Page 47 of Heartbreaker
“Brooks Taylor is still out cold on the floor, and it looks like Harper is looking to give her boyfriend some more advantage,” Jude says, watching her creep around the corner of the ring.
“Savvy, where are you going?” Scott calls out when Savvy rips the headset off her ears.
“Wait a second! Our guest commentator, Savvy Skye, is getting involved now,” Jude yells. His excitement matches that of the crowd as the former champion rushes to intercept Harper. She stands at the other end of the ring, begging Harper to take another step towards the man who has finally begun to stir.
“I don’t think Harper anticipated this,” Scott adds. “Jude, I think we might be witnessing the beginnings of a new rivalry.”
Spencer slides under the bottom rope, ready to force Brooks back into the ring and finish the match. Savvy stands nearby but doesn’t interfere when he grabs his opponent by the back of the neck. Brooks digs in his heels, resisting, and throws a sharp elbow into Spencer’s ribs. In a quick flash, Brooks takes hold of Spencer’s jaw and drops to the floor in a seated position, forcing his shoulder into his opponent’s jaw.
Scott cringes. “That’s gonna hurt!”
“Jawbreaker on the floor. That’s unforgiving,” Jude adds.
“There’s no give whatsoever on that concrete.”
Brooks shoves Spencer back under the ropes as the referee gets to seven, climbing in behind him. He waits patiently for his opponent to stand on his feet, and the moment Spencer is up, he kicks him in the gut. Hooking Spencer’s bad arm, Brooks lifts him onto his shoulders and drives him shoulder-first into the mat.
“Brooks goes for the cover!” Jude yells as the wrestler drops back to the mat, hooks a leg, and pins his opponent. The crowd counts along with each slap of the referee’s hand on the mat: One. Two. Three!
“And that’s it! Impressive win for Brooks Taylor tonight on Monday Night Rage,” Jude says.
The smirk in Scott’s voice is evident when he adds, “Very impressive, but I think there’s something else on his mind besides that win, Jude.”
Savvy Skye steps through the ropes, glancing over at Harper, who coaxes Spencer out of the ring, before she meets the victor’s gaze..Brooks stands tall, chest rising and falling with steady breaths, and watches her slowly walk toward him. All eyes on them, waiting to see what happens next. Never breaking eye contact, she slowly slips her hand in his, threading their fingers together before she lifts their joint hands high in the air.
Spencer Austin shoots Brooks Taylor into the corner of the ring, not only knocking the referee out, but also sending him straight into Savvy Skye, who stands on the apron. Brooks calls out for Skye as she crumples helplessly, both she and the referee knocked out, before he narrowly avoids Spencer’s running boot.
“What the hell is she doing?” Jude Paul asks as Harper Valentine lifts the curtain and begins to dig around underneath the ring. Finally, she pulls out a steel chair.
“Well, Jude, that would be a chair,” Scott Harrington says.
“The official is still knocked out! He has no idea what’s going on. This could be bad news for Taylor.”
Harper sets the chair on the apron and steps away, peeking around the corner to ensure the referee didn’t see anything. She runs to the other side of the ring and climbs up the apron, right where Brooks Taylor pulls himself up in the corner. Her face is mere inches from his when he looks up, and before he knows it, Harper reaches over the ropes and pulls his face to hers. The crowd gasps, but Brooks shoves her away. Too preoccupied with feigning hurt from his rejection, Harper doesn’t notice the movement beneath her.
Savvy Skye swipes her feet out from under her, sending Harper face-first into the apron and then the floor.
“Oh, that’s gotta hurt,” Scott says.
“Chair!” Savvy yells up at Brooks.
Brooks steps out of the way, missing a strike to the head. He turns on his heel and kicks Spencer in the jaw.
Satisfied, Savvy turns back to Harper, who pulls herself up with aid from the barricade, earning a few taunts from fans sitting ringside. Not waiting, Savvy digs her fingers into the dirty blonde strands of Harper’s hair and throws her straight into the side of the announcer’s table.
“Savvy, what are you doing?” Jude yells, but she ignores him.
She kicks Harper once, knocking her back down, then again just for good measure. She pulls a chair of her own from under the ring.
“You want to play with chairs?” Skye slams the weapon into Harper’s back, sending her crashing back to the floor. She does it three more times before tossing it aside and running to aid the official. Skye pushes him into the ring just in time for the three-count.
“Brooks Taylor picks up the win!” Scott shouts as the referee motions to ring the bell.
“This win re-cements his number one contender spot for the EWE World Championship,” Jude explains. “Spencer challenged this after losing to Brooks two weeks ago, and our interim General Manager, Chelsea Rafferty, had no choice but to give him a rematch.”
“He wouldn’t let her alone,” Scott says, with a soft chuckle. “She had no choice.”
Savvy climbs into the ring and jumps into Brooks’s waiting arms. His hands plant firmly on her hips, and her fingers tangle into his short hair, tugging gently at his nape before she leans in close. She can practically taste the icy mint on his breath, but before their lips touch, a siren blares through the arena. They both share one final glance before she sighs, and her legs slowly untangle from his waist to slink down until her feet are planted firmly on the mat.
