Savage: A Bad Boy Fighter Romance (14 page)

T
he guards descend
on Memphis like a swarm of bees. In moments, he’s surrounded. I bite down a shriek, wanting to help him, but I know I can’t do a thing. Instead, I hold Hannah and cover her eyes, but I’m too involved to look away now.

Memphis turns into a killing machine. I’ve seen this several times before, when he was in the cage, deadly and proficient, but this time, he’s outnumbered and injured. I don’t know if there’s any way he can come out of this alive, but I know he’s sure as hell going to try.

He fends off the first guard, only to have three more pile on him. He deals punches, blows, kicks to the ribs, jamming his fingers into an opponent’s eyes, but nothing seems to be enough. The moment he gets one of them off himself, another one moves in for the kill.

Memphis is still reeling from the fight a few days ago, I can tell. But he doesn’t let it slow him down.

My eyes go to Cobb, who’s standing in the corner of the room, grinning like a madman. His smile is a pained grimace now that he’s so badly burnt, and it fucking serves him right. Finally, he got what he deserved… Not that we’ve doled out his final punishment yet.

I watch Memphis getting through the guards. Two of them are already on the ground, unconscious, and one’s breathing is getting so shallow I don’t know whether he’s actually going to make it. But still, four men remain, and they’re intent on besting Memphis.

He keeps using the cramped space in his favor. When the big oafs get tangled in one another, he uses the moment to deck one of them. They keep falling for it. They don’t understand that a cornered beast is the most dangerous one.

My man pulls a gun from the holster of one of the guards, and Hanna lets out a piercing scream as he shoots, covering her ears. The bullet goes through the man he’s fending off, through his skull and into the head of another guard. Both fall down like felled trees, dead on the spot.

I feel anger coursing through me, tears of rage pricking in the back of my throat that I have to swallow down. All these innocent people that had to die, all because of goddamn Cobb. I look at him and am damn pleased to find him slightly worried. Now that there are only two guards left standing, I’d be shaking in my boots if I were him, too.

“Scared now?” Memphis snarls in Cobb’s direction as he spins, hitting one guard in the jugular while the other one struggles with his weapon.

I’ve never seen Memphis like this, and I’ve seen him fight plenty of times. He’s a man possessed, his eyes fixated on the prize – the freedom he wants so damn badly. He’s out of control, a killing machine.

He’s going to win,
I realize in a fleeting thought.

He’ll win, and we’ll be free to leave. It sounds stupid when I put it into words. I know Cobb can’t let it happen. My mind races, trying to figure out what to do next to take Cobb out of the equation.

In a moment of madness, I let go of Hannah. I glance at Cobb as Memphis struggles with the last two guards. When his attention is on Memphis I approach one of the guards from behind. With all my might, I kick him in the back of his knees, and the guard groans as he falls to the ground.

I hear Cobb chuckle.

“She wants to follow in your footsteps, Angel,” he says mildly, supposedly bemused by my antics.

It gives Memphis plenty of opportunity to smash his face in, his fist coming away bloody as the guard falls to the ground, bloodied and unconscious.

Only one man left now. He looks from me to Memphis, and I’m a second too slow in getting away. The guard makes a lunge for me, and as soon as his hands wrap around my throat, Memphis roars with anger.

“Get your filthy hands off her,” he orders him, but the man merely laughs.

His fingers tighten on my throat, and he lifts me off the ground with the strength of his arms. I can’t breathe. My vision becomes spotty as my feet dangle in the air. Next thing I know, I’ve ended up on the floor, bruising my head badly as I fall down.

Memphis is beating the last remaining guard to a pulp, each one of his punches punctuated with an angry scream of my name.

“Never. Fucking. Touch. Her. She’s. Mine.”

He doesn’t stop until there is nothing left to beat. Only when his body stops twitching does Memphis give up, finally standing up from the guard’s unmoving body, a victor.

He looks into my direction just as the gun safety clicks. My eyes are watery when our gazes connect, and I feel a gun jabbing into my temple.

“Memphis,” I mumble.

“Get away from her.”

Cobb chuckles behind me.

“Good work, Angel,” Cobb mocks him. “I really didn’t think you had it in you. A small fucking wonder what a little young pussy will do to a man’s determination.”

He strokes my hair and I seethe with anger for having him touch me. Hannah has gone catatonic, staring at all of this with wide eyes and limp body like a broken doll. I realize that’s how I’ve stumbled through my time with Cobb too. Broken.

I’m not that girl anymore.

“I should know,” Cobb continues. “I’ve been craving this one since the moment I laid eyes on her. Maybe I’ll fuck her in front of you, Angel. Claim that pretty little pussy while you watch, hmm?”

