seen this man, Blake, he believed his name was, at all the fights
scouting for the big time fights.
The fights that brought in
tens of thousands of dollars rather than a couple thousand.
The same
fights that were to the death and that Jasper had promised
himself
he’d never be part of.

“Well, we always like to watch an asset in the making.
You’ve got what it takes to leave this world behind, Jasper,” Blake said. “I’ve
been watching you for a long time, and so has Steve. He scouts the men for me
and gives me a call when he thinks he’s found a winner.”

“What did you hope to achieve?” Jasper asked, folding
his arms over his chest.

“Your girl, she’s different for you.”

“Cut the bullshit,” Harold said. “Just get down to the
shit.”

Blake looked between both of them. “Fine, you want the
truth. We were going to put a little pressure on your girlfriend, see how far
we could push until you agreed. You want the truth, these fights are fucking
serious. We demand the best, and in return they get the best.”

“Apart from the
men who end up dead in a ditch?”

“To get the best you play by the rules. Fuck, we’re
only taking the sport to the next level. Besides, who gives a fuck
who
lives and dies?”

Jasper shook his head.

“Your bitch was the first person we saw that could
draw you close.”

He didn’t wait for the man to say another word.
Slamming his fist against the guy’s nose, he felt happy when he heard the bone
break.

Blake covered his nose, screaming. Blood oozed out
between his fingers.

“I’d be careful if I was you. Amber’s my woman. That’s
her name, not bitch or anything else you want to
fucking
call her.”

“Fuck, you broke my nose.”

“I’ll break more than that. I’m not going to change my
answer. I’m not going to fight for anyone else.”

“Do you really think you’re not going to be asked
again?” Blake asked. He continued to cover his nose as he talked. “I’m only the
first, but there’ll be more.”

“I don’t care. I’ll fight you all at every turn.”

“You won’t get away from us. Neither you or your
whore.”

Jasper landed two more punches at the man, dropping
him to the floor. He grabbed his hair and pulled his head back. “I can do
whatever the fuck I want with you, Blake. You may wear a fucking suit, but we
both know you’re not a businessman. You won’t get lawyers involved or the law
because you don’t want the law onto what you’re doing.”

“Fuck you.”

“No, I suggest you go back to your brother and anyone
who thinks they can take me on. You tell them I’ll fuck them up worse than you.
I don’t care the damage I do. You stay the fuck away from my woman, or I swear
,
you’ll never have the use of your legs again.”

Blake stared at him. The fear flashed in his eyes, and
Jasper knew his words had gotten through.

“Go, now.”

He watched the man scramble to his feet and take off.

“It’s not going to end there,” Harold said. “You know
it’s not. He’s one man, and
there’s
more than enough
men to take his place.”

“I know.”

Jasper took the jacket from Harold’s hands.

“She’s going to be in danger if they decide to do what
he did.”

“I know.”

He stared back at the older man.

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m not giving her up. She makes me feel better.” He
pressed a hand over his chest, feeling the ache at the thought of losing her.
No, he couldn’t lose her.

“Everything you’re feeling and
saying,
isn’t strange to me. I know what you’re going through. I was tempted to leave
Brooke, but then I just couldn’t leave her. She makes me better.”

“I’ve got to take her away from all of this,” Jasper
said.

“I knew you’d figure it out.”

“She won’t go with me.” Jasper fisted his hands, angry
at what he’d done. She was right. His career choice was far more dangerous than
hers ever was.

“I think you’d be surprised what Amber would do for
the man she loved.” Harold started toward the door.

“I’m going to walk, clear my head. Tell Amber I’ll be
here to pick her up tonight.”

“Okay. Don’t go looking for fights right now, Jasper.
You’re not in the right mind for it.”

He wasn’t going to look for a fight. Jasper needed to
come to a decision before he took the next step. Walking away from the parking
area, he took a slow walk through the city. He didn’t go far from the strip
club. There wasn’t much choice anymore. He couldn’t give her up, nor could he
leave her.

The only thing he could leave behind was the fighting.
He didn’t need that anymore.

Go and get your girl.

Jasper walked back to the car, leaning against it
hours later. The night was still warm, but it would only be a matter of weeks
before it was starting to get a chill. Several women left the club, chuckling
and behaving like the men had who entered.

Amber appeared last with Harold watching her leave.

She rubbed her hands together as she approached.

“I was worried about you,” she said, wrapping her arms
around his neck.

“Why?”

“You left with him and didn’t come back. I was
worried.”

Feeling like shit, he pulled her in close. “You didn’t
need to worry about me, baby. I wasn’t going anywhere. I just needed to clear
my head.”

“Is everything okay now? I mean, there’s no danger or
anything is there?”

He cupped her cheek, stroking the smooth cheek beneath
his fingers. “We need to talk, but we’ll do it back at our place.” Taking the
keys from her fingers, he opened the door and waited for her to climb inside.
He handed her back the keys when she was safe.

Climbing into the passenger side, he rested his head
on his hand, waiting.

