“Ivy, I see someone I need to speak to for a minute to let them know they can’t see Joe. Will you go on up, and I’ll met you there?”
She turned to me. Her forehead crinkled and her lips flatted out into a frown. “I’ll wait for you.”
“No. It’s okay, thanks, but you go on up. I’ll be right behind you.”
Even though I didn’t believe she’d seen whom I’d been staring at, she still looked around. There were quite a few folks in the waiting area, I hoped that night in the alley it was too dark and she was too scared to remember what the men looked like. Thankfully, her gaze went past the guy. Finally, she looked at me again and appeared thoughtful before replying. “All right.”
I gave her the room number and squeezed her hand before she walked away from me. As soon as the elevator door closed I went toward the dude. He stood up and moved to a less populated area near the windows. We leaned against the ledge of the low windowsill and kept our voices down.
He didn’t waste time on introductions. “Liu wants to talk to you. He said to tell you, you still owe us. Owe him. And one way or another he’ll collect.”
Figures. Jai’s older brother acted like the Grand Dragon of the Triad, calling the shots. “Nothing to talk about, man. I owe him shit. I think my last message was pretty clear on that.”
The messenger straightened up and glanced in the direction of the elevator where I’d sent Ivy on to Joe’s room. A shiver raced down my spine at the thought he might have recognized her. Shit! Everyone at that fight would know Ivy was important to me. His gaze returned to mine and he said, “I’ll be sure to tell him that. By the way nice piece of ass you got there.”
“You do that.” My voice went stone cold. “And tell him I don’t want to see any of you anywhere near this hospital or me or mine again. The conversation won’t be as pleasant as the alley. My business with the Triad is done. So is Joe’s.” I wanted these fuckers to know I was not some docile lamb. I wouldn’t cower at their threats.
“I’ll pass that on. By the way Jai’s fine. You and yours will hear from him soon. And one last thing, Liu wanted me to tell you to ask Joe why your mother really died.” Without another word, he stalked past me.
I stood watching him until he exited the building. The bastard had threatened me, Joe, and Ivy. I had to let Joe and Tsang know. No one would hurt Ivy. And I wondered what the hell that last crack was about my mother. She’d died in a senseless robbery. Some bastard had shot her and Joe, who’d tried to protect her. I glanced around to see if there were any more faces I recognized. Satisfied there was no danger, I pulled out my cell and called Tsang to let him know.
“I don’t want you to worry about anything,” Tsang said on the phone after I explained the situation. “The Tong is strong enough financially now. The Triad is hurting.”
“Which makes them that much more dangerous.”
“Doesn’t matter, Maze. It’s time to take them down. Joe and I didn’t get to these positions by accident. Tell Joe I need him out of that bed sooner rather than later and I’ll be by in the morning to see him. Now you enjoy the rest of your evening with your lovely young lady. Will you go back to the condo tonight?”
“No. I’ll be at Ivy’s.”
“All right. Just call Terry when you’re ready to return. He will be with you at all times until this is over.”
“One last thing, the fucker who delivered the message said I should ask Joe about why my mother died. Do you know what he meant?”
“Mind games. She died needlessly in a robbery gone bad.”
“Okay, thanks. I won’t raise this with Joe. You’re right they’re just trying to screw with us.”
“I might put another familiar face in the area around you for the next couple of days too.”
“Do you think…”
“Just a precaution. Now go see Joe.”
Tsang disconnected the call before I could probe him further. But I already knew, the bodyguards were necessary. I shut the phone off and walked over to the elevator.
Chapter Five
Ivy
I took the elevator up to the third floor to Maze’s stepfather’s room. Something was definitely up, and if Maze and I stood a chance of having any kind of a future he was going to have to be honest with me. There would be no more shutting me out. No more disappearing. I wasn’t stupid. I knew the sports channels didn’t feature the kind of fighting he did. He told me he was done with it and I believed him, but something more was going on. We weren’t being chauffeured around by his uncle’s bodyguard for no reason. The elevator door opened and I followed the signs. I walked through a set of double doors and faced a nurse’s station. Two nurses sat behind the counter, and one stopped me.
“Can I help you?” the blonde nurse asked.
“I’m here to see Joe Chang.”
“I’ll need to see some ID please,” she said.
The nurse took it from me and checked her computer.
She smiled. “Room 347, honey. Last one on the left. Follow the blue line.” She raised her hand and pointed down one of four hallways branching off from around the station. I’d already been there once before so knew where to go but his room number had changed.
“Thank you,” I said to her.
There were four different colors, but the blue line turned to the right and the others kept going straight. I turned right. As soon as I entered that hallway I saw the other bodyguard that had been with Mr. Tsang the night of the fight. He sat in front of one of the doors, reading a magazine. It was easy to tell these guys were bodyguards; they were all muscled and always seemed super aware of everything. I didn’t have to read the room number to know it was Joe’s door. I wondered if Mr. Tsang was there. The man glanced up when he saw me, and he must have recognized me.
“Good evening,” he said, rising from his chair. He knocked on the door, before turning the knob and pushing it open.
