Never Say Goodbye (Rebel Walking #6) (21 page)

"NOOOOOOO.  LUKE NOOOOOO.  HE HAS A RAZOR BLADE."  I'm yelling at the top of my lungs, but Luke doesn't hear me.  My stomach lands on Holden's shoulder as he hauls me back to where we were standing.  I'm not sure who this fucker thinks he is, but I have to get down there.

"I swear to God, I will kick your ass if you don't let me down."  My voice is lost in the crowd and the Walkers have no idea what they've just done.

I find my father and see him watching me.  It's obvious that he's bet against Luke and his expression tears my insides out.  Horror rushes over me and tears flow from my eyes. 

"You have to stay here.  I promised Luke that I wouldn't let you out of my reach."

"Luke is in trouble.  Do you not even care?"

"What do you mean?"

"Greg is about to fight dirty.  We've been set up.  Luke will be tortured."  His confused look frustrates me.  These people have obviously never been near the scene.

"How will he be tortured?"

"Razor blade."  Look of realization flushes Holden's face.

"Fuck."

My eyes are pulled to the cage and Luke as he moves to the middle again.

"Please let me get closer.  I need to warn him."  Holden grabs my hand and we bust through the few rows of people separating where we stand and the cage.

"LUKE.  HE HAS A RAZOR BLADE.  WATCH HIS LEFT!"  Luke turns to see me, and Greg lands an upper cut with his left.  Blood. 

"Fuck this.  Open the cage."  Holden's anger begins to boil over along with mine and the twins have now moved closer.  

My eyes never leave Luke.  He moves quick to block the next few shots, but mainly focuses on the left.  His face is bleeding and it's hard to see how bad the cut really is. 

Greg lands a shot to Luke's side and Luke pulls back to grab the spot he was just hit.  Blood trickles from his hand and it's as if true realization finally hits.  Luke's real rage takes over and he moves in on Greg without any fear.  He unleashes the beast on Greg and fights like I've never seen him fight.  He doesn't stop until the bell rings.  Fucking bell.

I shove my way to his corner to see him.  I need to see him and I need him to see me.  I'm sure the Walkers are following me, I don't have time to care.

"LUKE, YOU CAN STOP THIS.  JUST END THE FIGHT.  I DON'T NEED THE FUCKING MONEY.  I CAN'T WATCH YOU GET HURT ANYMORE."  My voice travels over the rumble of the crowd, and even if it didn't the fact that I've climbed my way right in front of him helps.

The nod of his head makes my heart drop.

"YES, YOU STUBBORN ASS.  I CAN'T DEAL WITH YOU BEING SLICED OPEN OVER AND OVER."

He talks over his mouth piece, but I can hear him.  "I've got this, Kimber.  For you, I can do anything."

"I KNOW YOU CAN.  I JUST NEED YOU TO STOP.  IT'S NOT WORTH IT AND MY FATHER IS IN ON THIS."

The sound of the bell ringing stops my plea.  Fucking bell.

"LUKE, REMEMBER WHAT I TAUGHT YOU.  GO KICK HIS ASS.  YOU HAVE EVERYTHING YOU NEED RIGHT HERE TO DO THIS."  Lou puts his hands through the slot in the cage and slaps his chest just over his heart.

Luke cocks his head up, kisses the air in my direction and turns to walk away. 

"LOU.  WHY ARE THEY DOING THIS?"

"WHY DOES YOUR FATHER DO EVERYTHING?"  I know this answer.  Money, just as I thought.

Watching the next round isn't any easier.  It actually gets worse.  Luke is bleeding, but he doesn't back down.  He forces Greg to the ground again and manages to bind that left hand under his knee.  His fist lands over and over on Greg and I can see the exhaustion set in on them both.  Luke's body towers over Greg's, but he's moving slower than he was.  He keeps that hand under him and I look over to see my father's disproving face. 

He knows he's going to lose this.  It would take a KO for Greg to win this.  The bell should've gone off by now.  I know this.  I can run the bell on just my feeling of time after so many years of witnessing fights and training.  Something's wrong.

"LOU, WHERE'S THE BELL?"

"IT SHOULD BE GOING OFF.  LUKE HAS THIS FIGHT."  I keep waiting.  Where the fuck is the bell.  Greg moves and maneuvers it so that he's now holding Luke around his neck with his left arm.  This should make me feel better, but that fucking bell has me on edge.

"LOU, WHERE THE FUCK IS THE BELL?"  Lou moves to the judge positioned at center stage.  He leans in and when he pulls back, his face is full of terror.  I watch Lou grab the edge of the table and throw it in the air.  All of the equipment flies in the air.  He turns and climbs the cage and screams at Luke.

