PULSE: A Stepbrother Romance (17 page)

“Your job is
to help me patch him up and get him out of here,” the referee continued. “Take
him to a hospital if you want – he might need a few stitches, but I doubt
it. Resilient. That’s Bonesaw. Resilient as a motherfucker.”

The door
burst open, and the others came back – carrying the limp Jabberjaw over a
shoulder. A few audience members tried to push through, but Darren punched
someone and growled at the others, and Luke forced the door closed.

“How is he?”
Darren immediately asked. He didn’t bother to inquire as to the change in
placement; instead, he carefully slid Jabberjaw onto the couch.

“No broken
bones, nothing irreversible…I think…” Vinnie answered. “When he wakes up, he’s
gonna be in for it, but with some decent pain meds he should be just fine. A
bit woozy, maybe. That’s why we’ve got little Skipper here to keep an eye on
the big guy.”

Everyone but
Vinnie turned to me.

The referee,
on the other hand, immediately flocked to Jabberjaw’s side. “Now,
this
guy…this guy’s the one who worries
me. We’re gonna need to get him an ambulance on the double…”

Darren pulled
me aside as Luke looked back and forth between everyone, backing up slowly
towards the door.

“Ahhh,
nuh-nuh-nuh…” Vinnie declared, wagging his finger at the retreating rasta guy.
“Nope,
you
?
You
aren’t goin’
anywhere
.
You’re coming right here and playing
nurse
,
or I’ll wring yer fucking neck myself.”

Darren cast Luke
a fierce, smoldering glare, and Luke’s shoulders finally sagged. Defeated, he
dropped to Vinnie’s side.

“Alright,
what do I do?”

“Well,
you’re gonna
start
by handing me that
bottle…”

Darren turned
to me again, his hand on my shoulder.

“Are you okay?
I’ll get you anything you need.”

“No, I’m
fine, I’m just worried about
him
…”

“I know,
sweetheart,” the bodybuilder smiled sadly. “Tonight was fucked up. It wasn’t
supposed to go down anything like that. I’ve fought alongside Sawyer for
years…we go way back. Do you need me to call an ambulance for him? Better safe
than sorry.”

“Yeah,
that’s probably–”

“No,” a
hissing, pained voice called from the floor. “No ambulance. I need…I need to
get back…home…”

It was
Sawyer, miraculously. He was starting to move around on the floor, but he
snarled with a burst of pain and slid back onto his back.

“You’re hurt!
You need to see someone!”

“No…I’ll
be…fine,” he groaned. “We have…things at…home. Medicine cabinet…fully stocked.
Strong stuff…in there. Just need…home…” The pain left his face, and his body
slumped subtly.

Darren turned
from him to me.

“Looks like
he’s back out cold. What do you think?

“What would
you
do?”

The
bodybuilder glanced over my shoulder, down at the crumpled form on the floor.
“It’s a tough call…but he’s a tough guy. If our resident medic can’t see
anything particularly life threatening…I’d honor his wishes. I can help you get
him back home, get him set up. Is that what you want to do?”

I looked down
at Sawyer. He looked so peaceful. Every ounce of me realized that if anything
happened to him, I’d be devastated. He was a jackass, but he was
my
jackass, and I’d be damned if he
didn’t get the attention he needed. At the same time…I felt like that was
wrong. Something inside me rebelled at the thought – I felt as if he
needed to be
home
, that he was
right
. That to send him to the hospital
and sit by his side was the wrong choice. I don’t know why; my instincts had
never been particularly strong. But my gut told me that I would regret it, and
it was strong enough to make the decision for me.

“Alright.
We’ll do it. Let’s get him home.”

SAWYER

Chapter 20

PENSACOLA

PRESENT
DAY

I
felt heavy, weary. My body was
weakened, with some bruising and swelling here or there, but none of my limbs
shrieked with agony if I slowly lifted anything. I was comfortable, I remember
– it took a while for me to open my eyes and recognize that I was lying
in my bed at the Beach House.

I remembered
slight flashes – being carried to the back of a car, my eyes barely
registering Darren’s determined, distracted face above. There was another
– Darren pacing beyond my feet, and Saffron trying to calm me down and
make me take some pain medication. Incoherently, I’d tried to explain something
to them – but I had been delirious. There were other glimpses, and I
realized that some time had passed. I didn’t know how much. Could have been a
day – could have been close to a week. Time meant so little to me in this
place.

My eyes
adjusted to the light. I deduced that it was late afternoon. The faint caws of
distant gulls hit my ears, and I almost chuckled at their sound.

