by Brooke May
The Predator Series
Part One
By: Brooke May
The Predator Part One
Copyright © 2016 Brooke May
Printed in The United States of America.
ISBN 978-1539657842
First Edition
Edited by Editing4Indies
Cover Art by Dark Water Covers
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
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To Mom
Thank you for being my first support system. Thank you for always being my words of wisdom. You are the best momma a girl could ask for.
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Note to From the Author
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Books by Brooke
Prologue
AT CERTAIN TIMES in your life, you have to wonder why you bother. Periods of time that shouldn’t affect you, but they always find a way into your life. I try to be a good person honest, true, friendly, compassionate, and so on but I believe bad things, really happen to good people because they are strong enough to persevere through it.
I know from experience. I used to have it all; money, a career chosen by my parents, and even love.
But then I lost it all.
Surviving the struggles of losing so much and not regretting what led me here, I now sit in my aunt’s beautiful home in Denver, Colorado, with my elbows resting on my knees while I focus on the five o’clock news.
“And now, we turn to Trust, who is currently in Boston, Massachusetts, at the home of Senator Douglas Cunningham. Trust?”
The image on the flat screen flips to a woman standing in front of the home where I grew up in. From banners to balloons red, white, and blue dominate the house with a crowd of the Boston and Washington DC upper crust standing in a crowd before the happy family.
My aunt’s groan sounds in the room from the worn-out off-green La-Z-Boy. “Why are we watching this?” Aunt Jackie’s voice has a slight hint of annoyance as papers shuffle and the chair creaks.
“Curiosity?” I turn the volume up to hear it better.
A part of me couldn’t care less about Douglas’s future in politics … to a point. I don’t want or need the media barging into my life.
Not after all this time. And that is what will happen if this goes how I think it is about to. The media and opponents running against Douglas will dig to try to find whatever dirty secrets they can.
They’ll find plenty in the old Cunningham family past.
“Why? If he wins this, are you going to vote for him?” She doesn’t hide the animosity in her voice. She doesn’t have to with me. I may be bitter toward the people who brought me into this world, but I’ve learned to let it go and move on while Aunt Jackie still struggles with that.
“Not a chance.” I make sure our gaze connects, so she knows I’m telling the truth. I shouldn’t have to, but I feel compelled to reinforce my front. I turn back to the television and focus on the reporter who is talking nonsense.
“Thank you, Will. I’m coming to you live with breaking news. Senator Douglas Cunningham of Massachusetts has announced his bid for the Republican nomination for the presidency of the United States.”
The eruption of cheers from the crowd drowns out the reporter. The image cuts to a picture-perfect view of the Senator and his endearing family. Well, minus a member or two.
Great. Just great.
Mother dearest, Father, and dear sweet baby sister, Zoey, all stand strong together as the crowd of hundreds cheer for him. The rest of the family is off to the side, still there and still showing their support.
Dear old Dad wants to be the next president.
That’s just what our country needs.
“I bet I know who he’ll want as his running mate.” I glance over at my aunt, who is nose deep back into her paperwork.
Too busy to notice her older brother on the news.
This makes me laugh. Dealing with divorce arguments, or whatever you call them, is more fun for my attorney aunt. She hasn’t spoken to him in years and couldn’t care less about what he is up to now.
The crowd’s volume has lowered enough for the reporter to speak again. “Senator Cunningham has expressed his desire to have Representative Timothy McGarth the Second, also of Massachusetts and longtime friend to the senator, be his running mate.”
The camera zooms on the makeshift stage again, and this time, the McGarth family is up there as well. And not much to my surprise, Timothy the Third has a loving arm around my sister.
“Knew it,” I whisper on a groan to myself as I flop back in my seat. Well, as much as my uniform of tight golden satin hot pants and the barely there black lace-up belly shirt will allow me.
“Kiddo.” I direct my line of vision to my aunt as she pulls off her glasses and glares at the television. “You know what this means, right?”
“Yep.” I pop the p before I sit back up and shut the news off. “Time to make sure we can lay low when we see news trucks circle.” Shaking my head, I whip myself in the face with my long, high ponytail. “Should be fun.” I roll my eyes. “We can’t let them find out about the ‘dirty secrets.’” I air quote, making Aunt Jackie laugh.
>
But that’s what we are the dirty secrets of a powerful, old-money political family. Both shunned from the family because of who we chose to love.
