Break Away (15 page)

For the next several minutes, Dex continued to get pummeled. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could take it. His nose and lip were bleeding, and each time the other guy’s fist connected with Dex’s body, I cringed, growing more and more concerned about whether or not he would make it out of here in one piece.

Just when I thought the fight was over and Dex was beat, I saw something in his eyes shift, turning dark and dangerous. He straightened up, and all of a sudden, he sprang into action, his powerful body uncoiling with deadly force and lethal precision as he attacked his opponent.

The crowd went wild. The sound of their cheers filled every corner of the huge building. All I could focus on was Dex. He was covered in sweat, his muscles stretching and tensing as he unleashed himself against the other guy, never wavering or slowing down. He was powerful and intense, unlike anything I’d ever seen before.

I wasn’t someone who condoned violence of any kind. I didn’t watch wrestling, I wasn’t into action movies, and I didn’t think exchanging punches ever actually solved anything.

Yet, I couldn’t help the excitement I felt when I watched Dex. It must have been some kind of automatic female reaction to seeing powerful, bare muscles covered in sweat, because I didn’t have any other explanation for it. I’d had no idea what Dex was capable of. I couldn’t decide if it was scary or sexy, but it was definitely turning me on.

Stupid hormones.

Dex won the fight easily, laying his opponent out completely within a few short minutes. After his victory was announced, he immediately came back over to me, cocky grin in place despite all the damage to his gorgeous face. Seeing it up close, I realized just how bad it was, and I hoped that we would stop on the way home to have a doctor take care of him. But knowing Dex, it didn’t seem likely.

Dex collected his winnings from Reece. My jaw dropped when I saw the huge stack of cash he received. It had to amount to thousands of dollars, but they acted like it was an everyday thing. Did he make that much for every fight?

As I expected, Dex refused to see a doctor on the way home, instead opting to let me drive while he drank whiskey from a bottle he pulled out of the glove compartment. By the time we got to his house, nearly half the bottle was gone, and I hopped out of the truck to help him inside.

“Don’t worry about me, Liv. I’ve had way worse than this,” he mumbled. “Take my truck so you can get home, and I’ll come by and get it in the morning.”

“Can I at least help you take care of these?” I ran my finger over the tender areas of his face, making him wince. “You don’t want them to scar…”

“Are you worried about my sexy face getting messed up?” he teased, but let me follow him inside.

I’d never been to Dex’s house before. It was nothing like the bachelor pad I’d been expecting. It was simple and inviting, and right on the beach, close enough to hear the surf. I caught a glimpse of the view through the glass doors in the living room, and it was incredible.

Amy had explained to me that she and Dex had both inherited property from their grandparents. Amy chose to live in the house that she shared with me, and Dex lived in the beach house. It definitely seemed to me that Dex had gotten the better end of the deal.

I followed him into the bathroom, where he pulled out a first aid kid from underneath the sink. He sat patiently while I gently tended to him, never once taking his eyes off mine.

“Sorry, this is going to sting a little bit,” I warned, dabbing his cuts with an alcohol swab as carefully as possible.

“I can take it,” he said softly, unfazed by it.

“Why did you let him go after you like that?” I asked curiously as I applied ointment. “You’re obviously a much better fighter than he is, so why take that beating when you didn’t have to?”

“That kind of pain is nothing. I’m numb to it.” There was sorrow in his eyes, but he covered it with a grin. “Besides, it makes for a better show if I let him think he has a chance. People don’t want to watch a one-sided fight, and no one would ever want to go against me if I beat them easy every time.”

“So, you’re saying you always win?”

“Always,” he smirked.

The sound of screaming woke me up. Through the haze of sleep, I looked around and realized I was still in Dex’s living room. It had been really late by the time I got ready to leave, and I’d sat down on the couch for just a second. I must have fallen asleep.

I stood up on unsteady feet and began walking toward the front door to leave when I heard more screaming coming from Dex’s bedroom. Rushing over, I pushed the door open and found Dex thrashing around on the mattress, his strangled cries filling the room. He was talking in his sleep, but his words were jumbled. All I could make out was
“Teddy, Teddy!”
He sounded absolutely terrified, and it broke my heart to see him in so much pain.

Moving to sit on the edge of his bed, I hesitantly reached out and grabbed his hand, whispering words that I hoped would soothe him. “Shh… it’s okay, Dex. I’m here now. You’re going to be okay…”

His body stilled, his cries beginning to ease. I lowered myself down next to him and started rubbing his back in a comforting rhythm, the same way that my mom used to calm me down during a nightmare. Sighing deeply, he pulled me in close and laid his head on my chest, his warm breath caressing my skin.

