“AJ! My suitcase! Where is it?” I screamed at my buddy, but he didn’t flinch.

“It’s in the car. It’s already in the car.”

“We’re late. We’re never going to make it to the airport on time.”

“Why the fuck did you oversleep? It’s your own fault.” He snapped back and then paused, looking at me like he was sorry. “Don’t freak, man. You’ll make it.”

I’d stayed wrapped in Allie’s arms as long as possible, not wanting to leave her. After the champagne and amazing sex, I guess I forgot to set my alarm, and now I was late to go to the airport. I had to catch a flight to minicamp in Florida and I was a wreck.

“I’ll get you there on time.” AJ scooped up his car keys from the desk by the stereo system. “I’ll go bring the car up to our door. I couldn’t find a parking space last night when I came in, so I had to park two buildings over.”

“Well, shit.”

“Chill, man,” he said as the door shut behind him.

Allie came out of the bedroom and snagged her purse from the coffee table. “Calm down, sweetie. We’ll make it,” she said and patted me on the arm. She slung the purse over a shoulder. “Are you ready? Got everything?”

I nodded and gave her a kiss. I knew the real cause of my jangled nerves was leaving her, and I was taking it out on everyone.

“Okay, I guess I’m ready.” I took one last look around the apartment, knowing I’d never live here again, that college life was over. It was on to the bigtime now.

I grabbed my scuffed-up, black duffle bag, the one that’d accompanied me on so many trips in the last three years, and opened the door. Motioning for Allie to go first, I pulled the door shut behind us and locked it then handed Allie the key on its bottle opener keychain, standard issue for college students. It was like the changing of the guard, and as it dropped into her hand, a pang of sadness struck.

“It’s yours now.” I said, smiling at her, trying to put on a good face. Our eyes locked and she smiled back. “Don’t worry, baby. Everything’s gonna be alright.”

“Oh, now ain’t that sweet.” The sound of a heavy and familiar voice grated on my ears.

What the fuck?

Surprised, we both swiveled our heads toward the voice in unison. I hadn’t noticed two men standing on the sidewalk that led to the curb, right where AJ’s car should’ve been right now. One of them was Jade, decked out in his Black Vandals’ riding gear, holding a bouquet of grocery store flowers by the stems.

Aw, fucking shit.

This was the last thing I needed now. Fucking Jade. And I was already late, but no fucking way would I leave Allie here with him.

Allie took a few steps toward him, opened her mouth to talk, but I grabbed her arm and pulled her back, stepping in front of her. I needed to resolve this and fast,

“What do you want Jade?” I barked.

He snorted a dirty sounding laugh, as if years of smoking had clogged his windpipes with black tar. Just like his heart. “I want Allie. I came to win her back.” He lifted the flowers momentarily and then let them drop to his side, holding them upside down. A rose petal fell to the ground. “I even got ya flowers, babe. I want you back. Whaddaya say?”

Allie lowered her voice and said, “If I talk to him, I think I can diffuse the situation.”

“No Allie. I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

I shot a glance to Jade’s partner, a surly looking man, equally as repulsive and wearing the same MC colors. But I didn’t see their Harleys anywhere in the parking lot. Those, I would’ve heard coming, but they must have come...in a van. I spotted the beater van, the same one used to drug me and take me to the dessert, parked in a reserved parking space, meant for tenants only.

That figured.

Allie started talking, trying to intervene. She started out calm and then her voice began to rise. I could see the vein pulsing in her forehead. She was pissed.

“Jade, go home. I don’t want you. We were over a year ago. Can’t you get that through your thick head? I don’t want anything to do with you.” In an effort to make her point, unwittingly, she began inching toward him.

“Jade, you heard her. Leave her alone. She doesn’t want to be with you. Now take your friend, get in the van and get the fuck outta here.”

Jade laughed, took a step toward Allie, his friend shadowing him, like snipers crawling up on the enemy.

“How did you find me? I don’t believe you, Jade. Why don’t you just leave me alone?” She was beginning to screech.

He rolled his eyes with a cocky smirk. “Your little friend, Carrie, gave you up.”

“Carrie would never tell where I was. What’d you do to her?” Her eyes were throwing daggers, fuming.

“Hmm, let’s just say I have a very persuasive right hook.”

Allie’s face turned purple and scrunched into a tight grimace. “You fucker, Jade. Did you hurt her? You fucker, you did. I’ll kill you myself if you did.”

I didn’t know if the asshole was bluffing just to get Allie steamed, but knowing what he did to me, I doubted it was a bluff. Jade wasn’t the type of guy who saved kittens.

