PRESENT

"Tell me again." I demand. It's a stupid thing to ask but I kind of blanked out with rage the first time around.

"How could I have been so stupid, Ash?" Aria cries into the phone and I feel my stomach twist painfully. Fuck. I shouldn't have left her firm. I could have been there when all of this exploded in her face. Why the hell am I always letting her down and failing to protect her? What kind of man am I? "I should have realized something was up. I-I didn't even know Robbie was released early."

"You and me both." I mumble grimly. Then I kick my bed frame as hard as I can and Aria grows quieter, probably having heard that. "Fuck! I should have kept up with his incarceration status. Should have known he'd fucking try something like this."

"Don't blame yourself. You always do that."

"And for good reason." I throw back, ignoring her request. I'm going to fucking lose sleep over this for a long time unless I do something about it. "What was he even going to try to do? The restraining order you have against him is for life. He couldn't have came near you anyways. And what did he need Trisha for?"

I hear her take a deep breath like she's recounting all the answers probably provided by Trisha herself. At least she stepped up before things got really bad. That's what I'm hoping for, anyways.

"He wanted to know about me. Where I work, where I live, who's in my life, if I'm married or have kids, things like that. He needed all the details because he was planning on kidnapping me and taking me somewhere where it would be just us. He's been planning this for the last two years, Asher. He was even on his best behaviour because he knew it would grant him parole. God, I'm going to be sick."

She's not the only one. I feel physically ill as I'm forced to consider the ultimate what if—that he'd have been able to go through with his fucked up plan and take Ria after all. Just the thought of it turns my blood cold. I can't decide if I'm more terrified or livid but one thing is for certain.

I'm going to fucking ruin him.

Hunt him down and take him out of the picture for good. It's what I should have done last time and I'm not about to fail Aria a second time.

"Is Trisha still there with you?" I ask so calmly that I'm impressed with myself.

"Yeah." Aria sounds hesitant. "Why?"

"Could you give her the phone for a minute?"

"Why?" She repeats.

"Aria, just trust me."

There's a pause and I know Aria is wondering what I'm up to. But I guess her trust for me wins out because I hear the phone shuffle before a new voice comes on the line.

"Yes?"

"Trisha." I greet her formally and force myself to behave. On one hand I want to fucking tear her a new one for putting Aria in jeopardy but I know she'd been told that Aria was a fraud and was hoping to uncover her. On the other hand she came to us before things took a turn for the worst and that's what I remind myself now so I don't treat her like a dick. "Thank you for telling us the truth. You saved my girlfriend's life and I can't tell you how grateful I am for that."

"You're welcome." There's a softness to her tone but also an underlying awkwardness, like she's not used to being nice. "I learned for myself what a creep Robbie is."

"And he's not going to stop. I'm going to need you to do something for me. I'll pay whatever price you name but I need your word."

"Yeah. Sure." She sounds confused. "What is it?"

"I can't tell you if Aria is there or she's going to try and stop me. Here's what's going to happen. You're going to get off the phone with me and tell Aria I was thanking you for saving her life. Then you're going to say there's someplace you need to be and leave her office. Once you've left her firm, you give me a call again and we'll go from there. You're an actress, right? You better put one hell of a convincing show. I can't have her suspecting anything."

"No problem." She says breezily, falling into her role.

"Good." I rattle off my number next so she can reach me. Then she offers a brisk goodbye and there's a lengthy pause before Aria is on the line again. "What time will you be done work?"

"I'll probably be here another three or four hours. What did you say to Trisha?"

"I was just thanking her and warning her to stay away from Robbie." It's not a complete lie and that makes me feel a little less shitty. "I'll pick you up from work when you're done, okay?"

"But I drove here."

"We'll come back for your car another time. I don't want you to going home alone today."

"But—"

"Ria. Promise me."

"Fine." She grumbles. "That's probably the smart thing to do."

"And make sure you're with someone. Try to work in Fawn's office or vice versa. I'll feel better knowing you're not alone."

"I'll be fine, Asher. What about you? You're not going to go do something stupid, right?" Her tone leaves no room for argument.

"Nothing stupid." I confirm. Pummelling Robbie's ass and putting him in a coma? It might be the smartest thing I'll ever do.

"Okay." She doesn't sound convinced. "Then I'll see you soon."

"You will."

And it'll be with good news—that I took Robbie out of the picture. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do but all I'm concerned about is making sure he doesn't ever come back.

"Be safe, Asher. Please."

"Always, baby. I love you."