Angel roars and lunges forward, but Cobb punches me with the butt of the gun in response and I fall backward. He yanks me up by my hair, making me stay in place as I struggle to remain conscious. I need to fight back. I can’t let it end like this.

“You’re a fucking monster,” Memphis growls at Cobb. “You know you’re a dead man if you hurt her.”

“That much might be true,” Cobb agrees. “But I’ll go down in flames, and I’m taking her with me.”

“Please, don’t,” Hannah mutters.

We all turn towards the owner of the voice. I sense my opportunity and I need to take it.

I angle my elbow and slam it into Cobb’s left knee as hard as I can. I know that’s the side he was burned on and I hope it makes his leg crumple. He winces and his knee buckles as he grabs for it, letting go of my hair and the gun as a reaction.

It’s enough to provide a distraction, and Wilson’s gun clatters to the ground as Memphis lunges for him, taking him down.

My breaths slow down and adrenaline pumps through my body. I pick myself up, picking up the gun from the floor in the process. My hands are shaking, shaking so fucking badly. Memphis raises his fist, ready to rain down on Cobb with the fury of a hurt man kept in the dark for too long.

“Memphis, no!” I say.

He looks up, frowning at me.

Cobb is lying on the floor, grunting in pain as Memphis holds him down by standing with one foot on his back. He moves out of my way as I approach.

I look around the room. The three of us, Cobb on the floor, and the ground covered with barely breathing or dead guards. What a fucking massacre. What a mess this man has made of my life.

“I have to do this.”

I point the gun at Cobb’s face. His bad side is turned towards me. With his skin peeling back and his badly burned body, he looks more like a monster than ever.

“You took from me,” I tell him in a growl. “All you fucking did was take. My dad, my mom, my whole fucking family. You tried to break me, but you couldn’t. You only made me stronger. I hope you’re damn proud of yourself, because you’re about to get beaten by your own protégé.”

“Fuck you.”

Cobb laughs at me, a low, gargled sound that makes me want to throw up. He doesn’t even sound like a person anymore and he must be delirious with the pain, ignoring the hopeless situation he allowed himself to be put in.

“You’re not brave enough to kill me, sweet thing,” he mocks me. “You’re never going to pull that trigger. You’ll just have your man do it, or your little fucking whipping girl. You’re so damn weak, Adrienne.”

“You don’t have to do this, Adrienne,” Memphis says to me.

“Yes, I do,” I say, my hand shaking a little. “Men like him will never be brought to justice if people like us don’t do anything about it. He’ll never be tried in court, you know that. I
want
to do this.”

My eyes go to Hannah, who’s breathing deeply in the corner, and then to Memphis, who’s glaring at Cobb as he takes his last breaths. He looks down at me, nodding slowly for me to go on. To finish this, once and for all.

“I was a good student,” I tell Cobb. “When I came to you, I
was
weak. I did need people to do my bidding. But I learned from your mistakes, Wilson.”

I point the gun at his head with shaky fingers. But I’m aiming, and I’m holding it steady now, both hands on the firearm.

“I learned to take care of my own fucking business, and not let a bunch of innocent people die in my stead,” I snarl at Cobb. “This is for my dad. And my mom. And what you took from me, you evil bastard.”

He grins, but there’s worry etched on his face.

“Adrienne, sweet thing-”

The gunshot is deafening. Perhaps it is not the act itself, but the importance of what I’ve just done, regardless my breath is kicked from my chest.

Cobb’s head snaps back, his jaw shattering, blood pooling around his body. There are a few gargled noises from his split-open throat as he stares at me with those vile eyes, the life going out of them quickly.

Gone. Dead. Finally dead. As gruesome as he deserved.

I drop the gun with shaking hands, and Memphis and Hannah crowd me.

Finally.

For once, I don’t need to be supported. I don’t need their help to stay up. I don’t need them telling me it’s all going to be alright.

Because I fucking took care of myself, and I took down the man who ruined my life.

And now, I’m free of his goddamn shackles. Free of his twisted, sick mind games.

I’m free to be… me.

“
D
on’t
you think it’s a
little
dramatic?” I ask Sage as I turn the driver’s license around in my hand a few times.

I read the name again and the urge to roll my eyes takes over me like I’m a teenage girl being accosted by her
totally
overbearing parents.

“What?” Sage asks, quirking a brow.

If he thinks I’m missing the way the corners of his mouth are tugging upwards, he’s dead wrong. I can recognize a man trying to bullshit me, even if that man is deadpan Sage. Though I have to admit that detecting humor on that man is sort of a pleasant change. I didn’t really see much of it back at Wilson’s place.