“Ah, thank you,” I said, moving by him and entering the room. He shut the door behind me.
Joe sat up in bed when he saw me. “Hello, there. It’s good to see you again.”
He looked much better than the first time I’d seen him. His skin wasn’t as pale and there were no more dark circles under his eyes. A healthier glow radiated from him and his thick white hair had been combed and framed his round friendly face. The room wasn’t very large and the bathroom door hung open. I walked past it toward a chair in the room. No one was in there except for Joe. Odd, what was Tsang’s bodyguard doing at the door? Who was he guarding? Joe? What the hell…
I wanted to ask Joe what was going on, but he wasn’t the person to answer my questions. I’d have to speak to Maze. So I sat down and plastered a smile on my face. “Maze will be right up. He just saw someone he knew downstairs.”
Joe grinned. “Thank you for coming with him to see me. How was dinner? Maze told me you all had dinner with your mom tonight and some friends.”
I smiled. Despite all of my concerns. “Dinner was great. I’m sorry my mom’s not going to be in town longer to meet you, but she really liked Maze.”
“I’m glad. I know he was looking forward to seeing your mom again. I’d enjoy meeting her on another visit.”
I nodded. “That would be great.”
“What did you think of the fight?”
“I’m not going to lie it was beautiful yet scary violent. The likes of which I’ve never seen and never want to see again.”
He chuckled. “Yes. That’s true. But Maze won’t fight any more. He’s agreed to just train others now.”
“Yeah.” I hoped it was true. “That’s what he told me and I’ll be glad if he does. From what I saw, he should be really good at training, too.”
“He’ll be the best,” Joe agreed. “He’ll put out champions in a year. Mark my words. In a year’s time folks will line up to have a chance at training under Maze.”
I smiled at his enthusiasm and thought he just might be right. For as long as I’d known him, Maze had a certain way a
bout him. Always in total control even when things went out of control. He seemed to know what he was doing. Which made me frown again. I wasn’t exactly sure why, but the information made me even more uneasy about having Tsang’s bodyguards around us.
Just then Maze walked into the room. “How you feeling, Joe?” he asked as he strolled over to his stepfather, clasping his arm.
“Getting there.”
Maze picked up the only other chair in the room and placed it next to me, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek before settling back into the seat.
We stayed and kept Joe company for another hour. When he shut his eyes for the third time, Maze got up. This time he kissed Joe’s forehead and stepped back. “We’ll come check on you tomorrow.”
I rose too. “Do you know when they’ll release you?” Joe had a massive heart attack, but the surgeon had done a damn good job on him. I don’t know what Maze would do if he lost Joe.
“The doctor said he’d let me know tomorrow once he gets back some tests they ran today. But everything looks good so maybe in another day or so.”
“That’s great. We’ll talk again tomorrow then, and when you’re released, I’ll come and get you.” Maze pulled out his cell and texted Terry.
“Sounds good. Now you two leave an old man to his sleep. Go have fun.”
I squeezed Joe’s hand but he gripped mine and pulled me closer to him, giving me a kiss on my cheek. I beamed at him and straightened up. Maze wrapped his arm around my waist and shook Joe’s hand, and then we left. The affection and love these two men had for each other ran deep. It left a warm place in my heart. I liked Joe and he seemed to have accepted me as being a part of Maze’s life. I smiled thinking of Maze with my mom. I thought both of my parents would also like Joe a lot. Especially after they found out about how Joe raised Maze like a son after his mom died.
Maze told me the story one night while we just lay in bed and held each other. Yeah, Joe was a special person.
We stepped onto the elevator and I circled my arms around Maze for the short ride. I leaned against his shoulder and sighed.
“What’s the matter?” he asked.
But the elevator doors opened before I could answer, and in truth, I didn’t want to begin this discussion here. I just shook my head.
He placed his arm around my shoulder and we walked outside. Terry had the car sitting right at the entrance, and he stood at the door holding it open for us.
I smiled at him and got in.
“How’s Joe?” he asked.
“Doing well,” Maze replied. “He should be released in another day or so.”
“Good to hear.”
Maze got in and Terry shut the door.
Maze activated the privacy window separating us from Terry, ensuring our conversation would not be overheard. After he sat back in the seat he placed his arm around my shoulders again. “Now, tell me what’s wrong?”
I shifted away from him a little. “I’m not sure. Perhaps you need to tell me.”
He frowned. “Is this because I wouldn’t let you wait for me earlier? Cause seriously that was nothing. I just don’t want those guys anywhere near you. The less they know about you the better.”
I frowned now. I had no idea what he was talking about and told him so. “What guys?” I asked. Then a light bulb went on. “Does this have something to do with that fight in the alley? I thought that guy in the waiting room seemed familiar.”
He sighed and ran his free hand through his hair. “In a way. They’re part of the world I’ve walked away from, and I don’t want you anywhere near it. Okay?”