Saying the words to her is so fucking easy. So fucking right. For someone who's always been convinced my heart wasn't made to love, Ria sure is doing one hell of a number on it.

"I love you, too." I hear the smile in her voice and close my eyes, imagining it. I'll do anything to make sure she always smiles like that. Including what I'm about to do next.

"Bye, Princess." I end the call and stare down at my phone patiently, waiting for it to light up again.

A couple minutes later another call comes through and I immediately pick up.

"Yeah."

"It's Trisha."

"Are you away from the firm?"

"Getting in my car now. No one's listening."

"Good." I take a deep breath and though I know this could go horribly wrong, that I'm supposed to be meeting Coach so we can get our game plan for tomorrow straight, that Christian is still out there and I could risk being sighted, I don't hesitate to do the one thing that matters more than all of that.

Protecting Aria.

"Do you know where Robbie lives?"

***

Fuck. I can't believe I'm really doing this but then again I can. I still have no plan in mind other than to walk inside the house I'm parked in front of and raise some motherfucking hell. I have no weapons or anything to fight with. It's just me and my fists but I know that'll be more than enough.

This place is sketchy as fuck so I'm going to make quick work of beating Robbie's ass. I plan to go in there, pummel the fuck out of him, find some evidence that he's been going against his restraining order, and send him back to jail for life this time. Maybe I should have taken Nate with me or all of the Fighter's Den guys really but this is between me and Robbie. I failed to protect Aria the last time around and I'm not about to let it happen again. Let's just say I owe him a little something.

Before I can leave the car my phone rings and for a moment I think it's Aria, that Trisha told her everything. I pick up my phone and see that it's actually Coach. That doesn't do much to relax me because now I'm wondering if he somehow knows what I'm up to. He has a knack for that kind of shit.

"Yeah?" I keep my tone neutral when I answer.

"Where are you?" He sounds sharp and impatient. Fucking hell. He didn't actually figure out what I'm doing, did he?

"Why?" I ask cautiously.

"Because I asked." He growls.

Shit. That's a fairly good point.

Still, I'm not sure exactly sure what he may or may not know about my whereabouts so I vaguely answer, "Running some errands."

"You need to get home." He orders and with those words, I'm somehow able to tell something is going on. Yeah, he sounds as riled up as he always does but I'm pretty sure there was a hint of desperation in his voice and that alone sends off alarm bells in my head.

"What's going on?" I make no move to start up my car because I can't leave. Not without doing this first.

"Mitch lost visual of Christian. He's been watching him for your safety, at least until we were supposed to deal with business with the Vice Lords tomorrow, but Christian somehow figured out he was being followed. Mitch hasn't had eyes on him in nearly an hour so he could be anywhere."

That's not good. Not good at all. This fucking ruins everything because even I know how much of a dumbass move it would be to drive around Boston by myself, unprotected and unarmed.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. What do I do?

"Pryce. Did you hear me?" Coach's voice is clipped. "Don't fuck this up. We're so close to finishing this. We take care of the Vice Lords tomorrow, Mitch tips off the Asesinos with fake evidence against Christian, and then his own gang will take him out and drop their revenge case against you. In less than twenty-four hours this will be over. Don't be fucking stupid."

I slam my steering wheel in frustration. Coach is right. One stupid move on my end and I can blow this whole thing. I'm already fucked because I'm a solid forty minute drive away from home and the last thing I need is to be chased off the streets again. I need to get somewhere safe right away and this place is the furthest thing from it. Besides, when I do finally get my hands on Robbie I want to take my time. I want to draw out his pain and suffering for as long as I can and enjoy every second of it. I can't do that with the proverbial time bomb hanging over my head so I know my opportunity is officially shot.

I guess I can come by tomorrow now that I know where he lives. In the meantime, I'll have Aria take a day off and stay at home tomorrow. Once I take care of my own business and this whole Robbie ordeal, I can return to her with some good news and the both of us can officially close this chapter and put it behind us. Finally.

"Alright." I relent. "I'm on my way now. Should I head to you?"

"My place." He confirms. "Mitch is already here. I sent Greta to stay with Delilah and Nate and you can stay here for the night where I can keep an eye on you."

"Fine." I grumble. This is all so fucking dramatic. I'm not the fucking president or some shit but my life is on the line and I appreciate that Coach is taking this so seriously to begin with. I have absolutely no doubt that I'd be dead right now if it weren't for him. "On my way."

He clicks off without a goodbye and I sigh deeply, reaching for my keys to start up the car. That could have gone so much fucking better.

