Mr. Right Now: Vol. 4: The After Party That Never Ends Read online

  “You should be scared, because life as you know it is over for you.” Kam steps up to the shorter man and grabs him by the collar. “You’ll never forget this face, fucker, or the three behind me.”

  Eli, Dax, and Cole walk from the bathroom and stand right behind Kam. In a flash, Kam pulls his arm back and slams his fist into Gary’s face.

  “I’m going to fucking kill you. You’ll never hurt Jett again.” He rains blows to his face with every single word. Kam barely hears his name being yelled before it happens.

  One of the men behind him lunges forward with a knife, making direct contact along the right side of Kam’s ribs. His shirt slices open easily, as does his skin. The flesh wound doesn’t stop him from beating Jett’s father’s skull.

  “You motherfucker.” Dax’s voice rings out in the room, and the three other brothers jump in on the fight. Dax throttles the man with the knife, sending it sailing toward the curtain. Now with the brawl equalized and the only weapons being fists, the Sterlings rain hell on the men.

  Minutes pass and sweat drips from the brothers as they punish the men with blow after blow. Cole finally comes to his senses and drags himself away from the man he’s been beating and opens the door to the room. The detectives are quick to take control of the situation.

  “Who’s bleeding?”

  “Me.” Kam raises his hand.

  “Get out of here, and never mention anything of this.”

  Eli is on Kam’s side, guiding him out of the room, but before Kam leaves, he has one more warning for Gary. “If there’s ever a next time, I’ll kill you, old man.”

  “C’mon.” Dax pulls him out into the hallway.

  “Everyone okay?” Cole asks as he rushes toward the exit door at the end of the hall. Kam is thankful for his responsible brother. Cole had thought of everything, even picking a hotel room near the exit with a running vehicle waiting.

  Eli and Dax lift Kam up into the SUV. “Well, that was fun.”

  The brothers jump into the running vehicle quickly and begin talking softly, and Kam knows they’re hiding something.

  “He’s fucking bleeding a lot.”

  “We can’t go to the fucking hospital. They’ll snoop.”

  “He needs help.”

  “I can hear you, fucknuts. It’s not that bad.” Kam pulls away Dax’s shirt and cringes when he sees how deep the cut is.

  “Have Chloe call Jax,” Cole says as he drives.

  “I’m not fucking alerting her to this bullshit. She’s been through enough. You call Jax, Cole.”

  “She won’t answer.”

  “Just try. She can fix him.”

  “Quit being a pussy, Cole, or your brother is going to bleed out.”

  Cole refuses to call Jax and continues driving. They pull up to an apartment building. “She lives here. She’ll be here if she’s not working.”

  Eli and Dax rush up to the apartment Cole tells them, and he stays behind in the car.

  “Fuck, Kam, if you die over something this fucking stupid, I’ll be so pissed at you.”

  “Chill the fuck out. It’s just a flesh wound.”

  “There’s a lot of blood.” Kam watches Cole pace back and forth on the driver’s side, waiting on the other two.

  “Text Jett for me. My phone is in my pocket.”

  Cole reaches in and finds the phone.

  “Text her I love her and can’t wait to marry her crazy ass.”

  Kam’s heart breaks for Cole as he tries to steady his fingers to type out the message.

  “I’m sorry I’ve put you in the mess, Cole.”

  “Just don’t fucking die on me, asshole.”

  “Over here.” Kam looks up to see Dax running toward the SUV, followed by Eli and a face he recognizes from the hospital.

  “She’s the one.” He motions toward the woman.

  Cole turns to look where his brother is pointing. “Yep, that would be her.”

  “Have you tried asking for forgiveness?”

  “On both knees, brother, but she refuses to accept it.”

  Jax pushes Cole out of the way as she climbs into the back seat with Kam.

  “Can you boys get him up to my apartment?” She turns to face them.

  “Easy,” Dax replies.

  He leans in and scoops up his brother and begins walking.

  “There are not many people around, but hurry so no one sees you.”

