Page 35 of Strike
“So it’s my fault now?” I exclaimed, throwing my hands into the air. “I want nothing to do with you. I don’t want to be like her.”
“You’re not listening.” He lowered his gaze and shook his head.
“I can hear you loud and clear,” I declared. “You saved my life, and now it’s your stepping-stone back into the UFC. You said it yourself, Mark. You walked over everyone and everything on your way to the top. You fell off the wagon, and now here’s your chance to jump back on with a bonus fuck on the side. At least you had the decency to use a condom.” I glared at him, my heart broken completely in two. “Now it’s your turn to listen. I won’t be anyone’s stepping-stone. I’ve worked too hard to let anyone trample on my dreams. Unlike you, I’ve got integrity. I do things the honest way. Shit, and bashing a woman? You’ve got some nerve coming here trying to guilt me into forgiving you. That’s how these things work. The cycle of violence doesn’t stop at a couple of backhands.”
He stared at me, his expression cold. There was no warmth in his eyes, no movement on his lips…there was nothing at all. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting—more of a fight maybe—but his lack of emotion led me to believe everything I’d just said was true.
“Get the fuck out of my shop and my life, and never come back.” I turned and opened another box, pulling out the contents and stacking it into a plastic tub. “If you do come back, I’m calling the cops and getting a restraining order.”
There was no movement behind me for a moment, and then there was the sound of his retreating footsteps. I knew he was gone because the air had turned cold, and my skin was prickling with goose bumps.
My hands began to tremble, and I squeezed my eyes shut. Taking a deep breath, I swallowed my tears and got back to work.
I’d dodged a bullet, so why did I feel like the biggest piece of shit out there?
Squashing down the wave of nausea threatening to overwhelm me, I slammed the storeroom door closed and locked it.
14
Storm
Iwasin the mood to do something stupid. Real fucking stupid.
Leaning against the bar at The Underground, I considered getting plastered before my fight with Crowbar. That would be really idiotic. Practically suicidal.
I never hurt anyone. I wanted to scream it at Callie over and over until she heard me, but she was determined not to listen. She’d made her mind up, and that was that. She’d listened to the lie, and it was enough for her. I didn’t try to explain because it was pointless. I’d seen that look before.
Thinking of her body next to mine, my jaw tightened. We’d only spent a handful of days together, and I already knew she meant more. We could’ve been like Hamish and Lori one day. We could’ve been in love.
What the hell did I want with that? I snorted and began grinding my teeth. Who wants to fall in fucking love? All it ever brought anyone was a heap of trouble and hurt feelings. I wasn’t cut out for it, anyway.Whatever.
I didn’t need anyone.
“You’re a real dark horse, you know that?”
I glanced up at Faye and scowled. “Don’t let the stories fool you, Faye. I’m still a dick.”
“Get over it, Storm,” she retorted.
“Stop trying to make me into something I’m not, Faye.”
“You’re unbelievable.” She shook her head and walked off, flicking her hair over her shoulder as she went.
Now that word was out about the fire, The Underground was buzzing with a different kind of Storm flavored gossip. It should’ve made me happy, but all I could think about was Callie.Get the fuck out of my shop and my life, and never come back.
The hatred in her emerald eyes cut me right to the bone. The venom in her parting words had poisoned any hope I’d had left inside me.Never come back.
Glancing over my shoulder at The Underground, a woman smiled and battered her eyelashes in my direction. Looking her over, my immediate thought wasshe wasn’t Callie. Glancing to my right, another woman was leaning against the bar giving me her best ‘come fuck me’ eyes.Not Callie, either. None of these women were.
Cursing under my breath, I put my head down and carved a path through the warehouse before pushing out back. At least it was quieter, and there weren’t any random vaginas trying to find their way onto my cock.
Callie, Callie, Callie…Now it was her turn to haunt me. I didn’t understand it when she’d said the same thing in her social media post, but now? She was under my skin and was itching like hell.
The men’s change room was bustling, and when I walked in, all eyes turned to me. Instead of hatred, I saw respect. And I fucking hated them for it. I wasn’t a hero. I just did something that needed to be done. I saved a woman’s life only to break her heart.
I should’ve remained anonymous.
“Hey, Storm!”
