Jagged Harts, page 9
Shit. This is going to be a blood bath.
Both of the guys pop in their mouth guards and strap their gloves on before Cameron steps to the center of the floor and starts the fight. I look to the side and see Blake and another regular in the gym handling a shit ton of money as bets are practically being tossed at them from every angle. I am sure everyone is putting their money on Dax, at least if they were smart they would, because mohawk guy doesn’t have a chance in hell.
I swing my eyes back over to the fight just in time to see Dax throw a nasty right hook to mohawks jaw. He spins around in a circle but manages to stay upright, though he already looks pretty disoriented. The kid throws a few wild haymakers and surprisingly enough one actually lands across Dax’s eyebrow, splitting it open. I watch as Dax lifts his hand up to his face and sees the fresh blood on his white glove before a dangerous look flashes across his face.
Oh fuck.
Almost effortlessly, Dax throws out a left kick, complimenting it with a right jab to the ribs and then a left hook to the jaw. The kid drops to the ground, obviously knocked out but that doesn’t stop Dax. Not wasting a moment, Dax jumps on top of the kid and attacks, throwing devastating blows at him in a steady rhythm. Left, right, left, right, left, right. Blood splatters across the mat with each swing and I am pretty sure that I just saw a tooth or two roll across the floor.
I recognize the look in Dax’s eyes, or really lack of. His gaze is blank, almost robotic as he viciously tears the kid apart. If someone doesn’t stop him soon he is going to kill the guy. Without thinking twice, I jump out of my seat and launch myself against the fence.
“Dax! Dax! Stop!” I shout.
He can’t hear me though. The crowd’s roars are so loud that my efforts are like trying to shout into a hurricane. My eyes quickly flick around looking for someone else to step in. I don’t see Cameron anywhere, knowing that he would have stopped things already if he was in here. He must have stepped out. My eyes connect with Blake in the back of the room, catching the worried look he is sharing with me. Why isn’t anyone doing anything?
Fuck it.
Gripping the fence tightly, I make quick work of scaling it before hopping down on the other side. I hear a few panicked voices call out my name, but I block them out as I run over to where Dax and the unconscious kid are sprawled out across the floor.
Squatting down next to Dax, I quickly grab his face in my hands and pull hard so that he is forced to face me. His fist freezes midair as he looks into my eyes. His normally emerald green eyes are currently an obsidian black while his face is hauntingly blank. It is like he isn’t even here right now but somewhere dark and deep inside his mind.
“Come back, Dax. Come back. You aren’t there anymore. You are safe. Deep breaths,” I say softly.
I don’t actually know what he is going through at this moment, but I know when I am spiraling, those words usually do the trick to bring me back to reality. I can see the moment that my words sink in for him. The darkness in his eyes slowly starts to recede as he stares into my eyes. I keep demonstrating deep breaths while making sure to never break our eye contact or my hold on his face.
It seems to be enough to ground him because after several deep breaths he blinks a few times before he looks down at the unconscious kid underneath him. He practically scrambles off of him before throwing himself up against the cage on the other side of the octagon. Quickly, Dax shouts out for their on-hand medic to help the kid. The medic and a few other younger guys help get the guy out of the octagon and on to a stretcher before they take him back into the locker room.
Dax is standing a few feet away from me now and the crowd is going crazy with excitement and blood lust. Instead of reveling in the celebration, Dax and I are stock still in a silent stare off. No words need to be shared between us. Despite the fact that I fucking hate it, Dax Hart seems to be able to read me like a book. He saw everything the moment that he locked eyes with me. He sees that I get it. That I have been there. I have had my demons practically suffocating me, forcing me to claw my way out of the pits of hell and back to reality. I understood what he needed in that moment and nothing more needs to be said about it.
Suddenly, the gate opens and Chase bounds in excitedly with several girls as they rush Dax, giggling and pulling on him like they didn’t just watch him spiral to a dark place. Like he didn’t almost kill a man. I watch for a second, expecting him to lap up all the attention he rightfully deserves but instead he brusquely pushes his little fan club aside and strides over to me. He lowers his lips to my ear as he tries to talk over the crowd.
“Thanks.”
I give him a tight smile and pat his shoulder before I make my way out of the cage. I get scathing glares from that redhead chick and her little group of followers that are always hanging all over Dax and Chase, but I couldn’t honestly give a fuck. I don’t even bother giving them a second look as I weave my way through the crowd. I quickly stop by Cameron’s office to grab my stuff before I head home.
CHAPTER
ELEVEN
AUBREY
The next morning, I wake up to an incessant knocking at my door. Seriously? I was lucky enough to not only get last night off but all day today as well. I had big plans like sleeping until one in the afternoon and ordering takeout.
Angrily, I yank off my blanket and stomp over to my door, ripping it open to see Kayla bright eyed and bushy tailed in a sports bra and a pair of fancy yoga pants with a high ponytail. I also see Cole standing behind her in a cut off shirt and a pair of basketball shorts with a sweet smile. What the fuck?
“Good morning, honey. You are coming hiking with us!” Mckayla announces.
I cock an eyebrow at her and swing my gaze to Cole. He throws his hands up in defense and points at Kayla.