Checking the time, I find that I only have a few minutes to finish getting ready before Beth, my best friend and co-worker, comes to pick me up.
“Katherine.” I cringe as I freeze in my steps. I hate my given name. I prefer K.C. to Katherine Carrie.
My heavily made-up eyes look over my shoulder at her. “Yes?”
“Have you given Beth an answer yet?”
I want to disappear. Beth Martin has been my best friend since I moved here four years ago. I haven’t told her anything about my past what led me here, who my family really is, and other questions she has had.
I do plan to tell her someday, but I’m not ready yet.
She helped me so much after we became friends. She helped me to enroll in school here and land a job as a waitress and server at The General’s Golden Club.
As much as I loathe my job, it pays my bills and aids in getting me through school. Same goes for Beth. We both have dreams of other careers. Mine is in education, and Beth’s is in sports medicine with a focus on MMA or any other fight leagues out there.
For the past few weeks, Beth has been begging me to go to a fight night with her. All courtesy of her newest sugar daddy, Bob.
Boxing fight night, that is.
I promised myself long ago that I would never step foot near a fight again. I don’t follow the fighters, a certain fighter, and I don’t know the current rankings or who the current champion is. That was part of my old life, something I have no desire to ever go back to.
“No?” Bad K.C., bad.
“K.C., that girl deserves an answer. She is really excited about going.” Aunt Jackie sighs. “I don’t think she would be mad at you if you would finally open up to her either.” She stands up, cradling her paperwork in her arms. “She deserves to know why you don’t want to go. I doubt he would even be there.”
Yeah, right. That was his dream, after all. To become a hot-shot fighter. She has a point though. The chance of the one person, who broke my heart being there is slim to none. “I’ll talk to her tonight.” And I mean it. I need to give her an answer.
A grin spreads across Aunt Jackie’s face just as a horn sounds from the driveway. “Or on the way to work?” She kisses my cheek and wanders off to her home office. I grab my gym bag with a change of clothes in it and head out the door. Hearing the loud music of “Heart Attack” by Demi Lovato emanating from Beth’s car, I hurry as she wails on the horn again.
Steeling myself, I throw my bag into the backseat.
“Hey, K.C.” Beth’s gum snaps, and she beams at me with her oversized sunglasses covering her eyes.
“Hey.” I breathe, barely audible over the music.
I can do this. How bad could it possibly be?
“So … that ticket still available?”
She slams on the brakes, jolting me forward. I quickly catch myself before my head slams into the dashboard.
“You’re serious!”
“As a heart attack,” I chide, easing her and hoping she will start driving again.
XOXO
“HEY THERE, SWEET THING?” Closing my eyes, I slowly open them before turning back to the gentleman who I am currently waiting on. “Another gin and tonic.” He slaps my back end and throws a wink at me before drunkenly laughing and turning back to the others at his table.
Gentleman, my butt.
“Right away, sir.” I force a smile and head over to my bartender for the night, Sammy. “Another gin and tonic, please.” I slump against the counter, ready for the night to be over. That’s when my vacation starts; if you want to call three days off a vacation.
This job is horrible. I feel degraded and dirty every night when I leave. Management only hires women, meaning no beefy bartenders watching over the girls who either dance here or serve. Our only line of defense is the two bouncers out front, but we never see them.
“No word yet from the schools you’ve applied to?”
In the month since I graduated from college, I have put in applications and resumes all over Denver at pretty much every elementary school there is.
“No.” I pull my blond hair over my shoulder to try to cool off. “I don’t get it. There has to be a teacher or two retiring this year or at least some openings coming up somewhere.” I look back over at the grabby guy.
I really hate this job.
“Beth says she hasn’t had much luck either.” Sammy starts to mix the drink. Beth has had just as much difficulty, if not more, as I have. She has applied with every major league sport in Denver and even some based elsewhere.
“It will happen for us. I just feel bad for the girls who will be stuck here forever.” Like you. I don’t add that part. Sammy has been bartending here for six years already. She doesn’t complain like the floor girls do, though.
“It’s a living.” She shrugs and hands me the drink. “Here you go.” And then nods at the man who is getting this drink. “He has some major predator eyes on you, K.C. Want me to call Jon?”
I freeze when I hear that word. I don’t like it, haven’t in a long time, but no one knows that. “Thanks, Sam.” I take a deep breath and head back into the pit. “I’ll keep an eye on him. I’ll be fine.”
