28. Holden
Chapter 28
Holden
Day 1021 without you: Why does doing the right thing have the power to destroy you in the process too?
ALMOST SIX YEARS AGO
T om’s car screeches to a halt next to the sidewalk, and the man I’ve always considered the closest thing to a father figure sighs heavily.
I don’t need to see him to know he’s disappointed about my fight tonight. It was brutal and extra shitty.
Staring at my bouncing leg, I say, “I’m sorry.”
He sighs again. “I don’t know where your head was tonight, boy, but it surely wasn’t in the ring. Get some rest and put some ice on your face. You’re a mess.”
I still haven’t glanced in the mirror, but I don’t need one to know he’s right. My entire face is throbbing, and breathing through my nose is almost impossible.
“You know I like Olivia, but if you fight like shit every time she’s not there, maybe she’s not good for you.”
The words are barely out of his mouth when a low growl erupts out of mine, and I move without thinking.
Either his reflexes are still better than mine, or he anticipated my reaction because his outstretched hand is already there, pushing against my chest.
He huffs, “That’s what I thought. I hope she deserves your loyalty, son. Maybe let’s just skip the fights if she’s not around then, yeah? Saves you some beatings and me some money.”
I grumble in response, half grateful for his understanding, and half embarrassed I ran straight into that one.
Archer and I met Tom during our first week in the city while searching for a job. We knew the chances weren’t the best since he owned a pub and we were only eighteen, but he took one look at us and said he’d make us a deal. He’d provide us with food, shelter, and training at his gym, and in return, we’d help out at the pub and other businesses he owned and enter underground fights once we were ready to.
The rest is history, as they say.
And we both know he’s right. I wasn’t in the right headspace tonight because Olivia wasn’t in the stands cheering me on. She told me she had an appointment but wouldn’t tell me what it was, and it was impossible to get her out of my mind.
Tom pats my shoulder gruffly. “Go now, kid. See your girl. We’ll talk later.”
My girl.
Is that what’s going on? Has my attraction to her finally gotten the better of me?
Because she isn’t my girl, no matter how badly I want her to be.
But it’s crucial to me that she makes the first move. Bad shit happened to her, and I’m not going to force her into something with me before she’s ready.
My heart still skips at the thought of seeing her in a few minutes. I always feel better with her around.
“Thanks, Tom.”
“Don’t mention it. Have a good night.”
“You too.” I get out and stand there until his taillights disappear around the dark corner, and it drizzles.
The apartment building is in a decent neighborhood with mostly older people. After years of earning money in the ring, I have more than enough to buy myself a nice place, but I have other plans. Archer and I just became silent investors in a series of clubs some of our friends will open, and I’m excited to see what they do with them.
Since it’s already dark, I don’t notice the guy in front of the building until I get my keys out to open the front door.
Although I’ve never seen him, the back of my neck prickles. People who hide in the shadows rarely have good intentions, but the second he steps toward the dim light of the building, I relax. He’s a few years younger than me. Average build. Harmless.
And he’s not my problem.
I’m tired and worn out, and I need to see Olivia.
“Hey, sorry to bother you, but could you let me in so I can wait in the lobby? I’m waiting for my fiancée, but I didn’t know it would rain.”
I study him once more, noticing his simple farm clothes, similar to the ones Olivia wore when I first met her.
Something twists in my stomach, and I ask, “Who’s your fiancée?”
He scrutinizes me and says, “Olivia Fisher.”
My lungs seem to forget how to function. The air feels sharper, every breath unsatisfying and shallow.
Snap out of it.
You know exactly who this is.
My fingers curl around the keys in my hand, the metal biting into my skin. That does the trick.
I lift the corners of my mouth and shake my head. “Nope, no Olivia Fisher here.”
I mean, it’s not a lie. Olivia changed her name when we got married.
His jaw twitches. “I know she lives here. I saw her.”
What the fuck? Was he watching her?
“What did you say your name was?”
We both know he didn’t mention it, but he’s going to tell me one way or another.
His right eye twitches, but he answers, “Felix.”
Motherfucker.
It really is him. The guy Olivia was supposed to marry.
“Well, Felix . I need you to leave right now, and I don’t ever want to see you here again.”
His whole demeanor changes at my answer. His body tenses, and he puffs out his chest as if he’s half a head taller than me and not the other way around. The cutting glare in his eyes that I thought was due to my rough appearance turns downright evil, and his lips curl in a faint, unmistakable sneer.
“I’m not going anywhere without my fiancée.”
I take a step away from the door and stare him down. “Well, that’s not happening.”
He grinds his teeth. “And why is that?”
“Because she’s my wife, you asshole. Now get lost.”
Something dark flickers across his expression, and I sweep my gaze over him again to make sure I didn’t miss anything in his hands or otherwise.
If I get into another fight right now, I’m really going to feel it tomorrow.
But you can’t let him get to Olivia either.
No one touches her.
Over my dead body.
I don’t know if he sees the determination in my eyes or the willingness to fight him, but he lunges at me without warning, and the world tilts sideways.
My back hits the ground with a jolt, and I groan as pain ricochets through my entire body.
Son of a bitch.
A few ice packs won’t be enough to help me tonight.
We wrestle, each getting punches in, and the taste of blood soon coats my mouth.
Since I’m not at my best, it takes me a few tries to get him into a headlock, but eventually, I do.
Squeeze him until he goes limp, and then call the cops. They can deal with him.
His body sags and I let go of him, but he doesn’t fall to the ground the way I thought he would. Instead, he shoots up and punches me in the side. For a second, my mind blanks. Then a searing heat blooms outward like fire.
That fucker just stabbed me.
My breath stutters, and the pain anchors me to the spot.
Is he twisting it around in the wound?
Fuck.
My body jerks when he pulls his arm back and the knife with it. I sway but manage to stay on my feet.
He uses that chance to spit in my face. “I hope you were lying about Olivia being your wife, for her sake. If she really married you, I’ll do a lot worse than fuck her virgin pussy in front of my friends.”
His words burrow under my skin like venom. All I can hear is the deafening roar in my ears that’s drowning out everything else.
He touched her. He hurt her.
Anger surges up my neck, white-hot and lethal, and before I can consider my actions, I’m moving.
His cocky smirk is the last thing I see before I tackle him. This time, he doesn’t stand a chance. My knuckles connect with skin and bone over and over. Again and again. Something cracks, but I don’t stop to check what.
Even though Olivia never told me anything bad happened with a guy, I had my suspicions, noticing how she shied away from most men and didn’t like to be touched.
Another punch. Another hit.
I won’t allow him to take her from me.
The wheezing stops, but it’s not good enough.
I have to make sure he will never lay another finger on her.
I keep going until sirens blare, and someone pulls me off Felix.
He lies crumpled on the dirty ground, unrecognizable. His face is a swollen mess, his features disappearing underneath a sea of red. There’s so much blood.
I never take my eyes off him, even when metal wraps around my wrists and clicks in place.
You did it. You kept Olivia safe.
He can never hurt her again.