“Don’t look at me. I got the same wakeup call about a half an hour ago.”
I contemplate if a judge will sympathize to my case in Kayla’s murder and deem it justifiable. I mean, who the hell wakes someone up on their Saturday off before 9am to go hiking? I don’t think there is a person alive that wouldn’t side with me.
I scoff before slamming the door shut. Unfortunately, Kayla being the sneaky little bitch that she is, sticks her foot in the way so that at the last minute it bounces back open.
“Nice try but you are coming with us. Non-negotiable,” she smiles.
I wonder if she would look so chipper with a few less teeth?
I narrow my eyes at her I wish I didn’t like her so much, then I wouldn’t feel so bad at the idea of smacking her around a bit. Unfortunately for me, the girl has grown on me, so I won’t be getting physical with her, today at least. In the short time that I have known Kayla I have learned that she has been spoiled all her life and doesn’t understand the word no, so I am aware that this fight is a moot point.
Letting out a heavy sigh, I scrub my hand through my disheveled hair as I cross my arms over my chest.
“I will only go if you buy me breakfast,” I finally concede.
“Done!” She agrees happily.
“Alright. Give me 15 minutes. I want to hop in the shower first.”
“Pfft, that is stupid. We are going to get sweaty anyways. Shower after. Come on, throw on some clothes and let’s go.”
Holy fuck she is annoying. Why the hell do I put up with her again? I huff out an aggravated breath as I grab a sports bra, a black pair of running shorts and my off-brand tennis shoes.
Kayla slips some cash to Cole and pats his cheek.
“Be a love and grab some breakfast at the cart downstairs. They have these breakfast sandwiches that Aubrey loves.”
Cole rolls his eyes like he is irritated to have to go but gives away his excitement at my coming with his trademark smirk before he heads downstairs. Kayla perches herself on the edge of my bed and scrolls through her phone while I get dressed.
“So, have you filed the report yet?” I ask.
Kayla looks up from her phone and grimaces before nodding.
“Yeah. I went home the other day and told my parents what happened. They took me down to the police station and last I heard Kyle was in jail.”
“Good. Are you okay? I know it must have been hard to talk about it with your parents let alone the cops.”
She shrugs. “I’m fine. It was a close call. My dad has insisted that I take some self-defense classes and carry a taser on me at all times from now on.”
I chuckle at that until she pulls out a police issued taser gun out of her designer bag and waves it around.
“Oh fuck!” I laugh. “No one is gonna fuck with you now.”
She smirks and puts it away before we head out the door to meet up with Cole. We run into him just outside the building.
“Miladies,” he says with an exaggerated bow as he extends a couple of sandwiches to us.
“No, thanks. I am not doing carbs right now,” Kayla says with a wrinkled nose.
I roll my eyes and shake my head.
“What does that even mean? Carbs are in everything.”
“I am trying to stick to lean meats and leafy greens.”
“Whatever, more carbs for me,” I say as I stretch my hand out for the second sandwich.
Cole laughs and hands it over to me before he takes a bite out of his own.
“I don’t get it, Aubrey. How can you always be hungry?” Kayla asks as we start walking towards the parking lot.
I shrug. Because I spent years hungry, I think to myself. Cole speaks up and throws an annoyed look at Kayla.
“Don’t be jealous just because she can out eat you and still have an incredible body.”
My eyebrows raise and an amused smirk crosses my lips. Cole winks like he is some playboy but the blush that begins to bloom across his cheeks proves it is nothing more than false vibrato.
“Damn right I am jealous! All I want to do is eat ribs and drink beer every day of my life, but if I did then I would need a forklift to get this ass out of bed every morning,” she says smacking her size two ass.
I shove her playfully and laugh. She is so ridiculously gorgeous, but she tries to pretend like she doesn’t know it. I don’t know if she says that stuff because she is fishing for compliments or maybe she is genuinely insecure. Either way there is no realm of possibility that Kayla could ever be considered fat.
After a quick drive, we end up at the Glenfield National Forest Park. Cole insisted on driving, saying it was the gentlemanly thing to do. Kayla nodded like it made perfect sense and I laughed because I don’t think I have ever met anyone quite like either of them.
Kayla is bouncing excitedly up the trail, going on and on about how the peak is a to die for view. Soon she starts going on about her latest hook up and how hung he is. The metaphors that she came up with had me nearly in tears laughing while Cole looked like he was going to die of embarrassment.
We have been hiking for four or five miles at least by now and despite my extreme physical fitness, I am fucking exhausted. For some reason though, us being so far into our hike seems to make Kayla catch a second wind. She turns around and grabs my hand excitedly as she tries to pull me up the trail faster. Unfortunately, my feet get tripped over themselves and by the time that I can get them righted, a rock decides to step right in my path, true story. I go down hard, twisting my ankle in the process.
“Oh my gosh! I am so sorry! Are you okay?” She asks as she crouches down next to me.
Cole drops down on my other side and holds my injured ankle, gently moving it around to test my mobility. I wince when he twists it a half of a rotation. His sympathetic puppy eyes are on full display when he looks up at me.