Just as I'm about to twist the keys into the ignition, movement catches my attention inside the house and I pause. I lean forward slightly in my seat to get a better look through the see-through curtains that cover one window.

Then I see him. Fucking Robbie. Way too alive for my liking.

Suddenly, every last shred of logic that I was operating on flies out the window and is replaced by rage. Pure, unfiltered rage that kickstarts my pulse and pounds so rapidly that it feels like my entire body is shaking. I can't think about anything except how he put his hands on Aria, how he got away with that shit for so fucking long, and how he's trying to do it all over again. All I can think about is how he has to fucking pay and I'm not about to wait another second letting him walk around and free to hurt Aria again at any given time. This ends now.

Before I know it, I'm slamming my car door shut and walking right up to his house. It's small as hell, with the paint peeling off and the woodwork barely holding together. It's a piece of shit, like him.

And maybe that's why it's so easy for me to simply raise my leg, slam my foot against the door, and kick it down in one smooth motion.

I look to the left of me where I saw Robbie earlier through the window and sure enough, he's still there. He has a half-eaten apple raised halfway to his mouth, his eyes wide in shock and mouth agape as he stares at me. Realization flickers in his eyes along with uncertainty and fear. Definitely fear.

My mouth curls and I welcome the ruthlessness I feel. If there's anything I've learned about myself it's that I can be a fucked up human being. A monster in plain sight. And right now? I want to play.

"Long time no see, buddy." I grin wolfishly. "I hope you don't mind me stopping by like this."

I walk over his front door that now lays flat on the floor and it creaks beneath my weight. Before I can get any closer to him, Robbie throws the apple in his hand at my face. I easily catch it before it can hit me and eye him, snorting loud.

"Thanks. Something to eat before I kick your ass should boost my energy." I chomp into the side that hasn't been eaten yet and chew leisurely as I resume my walk to him.

He backs up slowly and keep his eyes on me like I'm a wild animal. That's fitting, I guess, because I sure as fuck feel like one. "You're breaking and entering, Pryce. Don't take another fucking step or I'll..."

"You'll?" I prompt. "What? Call the police?"

His mouths thins into a line, disdain all over his features as I get even closer to him.

"Be my guest." I spread my arms out. "I'd love to have a chat with the police. I could tell them all about your little plan to get to Aria, about how you've been breaking the terms of your restraining order. Another felony just months after your release? You're going back there for life."

"Fuck you." He spits. "Trisha told me everything. I guess you finally dipped your dick in her after all, huh?"

I pause, gripping the apple in my hand tightly. The thread holding my anger together is slowly starting to rip apart and I don't even bother trying to contain it. My voice is deadly low when I speak. "You better watch your fucking mouth, you motherfucker."

He grins like he's got me. "Even when she was mine you would watch her like you wanted her pussy for yourself. You probably think it's yours now but guess what? It's still mine and it always will be. Her sweet, tight—"

I throw the apple at him and it clocks him in the eye. He stumbles back and it's taking everything in me not to laugh at how easily I kicked his ass with a fucking apple.

While he's trying to recover, I close the remaining distance between us with two large steps and then it's on. I swing at his face and my knuckles deck him in the jaw, earning his cry of pain. My next punch sinks deep into his gut, followed quickly by another punch to his nose that's hard enough to break it. He screams in outrage and clutches it while blood trickles all over his fingers. I grab him by the head and pull him down on my knee, the bone meeting his forehead in one quick move. While he's still bent over, I use one hand to keep his head in place and my elbow comes down hard on the back of his neck. With that, he goes down and lands on the floor with a groan.

I crane my neck to one side and then the other, cracking it. That was way too fucking easy and I just got started. I shake out my hands, bouncing on my toes a little. "Get up. Right now."

He rolls to his back and stares up at me. He uses his forearm to wipe the excess blood from his face. Without a word, he grabs his nose, takes a deep breath, and cracks it right back in place. Another pained groan leaves him before he uses his shirt to wipe his bloody hands.

"Wow. That almost impressed me." I deadpan.

"I got my nose broken a lot in prison. I know the deal." He narrows his eyes.

"Thanks for the cute bedtime story but I'm pretty sure I was in the middle of kicking your ass. Get the fuck up."

Then the fucker bursts out laughing. A full on head thrown back kind of laugh with his eyes squeezed shut and his hands clutching his stomach. I blink down at him, watching him as he laughs like he doesn't have a care in the world. Guess the prison life drove him crazy. Still, I take his bait and bite.

