Fight (18 page)

27.

(Tripp)

She turned her back to me. I stared
up and down. She was the sexiest and prettiest woman I
’
d ever been with in my entire life. And she didn
’
t even know it. She didn
’
t understand it. Her beauty was
assumed to be bought and her heart always left behind.

I couldn
’
t let that happen again, but there was just so much
out of my control.

Except this moment right now.

I grabbed a washcloth and a bar of
soap. I lathered it up and touched her shoulder. She reached back and grabbed
her hair, holding it up with both hands, giving me access to her neck. As I
slid the washcloth along her neck and down her back, my cock ached. I was
getting hard again, already. I couldn
’
t
help what she did to me and how she made me feel.

I eased down to the curve of her
ass. Down and around, I bent my knees a little and touched the back of her
legs.

When I came back up the other side,
I slid the washcloth around to the front of her body. Winter let her hair back
down and put her head back, to my chest, as I ran the washcloth over her
breasts. If this was a cruel game of torture, she fucking won. She fucking won
it all. She left me standing there, gritting my teeth, my eyes wide as I
brought the washcloth up to her neck and then back down her body. I touched
just below her belly and then tossed the washcloth to the side.

I brought my mouth down to hers,
kissing her, walking her forward into the water. The kiss only lasted a few
seconds and then Winter turned around to face me. The look in her eyes told me
she had something to tell me.

“
What
happened before
…”

“
I
should have never left you alone,
”
I said.
“
I
’
ll never forgive myself.
”

“
No.
Maybe it was good.
”

“
Why?
”

“
I
know what
’
s happening. I
think.
”

“
What
do you mean?
”

“
The
woman who took Autumn
…
the
woman I gave Autumn to
…”

“
Yeah?
”

“
I
know who it was. That was at least one thing I had been involved with besides
carrying the baby for nine months.
”

I slipped a hand to her belly,
touching her. I couldn
’
t
imagine Winter pregnant. I also couldn
’
t
imagine her giving up her baby and trying to live life like nothing bad ever
happened.

It pained me and angered me.

“
She
was a close friend,
”
Winter
said.
“
So smart. She worked
at the club to pay off her loans.
”

“
Another
stripper?
”

“
Yeah.
But she
’
s not anymore. Not
for a long time. She was done right after I started there. When everything
happened, Endo insisted on her.
”

“
Why?
”

“
Andrea
had been pregnant. She
’
d
been with some guy who was crazy for her. And crazy in general. She told him
she was done with him after he started to stalk her. But he wouldn
’
t let her go. Andrea had a one
night stand and got pregnant. Her ex set out to take care of her
…
and he came close.
”

“
What
happened?
”

“
He
crashed her car. Ran his car into hers. She wasn
’
t
far along, but she lost the pregnancy. She had to get emergency surgery and was
told she
’
d never have a
baby. Then she met Endo and he killed her ex for her. They probably slept
together for all I know. It wouldn
’
t
surprise me. So when everything happened with me and Endo, he wanted to give
the baby to Andrea. And she wanted it so badly. I just went along with it all.
”

“
She
’
s a good person?
”
I asked.

“
Yeah.
But she has tendencies.
”
Winter took a breath.
“
Those
guys at my place talked about her. She has Autumn and they have her. I know it,
Tripp. They have her.
”

“
Skull
X has her? Why?
”

Winter and I looked at each other.
I could tell she knew the answer before I spoke it.

Leverage.

Skull X had Andrea and Autumn,
which meant they had Endo
’
s
deep, dark secret. They were probably holding that against him. They had power
over Endo, which meant favors, money, anything they wanted. It also meant a
direct line not only to Aldo but a direct line to the Red Aces MC.

“
Shit,
”
I whispered.
“
That
’
s
…
that
’
s heavy.
”

Winter nodded.
“
It
’
s
all my fault, Tripp.
”

“
No.
It
’
s not your fault at all.
You should have never had to give up
…”

“
I
wouldn
’
t change that.
Andrea is a good person.
”

I swallowed hard.
“
When this is done, you can
…”

“
No,
”
Winter said. Her eyes filled
with tears.
“
No. I would
never do that to her. If she calls Andrea
Mom
…”

“
Christ,
”
I said. I pulled Winter close.
I held her, knowing I could only protect her present and her future. I couldn
’
t do a thing about her past.

I killed the shower and grabbed a
towel for her. I wrapped Winter up and got a towel for myself. A few minutes
later, she was in bed. I crashed down next to her and pulled her tight to my body
again.

“
Tripp,
what
’
s going to happen?
”

I stared at the ceiling. I wanted
to lie to her. I wanted to tell her everything would be perfectly okay. That
there was nothing in the world to worry about.

“
I
don
’
t know,
”
I whispered.
“
I
’
m
still piecing all of this together.
”

“
Aldo
wanted you to kill me.
”

“
Yeah,
he did.
”

“
If
you don
’
t listen to him
…”

“
Hey,
I
’
ll worry about that,
okay? He thinks you are hiding Autumn. Or you know something.
”

Winter looked at me.
“
Tripp, you know everything.
”

“
I
know. I believe you.
”

“
You
’
re the first person to tell me
that in a long time.
”

“
I
understand that. You needed to hide. I don
’
t
blame you. I hide too. But when I
’
m
with you, Winter, I don
’
t
want to hide. I want to be normal. I don
’
t
even know what that means. But if it
’
s
us together, in bed like this, then I want it.
”

“
You
have it,
”
Winter whispered.
She kissed my chest and put her head down on me.

I held her until she fell asleep.

I looked at her and realized
something.

I may never get to hold her like
this again.

~ ~ ~

I stood on the balcony.