"TIL DEATH, LUKE.  FIGHT TIL DEATH.  KILL HIS ASS."  Lou watches for realization in Luke's face, then turns to my father once he sees it.  My body freezes and the entire room goes silent in my head.  Things are moving in slow motion as a nightmare begins to unfold. 

A muscular body engulfs me and I don't even fight him.  He holds my head against his chest and I pray.  Pray for it all to stop.  Please stop everything.  PLEASE FUCKING STOP EVERYTHING.

Chapter Twelve

Luke

"IT'S TIL DEATH.  KILL HIS ASS."  What in the fuck?  This isn't what I signed up for.  The look of Lou's face tells me he didn't know either.  This is bad.  Really fucking bad.  It's bad because I have no problem killing this mother fucker for everything he did to Kimber. 

I move so his hold on me is forced to release.  That razor blade lands every once in a while and I think it's about time he feel the freedom of the slice.  I take his arm behind his back and further restrain him with my fist against his head.  Smashing his head into the ground will be my pleasure. 

This fight needs to be over.  I fucking hate this rolling around on the ground shit.  It's time to end this fucking mess.  I use my fist against the side of his head over and over to drive my point across.  Adrenaline has filled my veins and I won't stop until they pull me off his dead body.

"LUKE STOP!"  I hear her.  She's screaming at the top of her lungs.  "THIS ISN'T YOU!  STOP!"  Maybe this is me.  It's actually nice to unleash this fury.  I'm not even sure at this point if my anger is about Kimber or about where I've let myself get in my life.  I've been so fucking lost and for once, I feel found when I'm with Kimber.  She reminds me to live.  Reminds me to feel even if feeling is painful.

I look down at Greg.  This man killed a baby.  He will have to pay for that in time, but he doesn't even fucking know what he's done.  I spit out my mouth piece and the extra saliva onto the floor beside his face.

"Touch a woman again, and I'll find you.  I'll make it so that you never walk again."  His eyes are swelling shut.

I'm going to win this fight, then I'm going to fuck Kimber while she cries for you.
  His words from earlier flood my pounding head.  I push harder on his back until his breathing is even more restricted.

"Touch Kimber again, and I will make it so that they never find the pieces of your worthless body, you sick fuck."  Sweat and blood drip from my face onto his cheek. 

Her arms wrap around me and my only thoughts are to get her away from him.  She needs to be far enough away from him that she never has to think about him or look over her shoulders in worry that he'll be there. 

I stand and wrap her up in my arms.  Walking out of the cage, I see a policeman standing there.  He walks up to me, "You're under arrest.  You have the right to remain silent.  Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.........."  FUCK!

I hold my arms out for the handcuffs.  "Can you tell me what I'm being arrested for?"

"First degree manslaughter."  I turn to look at the lifeless body of the asshole who can't hurt her anymore and I don't feel any remorse. 

"Talon, take Kimber home with you, she's mine so take care of her."  He's holding her as she watches me through tears.  This night is so fucked up.

He pulls the cuffs tighter and starts to pull me away when we come face to face with a wall of men.  "Excuse me officer.  That man isn't dead and I believe you have some explaining to do."  My eyes meet an older man standing next to Holden.  Holden is serious and in security mode. 

I see more movement behind him.  Looking closely I see some men man-handling Kimber's father. 

"You're involved in an illegal business and your association will be the end of you professionally.  I will bring the whole operation down if it's the last thing I do.  You need to remove the cuffs from Mr. Jacobs now."  He releases my hold, but not the cuffs.

Two men move in on the cop quickly.  My what-in-the-fuck expression meets Holden and he finally steps forward.

"I knew shit was going down tonight, I decided you needed reinforcement."  Looking around... really looking around... this place is flooded with people being arrested.  
 
  

"They all bet on an illegal fight."  Kimber moves in against my chest and wraps her arms around my waist and I finally let my breath go.  I hadn't realized that I was holding it until then.  Is it really fucking over? 

"What about me, I just fought in one?"

"Why do you think I wanted to know what you had signed?  Did you know this fight was to the death?"

"Hell no."

"Did you bet on it?"

"Hell no."

"Did Kimber?"  I look at her and hope to God there isn't any way she found miracle money and decided to try to gamble her way into some money to move. 

"No, I don't have any money." 

"Then you'll be cleared." 

"Mr. Jacobs, I suggest you let this fight be your last with this organization."  The man standing with Holden moves closer, holding his hand out for me to shake.  I do, even with my gloves on. 

