Page 47 of Strike

Page List

Font Size:

Her eyelashes fluttered like she was fighting back tears. “Yeah,” she said. “I need to hear it.”

Sighing, I continued. “Every time we met up, she would have a new bruise. I didn’t think anything of it because she trained as well, you know? They have to keep their bodies in top shape, and at the time, she was learning MMA. Bruises happen. They’re part of the job. She also… She also liked being rough…in bed. She never once said no or stop. It was always yes.Always.” I shook my head, the humiliation of my downfall washing over me. It was as raw as it was the first time around. “I wasn’t the nicest guy, but I never hurt her. The first I heard of the allegations was when the cops knocked on my door and arrested me.”

“You choked her,” Callie whispered.

“She asked me to.” I shoved down the urge to shout it at her. “She asked me to, so I did. It was her word against mine. The evidence was against me, so it was either serve time in an American prison or settle out of court. So I settled and came home.”

Callie didn’t say anything. She just stared at her hands as her fingers worried the hem of her shirt.

“I lost everything because of that woman. My reputation, my money, my career, my relationships. It was all gone. The only place I had left was The Underground. I fought there under an alias, but my downfall soon caught up with me. Soon, the entire world hated me for somethingI didn’t do. It was still my word against hers. Nothing will ever change.”

I stood abruptly and strode over to the window. Staring at the street below, I tried not to dwell on the awful thought going through my mind.Maybe I should just end it. But that would be too easy.

“So why do you push everyone away?” Her voice was quiet. Tentative.

“Because I’m tainted,” I replied, not turning around. “Everyone who touches me gets hurt. Either by my hand or by association. This is my karma.”

I wasn’t smart enough to think of a word to describe the sadness in my heart, but it ached worse than my broken arm. It was…darkness.

“I’m a self-destructive piece of shit,” I muttered, knowing she could hear every word. “I can’t promise you easy.”

Leather creaked, and a moment later, Callie appeared beside me. Her arm slid through mine, and her emerald eyes burned into the side of my face.

“So?” she asked. “What are you going to do now?”

I glanced at her, my brow furrowing. What was I going to do? Bow down at her feet and lick her shoes pretty much.

“Try,” I replied. “All I can do is try.”

“I’ve never felt like this before,” she began, her voice wavering. “I’m not sure what to do either, you know.”

“I don’t believe it. A woman like you?”

“Like me?” She scowled.

“Yeah. A woman like you,” I said more firmly. “Intelligent, driven, successful…beautiful.”

She snorted and rolled her eyes.

“I want to live up to that,” I murmured. “For the first time in my life, I want… I want to be a better man. For you. For your heart, Callie.”

Her eyes sparkled as she turned to face me completely. “You really believe those things about me?”

I nodded. “Yeah. I do.”

“Then listen to me,” she declared. “You deserve to be loved, Mark Ryder.”

I froze, my heart beating wildly in my chest.

“I don’t know what’ll happen next,” she went on. “But all I can do is try. Are you with me?”

“You believe me?”

“I believe you.”

My heart soared. “I’m so with you I’m already there.”

Sliding my hand over her waist, I tugged her against my body, and the moment our lips touched, I was a goner.