Game of Love (25 page)

“Sage is gonna meet us, too, so it’s not like you’re imposing. Besides, we didn’t fight.” Dex could hardly believe it had been only a week since they’d gone to his parents’ house. He and Ellie had come together in every way, and he felt like they’d been living together forever. Maybe in his mind, they had. Thoughts of her had always lingered in his mind. Was she okay? Was she happy? Was she thinking of him as much as he thought of her? She still loved to lie beside him while he read, or lie on the couch while he worked his way through a game. He used to cherish his privacy, but what he realized was that he just hadn’t tried sharing his time with the right person.

“Right. What are we calling it now? A lovers’ quarrel?” Mitch asked.

“Oh, like you’d know anything about dating.” Regina swatted a Twizzler in his direction.

“Hey, I could date if I wanted to.”

“Aren’t you the guy who swears women don’t want gamers?” Regina arched a brow.

“Hey, focus here or I’ll be late. You in or out?” Dex headed for the door. Regina and Mitch were right behind him.

They arrived at NightCaps fifteen minutes late, and Ellie was nowhere in sight. They went inside to look for her. The bar was packed, but Dex didn’t see Ellie.

“I’ll check the ladies’ room,” Regina offered.

Mitch elbowed Dex. “You think Reg would go out with me?”

No way. How could Siena have seen that and he have missed it? “Dude, don’t stick the pen in the company ink. It never ends well.” Dex pulled out his phone and texted Ellie.

“I’m serious. We have the same interests, the same schedules.” Mitch shrugged.

Dex only half listened, sidetracked by trying to reach Ellie.

“She’s not in there,” Regina said.

“Shit.” Dex tried calling her cell phone. It rang three times, then went to voicemail. “I’m gonna walk down by the subway and see if I can find her. You guys can grab a table.”

“I’ll go with you.” Regina fell into step beside him.

“I’m good. You guys wait here. I’ll go alone.” He turned so Regina couldn’t see his face and winked at Mitch. Mitch pulled his shoulders back, which only made his gut stick out farther.

Regina shrugged. “Okay. Text if you need us to send out search and rescue.”

Friday nights brought out the masses in the city. They came out early and stayed out late. Tonight Dex was looking at a sea of bodies moving fast and constant. He tried calling Ellie again before heading toward the subway. He held the phone to his ear, listening to it ring. He heard the ringtone Ellie had set up to identify his calls coming from the alley beside the bar. He lowered his phone, listening intently, then followed the ringing into the darkness.

“Ellie?” he called. He could barely see five feet in front of him as he entered the alley. He raced toward the ringing sound and found her phone lying on the ground, the faceplate cracked.
Fuck
.

“Dex!” Her voice was high-pitched, frightened. “Leave me alone, Bruce!”

“Like hell I will,” a deep male voice seethed.

Dex ran into the darkness, his heart slamming against his ribs. Blood rushed through his ears as he came upon Ellie, her back against the brick wall, the man blocking her with a wide-legged stance. She took a step toward Dex, and Bruce pushed her back against the wall. Ellie sucked in a breath.

Moving on pure adrenaline and gut instinct, Dex grabbed Bruce and dragged him away from Ellie. Tears streamed from her terrified eyes.

“Dex!”

“Get outta here, Ellie,” Dex growled just before slamming Bruce against the wall. His head met the brick with a loud
thud
. Ellie ran toward the street as Bruce’s fist connected with Dex’s jaw.

Ellie yelled, “Dex!”

The metallic taste of blood hung in Dex’s mouth as he launched himself at the guy, blocking another punch and knocking Bruce off balance. Blind fury sent Dex’s arm into motion, landing punch after powerful punch on Bruce’s jaw. As his head fell back, Dex’s fist connected with a blow to his gut. Bruce keeled forward, and Dex hammered an uppercut to his already bloody jaw, then threw him to the ground, landing on top of him with another
thud
. The anger and frustration of the last few weeks tangled into one massive surge of force. The sound of bone cracking and flesh pummeling flesh filled the darkness. Somewhere in the distance he heard Ellie calling out to him, but Dex was powerless to stop. He was pure adrenaline, rage personified. All of the men who had ever hurt Ellie blurred into the man beneath him. His fists flew hard and fast as the man went limp. A strong hand gripped his arm and he twisted out of its grip, landing another punch to the already bloody face beneath him. Then his arms were trapped, held firmly back as he was yanked from the limp body and dragged backward. He flailed and fought against them, burning to avenge Ellie’s pain.

