Follow Me (Caged Hearts Book 3) (8 page)

Chapter 30

Jasper sprawled across his sofa gazing despondently at the television screen mounted on the wall. He was wearing a dressing gown over his boxer shorts even though it was three in the afternoon. He didn’t feel like getting dressed. Shame clung to him like an ill-fitting coat.

When the doorbell rang a third time, he stood up with a reluctant sigh and slowly shuffled across his large open plan apartment to open it. Kait was standing there, looking impossibly beautiful in dark skinny jeans and a plain white t-shirt. Jasper had always thought that was the test of true beauty – to be able to look stunning in even the simplest of outfits. Kait did it effortlessly.

“Hey,” he grunted at her in greeting. He wasn’t in the mood for visitors, as he’d told her over the phone yet here she was. Her stubbornness was both endearing and annoying.

“How are you feeling?” Kait titled her head to the side, her features soft with concern.

“Like hell,” Jasper grumbled as he slunk back towards his sofa. He’d spent the last twenty four hours curled up on it, hiding away from the rest of the world.

“You look better,” Kait told him gently. “There’s more color in your face.”

“Yeah, well I still feel wretched.”

As he dropped down on the sofa, she carefully placed herself on the far end.

“I’m just glad you’re okay,” she whispered, her eyes glistening. “When you went down the other night, a part of me feared that…”

“That I might not get up again?”

“Well…yeah.” She wiped a hand across her eyes and shuddered.

“You and me both,” Jasper shifted uneasily on the sofa. “I just wish I knew what the hell was wrong with me. I thought I had it, Kait. In the first round, I was on fire.”

Kait said nothing as an elephant entered the room. Jasper already knew her theories on his poor performance; at least she was having the good grace not to repeat them again.

“Then just stop,” she pleaded. “Stop fighting. Please, I can’t risk losing you.”

“Kait, I have to fight,” Jasper clenched his jaw and faced away from her, focusing on the television. “If I don’t fight, I get into even worse debt than I already am. Since losing my main sponsor, it’s like I’ve been bleeding money. Especially since no one wants to sponsor a loser.”

“You’re not a loser!”

Jasper gave a brittle laugh. He knew he was very much a loser – his current lack of sponsors told him that.

“Is your financial situation really that bad?” She wondered carefully.

“Yeah,” Jasper sighed, shamefully lowering his head. “I never exactly planned for a rainy day or anything. I thought I had a few more years before I had to do that.”

“Oh, Jasper!”

“Don’t pity me,” he shrugged angrily in her direction. “I got myself in this mess, and I’ll get myself out of it.”

“How?”

“By winning again,” Jasper felt his body begin to tense with enthusiasm. Whenever he talked about winning, his inner competitor woke up, and suddenly all that mattered was victory at whatever cost.

“I know you can do it,” Kait told him lovingly.

“I’m glad someone believes in me,” Jasper smiled sadly at her. “I just need to put in more hours at the gym. If every round was like that first one, I’d be back on top in no time.”

“Are you ready to go back to the gym?”

“Not like this,” Jasper tugged at his navy dressing gown. “I’ll be ready by tomorrow. I just needed time to lick my wounds.”

“Jasper - ”

“If it’s about Carl, then I don’t want to hear it, okay?” Jasper told her briskly. “You two are the only people who have my back, so the last thing I want is you two bickering.”

Kait nodded and pursed her lips, remaining silent.

“Do you fancy ordering a pizza?” He asked, his eyes glowing as some of his former sparkle returned.

“Absolutely,” Kait grinned.

“Do you mind if it’s on you?” Jasper wondered guiltily. “I’m kind of…short.”

“It’s not a problem.”

Chapter 31

“Oh, Kait, that’s awful,” Anna was shaking her head in dismay, her glass of wine momentarily forgotten.

“I know, right?” Kait shifted nervously on the sofa in her apartment where the two friends were having a drink and a catch up.

“You really think that Carl guy is behind it all?”

“I’m certain,” Kait raised her glass to her lips and took a delicate sip of deep red liquid. “It’s that damn drink, Anna. There’s something in it that like sedates Jasper or something, forcing him to lose at a crucial point in a match.”

“That’s just terrible.”

“And he’s losing sponsors and money,” Kait was talking quickly and loudly, the alcohol having loosened her tongue. “If it carries on, he’ll soon have nothing left!”

“You can’t let that happen!” Anna declared fervently.

“But what can I do?” Kait’s shoulders slumped in defeat. “I’ve already told Jasper what I think is going on, and I’ve even challenged Carl, but it’s done no good.”

“He sounds like an absolute creep,” Anna lamented, “Carl, that is. I’ve seen him on television slinking about the ring like an unwanted snake.”

Kait laughed, and the sound came out like a snort which made both women burst in to fits of drunken giggles.

“He’s a little heavy to be a snake,” Kait laughed.

“Maybe a snake that’s just been fed!” Anna quipped. “You know when they feed, and they, like, double in size as their latest meal bulges inside them? That’s Carl Santino. A big, fat, bulging snake!”

Kait was laughing so hard that she started to cry.

“Who the hell does he think he is? Slithering around and poisoning his own clients?” Anna continued.

“There must be something in it for him,” Kait nodded thoughtfully to herself, her laughter abating.

“Like money?” Anna arched an eyebrow at her friend.

“Maybe,” Kait drank some more of her wine. “There definitely has to be something. And he’s done it before to his other clients.”

