She wraps herself around me. “I have everything I’ve ever wanted right here in my arms.”
“Great thing about having everything you ever wanted is having everything you ever wanted. Bad part is being afraid of—”
“Losing it.”
“Exactly.” I rub my palms all over her naked skin. “That won’t happen to us. I won’t allow it.”
“I won’t either.” She pulls back and makes a fist at her chest, using her thumb to cross an X at her heart. “Promise.”
When she brings her fist to her mouth to kiss it, I snag it and bring it to mine. “Me too.” The clock on the bedside table says if I don’t pull my ass away I’m going to be late. “Shit, I gotta go.” I pick her up off my lap and place her back on the bed, covering her up because walking away from the visual of her naked body is something I’m not strong enough to do. “I’ll be back in an hour or so.”
“Wait. Where are you going?”
I rub the back of my neck. “It’s nothing, just something I need to do.” I grab a keycard to the hotel room and head to the door. “I’ll explain when I get back.” Before I pass through the door, I turn around and grin because how the fuck did my life become perfect overnight? “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
~~~
The cab driver drops me off at the address Ryder texted me last night. I make a note to get my damn Jeep out of storage ASAP because relying on a taxi to cart my ass around is getting old.
Standing out in front of a rundown apartment complex are enough UFL fighters to make any man piss himself. I jog toward them, and they all turn to me as I approach.
Jonah, Rex, Blake, Mason, Wade, Caleb, Ryder, and Cameron.
“Thanks for coming on short notice.”
“You send out a text at midnight, saying you want to rally the troops for my daughter. No fucking way I’m gonna miss it.” Blake reaches out a hand to shake mine. “I appreciate you steppin’ up.”
I shake his hand. “I fucked up by leaving—”
“No, leaving was the right thing. I love my girl, but she needed to figure some shit out, and having you here wouldn’t have done her any favors.”
Caleb smacks me on the back. “He’s right. You had to invest some time into your career. Now you’re right where you need to be.”
“We gonna sit around strokin’ the man’s balls or are we gonna do this?” Cameron’s words don’t match the proud, and subtle, grin on his face.
I lift my chin towards Ryder. “You know the place?”
“Yeah, number thirty-two.” He motions to the building closest to us. “It’s just around the corner from this one here.”
“We gonna need to call in a favor so we don’t go down for something or are you just here to send a message?” Jonah tilts his head, studying me through dark glasses. “I’m cool either way. I fucking hate this scumbag.”
“Just won Ax back, and I promised her I wouldn’t fuck us up, so…no, nothing to clean up. Just sending a message.”
“Damn,” Rex mumbles.
“I was kinda looking forward to getting a shot in myself.” Ryder swings his gaze around the circle of fighters staring at him in disbelief. “What? Oh, just because I don’t look like some WWF knockoff like the rest of you, doesn’t mean I can’t hold my own in a fight.”
Cam claps his son on the back. “He’s a pint-sized badass.”
“No, if it comes to blows, his ass is mine.” I don’t tell them that I secretly hope it does. I wasn’t kidding about not messing things up with Axelle, but if he throws the first punch, I can’t be held accountable for defending myself.
“I got dibs on second,” Blake holds up a hand to mark his place in line.
Jonah next. “Third.”
“Fuck that. I get third.” Ryder raises his hand.
Rex grins and lifts a hand. “Fourth.”
“At this rate, we’ll kill the poor bastard.” Mason chuckles.
Jonah growls. “He deserves no less for what he put Axelle through.” He glares at Ryder. “Third.”
For a moment, I just sit back and watch as this group of men argue over who gets to exact retribution on the dickwad that put Axelle through hell, and it hits me that, although the two men who meant the most in her life left her, they’ve been replaced by this renegade team of fighters who would gladly get arrested for her. My heart swells at the show of support, and I wish I could capture it on video and show her just how loved she is.
“Mind if we do this before noon, boys? I’ve got a woman at home with two kids who all speak the same language, and I could’ve sworn they were plotting against me this morning.” Mason narrows his eyes. “Either that or they were planning to go to the park. My Russian is mediocre at best.”
“Here’s the deal. I go in first and drop the warning; you guys back me up and keep me from doing anything stupid.”