“Dex. Stop. Stop. You’ll kill him.”

Sage
.

Dex’s chest expanded with each angry breath. His fisted hands ached and burned. His knuckles dripped with blood. Some his, some the other guy’s. Fury seeped from every pore. He struggled to break free, but stood no chance with Mitch and Sage holding him back.

“Ellie!” he growled. He heard her crying. He elbowed and twisted until he was facing the road, where Ellie shook and shivered within Regina’s caring arms. “Lemme go!” He broke free of their grasp and sprinted to Ellie, barely aware of the crowd that now circled the man he’d beaten. Ellie’s eyes and nose were red and puffy, her terrified eyes locked on his.

“Ellie.” He pulled her against him, his own body shaking against hers. “Babe. I’m right here. It’s okay. I’m right here.” She clung to him, digging into him with her nails. He barely felt the moon-shaped cuts he knew he’d find later. She drew a shaky hand to his jaw.

“You’re…bleeding,” she sobbed.

He didn’t care about the blood. Adrenaline and fear numbed the physical pain. Ellie was safe. She was in his arms, and he was never going to let her go. Ever.

AT THE HOSPITAL, Dex sat on the bed with a bandage secured to his hand. He’d needed eleven stitches to close a gash along his knuckles. Ellie stood between his legs, her hands on his hips. Regina leaned against Mitch, looking almost as scared as Ellie.

“I’m fine, you guys. You don’t have to hang around.” He was glad they were there, but the painkillers had kicked in and he felt fuzzy around the edges. He wanted to go home, lie down beside Ellie, and not move until his life would fall apart if he didn’t.

“You sure?” Regina asked.

“Reg, I’ve got Ellie and Sage. I’ll be fine.” He watched her and Mitch exchange a glance, and he wondered if the closeness he noticed was caused by his drug-induced foggy state or something more.

“Okay. What about the release?” Regina asked.

“You know, I think I’ll just hang with Ellie. Between the drugs and the stitches, I’m not sure I’ll be up for it.” He stroked Ellie’s arm.

“Yeah, okay.” Regina put an arm around Ellie. “I’m glad you’re okay. It would have sucked if that guy hurt my new friend.”

Ellie leaned her head against Regina. “For me, too,” she said, but she was looking at Dex, and he knew she meant the both of them.

“All right, dude. Listen, you need me, I’m there. I’ll text you updates.” Mitch patted Dex’s back. “Man, you’ll do just about anything to get the girl, won’t you?”

“Just about.”
Anything. Anything at all
. “Thanks, you guys. I’m not blowing you off. I’m just really loopy.”

“No worries. You’re in good hands.” Regina grabbed the front of Mitch’s shirt. “Let’s go. I need a veggie burger.”

Mitch raised his eyebrows. “That’s code for you know what.”

Regina smacked him, and as they walked out of the curtained-off area of the emergency room, she looked over her shoulder and said, “In his dreams.”

Ellie turned a soft gaze back to him, her pupils dilated as she ran her eyes along his face. “Dexy. Look at you. I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be. It wasn’t your fault.”

“Do you believe me now? I’m chaos, Dexy. Bad news.” Her voice was soft, riddled with worry.

Sage came through the curtain. “How’re you doing, Dex?”

Dex arched a brow. “’Bout as good as can be expected.”

“Good. The police just left. This guy, Bruce, he has a history of complaints against him from other women.” Sage put an arm around Ellie. “You okay?”

“Yeah, thanks, but this is all my fault. I’m sorry to have gotten you involved with this.” She touched Dex’s cheek. “I’m so sorry.”

“You couldn’t have known. This guy’s MO is to turn on the GPS on women’s phones, so he always knows where they are.” Sage let out a breath. “He wasn’t married, Ellie. The woman who called you was some other woman he’d been seeing, who also thought she was his only girlfriend.”

Ellie shook her head. “See? Pure chaos.”

Dex lowered his forehead to hers. “I like chaos, so don’t even think about walking away, Ellie Parker. You’re not going anywhere. You have to nurse me back to health.”

“I should have listened to you and gone to the police,” she said.

“Maybe, but we can’t change the past, remember? We can only learn from it and move forward. All I ask is that you not date any more maniacs.” He felt the right side of his mouth lift into a teasing smile.

“I’m pretty sure I’ve found a guy that’s only a little maniacal, and he usually plays out that side of himself in the virtual world.”

He lowered his lips to hers and kissed her softly. “I thought I’d lost you,” he whispered.