He dropped his cocky humorous attitude and with a stern face said, “Talking’s a waste of time, You’re gonna come with me. You know you belong with me, not this limp dick. Come on now, don’t be a little bitch, let this college boy alone and come back to where you belong.”

“Belong?” She blinked like the word had been a bucket of water thrown on her and then realization dawned on her face. That did it.

Oh, fuck.

Her face went beet red. I had a sinking feeling I wasn’t going to make my flight. I wanted to rush in and save Allie, but my throwing arm had just healed. My ribs were back to normal. Was this fucker really going to fuck things up for me, again?

“Belong? I don’t belong with you. I wish I’d never met you, you’re a worthless piece of shit!” She was full-on pedal to the metal angry.

I tried to cut her off, before she said the last part, reaching for her arm to pull her back, but in her rage, she’d moved even farther toward Jade. She was on a roll, slinging well-deserved insults, running down a list of all the shit things Jade had done to her.

She was smart, beautiful and tenacious, but didn’t even see what she was walking into, and I saw it too late. The minute she was within arm’s reach, Jade lunged at her and snagged her by the arm, jerking her toward him. He spun her around and his buddy swooped in on her other side. One on each arm, they restrained her and started marching her toward the van, the bouquet of flowers trampled on the ground as they turned to walk.

AJ, seeing this from the end of the parking lot, had just rounded the corner and zoomed up to a screeching halt. He jumped out of his car, but the minute Jade and his buddy noticed AJ, Dude Number Two opened his black leather jacket enough to show the butt of a gun.

“Back off, fucker and no one gets hurt,” Jade warned. “We’re just here to take Allie back to where she belongs.”

AJ’s eyes darted to mine and back to the two bikers holding Allie. The pained expression on his face, told me he wanted to help, but he knew he was helpless. There was nothing he could do but stand by and watch.

But I couldn’t.

I dropped my duffle and used my football skills to take off, sprinting from a dead stop and launched myself after them. “Allie!”

I didn’t care anymore. I’d miss my flight. There’d be another one. I’d be late for minicamp, but I’d get there eventually. I’d fight Jade for Allie, and my injuries would heal.

Maybe.

And maybe I’d lose my football career, but for her I’d do anything. I had to make a split second decision. It wasn’t logical thoughts that lit the fire under my feet and moved me to action. I just did it. Allie was mine and I wouldn’t let Jade have her.

I ran and tackled Jade, knowing it’d be a bad idea to knock him down on concrete. There was no shock absorbing turf here. I’d thought of this seconds before, but Allie’s safety flashed in my mind, and I simply reacted. He saw me coming and shoved Allie to his buddy, who held her by the arms as the two of us crashed to the hard sidewalk and fell off the curb, rolling into the black asphalt of the parking lot. If I’d been thinking straight, I would've been more cautious, a physical fist fight, and dirty fighting on Jade’s part meant injuries that could end my career. Jade was a heavy dude with a protruding beer belly, and he’d just slammed my body onto cement.

Once we were down on the ground, Jade managed to get a punch in. Pain exploded across the side of my face, along with pain signals that my body was still processing from the blow to the hard cement.

“Didn’t learn your lesson last time college boy. Think you’re someone cause you play football? Fuck. Allie’s mine. She belongs with me.”

My vision was swimming as I fought off unconsciousness, head throbbing, everything starting to go gray. Jade’s blow, square to the jaw was treacherous, but if I passed out Allie would be gone.

Allie.

I focused on her.

Jade stood up and backed off, thinking he'd knocked me out, or too drunk to care, but I scrambled to my feet. I knew if I threw a punch with my right, my throwing arm, I stood the chance of an injury. This was exactly why I’d made the no girls/no relationship rule.

Fuck it.

I delivered a right jab, driving my fist into Jade’s rib cage. I heard the air rush out of his lungs over the sounds of Allie’s pleading voice. He staggered back, gasping for air. I took a step forward and gave him another blow, this time to the face.

Then another.

THWACK!

That was the sound of my fist hitting slabs of belly fat. It was a good one, but he just laughed, his large belly jiggling over the belt in his jeans. His pain was probably dulled from drinking, or drugs. Then the laughing stopped and the humorous look on his face shifted to hate. He came at me in a bull rush, knocking me back to the ground. Jade fought dirty, and before I could protect myself, he launched a hard kick with his heavy boot that landed on my chest. I gasped, sucking in air.

Motherfucker, that hurt.

I balled up in pain, groaning through clenched teeth.

I think the fucker cracked a couple of ribs. Again.

He continued the attack, lifting a worn boot high above my head, aiming directly toward my left temple.

Allie screamed, “Jade, stop! You’re gonna kill him. Stop it!” But her cries fell on deaf ears.