Tap Out (Fight It Out MMA Series Book 2)

by Terra Kelly

  “That’s my girl,” Brooks said and kissed my temple. “It was time for someone new to have it.”

  I kissed him and then excused myself. The room was loud, and I needed to take a breather from all the crazy. I was leaning against the brick wall with my head down. There were people coming and going, so I didn’t bother to look at every person who passed.

  “Good fight.”

  I straightened up so fast at the sound. “Mason. I thought you loved Dad. Instead, I see you managed to avoid prison time.” I found out he had taken immunity to save his own ass.

  He cleared his throat like I had made him uncomfortable. “I just want to talk.”

  “And I’m supposed to believe you?”

  “I deserve that,” he said and kept his hands up.

  “Damn right you do. You wanted me dead. Hell, you almost succeeded.”

  “Charlie.”

  “Oh, I’m Charlie now?” I ground out.

  He let out a deep sigh. “Yeah, that’s your name, right?” When I didn’t respond, he continued. “I talked to Dad this morning.”

  “Am I supposed to care?”

  “The lawyers are speculating he may receive the death penalty.”

  I wasn’t prepared to hear those words. Dad should be locked away for good but not killed. I didn’t feel sympathy for him. Actually, it was quite the opposite; I wanted him to suffer in a cell until the day he died naturally.

  “That seems extreme,” I admitted.

  “Will you help to prevent that from happening?”

  “Mason, I don’t plan to help with anything. I did my part, now it’s up to the judicial system on what happens to your dad. If death row is his destiny, then so be it.” I turned to head back to the locker room but stopped at the door. “Dad killed two of our family members and almost made that number three. Karma is a bitch sometimes.” I didn’t wait for him to reply. I just stepped back into the room. Dad was getting what he deserved.

  “Hey, baby,” Brooks said and reached for my hand. “Wait, are you okay?”

  “I’m beyond okay,” I said and leaped up into his arms. “Guess what, Hollywood?”

  “You won the flyweight championship title?”

  “Not fair, I wanted to share.”

  “Then tell me.” He smiled and spun me around. “But loud and proud.”

  I lifted my hands up in the air and felt the wind on my face as he spun. “I fucking won the flyweight championship belt,” I screamed at the top of my lungs. The room erupted in cheers.

  I knew my father was wrong. The belt was always meant to be mine.

  Thirty-Seven

  Two weeks later…

  “At least I’m not sporting a shiner for this trip.” I stood in front of Lily’s full-length mirror and twirled in place. Lily and I had decided to raid each other’s closets for the trip. We both had way too many clothes and a shit-ton of bikinis. “This bikini is adorable. I don’t think I have ever seen you in it, though?”

  “Bought it a while ago to wear to some gathering.” She fluffed out the edges of the fabric. “Then it somehow got shoved to the back and forgotten.”

  “Well it’s mine, now.” I quickly stepped away.

  “When did you start liking skirts and dresses?”

  “When Brooks told me how beautiful I was in them.” Lily made a gagging noise and headed back into the closet to pull out more items. “Oh hush, woman. How are you and Julian doing?”

  She almost floated out of the small space. “Really, really, really good.”

  It was my turn to start gagging. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

  “What? No,” she said a little too quickly and disappeared back into the closet. “I don’t know. I never expected my life to be what it is today. The fact that I get to be with Julian fucking Moore is like the icing on the cake.”

  “Again with the fucking in the middle of my name.” Julian appeared in the doorway of the bedroom.

  Brooks popped up behind him. “Get used to it, bro. It’s your name and don’t wear it out.” He walked over to the mirror and stood behind me. “A skirt. I like.”

  “Yeah? I was thinking we could dress up and go to a fancy dinner one night.”

  “Or you can wear nothing else but the skirt and show it off in our hotel room.”

