Sly: Jagged Edge Series #4 Read online

  “My death?” I questioned, before I realized what he was getting at. “Are you saying, if Nikki doesn’t lose the fight, then he will kill me?”

  “That pretty much covers it. I can’t let you do it, Sly. I’m not about to hand you over to him. I can’t make the same mistake twice.”

  “It is not your choice to make. And besides, I know that Nikki will follow through.”

  “How can you be so sure?” he questioned.

  “Trust.”

  I knew my dad didn’t have very much faith that Nikki would lose the fight, but I knew her, and I knew she would do anything to get away from Carlos. I just needed to get word to her somehow of what she needed to do. With the security Carlos had at his estate, it was going to be tough. I already knew she didn’t have her phone, and walking up to the door wasn’t an option.

  The best thing to do was get in touch with Peter. He was the one person who would be able to figure out a way to get to Nikki without raising any flags. Grabbing my leather jacket, I headed out of the apartment and decided to take the scenic route to the shop. Riding my bike always cleared my head, and right now I needed all the clarity I could get. One thing I was crystal clear about was, if I had to risk my life in order to save Nikki’s, I would do it for her a million times over.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Nikki

  “Jesus Christ, Rich, are you on a mission today or what?” I cursed.

  “Carlos wants to make sure you're ready tomorrow night. If you lose, he will have my ass.”

  “I don’t know why he’s so worried, I got this.” As confident as I may have sounded, I wasn’t. Being away from training for so long really hurt my stamina. It used to be that I needed to push myself harder because I wasn’t getting what I needed from my workouts. Now it was like I could barely get through an hour of anything. It could have been my lack of concentration or the fact that Carlos was calling all the shots. I think it was mostly because I had only one thing on my mind, that being Sly and how much I missed him.

  Heading to my room, I was pleasantly greeted by Agnes, who was already preparing my nightly bath with eucalyptus scented bubbles and chamomile. As much as I loved the care she had given me the past week, all I wanted was to be left alone. I only had today before I had to face my destiny. I wasn’t very confident that I could win against Black Jewel. Had we fought a month ago, it would have been a different story.

  Stripping off my sweaty clothing, I dipped my foot in the bubbly water to check the temperature. Perfect as always. Sliding down into the water, the feel of the hot water was almost as good as an orgasm. Almost, until I began thinking about Sly. Slowly the tears began coming down, adding droplets of water to the already full tub. Sitting in the tub in my saddened state, I was beginning to wonder if I would ever see Sly again. He was the man I was falling in love with and I couldn’t even tell him. I might never be able to tell him.

  Sinking deeper down in the tub. I leaned my head against the bath pillow that Agnes brought in for me and closed my eyes and pictured the one person that could fill my mind with happiness. I could feel him everywhere, inside me, holding me, caressing my body, kissing me lightly on the cheek and then on the lips.

  Lowering my hand, I imagined that it was Sly touching the special place that he could always find. Dipping a finger inside my vagina, I remembered the words he spoke so softly, “God, baby, you feel so good.”

  It was like he was right here with me, keeping me warm, comforting my soul. With my finger deep inside me, coating it with my wetness, it was only Sly I saw as he began gently gliding his finger in and out and circling my clit with his thumb. Moving my hips to mimic his, every touch was coming from him. Placing my other hand on my breasts, I began caressing them just as though it was Sly kneading them between his fingers. My movements increased as I added another finger, feeling the fullness of his cock as I pictured him in my mind.

  I was moving so frantically, needing to escape the thought that this was going to be the closest I would ever come to being with Sly again. Letting my pain take over, it consumed me. The pleasure I wanted to feel turned into an ache my heart would forever hold.

  ~****~

  With the fight less than twelve hours away, I wanted nothing more than for this day to go away. If there was even one possibility of an escape from this hell, I would have taken it in a minute. Pushing from the bed, I headed to the bathroom to do my thing and then face the man who would be expecting me to be ready to train one last time before the big event. I didn’t know why I was even bothering with it. I knew I would be no match for the woman I was to fight. I also knew even if I did win, I would lose. If I won I would forever be under the control of Carlos and if I let Black Jewel win, I would be dead the minute I set foot off the mat.

  Trying not to think about what was in store for me, I changed into my workout clothes and headed downstairs to the gym. Just as I opened the door, I couldn’t have been more happy. I just couldn’t understand what she was doing here.

  “What the hell….!” I exclaimed excitedly

  “Move inside, quickly,” Agnes said as she ushered me back inside the room.

  I wasn’t sure what was going on, but it was a relief seeing Carly. “What are you doing here, Carly?” I asked as Agnes closed the door.

  “Your boyfriend and his buddies talked me into coming here. Well, that and they paid me,” Carly confessed.

  Looking between Carly and Agnes, I still had no clue what was going on. “Agnes, why is Carly here?”

