Body Lock: MMA Sports Romance (8 page)

"Good," I say.

"All right. I got some video of your opponents. Let's watch that before you go do dinner."

We watch the videos and Nate points out things about my opponents. I get a good feel for what I'll be facing. Only one of them gives me concern. I talk about it with Nate and he says he'll come up with a plan overnight to work on. So we’ll start that tomorrow.

I head for the kitchen to get my dinner. I don't eat with the rest of the family. My meals are specially prepared just for me. Every aspect of them is balanced out as ordered by Nate. The exact right amount of fuel to keep my body in tip top shape. I can't afford even the tiniest amount of drag.

"Vinnie, please," I hear LeAnne's mom begging.

What the fuck?
I thought she was supposed to be in rehab already.

"Suzanne!" Vinnie yells.

I hear the sound of flesh on flesh and I know he hit her. My stomach knots up. I hate the way he treats people, especially women. I make up my mind to ignore it as Suzanne chose her own path, but then I hear LeAnne.

"Stop it! You're not helping," she yells.

My stomach sinks. I told her the first rule and she's throwing it out the window. I head for the sound of their voices.

"You think you want to step up, little girl?" Vinnie asks.

"She needs help," LeAnne says.

"Yeah, baby, I need some help, I just need a little bit to get me by," Suzanne begs.

"Shut the fuck up, Suzanne," Vinnie says.

He's not yelling. This is about to go really bad. I burst into a full run and enter the dining room quickly surveying the scene. Suzanne is on the floor and hanging onto Vinnie's right leg. Her left eye is black and blue and tears stream down her face. LeAnne is three feet away from Vinnie standing up to him with a bravery that I've never seen, not even from the hardest men. No one stands up to Vinnie. Even the heads of the other families hesitate to, but she's not backing down.

"It's your fault," LeAnne says. Her hands are closed into fists and her arms shake at her sides. "You're the one supplying her."

Vinnie's hand comes up and swings at LeAnne. I spring, leaping forward, and catch his swinging arm by his wrist. Our faces are inches apart and we stare at each other’s eyes and I see the cold stone killer in his. I don't know what he sees in mine but I'm resolved. I'll do whatever it takes to protect her. I know what he’s capable of and I don't care.

He strains against my grip on his arm, trying to push forward but I don't let him. I'm in control of the situation. All my training comes into play and I'm stronger than he is. Like a predator recognizing another superior predator, I see it happen in his eyes. The moment that fear forms in his eyes and he quits straining against my grip then takes a step backwards.

"All right," Vinnie says. "You take care this fucking slut."

He turns and walks out of the dining room. Suzanne crawls after him begging. "Vinnie? Vinnie?"

I stare after him as he leaves. It's the first time in my life I've stood up to him. It's the first time I've had anything worth standing up for. LeAnne touches my shoulder and a cold chill runs down my spine. I don't turn around until I'm sure he's gone. When I do, she smiles and the entire room brightens up.

"Thank you," she says.

I shrug and start to speak, but the connection between us is broken by her mom screaming. It's a wordless sound as she curls into a ball on the floor. My anger flares that she would break this moment between LeAnne and I. LeAnne rushes to her mom and I swallow the anger then go to help her as two of Vinnie’s men come in.

“Can you guys help?” I ask.

They take Susanne under either arm and lift her up to start carrying her away.

“Where are you going?” LeAnne asks.

“Mr. Manarchy wants her put to bed,” one of them answers.

“I don’t want to!” Suzanne cries. “I’m okay. I’ve got this under control. Baby, don’t let them take me!”

“Mom, it’s for the best,” LeAnne says.

“No baby, I’ll be good. I promise, I’ll be good. I won’t do it anymore!”

“Suzanne,” I say keeping my voice calm. “You’re a mess. Go to bed.”

She looks at me with bleary, puffy eyes. LeAnne is standing next to me so close I can smell the light scent of her and it bolsters me in ways I can’t put into words. We watch silently as her mother is taken away. The silence is heavy between us when at last we’re alone.

"So…" she says, shifting from foot to foot awkwardly.

“Yeah,” I say, uncertain what to say.

I’m nervous. It’s a new sensation for me. All my life I’ve been fighting. Fighting to survive, fighting guys bigger and older than me but I’ve never felt this before. It’s like something is fluttering in my stomach. Dancing around like a boxer with fancy footwork. My mouth and throat are dry and all I want is to wrap my arms around her and tell her it will all be okay. I want to but I can’t. My body, this finely honed tool that can beat down the biggest, nastiest of opponents, that jumps at my every thought refuses to move. It betrays me in this vital moment. What the hell is wrong with me?

“I’m sorry,” she says.

“You have nothing to be sorry for.”

“I don’t want to cause problems between you and your dad.”

“Fuck him,” I say.

She looks up at me with surprise in her eyes. “Fuck him?”

“Fuck him,” I say. “This has been coming for a long time. It’s time he figures out I’m not his bitch.”

“Oh,” she says and a smile plays on her lips.

I stare at her lips, full, pouty, perfect. I want to kiss them and I start to lean in but she looks up and I freeze. Damn it, my body betrays me again. As she looks at me, I can’t move. I push past it and close the space between us. Our lips touch and electric sparks fly through my body with a jolt. I wrap my arms around her and lift her off her feet but never let my lips part from hers. I dart my tongue out and lick along those perfect, amazing lips of hers tasting the sweetness. Her arms are around my shoulders and her legs wrap around my waist. I’m so hard my dick is throbbing as my balls pull up tighter. I’ve never wanted a single moment to never end before but LeAnne pulls back. I don’t set her down and we stare into each other’s eyes panting breathless.