  “Oh, my goodness,” Lily said and quickly walked over to me. “Out. You have failed on my one rule.” She was shoving me out of the room. “Take the skirt with you. I don’t think I could ever look at it the same again.”

  “What rule did I fail?” I was cracking up as I walked down the hall toward the stairs.

  “Maybe it was the sex talk rule?” Brooks said and tickled my side.

  “Or maybe it was the discussion about skirts?” I stopped halfway down the stairs and turned to face Lily. “You do hate anything that is not leggings.” Lily held up her middle finger. “That’s okay, sissy, we need to go home and have sex with only a skirt around my waist.” It was too much fun fucking with her.

  “How long is this trip?” Brooks said and sat down on the bed. I was shoving clothes into my suitcase and trying to make sure it would close. “You seem to be packing for a month-long vacation.”

  I leaned over the top of my luggage and applied pressure to help move the zipper along. “One week. Are you judging me?”

  He burst out laughing. “Judging? No. Worried we will run out of space in the small car and tiny hotel room? Yes.”

  I leaned up and scooted closer to him. “Don’t be worried, baby.” My voice was lower and more seductive. “I had to bring all your favorites.”

  “Oh?” He pulled me up and sat me on his lap. “My favorites, huh?” I felt his hands slide down my arms and move to my lap. “Should we test them out before they get stuffed in the cargo hold on the plane?”

  “Um, maybe we should,” I said and wiggled my behind back and forth on his lap. “They could be a poor choice for the trip, and we wouldn’t have time to find a replacement.”

  We were all flying out tomorrow, and I still felt unsure about heading back to where this mess in my life all began. My dad was locked away. His business was being liquidated. So why was I nervous? Hell, there was no way this trip could go south. I think the fact that everything seemed too perfect lately made me worry. After experiencing blunt force trauma on the side of my head, it was hard to let go of a few memories. Especially since I still experienced extreme headaches every once in a while.

  “C, you know you’re safe on this trip, right?”

  “Yeah, of course. Why?”

  He brushed a strand of hair away from my eye. “I can tell by your facial expression you are not excited to go on this trip. Honestly, I have my reservations, too.”

  “So why did we agree to go?”

  “Lily’s right. We need this trip.”

  I hopped off his lap and walked over to the dresser. “It’s silly when I think about it. I know we will be okay, but going back to the spot where it all went down—”

  Brooks stood up and stepped closer. “Charlie, the only visual I have is when the asshole hit you over the head. I wake up with that image frequently.” His confession brought tears to my eyes. “When I started training you, I never planned for all this.”

  “You mean being captured and almost killed? Because I never planned for it either.”

  He smiled causing my insides to swirl. “No, you, me, this. I will do anything to save you, Charlie. I did back in the United Kingdom, and I will do it over and over again if I have to.”

  I placed my hands on his chest. “Brooks.”

  “Just hear me out. I want you to put on your game face like you do when you step into the octagon.” He leaned down and kissed the tip of my nose. “Don’t let anyone ever see your fear.” He kissed both my cheeks. “With all your experience, I know you can get through anything.”

  “You seem so sure.”

  “I am sure. The woman I met that first day in Fight It Out showed no fear. It’s what caught my
attention from across the room.”

  “You could see all that?” I wanted to cry, but it wasn’t the right time.

  “I could. You hold your emotions closely with every one of your facial expressions.” Finally, he kissed my lips. “Since Lily brought up the subject of going back to the U.K., your face has had unease plastered in every corner.”

  He was right, I needed to toughen up. This trip would be cleansing. If I continued to feel afraid going back to the very country where I was almost killed, my dad would win. He was in jail and yet still had some serious power over my decisions.

  “You’re right.”

  He placed his hand behind his ear. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”

  I pushed him back toward the bed. “Oh hush,” I teased and forced him to lie down. “So what was it about trying on some outfits?”

  “Oh, right, you need to give me a show.” He circled his hands around my waist and pulled me down on top of him. “First I have a fun preview we need to check out.”

