Rebel Walking: Fighting The Odds Part 8

Chapter Ten.

Luke What have I done? That was the biggest d.i.c.k move that I've ever pulled on a woman. Kimber didn't deserve that. She means something to me and I just let her think she was just filling a void. She in part was, but that's not all.

"Kimber. I'm sorry. I didn't want to hurt you."

"You didn't. That loud moaning was me loving what you were doing." She's trying to play this off. I can't allow for her to think that she isn't important to me. I sit up in the bed and face her.

"I care about you, I really do. I don't want you to think that was all about me missing Lilly."

"I know. Please don't worry about it."

"No. I was just the biggest d.i.c.k. I've just been so attracted to you and it's caused a s.h.i.t storm of emotions to surface. I wasn't ready to face them and that's why I've been so ridiculous lately."

"I get it, Luke. You love her. I understand how that has to hurt." She gets it, but does she really? Do I?

"Let me get a towel."

"I'm going to grab a shower." This is my opportunity to try to make her understand how I feel about her too. I truly like her. I can't understand where that fits in both of our lives, but if I learned anything from Lilly, it's that you can't wait to tell people how you feel. Sometimes it can be too late and then regret is all you can think about.

"I'll shower with you."

This shower is the smallest one in the world. I'm thinking the shower on the tour bus is larger than this one. I use the soap to wash her body, paying attention to every curve that I've been eying the last few days.

Her skin is soft and I've missed feeling the silk of a woman's skin more than I knew was possible. She's beautiful. Her dark hair flows over one shoulder allowing me access to her neck.

Kiss. "I love kissing you here." Lick. "And licking here." Nibble. "I'd like to bite right here on your shoulder. You should be able to feel that through your body." Her body relaxes and I know she feels it.

Turning her around, I focus on her. Her face, lips, eyes, ears, neck, t.i.ts.... just beautiful.

"Kimber, you're gorgeous. I'm not going to get any sleep tonight." She wraps her fingers in my hair and pulls my head down for a pa.s.sionate kiss. My d.i.c.k loves it.

Stepping out of the shower, I slip and slide to my bag where the condoms are. Wrapping it up again, I step into the shower for round two with her. This time, my thoughts are all about her.

She lifts her legs and wraps them around my waist. I use my hands to guide her so that I can enter her again. The feel of her as she slides down me is f.u.c.king insane. Perfection and somehow I knew it would be.

"You're perfect."

"Luke, so are you. Please, move already." I take her comment as a demand that she's ready to move even though I'm lost in the moment. It's comical to find me working it in slow motion, but it just seems perfect for us right now.

She places her hands on the top of the shower door behind her and I latch on to her perfect nipples, biting just hard enough to cause her to gasp.

I start moving. Moving hard and slow, relishing every time I fill her completely. I'm just about to shudder through my release when the f.u.c.king shower door bust out of the track and shatters all over the floor. She wraps her arms around my head and squeezes tight.

"Don't f.u.c.king stop!" Turning her around, I smile at her desperation. The shocking sound of gla.s.s shattering did something to make my heart race even faster and my pace picks up.

Apparently it was good for her, because she tightens her whole body and begins to quiver giving me a chance to pump into her a couple more times before I unload into my condom again.

The convenience of shower s.e.x isn't lost on me. It's a quick clean up, unless you shatter the f.u.c.king door all over the place. I toss a towel on the floor to get us out of there without cutting our feet up.

We're both so tired, we pick up the mess and slide into bed. She lays in my arms and I let my hand slide over her skin.

"Kimber, I'm going to make sure you get out of here. I want you safe. You'll have me in your life as long as you want me to help you."

"Thank you, Luke." Her whisper blows across my chest and I close my eyes to finally rest.

I wake up the next morning before my alarm clock goes off, completely rested. I haven't slept that hard in months. She's curled into my side and the light from the street allows me to see the curve of her body.

She's a beautiful person who's been through so much. She deserves a life away from this. She deserves people who will love her and treat her right. It's in this moment that I decide that I need to take her back to Missouri with me after the fight. The group will accept her and it will give her a chance to heal from everything she's been through.

Chapter Eleven.

Luke The last few days of training have been hard. I work with Lou all day until late night, then Kimber and I continue to grow closer. I haven't told her that I want to leave with her yet, but I don't think she'll argue with me about it. I'm waiting for that a.s.shole to give me the cash. I won't step into the cage unless I get fifty thousand dollars in cash.

"Mr. Jacobs. It's nice to know you decided to go through with it. There was a special request from a fighter to match up with you for the fight."