She cupped his cheek. “You’ll never lose me again.”

SUNDAY AFTERNOON, DEX and Ellie went to NightCaps to meet Mitch and Regina and celebrate the release of
World of Thieves II
. In the last twenty-four hours,
World of Thieves II
had broken new-release sales records. With that level of success, Dex had no concerns about KI or any other competitor.

“You sure you’re okay with just Tylenol? It’s been only two days,” Ellie asked when they reached the entrance.

She’d hovered over him since they’d left the hospital, and her fierce protectiveness rivaled that of his mother, who had called him four times to make sure he was
really
okay.

“Ellie, it’s just a few stitches. Bet you didn’t know your boyfriend was so tough,” he teased.

“I always knew how tough you were.” She stood on her tiptoes, and he took her hand and led her up the first step, so they were nearly eye to eye; then he drew her close and kissed her.

A cab pulled up to the curb, and Dex reluctantly parted from the kiss, still holding Ellie’s hand with his unharmed one. He turned just in time to see Siena spin around and snap a picture on her phone.

“Ha!” she teased.

“What are you doing here?” Dex asked.

“You don’t think Regina would have a party without your family, do you?” Siena snapped another picture.

The door to NightCaps opened, and Regina and Mitch came outside. “Surprise!” they said in unison.

“Hey!” Dex hugged Regina and Mitch. “You guys could have told me you called everyone.”

Siena took another picture. “Then I wouldn’t have gotten that surprised look on film!”

“Wait,” Ellie said, surprising Dex. She stepped in front of him, then grabbed his arms and wrapped them around her waist. “Okay, Siena. Can you please take another picture?”

Dex knew how much courage it took for Ellie to not only be in the picture, but to ask for it to be taken. With the others milling around him, he didn’t want to call any more attention to her and make her uncomfortable, though his heart swelled with gratitude and love for her. He leaned down and whispered, “Thank you.”

She squeezed his hands and lifted her chin so she could see him. “Thank
you
, Dexy.”

“Oh, that is just the cutest picture I’ve ever seen!” Siena hurried over and showed it to them.

“I want a copy of that,” he said.

Savannah and Jack came down the sidewalk hand in hand. Jack looked happier than Dex had seen him in years. His thick dark hair brushed his collar, and as always, he wore leather hiking boots, making his six-four stature more like six-five. “Hey, baby brother,” Jack called. He opened his arms and embraced Dex. “Heard you beat the snot out of that guy.”

“To save his girl,” Savannah said with a sigh. She brushed her auburn hair to the side and hugged Dex and Siena; then she wrapped her arms around Ellie. “I’ve heard a lot about you. I’m so glad we’ve finally met.”

Ellie drew her brows together. “You have?”

Savannah touched Jack’s arm. “Jack has a couple great stories about coming home to visit late at night and finding you two snoozing together in Dex’s room.”

“You do? Why don’t I know this?” Dex asked.

Jack shrugged. “You were sleeping with your arms around her. I’m pretty sure you knew.”

“No, jackass. Why didn’t I know you knew?” Dex laughed.

“Wait, why didn’t
I
know?” Siena complained as they made their way into NightCaps.

“Sisters are always the last to know,” Savannah whispered to her.

As soon as they were through the doors, Mitch threw his arms up in the air and yelled, “Thrive!” There were only a handful of people in the bar, each of whom either laughed or looked at Mitch like he was crazy.

Dex high-fived him, then waited as the others filed past and greeted his parents and brothers. He pulled Ellie close. “I saw you cringe when Jack mentioned that he’d seen us sleeping together as kids.”

“Jack knew,” she whispered. “He must think I was a slut.”

“No way. If he did, he would have said something to me. Besides, maybe you can pretend you were so I don’t look like such a loser for not having sex with you back then.”

She punched his arm.

“Hey, don’t hit the wounded.”

“Don’t you dare let them think we did that.” She narrowed her eyes, and he held his hands up.

“I never would.”

“There you are,” his mother said as she approached. She wore wide-legged slacks and a white turtleneck adorned with various chunky necklaces in a multitude of colors.

“You look really pretty, Mrs. Remington.” Ellie let go of Dex’s hand to hug her.

“Joanie, please. I might have gray hair, but calling me missus just makes me feel older.” She embraced Ellie, then hugged Dex. She pulled back and brushed his hair from in front of his eyes. “You are a hero, but a scraggly one. Maybe you and Jack should go to the barbershop together.”