Rapine 2: Ravished by the Billionaire (The Trophy Wife) (28 page)

Suddenly, I pang of sadness hit
s me. I feel sorry for him. He is a man I used to love after all. Now, seeing him this way, all bruised up and determinedly fighting for me, I recall the Derek I first met. The man who could be caring, sweet, and loving. Now as I look at his ruthless, scornful face, it scares me how violent he has become. I see the pride and arrogance on his face. He’d rather die than lose this fight.

“Just give up Derek,” I yell
. I don’t want to see him disabled or killed. I just want him to give up and walk away from me and Julian forever.

He gazes at me
with pain etched on his face. “I will fight for you, Cheryl, even if I die in the process,” Derek rasps, meeting my eyes, challenging me. “If I die today, it’s because of you, don’t you know that?”

My
drops mouth opens. I don’t know what to say. His words hit a tender spot in my heart. Guilt creeps up on me.

Julian and Derek are
watching me, waiting for my response.

“
Don’t listen to him,” Julian growls. “You know it not your fault, don’t you?”

Doubt overwhelms me.
Am I making the right decision?
What Julian did in the very beginning is very wrong after all. What I did is also very wrong. I was engaged to Derek and I slept with Julian.

Logic
finally comes to my defense.
Derek is trying to manipulate my emotions.
“No! It’s not my fault! You didn’t have to do this Derek!”

“
Yes I do. I’m fighting for you, Cheryl, until one of us dies,” Derek roars loudly. “If I didn’t care about you, I would give up.”

“No Derek you’re wrong,” I
shout.

“He stabbed me in the back!” Derek roars. “That’s the man you chose. A liar.”

“
I love Julian and I always will.”

“Two betrayals,” Derek says in a bear growl. “That’s how I see it.” Steam evaporates from his shoulders in the cool air, making him look like some kind of vengeful spirit.

“Just walk away Derek,” I warn.

Derek’s shakes his head
no
. Slowly at first, then faster and faster. Sweat and blood fly from his face, splattering the ground around him. He pounds his fists together. I know this anger of his will ultimately destroy him.

Derek jumps
up and down on his toes, circling toward Julian. Julian bobs toward him, calm and lethal with a dark, evil look on his face.

Derek
aims a few jabs and a roundhouse kick, but Julian backs away. Derek lunges at him, trying for an ax kick but again Julian backs away just in time.

I hea
r the sound of their breathing and the slap of their feet echoing through the garage.

Derek throws two punches. Julian
jabs Derek’s shoulder. Derek tries to work his legs between Julian’s for a takedown but Julian fends him off with his knees and twists out of Derek’s grasp.

Derek
tries again to sweep Julian’s legs from under him but Julian leaps and strikes Derek against the side of his head. Enraged, Derek springs up, wildly aiming punches but Julian bobs away from the blows.

A third time Derek
tries to get close and wrestle Julian to the ground. Derek is grasping Julian’s chest but Julian lands two sharp knees against Derek’s chest and strikes at Derek’s inner knee. Derek lands a punch at Julian’s rib that pushes Julian backward.

Julian
steps forward, knocks away Derek’s hands and lands a roundhouse kick right at Derek’s jaw. Derek rocks back, stumbling, nearly falling over. He spins himself into a kick that lands at Julian’s hip and sends him limping a few feet away.

Both men
are battered and are slowing, but none of them are showing any signs of stopping. I’ve never seen anything of Julian’s brutality like I see tonight. I know he is only doing it for me. I feel honored, scared, and in love all at once.

Derek bobs toward Julian
, noticeably slower than he was at the beginning of the fight. His hands are up but rather than punching he tries to shoot Julian right into a takedown. Julian knocks him back two paces with a roundhouse kick. Derek tries the same tactic again, but Julian gives him another hard kick, sending him back. Derek looks exhausted now.

Julian is
winning. Julian and I both know it, but Derek’s anger-fueled determination doesn’t let him see it.

Derek i
s limping now, his chest heaving with the effort of breathing. Both men’s knees and knuckles shine dark crimson. Their faces and chests are bruised.

Derek steps
forward, jabbing at Julian. Julian fends off the blows, letting them just brush the edge of his shoulders and biceps. Derek tries to land a blow, but Julian skips backward.

Ju
lian is bobbing toward Derek with jabs and front kicks, designed to keep Derek moving and expending energy.

My feet are starting to feel numb
at this point, the straps cutting into my ankles. I just want this fight to be over with already. I’ve had enough of being constantly on edge and worrying that at any moment something horrible might happen. I wrap my arms around myself, noticing the sweatiness of my palms. I’m starting to feel really cold after standing and watching the men fighting for so long.

Julian stri
kes Derek’s stomach with a series of quick jabs. Derek lands a spinning kick. They’ve both taken so much punishment it is amazing they are still standing, but I can see Derek’s hands falling lower and lower. He is starting to shuffle instead of bob. He is still trying for grapples and takedowns, but Julian is just too quick for him.

They trade
another round of punches. Julian is pushed back by a front kick from Derek. Even this exhausted, this hurt, Derek is still a formidable opponent. It appears that all this time that I haven’t seen him, he has gotten himself into much better shape.

While Julian is landing
punches, Derek is striking at air where Julian has been a half-second before.

Derek rushes
for Julian to try to take him down, but Julian meets his advance with a round of blows to his head.

D
erek is exhausted and his guard is down. Julian springs forward with a fury of punches and kicks. The speed and ferocity are like nothing I’d ever seen. Derek tries to push back with the occasional failed punch or kick.

