Jagged Harts, page 31
She whips her shirt off and places it over the hole in my stomach, trying to stop the bleeding. I have never seen her look so terrified. Even when we first saw Darryl back in LA. Maybe I am worse off than I feel. But I don’t really care. All I can smell is her. I inhale deeply and smile. Lifting my hand up I caress her soft skin. My touch smears some blood across her cheek but if she notices she doesn’t say anything. She just looks at me with equal parts love and fear.
Soon, I hear muffled shouts and several pairs of heavy footsteps. I lift my heavy head to see police officers bustling around the room as well as paramedics behind them. Glad the guy at the front desk took my threat seriously. I never thought Aubrey would be the one to kill Darryl, though.
I look at her one more time as they load me onto a stretcher. I bring our intertwined hands to my pocket and urge her to grab something from it. She understands and does. She pulls out her bracelet and tears start free falling down her cheeks.
“Forever,” I croak before everything slowly fades away. I feel no pain or fear. I was there for Aubrey when she needed me, and for that I have no regrets.
I try to pry my eyes open, but they are too damn heavy. I hear a faint beeping in the background and an angelic voice.
“Dax?”
The sound gives me more strength and I work to finally lift my eyes open. Everything is blurry and it takes a couple of blinks before things start to come in to focus. I see white walls with a window on the wall to the side of me. There is a sterile smell in the air and that beeping is coming from some machine next to me. When I look to my left, I see Aubrey sitting next to me, gripping my hand with puffy eyes and a tear-streaked face.
“Are you okay, baby?” I rasp.
She lets out a short dry laugh.
“Are you okay? You are the one who has been out for two days.”
I look at her confused.
“Two days?”
“Yeah,” she shakes her head solemnly. “You lost a lot of blood. The bullet ruptured your liver and they had to do surgery to repair it. With the combination of the beatings that you took in the first-round and the shock of everything else they were worried how long it was going to take for you to wake up. You scared the hell out of me, asshole!”
Fire returns to her solemn eyes which made me breathe a little easier. My little fighter.
“I am so sorry, baby. I got there as fast as I could, but it wasn’t enough. He should have never even touched you.” I grab her hand and squeeze. “I will never forgive myself.”
She squeezes back with a barely there smile.
“You couldn’t have stopped it. He told me that he had always been planning on coming for me. It was only a matter of time.”
I swallow hard.
“Did he hurt you?”
“He threw my head against a wall a couple of times, and it knocked me out for a little bit. When I woke up, he was trying to get my clothes off in the hotel room and I started kicking and fighting. That’s when he resulted to trying to tear them off. You came in pretty quick after that.”
Anger washes over me at the thought of someone, especially him, touching her, hurting her. I hear the beeping in the background speed up and it must be my heart monitor because I can feel the adrenaline coursing through me. Aubrey places a calming hand on my chest.
“Easy there, tiger. It’s okay. He can’t hurt me anymore. He can’t hurt anyone ever again.”
I look up to her, asking a question with my eyes that she seems to understand.
“Yeah,” she nods. “He is dead. I was in cuffs for a little while until I explained everything.”
“Are you okay?” I ask tentatively.
“I am fine. As bad as it sounds, I am fucking relieved. The fear of him one day coming for me was always in the back of my head. Now he is nothing but a memory, and I refuse to give him one more ounce of power over my life.”
I pull her arm towards me, and she leans over and kisses me deeply. My heart soars at having her in my arms again and then it stops at the reminder of how stupid I was to have lost her in the first place. I break the kiss and hold my nose to hers.
“Bree, I will never be able to forgive myself for what I did to you, to us. I understand if you never want to see me again. But please know that I love you more than anything, you have changed my life, changed me. I will love you forever no matter what.”
Her smile is so soft and sweet that it makes my gut twist with hope.
“Babe, Chase came and talked to me. He is the reason I came to the fight.”
“Chase?” I ask suddenly thoroughly confused. He has been thrilled over our breakup even though I have been slowly dying.