Saffron was here
with me. She convinced me to take another pair of pain pills, and swig of water
to wash them down. Issuing some kind of calm command to me, I barely heard her,
electing to close my eyes again. The bed was so comfortable, and my flesh was
so weary.

The command
was repeated. She sounded agitated now.

Parting my
eyelids again, I frowned slightly at her request.

“Sawyer!
Listen to me!” She was telling me, mildly exasperated. “You’ve got to swallow,
or you’ll choke on them!”

Oh, that’s right. Everything’s still in my mouth.

I leaned
forward wearily; it was just enough to comfortably swallow the pills and the
mouthful of water. She helped me rest backwards, and I felt the compulsion to
close my eyes again.

But I ignored
it.

Saffron
looked so beautiful. Tired, upset, her face hovered in sight. Her eyes were
holding back tears, and her lips were pursed with concern.

“Are you
okay, Sawyer?” She asked sadly.

I realized
that my normal reservation was gone. It was freeing, to be in this place where
I wasn’t worried about my actions, or playing some part as the arrogant prick
in her life. All of that had shifted to the side, and it was just me now
– and although I suspected that the pain medication she had been feeding
me was to blame, I knew that this was the opportunity I needed to push it all
aside.

“I love you,”
I whispered.

“Of course
you do,” my caretaker grumbled, shaking her head. “That stuff we had to give
you was pretty strong. You’re pretty out of it.”

She didn’t
understand.

“No,
Saffron…I mean it,” I responded, my voice taking back some of its strength. In
fact, just saying the words seemed to have given me some refreshed momentum,
and I meant to make the best of it. “I’ve always loved you.”

She
hesitated. “Sawyer, you should get some rest.”

“No,
Saffron…” I murmured, reaching up the fingers of my right hand. I gingerly
brushed her hanging hair out of her face with the tips, reaching down to cup
her cheek. “You don’t understand. I’ve loved you from the bottom of my heart
for years…and I’ve wanted you so badly. It’s why I left in the first place.”

My stepsister
was visibly stunned.

“I…Sawyer, I
don’t…”

“Go,” I told
her. “Make me some coffee, and bring it back to me. I need something to
energize me…”

“You need
rest,” she insisted.

“No.” The
syllable was strong – the cadence of my voice was back, and I felt in
charge. I pushed myself up in bed, my limbs a little sluggish but still
responsive to my commands. “I need to tell you these things
now
, before this all wears off…make me a
cup of hot coffee, and I’ll explain things to you.”

Saffron was
troubled, but she nodded briskly and left my side – pausing at the
doorway to look over her shoulder at me. With a quick shake of the head, she
disappeared from sight, and I leaned forward and held my head.

Am I really going to go through with this?

I wasn’t sure
if I should. Fading in and out during my recovery, she had always been there
– always taking care of me, never leaving my side. Thinking harder, I
remembered a faint glimpse; I had seen her asleep in her chair by the bed. She
had dedicated everything to keeping me comfortable and keeping me safe…the role
that I was meant to play for her.

My face
lifted from my hands. I unsteadily climbed from the bed, slipping out of my
fighting shorts. Listening intently for her footsteps against the stairs, I
staggered into the closet and examined my wounds in the mirror – a little
puffiness here and there, but ultimately my body had already healed up a number
of the injuries. Sure, there was the evidence of a split brow and some ample
bruising, but I’d suffered these things before.

I took the
opportunity to quickly dress, whipping on a pair of jeans, a belt, and a
graphic tee. I quickly splashed water against my face in the bathroom, and then
sat back down on the edge of the bed.

All the
moving around had drained me – I needed to take it easy for a little
while, and the coffee would help put some spunk back in my veins.

She returned shortly
after, bringing me a fresh cup of Robusta coffee. The wafting, uplifting scents
of some gourmet Swiss chocolate blend filled my nostrils, and I carefully took
the dish from her. My stepsister was clearly surprised at my change of clothes,
but didn’t say anything about it, choosing to allow me to enjoy the hot
beverage.

Lifting the
cup to my lips, I blew across it steadily before swallowing. It did the trick
– a slight burst to my senses, probably just the heat, but I knew that
the caffeine would hit my system as I told my tale.

And that’s
exactly what I did, as Saffron sat by my side.

I told her
everything
.

My words
carried me forward, drawing additional strength into my veins. I started by
revealing the conflicting feelings I felt when we began living together; I
continued by explaining my decision to leave home, and how much of an impact
she had made on it. I told her about New Orleans, and how I met the man I
previously knew as
Slippery Pete
.
Then there was the police raid on our home – and arriving in Pensacola,
meeting Darren, and setting up New Horizons. I continued through to decision to
leave, testing out my luck on the national underground circuit. I even
explained a few side adventures: Rio de Janeiro with Darren, hiking alone in
Colorado, and hitting the open road on the back of my Suzuki.

