Page 50 of Wild for the Knight

I pull my hand away, moving toward his head so I can look at him. “What's your pain level?” His eyes snap open as they harden on mine.

He grunts, and the sound brings a feeling of familiarity. One that I’d usually associate with Jerk Tatum, but now, it’s one that pulls at something in my stomach. One that feels like a blooming flower on a spring day, slowly opening to something beautiful. I’ve seen behind the walls he’s built so high around him, and while there are still some days I wish I didn’t, I couldn’t be more thankful that it’s me he’s let them down for.

When he doesn’t answer, I purse my lips. He rolls his eyes in response, “Two or three. It doesn’t hurt, just feels tight. Pulls a bit when I move too fast.” I believe him, but I also am not risking him doing any more damage to it. I pull out a foam roller and give him a list of exercises to do.

He looks disappointed, so I throw him a bit of a bone. “You sit here and stretch out, and I’ll pay you back for your little kitchen show. This time, though, it’ll be a stretch and a show instead of dinner.” I kiss his cheek before pushing up off the ground and hopping into the ring to do my own warm up.

Jen smiles at me, her motherly smile is so warm it makes me wish they’d have more kids, just so I could see it more often. “Happy looks good on you,” she says as she throws a wink in my direction. “Maybe share some of those pastelitos with him.” She doesn’t wait around for my response; she already knows it, and then she disappears through the front doors of the gym. With that, I wrap up my hands and get to work. While it’s kind of distracting to know he’s here, I may work a little harder just to give him the show I promised.

“Wanna come over?” I ask as we head to our cars. It was raining earlier, so it only makes sense that Tatum’s blacked out SUV is in the parking lot instead of his bike. He nods, looking around as we walk. “See you there?” His gaze swings to mine, the smile he gives me makes my knees wobble.

Happiness radiates from him in a way that makes me want to bottle it up and keep for a rough day. “See you there, Tink.” He says as he breaks away from the formation we were in, stopping quickly before turning to look at me over his shoulder, “I’d kiss you, but Samuels is standing inside the gym looking at us.” My head snaps in the direction of the door, and sure enough, Sameuls, Reed, and Wilson are all standing there with their arms crossed over their chests.

My eyes narrow on them as a groan escapes me. I’m never going to hear the end of this one. Were they in the gym while we were? If they were, I didn’t even notice. Let’s be real, though, I didn’t notice anyone but him. I kissed his cheek! Oh Lord. I can feel all the shit they’re going to give me already. Whatever, he’s worth it.

As I get to the car, the overwhelming scent of gas assaults my senses. I unlock my door, throw the bag in the front, and then look under the car. There’s no wet spot on the pavement, so my car isn’t leaking anything. Weird. It’s then that I realized I forgot my plate of cheesy goodness sitting on the bench in the locker room. No way am I leaving that here.

I slam my door, lock it, and run back inside. Ignoring the curious looks from the Hawks players who are now huddled around the squat rack, I extract my plate of deliciousness and walk back outside. Tatum’s parked to the left of the doors with his flashers on. Aww, he waited for me. What a sweetheart, I wave and smile at him as I hold up the plate. He lifts his hand that was resting on the steering wheel in acknowledgement.

Clicking the button on my key fob, I remote start my car. Except the second it roars to life, it goes up in flames, knocking me on my ass in the process. What. The. Hell? My mouth drops open, and I vaguely recognize Tatum’s frantic yelling in the background, but I don’t have any idea what he’s saying. My car, the first big girl purchase I ever made, is burning, and my only thought is that it could have been him. I could have lost him.

A strong arm wraps around my waist, pulling me from the ground and into his familiar chest. I can’t tear my eyes away from the blaze. “Abby.” His voice is strained, but I can’t make my voice work. “Abby!” he yells as he turns me in his arms. His eyes are wild, and people from inside the gym have come out to see what all the commotion is.

All this time I’ve spent wondering if the threats were serious, I guess we know the answer now.

Chapter 27 - Tatum

My heart is beating so fast I feel like there’s a hummingbird trapped in my chest. The second I saw her hit the ground, my world stopped. Had she not used the fob to start her car, she would have been inside when it went up in flames. She could have died, at the very least suffered from some serious burns.

