Meant for Me (A Second Chance standalone) (27 page)

The first round was sickeningly brutal. There was so much
anger … so much hate. Mason fought by the rules of the sport, except I noticed
Wade sneaking elbows in where he shouldn’t have. Even after the fact, Mason
still didn’t sway from his honor. I wanted to scream at him, to tell him this
wasn’t the time to play by the rules, except I knew he wouldn’t do it.

Both guys were on their side of the ring, drinking their
water and wiping down their skin. Mason’s lip was busted, thanks to one of
Wade’s elbows, and the gash he had above his left eye from the fight with Matt
Reynolds reopened and bled down his face. Wade didn’t look any better, either.
He had a busted nose that wouldn’t stop bleeding and an eye that started to
swell shut. I had no clue how they were going to last all five rounds.

“How do your people vote on who did the best? Where do you
get the results?” I asked Erick. He had his tablet open on his lap, typing
away, but I couldn’t tell what he was doing. When he finished typing, he handed
me the tablet and showed me the answer.

“I have a special program that I use that tallies all of the
results within a minute of the votes. The minute is almost up, and their
decision should come through right about … now,” he claimed excitedly.

Round 1 winner: Mason Bradley

“You see,” he said, taking the tablet back and setting it to
the side. “The winner will be the one who had the most votes in their favor. In
this case, it was Mason.” Standing up, he clapped his hands and approached the
ring. “Good job, guys. The votes are in and Mason was the winner for the first
round. Round two is about to begin.”

Wade threw his water bottle angrily out of the cage in
frustration while Mason kept it calm and cool, not even acknowledging Erick. I
couldn’t tell if he even heard what Erick said. Chase grumbled beside me, but I
ignored him as best as I could and tried to get the murderous thoughts of
smashing Erick’s tablet over his head as hard as I could; the bell helped with
that. Round two had come and Wade and Mason started at it again. Mason landed a
hard punch to Wade’s midsection and I couldn’t tell if it was my imagination or
if I actually heard a rib crack. It was different watching it as a sport, but
watching it as a matter of life or death was too much to bear. I wanted to
scream, yell, kick, fight … anything to let the pressure go. Now I knew why
Summer went crazy, she was terrified, but I was … fiercely enraged.

“How can anyone find this entertaining?” I spat vehemently.
“You’re all nothing but a bunch of sick fucks. How many people have you watched
die because of this sadistic crap?”

Chase scooted over to me and put his arm around my shoulder
with an evil grin on his face. “Oh, Claire, you disappoint me. If you can’t
handle it maybe I should take you to another room so you don’t have to watch. I
can take your mind off of it.”

“Chase,” Erick growled, “I would appreciate it if you kept
your hands to yourself and scampered off. I have half a mind to tie you up and
throw you in the cage with Mason and Wade so they can finish
you
off.”

Chase snorted and glowered at us both before leaving to take
a seat on the other side of the ring. Round two was almost over and when I
noticed Mason trying to get Wade into an armbar, I jumped to my feet, but then
reality hit; there was no tapping out in this fight. Mason would end up
breaking Wade’s arm or worse, except it didn’t matter because Wade wriggled out
of it.

One thing I noticed about Wade was that his movements were
quick and choppy. He was faster than Mason, except not as efficient. I did
regret, however, my decision to get to my feet. When I looked down at the mat
there was blood smeared everywhere and if I breathed in deep enough I was sure
I’d be able to smell the metallic scent of it. Putting my head in my hands, I
sank to my chair, closed my eyes, and breathed in and out through my mouth. I
had faith in Mason, that he could do this, except it didn’t make this any less
easy.

On the verge of hyperventilating, my reprieve came when the
bell rang, signaling the end of round two. “Thank God,” I breathed.

Erick went back to his tablet and fiddled around on it.
Keeping his gaze on the screen, he said, “You know, at first I thought I liked
Chase. He’s strong, ruthless, and an arrogant ass. I’m starting to think I
should’ve put him up against Mason instead of Wade. That way I wouldn’t have to
kill the bastard myself, not unless you want to take the honor and do it.
Surely, you’d want to, because you and I both know what his intentions were
when he tried to drag you off into the dark.”

