Chapter 29
Rue
Wincing, I looked away from the boxing ring they had set up in one of the downstairs rooms in the new building.
The whole lower half of the building was the new clubhouse and the floors above were all apartments.
Bolo and Relay’s family had done an amazing job with the construction. It was beautiful.
The gym had everything a person could want, if they were into lifting heavy objects, doing cardio, and beating the crap out of each other. None of that really appealed to me, but I could see why the guys liked it.
“He’s fine, Rue,” Ruck said from beside me.
“He’s bleeding,” I said under my breath so my brother didn’t hear me and shoot me one of his famous glares. I’d gotten many of those over the years.
“He needs this.”
“I don’t get it,” I said, cringing again as OD’s fist slammed into Ryan’s side. “How is OD beating him up going to help him?”
“He’s not beating him up,” Ruck explained, his tone the epitome of patience.
“He’s teaching him to fight. Kids like Ryan and Teddy feel out of control because so much has happened in their lives that they had no choice in.
Giving them something to do, like fighting, gives them a purpose.
A way to control things. Teaches them discipline and self-control. ”
“But now I’m worried they’re going to constantly be in fights,” I sighed.
“Not how that works.”
“How does it work then?” I asked, curious.
“You teach them a code of conduct with the fighting. When you know you’re stronger and more skilled than most others, you don’t go straight to beating the shit out of them.
You have to exercise control and discernment.
There’s no honor in kicking the crap out of those who are weaker than you.
So you learn to control your temper. Control your reactions.
It actually helps kids like this more than you know. ”
I gave him an appreciative look. “That’s why I’m so grateful to you guys. You seem to get Ryan on a level I don’t think I ever will.”
“That’s because most of us were him at one point or another,” Ruck told me with a grin. “We know what worked for us. Makes it easy to help others.”
“Hopefully it’ll help Teddy, too,” I said. “His doctor thinks he’ll be able to release him soon. The meds have helped him so much.”
“It will,” Ruck replied. “And maybe we’ll be able to get him off those meds one day. If not, then we’ll do whatever we need to help him figure out his new normal.”
I hissed out a breath as Ryan took a wild swing and managed to hit OD with an impressive amount of power. Not that it seemed to faze OD much. I was the only one jerking and jumping with every hit. I couldn’t even root for one side or the other because I cared about them both too much.
A furry head pushed up into my hand and I scratched Norman behind his ears.
“You going to rename that poor dog?” Ruck asked me with a laugh.
“I don’t know…Norman sort of seems to fit him now.”
“He is a fucking goofball, so there’s that.”
“He’s not,” I gasped, covering the dog’s ears. “He’s perfect.”
“Sure. Perfect,” Ruck echoed, though with a lot more sarcasm than when I’d said it.
A particularly loud grunt made me look back at the ring and my eyes widened when I saw that my dog had scrambled up there while I was talking to Ruck.
Norman was standing between my brother and my boyfriend, growling at them both.
He wasn’t lunging at either and honestly he looked a little distressed to be in the middle of them.
He didn’t want them to fight, but liked them both too much to take a bite out of either.
“Norman!” I called out, giving OD a sheepish look as I followed him up on the mats. “Sorry.”
“That mutt is a menace,” OD told me, but he was grinning.
It was still hard for me to picture the man who’d come to my rescue and this version of Overdrive as the same man.
He was usually so relaxed and even keeled.
He laughed more than he didn’t. And yet the night he came for me and killed Carrick it was almost like a completely different guy.
There’d been no humor on his face, only intense concentration.
It sounded crazy, but there’d been death in his eyes.
It didn’t worry me. In fact, I’d never felt safer.
How could I be scared when I knew there was a man like him who was willing to kill anyone who was a threat to me?
He’d proved it multiple times since I’d met him.
Maybe at some point in the future I’d have to face the fact that the man I loved was a dangerous killer.
But I didn’t think so, because he wasn’t dangerous to me.
Or anyone I loved. Or anyone who was a good person.
He was only a threat to bad people. And I really was okay with that.
And like Ruck was explaining, OD had himself under a tight control.
I never had to worry that he’d drink too many beers and come after me.
Or I’d piss him off and be in any kind of danger.
People probably passed him every day on the streets not realizing what he was capable of.
