Page 84 of Heartbreaker
Savvy Skye. Savannah Williams. The woman I—No, Brooks.You cannot think of her right now.Focus, just through this segment.
“You know, I think it’s comical you think you can beat me when you couldn’t even beat Vee with a hand tied behind your back,”Spencersays, regaining my attention. He’s been going on and on for the last few minutes, but I haven’t heard a damn word he said. I hope it’s not obvious, or Amos will have my head. “Should we see a clip?I think we should.Roll the clip!” His demand is met with a highlight reel from the handicap match between me andVivianatwo weeks ago.
The chorus of boos that follows the end of the clip surprises me. The crowd has been pro-SpencerandVivianaalmost this entire feud, but this is the first crowd that has mostly been behind me.
“You didn’t even try, Brooks,”Spencersays. “You could’ve at least tried to put up a fight, given her something to work with.”
“Are you serious, Austin?” I scoff. “I wasn’t going to fight your wife.Are you insane?Vee is good, but I refuse to do that.” The nerves creep their way past the veil, and I’m no longerBrooks Taylor. I’m John Brooks, and for the briefest moment,hername fills my mind again. What if it’s her? What if that’s why they haven’t said anything? It can’t be. They wouldn’t…Would they? No, she wouldn’t, but it’s the only real reason I can think of why they’d keep the identity of my partner a secret.
No, Savannah wouldnevercome back, not for this…Not for me.
A spark ignites in the air following my words. The crowd begins to hum, almost like they know where this is going.
My tongue darts out to wet my lips, and I force the corners of my mouth upward. The chuckle that follows doesn’t match the knots in my stomach, but I do my best to conceal how what is going on beneath the surface. “But I know someone who will.”
Showtime.
The arena goes dark, and for exactly ten seconds, it’s deadly silent. I swear the whole place can hear the blood pumping through my system. I don’t even realize I’m holding my breath until my lungs scream for air, forcing me to exhale, and the opening riffs of the familiar song consume me. In the blink of an eye, I’m thrust back to a completely different time. One where she was mine and I was happy…
“There’s no fucking way,” I whisper, but it’s lost in the sea of chaos. Screams, cheers, tears, and applause make the building quake beneath my feet. When the chorus finally hits, the lights turn up, andshestruts out. Savannah Williams. The woman who stole my heart a decade ago. The woman who disappeared from my life over two years ago.
But these people don’t know that; all they see isSavvy Skye, one of their heroes, returned from the depths.
I force my gaze to remain in front of me, staring down at the couple in the ring, their mouths hang agape. They’re allowed to show that response, but I’m not. As far as the crowd knows, I knew it was her the whole time.
Even from this distance, I can see the question in Austin’s eye. He cornered me earlier, tried to pry the name out of me because he didn’t believe I had been left in the dark, but I assured him I was just as clueless as he was. He looks between me and Savannah, still questioning how much I knew, before his wife whispers something in his ear.
My breath catches in my throat when I get a glimpse of Savannah in the three-hundred-sixty-degree screen that hangs high above the ring. Her gleaming smile widens as she soaks in every ounce of energy thrown her way. Every time I think the crowd is about to settle, they start again. She looks beautiful, dressed in high-waisted jeans, black heels, and a white, cropped shirt that looks delectable against the warmth of her tanned skin.No, Brooks, do not say things like that. Her hair is perfectly curled into waves, much longer than it used to be, hanging well below the under curve of her breasts and grazing the fabric of her jeans below her hips. She looks good—really good—like taking the last two and a half years off was the best thing she could’ve done.
How am I supposed to do this?
When the camera pans out to show the two of us standing side by side, my heart clenches. That’s an image I never thought I’d see again.
“You can’t do this!”Spencershouts over the crowd, getting us back on track, and they finally begin to simmer.
“It’s already done,”Savvysays, and the smirk in her voice brings another one to my face. The crowd echoes the sentiment with another cheer. “You already signed the contract.”
That’s right, they did sign the contract before I interrupted them. It had been sitting on the table in the middle of the ring, ready and waiting, signed by me last week while they were gone for their honeymoon.Theo Rafferty, once again the “General Manager,” made a whole spectacle of it. He made me come down to the ring, sitting across from him, and sign the contract as hebeggedme to tell him who my partner would be.Brooks Taylorrefused to say, and part of me now wonders if Theo was in on this whole thing and last week was his chance to play games with me. Last week, I signed the dotted line on a blank contract; there were no names, no stipulations, nothing…
“Did you even read that contract before you signed it?”Savvyasks. What is she talking about? There’s never anything important on them. Sometimes they’re left completely blank, truly all for show, but the look onViviana’s face as she reads over the paper again tells me there’ssomethingthere.
“Did I read the contract?”Spencerscoffs. “Of course,I read the—”
Vivianasays something, holding out the contract to her husband, and he snatches the paper from her hands. His eyes scour across it before they lift to stare straight at the woman next to me.
Even from here, I can hear him curse under his breath as he scrubs a hand down his face.
“Signed.Sealed.And delivered,”Savvypunctuates each word, and I see the smirk on her lips on the screen. “We’ll see you in three weeks. Oh, and I hope you’re ready because the match…it’s going to be No Disqualifications.”
What the fuck? is the first thing that comes to mind, and I see Austin and Vee share my sentiment in a quick exchange.
What is going on? No Disqualifications? No one said anything about that. A No DQ match can be like the Wild, Wild West, depending on who you’re fighting. There are no rules, except one: pinfall or submission must occur in the ring to win. Why wouldn’t Noah warn us? Probably because he knows Austin would’ve lost his shit.
“You don’t even work here, Skye!Not to mention, the last time you were in the ring with my wife—”
The last time she was in the ring with his wife, Viviana got injured, but it wasn’t Savannah’s fault. At Clash of the Titans, the premiere event in November 2016,Savvy Skyewas facingVivianain a street fight match for the women’s title. About halfway through the match, Savannah set up to throw her opponent into the steel steps; however, it didn’t go as planned. Instead of going through with the spot, Viviana planted her feet. Her foot went one way, and her knee went another. The official should’ve called the match right then and there, but Viviana wanted to keep going. A few chair shots and a chain rope to the knee later,Savvy Skyepicked up the victory to retain her title. Viviana couldn’t walk, having to be carried backstage, where Doc could assess the damage done.
“Scared your wife can’t hold her own?” I ask, and normally, this is whereSavvyand I should share a look, but we don’t.
