Chapter 25

25

Perrie – One Week Later

I bounce on the balls of my feet, taking quick breaths as I punch the air with fast jabs, trying to ignore the banging echoing in the room from the crowd outside.

I’m in the dressing room at The Fight trying to psych myself up.

Viking called and said someone requested a fight against me tonight. Apparently, they’re also undefeated and have made waves about being the only person who can take me down, to the point that people are actually betting against me, which encouraged me to accept the challenge.

This jackass is going to find out exactly how angry I am right now.

I roll my shoulders as the crowd starts cheering loudly.

“Looks like you're up next, darling,” Steal says from the bench, and I nod.

“You know no males are supposed to be in here when I’m here,” I remind him.

He chuckles. “You’re basically my sister, and like fuck am I leaving you alone in here, not after….” He clears his throat. “Anyway, Acid would kill me if I didn’t look out for you.”

I shake my head, a small smile passing my lips before I clear my throat, place my hands on my hips, and ask, “Anything?”

He gives me a sad smile but shakes his head. “No, darling. I’m sorry, no letter.”

I nod, but I quickly turn away.

Three days and no letters. For nearly six weeks, he’d send one a day, but for some reason, they’ve stopped, and now, I’m going insane.

I’ve been at The Fight three nights in a row.

“He’ll contact you soon, Perrie. You know he’s trying to get through his problems,” Steal continues, and I sniffle, wiping away the tears that have fallen, making my straps wet.

“Unless he doesn’t believe he can overcome them, that he doesn’t think he can have a future…with me,” I whisper with pain and fear.

Steal sighs. “Perrie, look at me.” I sniffle, and turn and look at him. He smiles slightly. “That man loved you before I met him. You have always been his world, darling, fuck, you’re the reason he left to begin with.”

I scoff, “Well, gee, thanks for that, Steal.”

He chuckles. “Not to get away from you, and you know that, darling. He did it because he can’t see a life without you. He will be back because you are his life; remember that.”

I tip my head. “Because when a brother loves, he loves hard, right?”

He smirks. “Correct.” He looks down at his linked fingers for a moment and I notice his eyes linger on his ring finger before he looks back up again and admits, “She won’t talk to me….”

I sigh and walk over to him, sitting next to him on the bench, and ask, “Can you blame her?”

“No,” he replies, “I can’t. I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did, and honestly, I, fuck….” He runs a hand through his hair. “I was new to the position of prez, and Faith was continuously in my ear because of our history.”

I nod, then give it to him straight, “Steal, you’re a jackass.” He looks at me sharply, and I shrug. “You are. You said you loved my sister, yet as soon as she agreed to give you a chance, you made her make all the effort. I get it; you were taking over from your father, but she didn’t deserve that treatment from you, but she loved you so much she took it.” I stand up. “Look, I don’t know what happened that day in the kitchen; she came home and cried that she had to leave, that you didn’t even give her a chance to explain, and that was it. Since I know she’s still living in the area, we’ve gotten closer again, I know some things, things that I won’t be telling you because it’s not down to me, even though I think you two need to talk. You need to take it at her speed, Steal, no one else’s, only hers, and maybe she’ll finally tell you what happened and whether or not she did kill Brute. If she did, you need to ask yourself why, because you know Cass. Healing is who she is. She wants to save lives, not take them.”

He groans. “I’m running out of patience, Pez….”

I shrug. “You held a gun to her head. Did you expect her to jump into your arms?” I tilt my head. “Maybe let her do the same, and she may speak with you sooner….”

He glares at me and snaps, “What is it with people encouraging me to let her hold a fucking gun to my head!”

I laugh, and he huffs before standing when a knock sounds at the door.

“Come on, Prez,” I say, and he snorts, kissing my head.

“I know you haven’t forgiven me and that you’re angry for your sister, but thank you, Perrie, for not pushing me away after Acid left,” he whispers, and my eyes tear up again as I hug him.

There’s a knock again, and we pull apart. Steal smirks. “Just to warn you, I know the person you’re fighting. You may have met your match….”

I raise a eyebrow at the traitor, but he just grins, so I do the mature thing and stick my tongue out at him, before heading out the door, his laughter following.

The crowd screams as the announcer shouts my name into the mic. I see a figure bent over the ropes on the other side of the ring but can’t make out who it is as people surround me, wishing me luck and slapping my back.

Steal goes ahead of me, lifting the top rope and placing his foot on the bottom one so I can climb in. It’s only then that I notice Piston on the other side of the ring, confusing me.

I swear he better not have words for me; otherwise, I’ll be fighting him.

“Hey, Perrie?” Steal says, and I turn. He grins. “Don’t hurt him too much, yeah. He’s missed you….”

I furrow my brows at his words and turn to see who I’m fighting, only to freeze in shock, my mouth parting slightly.

Dark green eyes meet my light blue ones that instantly tear up.

Ollie grins wide before moving to the middle of the ring, ready to fight, but I don’t move, instead I look over his features as a lump forms in my throat.

