Chapter 22 Knight
KNIGHT
Bed rest and Harper are not exactly compatible anymore, and after having her home for the past week and a half, she’s already run out of things to do. So she does me instead, but you won’t catch me complaining about it.
After a little less than forty-eight hours of observation in the hospital, Harper was discharged, and the moment she was home, she started working on healing, desperate to reduce the bruises and swelling that marked her skin.
I could tell by her expression every time she looked in the mirror that she was picturing Elias’s fists coming toward her face and remembering the feel of her head smashing against the bathroom tiles.
She put herself on an icing schedule: on for ten minutes, off for ten minutes, and then switch positions, all while begging Dr. McKullan to allow her to type up reports from home.
Apparently, Harper’s idea of bed rest doesn’t exactly line up with the rest of the population’s, and after bugging Dr. McKullan relentlessly, he had no choice but to cave.
He sends her two reports per day, but she smashes through those in less than an hour each.
Every day for the past week and a half has been the same. Ice. Water. Reports. Fucking. Repeat. It’s been great, but come Monday morning, she’ll be heading back to work day shift. At least she’ll be able to face her colleagues without the bruises or swelling weighing her down.
I’m proud of her, and despite how she may or may not be driving me crazy at home, it’s a good kind of crazy. Nobody could ever convince me that having Harper move in with me wasn’t the best step I have ever taken in life. She’s my whole fucking world.
Getting to wake up each morning with her in my arms is the epitome of life. My whole world could crumble, but as long as I get to hold her, nothing else matters.
It’s late on Wednesday afternoon, and I don’t know how my afternoon workout session with Ace and Diesel in my home gym turned into a party.
One minute the boys and I were fucking around with the weights; the next we had Izzy, Laith, and Harper holding up score cards every time one of us lifted a single weight.
Well, to be fair to Laith, only the girls were holding up score cards.
He was just chilling for the sake of chilling.
I asked if he wanted to join, but he didn’t seem into it.
Either that or working out with me, Ace, and Diesel wasn’t exactly his idea of fun.
The three of us can be a little intimidating, especially in a gym where we thrive off competition. I don’t blame him for passing.
“I reckon I could do that,” Harper mutters from her spot across the gym, her gaze locked on me as I pull myself up over the pull-up bar.
And shit, I’ve got to be honest, I thought she was watching closely because she can’t get enough of me, not because she was thinking that this shit would be easy for a beginner.
“There’s no way in hell you can do that,” Laith mutters.
“Bullshit,” Harper says, flexing her biceps. “Have you seen these bad boys? I’m practically a machine.”
Izzy drops down beside her, sipping a glass of wine as she hands Harper a fresh ice pack to hold against her face.
“Your body is one hundred percent nachos at this point,” she scoffs, her gaze swinging toward Ace and Diesel, flicking between the two of them as though she can’t make up her mind.
“Stop trying to fool yourself, but if you think you can do it, be my guest. Go right ahead and show us how strong you are.”
I stop what I’m doing and drop to my feet as Harper’s brow arches. Her gaze shifts to me, and when a cocky smirk stretches across her lips, I roll my eyes, realizing she’s fallen for the bait. She’s going to try, and I can guarantee that it won’t be pretty.
A smirk plays on my lips as she gets to her feet, and she strides over to me, glancing up at the bar above her head and realizing that she can’t even jump high enough to catch it. “Hmmm,” she murmurs, her brows furrowed as she tries to work out the logistics of how this is going to work.
I laugh as I step in behind her, my hands on her waist. “You ready, doll?”
“I’m suddenly thinking this isn’t such a good idea.”
“Wasn’t it you who told me that you were sick of being a damsel and wanted to learn how to defend yourself?”
“I did not say that I was a damsel,” Harper argues. “Just that I wanted to learn how to drop an asshole, such as yourself, on his ass.”
“Alright, doll. Well, this is the first step,” I say, taking her arms and giving them a wiggle. “You’re gonna need to strengthen these little spaghetti arms if you think you’re gonna drop a six-foot-four man.”
Izzy scoffs from across the gym. “I think a knee to the balls will suffice.”
Every man in the room cringes at the thought of having a little she-devil like Izzy knee him right in the crown jewels. Harper grins at her best friend. “I’m with Iz. I could get down with a good knee to the balls.”
