by L. P. Dover
The way I feel, I could drink a whole fucking keg.
He was right, though. I had been staring at the file for hours, except I couldn’t bring myself to look at the contents. I got the call last night as I was driving home from the gym, and needless to say I wasn’t expecting what came through the line. A good friend of mine was found murdered; beaten to death and discarded like a piece of trash on the outskirts of Las Vegas over a week ago. His wife was still missing and there were no leads as of yet on where she could be. The thought of what could be happening to her right now made my blood run cold.
Jason took a seat in front of my desk and sighed. “What do you think could’ve happened? This makes the fourth dead fighter in three months. Weren’t you part of that scene a few years ago before you joined the force? From what I heard you were pretty lethal.”
I held the file tightly in my hands and nodded, remembering those days as if it was yesterday. “Yeah, I started MMA training when I was eighteen, and by the time I turned twenty-one I was primed and ready to fight. I was mostly undefeated during my two years of competing, losing only a couple of matches. I would have made it to the big time if I didn’t drop out.”
“Why did you then?” Jason asked curiously. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you talk about your fighting. I always hear it from other people.”
“That’s because I was a goddamn mess back then with a head the size of Texas. All I did was fight and fuck, blowing tons of money on stupid shit. When my mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer I had no choice but to come home. I was travelling every week going here and there, and I refused to get someone else to take care of her. I gave it all up for her and never went back.”
“Do you ever regret your decision?”
“Yes and no,” I answered honestly. “Or at least not the part of leaving it behind to take care of my mother. I loved fighting, and if I would’ve lived my life the right way then I could’ve made something of myself. I was going down the wrong path and I couldn’t see it. I just hate it took her dying to see the real me and what I had become.”
Jason sighed heavily and stood, gazing warily down at me. “I understand, brother. The guys and I will be at the bar until later tonight if you still want to join us. If not, we will see you on Monday.”
Nodding, I said, “Sounds good, man. Don’t do anything stupid tonight.”
“Me? Never,” he joked incredulously. “I’m always a good boy.”
His laugh echoed all the way down the hall, and once I heard the door to the station shut I knew I was alone to look at the file without being interrupted. Taking a deep breath, I lowered my gaze to the papers and slowly began to read. The pictures taken at the scene were horrific. I could barely recognize the man who had mentored me and shown me everything I would ever need to know about professional MMA fighting. I didn’t have to read the medical report to know that he had sustained a massive head injury and multiple broken ribs, which I was sure had punctured a lung if not both of them.
His name was Austin Moore and besides being a fighter he also had a dream to open up his own restaurant. He went to culinary school with his brother, and they both had made a promise that one day they would make their dreams come true and open up a family business. Austin loved fighting, but I knew the main reason he worked so hard at it was to win enough money to fulfill the other dream he pursued. He wanted it all and he was so close.
His wife, Summer, was one of the gentlest women I’d ever met and with her being missing for two weeks now the chances of her being alive diminished rapidly. I remembered the day Austin and I met her very well. He was bummed about my cousin, Melissa, turning him down for a date knowing very well she was seeing someone already, so we trained extra hard and decided to go at it for an hour longer than usual. As soon as we walked out of the gym he wasn’t paying attention and bumped right into Summer, making her spill a cup of soda all over the front of her nursing scrubs. She in turn dumped the rest on him and after that they became inseparable.
Two years later, they married and moved away to Virginia where her family lived, and about that time was when I began training on my own and entering fights. I hated not having him in my corner, but once I started making money I hired another coach and a personal trainer. Austin and I still made sure to keep in touch over the years, calling each other weekly to catch up. I never missed any of his televised fights and he tried on several occasions to get me back into the fighting scene. It was hard to believe he was gone. He was only three years older than me with so much to live for.
Why does bad shit always happen to the good people? Why can’t it be the other way around?
The next picture in the file I came to happened to be one of Summer. She was smiling in that big, goofy grin that made Austin melt each time he laid eyes on her. Her bright blonde hair reminded me so much of Claire, as well as the bright blue eyes and the shape of her face. I didn’t want to think of how fucked up I would be right now if it was Claire in this situation.
Claire …
It had been so long since I’d talked to her, but I could still remember the way her voice would dip lower when she’d speak my name and the way she smelled when she’d walk right by me. I checked on Claire every now and again when I’d call my pregnant cousin to make sure she was doing all right. I later found out that a month after I left she started seeing some professional football player who also happened to be someone she’d been off and on with for years. At first I was pissed, but then I had no reason to be because I was the one who left her. I had no right to get angry over her seeing someone else, but dammit, if it didn’t make me want to kick someone’s ass.
It was over … it didn’t matter anymore.
After about three hours looking thoroughly through the file, there was nothing in it that led to answers. There was no evidence as to who did it or what happened, but with four fighters showing up dead, all being found in the same way—beaten and bloody—there had to be a link somewhere. I just had to find it.
“What kind of trouble did you get into in Vegas, Austin?” I murmured out loud. “You never did anything stupid.”
