Inside Danger (Outside The Ropes Book 2) (42 page)

Leona let out a sigh. “I hope you’re right because we just need to finish this semester then get the hell out of this town.”

This was the first I heard of their plan. “You just moved into your apartment.”

She rested her hands over her tiny baby bump. “I don’t want to raise a baby here. We need somewhere new.”

“Where?” I asked, eyes glancing at Gage.

He didn’t seemed surprised, just kept looking down at me.

“Vegas.” Dexter squeezed Leona’s knee. “I told you Rea, great opportunities there.”

Gage shook his head, but sat back and pulled me back with him, keeping me under the warmth of his arm.

Gage put my suitcase in the back of his SUV
while I buckled up.

“Where are we going?”

“Not far.” He pulled a hat low on his head, shading his eyes from the afternoon sun.

“Then why not stay at Dexter’s?” I questioned. His silence was unnerving me. He hadn’t talked much on the rest of the ride back and then immediately said we were leaving.

He shook his head, but stayed silent.

“Is something going on? Is it about Rusnak?” I spit out my fears.

That pulled his attention from the road and he looked at me. “No,” his voice was thick and he moved his hands to my knees, rubbing over my dress. “Don’t worry. I’ll explain. We’re not going far.”

I tried not to worry, but his lack of words didn’t give me confidence.

By time we walked into the hotel room I was vibrating with anxiety. “Can you please talk to me?” I turned on him the moment the door closed.

He stepped towards me, sinking to his knees as his arms wrapped around my waist. “I have missed you. I have wanted you. I have needed you. Not just the time in jail, the hospital wasn’t enough.” He pulled his head back from my stomach, his hands still gripping my hips, and his eyes glistened with unshed tears as he looked up at me. “We’ve talked and I knew you were okay, but…”

I sunk down to meet him on the floor and moved my hands to his cheek. “I am all right. I’m fine.”

He shook his head. “Seeing you, I don’t know what I was expecting. But damn, you showed up in this dress and you smiled and I didn’t know if we were going to get time like this again.” His hands were running over my hair. “In my brain, I knew you were okay, but my soul needed to feel it. I need to feel it.”

His lips captured mine, putting all his emotions into it. I had needed this just as much as he did and I rose up onto my knees to press into him, returning every bit he gave me.

“This is okay? You’re okay with this?” His eyes searched mine, showing me his fear and need.

I nodded, keeping my hands on him. “I need you. I need this. I need to feel it too.” I needed him to make me believe everything could be all right again, for both of us.

Our lips collided again, making my soul ache with how much I missed him, how close I had been to never feeling this again. But I pushed away those fears as he took off his shirt. He was here and this was real. He was here.

I ran my hands over his bare chest and trailed my lips over his skin.

He pulled the straps of my dress down as his lips slid over my neck to my shoulders. Then he stood me up, letting the dress fall. He guided me back to the bed as my fingers unbuckled his pants, undressing him. His hands caressed my skin, but I flinched when they crossed my newest scar. The knife wound was still an angry red, even with the stitches removed.

His gaze dropped over me with a rasping breath, and then he slid down my body.

I closed my eyes, shuddering, as he placed a gentle kiss over the mark.

“This is nothing to be ashamed of.” He grabbed my hand when I tried to pull him back up to me. “That’s our mark. Just like this is our mark.” He gestured to the wound on his leg. “We fought for each other. These scars show that. More than any fucking tattoo or anything else, these show how much we love, how much we’re willing to do for each other.” He kissed the mark again and I didn’t stop him. “Be proud of it. Because it’s proof that we’d go to fucking war for each other.” He gripped my shoulders, raising himself back up me to eye level, his lips grazing mine. “We fight. And we win.”

“Together,” I added, breathless.

“Together,” He agreed before collapsing onto me, pressing me into the mattress as his teeth trapped my lips with soft nibbles.

We gave up to each other, challenging each other with every move. A dance of control where neither of us held it for long. Our bodies responded to the other’s demands, reassuring us both that we were still us, whatever issues may still be there. At our core, in our souls, we were still us. And we would fight together to keep it.

