Meant for Me (A Second Chance standalone) (25 page)

Putting my arm around her, I squeezed her tight and sighed.
“It doesn’t work that way, sweetheart. You live here with your dad. I can’t
just take you away.” She gazed up at me, frowning. “But if I could I would be
honored to have a little girl as beautiful and as smart as you. One day I hope
I will.”

We sat there on the couch for a while, and we both must’ve
fallen asleep because one minute it was peaceful and the next we heard Mira
calling out for Madison. “Madison, where are you? Hit a button so I’ll know
where you’re at.”

“Uh oh,” Madison cried. “I think daddy’s friends are here.”
Taking my hand, she tried to pull me to the door. “You can hide in my room with
me.”

We made it to the door and I peered around the edge. Mira
looked frantic, gazing up and down the hallway until her eyes landed on
Madison. “There you are, Madison. I was worried about you. You disappeared and
I didn’t know where you went. I need you to go to your room for just a few
minutes okay?”

Bending down on my knees, I wrapped my arms around Madison’s
little body and squeezed her tight. “Thank you for trying to hide me, but I
have to stay here. I had a wonderful time with you, but you need to get to your
room, okay? I’m going to miss you.”

“I don’t want you to go,” she cried.

Mira gasped and bent down on her knees beside me, turning
Madison’s face toward her. “Oh sweet heavens, Madison, you spoke. I can’t
believe I finally got to hear your voice.” She gazed over at me with wide,
tearful yet joyful eyes. “She’s never spoken before, or at least not to anyone
here. Whatever you did, thank you.”

Downstairs, we could hear the sound of male voices and
footsteps pounding across the floor. I hugged Madison one more time and put her
in Mira’s arms. A tear fell down her cheek and before Mira ran off with her
down the hall, I whispered in her ear, “You take care of yourself, Madison, and
whatever you do, keep dancing and be strong. I wish more than anything that I
could take you with me.”

“Good-bye, Miss Claire,” Mira uttered. She bolted down the
hallway and disappeared around the corner just as Chase turned the other corner
and noticed me standing in the doorway.

“It’s time to go have some fun, sweetheart. Are you ready?”

No, but I didn’t exactly have a choice.

“So, you think today is the day?” Ryan asked. He knew
everything Erick had told me from the night before because I spent the last
hour discussing it with him.

“I know it is,” I responded confidently. “Erick’s people
will be here at four o’clock to take me somewhere for the fight. I don’t know
where it is, but I’ll have my trackers on so you can find me.”

“All right, I’ll have my people ready. I have a file being
sent over to me today with information from the Ohio killings. There’s an
outstanding warrant for a man named Michael Turner. I’ll have his picture in a
little while and I’ll send it to you so you can let me know if it’s him. But in
the meantime, do what you have to do until we get there. I don’t want you
getting yourself killed. Do you think you’ll be able to carry your gun with
you?”

They were probably going to check me for weapons and take my
phone in the process. I didn’t know if I should risk it. “I don’t know if
that’s a good idea,” I uttered in all honesty. “If they find it there’ll be
questions. That’s the last thing I want when I’m so close.”

Ryan sighed. “Fine, but be careful. This all ends today.”

“Yes, it will, and I’m going to be there to end it.”

It was a little past three o’clock and I had less than an
hour until I met the unknown. Claire should’ve landed in California about an
hour ago, except I hadn’t heard a word from her yet. I tried calling her phone,
but it went straight to voicemail all ten times I called.

I hated to do what I was about to do, but I knew she still
had the tracker inside her bra. Picking up the phone, I dialed Ryan again and
he answered immediately, “Mason, what’s going on?”

“Can you do me a favor? When you gave me the trackers I made
sure to put one in one of Claire’s bras. She left to go back to California and
she should’ve called me by now. I have to know she got there safely before I go
into this fight tonight.”

“Yeah, sure, give me one minute to pull it up. I was about
to do that so I could keep tabs on where you go once four o’clock hit.” I heard
the tapping of his fingers hitting the keyboard keys, and after about thirty
seconds he had it. “Okay, it looks like she’s at the Charles M. Schulz Sonoma
County airport. Is that where she’s supposed to be?”

