Sidelined: A Wilde Players Dirty Romance (33 page)

BOOK: Sidelined: A Wilde Players Dirty Romance

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After they dated and she moved in with him, things rapidly deteriorated. He grew jealous and possessive. His obsession with bodybuilding became his addiction and when his steroid usage increased, so did his crazed behavior. But here she was, four years later, still getting the shit beaten out of her.

Countless lies, cover-ups, trips to the emergency room, and to her doctor and she still stuck with him. Sometimes she actually felt sorry for him because he’d been abused as a child. But not anymore. This was the last time she would endure his brutality. It was time to put her plan into motion. She needed to get a move on if she was going to get out of here alive.

Recalling that Jasper had a set of handcuffs just for her, she rummaged through his things. When she found them, using every bit of her strength, she dragged his hulky body to the support pole in their dumpy apartment’s living room. Finally, she’d be able to put that ugly eyesore to good use. Taking one of his wrists, she clamped the cuff on as tight as it would go, and clamped the other link to the pole. She had no idea where the keys were and she couldn’t care less.

As she made her way back to the shower, she found she couldn’t stop shaking. Turning on the water as hot as she could stand, she let the spray rinse away the mess of what her life had turned into. The tub floor swirled with red, her blood flowing from all the areas he’d used the knife to slice into her. She would be a vision in butterfly bandages later.

Scrubbing her body hard and getting rid of his putrid stench was her first priority. When her skin was raw, for she never truly felt cleansed, she dried herself off. He’d really fucked her up this time, but she dared not let herself dwell on it. Leaning close to the mirror to examine her lip, she was chagrined to see one of her front teeth had chipped. Another thing to worry about later.

Damn, she looked like she’d just gone ten rounds with Mike Tyson. The bruises were already popping out. She hoped her eye wouldn’t swell shut—that would make it a bit more difficult to drive.

Her plans were etched in her mind, and had been now for weeks. She went to her room and pulled the largest suitcase she owned from the closet’s top shelf, filling it with her few clothes and other belongings. The next step would require large garbage bags.

In the kitchen she tiptoed around the broken glass. On her way back to the bedroom, she double-checked to make sure Jasper was still out cold. Satisfied that he was, she continued to pack. It only took her about thirty minutes to have all her things stuffed in bags and loaded in the car. Knowing the pain would be gripping her fairly soon, she wanted to get the heavy stuff done fast.

She stuffed all of Jasper’s clothes in bags and put them in her car too. They would end up in a dumpster somewhere on the other side of town. The rat bastard didn’t deserve anything less.

Now for a little extra handiwork. Picking up the knife he’d used to cut her with, along with a pair of scissors, she cut his clothes off in strips. Then she tore them into even tinier pieces. The only thing she left intact was his tighty whities. He loved those stupid underwear. He thought he looked so fucking hot in them, when in reality he was nothing but a loser, prancing around the apartment.

Grabbing the scissors, she cut a huge hole in the crotch, so even if he tried to wear them, all his junk would be hanging out, not to mention his ass.

She inspected the house, just to make sure she didn’t forget anything. She wanted him to wake up and have to call for help and then not have a damn thing to wear.

“Towels and sheets!” she thought. She decided she needed to grab those too. After emptying out the linens, there wasn’t anything left, except maybe a cotton ball, that he could use.

Riviera didn’t bother to take a last look at the hellhole she’d been living in for the last four years. She was making a break, grabbing onto this dream that, for whatever reason, she’d never acted upon. Why does any abused woman stay in a relationship? Lack of confidence, lack of self-esteem, lack of self-love, fear?

It certainly wasn’t because she loved him. At one point she tried to suggest he stop using the steroids, but that only resulted in another beating. She even suggested counseling, thinking it might help him overcome his childhood of being abused himself. But again, it had terrible consequences for her. It was then she admitted their relationship was hopeless. She hadn’t loved Jasper for years. Fear kept her tied to him. He threatened her every day, but somewhere, something bigger than fear began to grow within her. Fear was soon replaced by the desire to live. She had no doubt that at some point, if she stayed with him, she would become a statistic.

As she got in her car, her body shaking with the enormity of what she was about to do, she realized this was her big chance at freedom … her chance to live.

Acknowledgements For SIDELINED

To every athlete out there, who dedicates hours and hours to their sport, we thank you and appreciate you. Not only do you entertain us, but you also give us something to write (fantasize) about!

To our readers: you guys are THE BEST! And we say that from the bottoms of our hearts. We love and appreciate each and every one of you and we hope our little dirty, flirty romance is something that you love. We decided to play a little with this and veer away from the serious so we could have some fun. So please tell us what you think. Hit us up on Facebook or wherever, but there will be more Wilde Players on the way.

Here are the lovely people we’d like to say
THANK YOU
to. Our beta readers: Kristie, Andrea, Nina, Kat, Jill, and Heather. You ladies are our shining stars and always make our books brighter and prettier than they can ever have been without you. We love you to the end zone and then some!

Thank you Nina Grinstead, and Social Butterfly PR for running your butt off in getting our stuff out there when we were so late. We love you!

And thank you Rick Miles at Redcoat PR For everything, but especially for putting up with Annie (and Walter) after two pots of coffee.
Next time she’ll just give the coffee to Walter.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

A.M. Hargrove

One day, on her way home from work as a sales manager, USA Today bestselling author, A. M. Hargrove, realized her life was on fast forward and if she didn't do something soon, it would be too late to write that work of fiction she had been dreaming of her whole life. So she made a quick decision to quit her job and reinvented herself as a Naughty and Nice Romance Author.

Annie fancies herself all of the following: Reader, Writer, Dark Chocolate Lover, Ice Cream Worshipper, Coffee Drinker (swears the coffee, chocolate, and ice cream should be added as part of the USDA food groups), Lover of Grey Goose (and an extra dirty martini), #WalterThePuppy Lover, and if you're ever around her for more than five minutes, you'll find out she's a non-stop talker. Other than loving writing about romance, she loves hanging out with her family and binge watching TV with her husband. You can find out more about her books at
http://www.amhargrove.com
.

Terri E. Laine

Terri E. Laine, USA Today bestselling author, left a lucrative career as a CPA to pursue her love for writing. Outside of her roles as a wife and mother of three, she’s always been a dreamer and as such became an avid reader at a young age.

Many years later, she got a crazy idea to write a novel and set out to try to publish it. With over a dozen titles published under various pen names, the rest is history. Her journey has been a blessing, and a dream realized. She looks forward to many more memories to come.

You can find more about her books at
www.terrielaine.com
.

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Cruel & Beautiful