The fire department is here, and the guys from the Hawks have rallied around the two of us. I asked them not to tell my brother or Hannah until we figure out what happened. We all agreed that while we don’t want to keep it from them, those two are the biggest overthinkers on the planet, and the last thing we need is them flipping out, asking all the questions we don’t have the answers to yet.

Abby hasn’t said a word. She’s just watched the flames dance over her car, her face a mask of indifference. I, however, haven’t let go of her since I pulled her off the ground. Dex and his patrol partner arrived about ten minutes ago. They tried to ask her questions, but she just stared blankly at them. So, I told them what I knew, what I saw. They asked if she needed to be taken to the hospital, but she shook her head no. Dex said Eilliot was already working to take down any and all evidence of this from the internet, while also keeping it from being put on the news. While I greatly appreciate that, I wish it hadn’t gotten to this point in the first place. With that, they gave us the okay to leave, stating the car is going to be towed for investigation. The fire department will determine what caused the fire, and then they’ll go from there.

She doesn’t move, so I pick her up and place her in the front seat, buckling her seat belt before closing the door behind her. When I get to the front of my car, I turn to face the guys. “I’m going to take her to my place. I don’t want her to be alone.” They nod, Samuels flashing an eyebrow at me in question. “Now's not the time to get into it, man. I’m not going to hurt her.” He simply nods, they stand guard as I make my way to the driver's side, climb in, and pull away from the curb.

As soon as we’re out of the parking lot, my hand finds her thigh. “Abby, talk to me.” I squeeze slightly, “Please.” The car rolls to a stop at a light, and I turn to look at her. Her eyes are still blank, lifeless.

She blinks slowly. “Home.” Is all she gives me, and I doubt I’ll get much more even if I push for it. I aimlessly run my thumb slowly up and down her thigh. I don’t know what she needs right now, so I’ll give her what I can until she tells me to stop.

Pulling into my parking spot, I take a deep breath, hoping it will quell some of the adrenaline running through me. It doesn’t, but I need to get her inside. Pulling her door open, she still hasn’t moved, her seat belt is still buckled, and her hands are still tightly laced together in her lap. “Come on, sweetheart,” I say as I lean over her, releasing her belt and wrapping her arms around my neck. I carry her into my apartment like she’s a koala, and there’s nothing that compares to the feeling of knowing she’s safe in my arms.

“What the hell happened?” Zeke yells from his room as the front door slams shut behind me.

I don't put her down, instead, I drop my bag to the floor, putting one arm under her thighs to support her while I cradle the back of her head with the other. The second his face comes into view, it matches the murderous feeling I’ve got on the inside. “Samuels texted me.” Well, that’s just great.

She groans against me as she lowers her feet to the ground. I let her go but put my hands on her shoulders to steady her. “I need you to give me something here, Tink. You haven’t said a word.” Her chin quivers, and it takes everything in me not to walk out the door and turn this city inside out until I find whoever did this.

She looks up at me through her lashes, lashes that have tears clinging to them. It’s moments like this that humanize her, that make me realize she has feelings. Feelings that actually get hurt. She isn’t the cold, heartless robot with a chip on her shoulder. She’s a woman who felt like being tough was her only option, except on the inside, she may as well be a little kid crying out for affection.

When she finally speaks, it’s not anything close to what I thought she’d say. “Do you know what I was most afraid of the second I realized what was happening?” My hands run up her shoulders, coming to rest on the sides of her neck as I shake my head.

I fear that if I open my mouth, she’ll shut down. She’s already a flight risk, I can't take a chance at pushing her over the edge. “That it could have been you. You drive my car all the time, Tate. That could have been you.”

I can barely process what she just said. I suddenly feel like I’m spinning wildly out of control. She wasn’t thinking about herself. Wasn’t concerned with her own safety. She was scared for me. I spent so much time convincing myself that we were nothing more than enemies with a complicated truce whenever Hannah and my brother were around. All that time, I could have been cared for like this?

She huffs out a breath through her nose. “I love you.” A tear rolls down her cheek, and she catches it with her tongue before looking fully up at me. “I hate that I love you.” Pain laces her voice as she continues. “Out of all the people in the world, you were the last person I expected to love.”

She pauses, twisting the ring on her thumb, “I hate that we wasted so much time clawing at each other, I hate that you make me feel things I’ve tried to keep locked away.” My entire body freezes as I stare at her, and there are tears sliding down her cheeks.