Invincible (8 page)

Then it hit me.

I grinned. It hurt my jaw to smile.

And in what was left of my one minute I tried to save my life.

9.

(Rose)

I lost track of time. No surprise there. The door was locked. The room smelled old and wet. There was still very little light. The plate was on the floor, cracked, the peanut butter and jelly sandwich still missing a bite. I heard a little scratching sound and swore I caught sight of a mouse or rat, probably smelling the sugar from the sandwich, wanting to feast.

All yours, I
’
m not touching the sandwich
.

I paced the room for a little while. I wondered how it was going to play out.

Was Wes going to be killed first? Or was he dead already?

Part of me cared, part of me didn
’
t. I had to say though, I
’
d never had a man try to kill me and then come to save me after his attempt to kill me failed.

I walked to the window and stood there, looking around the large building. There wasn
’
t much to see. No big shock there either. That
’
s how it all worked. Money controlled the entire underground scene. And so many important people were involved in it all, that
’
s what really kept it going. I remembered Dad meeting with cops, politicians, businessmen. They
’
d talk about the fights, the buildings, the bets. Dad had a way of bringing these guys to see some of his favorite fighters as they trained. I was always the young woman who had to carry drinks and food to and from. Wearing nothing more than a bikini, showing off the body that had been given to me. I was a distraction, a way to get their hearts racing, because Dad told me that when men had power and a hard-on, they
’
d bet the world to keep the feeling going.

Luke always hated it, too. He hated that Dad pushed him into fighting, demanding Luke show his anger. Especially after Ma died of a heart attack, all hell broke loose in my family. Ma kept things under control for the most part. But the second she passed, I was put on display like some sex object and Luke finally found the rage and anger. He trained in a different way though. He took to the streets and picked fights. And anytime he was picked up for it, the cops brought him to Dad and Dad negotiated Luke
’
s ass from getting into serious trouble. Then Luke started getting mad at everyone, including me and Dad. He hit me one time and Dad went after him. By then, Luke was big. Luke was the monster I feared in my nightmares. He threw Dad over his shoulder like a rag doll, smashing him through the coffee table in the living room. Dad broke two ribs but played it off, pushing Luke into the fights. Even then, Luke started to get too violent, if that were possible.

The object of fighting wasn
’
t to actually kill anyone, unless you were hired to do so, which did happen. Luke didn
’
t care about money - at first. He cared about hurting people. His eyes had a fire inside them like he wanted to kill someone.

It was terrifying to watch. It was terrifying to live through. Which was why I made the decision I made after Dad died. It was my chance to escape. It took me months of working, saving, and hiding money from Luke. Sneaking around behind his back and away from his goons to meet with a guy named Roc. He was the one who was supposed to help me escape it all.

He was never supposed to be killed.

And I was never supposed to be holding the weapon.

Caught. Redhanded. Completely fucked.

I shut my eyes and hung my head. Maybe it would be easier to just calmly wait all this out and take a bullet.

My eyes started to fill with tears as I retraced all the steps of my life, wondering which one really set me on the wrong path.

That
’
s when the door squeaked as it opened.

I turned, putting my back against the window.

“
Hey, princess, let
’
s go,
”
Tommy said.

“
No,
”
I said.
“
If you
’
re going to kill me, do it right now.
”

“
I
’
m not going to kill you. Come on. Let
’
s go.
”

I slowly walked forward. The once aggressive asshole was now calm. It was like he was afraid to touch me.

I walked to the doorway and he held the door and pointed the way. He even smiled.

What the hell is going on?

We walked along the hallway, slowly.

“
Hey, princess,
”
Tommy said.
“
No hard feelings about that sandwich thing. If I knew
…”

I looked at Tommy.

He was sweating.

Holy crap, he was nervous!

I thought I was supposed to be the nervous one here.

Tommy pointed the way again and then we stopped in front of an office door. I heard voices behind it.

Tommy put his hand to the doorknob.
“
Hey. If you could let all that go, I
’
d appreciate it. I didn
’
t mean to yell at you. I didn
’
t mean to threaten you. The whole car thing
…
hey
…
that
’
s just business, princess.
”

I opened my mouth, wanting to know what the hell was happening.

Tommy opened the door to the office.

There were two men near the right wall, suits and ties, looking miserable and tough.

Then I saw Wes.

He was alive!

He stood in a black t-shirt, his defined arms filling the sleeves easily. His face looked rough though, along with his hair. He looked like he
’
d been in a fight.

As he ran his hand through his hair, he grinned and winked at me.
“
Hey, sweetie.
”

“
Wes, what happened to you?
”

“
You should see the other guy,
”
he said. He offered his hand.
“
Come here. It
’
s okay.
”

Behind the desk stood Aton. His eyes were in bewilderment as he stared at us. I felt Wes pull me close to him, his hand going around my waist. I crashed against his side, feeling the hardness of muscle. I swore he was built from stone.

Aton
’
s mouth slowly parted. His hands made fists and put them to the desk. He leaned forward.

I swallowed hard, my entire body starting to shake.