  Cole and Eli flank Dax, trying to conceal the fact he’s carrying an adult in his arms. Jax rushes ahead, holding open all the doors.

  “Down this hall. Lay him in the tub.”

  Dax follows her instructions, gently putting his brother in the tub.

  “I don’t have any medication to help with the pain.” Jax rips Kam’s t-shirt the rest of the way and studies the wound. “Looks like I’ll be able to stitch you up pretty easily, but it’s going to fucking hurt.”

  “I have some stuff. I’ll be right back.” Cole rushes from the room, not waiting for anyone’s approval.

  Dax bends over the tub, grabs Kam’s hands, and nods to Jax. He really thought he knew pain before from his childhood broken bones or Dax terrorizing the fuck out him, but none of that compared to what he’s experiencing now.

  After Jax poured a burning liquid in his wound, she started threading a needle and string through him. With each poke of the needle he squirms and fights the urge to scream. Dax’s punishing grip on his hand distracts him every so often.

  “I need a break. Just thirty seconds.” Tears threaten to invade from the emotional and physical pain.

  “Here.” Cole barges into the tiny room. “Take this.”

  He hands Kam three white pills and a bottle of vodka.

  “Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. You can’t take that together.”

  Kam has the pills down and is chugging on the bottle before she can stop him.

  “Cole, are you fucking crazy?”

  “It will help numb his pain.”

  “Or kill him.”

  “What did you just give him?”

  “Vicodin and vodka.”

  “Are you a fucking idiot?” Jax pushes hard on Cole’s chest.

  “It will help him through the pain. Numb it.”

  “That’s what you’re all about, huh, fucker? Numbing the pain and masking your problems.”

  “Cole, go wait in the living room.” Dax waves him off, still holding Kam’s hand. “Call the girls and tell them the wedding is going to be postponed until tomorrow morning.”

  “No,” Kam slurs.

  “Well, looks like he’s feeling a bit better. Go ahead, Doc.”

  Cole leaves the room and Kam fights to save his wedding date. “No, Dax, I have to get married.”

  “Kam, you’re getting married, just not today with a fresh wound and fucking wasted out of your mind. You can wait until tomorrow.”

  “Don’t tell her I’m hurt. She’ll worry.”

  “Cole won’t. He’ll take care of the situation like he always does.”

  Jax begins stitching again, and this time Kam doesn’t feel a thing as he watches her hands move back and forth.

  He takes another swig from the bottle and lays his head back on the tub.

  “Cole talked about you guys a lot and never mentioned that one of you was engaged.”

  Kam tries to lift his head, but Dax forces him back down. “Well, numbnuts here just proposed last night.”

  “I see.”

  “Cole really loves you, Doc.” Dax flinches hard as Kam speaks. “You should forgive the bastard. He’s a good guy.”

  Jax doesn’t let his words affect her as she continues to stitch. Dax joins in on the final stand for his brother.

  “He really has been torn up over you.”

  “I’m sure he’s fucked his way through an entire zip code since me.”

  “Cole told us what he did.” Kam sits up and looks at Jax. “Told all three of us the other night. If he’s come back to you and apologized and you turned him down, just know you
lost the best man you’ll ever meet.”

  “I guess I lost out then.” Jax ties off the final stitch, clipping the extra suture off. “Keep it clean. I’ll put a bandage over the wound. It took thirty-two stiches to get you sealed up. Don’t shower for a day or two, and don’t fucking mix pills and alcohol again.”

  Dax chuckles to himself.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “Mixing pills and alcohol is a staple in the Sterling family.”

  Jax shakes her head as she washes up at the sink and begins disposing of the mess left behind.

  “Can you sit up, buddy?” Dax grabs Kam’s shoulder.

  “The pain’s gone.” Kam smiles.

  “You’re going to make me fucking pack you back out, aren’t you, you lard ass?”

  Jax leaves the bathroom.

  “She’s really going to break Cole’s heart, isn’t she?” Kam looks up to Dax.

  “She sure is,” he answers. “We’ll all need to be there for him in Denver.”

