Trying my best to ignore the pang of jealousy I feel deep inside, knowing I can’t control either of our pasts, I make my way down to Vinny’s room in a fog, not paying attention to where I’m going. Clumsily, I walk directly into someone as I’m engrossed in my own thoughts, just before reaching Vinny’s door.
“Liv?”
The voice is familiar, yet I can’t place it. I look up, confused. “Jax? What are you doing here?”
He smiles, a genuine smile on his face, he looks surprised, but I can tell he’s happy to see me. “I could ask you the same thing.” He narrows his eyes playfully and leans in, “Are you following me around trying to get me to bump into you, so I have to hold you again?” He’s teasing, I know. Although I don’t get the chance to respond, when the door we’re standing in front of opens and Vinny steps out.
He takes one look at Jax’s hand on my arm and his face changes. “I don’t know who you are, but get your hands off of her or you’re gonna find the beating the guy just took in the cage was just a warm up for you.”
Frozen in place, the sight of the two men standing next to each other makes me unable to respond. The resemblance is so much clearer when they are both within my vision.
“Liv?” Jax looks to Vinny and back to me, a confused question on his face.
“Liv.” Vinny’s voice is pure growl.
Tension resonates from the two men, and I can sense Vinny’s about to explode as he takes one step closer to Jax, the two men coming nose to nose.
Snapping out of it, I move to Vinny’s side, taking hold of his arm to gain his attention. “Vinny, he was kidding, I know him. It’s fine.” My words do little to calm the beast standing before me. Worse, Jax shifts his shoulders back, his fists balled at his sides, readying himself for what might come next.
“Who is this guy, Liv?” His words might be directed at me, but he’s still standing toe to toe with Jax, the two men having a staring showdown.
“His name is Jackson, he’s the son of the politician that I interviewed yesterday.” Attempting to refocus his attention, I tug harder on his arm.
“That doesn’t explain why his hands are on you.”
“I walked into him…he kept me from falling. Really, it’s fine, it was my fault. He wasn’t bothering me at all.”
I watch his face as he deliberates over the information for a few long seconds, sizing up the man standing in front of him. Relieved when I see his jaw relax slightly, I exhale a long breath I hadn’t even realized I was holding.
Vinny takes a step back, and nods to Jax, “Sorry man, I read it wrong. I see a lot of crazy shit down here.” Pulling me to his side, he wraps his arm around my shoulder possessively.
Jax nods back, and I think maybe we all might walk away unscathed, until he opens his mouth. “No problem. Don’t blame you for being protective of Liv. You’re a lucky guy.” Jax smiles a cocky grin at me.
Is he insane? Or perhaps he has a death wish. Vinny’s grip on me tightens and I brace for his response...concerned it won’t be a verbal one. Luckily, Preach steps out, calling Vinny’s attention away for a few seconds, so he misses Jax’s wink at me.
Seriously?
“Gotta go talk to some reporters. You ready?” Preach catches sight of me on the other side of Vinny and smiles, “Our boy looked good out there, huh, Liv?”
I can’t help but smile at Preach, even though I’m still freaking out inside at the two men standing in front of each other. “That he did.” I smile up at Vinny, and I’m rewarded with a proud smile. His arm slung around my shoulder slides to the back of my neck and he squeezes it lightly, turning me toward him, taking my mouth in an unexpected kiss. He doesn’t care that two men are standing within feet of us, forced to watch as he kisses me senseless, and eventually, I don’t care either.
Releasing my mouth with a low growl, I turn to find Jax still standing there. His cocky grin is gone, replaced by something I can’t read. Jealousy perhaps?
“Alright, alright, you two can celebrate in private later. Let’s get this show on the road, lovebirds,” Preach teases.
Vinny begins to lead us away to follow Preach without so much as a word to Jax. Never one for being rude, I turn my head to say goodbye, “Take care, Jax,” and I feel every hair on my body stand on end when I look past Jax and find Senator Knight stopped at the other end of the hall, eyes locked on Vinny.
Chapter 32
Vince
The exhibition behind me, I need to focus on my upcoming fight. A shot at the belt. And a real shot at it too. Junior Lamaro. He drops his left, leaving himself open to my power right. He’s tough, but wrestling is his strongest discipline. Keeping away from the ground is the key to my winning.
I should be in the gym tonight, practicing my technique, but instead I’m in a fucking bar I haven’t visited in almost a year, looking for dirtbags that helped drag me down. Drug addicts. Dealers. Total fucking losers. Guys I used to consider my friends. Friends that were only too happy to keep me as fucked up as them when I was footing the bill.
I can’t seem to focus on what I need to with my mom’s shit still hanging over her head. Over both our heads. As usual, when her own self-induced pathetic life drags her down, I grab her and try to pull her out. Most of the time it winds up dragging me down with her.
The first three guys I talk to haven’t seen Jason in weeks. Guys that aren’t tied down to much easily disappear off the grid. But I’m finding this fucker. Probably beat him till he’s barely breathing for making me waste my time chasing after his ass when I should be training. The last breath I’ll let the two goons keeping tabs on my mother take care of.
A hand reaches around from behind me and grabs my groin. She’s lucky I didn’t respond with a punch, most of the time my reactions are automatic. It’s work for me to stop and redirect against something I’ve spent years training to respond to. Grabbing the hand reaching for me, I turn to find it’s attached to Krissy. Great, just fucking great. Could my night get any worse?
“Where you been, Vince?” She rests her two hands against my chest. I remove them quickly.
“Busy.” Turning my back to Krissy, I find her friend close behind me. Like two pack wolves, they box me in. I’m pretty sure the friend gave me head in the bathroom when I was at my low, getting high every day. I don’t even remember her name. Not that I care to anyway.
“Hi, Vince,” her friend purrs.
“Not interested.” Not here, not now, not ever again.
“I can make you interested.” She reaches up, makes it close to my mouth with her long red fingernail, but I catch her hand in mine before it touches me. Squeezing her little bony hand too hard, I think how easy it would be to fucking crush it, so I force myself to let go. But she gets my point.
“You know, Vince, the two of us could make you forget whatever is bothering you,” Krissy purrs from behind me. It makes me wonder how I ever stomached being with her. “We have enough for the three of us to party.”
Finally, something she says gets my attention. “You know Jason Buttles?”
“Maybe.” Krissy smiles, rocking back and forth. She’s being coy and thinks it’s cute, but it’s not, I find it god damn annoying. But I know how women like her work. I’ll get more from her giving her what she wants.
Turning to give her my full attention, I wrap one hand around the back of her neck and lower my face to hers as if I’m about to kiss her, but I don’t. I smile instead, “Can you get in touch with him?”
“Probably.” The two hands I removed from my chest are back, but this time I leave them be, even though it disgusts me to have them there.
“Do that for me.”