Chapter 37
Spencer cries out in pain when I secure the Legacy Lock, struggling against my hold in an attempt to free himself, but the rope is too far.
His gaze flounders from the rope to Viviana to the ladder, and it seems he’s made a decision when it remains on the weapon in the center of the ring.
He bounces on the ball of his free foot a few times before rolling forward, twisting his ankle free from the hold, and the momentum shoots me into the ropes.
It gives Spencer the chance to climb the ladder and find his perch on top.
I stumble a little when I stand, and when our eyes lock, I get a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. There isn’t enough room for him to do what I know he’s about to do. If he goes for the four-fifty splash from that angle, someone is going to get hurt.
Spencer somersaults through the air in his signature four-fifty splash but misses his mark when I step out of the way. First, I hear the pop, and then the crunch of bone when he lands, followed by a cry of pain.
Holy fuck.
My opponent clutches his left ankle, which is facing the opposite direction it should be. I glance at Mike, the referee, and he’s seeing the same thing I am. With a subtle nod, I slide into a quick pin, hooking Spencer’s good knee, and force his shoulders down to the mat.
“Stay the fuck down,” I say, and I’m shocked when he listens.
1…2…3…
The roar of the crowd mixes with the sound of my theme music, but I can barely hear it over the drumming in my ears.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. Austin wasn’t supposed to get on the ladder.
He was supposed to throw me into the ropes and go for the four-fifty off the turnbuckle.
There wasn’t enough room for him to execute that properly off the ladder, and now…
now his ankle is hanging on by a fucking thread.
Despite the reason, I’m sure Amos will have a few choice words for me when we get backstage, but I don’t care.
I didn’t have a choice. I had to end the match.
There was no way we could continue. The medics pull Austin under the bottom rope, and he fights them when they try to coax him onto the gurney.
Stubborn ass, I think, but it does make me feel a little better to see him walk out.
A round of applause fills the air as the medics help him limp to the back.
Turning back to the ring, I’m caught off guard when Savannah jumps into my arms, wrapping her legs around my waist and landing against me with a hard kiss.
It stuns me at first, but it helps ground me back in the current moment after what just happened.
I didn’t expect her to do something like this, not in front of…
well, everyone. When she doesn’t pull away, I let my fingers tangle through her hair and deepen the kiss.
The crowd goes nuts, I can tell by the wave of sound that hits me like a wall, and the way the ring vibrates beneath my feet.
Her soft moan against my lips drives me wild, combined with the way her body moves against mine.
A countdown begins in my head of the minutes until I can carry her over the threshold of my room, lock the door, and have my way with her until morning.
“The whole world just saw you do that,” I say.
“Good.” She breathes the word out. “Then they’ll know you’re mine.” I smile when she pecks my lips, finally letting her legs unwind from my waist and slide down to the canvas. She asks, “How mad do you think they’re going to be?”
“It had to be done. Let them strip me of it, I don’t care. I have everything I need already.”
“If you two are done making out in front of the whole world,” Mike says with a smirk.
He is one of the two most veteran referees in the company and is almost always the referee I have in a match.
He knows my cues, my tells, and tonight I was glad to have him out here because he knew instantly something wasn’t right.
He didn’t hesitate on the three count before turning his attention to grabbing medical staff. “I have something that belongs to you.”
Mike holds the title out, and it shines beneath the stadium lights.
Taking it from his hands, I take a deep breath and try to hide my smile, but I can’t.
I know I’m not supposed to be walking out with this, and the only reason I am is because Austin got hurt.
We always try to avoid injuries, but there’s never a guarantee in this business, especially when someone takes a risk like Austin did tonight.
That’s why we practice so damn much, trying to prevent the avoidable (and escape the unavoidable as much as possible).
But damn, I’d be lying if I said it didn’t feel good to have its weight in my hands again.
He steps between me and Savannah, taking one hand each and raising them in the air to a new chorus of cheers.
After a few more minutes of reveling in our victory with the crowd, Savannah steps through the ropes that I step on to hold open.
She jumps down from the apron, making a beeline for her family that sits in the corner of the front row.