  Dax pulls Kam from the tub, sets him up on the toilet, and pulls his bloody, cut up shirt the rest of the way off.

  “Here.” Jax throws a t-shirt at them. “It’s one your brother left here the other night.”

  Both men stare at her quizzically.

  “We both agreed to part ways, and just so you know I told him I forgave him and wanted him back in my life, and it was Cole who turned me down after what he put me through. So, boys, I’m not the heartless bitch you think I am.” She turns her back. “He not only broke my heart once, but twice.”

  “Jax, thank you for taking care of me and loving Cole.”

  She doesn’t turn around. They both stand and follow her out of the bathroom, but she turns down the hall, goes into a room, and shuts the door. Kam can barely walk from the buzz he’s enjoying. He takes another swig from the bottle. Eli takes it from his hands as he heads into the living room.

  The four men step out into the sunshine side by side.

  “Cole, did Jett text back?”

  “No.”

  “Give me my phone.”

  Kam dials her number and waits ring after ring until her voicemail picks up. He dials it again, wondering why in the fuck she wasn’t answering her text or phone calls.

  “Weird.”

  “What?” Dax asks.

  “Call Birdy and see if she’s with Jett.”

  “I know she’s not. Birdy texted a few hours ago saying Steve dropped her off at the apartment. Fred walked her up.”

  “She’s not answering her fucking phone.”

  He dials her again and again with the same result. He even has Dax call Birdy, and Eli call Chloe. They have the same story.

  “Holy fuck. No. There was a missing guy today at the hotel.”

  “Kam, calm down, she’s probably napping.”

  “Motherfucker,” he roars.

  Eli turns around from the passenger seat. “Calm the fuck down. She’s fine in her apartment. She’s either asleep or has her phone on silent.”

  “Cole.” Kam beats on the back of the seat.

  “Doing ninety, brother.”

  Six city blocks feel like eternity. His buzz fades rapidly with the realization they took her. The throb in his side comes to life as the adrenaline and fear take over. Kam is out of the SUV before Cole brings it to a stop. He hears his brothers yelling something behind him, but doesn’t stop to listen.

  He clutches his side as he races. Even Fred tries to talk to him, but he blows straight past him up to Jett’s apartment. He reaches for the door handle and freezes when it opens.

  “Jett.” Kam rushes through the apartment checking each room quickly and finds nothing.

  “Jett!” he screams again, going back through each room but not finding her.

  His eyes land on her purple cell phone lying on kitchen table, and he loses his shit. Dax rushes to his side and lifts him to his feet as the other brothers follow him. They set Kam on the couch.

  “I’ll call the police.” Cole reaches in his pocket for his phone.

  “I’m going to fucking kill him. I’ll kill the motherfucker with my bare hands.”

  “Who are you going to kill?” All four men look up in unison to see Jett standing in the doorway with an armful of bags.

  Kam goes to her in three long strides, grabs her shoulders, and begins shaking her. Dax is behind him whispering in his ear. “Kam, stop. She doesn’t know what happened this morning.”

  “Kam, what’s wrong?”

  He drops to his knees, wrapping his arms around her waist, and begins to sob. He’s never cried in front of his brothers. He has only shed tears when he buried his mom and dad, but today he cries like a baby while holding her in his arms.

  “Jett, you need to sit down.” Cole takes her bags from her hands.

  Kam rises up to his feet and guides her to the couch.

  “Kam, you’re bleeding.” Jett pulls up his shirt, exposing the large bandaged area.

  Dear Future,

  Today I’m marrying my best friend. Actually, I’m marrying my only friend. This man saved me from my own blood and myself. When his brother, Cole, told me the tale, I hurt. It stung to know someone loved me deeply enough to take care of me. He wants to give me a new last name and future forever with him. I’ll never look back.

  Jett Sterling

  “Oh my god, I can’t believe you’re getting married. We are like sisters now.” Birdy snaps the final button on Jett’s white dress.

  When she looks in the mirror, she doesn’t regret going out shopping yesterday and scaring the hell out of Kam. Little girls dream of getting married in a beautiful white gown, and she was only making sure that dream came true for her since she already had the prince.