With th
e most agility, strength, skill, and power I’ve ever seen, Julian lands a Superman punch at Derek’s face and knocks him down to the ground. Derek’s eyes slam shut and he doesn’t move.

My mouth drops open.
I keenly observe Derek’s body lying on the cold concrete, watching and waiting to see that he doesn’t get up. I don’t think he’s dead, just knocked unconscious. My heart starts beating in excitement.
This means, Julian has won!

I glance at Julian.
I have to admit, there are many reasons I love Julian and his ability to protect me is just another reason I love him so much.

I
can’t take it anymore. I run over to Julian, excited. I just want to make sure he’s okay and finally we can go home.

I run toward him and
I hear my stilettos click against the cold concrete. My feet are so numb I can barely feel each step. As I get closer, I notice the damage done to Julian’s body, the bruises and the blood all mixed in with his sweat, but it doesn’t gross me out. I care so much for him.

“Julian,” I cry out cheerfully.
“You won.”

He meet
s my eyes.

“
It’s over,” I cry out and smile broadly. I notice the deep circles of hemorrhaging and swelling under his eyes. His eyes are still flashing with brutality and if he had to fight more he would be more than ready.

I lean in to kiss him. He kisses me passionately. He pulls back and looks deep into my eyes.

“It’s not over. I need to kill him,” Julian
rasps.

Suddenly
, from the corner of my eye, I sense movement. I turn my head to look and see Derek has silently and swiftly lifted himself up, grabbed his gun and is pointing it at us.

“
Derek. no!” I scream.

Julian promptly
places himself in front of me, shielding me from the aimed gun.

Derek
fires a shot to Julian’s stomach then another and another. Julian heaves over.

“Derek stop, stop!” I scream. “Please don’t hurt him. I’ll go with you, just please stop, don’t hurt him anymore!” At this point I’m willing to say or do anything to get Derek to stop hurting Julian, ultimately killing him.

I
quickly place myself in front of Julian, shielding him and stare at the pointed gun. If I lose Julian, nothing will be the same, my life will lose meaning.

I stare at Derek
’s bloody, barely unrecognizable face. It’s so haunting up close—his face is raw, bruised up, and red from Julian’s powerful blows.

“If you kill him I will never love y
ou again,” I shout.

“Cheryl, move away,”
Derek growls, grasping the gun tighter.

“I’m not moving
—” I begin to say and suddenly Julian pulls me away, putting himself back in perfect alignment with the gun.

Derek
pulls the trigger, firing a shot at Julian and Julian goes flying to the ground. I hear myself screaming as another shot fires, piercing Julian.

“NO!” I scream.
My mind races with all the possibilities of what I should do, what I should say. Anger burns deep in the pit of my stomach.
Derek is cheating! Derek is fucking cheating!
There were supposed to be no weapons, Julian always said weapons are for weak men.
How weak of Derek to pull out a gun when he is losing the fight!

“Derek, I’ll go with you now,” I cry out.
Going with him means Julian will be safe. “I’ll go with you if you leave Julian alone,” I say. “You’ve won. Now just stop.” I trying to puff up his pride, trying to get him to loosen the grip on the gun.

I quickly move toward
Derek, blocking Julian’s body. “I’ve missed you,” I cry out to Derek. He loosens his grip on the gun.

Derek seems to be regaining his strength
and he puffs up his chest, victory overwhelming him.

I
quickly glance back and spot Julian lying on the ground, motionless. Panic grips me.

“I’ve got you back,” Derek rasps.
He grabs my arm and pulls me to him forcefully. Anger pumps throughout my entire system but I withhold an outburst. I swallow hard as I look up into his eyes.
He pulls me into his arm, his hand still gripping the gun.
Maybe if I distract him he will not shoot anymore and I can reach for the gun.
I force myself to kiss Derek hard, hoping Julian recovers and gets back up.

We stay lip-locked for a long time.
It feels so strange kissing him after so long. I wrap my arms around his neck even though I feel like smashing him into the nearest wall and going over to attend to Julian. It takes everything I have not to lose my temper. My instincts tell me not to run, at least not yet. I’ve seen too many movies and documentaries and I know what can happen when emotions run wild.

I f
inally pull away from the kiss and whisper, “Come on, let’s go.”

“Not yet, I need to make sure Julian is dead,” Derek growls.

Oh no!
What can I tell him to make him leave Julian alone, not to hurt him any further?
My mind races with all the possible things I could say.

I look deep into his eyes, trying as hard as I can not to let
me burning anger show on my face. Julian words echo in my head about mastering my emotions.

I force a smile. “
I’ve waited so long for you to come and get me.”

Derek
holds me tight. “Cheryl, you don’t know what I went through when I lost you,” he whispers.

My logic tells me if I earn his trust I
might have a chance to get away.

“Derek, please take m
e home,” I plead, recalling the tracking device implanted inside my arm. Julian will have no problem finding me.

“I need to check if he is dead,” Derek moves away and starts to head over to Julian.

NO!
I run after Derek and grab onto his arm. “I can’t watch anymore—let’s just go,” I whine.

He
stops and gazes at me, looking thoughtful. “Do you love me?” Derek whispers as he raises an eyebrow, scanning my face.

“Yes, I love you,
” I mutter.
Please don’t hurt Julian!

“Good, then if you love me, you won’t care if I kill
him.”

NO!
I watch helplessly as Derek strides up to Julian’s body and fires a number of shots to his body and head. The pistol roars even more loudly than the crowd at the UFC fight.

Julian’s
blood spreads in a dark puddle on the concrete.