Out of all the enthusiastic fans in here hooting and hollering, chanting Aria's name and clapping-ecstatic Aria had won. I honestly believe that I'm the only one here who can candidly say I'm much more satisfied, pleased, and excited for Aria's win than they ever could be. And everyone around me knew I was one incredibly proud husband.

Watching Aria enter the ring to my signature fighting song and then take on her psycho sister and win the most important match for her boxing career was one of the biggest highlights of my life.

I feel more pumped for Aria's win than I've ever felt winning my own matches. And I believe the two men who sat on either side of me, Justin and Walter, felt the same. Because the moment Aria went crazy with her fists, using the complicated and powerful combos I taught her that knocked out Felicia, all three of us jumped from our seats and pumped our fists into the air, yelling take that, you got what you deserve you psycho bitch!

And yes, Walter used his magical miracle work-acting as if he were a teenager again, shocking Justin and me.

I rushed into the ring as the announcer proclaimed Aria as the winner. While swooping her into my arms and congratulating her win with a kiss, I noticed she wasn't as excited as I was. Instead, she looked worried and afraid.

"Is everything okay?" I asked while lowering Aria to her feet.

She shook her head, then stepped to my side when the boxing organizations came over, awarding Aria her champion belts. Finally, her beautifully cut lips curved upward, but it wasn't a happy one. I know her well enough to know how she smiles when she's happy and excited. And the grin she displayed when they placed the belts over her shoulders and arms, I could tell she was forcing.

Aria grabbed hold of my arm as she leaned into my ear. "We need to get out of here as soon as possible. Something is about to happen. I can feel it."

My brows drew together as I looked into her feared eyes. "We can't leave yet. You know that. There are pictures you need to take, autographs you need to sign, etcetera."

"Then you need to tell Neron that he needs to immediately figure out a way to get Justin and Walter out of here. Something bad is about to happen, and I don't want them here. Especially Walter."

I knew that look she was giving me and knew not to ask questions, so I hurried over to Neron, Xavier, and Maxwell, talking with the judges. As I approached, Xavier and Maxwell high-fived me. "What a game, hey?" Maxwell excitedly said.

"It was, but we have no time to talk. Not right now. Instead, I need you two to get Justin and Walter out of here. Immediately."

Xavier's face turned confused. "Why? What's going on?"

"I don't know. But Aria's freaking out about something. And how she's acting. I feel Felicia threatened Aria with something terrible. She just asked that I get someone to get them out of here as soon as possible." I stepped over to Neron and leaned closer to him. "Aria's in trouble."

"Now isn't the time to talk about what you'll be doing to her once you get her home."

No shit...

My eyes rolled. "That's not what I meant for you to think. I'm saying that Aria feels Felicia has something terrible planned for her once we leave this place."

"Is that what she said?"

"Not exactly in those words. But how Aria is acting, the worried look on her face, and how she asked me to get Justin and Walter out of here immediately told me exactly what she wanted to say."

He quietly stared at me for a moment, then turned his gaze on the group, eyeing Aria with evil glares. "I can tell you now; nothing will happen. She's got us. Besides, the security around here won't allow anything to happen."

No shit, Sherlock. But that still doesn't mean anything; he, of all people, should know that anything can happen at any given time, starting from here to our home.

"I refuse to allow another repeat of the past," I warned while Neron returned the other team's glares. "And that includes both incidents," I added, just in case he had forgotten.

"There'll be no repeats. I can guarantee you that."

I mockingly laughed. "You can't guarantee a thing unless you've already planned your departure of life."

"Get back over to your wife before they start figuring out you're suspecting them of wishing to harm Aria," Neron demanded, shoving me Aria's way.

My eyes intensely focused on Felicia talking with her trainers as I headed back to Aria; then, as I got to her, I rested my hand on the small of her back and scanned the area-looking for what could be trouble. "Let's get out of here," I said after seeing a couple of shady-looking guys near Felicia watching Aria.

"Yes, let's get out of here before I never see Wyatt again," she anxiously breathed before hurrying out of the ring.

I rushed to her side, took the belts from her arms, and threw them over my shoulder, asking, "Can I ask what she said to you that you're freaking out about?"