As much as the thought was appealing, I couldn’t kill
someone in cold blood … I wasn’t like him. “Let me guess,” I began, facing off
with him, “you’d televise it just like this and get your millions. Am I right?”

Erick winked, an evil leer spreading across his face.
“You’re damn right. Just think about the money we could make off of it. We
could tie him up a bit to give you an advantage and put razors in the tip of
your gloves while you fought him. It would be epic.”

At the look of horror on my face, Erick bellowed and
nonchalantly turned back to his tablet as if he didn’t just mention something
so sadistically sick that it made my stomach turn.
Was he actually being
serious?
The way he said it was all joking, but in his eyes I saw the glint
of seriousness. Chills swept through my body and I trembled. I had never been
more freaked out being around Erick than I was in that moment. Jumping out of
my seat, I had to get some distance and I didn’t care if I was allowed to get
up or not. Quickly, I went to Mason’s side of the ring and gasped when I saw
the towel at his feet was drenched in blood and heard the sound of his hoarse
breaths as he inhaled.

“Oh my God, Mason, are you okay?” I cried. “You don’t sound
good at all.”

Grimacing, he turned so he could face me and clasped his
fingers through the fence. They were bloody, but I still put mine over them and
held on. “I’ll be okay, baby,” he promised. “I have a broken rib. I felt it
crack and the pain’s just making it a little hard to breathe. I don’t know
what’s taking Ryan so long.”

As quietly as I could, I whispered softly, “Listen, Erick’s
not going to hand me over to Chase. It was all a ruse to get you and Wade to
fight harder for me.”

Mason leaned his head against the cage and closed his eyes.
“Knowing Erick, I’m sure he has another plan for you then if we lose. Wade’s
getting tired and if he wasn’t such a dumbass with using all of his energy in
the first round trying to take me down we’d both have more energy. He’s a good
fighter, but he’s not going to last. If I have to keep hitting when he goes
down it’s not going to be good, and if I refuse to follow through, I’m
outnumbered here until help comes,” he murmured regretfully.

Reaching through the openings in the cage, I tried to run my
fingers soothingly through his sweat drenched hair. If it came down to him or
Wade I’d choose Mason in a heartbeat. “You listen to me, Mason. You’re not in a
professional UFC ring right now. I want you to do whatever you have to do to
get this over and done with even if it means putting your honor aside.
Sometimes you have to break the rules to survive. You’re fighting for your life
here, not a title.”

Erick cleared his throat loudly, looking down at the tablet
in his hands, and we both turned. “Okay, so for round two, the voters have
chosen Wade as the winner. Round three will begin shortly. Take your places,
gentlemen, and make it good.”

Wade gloated in his corner while Chase hollered triumphantly
behind him, flipping Mason off with both hands. “I’m going to stay right here,
Mason. I’m not going anywhere. You can do this,” I told him. Putting his
mouthpiece back in, he took a deep breath and nodded before getting into place
on the mat.

The bell rang and round three began.

Claire.

Fight.

Win.

Those were the three words running rampant through my mind.
Nothing else mattered except those three things. My body was on fire, burning
and ripping away at my flesh, yet I was numb at the same time. In my mind, I
made myself believe that every hit that fucker landed on my body just rolled
off and didn’t connect. I tasted sweat and blood on my tongue, and I could
smell it as it dripped down my face. Unfortunately, a drop of it fell into my
eyes, obscuring my vision, and that was all it took for Wade to get an
advantage.

The pain exploded from my face all the way down to my feet
and my legs gave out. I couldn’t see from all the blood, but I’d fought blind
before. Austin was the one who taught me how to fight blindfolded. Wade pounced
as soon as I hit the ground and dug his knee into my side, the same side with
the broken rib. Growling, I elbowed him in the cheek, making his head snap
back, and it was his turn to fall over.

“Come on, man, fuck him up like you did that pussy a few
weeks ago!” Chase shouted.