“Nobody is getting kneed in the balls,” I tell her, taking her waist again and watching her glance up at the bar, preparing to catch it. Harper lets out a breath and bounces her shoulders as if mentally preparing herself. Then, as I squeeze her waist, she jumps, and I hoist her the rest of the way.
Harper clutches the bar, her body dangling as it rocks back and forth. “Okay,” she grunts, already adjusting her grip on the bar. “I can do this.”
“Let’s see it, doll.”
A loud groan tears out of her, and she starts to pull herself up, but when her legs start kicking around for momentum, I have to step away to avoid getting kicked. “Oh shit. I can’t,” she grits as her arms start to shake.
I laugh and move in front of her before jumping straight up to the bar, my tight grip on either side of her hands. “Wrap your legs around me, doll.”
She doesn’t hesitate, and the moment her legs are secured around my waist, I pull up toward the bar, showing her what to do.
Harper tries to help, using what little strength she possesses to pull up, but let’s be honest, it’s like when you’re playing video games with a kid and you hand them a controller that’s not plugged in just to let them think they’re doing their part.
I slowly lower us back down before going again when Izzy’s voice rumbles through the gym. “Goddamn. Ten out of ten. That’s so fucking hot,” she murmurs, letting out a heavy breath. “It’s getting hot in here, right? Shit. Maybe I just really need to get laid.”
Ace immediately makes his way over to her, and I can just imagine the cocky grin on his face. “I can help you with that.”
“I bet you could,” she purrs just as the sound of Diesel’s smack echoes through the gym, quickly followed by Ace’s groan.
“Put your dick back in your pants,” Diesel warns Ace just as Harper and I reach the top of the bar again, only for her to catch me with a swift kiss at the top.
I release the bar and drop to the ground with Harper still securely wrapped around me, and she automatically releases her grip.
I hold her until she finds balance, and she looks up at me with a grin.
“She’s right. That was hot, but also very eye-opening.
We’re gonna have a lot of work ahead of us if I ever intend to defend myself. ”
“I got you, doll. This shit doesn’t happen overnight. It takes a lot of persistence and commitment. It’ll take some time, but you’ll get there.”
“Do we have that kind of time?” she questions. “It’s been a week and a half, and Elias hasn’t even attempted to turn himself in yet.”
I let out a heavy breath, and as I take in her concerned expression, I pull her into me and kiss her temple.
“I know, but I didn’t expect it to happen overnight.
I inflicted a lot of damage when I paid him a visit.
There’s a good chance he’s bedridden. Not to mention, he’s always been a businessman.
If he intends to turn himself in, which he will if he knows what’s good for him, then there are certain precautions he’ll need to put in place to secure his businesses and make sure your mom can’t take off with his money.
He’ll be meeting with his lawyers, but I agree, time is running out, and I’m getting impatient. ”
“Damn,” Harper murmurs, her hand against my chest. “It seems Izzy isn’t the only one in the room suddenly needing to get laid.”
A smirk pulls at my lips, and as I roll my eyes, a calmness settles through my chest, and it has everything to do with Harper. “Come on,” I tell her. “Why don’t we take this shit into the kitchen and make a party out of it?”
“Okay, whatever you want. But don’t you think it’d be a bit inappropriate to fuck me in the kitchen in front of all our friends?”
Fuck me.
Twenty minutes later, we’re taking up every available space in the living room. Drinks are flowing, dinner’s been ordered, and the flirting between Ace, Izzy, and Diesel is off the fucking charts. If we’re not careful, there’s going to be a three-way right here on my goddamn coffee table.
Harper sits in my lap, and as our friends get along and have the night of their lives, I realize I’ve never felt more content than I have in this very moment. This right here is what life is all about. These are the moments I live for.
Izzy sits nestled under Ace’s arm as they talk between themselves, but every now and then, she’ll glance up and meet Diesel’s eye across the room, and the way her cheeks flame is almost comical.
Not a word passes between the two, but the tension in the room is palpable.
There’s definitely something there, but there’s also something very real between her and Ace, and all I can hope is that whatever this is doesn’t tear down fifteen years of friendship.
Harper’s phone chimes on the armrest, and she scoops it up before checking the notification and laughing. I glance over her shoulder, and she adjusts her phone so that I can see the screen better and quickly read over the text.