Fight(42)

“Yeah,” Kyle said. “Get her angry. She’ll fight harder.”

“Wait, wait,” Dana said. “If Kyle wins, he’s going to take you down. And I can’t promise what I’ll do first…”

“Fuck off,” I said. “Both of you.”

“Fight Kyle or I’ll kill you,” Dana said.

I put my arms out. “Do it.”

“Bitch,” Kyle said.

“No,” Dana said. “Fight Kyle or I’ll kill you. Then I’ll kill Autumn.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Want to hear about her pretty blue eyes? Her brown hair. The way she can never finish a cupcake without getting icing all over her face. Oh, and anything you want me to tell Andrea? Because I’ll kill her too.”

I lost feeling in my knees.

I caught myself on the table.

The room started to spin.

I told myself not to pass out. I couldn’t pass out. These crazy guys would…

Andrea…

Holy shit.

They knew everything.





25.


(Tripp)



What the f*ck am I thinking?

The thought attacked me again and again. Leaving Winter was wrong. Leaving the nothing I had was only going to cost me my life. Plus, I f*cking loved her. If she was going to end up dead or I was going to end up dead, at least I had finally found a good cause for it to happen. It wouldn’t just be me sitting in the shit hole apartment of mine with the windows open, listening to the waves crashing in the ocean.

More than anything else, Winter required a sense of trust that I knew nothing about. I wasn't incapable of trusting… I just never had a reason to. Some people can read someone and their lies by their eyes. For me, it was about the fists. If someone was willing to fight for the truth, then it was worth the trust.

I touched my cheek.

She had landed a hell of a slap to my face. There was a beautiful grit about her that drove me wild. She’d never leave my head, my heart, my soul. Even if this thing came to a crashing end and I was back to fighting for Aldo, she would have a place in my heart forever. She ruined any other woman I’d f*ck because they’d never be as good as her. Then again, I had no desire for any other woman in the world but Winter. I wanted her. All of her.

I cut the wheel and spun the car around. The tires screamed in protest; maybe I was making the biggest mistake of my life. I had never followed love before so I didn’t know the outcome.

When I got back to the house, I parked the car a little bit away because something hit me. Not literally but just a sense of something. It was like I knew Winter was in trouble.

I ran from the car to the front door.

That’s when I heard the voices.

“Fucking hit her!”

I turned at the knob and it was locked.

Locked.

I cut around to the side of the house and looked in the window.

There was Winter, circling around with some guy twice her size. Another guy leaned against the couch, smiling, calling out orders.

The dining room table was flipped over and moved.

I was about to punch the window when Winter leapt forward. She threw a punch and hit the guy in the face. His head bobbed, then he burst out laughing. Winter clutched her hand and slipped back, wincing in pain.

“My turn!” the guy yelled.

“Come on, Kyle. Make it fast, so we can get down to business with this little slut.”

I pushed at the glass. The window was locked. If I jumped at it though, it would break. If I got a good enough head start I could dive through the damn thing.

Or I could just go around to the front door and knock. Work my way in. Shoot the door. Break it down. Something.

As I debated, I saw Winter’s eyes. Those stunning blue eyes were filled with hurt and fear. I blamed myself. If I hadn't left, this wouldn’t be happening.

Winter took another swing and missed. She stumbled forward and the guy stood there. I saw his hand moving before Winter knew what was about to happen. With a solid backhand, he cracked Winter’s jaw. She was off her feet and I ran backwards. There was no other choice now.

I ran forward and jumped, tucking my head, leading with my right shoulder. I hit the window and it exploded. I sailed through the broken glass and landed down on the floor in a roll.

“What the f*ck?” someone screamed.

I kicked up to my feet, already assessing the room. Winter to my right, on the floor, holding her jaw, crying. I wanted to console her, but I couldn’t right now.

The guy who had hit her - Kyle - looked shocked. His eyes went from the window to me. He was the weaker of the two. I dove at him, burying my same shoulder into his gut and drove him back into the wall. We hit with a thud and I pushed off him. Three punches later, he didn’t know what to do with his hands.

“Shoot him!” he screamed.

Well, that gave that away…

I grabbed Kyle and turned with him.

A second later, a gun went off. I felt Kyle’s body jerk as he took the bullet instead me. His mouth fell open, his eyes wide and already going dead. I walked Kyle backwards and threw him to the right.

The other guy still had a gun pointed, like he didn’t give a f*ck he just killed someone. I jumped at him and knocked the gun out of his hand. He swung his foot up and kicked me in the stomach. As I started to hunch over, I threw a right and got him in the face. He went over the couch. I scrambled to catch my breath and went after him.