"What's so funny, asshole?"

He doesn't answer right away, just chuckles as he tries to get his bearings in order and quiet down. "You. Same old fucking Pryce. You're just as much of a dick now as you were then."

"I'm touched." I crouch down and grab him by the collar. "And you're still the same old fucking loser that thinks it's okay to put his hands on a woman. Say what you want about me but we both know who the asshole in this room is and I'm about to teach you a lesson."

"Don't be so sure." He smirks, shaking his head. "You made a mistake coming here without Nate. He was always the level-headed one between you two. You? You can't think with anything besides your fists."

"What's your point?" I snap and tighten my hold on his collar. He's really starting to test my patience and I want nothing more than to beat the living shit out of him until I'm satisfied.

"My point is you've overlooked a few things." He's calm, way too calm given the current situation, and for the first time since I barged in here I feel a trickle of unease. What's he got up his sleeve?

He gestures down at himself. "Look at me, Pryce. The last time you kicked my ass you had much more muscle power over me. I walk with a limp for Christ's sake. First thing I did when I was incarcerated was hit the gym and bulk up. You need to be able to hold your own in prison or the inmates will eat you up."

I let him go and survey him reluctantly. Fuck, he's right. He's much more shredded than the last time I fought him. True, he's not in par with me and I do have a few inches on him but he should've been able to hold his own for the most part.

"You let me win." It's more statement than question. "Why?"

"And do you really think I would have fucked up my plan for Aria so bad? That I would jeopardize Trisha's involvement so that she would rat me out?" He continues, ignoring me. "I knew you'd come after me. This entire place is a one way ticket to me. No protection, obvious visibility, and so fucking predictable. So easy."

Way too easy. I'm torn between being pissed at him for running his mouth and actually being one step ahead of me and being pissed at myself for not realizing all of this. I just chalked it up to Robbie being too much of a dumbass to take necessary precautions but it's clear I underestimated and right now, it's my obvious downfall.

I stand up and brush myself off, fists curling and uncurling as I try to regain control. "Exactly what are you playing at then? Out with it."

He stands too and stuffs his hands in his pocket. So fucking relaxed. So confident. Shit. What the hell is going on?

"I'm not explaining anything." He shrugs.

Then I'm on the floor. Standing one second and down the next. It takes a second to register the pain in my back and realize I was just kicked hard enough to land on my stomach. My breath is caught in my throat and I cough, trying to clear my airway again before pulling in another breath. I brace my palms on the floor and lift my body up only for it to be knocked down again. Something heavy presses into the middle of my back to hold me down, probably a boot or something, and it digs into me painfully. I grit my teeth and refuse to give anyone the satisfaction of groaning like I want to. A hands fists in my hair before pulling my head back right before a face appears in my life of vision.

"I'll do the explaining." Christian snarls.

My body locks up with fear and his eyes gleam. He knows good and well I'm scared shitless of him and right now he's excited as hell to take full advantage of that. "I've waited eight fucking years, Pryce."

Fuck. My throat closes up as the reality of the situation starts to hit me. It's two against one and both of these guys want me dead. I'm unarmed, no one knows where I am, and there's no way I can fight both of them off on my own. I'm fucking dead for.

Desperation causes me to act and I throw my head back, butting him in nose. He grunts and for a moment his hold on me loosens and that's all I need. I flip my body over from underneath him and slam my foot into his gut, pushing him off of me. He falls to his side and clutches his stomach, visibly trying to pull back the air I just knocked out of him. In the next breath I'm straddling him and punching the hell out of his face. Déjà vu slams into me, reminding me of what happened the last time we were in this position, and definitely reminding me that only moments later I took a life. As usual, the though curls my stomach from the inside but I can't focus on that right now. I need to get the hell out of here.

I'm only distracted for a fraction of a second but Christian's good and that's all he needs. He raises his arm and throws the heel of his palm into my throat fast and hard. My breath gets caught and I choke briefly, my hand going to my jugular on instinct. Then I'm on my back again and Christian hovers over me, his hands curling around my throat and pressing before I have the chance to catch my breath.

His fingers squeeze, his hand crushing my windpipe, and all the air in my lungs get trapped. I can't breathe. I can feel burning hot blood rising to my face, making my cheeks burn and the backs of my eyes sizzle painfully, and I desperately fight to pull in some oxygen. I grab his wrist with both my hands and try to pry his hold off of me but it's no use. I kick my legs up and try to knee him in the balls, fucking anything to get him off of me, but he's got me right where he wants me. My lungs are screaming for mercy, tears leak out of my eyes, and I can feel the blood getting trapped in my face. My lips feel swollen and they pulse painfully and I can't make a sound.