The Williams family piles into an awkward group hug over the barricade before Laine beckons me forward.
She hugs me, despite my warning about the layer of perspiration on my skin, patting my back.
Wes offers me a knowing smirk—one that Savannah catches.
Her gaze narrows as she glances between us.
“We gotta go,” I whisper against her temple.
“I’ll see you backstage?” she asks them before I take her hand, tugging her back into my side.
I pause at the top of the ramp and lift the belt into the air, earning another round of cheers from the crowd. The response surprises me. It makes my heart ache. How am I supposed to leave this? How am I supposed to walk away when this means everything to me?
Glancing to my side, I meet the warm brown eyes of the woman who stole my heart years ago. Her beaming smile quells some of the nerves, and I can’t help but return the gesture. Wrapping my arm around Savannah’s shoulders, I kiss her temple. “Let’s go.”
She laughs. “Yeah, let’s go get our asses chewed.”
The applause that follows our emergence through the curtain shocks us both.
This is far from the response we expected, and a glance around the room shows everyone on their feet—Chelsea, Theo, Noah, and all the producers.
I look down at Savannah, whose facial expression is how I feel on the inside—utter confusion.
We just screwed up the end of the main event match of the biggest show of the year, and they’re… clapping?
Amos is the last one to stand with a raised brow, crossed arms, and that infamous fucking smirk.
He weaves his way out from his corner, through the crowd, and meets us in the center of the room.
He extends his hand, and when I take it, he pulls me into an embrace.
“Hell of a match,” he says, patting me on the back.
A gentle squeeze on my shoulder when he pulls back to look me in the eye one last time before he turns his affections on Savannah.
“You both looked fantastic. Hell of a job, all of you. Let’s chat tomorrow morning around nine o’clock. ”
“Yes, sir.” Savannah nods, and the corners of her lips lift briefly. I can’t help but wonder if she’s made up her mind, but that’s not a conversation to have here. It should be behind closed doors.
Amos knows about the movie. He’s known. I told him months ago, well before I was supposed to, and I think that’s why he changed his mind on the winner tonight.
The truth is, I’ve known about the movie for a few days.
Halle told me Thursday evening, and the first person I wanted to call was Savannah, but I called Amos instead.
And while I did meet Halle this afternoon, it wasn’t to hear about the deal; it was to sign it.
This morning, I had an entirely different meeting—one that Savannah couldn’t know about, not yet.
I invited Wes and Crew to join me for breakfast at one of the hole-in-the-wall diners nearby, where we could discuss some of my future plans in private…
As much as I want to beg her to accompany me to New Mexico for filming, I know her heart aches for this place.
I saw it the moment she stepped out on that stage three weeks ago, and every moment since.
I could be selfish and ask her to come with me anyway, but I won’t do that.
We can make it work. It’ll be challenging, but we can do it.
Unless she wants to wait, and as much as it would kill me, I’d do it for her.
The idea came to me because I don’t want to make things harder on her.
If she signs the contract, I know Amos will use her every chance he gets.
It will be hard on her, on us, and I don’t know if she wants another thing to worry about.
“Brooks, we need to discuss your transition further. I’ll see you both in the morning then,” Amos says, with a brief nod before he steps to the side.
Walking out of gorilla, we’re ambushed by an ecstatic scream before Raelynn rips her best friend from my arms. Brody isn’t too far behind, with an accompanying eye roll, dressed in gym shorts and a zipped-up black hoodie.
His match against Wolf earlier was brutal, both of them walking away with their fair share of spots that are sure to leave them sore in the morning.
“That bag goes great with your eyes,” I say, motioning toward the glittering clutch at his side, and he rolls his eyes. “Heard anything about Austin?”
“I saw him being loaded into a car ’bout five minutes ago.
I think they’re taking him to the hospital to get checked out,” Brody says, and I sigh, scrubbing a hand down my face.
Naively, I hoped it wouldn’t come to this, that Doc would tell him to rest and ice it for a few days.
That he’d be fine. “What happened out there? I thought they were supposed to go over.”