She turned her head, looked behind us, then looked at me before entering the locker room. "Felicia said plenty to me back there. Things I didn't care about hearing, stuff that hurt to hear, and stuff that has me immediately wanting to get the fuck out of here. So because of what she said and what Stella warned me would happen if I were to win, I'm in trouble. So if we don't leave before her, I'm warning you, I won't make it home alive."

Say what?

This is the first I've heard about Stella warning Aria about anything. "What are you talking about? What warning?" I asked, following Aria into the room. I set Aria's belts on the bench, then crossed my arms as I watched Aria rush to her locker. "You recently got upset with me and made a big deal of not telling you what I knew about your father and Felicia. You insisted that we promise each other not to keep any secrets between us, yet you just admitted to hiding something important from me."

She removed her clothes, turned, and faced me while removing her top. "I'm sorry for not telling you about what I was warned about. I didn't want to worry you, as I wasn't sure if Stella was being sincere and truthful with me or if she was saying everything she could, hoping it would make me want to forfeit tonight's fight. But after listening to all of her bullshit threats tonight and the looks I got after knocking her out, I now know how truthful Stella was with me and how serious Felicia is about ending my life."

Over my dead body. "There's no way I'll allow anything to happen to you." I walked over to the door, partially opened it, and slowly peeked my head out after hearing a commotion in the hallway. Seeing it was Neron and Felicia's coach and how they were in a heated argument, I knew this was Neron's way of getting my attention-a signal for me to hurry and get Aria out of the building.

I brought my hand behind me to get Aria's attention and snapped and wiggled my fingers for her to come to me. Then, when I felt her brushing up on me, I turned my head to the side, whispering, "Neron's out there, making it easy for us to slip out of the building unnoticed."

"How are we going to do that? You know the fans will be outside those doors, waiting for me to sign autographs," she whispered.

Shit... I almost forgot about that.

I dragged my fingers through my hair while letting out a sigh of frustration. "Once we get out there, and the fans come at you begging for autographs, I'll keep my eye out for anything suspicious. So do me a favor and sign as fast as you can."

"Okay," she said, not looking thrilled to leave the room. I followed closely behind Aria and grabbed her hand once we got to the doors. "Wait. I have to go back to the room. I forgot my belts."

I lowered my head and closed my eyes, frustratedly shaking my head.

"I'll send a message to Neron asking that he grab them," I informed, opening my eyes and lifting my head. Then, I carefully and very quietly opened the door. As we stepped outside, relief washed over me after seeing all the security in the area. Wanting to get this over with so we could get home safely, I turned to Aria, urging her to be safe and to keep her eyes and ears on the lookout at all times. "Now hurry and go sign those autographs."

I removed my phone from my pocket, and instead of messaging Neron, I called him. "I'm busy," he answered.

"So am I," I responded, with my eyes on Aria and the crowd surrounding her.

"Then why are you calling me?"

I figured he'd say something like that. "I called to let you know we're outside and to ask that you grab Aria's belts that she left behind in the locker room."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," he groaned.

"Sorry, old man. I was hurrying to get her out of there and forgot to ensure she had them when we left." Click. "... hello... Neron?" I lowered the phone from my ear and looked at the screen. Call ended...

The old fart fucking hung up on me.

Mistake number one... I removed my gaze from Aria to look at my phone.

Mistake number two... I bent down to pick up my phone after it fell from my hands from getting shoved by a fan I assumed was hoping not to miss out on getting Aria's autograph.

Mistake number three... After scanning the area and seeing the area was secure with security officers, I assumed Aria's fans were the only ones outside wanting her autograph. I was wrong-way wrong.

I froze in my tracks after hearing a woman screaming my name as I reached for my phone. Then, after hearing my name yelled again, I knew it wasn't just any woman; it was my girl's sister. I think... My head sprung up, and when I saw a group of people running away from where I last, Aria, and another group pushing their way into a large gathering, my heart sank into my stomach. Aria...

"Aria!" I yelled while rushing toward the mass of people formed in a circle.