He's fucking killing me. And I can't stop it.

Dizziness like I've never known it rushes to my head and caused me to lose control over my limbs. My arms and legs that were flailing wildly to try and get Christian off now feel like they weigh a ton each. They drop to the floor and I can't lift them up anymore. I can't fight back anymore. I can't breathe anymore.

Fuck. What have I done? How could I let this happen again?

Consciousness slips away from me, dark spots dotting my vision, and the world goes hazy. I lose all grip on reality and I know this is it for me. This is really fucking it.

My eyes flutter close, my body goes limp, and the burning sensation in my lungs explodes.

Then...the weight lifts. Or something gives. I can't be sure. All I know is that nothing is crushing me anymore. The hand from my throat is gone and the body on top of me is gone too. Like my lungs have been punctured, all the oxygen floods into it at once and my chest rises heavily. A sound of desperation leaves my mouth as I pull in a breath greedily, inhaling loudly. It's too much, too soon, and then I'm choking on my own breath. I fall into a fit of coughing, trying to rid of all that air that I pulled in too fast, trying to empty my lungs that I filled up too suddenly. Broken wheezes and gasps escape me and my limbs tingle with feeling again. As soon as I can feel them, I act. I flip my body over and press my palms on the floor, dragging my body away as fast as I can. I army-crawl to the other end of the kitchen and shield my body behind the counter, out of sight. My back leans against it for support because I still feel weak and dizzy. I try to contain the wheezing and force myself to take even breaths and get them under control.

Still getting a hold of my breathing, I peak around the counter and frown in confusion when I see Robbie straddling Christian to the ground. Are they fighting? Now that I have a moment to myself, I'm flooded with questions that I didn't have time to think moments ago. How do they know each other? What do they want from me? Are they working together or are they enemies? None of this makes any fucking sense.

"I'll kill you too!" Christian screams and decks Robbie in the face. I wince as he stumbles back and loses his footing, falling to the floor.

"We need him alive!" Robbie screams back and immediately crawls over Christian again, pinning is arms down. "That was the deal!"

Deal? What deal?

By now my breathing is almost entirely back to normal and they're hardly making a sound. I need to get out of here. I can't afford to stick around, not like this.

While the two are still arguing and throwing punches, I quickly and quietly crawl from behind the counter and towards the living room. The two are facing away from me so I have a chance to pull this off. I look for something, anything, that I can use for a weapon as backup and spy a knife by the sink. I lean up on my knees and grab it before ducking behind the counter again. I grip the knife tightly by the handle and keep it poised so I can strike in case they try to grab me. Then I'm crawling again, as fast as I can go without making a sound, and manage to get to the living room without being spotted.

Almost there. Almost fucking there.

A boot presses down on my wrist so suddenly, that I tense up in shock. That's the only reason I don't feel the pain right away. It comes a moment later and then I'm gritting my teeth to stop from crying out. My wrist pulses heavily and when the boot twists, digging inside further, and I know it's seconds away from breaking when my fingers go numb.

"Fuck!" I snarl, tugging my arm away before he has the chance to snap my bone.

The knife slips from my fingers since they've seemed to stop working and then I'm flipped on to my back with Christian hovering over me. I keep my gaze on his, those crazy eyes that are black wth rage, and a deranged smile splitting his face.

"Leaving so soon?" He laughs like the fucking maniac he is.

"We need him alive." Robbie snaps behind him. "At least for now."

For now? What the fuck is happening?

Christian tugs my hair and brings my face up to his. I clench my jaw and keep my face neutral, not giving him the least bit of satisfaction.

"Fine by me." He tells Robbie, keeping his eyes locked with mine. They flash with excitement. "That just means I get to torture him first. And I have a lot of ideas for our little friend here."

Him and Robbie share a laugh and somehow I know that they're working together, despite getting into a brawl moments ago. I don't know much of anything else but one thing is clear.

I'm fucking done for.

__________________________

A/N

Oh holy hell!!!!! Did this book just jump with that climax or what? I'm freaking out!

Who saw this plot twist coming? Trisha's involvement? Robbie being back? Working with Christian no less?

Things are about to get real dark so buckle up. My Ice Boy Asher has his work cut out for him.

Please VOTE, comment and share if you liked this chapter!

Happy Reading :)