I point the gun at Jack, but I can’t do anything. Fuck. There’s no way that I won’t hit Jon if I pull the trigger. They’re too close together. But Jon doesn’t need the help. He’s unleashed himself and his perfect precision on Jack’s face, and I see the moment he connects.
Jack goes still, but Jon keeps hitting him. Jack’s face is bloody, but he’s unconscious, if not worse. Jon’s going to kill him, and as much as I have no sympathy for this man, I’m not letting Jon go to jail.
“Jon, stop.” He doesn’t. “Stop!”
Suddenly he looks at me and sees the gun, and he registers what he’s done. He stands as lights burst through the trees.
“Police!”
Jon and I raise our hands. “It’s Lawson,” the officer shouts. “Singleton is unconscious.”
I put down the gun, but I move my hands slowly and keep them in front of me. The two cops don’t even seem to pay any attention to me, scooping up the gun and moving to secure Singleton. And then I’m in Jon’s arms, wrapped up so tightly that I can barely breathe.
And I don’t care. If I get to stay in his arms I never have to breathe again. “Are you okay?”
“My hand will hurt tomorrow,” he says. “But other than that, I’m fine.”
“How did you find me?”
He smiles in the darkening light. “There’s a tracker in Georgie’s collar. In all the dog’s collars. They told Ben that they were taking you to a different hotel than what you told me. And Ben and I pieced it together.”
Behind him, the cops have cuffed Singleton, though he is still unconscious on the ground.
Jon tilts my face up and studies me. His fingertips run over my cheeks and down my shoulders, searching for signs of injury. They move frantically with equal parts possession and care. “Are you all right?”
“Yes,” I say through chattering teeth. I’m uninjured but I’m wet and cold, and given what could have happened, that’s nothing. Georgie scrabbles for attention at my hip, and I scratch him behind his ears.
“When I realized that he had you,” Jon says, “I was terrified. And the only thing I wanted to do was to tell you that I loved you. Not casually. Not as a slip up that I could brush off or that you could ignore. But truly. To look you in the eyes and tell you I love you. I don’t care if you think it’s too soon. It’s not for me. I love you, Sadie.”
“I love you,” I say back. Because of course I do. It’s impossible not to. Something connected us that first night and never let us go. And when I heard his voice, at a time when I was more scared than I’d ever been my entire life, I knew. I just knew. This is the man who is meant for me. Who will love me and protect me no matter what. Yes, we met in the most casual way, and I never intended for any of this, but I can’t deny what’s in front of me, and it’s not something I can ever let go.
He kisses me, and I swear that the entire world could be on fire, and I wouldn’t care, as long as I got to kiss him more. As long as I could stay in his arms forever
In spite of everything, we are going to be okay.
12
Jon
If I thought that people wanted to talk to me about my fight victories, it is nothing compared to the press attention and requests I’m getting after being involved in a kidnapping rescue.
The story about Sadie’s kidnapping and rescue went national. Naturally, Sadie is made for flashy front pages and the evening news, but also the body cam footage from the cops was leaked. It showed me beating the hell out of Singleton as Sadie picked up the gun. It was a moment made for television, and the attention has been pretty intense.
Sadie and I became media sensations over night. Some of the magazine covers have been positively hilarious, making us look like some mercenary couple: guns blazing and looking to put bad guys behind bars. Even if the story has been blown way out of proportion, Sadie’s network is going crazy over the PR and it’s basically assured her that she can have her choice of assignments going forward. Bill is pretty unhappy, and ever the prick, he is treating her worse than ever now that she is on top. But since I’ve started randomly showing up at the studio to surprise Sadie, he’s kept himself in line.
The case against Jack Singleton is clear-cut. He is being charged with kidnapping and assault, as well as the threat against me and the damage to Sadie’s house. Since he was arrested, more witnesses have come forward to confirm the dog fighting ring, so those charges are going to stick, too. He will be going away for a long time.
Of course, not all of our press coverage has been complimentary. There have been some personal stories about our relationship, some implying Sadie is just a rebound for me after being abandoned by Kristy. And of course Kristy gave her own interview and tried to add fuel to that fire. Other stories featured the still from the body cam of us kissing and suggested that love was going to make me unfocused and soft. That my edge is gone and there is no way that I could continue my winning streak. Seriously, the stories have been all over the place.
I managed to stay focused, though, through all the hype and distraction. Mostly because Frank doesn’t give me another choice. And this morning, the front pages will be splashed with news of my decisive win at my fight last night. That’s where I want the focus. Not on my personal life or on Sadie, but on my sport, and I have no plans to change that right now. If anything, I feel more focused and sharper than I’ve ever felt in my life. It seems love has given me more to fight for.
I will never forget how powerless I felt when I thought I was going to lose Sadie before we barely had a chance to get started. So I’m going to fight harder in every aspect of my life to make our lives perfect.
And right now, in this moment, it is perfect. I have a few rest days after major fights, so I don’t have to leave my bed to go running this morning. I get to stay here with Sadie stretched out naked beside me. She’s gorgeous in her sleep, with her hair flying in every direction over her pillow, her face perfectly relaxed.
She basically lives here now. Neither of us wanted to be apart after the incident with Jack, and we fell into it more easily than I expected. All the dogs—especially Georgie—are completely taken with her.
I think I’d be literally in the doghouse if I ever tried to take her away from them. They’re currently piled at the foot of the bed. But given the way the comforter is falling down her back, I’m tempted to kick the dogs out of the room and go for a little morning sex.
Gently, I drag my fingers down her side and watch her shiver. See the goosebumps rise in the dim morning light. God, I need to touch her. I pull her closer and wrap my arms around her.
Sadie stirs but doesn’t wake, smiling softly. Or maybe she is awake because she sighs, her words slurring as she turns to me. “Are you just going to watch me sleep?”
“I love to watch you. I could watch you all day long.”
“Creeper,” she says, smiling a little deeper.
I smile. “I’ve seen you watch me in the gym plenty of times, Miss Crawford.”
Her eyes open. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh? You think I don’t notice when you sneak down to watch Frank beat the hell out of me. Or how your eyes are glued to my sweatpants when I jump rope.”