“Yes,” I breathed, releasing a relieved sigh. “Thank you for
checking.”

“No problem, Mason. Now get your head in the game, okay?”

“I will. Have you gotten the file yet?” I asked. “Because
I’m running out of time.”

“No, not yet. I don’t know what’s taking so long, but it
should be soon,” he grunted impatiently.

After he hung up, I dialed Melissa since she was the one who
was supposed to pick Claire up from the airport. If Claire didn’t call before I
left, I knew there would be no way to talk to her once I did.

Melissa picked up on the second ring and squealed, “Hey,
Mason, how are you? Are things going okay there?”

“Hey Mel,” I said quickly. “Yeah, things are fine for now.
Have you picked Claire up yet?”

“Well, I’m here to pick her up, but her flight was delayed
about an hour. The plane just pulled up so I should see her here in the next
little bit.”

Groaning, I ran my hands impatiently through my hair. “Okay,
I was hoping to talk to her before I had to leave. Will you do me a favor then,
please?”

“Of course, what do you need?”

I wanted to hear Claire’s voice, but it didn’t look like I
was going to get the chance. Sighing, I spoke softly into the phone, “Tell her
that I love her and that I’ll be coming home soon.”

“Oh, isn’t that sweet,” Melissa cooed. “I’ll be sure to tell
her as soon as I see her. So I guess this means things are wrapping up if
you’re coming home, right?” She paused for a moment before everything snapped
into place and her tone changed. “Oh hell, Mason, what’s going on? You’re doing
something dangerous today aren’t you? That’s why you’re getting all weird on me
right now.”

Warily, I collapsed onto the bed and closed my eyes, taking
in deep, calming breaths. “If I tell you what’s going on I know you’ll tell
Claire so it’s best to keep it to myself. All you need to know is that it’s all
coming to an end.”

Melissa sighed. “Just be careful, Mason. You’re all the
family I have left other than Brett.”

“I know, Mel. I’ll be safe. Just tell Claire what I said for
me.” Looking over at the clock, I noticed I had fifteen minutes left. “Okay, I
have to go now, but I’ll see you soon.”

As soon as she said her good-bye’s and hung up, I grabbed my
bag and made my way out the door. When I got into the lobby, I sat down and
glanced up at Claire’s favorite part of the Bellagio hotel, the massive
collection of glass flowers on the ceiling. She had a passion for art.

I couldn’t recall how long I stared at them before the sound
of someone clearing their throat caught my attention.

“I hate to drag you away from your flower gazing, but it’s
time to go.”

My head snapped forward, and there in front of me was a guy
about the same build as me, with a black hat hung low on his face, shadowing
his eyes. However, it didn’t disguise the mischievous leer turning up the
corner of his lips. I also didn’t miss the slight bulge on the waist of his
jeans signaling that he was sporting a firearm underneath.

Standing, I grabbed my bag and smiled. “Let’s go then. Lead
the way,” I said. As we walked out of the hotel, my phone buzzed and I hastily
looked down at it. It was Ryan, but the image he was sending me was taking
forever to load.

Once out to the parking lot, I followed the guy to a black,
Mercedes G500 with illegal, dark tinted windows. I checked my phone again and
the picture still hadn’t loaded.
Dammit!
I exited out of the file he was
sending so the douche bag in front of me wouldn’t see it. Looking down at the
duffle bag in my hands, he shook his head and held out his hand. “Before you
get in I’m going to need to look through your bag and take your phone,” he
requested.

Lifting a brow, I handed him my bag and chuckled. “Are you
afraid I’m going to call someone or something?”

The guy shrugged his shoulders and looked through my bag.
“We just like to play it safe, you know? I’m sure you understand.”

There wasn’t much in there except a pair of my fighting
shorts, tape, and a pair of my black gloves. He pocketed my phone and handed me
back my bag. “Okay, everything looks good. Hop in the back and put the
blindfold over your eyes. I’ll give you back your phone later.”