“He drugged you at the party. Slipped a shit ton of E in your drink. He wanted you to cheat on me, to ‘let loose and have some fun’ apparently. He didn’t realize the amount he gave you was going to knock you on your ass like it did. Apparently, you couldn’t speak, walk or do anything really. Julie put on a little show at my expense, but you couldn’t even participate with her even if you wanted to. You were too out of it to know what was going on, let alone stop it from happening. It is not your fault.”
I am shocked at her words. My own best friend fucking drugged me? I shake my head because it couldn’t be true, but then again, it makes fucking sense. I didn’t just feel hungover the next day, I felt like I was coming down from a bad trip. I don’t remember anything after a couple of beers that Chase had been feeding me. The video made it seem like I was into it but thinking back on what I saw, Julie was the one making all of the movements. I was just sitting there like a statue. It makes perfect fucking sense.
“That son of a bitch!” I bark out before I blow out a deep breath and shake my head. “I wouldn’t, I couldn’t ever do that to us, Bree. Not willingly.”
“I know, babe,” she says as she kisses the back of my hand. “I should have known all along, but I was shattered, I couldn’t think straight. But you are not to blame, maybe just pick some better friends,” she says lightly attempting to break the dark mood. Yeah, no shit. Chase is fucking lucky that I am half-way across the country in a hospital bed right now.
“I love you so fucking much. I never realized just how much until I lost you.”
“Me too,” she says shyly.
“Come here,” I say pulling her to lay on the bed with me. She looks at me like I am crazy.
“No, I will hurt you.”
“I don’t give a shit,” I spit out. “Get your sexy ass over here now. I need to hold my girl.”
That gets her to move as she slowly curls up next to me while I put my arm around her. Her head nestles against my chest as I rub small circles on her back. I have never felt so peaceful in my entire life. Knowing that I have Aubrey back, suddenly nothing else matters. Then I remember that I am the new Heavy Weight Champion and that feels pretty fucking good too.
EPILOGUE
AUBREY
One year later
We are back in Vegas tonight. Someone is challenging Dax’s title for Heavy Weight Champion, and it is sure to be a good fucking fight. There have been many that have tried to earn the title, but Dax has remained unshaken. Commentators are saying that he is a phenomenon and almost impossible to beat. Considering ever since he entered the UFC, he has been undefeated I would say that is a fair assessment. Dax is not arrogant though, shocking, I know. He knows that one day he will lose, and when he does it will only make him better. But he is still Dax motherfucking Hart, and he is a tad cocky which seems to work for him.
The rumor mill came up with the craziest stories about what happened the night he took the title. It ranged from, he saw me with another man and went into a jealous rage, to him saving me from a deranged fan. They got part of that right, he did save me, though I will never admit it to him. I remind him constantly that I don’t need saving and that I took care of Darryl by myself in the end. Though if we are being honest, I was fucking terrified and as tough as I tried to act, I silently prayed that Dax would somehow save me. And then he did. I knew for sure in that moment that he would be my forever.
When we returned to Glenfield, Dax rightfully beat the shit out of Chase, and he took it surprisingly well, for a little bitch, at least. Dax has not spoken to him since, thankfully. Life is too short for toxic motherfuckers like that.
Kayla and Blake are finally officially dating and are the most disgustingly cutesy couple I have ever seen. He worships the ground she walks on, and she loves every second of it. We have even gone out on a few double dates at Kayla’s insistence. Though I didn’t really see what the big deal was since we all four hang out all the time anyways, but whatever keeps her happy and off my back, I guess.
Cole and I were never really the same. We were able to work together but things were always a little strained and tense. As soon as he graduated he headed back home after he was offered a job in his hometown. I bet his family loves having him so close.
Dax graduated and is a fulltime UFC fighter while I just finished up my sophomore year at Whitman U. I am going for a business degree and my goal is to open my own gym for women. It is going to focus heavily on self-defense and how to use a woman’s smaller body to her advantage. For now, Cameron is letting me hold self-defense training classes at the gym twice a week which is great experience for me.
The fight has just started and the man he is fighting, Arturo Cortez, comes in with wild haymakers. Every swing or kick he throws is packed full of power and I can see why they think he will be the one to finally take down Dax. The man is an absolute animal, but Dax is smarter. He throws a couple of halfhearted jabs to keep Cortez distracted while Cortez wears himself out fast.
