Ahuge weight came off my chest after leaving that cursed house. I could breathe again. I tucked my scan photo in my back pocket, cleaned up my bag, and found my cut hanging in my room.
Melody smirked. “It looks like it was made for you.”
And metaphorically and in reality, it was. It felt right. I was made for it, just like I was made for Shooter.
Time was ticking by, and I knew that I was missing a good portion of the fight. I knew Shooter wouldn’t be furious with me, granted I could take on any punishment from him with pleasure. But it was when he would find out what happened, and I knew that he would kill Chris, and leave no trace behind, relieving the world of an evil.
When we left, Stray barely said how he was doing or any kind of update. I don’t know if I should have been worried or thankful.
As Melody drove through the neighborhood streets, headed toward the warehouse district, she grabbed my hand, pulling me away from my anxious thoughts. “Are you really okay, Mia?”
Ever the caretaker, I just nodded without a word. Was I really okay? How can you be okay when your worst nightmare becomes your reality? How can you be okay when you had to keep fighting to just breathe? But the real question was, how are you not crying happy tears that the demons of your reality were vanquished?
“I’m here if you want to talk.” She gripped my hand before placing it back on the steering wheel.
“You were right,” I said, keeping my voice low.
“I don’t want to be right.”
I shook my head. “You saw all those fucking months ago, everything that he left me with. You kept telling me to accept the help, and I didn’t, until it was almost too late.”
“It’s not your fault. None of this was your fault. Amelia,” she sighed. “You survived all this time on your own. You fought for so long. You will never have to fight alone again. Being a part of this club, of this family, you’ll never walk alone.” She glanced over at me. “We just have to be careful, you never know what’s going to happen.” A shiver of guilt appeared. “I’m not trying to scare you.”
“I know. I just can’t help but think, if I had reached out sooner, or actually took the first step and walked away from Chris,” I started to say, but Melody gripped my hand tightly.
“Again, I wasn’t trying to be right. I wanted you to know that you didn’t have to fight alone.”
“Well, we both know, I wasn’t really alone.” I softly smiled.
She let out a harmonious giggle, offering a sweet smile in return.
I hung my head for a moment. “Thanks for coming to find me.”
“That’s what family is for, sweet girl.”
“I’m surprised that Hound Dog let you come.”
She chuckled. “He didn’t have a choice. Granted I may have something waiting for me when we get back home. But he knows he can’t stop me when I have something on my mind.”
Stray had trailed along in the back, and with a roar of his bike, we were quickly approaching the warehouse. The parking lot was busy, and it seemed like it was a bigger fight than what Shooter had let on.
As soon as she could park in the back, I bolted out of the truck, pushing through doors until the roar of the audience grew with roars and even louder.
Fear shattered through me, seeing Shooter stumble a couple of times before getting back on his feet. They were only at nine rounds, but looking at the points, Shooter wasn’t doing too well.
His mind was somewhere else. He still had two minutes in that round to do something, if anything just to keep protecting himself.
“Last call, place your bets, last call,” a nasally voice rang out. I looked to see a shorter man and another taller man collecting money. I hated gambling, but a somewhat stupid idea popped into my head. I rummaged through my purse, grabbing my wallet. I took a deep breath before thinking about what I would do next.
A hand slipped on my shoulder, and Melody tried to say, “You might want to hurry, they only get a minute of rest before the next round.”
“I know, but I got to do something,” I urged her. She quickly disappeared toward the ring as I turned back to the booming voice.
“Last call,” the voice said again.
I rushed to him, without thinking and blurted, “I got five hundred on Shooter.”
The man chuckled. “Little lady, I’ll happily take your money, but to be honest, no one has placed anything on him. Maybe a couple, but the majority has gone to his opponent.”