There were no men at the front of their apartment
building, and he relaxed a little more. Neither of them spoke until he closed
the door to his apartment.

“What’s going on, Jasper?” she asked, dropping her bag
to the floor.

He pulled her in his arms. “You were right.”

“I was right about what?”

“Me, the
fighting, all of it.
They want me to fight in
the big ones.
The ones to the death.”

She gasped. “No, you can’t do it. It’s too dangerous.
Please, tell me you said no.”

“I did.” He cupped both of her cheeks, dropping a kiss
to her lips. “But he was right, Blake, the businessman who’d been bothering
you. He was right, and it’s not going to stop. I fucked up.”

“You’re scaring me.”

“I’ve got to leave, baby. I’ve got to move on and
start somewhere fresh.”

****

Pain filled every pore of her being. Amber couldn’t
believe what she was hearing. “You’re going to leave?”

He kissed her hard. She held onto his shoulders,
needing to feel him one more time before he left. No, she couldn’t bear for him
to leave. Why did he have to make her care about him and now leave her?

“I want you to come with me, Amber,” he said.

“What?” She couldn’t have heard properly, could she?

“You heard me. I’m not going anywhere without you. I
love you, and I don’t want this to end. Please, Amber, come with me. My
grandparents owned a ranch while they were alive. They left it to me in their
will. I couldn’t go back, knowing I left them. I knew they’d hate my fighting.
I didn’t go back to them. I want to go back to ranching. It’s what I always
wanted.”

She opened her mouth, but no words came out. “You want
me to come out with you?
To a ranch?”

“Yes. I love you, baby. I don’t want to even imagine
life without you.” He pressed hard kisses to her lips. “I won’t leave without
you. If you want to stay then we’ll stay, and I’ll fight every single fucker
who thinks they can take me on, but they’re stronger than I am, Amber. In time,
they’ll win.”

“I don’t want you to stay and fight.” Amber dropped
her gaze to his lips. “I love you, too. I’ll do whatever you need me to do. Is
the fighting done?”

She waited for him to answer.

“Yeah, I’m done fighting, Amber. I don’t want to fight
anymore. I’m done. It’s over, and I promise you, it’ll never happen again.”

“We need to pack our shit up tonight.”

Amber nodded, tucking hair behind her ears as they set
to work. She was excited, nervous but excited. Jasper only packed some clothes
and a few personal items from around the apartment. Within half an hour they
were in her apartment, and she packed up as much as she could. The carried
their boxes and bags down to her car. They had just finished packing her car
when the three men from the other night suddenly appeared. Their faces were
covered in bruises, and she saw one man held his arm across his body and it was
covered in plaster. They were coming to have a little payback.

“Get in the car, Jasper said.

“Don’t do this.” She didn’t want to have to see him
get in another fight. “You want us to leave,
then
we
leave now or not at all. They’re not important. We’re going to make a life for
ourselves.”

He glanced at her as the three men waited.

“Amber?”

“No. You said no more fighting. We’ll start now. Get
in the car and we’ll be gone before they do any damage. Think about this,
Jasper. If you can’t back away now and we’re going to leave, then how can I
believe you’re never going to fight again?” She was more than prepared to start
a new life for him elsewhere, but he needed to make a choice, to fight or not
to fight.

“What about you?” he asked. “Will you stop working in
strip clubs?”

“Yes, for you, I will. You’ll never see me inside
another one again.” She didn’t even hesitate in her answer. For Jasper, she’d
do it but only if he was prepared to do the same.
“Me or
them, Jasper.”

“We’re back, fucker!” One of the men shouted making his
way toward them.

She stared at Jasper, waiting. If they didn’t leave now,
these men were only going to make their life harder. They were pimps who
controlled most of the apartment block. They were both lucky they’d gone under
the radar for this long.

“I’m getting into my car. You get in then we start a
new life or you go and start fighting them, and I’ll leave but I’ll have
nothing to do with you. This is a clean start. They’re not close enough to hurt
us. Back away.” She was forcing him to back down. Those men could hurt Jasper,
and they were making a life for themselves far away from this. She didn’t want
him to get hurt. Climbing into the car, she turned the key in the ignition and
waited.

The men were yelling at Jasper, and tears filled her
eyes, waiting for him to come with her. Jasper didn’t need to prove anything.
Neither of them was going to be living near the apartment anymore. She was
ready to spend the rest of her life with him. What would it say about her if
he’d rather cause damage than be with her?

Wiping underneath her eyes, she sat, waiting.

Seconds passed that felt like hours before he opened
the door and climbed in. She pulled out of the parking area before speaking.
The moment Jasper opened the door, the three men had charged toward her. Her
heart was racing as she pulled out of the parking lot. Looking in the rear view
mirror, she saw they were running.

Once they were far enough away, she slowly started to
relax. She took several deep breaths before glancing over at him.

“You didn’t fight?”

“No, I didn’t fight.” He reached out, taking her hand.
“We’re starting a new life, and I don’t need to fight anymore.” Jasper locked
his fingers with hers. She chanced a look at their hands. His knuckles were
bruised, but in time they’d fade.