  “I am probably going to lose my job over this, but Carlos has done enough damage to you. You shouldn’t be fighting, Nikki. You need to be happy, married, raising children. I can’t allow Carlos to continue doing these things to you, and when Carly came to the door, I knew she wasn’t here because Carlos requested her. She’s just lucky that he never answers the door. And when she told me the real reason she was here, I had to let her in,” Agnes confessed.

  “What's going on, Carly?” I asked.

  “Sly wanted me to get a message to you. You have to throw the fight. It’s the only way he can assure your safety and get you away from Carlos,” she explained.

  “I can’t throw the fight. If I don’t win, he will kill me, not that it matters. Black Jewel will probably win anyway.”

  “Nonsense,” Agnes spat. “You’re stronger than you think. I could see it in your eyes when you first came here. I could also see that something inside was tormenting you. I think it’s someone that you care about. I’ve seen it before, when I lost my husband Earl. It’s love.”

  Agnes was right, it was love she saw in my eyes, that mixed with the sadness that I might never be with the one man who could bring me so much happiness. Giving me a quick hug, Carly placed her hand on my cheek and said sternly, “You listen to me, Nikki Jennings. We’ve known each other for a long time and you will get through this and live happily ever after with Sly. Carlos will only be a bad memory and he won’t ever be able to control your life again.”

  When the two of them left, I waited a few minutes before I headed down to the gym. As I waited, I thought about what Carly said. Maybe she was right, maybe throwing the fight was my way out. Maybe this time, I could finally have my happily ever after.

  Rich was already waiting for me with the biggest smile I had ever seen on a guy. I wasn’t sure what he was so happy about. This was the worst day of my life. Sitting on the bench, I watched him gather the materials needed to wrap my hands for my workout. As he knelt in front of me, I held out my hand as he expertly began wrapping the adhesive tape around my hand and then in between my fingers, adding a couple of twists. I loved watching him. He did it so well that it was about the only part of my body that didn’t ache when the training was over.

  “We are going to take it easy today. Carlos doesn’t want you tired when the event takes place tonight,” Rich explained.

  “Well, at least that’s a plus,” I replied sarcastically.

  “He has also instructed me to be there
to assist you tonight and to make sure you follow through and win the match.”

  That was just great. Another man controlling me. It was bad enough having Carlos telling me what to do, now I had Rich to deal with too. Pushing from the bench, I walked over to the speed bag to test out my wrapping and to get in a twenty-minute warm-up. Rich was preparing the exercise ropes in the meantime.

  Just when I thought my day couldn’t get any worse, Carlos entered the gym wearing his signature black pinstriped suit and a look that could kill. Trying to ignore his presence, I focused on the speed bag.

  “I don’t know what game you are playing, Nykia, but whatever it is, it isn’t going to work,” he cautioned.

  “I have no idea what you are talking about, Carlos,” I hissed.

  “I think you do. I found out about your little visitor. Unfortunately for her, her fighting days are over.”

  “What did you do to her, you bastard?” I cursed, ready to go after him, but before I could, he grabbed my wrist and twisted it behind my back.

  “If you don’t want the same thing for yourself, I suggest you stop with this silly game. You will never be able to defeat me.”

  Letting me go, he turned and left the gym just like he entered, with arrogance and malice. He had to be the cruelest man I had ever known. Matter of fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was Satan’s son.

  Rich tried everything he could to get my mind off of what Carlos may have done to Carly. I could only imagine what kind of torture he put her through. Halting my punch, my stomach began to tighten. “What if Carlos found out about Agnes?” I thought to myself. He would surely kill her. Pulling off my practice gloves, I threw them to the floor and left Rich standing with a confused look on his face. I needed to find Agnes. I had to make sure she was okay.

  Jogging to the main house, I opened the front door. Looking around, I wondered where would be the best place to find her. The kitchen seemed like a good place to start. Running through the dining area, I swung open the door, finding that there was no one on the other side. Taking a chance, I ran back to the foyer and up the stairs, hoping to find her in one of the rooms. There were too many of them so I yelled her name. “Agnes, where are you? Agnes?”

  When her head popped out of one of the doors, I felt a sigh a relief as she looked over to me with concern. “What is it, Nikki? You look like you lost your best friend.”

  “Agnes, Carlos got to Carly. He did something bad to her. I thought he got to you too,” I cried, giving her a big hug.

  “Shh, it's okay, Nikki, Carlos would never hurt me,” she declared.

  “He’s an evil man, Agnes. He would hurt anyone who got in his way. Even you.”

  I may have over-exaggerated, but Carlos was capable of anything. Sure, he would never do the dirty work himself, but whether it was him or his goons, it didn’t matter. As I explained what happened to Carly and what Carlos said, I think that Agnes was finally understanding how afraid I was for her.

