Paxton's Promise (22 page)

It was early morning and we were both awake, lying in each other’s arms in silence. We hadn’t let go of each other since we’d made love. Thoughts of the night before still plagued my mind. I had no clue what happened to Cliff, and I had no idea what happened to the guy I fought. If Camden hadn’t stopped me, I probably would’ve killed him.

“I think I almost killed someone last night,” I confessed. “And what’s worse, I don’t know what happened to Cliff. He could be dead right now.”

“Cliff? What does he have to do with all of this?”

Here we go. I licked my dry lips and explained, “When Camden came to get me last night, Cliff saw us out in the parking lot. He knew there was something off with the situation and his cop instinct kicked in, so he followed us. I don’t know if Scar did anything to him. When I got up to go to the bathroom, I tried calling and texting, but nothing yet.”

Paxton held me tighter, his body my safe haven. “Whatever happens, there’s nothing you can do, Gabby. I hate to say it like that, but he shouldn’t have followed, especially when you told him to stay out of it. That was stupid on his part.”

A tear escaped the corner of my eye. “I know, but I still care about what happens to him.”

His jaw tensed. “Well, maybe he’ll call today. Now tell me about the fights.”

“The first fight wasn’t so bad. I pretended to be scared, which really pissed me off because all I wanted to do was beat the shit out of the fat fuck. He pulled my hair and dragged me around the mat. I had the worst headache after that. When he got me down on the mat and I felt how hard he was over it, I can’t begin to tell you how sick that made me.”

“How did you get up?”

Clearing my throat, I could still remember the way it felt to have his hard cock in my hand as I pulled it as hard as I could. The pain had to be excruciating, but he deserved it. Hopefully, he wouldn’t be able to have sex for a very long time.

“Let’s just say I broke his junk, if that’s even possible. Imagine a laffy taffy machine pulling taffy this way and that.”

“Holy fuck,” Paxton growled. The tension and anger flowed off his body in thick waves. “I can’t believe you had to do that. Where was Camden in all of this?”

“There wasn’t anything he could do. He already threatened to fight Rage for me, but if he kept pushing, he’d get booted out. If he wasn’t there, I don’t think I’d have handled it as well.”

Paxton sighed. “I know, but I’m so goddamned furious at him right now. To be a part of something like that is unforgiveable.”

“You used to be,” I whispered.

“Not like that. I would never have approved of them making women fight men. I was the one who fought fuckers like Rage, the ones who liked to torment women and children.”

Turning in his arms, I looked at him. “What are you talking about?”

“That’s what I did when I fought in the underground. I took on worthless cocksuckers who liked to rape women and children. There were men who would come in and brag about that shit all the goddamned time.”

Tears blurred my vision. “Oh my God. That’s horrible.”

“Needless to say, I challenged them. I didn’t even need weapons to fuck them up. I was angry to the point I snapped each and every time. There was no holding back.”

I reached up to touch his cheeks but he averted his gaze. He knew what I was about to ask. “Did you kill them?” I asked softly. There was no judgment or accusation in my tone. If he killed them, I wouldn’t think differently of him. Because deep down, I wanted to kill the guy I fought last night. People that liked to hurt, kill, and rape innocent people shouldn’t be allowed to live.

“Paxton?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. After the fights were over, the men were taken away. I never knew their names, so I wouldn’t even know if they showed up on the news. But let’s face it, they didn’t give me the name Reaper for no reason.”

“Paxton, look at me, please,” I begged. Reluctantly, he lifted his gaze and clenched his jaw. Now I knew why he didn’t want to talk about his past. It pained him to think about it. “I’m not going to judge you. I love you. If it makes you feel any better, I wanted to kill the fucker I had to fight last night. I probably would have if Camden didn’t pull me away.”

Resting his forehead to mine, Paxton breathed me in. “When I saw you covered in blood, I can’t begin to tell you how terrified I was. I didn’t know what was going on.”

“I’m sorry you had to see me that way. I was so angry and disgusted with what I had to do. I just snapped seeing all of those men who got hard up over watching a man attack a woman. He wanted to flog me, so I turned the flogger on him.”

Paxton huffed. “And even now it’s not over. We need to call Mason and tell him everything that happened.” He kissed me on the lips and then slid out of bed. “I think I know of someone else who can help, but I need you to be okay with it.”

“Who?” I asked curiously.

Sliding on his boxers, he pulled a pair of shorts out of his drawer and put them on. “He’s someone you don’t like very much. In fact, no one likes him right now, but he might be the key we need.”

“Who?” I repeated.

Once he had his shirt on and headed for the door, he sighed and turned around to face me. “Kyle,” he admitted hesitantly. “He owes it to us to help.”

“What makes you think he’s going to?”

“I don’t know, but it’s worth a try. I’m sure he knows who Rage is and if he does it’ll help us. I have to try.”

Even though I didn’t want that cocksucker helping us, I nodded. “Okay, I trust you. I’ll call Mason, while you deal with fuckhead.”

As soon as he disappeared down the hall, I laid back in bed and closed my eyes. It felt like a war was coming and I was right in the middle of it. But then thinking of war made me think of Cliff.
Oh my God, I don’t know if he’s okay.
When I left last night, I was out of it.