"It's my last fight for any organization.  I'm heading my ass back to Missouri."

Kimber

I don't think my heart can take another second of this.  It's been a roller coaster of emotions and I'm ready to get out of here.  Luke is talking to his friends and I refuse to detach myself from his side.  He's bleeding and I want to take care of him. 

This night needs to be over.  I don't even want the money.  I'll figure something out, but I refuse to use the money from this fight.

Luke seemed to really miss these guys.  He's genuinely happy to talk to them about things that make no sense to me right now.  I try to keep up with the conversation, knowing Luke will catch me up eventually. 

"I'll meet you guys tomorrow.  There's one thing I need to do tonight."  We find Lou in the mix of all the commotion.  He's upset about the whole fight.  I knew he didn't know it would turn out like that.  He would've never allowed Luke in the cage.

"Son, you did an old man proud out there."  Lou's smile when Luke came near is priceless.  I'm going to miss him.

"Lou, I'm leaving.  I can't stay here any longer."

"I'm taking her with me to Missouri.  I'll keep her safe."  Luke's statement surprises me.  It sounds perfect and I can only hope this means he's going to go back to his life from before.  He hasn't told me too much, but I know he played in a band.  If the looks of his friends mean anything, it's a band full of very good looking guys. 

"Stay in touch, Kimmy."

"I will, I promise."  His look of approval as Luke and I walk away is enough for me to know that I'm doing what I should be doing. 

"You need to clean up some of this blood."

"Yeah.  I'm hitting the showers."

I wait in the locker room with him while he showers.  Everyone has either been taken out of the back rooms, or left on their own.  The guys with Holden have cleared us to be back here, so Luke is taking advantage of the showers.

"I want to go for one last ride tonight."  His voice echoes in the shower.

"Okay.  Sounds perfect."

*************

He speeds up, letting the wind hit us even harder.  I don't think I'll ever get tired of riding behind him.  It just feels like I'm exactly where I'm meant to be when I'm there.

He slows down to turn into a side street on our drive of Mulholland Drive.  It's a secluded little area, a place with a fantastic view.  Shutting the engine off, he moves a bit to get off.  I move out of the way, only to have him slam into my lips, his hands moving all over my body until he fills his hands with my ass.  He pulls my shirt over my head without any warning and steps back to remove his own. 

"Pants off, Kimber.  I want you on this bike right now."  He drops his own to his ankles and sits on the seat facing backwards.  His back laying across the fuel tank of the bike, he watches me as I try to grasp what's going on.  This is spontaneous, but so has everything else we've ever done. 

"You're on top.  I'm going to watch your tits bounce in the moonlight."

"Luke, what if someone sees us?"

"Better make it good then, they'll expect a show."  He doesn't care.  He's full of energy and life and I love that about him right now.  I want to feel that with him.  He's rolling a condom on and looking at me with those craving eyes that I can't resist.  I drop the remainder of my clothes on the ground near the bike, and climb on to his hard body.  His muscles flex and move as I position myself over him. 

"Slide down slow, baby.  I want to feel you the entire way."  I'll feel him, that's for sure.  I'm still feeling him from the first day we had sex.  Since then it's been non stop and I'm not complaining at all.  His compassion is something that's new to me.  I love feeling the way he makes me feel.  Like I'm someone worthy of worshiping.  Like I'm someone worthy of loving. 

The first time we had sex, he was feeling the loss of Lilly, but I've never felt like our sex was about anyone but the two of us.  He might have been battling with justifying his feelings for me by finally dealing with the loss of Lilly, but that sex was about us.  He held me like no one ever has and that can't be denied.

I straddle him and try to find my footing on the bike.  He guides me over him and I slowly slide down his length, just like he asked me to.  It's impossible to keep my eyes open when I feel him like this.  It's so good.

He puts his hands around my waist and pushes me up and down on him.  The wind blowing on my naked skin causes chills to rush over my entire body.  My nipples couldn't get any harder if I had ice cubes to rub on them.

"Kimber, I love feeling you like this.  Thank you for reminding me to live."  His words come between breaths and my orgasm comes between thrusts.  He leans up to pay attention to my breasts, knowing just how to make me last even longer.  He continues to move me up and down until he's practically growling through his own ecstasy and leaves us both out of breath under the night sky.

"Kimber.  I want to take you back home.  To meet my friends.  To become a part of my life."  His words hit me like a brick wall.  This seems fast, but in all honesty, I have nowhere else I'd rather go.