His eyes are brighter than usual, and his smile reaches his eyes. There is no sign of trauma or pain, the darkness that used to always radiate from him is well and truly gone.

My eyes travel along his body, and I suck in a breath, noticing he’s not wearing a shirt, his back in view for everyone to see, heck, Piston’s jaw is tense as he looks at it.

That’s got to be a good thing, though, right? That he’s not wearing a shirt, not hiding his scars?

Our eyes connect again, and the first tear falls as I realize he’s really here; I’m not seeing things.

His eyes soften, and he rasps, “Are you going to fight me, Tinker?”

My jaw wobbles and sobs build in the back of my throat.

“Kick his ass, Pez; I have $100 on you!” I hear shouted and I look behind me to see Cass standing beside Steal, who is standing extremely close to her, but her teary eyes stay on me.

Steal grins wide, and I stick my tongue out at him again, making him chuckle. He knew Ollie was here.

“Fighters, ready!” the ref shouts, and I turn to see Ollie watching me closely to see what I’m going to do.

Fight him and punish him for the past I’m surprised hasn’t broken him, or run into his arms and never let him go….

Sniffling, I wipe my tears and shake my head before I run toward Ollie. He stands straight and catches me as I jump. He throws his arms around me as I wrap my legs around his waist, my arms around his neck, my face planting in his throat, and I sob.

“Fuck, Tinker,” he chokes, “don’t cry, sweetheart….”

His arms tighten around me as my body shakes and half the crowd groans and complains about losing while the other half cheers.

“Alright, if you bet that she’d kick his ass, pay up. If you bet that she’d run into his arms, come collect your winnings!” a voice says in the mic, and I choke out a laugh before cupping Ollie’s chiseled jaw.

“You’re back,” I cry, my tears falling.

He cups the back of my neck and replies, “I’m back….” He grins. “And I’m never leaving you again, I promise.”

I sob with relief and kiss him, causing the crowd to cheer louder. His tongue tangles with mine, and I grip his jaw tighter as I tilt my head, deepening the kiss.

I’ve missed him, I’ve missed him so much….

Ollie breaks the kiss before he places his forehead against mine, and asks, “You ready to fight, Tinker? Or would you rather see me kick the shit outta my brother?”

A smile spreads, and I whisper, “You better win, Ol. I’m placing $300 on you.”

He grins, his eyes racing between mine, looking for something, before his body relaxes, and I kiss him to reassure him.

He wanted to see if I was disgusted, but I’m not. Every letter he sent and the agony he expressed showed how much he adores his brother, and what he went through just to save him from his fate, makes him selfless in my eyes. Every letter expressed why he didn’t think we could be together, how his mind controlled him with his fears.

Oliver Mathews is strong and protective, and he’s mine; he always has been.

I break the kiss, pecking his lips one, two, three more times, before I jump down and say, “Kick some ass, Ollie!”

He smirks. “For you, always….”

Piston walks over to me, his shirt gone, and he kisses my forehead before murmuring, “I love you, little sister.”

I sniffle, side-hug him, and reply, “I love you, too, but I’m still betting on my guy.”

Piston grins. “ Your guy, huh?”

I lock eyes with Ollie and nod, confirming, “Yeah, my guy….”

Ollie grins, and I walk backward before Steal helps me out of the ring, taking me in his arms. I squeeze around his neck tight as my feet dangle, and he walks down the steps.

“Thank you,” I whisper as he lets me down, and he nods as Cassidy’s arms wrap around me from behind. I ask her, “You bet on Ollie, right?”

She snorts. “More like 50/50. Those boys would kill me otherwise, though I did bet you’d run into his arms, and so did Nat, even if she can’t be here tonight.”

I laugh but nod as I look at the ring. Ollie gives me a wink before he gets into a fighting stance, and the ref blows the whistle.

Piston runs first, trying to dominate Ollie, but Ollie sees it coming and ducks, spinning around. Piston quickly turns and blocks a hit to the left, but Ollie gets him in the ribs with his right hook, and the crowd cheers.

“This has got to be the best fucking fight we’ve had in years, two Huntsmen brothers, blood at that,” Viking says he walks over, and I raise a brow at him.

“Want a go?” I ask, and his eyes widen comically, and he stutters, “Fuck no. I-I’ve seen you fight, remember, and if I even get one hit on you, I have a whole fucking club and a doctor on my ass.”

I laugh as Cass places her forehead on my shoulder, her body shaking with laughter as the crowd cheers. We all watch as Ollie kicks Piston’s butt; well, Cass and I watch, along with Viking, who takes my bet. Steal, though, he keeps his eyes on Cass, though she ignores him.

I give him a slight smile, which he returns, noticing my attention before I look back at the ring.

“Missed you, brother,” I see Piston mouth as he climbs to his feet after being knocked down, and my eyes tear up again as their fight continues.

It’s not only me who’s struggled, and the fact that he’s back two weeks early just proves how much he missed his family, especially me.

I just hope he can live with the fact I was raped.