16

The Justice crew decided leaving Cyrus to talk to Gage was the best option. No one wanted to cross him. As they led Isis from the room, Cyrus turned to his friend.

“Okay, Gage. We need to talk man to man. I heard you have been giving Isis a hard time.” Cyrus stood with arms crossed.

“What? Are you her keeper? She holds her own, trust me.” He sat down, not wanting to have this conversation.

“Listen, I’ll make this short. You call her a whore again or make her cry one more damn time — I will kick your ass. I made a promise to her dad years ago to take care of her. He’s gone now, and Wraith and I are all she has. I will not let you or anyone else treat her that way. She was excited about her wardrobe and character. Then to meet you. For the life of me, I don’t know why,” Cyrus grunted, leaning against the wall.

“I know. Wraith and I already had this conversation.”

“Your smug ass wouldn’t even give her the courtesy to meet her for breakfast that morning. Isis sat there for three hours, waiting for you. Did he tell you that? You made her feel worthless. She didn’t tell me. Isis tells Wraith everything, though. If it weren’t for him, I’d know nothing about her because she doesn’t want to disappoint me. I heard Wraith punched you in the face. You fucking deserved worse. I would have broken your damn neck. She’s a shy, sweet girl who deserves to be here. She just wants your respect. Since your divorce and this Justice thing, you got this chip on your shoulder and everyone here sees it. You’re not the guy you were. The friend I know would never hurt her like that. Fix it!” Cyrus demanded, standing firm.

“I get it, she’s like your little pet. Isis knows she is in the big leagues now. She needs to learn some respect for the veterans in this company. She needs to know who the hell I am!”

Gage went to the couch with a smug chuckle. He sat back, throwing his arms over the back of the couch with his cocky, overbearing attitude, not backing down one bit.

Cyrus mirrored the smug attitude, shaking his head in disbelief. “Oh. I think she knows exactly who this guy is. A dick. Get your shit together Gage or our next match won’t be some stupid scripted shit. I’ll beat the fuck out of you in front of the whole damn world.”

Cyrus stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

Gage rubbed his chin, shaking his head. He got up and paced the floor like a caged animal. Grabbing his phone as he fumed over what just transpired, yelling into the phone. “Jacob! Send her back here, now! Keep the guys out of the locker room for a while. Miss Ice Queen and I need to talk.”

He shut off his phone and threw it to the side.

Isis made her way back to the locker room, expecting Cyrus to still be there. Entering the room, she found herself face-to-chest with Gage and bumped into him. He shoved the door closed and moved to trap her against it. A lump came in her throat when she realized her cousin was not there.

“I told you to stop going to Wraith and Cyrus. This shit is between you and me. From now on you are with me at all times. If you know what’s good for you, you damn sure better make that happen. You know the only way out of Justice is if I say so. You can quit IWX, but I don’t think you’re that stupid.”

She lifted her eyes to meet him. Her heart sank. Her perfect evening, ruined again. Pushing her hands against his chest to get some distance between them, she sighed in defeat. “Why don’t you just let me go? Let me out of Justice. We can both go our separate ways. You hate me anyway and think I’m trash. I feel like an idiot for looking up to you. You’re just a mean, heartless bastard,” she wept, hitting his chest with her fist.

He grabbed her arms, pulling her closer to him to avoid the blows as she cried and fell into his chest. Gage looked up at the ceiling, hating himself for what he was doing to her. To himself.

His voice softened. “Isis, stop crying. Please. I don’t hate you. You just get under my skin. I don’t know why you must insist on pretending to be such a hardass all the time. Why can’t you just try to be a little less in control? It may surprise you to find I can be a nice guy.”

Gage looked down, seeing she was laying her head on his chest, sobbing. Her arms went around his waist, and she couldn’t help but pull herself into him. Smelling his warm masculine scent seemed comforting somehow. For someone she hated so much, she felt so safe in his arms.

He wrapped his arms around her and closed his eyes, just allowing the moment to linger a while longer. Maybe he needed it as much as she did.

“I just wanted you to like me.”

Her small voice was so full of pain. The more he heard her plea, the worse he felt for his actions. Rubbing her hair, he tried his best to be the man he once was. One who would have given anything to make a woman like her happy.

“Next week you will get my answer. Either you’re in or out. For now, until then, you belong to me. Don’t forget that. I don’t think you’re going to like my answer either way.”

He pulled her back and sat her down in a chair. Walking out of the room, he left her alone and confused.

_______

Author Note: Do you think Gage will ever get back to being a good guy again, or has be gone too long holding on to the hate? Please vote and comment and let me know what you think so far.