EXCERPT 1
“Jesus Christ, Quarry! Calm down.
You’re making it worse.” Till pointed toward the building where the woman I
loved lay dead in a coffin.
Oh,
God.
My eyes, tunneled by rage, flashed
around the mob of reporters before landing on the front steps of the funeral
home, where an even bigger crowd of Mia’s friends and family were watching me
violently break down—again.
“I need to get out of here,” I
mumbled, straightening my shirt.
“Good idea,” he replied, shoving me
toward my car. “I’ll drive.”
“No. I want to be alone.”
“You can’t drive right now, Q.”
“Watch me.”
“You cannot be behind the wheel…” He
carried on with some explanation, but I was more than done listening. The
silence had never sounded so good.
Looking up at the sky, I sucked in a
breath so deep that it caused my lungs to ache. I refused to release it though.
Don’t
exhale.
Ignoring Till’s protests, I dug my
keys from my pocket and folded into my car. Barely managing to squeeze around
the relentless reporters, I started toward the exit.
This
is not happening.
Don’t
breathe.
My lungs were on fire, but it felt a
hell of a lot better than what was going on in my heart, so I bit my lip and
let it blaze—praying that it would eventually engulf me.
Glancing in my review mirror, I saw
the cops rolling into the parking lot, but that wasn’t what made me stop. My
breath left me on a rush as I slammed on the brakes the moment she came into
view.
Liv was standing in the middle of
the road, staring at my taillights.
Her big, brown eyes were as empty as
I felt, and her face was painted with absolute anguish. Without out a single
second of hesitation, I leaned over and pushed the passenger’s side door open
in invitation. In a pair of heels and a short, black dress, she sprinted
forward, not slowing until her ass hit my leather seat. Her door hadn’t even
shut before I was off again.
After turning her cell phone off,
she tossed it in the glove box. Mine quickly followed. She didn’t ask any
questions as I pulled onto the highway in the exact opposite direction of both
of our apartments. She didn’t want to go home any more than I did.
Our destination was unknown, and
that alone made it infinitely better than the one we’d just left.
I drove.
And drove.
Then, when I was sick and tired of
aimlessly driving, I drove some more.
With the exception of Liv flipping
the radio on when the sun went down, we sat in absolute silence for over four
hours.
Alone, yet still together.
Finally, around ten p.m., with an
empty tank of gas and sleepy eyes, I slipped into a parking space in front of
the apartment Liv and Mia shared. Liv didn’t delay in pushing the door open,
but that’s the only effort she put into getting out.
Dropping her head against the
headrest, she whispered at the windshield, “Her parents told me she left
letters for us. We can pick them up whenever we’re ready.”
“I don’t want a fucking letter. She
lied. She’s sorry. I got it. Nothing left to say.”
“Maybe it will explain stuff though.
It might help.”
My angry gaze jumped to her, but she
was still staring out the window.
“Will it bring her back?” I asked.
“No? Then I don’t need a goddamn letter. Fuck that. Fuck her parents too. I
don’t want shit from them.”
“They didn’t kill her, Quarry.”
“How can you say that?”
Her eyes finally met mine. “It was
what Mia wanted. She signed the Do Not Resuscitate order, not them.”
“What the fuck are you doing here?
Please, God, tell me you are not actually siding with them? Because, if I
recall correctly, we both begged them
not to give up on her. They didn’t give a shit about anyone. Liv, they didn’t
even get a second opinion.”
“I’m not siding with anyone but Mia.
She made a choice. We have to respect it.” Her expression was emotionless, even
though her voice trembled.
“Respect it? Fuck her shitty choice.
She should have respected me enough to let me have a say.”
She laughed without humor. “You
never would have let her go, Q.”
I slammed the heel of my palm
against the steering wheel. “You’re goddamn right I wouldn’t have!”
“She had brain cancer. It was going
to happen one way or another. She knew it. And she made a decision. We don’t
get to be mad about that.”
“Get the fuck out of my car.”
“No. Listen to me—”
“I’ll start listening the moment you
stop spouting the bullshit her parents shoved down your throat tonight.”
She raised her voice for the first
time all day. “It’s the truth!”
“It’s bullshit! All of it. How am I
supposed to respect the fact that she lied to me for six months? Six fucking
months that I could have used to prepare for this.”
“Oh my God, Quarry!” she yelled,
exasperated. “Do you seriously think six months could have ever prepared you
for this? I could have known since the day I met her and I still wouldn’t have
been ready to lose her.”
“I could have tried! I could have
spent that time devoted to being with her instead of traveling to fights. Jesus
Christ, Liv, last weekend, I went out with the guys from the gym to play pool.
The last fucking Saturday night of her life on this Earth and I was shooting
pool with a bunch of assholes I can barely stand. Six months she kept the fact
that she was dying a secret. Six. Fucking. Months. You’re right. I wouldn’t
have been ready to let her go, but at least I could have figured out how to say
goodbye. Instead, all I got was to squeeze her hand, say, ‘I love you,’ and
then be escorted out of the hospital by security. Fuck!”
“That’s because you were acting like
a fool and threatening her family! That was
your choice!”
“Get the fuck out of my car. Now!”
“And it’s also the reason you got
thrown out of the visitation tonight. Get your shit together or you won’t be
allowed at the funeral tomorrow.”
“I don’t want to go to the funeral!”
I shouted at the top of my lungs, making her flinch. “I don’t want there to be
a funeral at all. Now, I’m serious. Get. The fuck. Out. Of my car.”
Through gritted teeth, she seethed,
“You know what I’ll never understand? How you claim to be so in love with her,
but in this entire conversation, I haven’t heard you say a single word that
wasn’t about you. How this affects you. How this hurt you. Last time I checked, you aren’t the one being buried
tomorrow.”
“I wish I were!”
“Fuck you! The world doesn’t revolve
around Quarry Page!” With that, she jumped out and slammed the door.
I didn’t even wait for her to make
it to the sidewalk before I was peeling out of the parking lot.
Now
Available for Pre-order
**Each book in the series can be read as a standalone**
Blurb
**Special Pre-order
Pricing!**
I was born a fighter. Abandoned by my parents, I spent my
life forging my own path—one guided by my fists and paved with pain.
Untouchable in the ring, I destroyed everyone who faced
me, but that’s where my victories ended. Outside the ropes, I repeatedly failed
the few people who loved me. Including my best friend, Liv James—the one person
I’d die to protect.
Even though I didn’t deserve her, Liv never stopped
believing in me. Never gave up. Never let
go. After all, she understood what I’d lost, because she’d lost it too.
Liv was everything to me, but she was never truly mine.
That was going to change.
I lost my first love, but I refused to lose my soulmate.
Now, I’m on the ropes during the toughest battles of my
life.
Fighting to be the man she deserves.
Fighting the solitude of our pasts.
Fighting Silence (Book One) On the Ropes
ONLY $0.99
Fighting Shadows (Book Two) On The Ropes
About
the Author
Born and
raised in Savannah, Georgia, Aly Martinez is a stay-at-home mom to four crazy
kids under the age of five, including a set of twins. Currently living in South
Carolina, she passes what little free time she has reading anything and
everything she can get her hands on, preferably with a glass of wine at her
side.
After
some encouragement from her friends, Aly decided to add “Author” to her
ever-growing list of job titles. Five books later, she shows no signs of
slowing. So grab a glass of Chardonnay, or a bottle if you’re hanging out with
Aly, and join her aboard the crazy train she calls life.
