Twenty-five seconds…
He should have snapped Sicoli’s neck in his dressing room and then searched for her.
Twenty seconds…
Her fate—whether it was slavery or death—was on his hands. Tears sprung to his eyes.
Fifteen seconds…
He loved her…and he’d failed her…
Through the din of the crowd, he could almost hear her crying his name. His real name.
Vinnie threw a cross punch to the face, knocking his head to the side…and that’s when he saw her running down the aisle and, yes, screaming his name.
“Aiden!”
He blinked hard several times, making sure he wasn’t hallucinating. When he noticed Xander and Joey running behind her, he realized it was no trick. She was safe.
With the renewed strength of ten men, Aiden shoved Vinnie away from him as the clock ticked on nine seconds. Aiden pulled his right arm back, fueled by all his feelings of hate for men like Sicoli and his thugs who did nothing but spread their evil through drugs and abuse of power, then rocketed his fist toward Vinnie’s jaw.
BAM!
Aiden felt bone shatter beneath his knuckles and watched Vinnie’s eyes roll into the back of his head before he bounced off the fence and landed on his face. When he didn’t move a single muscle, the ref called the fight with two seconds left on the clock. The crowd went ballistic, but Aiden was too concerned with a certain crime boss who was now pushing his way to the back of the arena.
“Joey!” he called while pointing in the direction Sicoli had fled. “That way!”
Joey nodded, tossed a pair of cuffs over the top of the octagon, and took off after him as Xander ran back from the way they came, probably hoping he could cut Sicoli off from another way.
Aiden turned back to Vinnie, who was getting help from the ref to sit up as he regained consciousness. Aiden brushed the ref to the side and said, “Thanks, but I got this.” He hauled Vinnie’s ass over to the fence. Taking advantage of his dazed state, Aiden cuffed one of his wrists, then passed the other through the links of the cage and back to slap on the other wrist.
“There,” he said, as he thought of what horrendous things he could have done to the woman he loved. “Now who’s helpless, motherfucker?”
Again, Aiden pulled his arm back, ready to pummel the last breath from his body.
“Aiden!”
He froze except to turn his head toward the voice that was like a balm on his broken soul. She had dirt on her dress and yellowing bruises on her arms. Her eyes were shadowed with dark circles and her hair was disheveled. But even so, she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever laid eyes on.
Vinnie coughed as he laughed, bringing Aiden’s attention back to him. “What’s so fucking funny?”
“Irony.” Breathing heavily, the man glared at him with one eye and said, “I know your story, Irish. You may have saved her today…but you’ll be the one to hurt her eventually. Just like that poor girl back in Boston.”
For a split second, his old fears sparked inside him. Aiden looked over at Kat, who stood with her arms crossed over herself as though trying to offer herself comfort. His heart swelled and for once, the animal inside him was more concerned with protecting and loving her than it was avenging her.
Lowering his fist, Aiden said, “Have fun in prison, asshole. Make sure you hang on to that soap.” He had a moment of satisfaction when Vinnie’s eyes blew wide with fear, then he rose and strode toward the woman he loved more than life.
She launched herself into his open arms, and he wrapped her up as tight as he could without crushing her. Her body trembled against his, and all he wanted to do was get her away from the madness surrounding them.
Hooking an arm under her legs, he held her close and made his way out of the cage, through the crowd, to the back. As soon as they passed through the double doors to the hallway, he saw Joey and Xander walking toward him with a handcuffed, dirty Sicoli.
“You got him,” Aiden said for Kat’s benefit. “It’s finally over.”
“Aye, we tackled the bastard in the parking lot,” Xan boasted.
Kat had kept her face tucked into his neck, but now she lifted her head to look at the man who’d terrorized her for months. Joey had a grip on Sicoli’s arm and yanked him to a stop as Aiden approached.
Joey gave Kat a sympathetic look and said, “He won’t be able to hurt you or anyone else now.”
Tightening her arms around Aiden’s neck, she asked, “How long before he gets out?”
“He’s not getting out, sweetheart.” Aiden threw daggers with his eyes at Sicoli. “Joey, here, is with the FBI now and he’s taking him in. Turns out he’s wanted for racketeering and sex trafficking in the state of New York.”