"Where's my f.u.c.king money?" I take notice that he knows my name. Not sure how he found out, but he did his research.

"It's here." He holds up a bag. Kimber hasn't said a word to the man who gave her life. She hasn't even made eye contact with him. He's fueling me to fight even harder with every bulls.h.i.t move he makes.

I'm pretty much packed up to leave. I don't have much that I want to take back. The guitars and a large duffle bag and I'm good to go. I got a trailer to pull my bike behind her Jeep. I had to withdraw money from my account to get everything lined out, but in the end it's worth it to blow my cover to get out of here. I plan to head straight to Missouri anyway.

I need to say goodbye to Mrs. G before we leave, but other than that, it's time to leave.

He hands me the bag before he walks out the door.

"It's almost over."

The sound of someone at the door pulls my eyes from Kimber. Lou enters with Holden, Talon, and Taron.

"What are you guys doing here?"

"That's my question for you." I know they'll have questions, but I need to focus on this fight.

"I'm going to go into this fight with a strong head, so we'll talk about all of this after the fight if you don't mind."

"We're not leaving here without you, so do what you need to do so we can get the f.u.c.k on the road." Holden has always been no nonsense.

"Kimber. This is Holden, Taron, and Talon. They're my friends and I want you to stand with them during the fight. They will make sure you are safe. I trust them with my life." Her nod makes me feel better.

"d.a.m.n. Luke. Ripped much? You're putting my a.s.s to shame."

"Taron, I always have put you to shame." Laughter fills the room and I missed that sound so much.

"Alright, alright. I need my fighter focused. Everyone out!" Lou runs the crowd from the room. I hand Holden the money before he walks out.

"Hold this for me. Watch your back with this." He knows what I need.

"She's safe with us and so is this bag. Go kick someone's a.s.s so we can get out of here." They leave the room and I'm left with Lou, who I expect to talk me up.

"Luke, I need to tell you something. You're going up against Greg. We need to talk about a few things." His announcement excites me. It surprises me too, but it's a good one. I wanted to finish him and this will be my chance.

It's dark in the background and lights blind me in the face. I can't see her, but I know she's with the guys. She's safe. It'll be my pleasure to mop the mother f.u.c.kin floor with this guy's face. All I have to do is think about all the hurt he's caused Kimber. This f.u.c.ker killed a baby, and that's all I need to think about to ruin him. The big problem will be me stopping before I kill him.

The sound of the latch as the cage closes changes me. I'm completely hardened. One goal. Mutilate this a.s.shole. Then I can leave here and take her away from this h.e.l.l.

Kimber I hate my father for doing this. This just proves there's nothing he wouldn't do to me to get money. He knows this fight will be the last one that I'll attend and he chooses to make me resent him even more by forcing Luke to fight Greg. I know Luke is ready for this fight, but Greg is a great fighter. He's not afraid to fight dirty and I know Luke won't go there.

As soon as Lou found out who Luke would be up against, he met us to talk about the way he fights. I know how he fights... but he doesn't hold a chance in h.e.l.l against Luke.

The sound of the latch closing scares me. Everything is riding on this fight and I start to second guess letting him fight for me. I don't want him to get hurt trying to help me. I'm beginning to fall in love with this man and it's just not right that he's in there to fight my battles.

Luke is so focused on Greg. His intense look scares me. I hope he doesn't let his anger remember the basics that Lou taught him. Greg is famous for playing with a fighter's emotion to get an edge up.

"YOU'VE GOT THIS LUKE!" I know he can't hear me, but I need to yell for him, my heart can't take being silent any longer.

The Walkers surround me. Luke trusts these guys and that's all I need to know- that I'm in good hands. These guys are ma.s.sive.

"He looks enraged. I don't f.u.c.king like this s.h.i.t." Holden talks over my head to the twin to my left. I wonder if Luke told them about Greg. I'm afraid if he did that these guys wouldn't even talk to me.

"We just have to get him through this fight, then on the next plane out of here." I hope they can get him to agree to that. Luke needs people who care for him in his life. His way of coping is to isolate himself and it did nothing but fester deep inside until he finally unloaded. I'm just glad I could be there for him. The way he talks about Lilly breaks my heart. I know he loves her. I know he misses her more than anything, but he can't keep hiding from life to avoid the memories of her. It's obvious the memories follow regardless. I hope he learns to accept them and remember the good times. Of course, it's easy for me to say this, I'm not living his nightmare.