“
Goddamn,
”
Aton said.
“
I mean
…
just
…
goddamn.
”

“
I
’
m sorry I didn
’
t say anything sooner,
”
Wes said.
“
I panicked last night, okay? I didn
’
t know how to say anything, Aton. I
’
ll take the blame
…”

Aton waved his hands.
“
No. This is not a time to worry. Wes, my boy, I can
’
t believe this. You
’
re a married man!
”

~ ~ ~

Aton hugged me tight. He rocked back and forth then broke away. He touched my arms with a hard squeeze, shaking me a little.
“
And you. If I knew
…
I can
’
t begin to apologize. I was trying to ruffle some feathers. I didn
’
t realize
…”

Realize what? Wes is
…
married
…

I turned my head and looked at Wes.

Wait a second. Wes is married
…
to me?

Wes gave me a nod.
“
Aton, it just all happened so fast. I wasn
’
t looking for anything. When Rose told me who she was. Who her family was, I didn
’
t know how to handle it. I was going to talk to you before, but then Danny put me in that fight. And I slipped away for a little bit. She brought me back though, like a good wife would do.
”

Aton touched my face.
“
I know it
’
s a mess for our families, but we can make it all work. Wes is the best fighter I
’
ve ever had. Here I thought the son of a bitch was a rat, but he was just protecting his wife.
”

I slowly nodded.
“
Yes. Yes. He
…”

Aton looked at Wes.
“
You really should have said something before I had you and Tommy go out.
”

“
I didn
’
t know how. You were so upset, Aton. I thought you were going to kill me. I had to stay alive so I could protect Rose. That
’
s all I was trying to do.
”

“
And your shoulder?
”

“
Someone is after her. Not just you.
”

Aton laughed.
“
Well, I
’
m not after her anymore. She
’
s a good girl.
”
Aton patted my cheek.
“
A beautiful woman. My gosh. So naturally beautiful. Too bad it
’
s going to be nothing but Irish babies.
”

Babies?!

I forced myself to laugh.

Aton walked away from me. Wes hurried to grab my hand and pull me in.

“
Well, here
’
s what we need to do,
”
Aton said.
“
Do you know who would want you dead?
”

“
You,
”
I said. I tried to remind myself not to be too snarky with a high powered mob player who I was lying to.

“
Besides me,
”
Aton said.

“
I don
’
t know,
”
I said.
“
My family
…
I don
’
t have much. But I think the past is lingering.
”

“
Of course," Aton said.
“
Big scars leave big memories.
”
Aton tapped his chin.
“
You know, I am a little pissed that you two didn
’
t tell me about this. I mean, a wedding
…”

“
There was no wedding,
”
Wes said.

“
We just went for it,
”
I said, playing into the lie.
“
There was no need. I have nobody. Except Wes. So we just said our vows and that was it.
”
I held up my hand.
“
Look. We don
’
t even have rings.
”

“
We don
’
t need rings,
”
Wes said. He slipped his arm around me again and pulled me close.
“
Right, sweetie?
”

“
Exactly.
”

Next thing I knew Wes was coming at me. My eyes went wide and a fraction of a second later his lips were touching mine.

Holy shit. Our first kiss. But nobody else could know that
…

I hurried and grabbed the back of his hair. My instinct was to pull his mouth away from mine and then slap him across the face. But if I did that, it would blow our cover. So I dug my fingers into his hair, kissing him back. Instinct was overrun by need. I had been longing for a hot kiss for such a long time. And here it was.

Before I knew what I was doing, my mouth slowly parted, offering a more passionate kiss with Wes. His tongue touched mine and everything inside me melted. There was no disgust, just pure lust.

“
Okay, okay,
”
Aton said. He whistled.
“
Save it for tonight.
”

Wes broke the kiss and we stared at each other for a second. It was the weirdest yet sexiest second of my entire life.

“
Wait, what
’
s tonight?
”
I asked, breaking the awkwardness between Wes and I.

“
I think the only choice we have right now is getting you both to safety,
”
Aton said.
“
Until I can make some calls and figure this out.
”

“
No,
”
Wes said.
“
Don
’
t do that. Let things be normal. We can do this ourselves, Aton.
”

“
Like hell,
”
Aton said. He pointed right at Wes.
“
You
’
re my prized fighter and you have a fucked up shoulder. Someone shot you? That doesn
’
t ring well for my business. Christ. If anyone finds out or sees you, what kind of backlash will I get for my bets? I
’
m supposed to be running another ring soon. I
’
ll just leave you off the card for right now.
”

I saw anger flash across Wes
’
s face. I knew fighting was the only thing he had. And now because of a bullet meant for me, he couldn
’
t fight. I knew the tragic risk of not being able to get that release from fighting. I watched it ruin my family.

“
I want you both to go to my cabin,
”
Aton said.
“
Take some time in the woods. Alone. Cool nights. Hot days. Just take some time to breathe. I can make arrangements to settle whatever needs to be done here. I
’
m not going to lose you, Wes. You
’
re worth too much to me. And if you take a bride, then I take her too. I just hope there
’
s no deep, dark secrets waiting.
”

My heart began to pound. My knees were ready to buckle. I screamed at myself to not get dizzy and pass out. I couldn
’
t blow the cover on this right now. No way. If I did, I was dead. Sure as hell, I would be killed.