  Jett’s fingers tremble as she pulls the ring she purchased for Kam from the black velvet box. She recalled a story about his dad that Kam told her one of the first nights they were together. Kam said one day he’d wear a thick gold band with his wife’s initials on the inside and raise a strong set of men just like his father did.

  She spent most of her time yesterday searching for a jewelry store that had the exact gold band she’d imagined in her mind, and then one who could engrave it for her. Jett put her own personal touch on the inside. She smiles as she reads the inscription over and over. “I found my king. –Jett S.”

  “Are you ready?” A waitress Jett worked the night shift with peeks her head in.

  “I am.” It comes out steadier than anything else she’s ever said in her life.

  “I love you, Jett.” Birdy wraps her up in a huge hug. “See you out there.”

  Jett and Kam agreed to make their wedding about them and only them. It’s more than evident the Sterling brothers will stick together through thick and thin, and it’s also clear their parents are smiling down on them from heaven, so all Jett and Kam need is each other.

  It hurts a bit to know Jett’s mother won’t be seeing her get married, but then again, she had to come to terms with knowing her own mother stayed in that lifestyle. And more so, she chose it. She closed every single chapter of her old life last night and vowed to herself to never look back or feel sorry for herself. She lived each day of her life to make her way to Kam, and that’s the way Jett will always look at it.

  She smiles at herself in the mirror with her long, dark hair pulled up in a bun, and especially at the gorgeous white dress draped on her body. There was no doubt in her mind when she went shopping yesterday what style dress she’d wed in. She’s always been deeply in love with the mermaid style dress, and her curves rock every stitch of it.

  The wedding march blares through the club, and without a second thought she steps from the office. The scene before Jett has her in tears before she’s able to move. Kam’s gone above and beyond any expectations for a makeshift wedding ceremony. But what else would Jett expect of a Sterling?

  Deep red rose petals cover the dance floor with lights perfectly accenting large sprays of red roses. As she takes in the decorations,
she looks up to the man standing at the end of the aisle. Kam is in black slacks with a white a dress shirt, and in all his dapperness he has the top two buttons undone on his shirt.

  She scans his entire body for his aviators, knowing they have to be somewhere, but she can’t seem to find them. When Kam shoots her a smile, Jett remembers she’s supposed to be walking toward her future. She feels the eyes of his brothers, Chloe, and Birdy on her, but can only seem to focus on Kam. One foot in front of the other, she repeats it over and over in her mind. When she’s merely feet from Kam, he closes the distance between them.

  “Get your ass up here.” He lifts Jett, twirling and whirling her up to the altar.

  “You are so damn bossy.”

  “I can’t help it when I’m around you, Jett.” Kam leans down and kisses her.

  Someone nearby clears their throat, and both the bride and groom turn to see the pastor giving them the stink eye.

  “I see I have two eager participants here today.” He shoots them a wink. “I don’t know either the bride or groom and have been instructed to keep it simple and bless this marriage.”

  The pastor begins with an opening prayer. Jett refuses to bow her head and close her eyes, not wanting to miss one memory of her wedding. She focuses on Kam’s loving face as the pastor speaks, and they exchange vows, waiting on the moment when she’s officially introduced to the world as Jett Sterling.

  “You may kiss the bride.”

  Kam grasps Jett’s face with both hands. “I love you so much.” He leans in and places a romantic kiss on her lips.

  Then Jett hears the sweetest phrase of her life, and she etches each word upon her heart.

  “For the first time in history, I’d like to introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Kam Sterling.”

  Kam grips Jett’s hand and she tugs right back on it.

  “Never let go, Kam.”

  The brothers decide to take the party to the hotel room, inviting all their L.A. friends for the “after-party.” Most call it a reception, but in true Sterling fashion they make it bigger and better. The club atmosphere has migrated to the penthouse. Jett doesn’t change from her wedding dress, and Kam keeps most of his clothes on from the ceremony as well, except for his shirt. Jett ripped that off in the limo.