I hadn’t slept so well in a long time. And both of us were enjoying our morning in bed, wrapped in a naked embrace. His fingers traced over my curves and scars. And I traced over his.

“Are you all right?” His fingers paused over my bellybutton.

I squeezed him to me, regretting having to break the moment. “I just need to know what happens next, with Rusnak, with you.” He stiffened beneath me and I continued, “I’m staying with you, whatever it is. I just need to know.”

He nodded. “It’s over.”

I sat up, unbelieving.

He sat up with me, wrapping his arms back around me from behind. “He didn’t trust me. I had to set up the shipment to find out where you were, but then I left and Rusnak wasn’t happy. I gave Rusnak the plan, told him about the checkpoints and routes the drivers should take, and I warned him that Rock was after the shipment. He thought I was setting him up and changed it.” He gave me a lopsided grin and pulled me to straddle his lap. “He got new drivers and a new plan. And one of the trucks got caught. From there they were able to track the truck and warehouse back to him. When they searched his house, they found even more evidence. He’s not getting out anytime soon.”

I felt lighter than ever before and wrapped my legs around him. “So you’re out? For good?”

But his face darkened, pulling me back into my body. “I am. But Rusnak’s family, they see an opportunity here and are sending others over to fill his spot. They want to rebuild with all new people. I don’t want to stick around for that.”

I cupped his face with my hands. “Done. Let’s leave. I want to leave too.”

His smile faltered. “I have something else to tell you.”

I waited, holding my breath.

“Rusnak wants to talk to you. He wants you to visit him in prison.”

I sat back, pulling the sheets around me. “Do I have to? Will this help you or—”

“No.” He gripped my hips before I could pull away completely. “No you don’t have to. I—well, I’m leaving it up to you, If you want to. But there’s no reason you have to.”

His hand dropped away and he watched me cautiously.

It took only a second to think about. “I don’t want to.” I still wasn’t sure it was okay to say no.

“Then you’re not going.” He put his hands back around me. “I didn’t want you to, but didn’t want to tell you what to do. I’m glad you decided not to.”

Nodding, I thought out loud. “I have nothing to say to him and I don’t want to hear anything he has to say. I don’t care what he knows about my mom or my past. I want to leave it all behind.”

“We will. We can. Where do you want to go? Anywhere. We can start over anywhere.”

“I already told you. I just want to go wherever you go.” I paused thinking, “Where’s a good place for your boxing? You’ve got a belt to win.”

He kissed my lips with a burst of passion. “New York? We could leave today. You could start training tomorrow.”

“I want to see James first, let him know about Damien and Nan.”

He nodded, eyes searching mine. “I’ll go with you.”

Sliding my arms around him, I hid my head from my words. “I’m not ready to train again. I don’t know if I want to anymore.” It hurt to say it since I still remembered the joy and power I felt boxing, but now it was all tainted, all the good sucked out.

“That’s okay. You don’t have to, not until you want to.” He smoothed my hair with his hands. “Babe, are you really okay? If there’s anything you need—”

I pushed my finger to his soft lips. “I think I’m okay, now that you’re here.”

He cracked a smile and pulled me to lie back on his chest. “I can’t believe my independent girl just admitted that.” He kissed my head with a light rumbly laugh and then added with a whisper. “Does that scare you?”

I laid my head on his chest, thinking it over. “Maybe, but I don’t care. Not anymore. I thought doing things alone was the only way to go, that it made me strong, better. But…” My stomach clenched thinking about where that got me. “That didn’t work. Now I want this. The way I feel right now. It’s the only time I feel like I’m living.”

“Loving,” He corrected with another kiss to my forehead. “You’re loving, that’s why it feels good. Why it works.”

My fingers coasted over his chest and I returned the question he had asked me so many times. “Does it scare you?”

He sucked in air, nodding his head back on the pillow. “You scare me all the fucking time. But I’m learning to live with that.”

“I thought we were loving not living.” I poked him and he captured my hand with his.

“It’s because I love you that you scare me. You’ve got my heart in your hand.” He placed a kiss on my palm. “But I don’t want it back. It’s yours.”