“Memphis
Azalea
?” I ask, stressing the last name of the new identity he’s scored for me.

There’s a whole packet. Driver’s license, birth certificate, passport… The whole nine yards. I don’t know how Sage scored it but I do know that I’m damn thankful for it. Ever since we got out of under Wilson’s thumb with Adrienne, I’ve felt like a ghost. I have a name but I can’t use it. Now I have a name and I’m not entirely sure I want to use it. But I sigh and accept defeat.

Score one for Sage.

“Anything wrong with that?” he asks.

I purse my lips, narrowing my eyes at him. Then, I shake my head, grinning. Fuck it, I earned that one with my years of picking on poor ol’ Sage.

“Thank you. I mean it.”

“No problem,” he says, and I’m sure that’s a lie.

No way there were no difficulties getting this kind of documentation.

“You okay?” I ask him, taking a sip of my black coffee.

We’re at a small café on the outskirts of town. I’ve come here a few times with Adrienne. She likes the scones, I like the fact that they serve me plain coffee without trying to put vanilla and foam and cinnamon in it. I know I’m been slinking around in the pits of the universe for a while, but come on, how hard is it to make a decent cup of joe these days?

“I’m fine,” he says, and I guess I have to believe that.

I don’t pry. We don’t really have a lot to talk about with Sage, even after being stuck together for years on end. Even after he made sure that I got away with Adrienne, that I had a chance of a real life. Even after he got me a new identity and a new lease on life.

But I guess sometimes, you don’t need to say much.

“Thanks, poesy,” I tell him, standing up and scooping up the documents.

I reach my hand to him over the table and he stands up as well, taking it. We shake on it and I leave.

I think he’s the only real friend I’ve ever had.

* * *

“
S
ugar
, you here?” I call, walking into our apartment.

“In the kitchen!” Adrienne chirps back.

I deposit the paperwork on the countertop close to the front door and kick my boots off, stalking into the kitchen to find my gorgeous woman cooking something up. The kitchen smells amazing. I walk up behind her and slip my arms around her, pulling her body against mine. She conforms beautifully against my hard lines with her soft curves.

“I missed you,” I whisper into her ear, and Adrienne grins.

She looks radiant. With every passing day, she looks more and more like the woman I caught glimpses of the first time I saw her. Life’s coming back to her. We’ve gone through so much and it’s taken a while to get over. Hell, I know we’ll never get ‘over’ all of it. There’s only so much trauma a person can suffer through before they’re marked permanently by it.

But we’re getting there. She’s not pale anymore, and her smile is honest. She doesn’t get nightmares and I don’t constantly look over my shoulder. We’re almost done with getting her father’s estate settled now, having everything Wilson stole from Adrienne and Valerie returned to her. It’s not a lot but it’s enough to live on while we get our own thing going.

“Did you see Sage? Is he okay?” she asks, stirring the pasta.

“Yeah. He seemed fine. And he got me more than I asked for,” I reply, kissing a line down her neck.

“That’s great!”

“You know what
else
is great? The way you taste.”

My hands run down her tight, curvy body and I catch the way she bites her lower lip. She giggles and I adore the sound of it.

Christ, this woman drives me out of my mind every damn time I’m near her and I can’t help myself for wanting more of her all the time. I kept expecting that feeling to fade over time but it hasn’t. It won’t. I think the shit we’ve been through has made this bond unbreakable. She’s both the frailest and the strongest person I know and I love that about her. I love everything about her.

That’s sort of like me, though. To expect things to get worse constantly. I guess I’m not used to being this happy and I keep wondering where the next Wilson Cobb is hiding away, ready to fuck up what we have here.

If there is one out there though, you can bet that I’ll fucking kill him before he ever gets close enough. I’m done giving my life up to psychotic bastards, and I won’t let
anything
harm Adrienne.

“Oh?” she asks, twisting around in my arms to face me.

“Yeah,” I murmur.

I catch her lips in a kiss and she pushes her body against mine like the first time that we kissed. But this time we’re not afraid for our lives, hiding from the demons in the darkness. Or being one of those demons.

She murmurs into my mouth and it makes me lose my fucking mind. My sugary sweet Adrienne, my little fighter. The love of my life and the woman that gave me my life back. I was alive before but I wasn’t living it. Now I am and I won’t stop facing every day, trying to make it the best one yet for the both of us.

My arms wrap around her waist and I pull her back with me, until I spin her to sit her up on the edge of the small table we have in our apartment. It’s not much but it’s ours.

Her legs go around my hips and she grinds against me as I slip my hand behind her neck and kiss her deeply. I’ll never get tired of this.

I’ve found my angel and I’ll never let go.