“This is wrong,” she breathes.

“No, it’s right,” I say.

“What will Vinnie say?” she asks.

“I don’t fucking care. He can piss off,” I say.

“We can’t get caught,” she says.

Hormones are flooding my brain making me feel invincible. I want to kiss her, to force her to shut up. I don’t want her logic even if I know it’s true. Truth has no place here between us. The only truth is how I feel about her. The problem is, I’m not a fool. Vinnie would kill one or both of us. All he would see is how this would cost him face with the other Families. That’s something he would never tolerate. So he’d end it with the finality of cold, hard dirt. One of us buried in it.

“Yeah,” I say, setting her on the ground. “Well…”

Crazy thoughts spin through my head. Things that can’t be and things that shouldn’t be.

“I love you,” she says.

It jerks my attention from my spinning thoughts to her. My heart soars and I feel like I’m standing on a cloud. I’ve never felt so light, a thrill runs out from my heart and down my limbs. A hot flush runs up her neck to her cheeks and I’ve never seen anything so beautiful in all my life. She stares at me and I see she’s scared. I don’t ever want to see that look on her face again. No one will ever make her feel fear again. I’ll make sure of it.

“I love you,” I say.

Footsteps sound in the hall and we both jump apart. Vinnie walks into the room and looks between the two of us frowning. Our shared secret feels like a bond. We have to hide it but only for now. Only until I can find a way out of here. I’ll get us free from him.

“What in the hell are you two up to?” he asks.

“Cleaning up your mess,” I say.

Anger distorts his face. “Don’t get uppity, boy,” he spits the last word.

I don’t say anything else but I don’t back down. He stalks towards me and I hear LeAnne inhale sharply. I brace myself for what’s about to happen. I’m not sure what I’m going to do. Do I stand up to him again? Do I push my luck? If I do, I have to be prepared to end him. Am I ready for that? I know he won’t stop if this starts and I can’t hesitate either. If I do, he’ll kill me. He gets two feet away and stops.

“You got a fight this weekend. Get the fuck out of here and get some sleep.”

“Sure,” I say.

I walk past him with my head held high. LeAnne falls in behind me, close but not too close. I can feel her there and it makes me feel alive in a way I’ve never felt before. I slow my steps in the hallway to let her catch up. We walk in silence then we reach the stairs. She looks around quickly then takes my hand. My skin tingles where we touch and as we ascend the steps together I know, with absolute certainty, we’re meant to be together. Fate threw us into this situation because we’re supposed to be with one another.

I walk her to her room, glance up and down the hall, then slip in and shut the door behind me. As soon as the door’s closed behind me, she's in my arms. We kiss and I never want it to end. The taste of her is intoxicating. My cock strains against my jeans wanting to break free, wanting her. It's not time for that though. She's too young and not ready to make that choice. If and when that happens I want it to be her choice, clearheaded, and not driven by hormones. I want her to choose me.

"This is crazy," she says.

"I know," I say. "We have to be careful."

"What would he do?" she asks.

"You don't want to know," I say.

She looks away and sadness comes over her face. I know how she feels.

"What are we doing?" she asks.

"Following our hearts."

She smiles and cups my face in her hands. We kiss and our tongues find each other and dance. I can feel her breasts pressing against me and my dick strains against her. She reaches down and rubs my straining shaft through my jeans. My hand roams to her ass then at last I step back, breaking our kiss.

"Are you sure?" she asks.

"I've never been more certain of anything in my life," I say.

She nods. "Me, too."

"I should go," I say. "I don't want to arouse suspicion."

"Okay," she says. "I love you, Jans."

"I love you, LeAnne," I say.

I crack the door open and look down the hallway to make sure nobody's paying attention then I slip out and shut it behind me. There's a spring in my step as I walk down the hall to my room. I don't know how but I'm going to get us out of this. There has to be a way and I'm gonna find it. I don't care who I have to beat or who I have to kill to get it. She's going to be mine.

School drags on and I think for a while it will never end. When the bell finally rings I pick up my books and head for my locker. I’m putting my stuff away and grabbing my jacket when the locker door is slammed shut. I barely get my hands out of the way in time to avoid being crushed.

“Hey, LeAnne,” Danny says.

I close my eyes and count to three. Jans isn’t in school and no one else is going to help me.

“You sure do look good in those tight blue jeans,” Danny says, moving beside me to lean against the row of lockers.

He’s alone today, thank god. Students flow up and down the hallway leaving for the day. No one pays attention to the two of us.

“Thanks,” I say without looking at him.

“So… you wanna go out sometime?”

Go out? With him? There was a time, not that long ago, I would have been flattered. Danny is on the football team and one of the most popular guys in school. I wouldn’t be the first girl to fall for the glitz and glam of the facade that’s the social pecking order of high school. I know he only wants one thing from me and thinks he can get it because of my mom, but I’m not her and he’s not the boy for me.

“I don’t think so,” I say, still not meeting his gaze. I don’t want to lead him on in any way by showing anything he could construe as interest.

“Aww, come on,” he says.

“No, Danny,” I answer him and push past him.