Frustrated, I stacked all the crumpled papers on my desk into a disheveled pile and decided to call it a night. Maybe I should go out to the bar, I thought. I could sure use the liquor and a nice pair of tits to keep my mind off of shit … off of everything and everyone, including Claire.
Pulling out my phone, I sent a quick text to Jason.
Me: I’m on my way.
Jason’s reply was almost instant.
Jason: Hurry the hell up. The chicks are hot tonight.
Grabbing my coat, I turned off the light in my office and made it halfway down the hall before the phone started to ring. My extension wouldn’t just ring unless someone really needed or wanted to talk to me. Quickly, I ran back to my office, turned on the light, and reached down for the phone.
“Mason Bradley,” I barked hurriedly, throwing my coat on the desk.
“Good evening, Mason, or better yet I should probably say good morning since it’s past midnight out there in North Carolina. I wasn’t expecting you to answer, but now that I have you on the phone we can get down to business,” the man said matter-of-factly.
“Who are you?” I asked.
“My name is Ryan Griffin. I’m the Chief of Police of the Las Vegas PD. I was the one who granted you permission to see Austin Moore’s file.”
Cautiously, I replied, “I see. Well, thank you for that, but what can I do for you, Mr. Griffin?”
“First off, I want to say I’m sorry for the loss of your friend. When I checked into your background I had no idea you were close friends with Austin until I talked to his family. I also happened to find that not only were you his friend, but you were an impressive MMA fighter as well.”
I chuckled halfheartedly. “Yeah, those were the glory days,” I muttered. By the way I said that it almost made me sound like I was eighty years old, but really I was only thirty. My fighting days weren’t
actually that long ago.
“I know what you mean,” Ryan replied. “My wife still remembers how I used to look when I was in my twenties and often reminds me of it in hopes I’d get that way again. I haven’t seen those days in thirty years. Anyway, forgive my nonsense, I didn’t mean to get off track. So back to Austin. His family told me that if anyone knew where he would be fighting in Vegas it would be you, but we already know he had a fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Do you happen to know what else he was doing out there, or why he would get mixed in with a wrong crowd?”
Sighing, I sat down in my chair and leaned over my desk, staring at Austin’s file. “No, I have no clue. Austin was always a straight edge guy, never getting into trouble, never got arrested or did drugs. It makes no sense to me.”
“When was the last time you spoke to him?” Ryan asked.
I thought back to the last time he called me and realized it was right before he left to go to Vegas. I remembered the way he sounded; so happy and full of life. He had won all of his matches for the past year, except one, and was on his way to making his name into the big times.
“It was about two weeks ago,” I told him. “It was right before he left. He always wanted to remind me of his fights so I wouldn’t miss them. Have you gotten any leads? Because what I’m seeing in the file isn’t getting me anywhere.”
The sound of papers shuffling in the background along with Ryan’s grumble didn’t exactly sound too enthusiastic. “There are some leads that we’re considering, but nothing concrete as of yet. Do you remember hearing about this same type of thing happening about four years ago in Ohio?” he asked curiously. “It would’ve been after you already quit fighting. The only difference is that the deaths were scattered out more.”
Yeah, I remember seeing something about those deaths. Thinking back to those killings, I remembered being curious about them just because the men were MMA fighters, but when the cases were closed I moved on and never thought more about it. I knew several fighters who were so hotheaded they would go looking for fights, especially in the bars.
“Yes, I remember that time, but vaguely. I didn’t exactly follow too much about it. Have you talked to anybody, possible suspects perhaps?” I asked.
“There’s one guy we’ve spoken to who is a club owner out here and who also hosts his own MMA fights. He’s approved to have them and it just so happens all of his stories and alibis are legit. We can’t find a single discretion out of the man, so we ruled him out for now. Basically, what we’re looking at is an illegal underground fighting ring, and with it being Vegas I’m sure there’s some big money involved as well. We need someone on the inside, someone who could get in with no questions asked and someone who already has the knowledge of how the fighting world works.” He paused for a second to clear his throat. “Which is where I’m hoping you come in,” he finished, sounding hopeful.
“Excuse me? You have got to be kidding me.” What the hell did he want me for? “What do I have to do with any of this?” I questioned suspiciously. “How am I going to be able to help you?”
Ryan paused for a second and took a deep breath. “Before I go into those details I want you to answer me one question … what lengths would you go through to find your friend’s killer? What if there was a way all of this could come to an end with your help, would you do it?”
Closing my eyes, I laid my head on the desk and set the phone down for a second. I would do anything to find out what was going on. I didn’t have to think twice about it, but I knew what he was going to ask me to do and it wasn’t going to be easy. In fact, it was most likely going to be one of the most dangerous missions I’ve ever gone on.
As soon as I lifted my head and opened my eyes, the image of Austin’s broken body flashed in my mind along with the vision of his beautiful wife who had gone missing. It was all the push I needed.
“I’ll do it,” I answered, putting the phone back to my ear. “I would do anything to bring Austin’s killer to justice. Just tell me what I need to do.”