"Excuse me," I snapped, shoving a man out of my way. "Get the fuck out of my way!" I barked at another when he blocked me from getting to Aria. He turned, widening his eyes when he saw my fist coming at him.

"Sorry, Gunner. I thought you were someone trying to get closer to take pictures," the man said, rubbing his jaw. He stepped to the side, then began yelling for everyone to get out of my way.

Finally, an opening to the other side appeared. I hurried through the worried-looking crowd, then feared the worst when I got through and saw Stella on the ground, tightly holding Aria against her. A look of panic displayed on Stella's face when her eyes locked with mine. I dropped to my knees, asking, "What happened?"

"She's badly hurt, Gunner," Stella wept, shifting Aria's body towards me and lifting a piece of cloth from Aria's chest she held to show where Aria had been injured. "A man walked up to Aria asking for an autograph and if he could have his picture taken with her. After signing his shirt, she stood beside him, and then, as his arm went around her, he stabbed her."

Seeing Aria's chest covered in blood instantly caused a dizzy spell-everything and everyone around me was spinning. My body weakened, I was nauseous, I was profusely sweating, and I was discombobulated.

Suddenly, I snapped out of my confused state after Stella slapped me across the face. "Now isn't the time to go dormant, Gunner. You need to go after them!"

"I'm not leaving Aria's side," I barked, reaching for Aria and pulling her lifeless-looking body toward me. "She's my wife!"

"Go!" she demanded. "I'll stay with her and ensure she gets the medical attention she needs."

My brows drew to one, unsure of Stella's intentions with Aria. "And I'm supposed to believe a word you're telling me? We don't know anything about you or your father. So how am I supposed to leave Aria with you? The one who grew up with the psychopath trying to kill her? And on top of that. How do I not know you or your father aren't in cahoots with Felicia, wishing to succeed in ending her life?"

"I know it's hard for you to believe what I'm telling you, but as I told Aria, I'm nothing like Felicia, and neither is our father, so you can trust me. You can trust us," she pleaded.

I looked away from her and eyed everyone standing around us. "Speaking of your father. Where the hell is he?"

"He chased after the guys who did this to Aria." Her hand rested on my forearm. "You need to leave Aria with me to go after them. If you don't, Felicia will succeed with her plans."

"And what's that?"

Stella's eyes lowered to Aria as she said, "The first was to hurt Aria to stall you from their final plan." Then, she looked at me with dread in her eyes, breathing, "And I'm afraid to say, by you staying here, questioning my intentions with Aria, you'll never see your child or brother-in-law again."

***

I feel a little more at ease knowing Aria is in good hands. As Neron and I were leaving the arena, the ambulance arrived. I am, however, still feeling a bit skeptical of Stella. Even though she was pretty convincing with her wishing only the best for Aria and how she, too, was worried about Felicia's plans and goals for my family, I still had doubts about Stella's sincerity.

I also lack certainty about Aria's father's intentions to help my family. And it's because he hadn't been involved in Aria's life since she was six years old and how he had raised Felicia since she was born.

Nevertheless, since Stella begged that I trust her and Vince and how worried she appeared to be, I decided to give them both the benefit of the doubt. However, if they break my trust, they better run and hide because I'll make them both pay for deceiving me.

Neron and I argued the entire way to my house. He blamed me for not keeping my eye on Aria and her surroundings, whereas I blamed him for what happened to her. After all, he was the one who insisted I not worry about Aria, claiming he had everything under his control.

"If you two continue arguing like an old married couple, it's going to make me start wondering about your relationship with each other," our driver quipped.

"Keep out of this, Buck. This is between Gunner and me," Neron snapped, "you just need to worry about doing your job and getting us to Gunner's safely." He looked at me, pointing his finger repeatedly at me. "If your old man were here, you know he'd be telling you what an idiot you are for allowing your wife to become a victim."

That was the wrong thing for Neron to say to me. And because of his accusations, it left me with no choice but to deck Neron square in the nose.

His hand flew up to his face, rubbed underneath his nose, then looked at his hand. "What the fuck was that for?"

"For being a thick-headed buffoon. Never. Ever. Bring up my father in a conversation like that again. Next time, it won't be just a punch to the face; I'll end up going Mike Tyson on you for sure. Got it?"