  Thirty-Eight

  “Don’t forget your passport,” I said and shifted the phone to my other ear. My dresser was a dark, never-ending pit, and I was currently sifting through the mess trying to locate my own passport. You would think I would catch on and not throw the damn thing into the drawer after every trip, but no, I was a glutton for punishment.

  “It’s in my purse and ready to be stamped,” Lily said and cleared her throat. “Um, Charlie.”

  “Yeah? You have that voice.”

  “What voice?”

  “You know the voice. The one where I know a bomb is about to drop.”

  I could hear her laugh through the phone. “No, no bombs today. Um, Brooks called me last night.”

  Her words caught me off guard. “Called you?” I stopped searching and dropped my hand to my side. “About?”

  “He’s really worried about you.”

  “Lils, I’m fine.” After our conversation last night, I wasn’t surprised he felt the need to call Lily. “I mean, this trip has me on edge, but I’ll plow on forward.”

  “We can stay state-side and go to San Diego?”

  “As tempting as that sounds, we need this trip.” I couldn’t believe I was encouraging us to go on the trip. “I may not be my normal self, but I know this is important.”

  “You can be quiet all you want. Plus, we can go home early,” she said. “We’re not locked into a full week.”

  “No, it’s okay, I promise.”

  “Brooks and I agreed we would make sure you’re happy the whole time.”

  “You both have your work cut out for you then,” I teased. “Let’s just get packed and safely to the airport. Everything else can be figured out later.”

  “I love you, sis.”

  “I love you more.” As I hung up the phone, I felt it vibrate in my hand. I hit accept and quickly said, “Lily, I’ll be fine. Just finish packing.”

  “Ms. Hill,” a male voice said and cleared his throat.

  “Oh shit, I mean, I’m sorry. Yes, this is she.”

  “Mr. Hill asked me to call you. This is his defense lawyer, Gene.”

  My dad had his lawyer call me? What the hell? “Okay.” I didn’t know what else to say.

  “We need to prevent him from getting a death row sentence. If we can have you testify and help his case—”

  I didn’t mean it, but I burst out laughing. “You do realize my father almost killed me and successfully killed my mom and sister right in front of me? Why the ever-loving fuck would I want to help him? He should’ve thought about this shit a long time ago. Nobody is invincible. His day was going to come around eventually.”

  The lawyer persisted. “He does understand without the death penalty he would be in jail for the rest of his life. He does accept that.”

  “That’s lovely that he accepts what he deserves. I’m done, Gene. I was given permission to wash my hands of everything that deals with this case. Good luck with it.” Before he had a chance to plead his case some more, I hung up.

  I hit end and glanced down at the screen. The balls on my father. Fuck him.

  “He really called you?” Brooks said and shoved my luggage in the back of Julian’s SUV.

  “He really did.” I buckled my seatbelt and brushed my loose strands of hair away from my face. “I’m not sure how anyone on his defense team thought they could change my mind.”

  “Desperate times call for extreme measures.” Lily hopped in beside me and patted my leg. “I’m glad you were cleared of testifying. You really didn’t need to be put through all that bullshit.”

  “I agree.” I clapped my hands together. “Okay, no more shitty father talk or death talks. I need this trip to be minimal stress.” Julian held up a bag. “What’s that for?”

  “Let’s go technology free.”

  “And if there’s an emergency?”

  Julian pointed toward his bag. “Thought of that.” Then he pulled out a small flip phone. “It’s a burner phone and will help us if in a bind. Which won’t happen, so it will be a waste of money.”

  “It’s not a waste if it can save our lives.”

  He handed it to me. “You can be in control of it. How does that sound?”

  I tossed the small device back and forth in my hand. “That’s a lot of pressure.”

  “So is going through all that you did.” He reached back and touched my knee. “Keep it close by.”

  We spent the next twenty minutes fighting traffic. As we pulled into the airport, there were several twists and turns before we found the right parking garage.