For a long time, I watched him, stroking his cheek gently until his breaths evened out and he fell back into a calm sleep. I wondered what was haunting his dreams and filling him with so much fear. He didn’t talk much about his time overseas, but I knew a lot of people came back with PTSD. I hated the idea of Dex suffering that way. I held him protectively and continued to soothe him until I too drifted off to sleep.

The second blast is bigger, louder and closer. Too close. The sound is deafening as it throws me against the Humvee and pins me to the side while the waves of the explosion unfurl around me. I fall to the ground, disoriented. The only thing I can hear is the sharp ringing in my ear while the scene around me plays out like a silent film of terror.

I’m stuck in a daze for a moment, and then my body kicks into high gear. Maybe it’s adrenaline or maybe it’s just combat training, but it’s something that happens in the most horrible situations. All I know is that my men are out there, and I need to get them to safety.

“
The fucking sweep set off the secondary!” I shout, but I can barely hear my own voice over the ringing in my head.

I move toward the site of the explosion and see one of my men crawling through the black cloud of dust and smoke. It’s Chase. His legs are mangled and his ashen face is twisted in pain. “One WIA, one WIA!” I yell into the radio as I drop to the ground beside him.

There’s so much blood that I don’t know where to begin. I rip a section of cloth from his uniform and tie it tightly at the base of his thigh, doing my best to stop the bleeding, but I need to get him to safety. I grab him below the shoulders and pull him back to the convoy.

“
Tourniquet, we need a tourniquet!” I yell to the medic as he takes over. Chase is gesturing frantically to me, but I can’t hear what he’s saying. Finally I make out one word, “Teddy.”

Jumping to my feet, I run back through the smoke and search the area for any sign of him. “Teddy! Where are you, Teddy?” I scream out at the top of my lungs. I can make out faint sounds now and through the chaos, I finally hear him.

“
Dex!”

I try to move toward the sound of his voice, but I can only hear from one ear and the other one is useless. I can’t pinpoint where it’s coming from. Every time I think I’m getting close, I lose the sound completely.

“
Hang in there, buddy, I’m coming!” I say, but I’m becoming more and more anxious as more time passes. Finally, I make out a shape a hundred yards away and run toward it. It’s Teddy, but he’s not moving.

I collapse next to him, grabbing his hand. “Teddy, look at me. Come on, man.”

My eyes survey his injuries, my heart dropping when I see a large piece of shrapnel in his abdomen. It’s bleeding too much, but I can’t pull it out or he’ll die in seconds.

His eyes flutter open and he looks up at me, full of fear.

“
I need a medic! Get a fucking medic over here!” I scream desperately, tightening my hold on his hand and leaning toward him. “Hang in there, Teddy, you’re gonna be fine. Just hang in there.”

His grip on my hand is so weak, and his body is beginning to tremble as it goes into shock. I almost don’t see it when he shakes his head slightly.

“
Don’t give me that bullshit, Teddy. Stay with me, okay? I need you, buddy, stay with me.”

My words are left unanswered when his body stills, his hand going limp in mine, as the life drains from his eyes.

Out of the darkness I hear a voice that doesn’t belong here.

“
Shh… it’s okay, Dex. I’m here now. You’re going to be okay
…
”

I rolled over and opened my eyes to the blinding light of the sun through the window in my bedroom.

What the fuck?

I’ve never slept long enough for the sun to come through my window. My nightmares usually wake me up well before dawn, and I know I had one last night because I remember every vivid detail, so why didn’t I wake up?

I sift through my memories from the night before and vaguely remember feeling a warm hand in mine. A voice… Olivia’s voice… had pulled me back. But was it real, or was it just part of the dream?

I didn’t want it to be real. I didn’t want Olivia to ever see me like that, but when I saw the cool glass of water and bottle of pain reliever on my bed stand, I knew she had been here. She had tenderly held me and comforted me while I went back to sleep, chasing my demons and protecting me from myself.

She was gone now though, not that I could blame her. She was probably scared out of her damn mind.

“FUCK!” I screamed, knocking the water glass into the wall and shattering it. Olivia had witnessed the one thing in my life that I didn’t want anyone to see.

Normally my nightmares tapered off after a big fight, especially if I drowned myself in whiskey afterwards, but lately, nothing had been able to stop them. I didn’t know if it was because of the letter from Teddy’s parents or because of the date on the calendar, but they had been getting worse with each passing day.