The only question that burned
inside me was if Aldo had something to do with it all. So far Endo was the
catalyst. And he was the one who had been shot and left in a coma. He had ties
to the Red Aces. Ties to Stoney and Rocky. Now he had ties to Skull X because
of Winter, Winter
’
s kid,
and the woman who took Winter
’
s
kid.

It was a giant circle that just
kept going round and round.

It made no sense either that Aldo
wanted Autumn. The
family
always lived by their beliefs. I had no
business getting involved with anything related to the
family
. I was a
fighter. Aldo
’
s prized
fighter at that. I made Aldo money and when he kicked some up higher, I made
money for everyone. That was my job.

I stared at my fists.

How fucking badly I just wanted to
be in a circle
…
staring
down some guy
…
watching his
feet, his stance, his shoulders. Watching him watch me. Figuring out his strong
hand, weak hand, and seeing if he was afraid. Anything that could give me that
edge in a fight.

All I needed was one good punch and
then I had the fight. Then I
’
d
wait for Aldo to give me the cue. I could knock the guy out. I could last the
entire fight. Whatever he needed from me.

I looked over my shoulder and saw
Winter in bed, sleeping.

This fight? Damn, this was
something entirely new.

My cell started to ring.

It was a blocked number.

“
Hello?
”

“
Tripp.
You alone?
”

“
I
’
m alone.
”

“
Here
’
s Aldo.
”

“
Tripp,
”
Aldo
’
s voice said.
“
How
’
s the problem?
”

“
There
is no problem. I know what I need to do.
”

“
Is
she dead yet?
”

“
No,
she
’
s not. I can
’
t kill her. She didn
’
t do anything wrong. I
’
m a fighter. I
’
m not a hit man.
”

“
You
’
re playing a dangerous game,
”
Aldo said.

“
You
know what she was forced
…”

“
Get
my granddaughter,
”
Aldo
said.
“
I can
’
t start a war over this.
”

“
Aldo,
I don
’
t get
…”

“
Fuck,
”
Aldo growled.
“
Get Autumn.
”

I swallowed my pride.
“
Okay. I
’
ll figure something out.
”

“
Good.
Oh, and by the way, Tripp, don
’
t
fuck this up. That kid is all I have now.
”

“
What
do you mean?
”

There was a pause. Then Aldo said,
“
Endo
’
s dead. He died today.
”

The call then went dead.

28.

(Winter)

When I woke up, Tripp was on the
edge of the bed, fully dressed. He kept the blankets against my body. I felt so
well rested. So comfortable and so safe. It was probably the best mood I had
woken up in in a long time.

I inched toward Tripp and nuzzled
at his neck.

“
Hey
you,
”
I whispered, my mind
offering the worst of intentions.

“
You
sleep good?
”
he asked.

“
Great,
”
I said.
“
Think we can do the shower thing every night before
bed?
”

I smiled.

Tripp turned his head.

He wasn
’
t smiling.

“
What?
”
I asked.

“
I
have to go,
”
Tripp said.
“
Alone.
”

“
What?
”

“
Listen
to me, darling,
”
he said.
He turned his body and touched my face.
“
I
have to end all this. But I have to do it alone.
”

“
Why?
”

“
I
’
m going after Skull X.
”

“
Tripp!
No.
”

“
Stop,
”
he said and stood.
“
I have to do this. I have to do
it alone so there
’
s no
chance you can get hurt. You stay right here. Don
’
t
leave the room, okay? Promise you won
’
t
leave the room.
”

“
Tripp
…
I
…”

“
Promise
me!
”
he bellowed.

“
Okay.
I promise. I
’
ll be right
here. I
’
ll be waiting for
you.
”

“
I
just have to do this. Once and for all. One more fucking fight.
”

I was scared to death. I wasn
’
t going to lie. Not to myself,
not to Tripp. I couldn
’
t
imagine Tripp going to Skull X and coming back alive.

I looked up at him. I moved closer
to the edge of the bed.

I dropped the blanket off my chest.

I reached forward and grabbed
between his legs.

I needed him.
Right now.

~ ~ ~

Tripp thrust into me and I cried
out his name. One hand held my breast tight, the other held the sheets on the
bed. He stood on the floor, fully dressed, his zipper undone. His cock was
buried deep inside my body as I had my legs around him, pulling at him as he
sank into me over and over. His mouth felt like it had been everywhere. My
lips, tongue, neck, chest all tingled where he had kissed me. My left nipple
was red and swollen where he had suckled me so hard I screamed.

But I loved it.

I fucking loved it.

Desire flowed through my body so
freely as I clawed at his shirt, pumping my lower body at him, never wanting
him to stop fucking me. It was a need I never knew, and a need I never wanted
to lose.

There was only one Tripp. I wanted
him all to myself.

My hands fought their way up to his
neck. I scratched at him, then my fingers dug into the back of his neck. I
needed his mouth to mine.

Tripp kissed me and it set off
fireworks deep in my core. I throbbed, pulsed, and started to come. My ankles
unlocked and my legs fell open for him. His hands slid down and cupped my ass,
lifting me off the bed. He moved harder, faster, bringing himself to a
breakneck speed. The bed groaned almost as loud as I was.

He then moved into me one last time
and started to come. My pussy clenched at him, throbbing each time he did,
coaxing every last little bit out of his sexy body. My right hand was up and
over his shoulder, holding onto his muscular back. My other hand touched his
face.

And as he gently fucked me some
more, my eyes filled with tears. Tripp brushed one away but more were to follow.
So then he simply kissed me. Because he knew the truth as much as I did. That
maybe sometimes it was easier to live with nothing because there
’
s no pain.

Tripp buried his face into my neck,
his body rocking back and forth.

I loved him.

And now
…
now I had to let him go.