“Let me know if you change your mind. Remember, five-drink limit.” I nod over my shoulder and return to my work.
Two hours later, I’m finally in the dressing room to change into my sweats with some of the other girls when Beth walks in. Well, she skips in and grabs me in a bone-crushing hug.
“I’m so super glad you’re coming with me tomorrow, K.C.!” She giggles and heads to her own locker.
He won’t be there.
I continue to repeat that in the back of my mind. It’s the only way I’ll be able to go through with it and not fake an illness.
“I’m glad I can make you happy,” I mutter as I put my uniform into my bag and redo my hair in a messy bun before removing my makeup.
“I’ll come to your house around four thirty to help you get ready.” She starts changing into something else. “Oh!” She stops in the middle of putting her bra on. I’ve gotten used to seeing naked women walking around here. I used to be shy about it, but now, it is just something ‘normal.’ “Wear that black and white number you bought and then shoved into the back of your closet.”
“Ummm …”
“You’ve got some amazing curves that will make guys go crazy in it.”
“Fine.” I bought that dress on impulse when I shouldn’t have. Everything about it reminds me of him. That’s why I hid it in the back. Knowing how persuasive Beth will be to get me into that thing, I don’t bother to argue. Every time I go out with her, she brings it up, but I never wear it. That is about to change, though.
“And I’ll make sure your sunny blond hair looks amazing, and your blue eyes pop. Guys like that.” She continues to ramble, not even noticing that I’m not really listening to her. I’m too worried about whether I’ll see him.
What if I see him?
Will I look different to him? I know I have changed, and I’m sure he has grown and become stronger.
What if he has his girlfriend or maybe even his wife there with him? I shouldn’t worry about those things. He’s the one who left me, not the other way around. He made me feel loved and wanted in a way I had never felt before, and then he went and broke my heart with her.
That’s it.
If I do see the jerk, I will just deal with it. I’m a stronger woman than I was before … I have to be.
“Helloooo … earth to K.C.” Beth snaps her fingers in my face.
“Sorry, what?” I shake my head, straightening out my thoughts.
Beth’s gray eyes narrow at me. “Were you even listening?” I shrug, unapologetic. “Of course, not. Geez, K.C. We need to get you a man, and this fight will be just the place to do the trick.”
“No!” I feel my
eyes bug out of my head. “No fighter. Never again!”
Oh, no.
I said too much. I cover my mouth, finding Beth’s gaze inquisitive and filled with intrigue.
“What do you mean never again?” Her eyes light up with the tidbit of my past I just spilled.
“Umm … yeah.” Great, I’m not in the mood for this. I just had to deal with grabby old men all night and just want to shower and go to bed. “Can we not talk about this now?”
Beth’s eyes dull with disappointment. “Another story from the past you aren’t ready to talk about yet?”
“Yes.” I sling my bag over my shoulder and wait for her to finish. “Someday … soon. I promise I will tell you everything.” I owe it to her. She’s been there for me. She’s had my back when many people have turned away from me.
“I’m holding you to that.” She points a finger at me and levels me with a glare.
We head out. All the while, I have a feeling that my story is coming sooner rather than later. Beth talks about Bob getting us the tickets. He is one of the main sponsors for this leg of the fighting tour and also happens to be the announcer for all the fights when they are held here. Everything goes in one ear and out the other until she pulls into my aunt’s driveway.
“The main card is The Predator versus The Slayer.” I stumble out of the car and nearly fall before I manage to catch myself.
NO!
“Shit, K.C., are you okay?” Beth quickly unbuckles and crawls over the center console to check on me.
I stand up, pull my sweatshirt back to its rightful place, and nod. There is no way I can back out on her now.
I grab my bag out of the backseat and decide to confirm my fears. “The Predator, as in Chamberlain Lawrence?”
Her eyes light up again. “You know him?”
“Something like that,” I mutter. Shaking my head, I back away to close the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” I leave Beth with a smile on her face, singing about how she is going to hook me up with him tomorrow night.
There is no way in hell that will ever happen. Not again.
Once I’m in the house, I lock up and set the alarm before trudging up the stairs to my bedroom to drop my bag and head to the bathroom to shower. I fall into bed after doing all of my nightly rituals and cuddle up in the mountain of pillows I have to one side of me. But it’s difficult falling asleep when my nerves start to surface.