  “You sure we’ll be okay with just this one little phone?” I tossed it into my carry-on and zipped it back up.

  Julian was last to get out. I noticed how he pushed the bag with our phones into the glove compartment and locked it up. “Yup, all important numbers are programmed into the phone, and we have international service, too.”

  “You really did think of everything.”

  “My brother always comes prepared,” Brooks said and wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

  The moment we stepped into the airport, I knew it was a good thing we arrived early. “Shit. I’m glad we have our comfy shoes on.”

  It took easily forty-five minutes to get through check-in and security. The flight left in one hour, so we had more than enough time to relax before we left.

  “Who’s hungry?” Brooks said and raised his arm up.

  “I’m guessing you are.” I laughed and grabbed his hand. “What should we eat?”

  “Nothing that will come up during turbulence on the plane.” Lily threw her hand over her mouth.

  “So everything then?” I looped my arm around Brooks. “Let’s get a burger.”

  “Sunshine.” I heard my name called from behind me. When I spun around, I came face-to-face with Nikki Grant, the woman I had just stole the title belt from just a few short weeks ago. “Celebrating?”

  “Nikki.” I stepped closer and reached out my hand. “Yeah, heading back to the U.K. How about you?”

  She accepted my greeting. “Our first flight is taking us into Heathrow, then heading over to Ireland.”

  “Nice, that’s the next trip we need to take. I have wanted to explore Ireland forever.”

  “There’s a bunch of fighters meeting in Dublin if you want to join us. The more the merrier.”

  Now I felt confused. “You’re inviting me to join you on your trip?”

  She touched my forearm. “It’s a fight, Charlie. What happens in the octagon is separate. I’m not some evil person who despises you. Actually, I look forward to getting to know you more in the future.”

  I loved my career in MMA. Nikki’s words solidified those feelings even more. “We’ll think about the invite. Thank you. We have some exploring to do on the Jurassic Coast.”

  I turned and watched as she walked away. My mind wandered back to when Lily’s father—and mine—The Punisher, was training us. He would tell us nothing else matters around you when ge
aring up for a fight. Nothing. Else. Matters. He stressed that we needed to stay focused and determined. Lily was walking beside me. I reached for her hand and pulled it close to my chest.

  “You’re getting all mushy. Where did your mind go?”

  “Dad.” She just smiled and wrapped her arms around my waist.

  I was truly lucky. It had been hard to see that until today.

  Thirty-Nine

  “Where’s the older couple who were running the place a few months back?” I asked the young woman behind the counter at Rudds of Lulworth Hotel.

  “Older couple?” She genuinely looked confused.

  Before I said another word, I thought about what I would say. If my dad had me followed, then he had people in place wherever we went. He truly thought of everything. “Yeah,” I said and showed her the invoice with the dates. “We were here during that time.”

  “That’s odd. Maybe my mom had someone looking over the hotel.” The woman was typing something on her computer. “I know how much she hates leaving the hotel unattended.” She stopped typing. “Weird. I don’t see anything in the computer.” Her eyes lit up. “We won a trip to New York City for ten full days. It was really random. My mom doesn’t even remember entering a giveaway for the trip.”

  “Who are you talking to, sweetie?” An older woman stepped through the doorway. “Oh, you’re the ones that had a reservation, right?”

  “Um, yeah.” I glanced over at Brooks who probably had the same expression plastered on his face as I did.

  “Sorry to startle you.” The woman laughed and handed us some papers to sign. “It’s just that we don’t get very many reservations.” I nodded and just continued filling out the paperwork. As we started to ascend the stairs, the older woman said my name. “Dinner is served at seven every night if you want to join us.”

  “Thank you.”

  We all stayed silent until the hotel door was shut and locked. “We go to Durdle Door tomorrow and leave this place immediately,” Lily said and sat down on the edge of the bed.