“Maze, what’s going on? Are you talking about underground fighting? What you did… Was it illegal?” There’d I’d asked him. I didn’t want there to be secrets between us. I loved him, and I wanted to understand him. I thought I did, he was trying to protect me. But I needed him to know he could trust me. I’d never betray him. But I also didn’t want him having anything to do with that side of his life ever again either. I watched him cripple a man the other night. No, this was no world for me, but Maze didn’t belong here either. No matter how much he seemed to fit in. Maze fought when cornered.
He put his hand on the side of my face and I leaned into the caress. “I don’t deserve you. I know that. But I swear, as long as there’s breath in my body, I will spend every day loving you. Making you happy.” He moved his hand to grasp mine like he needed the contact.
Threading our fingers together, he spoke again. “As much as I didn’t want you to, you saw for yourself what I do is dangerous. And yes, it straddles the line. Hell, most of the time it falls right into the other side. But I’ve always fought a clean fight. I’ve never thrown one. The people who run these competitions wanted me to throw the fight the other night.”
“Oh my God!” I gripped his hand tighter. In fact, I placed my other hand over our joined hands. “But you won. So you didn’t go through with it. You did the right thing.”
Even in the dimness of the car I still saw his slight smile. “Yeah, I did. I didn’t hold back.”
A thought occurred to me. “Wait. Is that why they changed fighters for the second part? After the first guy got hurt I didn’t understand why the fight wasn’t called then.”
He nodded. “Normally it would have been but it wasn’t a normal fight. So they put in a replacement.”
“Yeah, one who had your uncle furious? I looked at Mr. Tsang’s face when they made the announcement.”
“Yes. Even though there aren’t many rules in the arena, that particular fighter who challenged me pays attention to none of them. He’s been banned from most of the underground groups, because of the way he fights. To kill or maim. But when I faced him I couldn’t focus on any of that because I wasn’t going to lose. Not with you sitting in the audience.”
“Don’t say that.”
“Why? It’s true.”
I hugged him to me. “I don’t care. I never want you to fight again.”
“I’m not. I told you that was my last fight. Uncle Tsang and Joe have seen to that.”
“So what happens now? Since you didn’t throw the fight. Is that why we have the bodyguards? Are you in trouble?”
He shook his head. “That’s just Uncle Tsang being extra careful. They’re there as more of a statement. Uncle Tsang is part of the group that regulates these fights. It’s his way of letting them know that he supports me, and my decision to fight clean. Besides, the fact my gym will be open to all will ensure they leave me alone.”
Now it was my turn to shake my head. “Wow. This is just not a world I really understand.”
He kissed my forehead. “No worries, babe. You shouldn’t, and you won’t have to. It’s all good now.”
On the one hand, I understood Maze withheld information from me in order to protect me. But on the other hand… “I’m not a child, Maze. I get it, okay? And I understand that you can’t go into details with me about what you were involved in. Or even your uncle’s involvement. I get that he might operate in a way requiring bodyguards. But I want us to be a normal couple with a normal life. Well, as normal as a dancer who might not dance again and an ex-MMA fighter can be.”
I reached up to him and placed both hands on the sides of his perfectly chiseled face. “That means no more secrets. I believe you when you say you’re out. But we need to be honest with each other. Otherwise what we have isn’t real. We can’t rely on each other if we don’t have faith in one another.” At my words his body tensed against mine. “Are you in danger because you didn’t do what these people wanted? And don’t you dare repeat what you just said. Tell me the truth.”
Chapter Six
Maze
God I loved her. I raised my hands and placed them over hers. Twining our fingers together, I placed our joined hands in her lap. How did I answer her so she didn’t run away from me? I couldn’t lose her. Without her beside me, I would only be taking up space. She gave my life meaning. But at the same time I still had to protect her. Even if it
was from myself.
I took a deep breath. “I’m not sure. And that’s the truth. It’s also true that Uncle Tsang is trying to handle this in a way that I’ll be left alone. I don’t know the details nor do I want to know. Nor do you.”
She leaned forward and kissed me then pulled back. “Thank you. And no more running away and trying to shelter me. Whatever is going on just let me know. We are in this together, okay? That’s what loving someone is about. Going through the good and the bad. When…when Shelly died you tried to be there for me and I withdrew. Closed in on myself.”
I froze. The fact she brought up Shel after all these years like this was huge for us. I always felt one reason she pulled away from me was because she blamed me somewhat for what happened. And I stayed away from her because I knew the harshness of the life I was getting involved in. I didn’t try hard enough to reach across the miles separating us and hold us together.
“I should have done more to draw you out,” I offered.
She smiled sadly. “Maybe. But even if you did I’m not sure you’d have been able to do it from Japan. We both needed to go our own way back then. It was the right thing to do. We had to grow separately I think to fully understand what it means to be together. I…I never let you know how much your text on the day…Shel died meant to me. No one, not even my folks or hers, ever thought to check up on me on that date. You were the only one who seemed to understand. It held me together. For a long time I blamed myself, you. If I hadn’t been with you I would have been, should have been with her.”
Her eyes filled with tears and I wiped them away with my thumb. “Shhh, it was not your fault. My God, you could have been in the golf cart that night with her and she would probably still have been driving.”
Maze (The Ballerina Series #2) Page 4