Chapter 22
I laced up my sneakers and took a seat on the top step of the landing, waiting for Sophie to emerge from her apartment.
I never ran with anyone. I needed solace, the time to beat myself up for past mistakes.
So why I asked her to come along was beyond me.
The only thing I could think of was that I didn’t want her to be alone after her encounter with her ex’s buddy.
I knew all too well what it was like to live with fear.
Not that I’d compare mine with hers, but any level of fear ate you up on the inside. That much I believed to be true.
The creak of her door had me jumping to my feet.
“Ready?” I asked, devouring the sight of her.
She wore black leggings and a red-and-black racerback exercise top.
It looked more like a sports bra to me, but what the hell did I know?
Maybe it was, but far be it from me to make a comment.
My eyes homed in on the zipper, and I envisioned tugging it down, dangerously hungry to get another view of her glorious tits.
“How did you know I run?” She stood a foot from me, adjusting her ponytail.
“Elton told me. He said you asked once if you could use a treadmill, that you usually ran outside, but it was raining that day.”
“Does your team tell you everything?”
I nodded and replied, “Everything.”
“Good to know.”
Once we hit the street, I led her to a detour off the main strip close to a half a mile down the road and onto a path I’d discovered months ago. Not a lot of people knew about this hidden gem, so whenever I did use it, I didn’t have to worry about being bombarded with people wanting a selfie.
I got recognized almost everywhere I went, which was why I barely went anywhere outside of the gym and my apartment.
Visiting the bar two blocks away was one of the only exceptions, but everyone who frequented that hole-in-the-wall knew me, or as much of me as I permitted, which wasn’t much.
Keeping to myself had been my golden rule.
There were times when some drunk asshole tried to pick a fight with me, but they never got past the first rude comment before Sal, the owner, booted them out.
Every time my feet hit the pavement, the vibration was like a sedative to my soul.
The repetition helped to drown out the doubts and self-loathing that constantly swirled around inside me.
I wondered if running had the same effect on Sophie.
Was she able to shut off her brain, or did her turmoil plague her as well?
I embraced the silence between us, thankful she didn’t bombard me with idle chitchat or a bunch of questions. The woman didn’t have a filter, but I couldn’t say I hated that about her. She definitely kept things interesting, that was for sure.
Two hours later, we were headed back to the gym, Sophie keeping pace with me on my left. She was much smaller than me, but she never fell behind for long, increasing her strides to keep up.
Once I cleared the pathway, I slowed down, and she followed suit. Her flushed skin and heavy breathing suggested she might need the cooldown.
“I’m normally not this bad,” she panted, wiping the sweat from her brow. “But you’re so damn tall, I had to practically sprint just to keep up with you.”
“You act like I’m a giant,” I said.
“Compared to me, you are.”
“You should’ve told me. I would’ve slowed down.”
“Nah. That’s okay. Pushing myself was what I needed today.”
My response was a simple nod before I pointed straight ahead. “We’ll be back in no time.”
More silence ensued as we trudged back toward the gym, Sophie falling into step beside me.
As soon as the building came into view, her steps faltered, and when I turned around to find out why, alarm pierced my chest. Her eyes were the biggest I’d ever seen them, and she looked like she was on the verge of a panic attack.
I stepped in her direction. “What’s wrong?”
“I… I can’t.” Her focus wasn’t on me but on something behind me. I turned to look but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.
“What’s wrong?” I repeated, stepping into her personal space. “I’m right here.”
“No” was the only word she spoke, her sawing breathing intensifying.
One moment passed. Then another. She wasn’t any closer to letting me in on what was going on, but when I returned my attention toward the gym, it was then I saw a police officer standing near the entrance, talking on his phone as he assessed the area.
Had something happened I should be aware of?
Was he here to talk to me?
Or one of the guys?
“I should check out why the cop is here.”
I didn’t take two steps before Sophie latched on to my arm, her grip borderline bruising. If there was ever a time I could feel someone else’s fear, it was now, her fright traveling from the tips of her fingers and burrowing into my flesh.
“Please don’t go over there, Jackson. He’s not here to see you. He’s… that’s…he’s here to see me.”
“Why? What happened?”
The muscles of her throat worked to swallow her nervousness. “That’s Mitch.” She briefly averted her eyes. “My ex.”
“That was fast,” I muttered, more to myself than to her. “Why don’t you head on in there?” I said, pointing toward a nearby café. “And I’ll get rid of him.”
Her face was a roadmap of indecision and worry.
She’d told me she didn’t want me involved in her situation, and I was sure she had her reasons, but there was no way I’d allow this guy to threaten her or do whatever else he had in mind.
Clearly, he wanted to intimidate her, and it was working, even without her being in his presence.
Her grip on my arm tightened, and I had to literally pry each of her fingers off. I gently gripped her shoulders and turned her toward the café, but she didn’t budge from her spot, the desperation behind her eyes morphing into something else altogether.
Was that resolution?
Strength?
Delusion?
“I can’t keep avoiding him. I should just get this over with. If I don’t, he’ll keep coming back. Although I doubt he’ll stay away, regardless.” She mumbled the last part, but I heard her loud and clear.
“I’m coming with you.”
Her mouth fell open, and I had no doubt she was set to argue, but I shut it down with a shake of my head.
She moved around me and cautiously walked toward the gym, every step she took riddled with hesitation.