Neron found humor in my remark and laughed. "Bless your heart, monkey dick. I'd like to see you try," he bantered, devilishly smiling and looking as if he were waiting for another one of my fists to fly at him.

"I don't mean to interrupt the lover's quarrel the two of you are having, but you might want to look out the window," Buck warned as our vehicle halted.

My eyes shot away from Neron and to the window, immediately horrified by what I saw-my home in flames.

"Wyatt!" I yelled, reaching over Neron to the door handle and shoving the door open. Then, not caring that Neron was in my way, I flew out of the vehicle and rushed into my home, engulfed in flames.

Not giving a tinkers damn, I hurried around the smoke-filled house looking for Wyatt and Nikki. But I found Walter out cold in the upstairs bathroom instead of finding them. "Oh, God!" I yelled, lifting him out of the tub full of water. "Walter, wake up! Wake up, wake up, wake up!"

I turned to the door, yelling in a panic, "Neron! Buck! Someone! Help!"

"Hang on, old man," I said, lifting Walter over my shoulder. "There's no way I'm going to allow you to go out this way, no fucking way."

I rushed down the stairs, dodging flaming ceiling parts as they fell in front of me. "Buck! Help me!" I called out while laying Walter in the yard.

"Fire and rescue are on their way," Buck informed me as he rushed toward me. "Is there anyone else inside?"

"I don't know. Walter's all I've found, so I'll need you to stay with him while I run back inside and continue looking."

"I don't think that's a good idea, boss."

"Neither are you telling me I can't go back inside looking for my kid, Justin, and Nikki. So if you don't wish to see my fist, I suggest you shut your mouth and see about getting Walter to come to."

Buck lowered to his knees. "Yes, boss," he replied, avoiding looking at me.

I hurried back into the house, and as I was heading downstairs, I met Neron sprinting up the stairs, holding a tied-up Nikki in his arms. "Turn around and get the hell out of here. There's nobody else down there."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, I'm sure!" He loudly snapped, sweat dripping down his forehead.

"I've checked every fucking room, Neron. There's no sign of Wyatt or Justin anywhere. So the only place they could be is down there."

Neron's brows furrowed in anger. "Are you questioning my eyesight? I found her hidden ass bound and gagged, didn't I? Listen to me; there's nobody else fucking down there! Now turn around and get your ass moving before we're all dead!"

Feeling defeated, I turned around and sighed as I looked up the stairs. I didn't know what to do or where to look next.

Think Gunner, think. Where in the world would they have taken them?

"Get your as moving, damn it!" Neron ordered, shoving me while coughing as he had just got done smoking two packs of cigarettes. "I don't know about you, but I'd prefer to make it out of here alive! Now move!"

I moved to the side and extended my hand toward the top of the stairs, saying, "Go, get her out of here. I'd feel better if I were to double check everything before concluding nobody else is inside this house."

"Are you nuts? Do you not see what's going on here? The house is on fire and about to collapse, you imbecile!"

I grabbed the bottom hem of my shit, pulled it up, and covered my nose and mouth, shaking my head. "Yes, I'm nuts. And I'm even more nuts because my kid and Aria's brother are missing! And it'll make me feel better if I were to see for myself that Wyatt and Justin aren't in here!"

"You fool," Neron groaned, turning and calling me every rotten name he could think of on his way up the stairs.

Instead of responding, I hurried down the stairs and checked every possible hidden and small area anyone could easily fit inside.

Neron was right. Nobody else was down here.

Hearing a loud crash behind me had me spinning on my heel in a hurry, and my heart thumped hard outside my chest after seeing the stairs had collapsed. "Fuck, this isn't good," I muttered.

I grabbed my boxing gloves, put them on, then grabbed a chair, hurried to the closest window, and punched my fist through the glass a few times, making an opening big enough for me to get out.

While cutting myself on the way out, it dawned on me where Felicia and her friends possibly took Justin and Wyatt. An area where nobody would hear their cries or screams for help-a particular place that has always been special to me-the same place I proposed to Aria.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter!!🤞🤞