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On their way home, Xaiden stopped to put gas in his truck. He went inside to pay cash. While he was in the store, outside his world was ending.
A man who was high off his ass got in the driver’s seat and tried to steal Xaiden’s truck. Sasha punched him, started lashing out. We know this because there were scratches and bruises all over the man. He could hardly remember anything once he came down from his high.
He had fought with Sasha and ended up with his hands around her throat, not letting up until she stopped breathing.
Sasha died that night. Strangled. While Xaiden was inside paying and talking to the kid behind the counter who was a junior in our school. By the time Xaiden went back outside, the man behind the wheel of his truck had the door open and was scrambling to get out. Xaiden rushed over, pulled the man away, asking him what he was doing.
The man was strung out, eyes wild, shaking. Maybe it was from the drugs. Maybe it was from killing someone. Either way, Xaiden dragged him toward the store, yelling for Sasha to stay in the truck. Xaiden didn’t realize what the man had done yet.
The kid behind the counter called the police. They locked the man in a storage room so Xaiden could check on Sasha. When he got there, he saw the love of his life dead. He tried to revive her, but it was no use.
He was rounding the back of his truck to go inside the store when the police showed up. If they hadn’t been there, he would have tried and probably successfully killed the man who murdered Sasha.
Afterward, Xaiden shut down. He hardly talked to anyone. Dropped his plans for college. He started fighting underground, a way to channel his pain. Our parents tried to stop him with no success. Xaiden didn’t care how badly he got hurt. It was the only way he knew to release a little of what was inside him. Someone spotted the talent in him and a bit after he started fighting, he got an offer to become legitimate. To fight with a trainer, a sponsor, to work his way up in the ranks.
It was on the third anniversary of Sasha’s death when the fight finally left Xaiden after winning a few titles along the way. He came home that stormy Sunday when I was having dinner with our parents. He dropped to his knees in the middle of the dining room and wept. The man who killed Sasha was murdered in prison. Xaiden could stop fighting, stop hurting himself in the process. We surrounded him, held him tight.
Xaiden was so fucking lost. He didn’t know where to go or what to do. Our dad knew he had to give Xaiden a purpose. Dad was already planning on opening a gym. He changed the specifications for it and made it more than that. He made it a place where Xaiden could teach others how to fight, not just in a ring, but in self-defense too. If Xaiden could help someone else who was in a situation like Sasha was, it would be worth it to him.
The gym thrived today. Xaiden ran it, though he tended to show up when he felt like it. He had trainers under him, a full staff to take care of the place. Our parents signed it over to him a few years ago. Xaiden was still a quiet man but some of the light had returned to his eyes. I wasn’t sure it would ever all come back, but it was better than nothing.
“Xaiden,” I said softly to get his attention. He sat on the leather couch in my office at the club, staring off into space. Only family called him Xaiden. To him, Xaiden’s full name was used by those who cared about him, who loved him, who really knew him. We always said it, and so did Sasha.
He turned to look at me, his hair the same copper color as mine. He had his shaved on the sides, hanging longer on top. “Yeah?”
“Are you staying for the party?” Xaiden liked to drift in and out of here. I never knew when he’d show up. “Junior and Peyton will be here. Maybe Greer.” My brother loved them. Got as close to them as he did anyone who wasn’t family. They knew something bad had happened to Xaiden before they met him. It wasn’t brought up or discussed. Even our family didn’t mention Sasha anymore. She was a part of our lives so long ago. Xaiden had moved on the best he could, but losing her still haunted him.
“No. I just wanted to see how you are.”
Ever since shit went sideways with one of my dancers being abducted by another one of my dancers, Xaiden had been coming around more often. He knew I could handle myself, but he had a strong fear of losing someone else he loved.
“You don’t have to go out there. You can stay in here. Watch TV. Do whatever.”
He shook his head and stood. “I should leave. Mom asked me to stop by. I guess Dad tried to fix a leak on the kitchen sink and made it worse.”
“God forbid she hires someone to do it.” Our parents had more money than they’d ever know what to do with, yet if there was something wrong with the house, Mom would call us to come take a look.
Xaiden’s lips twitched in a half smile. “You know how she is.”
“I do.” I stood and went over to him, pulling him in for a hug. I patted his back before leaning away to look at him. “Where are you going after?” Some nights Xaiden ended up in my spare bedroom when the silence got to be too much for him.
Xaiden was lonely. He wouldn’t admit to it though. He preferred to find women to sleep with who didn’t want to get to know him. He didn’t care if they used him for his body. But I saw the torment in my brother’s eyes. He needed more; however, he was scared to death to ever go there again.
I could understand to an extent. The man I loved didn’t die. Came close more than once, but he was still walking the earth. I wished I could take Xaiden’s pain away. His loneliness. That was something he had to do for himself though. In the meantime, I’d be here for him, for whatever he needed.
“Home,” he said. “It’s been a long day.”
“If you need me—”
“I know, Dex. Thanks.” He left without another word, slipping out my office door, out of the club, and into the night.
I sighed and dropped back into my desk chair. I had to get my shit together so I could go out onto the main floor with a smile and be my usual charming self. It was Dominic’s birthday. He deserved to celebrate and have fun like the rest of my staff did when they had birthdays. Life should be celebrated. If anyone knew how fragile it could be, it was my family. It was yet another reason why I wouldn’t let anyone hurt the people I loved. Why I had fought to keep JJ safe. Why I would do whatever I needed to so my employees were looked after.
A knock on my door brought my attention to it. Simon stuck his head in. He was one of the guards at the club. “Boss, Dom wants to see you.”
“Let him in.”
Dominic entered my office wearing muted pink slacks, white suspenders with cherries on them, a bowtie that matched the slacks, no shirt, and one of those party hats that were common at children’s parties. There was even a pink pom-pom on top. I couldn’t help but laugh.