  “Nikki, as I said before, Carlos would never hurt me. There’s something you need to know,” she began, leading me to the velvet bench in the hallway. “When Carlos’ parents died, there was a safeguard put into place that essentially protected my life, in the event that anything happened to me other than death by natural causes. I am worth more alive than dead to Carlos.”

  “I don’t understand,” I said, confused. “How is your safety protected?”

  “Without me, Carlos will never have full control over everything his parents left to him, which includes this estate. He would never chance losing it all just to see me dead,” Agnes explained.

  I had to trust what Agnes was telling me. As much as I didn’t trust Carlos, I did trust Agnes.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Sly

  Everything was set for tonight. I only had another two hours to myself before Angelo’s men would be here to pick me up. Peter assured me not to worry, and that Nikki knew what she needed to do. He also promised me that everything would go as planned.

  All the guys looked over to me as the bell rang, letting us know that someone just entered the shop. We were all sitting in the conference room. Ash rose to check out who our guest might be. Before he got to the door, my father appeared. With his eyes focused on me, he said in a concerned voice, “Do you have a minute to talk?”

  Rising to my feet, I led my father to Peter’s office, where I knew we would have some privacy. I wasn’t sure what my father could possibly need to discuss with me, but I had to let him speak.

  “What is this about, Gus?” I asked.

  “I need to make sure that whatever happens, you stay alive,” he confessed.

  “So you’re telling me this, why?” I asked, waving my hand in confusion

  “Because you are the only family I have left, and if anything happened to you, I would never be able to forgive myself. I’m trying to make things right with you, Sylvester. I know I haven’t been the greatest father, but I am trying to make up for that. There has been too much hate between us and, well… I just want things good between us.”

  Maybe my father was being sincere, but there still remained the fact that he chose a life of crime rather than an honest life with me and Mom. I knew that he was trying the best he could to make things right between us, but I didn’t know if I would ever be able to allow myself to get close to him again.

  “So what is it that you have planned?” I asked, giving him the benefit of listening to what he had to say.

  “I’m not saying that Nikki won’t follow through on throwing the fight, but in case something happens and she can’t, I need to make sure you come out of this alive, so I have included a trusted friend in the mix to make sure that happens.”

  After my dad explained what would happen in the event something went wrong, I agreed that it was a good plan. Maybe it was time that I began trusting him and mended the relationship that he damaged so badly for such a long time.

  My father left after our little talk, not wanting to take the chance of being seen by Angelo’s men. I still had an hour to kill, so I headed to the back of the shop, deciding that a little workout would alleviate some of the tension I was carrying. Removing my shirt, I slipped on a pair of boxing gloves and began punching the full length punching bag we had set up in the back of the shop. As I began hitting the bag, the only thought that came to mind was the first time I watched Nikki in action. I think it was then that I realized that she was going to be the only woman for me. The way she concentrated and punched the bag had me hooked. I even remember the little groan that came from inside her as she gave it everything she had, sending the bag spinning.

  Hitting the bag hard, I was beginning to feel the tension ease from my body. I wished so badly that I could be there for Nikki, but I knew in order to save her, I had to sacrifice myself.

  Concentrating on the bag, I somehow missed the bell ding from the front door. It was only when Ash came to the back of the shop to let me know it was time that I halted my assault on the bag.

  If there was ever a time I wanted this to be done, it was now. The smirk Angelo’s bodyguard had on his face was about to piss me off. I wanted more than anything to wipe that sarcastic-ass smile off his face.

  ~****~

  The ride to wherever they were taking me was the most painful ride I had ever been on. I felt like I was being kidnapped. The way they had my eyes covered in a black sack and my hands bound behind my back, I suspected they didn’t want me to know where they were taking me. Based on the amount of time and the number of turns, I calculated that I was just out of the city. One thing about being in the military, you learned how to calculate where you were in the event you were captured.

  The SUV came to a stop and the driver opened his door and got out. Soon he was opening my door and leading me to who knew where. I could feel the gravel beneath my feet, which could mean that we were either in the country somewhere, in the middle of nowhere, or somewhere where there were no paved roads. Taking in a deep breath, I could smell th
e sea air, so I knew, at the very least, that we were somewhere near the coast.

  As they pulled on my arm, the gravel under my feet turned into concrete. I could hear the sound of male voices, but couldn’t make out what they were saying. When we stopped for a moment, it had to be so the person leading me could open the door. I didn’t have to walk up steps to get inside the building, another clue that I was probably at some sort of beach house.

  My senses were focused on everything that was going on around me. Since I couldn’t see, I had to rely on my ears and nose to tell me where the hell I might be. And then I heard a voice.

  “Keep him restrained until I notify you of the outcome of the fight. I don’t want him to get away in case I need to kill him.” the voice instructed.