This dance lasts for a couple of rounds and I almost have a feeling that Dax is just dragging it out based on the way Cortez is slowing down. His connections on Dax are good and it is overall an entertaining fight, but I can practically see the moment Dax decides to finish it. Cortez gets a good connection to Dax’s side and Dax grunts before he spins on his heel and delivers a roundhouse kick right to the jaw. It’s an instant knock out.
I jump to my feet screaming and shouting until my voice is hoarse which is pretty normal for me at these fights. Nothing gets my adrenaline up like seeing Dax win big. I look over to see Cameron jump down from the cage as he quickly strides over to me.
“Hey, come with me,” he says, before taking my arm and escorting me up the stairs and into the cage.
Usually, they don’t like anyone besides the fighters and their team to enter the cage, but I am not going to question Cameron. I follow along and see a smiling Dax standing in front of me inside the cage. His abs are covered with a sheen of sweat, and I have to consciously remind myself not to swallow my own tongue. I will never get used to how good looking this man is. I look up to those sharp emerald eyes and see a cocky twinkle in them, like he knows exactly what I was thinking.
When I get close to him, he picks me up and spins me around in a circle, carrying me around like I am the prize he won. Dax sets me down onto my feet and smiles at me before he leans down to my ear and whispers, “Sorry.”
I am about to ask him for what but then someone hands him a microphone and he drops to one knee. No. He wouldn’t dare. Not in front of all these people. We have talked about marriage casually, but he has to know that I will die of fucking embarrassment if he is going to ask me in front of all of these people.
“Aubrey,” he says into the microphone for the whole arena and anyone watching on TV to hear. Fuck my life.
“You are my best friend, my number one fan and the love of my life. It has always been you and it always will be. I swear to love you and cherish you and make sure you never run out of cookie dough ice cream.”
I chuckle softly as tears begin welling up in my eyes. Then he pulls a little black box out from behind him and pops it open, revealing a stunning cushion cut halo diamond ring with more diamonds encrusted around the band. The thing is fucking huge. I jokingly told him that he could just get me a ring pop and I would be happy, but I really wasn’t joking. I would marry this fucking man with a shoelace on my finger.
“Will you do me the extraordinary honor of marrying me?” He asks, hope shining in his eyes with a nervous smile on his face.
I bite my lip to hold back the megawatt grin that is ready to spread across my face. I begin nodding like a fool before I tackle him to the ground, kissing him all over as he laughs. I think the whole crowd laughs at the fact that I just pinned down the Heavy Weight Champ, but I don’t care about anyone or anything else other than this man in front of me.
When I finally get off of him, he slips the ring onto my finger, and it fits perfectly. He grabs my face and pulls me in for an earth-shattering kiss that is fucking everything. It is filled with promises and hope and love. I never thought that a life this good was in the cards for me. I always thought that some people just drew the short end of the stick and that was just the way it was. I wish I could go back and tell that girl how wrong she was.
He finally breaks the kiss and smiles at me, cupping my cheek lovingly. I return it and whisper into his ear, “I love you, Dax Hart.”
“I love you, Aubrey Davis, forever.”
THANK YOU
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If you enjoyed this, check out some of my other books!
Inevitable – A second chance mafia romance
Undeniable – A single dad mafia romance
Untouchable.. – A friends to lover’s romance
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First off, I want to give a huge shout out to all of my readers. You all are the literal backbone behind everything that I do. I can’t express enough how much your support means to me. From reading a book of mine, to leaving a review or posting about my work on social media, I wouldn’t be anything without you all. I love you endlessly.
To my amazing Beta and ARC readers, thank you so much for taking the time to read my work and make sure that I don’t sound like a total idiot. Most of my books are still half word vomit when they make it to my Beta’s and still in need of minor tweaking when my ARC readers get their hands on it. Thank you so much for everything you do for not only me but the entire book community. You are incredibly beautiful people.
To my friends and family, thank you so much for your unconditional love and support through every book. From the first word to the final period, you all show me nothing but compassion and encouragement. And sorry if you read this and are related to me because this book is definitely the steamiest one that I have written yet. I’d feel worse but I warned you not to read my books. I love you all.
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Katelyn Taylor, Jagged Harts