“Could you get in touch with them, ask for their side of the story?” Anna suggested helpfully.

“Yeah!” Kait leapt at the idea.

“You could email them or something?” Anna shrugged. “Dear whoever, did Carl the snake screw you over?”

Kait was laughing again, her cheeks starting to ache.

“But seriously, Kait,” Anna picked up her own glass and drew it up to her pink glossed lips. “If this asshole is messing with Jasper, then you need to stop him. You know it’s the right thing to do, and if you let him sabotage Jasper’s career the way he intends to, you’ll never forgive yourself.”

“So what? I email his old clients?”

“I’d say first step, yes,” Anna nodded briskly.

“Second step?”

“Take the head off the snake.”

“And how do you propose I do that?”

“By playing him at his own game,” Anna smiled mischievously.

“Meaning?”

“He’s all about giving Jasper these weird energy drinks, right?”

“Right.”

“Then let’s eliminate the issue at the source. You say that they’re in his apartment, in his refrigerator?”

“Yes,” Kait thought of the fancy unit with its sleek silver doors. “But I don’t think all the bottles are contaminated, just a few. That way Jasper doesn’t get too suspicious.”

“See how slippery our snake is?” Anna remarked coldly. “What you need to do is empty
all
the bottles and refill them with water. That way when Carl goes to grab his poisoned chalice, he won’t realize the switch has been made. Jasper doesn’t ingest any sedative during his next fight and should hopefully knock out the other guy!”

“Okay,” Kait was nodding, going over the plan in her mind. “But how do I make the switch without Jasper noticing? He doesn’t appreciate me getting suspicious about Carl.”

“Use your feminine mystique,” Anna smirked. “Lure him in to bed, give him the night of his life, and while he sleeps it off, you sneak out and do what needs to be done.”

“And Carl?”

“Sounds like he’ll show his true colors and slithery self when Jasper wins instead of loses.”

“Yeah,” Kait drank more of her wine. Everything Anna said was right. She did need to step in and save Jasper’s career before it was too late.

“Can you help me email some of Carl’s old clients?” Kait asked hopefully.

“Sure thing,” Anna grinned. “Grab your laptop and some more wine, and let’s get on it!”

Chapter 32

“This fight,” Carl smacked a fist against the palm of his hand as he talked. “This is the one where you make your big comeback.”

“I don’t know,” Jasper was still in his dressing gown, rolled out across his sofa whilst Carl stood beside the television facing him. After Kait had left, there had been a second knock at his door less than an hour later. This time it was agent coming to check in on him.

“You said the last fight was when I was supposed to make my big come back and look how that turned out.”

Jasper hadn’t even been able to bring himself to check online reactions to the fight. He could already imagine the terrible things people were saying about him; he didn’t need to see it.

“You went out too soon, you weren’t ready, that’s all,” Carl was bright and animated as he spoke. “You killed it in the first round!”

“Yeah,” Jasper agreed, feeling a slight swell of pride, “I did.”

“But then everything came undone in the second round.”

“Uh huh,” the feeling of pride was quickly replaced with shame.

“Then, it’s your endurance we need to work on,” Carl explained. “Your punches and kicks were spot on; all that’s missing is your level of fitness, and we can work on that, it’s no problem.”

“You really think I can win my next fight?” Jasper wondered dubiously. He knew full well that his career couldn’t take another devastating defeat. To drop in the second round again like he had done would truly be the end of it all. No one could come back from such humiliation. Not even the great Jasper Duboix.

“We gear ourselves up for an old grudge match,” Carl was explaining, rubbing his hands together as though trying to warm them by a fire.

“You go out there, pummel them, and show the world that you’ve still got it. Your sponsors will come knocking again, and you’ll be back on top.”

“It all sounds good,” Jasper admitted. “Almost too good.”

“What do you mean?”

“I thought I had it this time, Carl. I was on fire when I walked in to that ring, but come the second round the wind had well and truly been knocked out of my sails, and I was just…I well and truly failed. I can’t face that kind of humiliation again. And it scared Kait; she thought the worst when the lights went out for me.”

“But you’re fine!” Carl insisted brightly. “You’ve taken hard knocks before, Jasper. Don’t let her reaction put you off!”

“She wasn’t the only one who got scared, Carl. The way I lost it out there, it was unreal. I just fell to pieces.”

“Endurance, stamina, that’s all it comes down to,” Carl was clapping his hands together on the key words.

“We’ll get you in the pool swimming laps and running at least two miles a day. When did you last go swimming?”

Jasper had to pause to think. It obviously wasn’t a recent memory.

“Exactly!” Carl pointed excitedly at him. “You’ve been slipping with your training. You used to swim every day.”

“Back when I was trying to create muscle tone,” Jasper defended himself. He no longer had time to swim. It had been pushed to the bottom of the list of his priorities against weights and reps.

“That’s your problem! You’ve been neglecting the elements which help you with endurance. It’s not all about power, Jasper. I shouldn’t have to tell you that.”

“I know, I know,” Jasper leaned forward and cradled his head in his hands. He wished he still had his trainer. The American had been tough, but he knew his stuff. He’d make sure Jasper could endure the end of the world, let alone a second round in the ring.

“This next fight, this is your chance to shine, and we’ll be properly ready this time,” Carl promised. “You’ll taste victory again, Jasper.”

“I hope so,” Jasper sighed. Because if he didn’t, it was all over.