“What happens if I don’t win the fight? Are you going to
keep my phone?” I inquired sarcastically.

The guy smirked. “No, it’s just you won’t need it if you lose.
It’s kind of hard to call someone if you can’t use your hands, right? I’ll
leave you to your imagination on that one. Now get in so we can go.”

The second I opened the door and slid in the backseat, my
whole body froze when I saw the blindfold lying on the seat and a certain,
familiar scent engaging my nose. My blood ran cold and I couldn’t decipher if
it was my mind playing tricks on me or if I actually smelled the hint of
raspberries; the same raspberry scent I always associated with Claire.

There was no fucking way.
If her scent still lingered
that would mean she was in the car just recently. The situation only got worse
when I picked up the blindfold and there, hanging off of it, was a strand of
bright, blonde hair; the same color as Claire’s.

“Dude, come on. Put the blindfold on and let’s go. You’re
not scared, are you?” the guy teased.

No, I was pissed!
If anything happened to Claire
someone was going to die.

Putting the blindfold on, I sat back in the seat and
clenched my teeth together to keep my anger in check. “No, I’m not scared,” I
snapped. “I’m ready to get this started.”
Or better yet, ended.

With the blindfold on I couldn’t see where we were going,
but of course, that didn’t matter. As soon as Ryan followed the trackers he’d
get everyone in motion. We were about two minutes down the road when my phone
began to ring.

“Let’s see what we have here,” the guy crooned. “Ah, it
looks like you have a Melissa calling. Who is this Melissa by the way? Is she a
friend, lover, a girl you like to fuck?”

Trying to sound as disinterested as possible, I replied,
“Not that it’s any of your business, but she happens to be my cousin.”

“Well, shit, I thought there’d be a story there … unless you
fuck your cousin,” he teased.

I snorted, disgust curling my lip. “Sorry to disappoint you,
but no, I don’t swing that way.”

“It was just a joke, dude, lighten up. Anyway, we have about
thirty minutes before we get where we need to go.” My phone stopped ringing,
but then started right back up again. “Wow, this Melissa must either be
annoying or really wants to talk to you.”

The feeling in the pit of my stomach grew heavier and
heavier. Melissa wouldn’t call me like that unless something was wrong, and it
only added to the confirmation that Claire wasn’t on that plane. The only time
they could’ve gotten her would have been after I dropped her off at the
airport. I had to imagine she would scream and fight if someone tried to take
her. Unless …

“Are you going to let me answer it or let it keep on
ringing?” I asked impatiently. I really wanted to answer the phone. I had to
know for sure if Claire was on that plane or not.

“Neither,” he responded, “I’m going to shut it off so I
don’t have to listen to its incessant ringing.”

“What if it’s important?”

He scoffed. “Dude, nothing is as important as tonight.
You’re getting the chance to win a shit load of money. Do you know how many
people would kill to be in your place right now? In just one night you could
pursue all your dreams and do anything you want.”

“Have you done it before? Battled for money?”

“I did once a few months ago, but I only got two million
dollars for my reward. It doesn’t matter though because what I do now pays
pretty damn well. Erick saw potential in me and offered me a job with him. I
get everything I want so it’s hard to complain.”

“What kinds of things do you have to do to get what you
want?” I inquired curiously. “Do you have to kill people for it?”

He chuckled, but there was nothing humorous about it. “I
don’t think you want to know the answer to that. The less you know the better.
So take my word of advice … do as Erick says tonight and you’ll be fine.
There’s a lot riding on this fight and if you fuck that up there’ll be
consequences. My bets are actually on you to win so if you lose I’m going to
lose five-hundred thousand dollars.”

Gasping, I almost choked on my words when I hollered, “You
have got to be shitting me! How much will you get if I win?”

“That depends,” he said. “It’s all based on your opponent.
The bloodier and more violent the fight, the more money you get. The same goes
for the people gambling on you. Some people are simply just betting that you
lose while some will bet for you to win. Others are getting more technical,
take for instance, there is one person who thinks you’ll break your opponents
arm and such. It’s a win-win for everyone involved if you gamble on the right
fighter.”