“I think it is sprained. We should probably head back down to the truck,” he says.
“Really?” Kayla whines. I swear she is a 4-year-old some days.
“Yes, really. She is hurt,” Cole says shortly.
I push them away from me and slowly stand up.
“I’m fine, I’ve had much worse. Let’s go,” I say as I start hobbling up the trail.
After a few seconds, I hear their footsteps follow behind me. It doesn’t take them long to catch up since I am going extremely slow. Cole comes up beside me and slips his arms underneath my legs before he swings me up into a princess hold.
“Cole, put me down. I have two feet, you know?” I snap, though there isn’t much heat to my words.
“You are hurt, Aubrey. Let me help you.”
I know Cole is serious when he uses my actual name. I grumble at his words. I hate needing help from people. First Dax with my car and now this? The thought of it all is enough to make me itchy. Despite my deep desire to tell him to fuck off and walk on my own, I relent. My ankle is hurting like a bitch. We are quite for a few moments before Cole speaks lowly into my ear.
“What did you mean when you said that you have had much worse?”
I tense at his question for the briefest of seconds before forcing my body to relax and giving him a casual chuckle and a shoulder shrug.
“Well, a sprained ankle is nothing compared to a broken arm from falling off your bike or your head being busted open after slipping in the shower.”
Cole pulls back and gives me a dubious look like he sees straight through the horse shit that I am most definitely spewing.
“And have those things happened to you?”
Well, the injuries did. But that isn’t how I got them.
I don’t say that though. Instead, I shrug and look to the side. Cole lets out a heavy sigh, like he is frustrated I won’t open up to him. It’s nothing personal. I don’t open up to anyone.
We finally make it to the peak after another half a mile or so and I finally see what all the fuss was about. It is breathtaking. You can see the whole forest and even some parts of Glenfield from up here. I haven’t seen anything so green in, well ever. East LA isn’t exactly known for its views.
“Damn,” I whisper.
Cole sets me down on a rock before he sits next to me while Kayla plops down in front of us.
“I know right?” She grins.
We sit in silence for a while before Kayla turns around to face us.
“So, Cole. What is your deal?”
Cole’s eyebrows furrow as he gives her a confused smile.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, what’s your deal, do you have a girl back home or something? I’ve thrown out the vibes to you and you have passed them all up which is no big deal but a girl in my psych class said that she asked you out last week and you said you weren’t interested. So, what’s your deal? Is there a girl, or are you just not into the whole dating scene?”
He hesitates for a moment as his eyes flick around briefly before he gives her a carefree grin and cocks his head.
“Why does there have to be a deal? Maybe I am just not interested in that girl. And you and I are friends. I don’t want to mess that up by crossing a line.”
“Hmm possible, I guess. So, you don’t hook up with friends?” She asks again as her eyes bounce over to me, a mischievous smile playing at her lips.
Now I see where she is going with this, and I really wish that she would drop it. Cole hasn’t made his attraction for me exactly hidden but I try to push it to the side whenever it does come up. I value his friendship, but I just don’t think I could ever see him as anything more. It is kind of a shame because he would be the perfect boyfriend for probably 98% of women.
Shooting Kayla a poisonous glare, I turn to see Cole laugh stiffly before he shakes his head.
“Nah, I am not really the hook up type to begin with, especially with friends. I’m not into the idea of dating just to date. Guess I am just waiting for the right girl,” he says with an easy smile as he looks at both of us.
“That’s cool. I respect that,” she says seemingly dropping the subject before she shoots me a loaded look. I don’t know what is going on in that head of hers, but I think she needs to loosen her ponytail.
After a little while we decide to make our way back down. I didn’t even try to argue this time with Cole. I jumped up onto his back and we were on our way. I got to say, I am pretty impressed that he was able to carry me the whole way with no complaints. He didn’t even seem winded. He is lean and in good shape but nothing like the guys at the gym.
When we get back to campus, Cole wraps my ankle with some ace wrap that he had in his truck and hands me a few painkillers that he also happened to have. Kayla took off to take a shower and Cole insisted on carrying me up to my room since I am on the third floor and the elevator is currently busted. He has me hop up onto his back again before he starts walking.
“Gotta say, I could get used to you being wrapped around me,” Cole teases as he walks down the courtyard.
“Psh, I am sure you could, golden boy,” I laugh as I smack the back of his head.
He laughs and his blue eyes twinkle when he cranes his head back to look at me. I smile at him and look up to see that we are at my dorm building before I lock eyes with Dax. He is leaning against the wall, one foot resting against the building. He is wearing a black cotton t-shirt and dark wash jeans. He looks fucking good. It looks like he has been here for a little while and I notice that his dark gaze is intently trained on us. His eyes flick down to Coles hands that are holding onto my thighs and then over to my wrapped ankle.
“You good?” He asks, gesturing to my ankle.
“Ye-”
“Yeah, she is good, man. Took a little spill on our hike this morning. I think she will live though, right, darlin’?” Cole says, cutting me off before I could respond to Dax.
“I didn’t realize you guys were so close,” Dax says coolly as his eyes continue to flick back and forth between us.
“We-”