Instantly, I froze, hearing Claire’s gasp behind me …

I knew someone had been the one to kill Austin, but I never
expected the possibility that I could be fighting the same fucker who took him
out. Pinning Wade with my weight, I grabbed his neck and squeezed until his
face turned as red as the blood dripping down onto the mat from my wounds.

“Who the hell is he talking about?” I shouted in his ear.

Wade clawed at my hands and gasped for air when I finally
gave him a reprieve so he could answer my question. He choked and coughed, and
instead of answering he tried to get out of my hold. Switching positions, I
wrapped my forearm around his neck, tucking him into my side so I could squeeze
and apply pressure. It was called a neck crank submission hold, and if I
applied more pressure I could do some serious damage. Wade kept his lips firmly
shut even though his face was turning blue.
Stubborn prick.

“Answer me!” I demanded, applying more pressure to his neck.
“If you don’t answer me I’m going to snap your neck and be done with this shit.
I knew a fighter who died here a couple of weeks ago and I want to know who
killed him. His name was Austin.”

Wade opened his mouth and wheezed so I loosened my grip,
bending low so I could hear him. If he said he did it, I was going to snap his
neck and not think twice about it. In that one selfish moment, I wanted revenge
more than justice. I wanted to tell Summer that the man who killed her husband
paid for what he did, and that everyone involved were going to rot in hell. I
wanted revenge for all they put Claire through. With my heart pounding against
my chest and the adrenaline coursing through my veins, my body shook as I
waited for him to reply. I was so close to snapping his neck.

“I … didn’t … fight … Austin,” Wade choked.

“Don’t you dare fucking lie to me. If you didn’t fight him,
who did?” I yelled.

Never had I been so consumed with hate or rage to where I
thought I’d actually
enjoy
killing someone. There would be no remorse,
no sadness … just the knowledge that I made them suffer by my hands. That
thought only intensified when I heard Chase’s tauntingly arrogant voice holler
out the answer my question, “I did it, shithead! I was the one who fought that
pussy ass bitch.”

Chase’s smiling face was all I could see as he came around
the cage to face me. Out of everything Chase had done to Austin, Summer, and
Claire, he deserved to die a slow and agonizing death. He only made it worse by
deepening the wound and confirming his fate.

“Yeah, that fight was pretty interesting,” Chase sneered.
“When Austin didn’t agree to the terms we had his wife brought in, just like we
had to snag Claire before she left, in case you flaked. His wife was a hot
little number, too, but the bitch went crazy. She’s probably dead in an alley
somewhere right now.”

“You worthless son of a bitch,” I snarled, my voice
thundering through the room. “You’re the one who’s about to be found dead in an
alley somewhere.”

Keeping my eyes on Chase, I got to my feet and let Wade’s
limp body fall to the mat with a hard thud. I honestly didn’t know if I killed
him or if he passed out from my hold. I didn’t fucking care. The whole room
grew dark and all I could see was the color red with Chase’s face right in the
middle of it. Either Chase was stupid or the adrenaline in my body had me
flying, but one minute I was in the ring and the next I had Chase on the
ground, pounding my fists over his bloody face until the sound of Claire’s
scream brought me back to reality.

“Mason!”

Claire
.

Chase was a beaten and bloody mess beneath me, and now there
were two men who lied unmoving and helpless because of what I’d done. My mind
was in a fog, but then Claire’s scream echoed throughout the room again,
bringing me back, “Mason!”

Frantically, I searched trying to find her in the room, but
no one was there; they were all gone.
Fuck!
I was too busy in my violent
rage to keep my eye on the one person I needed to the most. Claire and Erick
were gone as well as his other men who were standing guard around the ring
during the fight. Claire’s voice echoed through a hallway on the other side of
the room and I immediately took off toward the sound; however, when I got
there, someone was blocking my way to her with a Glock 22 pointed straight at
my chest. It was Brody, the guy who picked me up from the hotel and brought me there.

All I heard was the sound of my blood pumping wildly in my
ears until the booming resonance of the gun ripped through every part of my
soul.

It was over …