My phone was on Paxton’s dresser so I bolted out of bed and fumbled with the keys. They shook so bad I could barely dial. Once his number was punched in, I waited for him to answer. When he didn’t, I called again . . . and again. He never picked up.

“Fuck, this can’t be happening,” I cried. This time I texted him.

Me:
Call me back ASAP!

Me:
I have to know you’re ok!

Please let him be okay.

I HADN’T TALKED to Kyle since everything went down with Kacey. All I knew was, he could barely walk and was in a wheelchair. The fucker got what he deserved. I didn’t want Gabriella to hear our conversation so I headed out to my garage. He most likely wasn’t going to answer the phone, but I had to try anyway. After I dialed, it rang about four times. I was about to hang up when his voice came over the line.

“What the fuck do you want?” he snapped. “To rub it in my face how I fucked up and everyone hates me?”

Typical Kyle
. “Leave it to you to think it’s all about you. I’m not calling to rub anything in your face.”

“Then why are you?”

“How are you?” I asked. He used to be one of my closest friends, and I could only imagine how it must feel to be helpless.

He scoffed. “Like you care. I’m stuck in a fucking wheelchair, how would you feel?”

“Have you talked to Kacey?”

Kyle huffed, but then his voice turned weary, defeated. “No, she won’t talk to me. Not that I can blame her. I’d do anything to have her forgive me. I didn’t know Liam was going to do what he did.” He paused. “Have
you
talked to her?”

“No, I’ve been a little preoccupied with some things. I have some questions for you though.”

“Ah, so you need something from me.”

“Yes, and I’m hoping you’ll help me. Do you know a guy named Rage? I heard of him a long time ago, but I never met him.” The line went silent. “Kyle?”

“I know him. I’m just wondering why you have an interest in him.”

“Who is he?” I asked. “What’s his name?”

“Like I’m going to tell you that. The dude’s fucked up in the head. If word gets out that I told you, my crippled ass will be dead in an alley somewhere.”

“It’s better than Gabriella turning up dead,” I thundered. “But I guess I’m not surprised you don’t want to help.”

“Wait, what does Gabriella have to do with this? Please tell me he’s not stalking her.” When I didn’t answer, he knew the truth. “Fuck me,” he stormed. “What has he done?”

“Let’s see, he wants to kill me and he’s been sending her black roses and cryptic messages. Not to mention he’s been following her.”

“Goddammit. You need to keep her away from him. The guy’s been on the run for years. From what I’ve heard, he raped and stabbed a woman because she cheated on him and then turned around and mutilated the guy before killing him too. It’s fucked up.”

“And now he’s after me and Gabby. Please, Kyle, I need to know his name. I have to know what I’m up against.” And to see what all we can find out about him. We had no clue what he looked like and if Gabriella didn’t know, then he could be anywhere.

“Are you going to fight him?” he asked.

“Yes. He’s going to challenge me. I have to make sure he can’t ever go after Gabby.”

Kyle sighed. “Permanently?”

“If that’s the only way to make sure she’s safe, I have no issues ending him. He’s no worse than the other men I’ve fought.”

“You were always so noble weren’t you? Always wanting to fight the bad guys.”

“Please, just give me his name.”

The line went silent and each second that passed I wanted to rip out his throat. I shouldn’t have to beg to get a fucking name, especially when that person wanted to kill me and do God only knew what to Gabriella.

I was about to hang up and just say fuck him when his voice came back over the line. “All right, I’ll give you his name. This guy fights dirty, Emerson. You need to be on your guard at all times.”

“I will,” I promised.

“His name is Josh Davenport. That’s all I know about him. I’d seen him around the Dark Side at times, but never actually spoke to him. He kept to himself.”

Sighing in relief, I headed back inside so I could give Gabriella his name. She would need it to give to Mason. “Thanks, Kyle. You probably just saved our lives.”

He sounded different on the phone, almost like he was lonely, needy. I shouldn’t feel sorry for the guy because he got what he deserved, but with his willingness to cooperate I couldn’t help but be grateful. After I hung up the phone, I rushed inside to Gabriella who paced my bedroom floor, holding her phone in her hand. She had one of my T-shirts on tied at the waist with a pair of leggings and her midnight hair pulled high into a ponytail.

Last night, she experienced what it was like to turn to the darkness. It had changed her and I could see it in the determination in her eyes. They were going to pay, and I was going to see it through.

“Have you talked to Mason?” I asked.

“Only briefly. He said he was going to call me right back. I’m just waiting on him. So what did fuckface say?” She hated Kyle and probably always would. Hell, I wanted to hate him, but if the information he gave us was solid, then I’d be indebted to him.

“He gave us a name,” I informed her.

“And you believe him?”

I shrugged my shoulders and approached her. “I don’t know, but it’s worth a shot.”

From the look on her face, she didn’t have much faith as she paced my bedroom floor. Her phone buzzed, and she took a deep breath and let it out. “It’s Mason. Here we go.”

Now, all we had to do was wait and see what we had to do next.