The bell rings and I catch a glimpse of Greg's face. I know that look and now I'm really worried. I start looking for signs of what he's up to.

They meet in the middle and Luke starts landing shots from both sides. Greg blocks a few, but for the most part Luke has this, that is until Greg wraps around him and sends him to the ground.

Greg straddles Luke and begins. .h.i.tting him in the face. Luke moves quickly to get him off, but it becomes a battle to bust the grip Greg has on Luke's body. Luke punches where he can, trying to tire him out. I hate this. I know at any moment the tables can turn and my heart can't take it.

The bell rings and Greg doesn't let him go. They ring the bell again, but he still doesn't release him. There isn't an official in the cage with them and this is not good. The sound of the bell rings through the loud room multiple times until Greg finally lets go. It's obvious Greg says something to Luke, because rage overtakes every muscle in Luke's body.

Luke walks backwards to his corner, watching Greg saunter away the entire way. If looks could kill, Greg would die the slowest, most painful death possible.

Luke finally turns to look at Lou on the outside. Lou is in his face talking to him and rubbing the Vaseline on his face. I look for swelling, but don't see any visible injuries on him. You'd think since I've been around this my entire life, I'd be used to this. Why does this seem so different?

"He did good that round. Luke is a bada.s.s, he can handle this guy." The quiet and calm twin says this and it almost makes me feel comforted. Almost.

Greg looks at me. Looks deep into me. I can't turn from him. I refuse to cower down to him anymore. Standing as tall as my short frame will allow, I match his stare. I can see him adjusting his wrap, then he smiles at me, showing me his mouth guard and c.o.c.ky smirk. My body f.u.c.king freezes as I realize what he's about to do. My father has done this. I will never forgive my father for this. There's no doubt in my mind that my gut instinct is right when I look at Greg's hands. It's the slightest sparkle off the razor blade that verifies it.

I push away from the people in front of me, only to have a strong hand grab my shoulder.

"Where are you going?"

"Get the f.u.c.k off of me. I have to go help him."

"Not on your life, Firecracker. You're staying with us."

"You don't understand. I need to go to my father."

Ring. The sound of the bell freezes my heart. My breath stops and there's no way I can let him do this to Luke.

"NOOOOOOO. LUKE NOOOOOO. HE HAS A RAZOR BLADE." I'm yelling at the top of my lungs, but Luke doesn't hear me. My stomach lands on Holden's shoulder as he hauls me back to where we were standing. I'm not sure who this f.u.c.ker thinks he is, but I have to get down there.

"I swear to G.o.d, I will kick your a.s.s if you don't let me down." My voice is lost in the crowd and the Walkers have no idea what they've just done.

I find my father and see him watching me. It's obvious that he's bet against Luke and his expression tears my insides out. Horror rushes over me and tears flow from my eyes.

"You have to stay here. I promised Luke that I wouldn't let you out of my reach."

"Luke is in trouble. Do you not even care?"

"What do you mean?"

"Greg is about to fight dirty. We've been set up. Luke will be tortured." His confused look frustrates me. These people have obviously never been near the scene.

"How will he be tortured?"

"Razor blade." Look of realization flushes Holden's face.

"f.u.c.k."

My eyes are pulled to the cage and Luke as he moves to the middle again.

"Please let me get closer. I need to warn him." Holden grabs my hand and we bust through the few rows of people separating where we stand and the cage.

"LUKE. HE HAS A RAZOR BLADE. WATCH HIS LEFT!" Luke turns to see me, and Greg lands an upper cut with his left. Blood.

"f.u.c.k this. Open the cage." Holden's anger begins to boil over along with mine and the twins have now moved closer.

My eyes never leave Luke. He moves quick to block the next few shots, but mainly focuses on the left. His face is bleeding and it's hard to see how bad the cut really is.

Greg lands a shot to Luke's side and Luke pulls back to grab the spot he was just hit. Blood trickles from his hand and it's as if true realization finally hits. Luke's real rage takes over and he moves in on Greg without any fear. He unleashes the beast on Greg and fights like I've never seen him fight. He doesn't stop until the bell rings. f.u.c.king bell.

I shove my way to his corner to see him. I need to see him and I need him to see me. I'm sure the Walkers are following me, I don't have time to care.

"LUKE, YOU CAN STOP THIS. JUST END THE FIGHT. I DON'T NEED THE f.u.c.kING MONEY. I CAN'T WATCH YOU GET HURT ANYMORE." My voice travels over the rumble of the crowd, and even if it didn't the fact that I've climbed my way right in front of him helps.