I hated that she was so damn nervous to face this guy and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.
It wasn’t like Sophie was mine. If she were, I could deal with this fucker myself, warn him away, do whatever was necessary to protect her.
Physically and emotionally. But that just wasn’t the situation.
What I could do was make sure to stand close by in case her ex got out of pocket. I put a reasonable amount of space between us, trailing behind her, and when she stopped, so did I.
I didn’t know if her ex saw me or not, but if he did, he didn’t let on. As soon as Sophie was several feet from him, he moved toward her. Her reaction was to back away. He kept coming, and she kept retreating. Until her back hit the stone front of the building.
My legs moved of their own accord when I saw her trapped in front of him, sidling up next to her seconds later.
“Can I help you with something?” I asked, my demeanor switching from bystander to protector in a matter of a heartbeat.
“I’m here to see my wife,” he responded, looking me up and down, assessing me to see what type of threat I presented. And I was the worst kind. I could beat him to within an inch of his life if I so desired.
“Don’t you mean ex?”
His dark eyes widened, and he straightened to his full height, standing a couple inches shorter than me.
His dark hair was cropped close to his head, a standard look for a cop, and while he couldn’t match me in physique, this guy wasn’t a stranger to the gym, his biceps pressing against the fabric of his police-issued uniform.
“Who the fuck are you?” he asked.
There was no hesitation before I answered, “I’m Sophie’s boss.”
Again, he looked me up and down.
“I know you,” he said.
“I doubt that,” I replied, taking another step closer to the woman he was intent on bullying.
Granted, she hadn’t revealed much to me about their relationship, but her panic after running into his buddy, the worry that he’d tell her ex about their interaction was enough for me to realize this guy was bad news.
My eyes fell on Sophie, her gaze bouncing between the both of us.
“Yeah. You’re that fighter.” He snapped his fingers and pointed at me afterward. “Jackson Crew. I knew I knew you.”
“Recalling my name doesn’t mean you know me.”
The faintest smirk tipped the corner of his mouth, and I’d never wanted to punch anyone more than I did right then. To wipe that smug look off his face would be one of my greatest accomplishments.
He moved away from Sophie and toward me, sizing me up for a third time.
“You beat people for a living.” His gaze veered back to his soon-to-be ex-wife.
“Why would you take a job here? Working for him?” His last question came out on a growl, his jealousy teetering on the edge while mine was full-blown, riling me so much so that if I didn’t get a hold of my inner turmoil, I had no idea how much damage I’d do to this guy if he didn’t leave.
And soon. Before she could answer, he moved into her, invading her personal space.
“I’m not letting you go. I’m not signing the papers.
You’re my wife, and I won’t let anyone else have you. ”
“That’s enough.” I maneuvered my way between them.
“Get out of here, and don’t come back.” The need to beat him raged deep and hard within me, and I barely managed to restrain myself.
But attacking a police officer, one who was in uniform, wouldn’t end well for me.
And while I wanted to throw away any good sense I still had, I didn’t raise my hand to him.
“What are you going to do? Call the cops?” I had no doubt he’d used that same line on Sophie, probably more than once.
I needed to find out more about him. About them.
About what he may have done to her. With his hand now resting on the handle of his holstered weapon, he flashed another arrogant smirk.
I clenched my fists, and he noticed. “Do it,” he tempted. “See what happens.”
With quick maneuvering, I managed to move Sophie toward the entrance, my hand resting low on her back, pushing her toward the door.
“Come back again, and you’ll regret it,” I said, throwing him a deadly glare.
“You threatening a cop?”
“No.” I gently shoved Sophie farther away from us before stepping back into his space. His eyes raised to meet mine. “I’m threatening a guy who can’t get it through his head that his ex doesn’t want anything to do with him.”
“She’s still my wife.”
“Not for long.” I couldn’t predict what would happen between these two. For all I knew, she could end up going back to him. Maybe this was their pattern. Memories from another life tried to infiltrate, but I shoved them aside.
His attention swung back to Sophie, but when I glanced over my shoulder, she had her back to us.
“You’ll never get rid of me, sweetheart,” he said. “I’ll be back.”
I refused to engage this bastard any longer, leaving him standing there as I walked up behind Sophie, placing my hand on her back once more.
“Let’s go,” I urged.
I held the door open for her as she entered, steering her toward the back of the gym.
We weaved our way between the throng of customers who’d come to take advantage of their memberships.
A few of them glanced our way, but none were brazen enough to approach, the dour look plastered on my face most likely the reason why.
Once we stood at the bottom of the landing leading to our apartments, Sophie’s shoulders started to tremble, her lower lip wobbling soon after.
An onslaught of unshed tears filled her eyes, but before she broke down in tears, I wanted to get her upstairs and into the safety of her place.
As far away from what happened moments ago as possible.
She allowed me to guide her up the stairs, and I stood behind her as she placed her key into the lock.
Before she opened the door, she turned to face me.
Instead of uttering a word, she threw her arms around me.
The press of her body against mine did strange things to me—not the desire she typically wrapped me in.
An inane sense of protectiveness coated every fiber of my being, a watchfulness I hadn’t felt since I was a kid.
“Thank you, Jackson,” she mumbled, her breaths hijacked with the blitz of her tears. There in my arms, she broke down, gripping on to me with a fierceness I accepted wholeheartedly.