They’d never know. But I did. And just knowing that he, and the others, kept that side of them locked down unless they needed to release them made me sleep soundly at night.
The respect I had for OD was only growing every day that I knew him. He was an amazing man. He was so good with Ryan. Even now, while they were pounding on each other, he was teaching my brother.
“Lift those hands. Always protect your face,” he said after I dragged Norman out of the ring.
I kept a hold of his collar as I sat down in the chairs lining one of the walls.
Even I could see the difference in Ryan already.
His shoulders weren’t rounding forward. He was standing with his head held high as he watched every move OD made like a hawk.
He was thrilled to be learning this stuff. Thrilled to be one of the men.
Teenaged girls would’ve been easier for me to handle, but I wouldn’t trade my boys in for anything. I was just so grateful to have male role models in their lives now.
An hour passed while OD and Ryan worked. They were both pouring sweat by the time they were finished. Norman lunged to his feet as Ryan came over.
“I’m going to shower,” Ryan told me, shooting me a smile as he passed.
Norman gave me a look then trotted after Ryan. He’d spent the last few nights on Ryan’s bed, the traitor. But I couldn’t really blame him. A comfy bed was much better than a dog bed on the floor in my room.
“What’s that look for?” OD asked, wiping his face with a towel as he walked up.
“I… I can’t remember the last time I saw him smile like that,” I replied. “It’s been a while.” We both watched as Ryan and Norman left the gym. “Thank you.” I was swallowing back tears as I spoke.
“No big deal. It’s fun to teach someone completely green… Hey,” he said in shock as I launched myself into his arms.
I didn’t care that he was all sweaty. “You’ve given him back to me. I wouldn’t have been able to get him away from those assholes without you. I wouldn’t have been able to give him what he needed if I had somehow managed.”
His arms wrapped around me, squeezing me tight. “I’m glad we met so that I could help.”
I pulled back enough so that I could look into his dark brown eyes. “You saved him. You saved Teddy. And you saved me. You’ve given me my family back.”
“I-”
“And you’ve given me a new family,” I continued, cutting him off.
Taking a deep breath, I stared into his eyes.
It was time. I’d promised myself when Carrick had taken me and Ryan that I was going to do this.
That I would admit to OD how I felt. It didn’t matter that I wanted to run in the opposite direction.
What’s the worst that can happen, Rue?
He can laugh at you. Roll his eyes and walk away from you. Leave the way everyone in your life has.
I shoved those menacing thoughts away.
No. Not OD. He had so many opportunities to leave. He didn’t have to help me with any of this. He could have dumped me back off at my apartment and washed his hands of me. And he didn’t. He took on my enemies. Got me back my brother. Let me keep my dog and my cow.
“Overdrive, I…” Cocking my head, I stared at him. “I don’t even know your real name.”
His eyebrows lifted. “Why do I get the feeling that wasn’t what you were going to say?”
When I didn’t answer he sighed. “Ramsey Blake.”
“Huh.”
“What?” he growled, his eyes narrowing.
“Not the name I would’ve pictured for you.”
“Mom got a bit too creative if you ask me.”
“I like it,” I said with a definitive nod. “What did you do in the military?”
“Why the twenty questions?” he asked.
“I just realized that somehow we’ve been living together pretty much since the start of this and I haven’t asked you much about yourself.”
“You know the important shit.”
I considered that. He was right. I knew what kind of man he was. How he treated me. How protective he was. That he would make an amazing husband and father. “True. But I’d like to know more.”
“My MOS was 19K, Armor Crewman,” he said. When I blinked at him, he added. “I was a tank commander.”
Smiling, I shook my head. “Tank? Like the kind you see on TV?”
“Basically,” he chuckled.
“Okay, that’s kind of cool,” I told him. “Did you ever get to drive it?”
He barked out a laugh. “Yeah. You work your way up to commander by doing all the other jobs. Light?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m more interested in hearing what you were about to tell me before you got distracted.” His smile was knowing. He knew what I’d been about to tell him.
“Oh. Right.” It was past time. I pulled on my metaphorical big girl panties. “I love you, Ramsey.”
“I love you, too. I’ll love you more if you never call me that again. Stick with OD.”
Laughing, I hugged him tight and wondered how I’d managed to get so damn lucky? Good fortune wasn’t something I was used to, but I was going to hold tight to this new life. I wasn’t about to let any of it go.