I climbed over him and pressed my body to his, our eyes burning into each other’s. “You’re mine. And I’m yours.”

He sealed the words with a soul-igniting kiss. And I knew it didn’t matter where we ended up or what we ended up doing. As long as we were together, I had a chance at living. We had a chance at living. We could fight any obstacle and win, because of the way we love.

THE ARENA WAS ALREADY FILLED AS LEONA and I took our seats next to Jace and Aliya. My stomach twisted and bubbled with excitement and nerves.

“Hey, finally you two get here.” Aliya had to yell over the buzz of the crowd. “You missed a fine looking man. That last fighter, gah.” Aliya fanned herself, giggling as Leona slapped at her. “You’re a mom, not dead. You can look.” She looked between Leona and me, wide eyed. “Everyone should be able to appreciate a fine body.”

Jace rolled his shoulders back and swept his hand across his chest, showing off, and Aliya rolled her eyes.

I didn’t even bother responding as the lights dimmed and people began filtering into their seats. I still appreciated fine bodies, but not many compared to my mans.

“How’s the ankle biter doing?” Jace asked.

Leona pushed him with a smile. “He only bit you that one time, quit calling him that. But he’s good. Trouble, but good. You should have seen him tonight, took forever to get him to sleep. All he wanted to do was play. Had to get him down before I left though or he would have never went to bed.” She smiled like she didn’t mind.

I brushed away the concern over who he was with, that was Dexter and Leona’s choice to make. Picturing his chubby cheeks and head of curls never failed to make me smile. And recalling the way Gage played with Felix that morning in the pool made me weak in the knees at how sweet he looked, but it also terrified me to my core, nearly sending me into a panic attack.

“Girl, can you imagine? When he wins tonight you get bragging rights to dating the cruiserweight champion of the world. That. Is. Crazy.” Aliya squealed, leaning over Leona.

This was the fight he had been training his entire life for. And it had been a hard road. His reputation had been struck at first, but after his name cleared and the news stories stopped, he returned to boxing. The allegations of murder only made him that much more intimidating to opponents. The past year and a half had been spent in physical therapy and the gym. I had no doubt in his ability; he had trained his ass off for this.

The minute Gage walked out he had my full attention. Seeing him now, with his tattoo’s shining, gloves on, and his confidently cold expression made me weak in a completely different way. A fire burned low in my stomach for him, and I couldn’t pull my eyes off the grace of his hard body.

He was with a small entourage, only Dexter and his trainers, Brady and Ian. As they approached the ring he captured me with his eyes, making everything else in the room lose focus and my nerves disappeared. He still had that effect on me. Every time. I got a little stronger every day and could finally be on my own, but he was the only one that made the anxiety go away completely. Even now.

He climbed into the ring and the crowd cheered, feet stomping a thunderous beat. The energy in the room fed my excitement, I vibrated with it. He turned and winked at me, my body pulled towards his so I could barely focus on the other man entering the ring.

His opponent, the current titleholder, was shorter than Gage, but with thick muscles that made him look like a bull.

The first round was a test. They sparred, neither giving their all, sizing up each other and their reflexes.

My muscles twitched, reacting with each move as if I were in the ring, willing Gage to take a punch or dodge a certain way.

The second round started the same way, easy. Then the bull stepped it up, attacking with the speed and strength he was known for. But Gage blocked and threw his own punch. Gage was having fun, I could tell by the light in his eyes and his slight smile. But the other guy was living up to his nickname, fuming red with anger, I almost expected him to blow smoke.

Gage’s lips were moving, he was saying something to him that caused him to charge again. But Gage dodged with a roll of his shoulder and returned a punch to his stomach, then his chin.

The man folded slightly but recovered, putting his arms up to block as he tried to retreat.

Gage was still so casual about it all, it excited me, the control he had in the ring. It was clear he owned this fight. He didn’t let his opponent back too far away. He stepped to him with a hook that sent him back to the ropes, followed by a combination that had him bouncing against them, knocked off balance. Gage used one gloved hand to keep him up and the other to slam into his cheek, dropping him to the canvas. The bull knocked out cold.