Ryan breathed a sigh of relief and filled me in on everything. After our conversation ended at three in the morning, I grabbed Austin’s file and headed home to pack.
I had a plane to catch.
When I arrived in Dallas, Texas, a couple of days ago to surprise Cooper, it was in the middle of the night when I knocked on his hotel room door. His dark hair was mussed from sleep and his eyes were half open when he answered the door in only a pair of blue, plaid boxers.
I couldn’t deny that he looked sexy as hell. Deep in my heart, I honestly felt that with time I would be able to love him the way he loved me, and there was no better time than the present.
The moment he realized it was me, he scooped me up into his arms, and planted a firm kiss to my lips. He didn’t ask what I was doing there and he sure as hell didn’t let me speak. His lips made sure of that. We spent the rest of the early morning hours making love until it came time for him to get ready for the game the next afternoon. I was afraid he would be too exhausted to play if he didn’t get more sleep, but as I watched him run the ball down the field, I was in awe of how wonderful he played. In fact, he played the best I had ever seen him do, scoring three touchdowns, and putting his team in the lead by twenty points.
Now we were in the plane on the way home, slowly descending as the runway came into view. When Cooper took my hand and brought it to his lips, I turned away from the window and met his intense blue gaze. I was glad we were in first class with the bigger seats because with his six foot four frame and muscular build there was no way he could fit in the smaller seats in coach.
Leaning down closer to my ear, he murmured softly, “Thank you for coming out to Dallas, Claire. You have no idea how much it meant to me for you to be there.”
I lifted a brow and smiled. “Umm … I think you showed me more than once how much it meant. I was so afraid you were going to play terrible with me keeping you up all night.”
Chuckling, he put his arm around me and kissed the top of my head. “If anything, babe, you gave me the energy I needed. You know you’ve always been my lucky charm. I always play my best when you’re around.”
“Are you trying to say I need to be at all your games?” I teased, elbowing him in the side.
“I wish you could, but I know you need to stick around until Melissa has her babies. Next season, though, you better be at them all. I’m not taking any more excuses.”
Grinning, he lightly grasped my chin and tilted my head back before placing a gentle kiss to my lips. Even though he was an aggressive player on the field, he had always been the most gentle of the men I’d been with. Closing my eyes, I leaned into his touch and deepened the kiss. Taking my hand, Cooper slowly lowered it to his lap where I felt the bulge of his hardening cock straining against his jeans. Smiling, I rubbed my hand against him, making a strangled moan escape his lips.
“Do you see what a simple kiss from you does to me?” he whispered gruffly. “If you keep it up I’m going to have to take you in the bathroom. Personally, I would rather wait until we get to your house. Trying to fit me and you both in that small ass bathroom isn’t going to work.”
I laughed, taking my hand away from his lap so he could adjust his pants. “I don’t think so either, but before you ravish me can you drop me off at Melissa’s house for a while so I can check on her? I also wanted to tell her how everything went.”
Cooper smirked, his blue gaze sparkling with mischief when he replied, “That sounds good, babe. While you’re doing that I might throw us some things together on the grill for dinner. I could eat a fucking horse right now. Although, I think I might stop by my place after I drop you off at Melissa’s and then come back by to pick you up. Is that okay?”
I nodded and waved him off. “Oh yeah, that’s perfectly fine. Take your time.”
I had a lot I wanted to talk to Melissa about anyway.
My phone had died at some point during the trip home so I couldn’t call Melissa to tell her I
was back in town and coming over. When we pulled into the driveway of my family’s Tuscan villa—which was now Melissa’s home—I leaned over to kiss Cooper’s cheek before getting out of his brand new, black Toyota Tacoma.
Before I shut the door, he smiled mischievously at me, his gaze lingering on my breasts. “You know, I think you look sexy as hell in that shirt. Maybe you should wear it more often.”
Shutting the door, I looked down at the fitted Oakland Raiders jersey top then back over to him, rolling my eyes. He had some specially made for me, and also had some made for Melissa and Brett. Mine happened to be made a tad bit different, and it was the first time I’d ever worn it.
“And why should I wear it more often?” I asked sarcastically. “Is it because I have your name across my breasts and a slogan that says that I’m your girl on the back?”
Chuckling, he shrugged his shoulders and said, “Hey, can you blame me? I want people to know that you’re mine.”
“I think you’ve accomplished that already, Cooper,” I remarked with a smile on my face. “Just come get me when you get done at your place, okay?”
“Will do, babe. It shouldn’t be long,” he assured me.
I waved good-bye to him as he pulled out of the driveway before walking up the path to the front door. Melissa’s villa was my mother’s favorite retreat when she was alive, and when Melissa and her husband, Brett, took it over they kept it exactly the same, not changing a single thing.
In a way, though, it was still strange having to knock on the door when for most of my life I could just walk on in. When no one responded to my knock, I rang the doorbell and waited … and waited. I was about to give up and call Cooper to come pick me up when the door finally opened.
“It’s about time someone answered the door,” I teased as the door opened. My smile vanished when I saw Melissa standing there, her eyes red rimmed and puffy as if she’d been crying.