Finally, I
lead up to the defining phone call.

The one that
kicked all of this into gear.

“What was
it?” Saffron asked, the first words she’d spoke aloud since I began. “What did
you two talk about?”

“I suspected
that he wanted me to return. For that reason, I almost didn’t bother,” I
confessed. “But it was more than that. We did the small talk thing first
– he explained a few changes in his business life, I told him the cities
I’d driven to. I was impatient, wanting to know his angle…

“But then,” I
continued, “he was heading to Paris. He wanted to take our mother abroad, and
he didn’t feel right leaving you for the summer. Said there were threats made
against the company. Bad ones. They named names… They named you.”

“Who would
want to hurt me?” she asked quietly.

 
“He said he didn’t know. He was going to
either ship you away somewhere for a few months, or let you have full rein of
the Beach House for the same period of time. It’s a gated community, lots of
security out there, and nobody knows he owns it. You’d be safe down here…”

Saffron
nodded, understanding.

“Of course,
you’re aware that there was a catch. He wanted someone there to protect you,
and he wanted it to be me. Turns out he’d been keeping tabs on me. He knew
about my cage fighting, and he knew that I would take care of you. In his eyes,
I was perfect for the role. But he needed an answer then and there.”

“And you said
yes.”

“I said no,”
I told her, and she looked uncomfortable for a moment. “But I changed my mind.
I figured,
it’s been five years
. I
can handle my emotions now. I can deal with being around my stepsister without
feeling anything for her. I’ve knocked a hundred men out in the ring; I’ve
escaped from the police, ridden a bus halfway across the States, and I’ve seen
incredible things. After all that, I can handle being around my old flame
again.”

She looked
demure for a moment. “Could you?”

“Fuck no,” I
chuckled. “The moment I saw you, I realized how wrong I’d been. You were so
fucking beautiful from that first moment and on. I spent time away from the
house in the build-up to the trip, just hoping beyond reason that I’d be able
to get a grip. But I couldn’t.”

Saffron was
struggling with something internally – I couldn’t tell what. But when she
opened her mouth, she surprised me.

“I’ve done
something wrong, Sawyer.”

“Oh?” I
raised an eyebrow, maintaining eye contact.

“I’ve been
such an idiot, I…I was so mad when you were disappearing on me. I was furious.
You were so distant, and I needed to know what was going on…I…”

Saffron
looked like she was completely on the verge of crying. It would be cruel to let
this continue and, just by bringing it up, she had already shown me everything
she needed to.

“The
tracker,” I smiled knowingly.

“I…what?” She
was confused now, her beautiful eyes lining with tears.

“You think I
wouldn’t notice? Jesus, Saffron, you realize that I refill my gas less than a
foot from that spot…and I know what those things are.
Very
creative usage, though…you certainly got your mileage out of
it.” I gave her a sideways glance, watching her process this information.

“Oh my god,
I…I don’t know what to…can you forgive me?”

“Don’t get me
wrong…you crossed a line. But I pushed you. I let you down. I should have been
here, should have…” I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter now. If you hadn’t said
anything, I would have been angrier, but I know that it’s my fault. You
will
remove it in the morning, though.
Understood?”

She nodded
gratefully, wiping her eyes.

Silence
filled the air between us for a moment. Both of us wanted to say something, but
neither of us could.

“Listen,
Saffron…” I told her, putting my feet down on the floor. It was time to bring
it all back around. She pulled her chair back and stood up uneasily. “I just
want you to know that, no matter what…I’ve always loved you, completely and
fully. I understand if you don’t feel the same way…I can’t see why you would,
honestly…but I will always protect you from now on, if you want me. Not just at
this fucking Beach House. Anywhere. Anytime.”

I rose from
the bed. To my surprise, I wasn’t shaky or nervous; my injuries felt like
nothing to me, although the medication must have had a lot to do with that.
Perhaps they’d mostly healed by now.

“You
are the entire world to me, and I just can’t bear the thought of–”

My words were
cut off as she threw her body against mine. Her arms wrapped around me as she began
to heavily cry into my chest.

“Sawyer…you
asshole…” she sobbed. “You shouldn’t have ever left me…I was broken when you
were gone. You devastated me. And all this time, I hated you…for making me love
you…and when you came back, I just didn’t…”

I lifted her
chin; my eyes peered deep into hers. My thumb rubbed along her cheek, wiping
the tears away. I felt her warmth against my skin, and I knew that everything
was going to be okay.