The Predator [2]

by Brooke May

  Fucker.

  The last thing I want is to be surrounded by bikini-clad bimbos who are just interested in my money and my body. Vapid chicks are not my thing. Katie—she’s my thing, my only thing. But having Scott as my manager, I pretty much have to show my face where he tells me to whenever he feels like it.

  I’d rather have my nose broken and reset. And I sure as hell would rather spend the day tomorrow looking for Katie before I leave Denver. One way or another, I’m not leaving this city without her.

  “… was talking to Bob while you were changing.” I missed the first half of his little speech, but whatever.

  “So?”

  “The girl who was with K.C. is his girlfriend or friend, or something. I’m sure we could find out from him a little more about K.C.”

  “Like?” Knowing that sleaze of a man knows my girl takes me to a whole new level of anger.

  Scott drops his head to the headrest, shaking it. “Think, C.” When I don’t answer, he continues. I’m not in the mood for his shit tonight. My girl comes to watch me fight only to leave without waiting to speak to me. My mood is completely ruined for his fun guessing games. “He could tell us where she works, where she lives, and maybe what her relationship status is now.” He thinks he is smug because he thought of that before me.

  This is true; that guy could tell me if I asked. Do I want to know what her relationship status is now?

  Fuck yes, I do!

  I pray she is still mine and not someone else’s. I can’t see any other guy letting her go to a fight without him, especially with how she was dressed. I grip the steering wheel tighter. “He would probably relay everything we ask back to her.”

  “Not if we tell him to keep it under wraps.” Scott is so fucking smug. I really just want to drill my fist into his face. He loves this. I’m so close but still so far from her. “I’ll give him a call.”

  “You know, sometimes I hate you.”

  “No, you don’t. You wouldn’t be here now if it wasn’t for me.”

  Rolling my eyes, I pull us to a stop. “Do you think he would really help us?”

  “Possibly. You never know till you ask.” He digs his phone out of his pocket and starts texting away. I have no fucking clue how he manages to move his fingers so fast and keep everything straight. He has hundreds of contacts, and it sometimes scares me. I am glad he is the one who manages everything even though he fucks things up all the time and makes me do things I really don’t want to do. I would rather have someone else manage my schedule and finances and just have him as my sparring and training partner, but until I can find a person or two I trust, I’m stuck with Scott.

  “How are you going to play this, C?” I glance at him, confused. “When you find her, how are you going to handle it?”

  “She was and will always be mine. I plan to fight for her if I need to, and I sure as hell plan to win. Katie. Is. Mine,” I grind out only to make him laugh.

  “Not if she is married.” That statement makes me murderous.

  “She’s not.” There is a complete conviction in my tone. I know she isn’t.

  “Whatever you say, brother.” Scott turns his focus from me and out the window as we draw closer to our hotel. “So Operation Catch Lil’ Bit is underway?”

  “It always has been. Since that Saturday night when I couldn’t reach her. I plan to find her, Scott. I’m keeping her by my side for the rest of my life.”

  “Good luck, C.”

  “No luck needed.” I throw him my own cocky grin. “She’s my girl, after all.”

  XOXO

  SURE AS SHIT, Bob was very forthcoming with information on Katie. This kind of pisses me off just as much as it excites me. He doesn’t know Scott and me for shit. For all he knows, we could be total tools who use and abuse girls. Not only does this anger me that he knows so much about my girl, but it also angers me that he was willing to offer it up to me with no explanation.

  This worries me and not just for her, but her friend as well. This guy is cocky and a complete douchebag.

  Scott called him the second we got back to the hotel as we tucked into our late dinner. Scott’s phone sat between us at the table on speaker phone as Bob explained that Katie has lived here for almost four years now and is currently working at some gentlemen’s club in town while job hunting.

  I nearly snap my metal fork in two when I heard the words gentlemen’s club. Fuck that shit; she’d better not be dancing or working there earning a living selling her body for some asshole’s entertainment.

  “Start looking up all the gentlemen’s clubs and then start calling around and asking if she works for one of them,” I command Scott after we hang up with Bob the douchenozzle.

  He scratches the back of his head, staring down at his phone. “I really don’t like that guy, C.”

  “Me either.” I put my plate and fork in the sink before filling up my glass with water to slam it back. “He has no concern for Katie or her friend, Beth, either. That really bothers me.” I fill my cup again.

  “Yeah.” Scott comes around to do the same with his plate and fork. “But he didn’t say anything about her personal life; maybe he doesn’t know her that well?”

  “Let’s hope. He’s a rich fucker who would just love getting in good graces with me, and if he knows who Katie’s dad is, I bet he would go after that as well.”

  “No shit.” He snorts and braces his hands on the counter, looking down and shaking his head. “You still want to go to the party tomorrow?”

  I jerk my head back in surprise. “You’re actually asking me?” I don’t believe it!

  “Well, yeah? If you would much rather hunt down K.C., I’ll get you out of the party.”

  “No.” I shake my head and drink the rest of my water. “I’ll give her one day to cool down. We don’t leave for Orlando until next Sunday. That gives me time to find her and convince her to come with us. If that job is the only thing holding her here, it will be easy to get her to leave.” I place my glass in the sink and take off to my room.

  I need to sleep this off.

  “What if she has something else holding her here?” Scott’s question halts me at the entrance to my room.

  I look over my shoulder at him and shrug. “I’ll figure it out, but I’m never giving up.

  Chapter Three

  Katie

  “WHAT IN THE hell do you mean you’re closed for a private party?” Beth slams her fist down on the counter at the entrance to the water park while I stand back, shifting from foot to foot with Marissa giggling by my side.

  “It’s just as I’ve said, ma’am.” My eyes close; the poor kid is cowering behind the register and now has called Beth ma’am. Marissa laughs harder at the look that Beth throws the kid.

  Give him a break.

  I step around Beth and calmly try to defuse the situation. Patience is not her strong suit. “Is there any way we could just use the kiddie pool?” He looks up at me, visibly shaking from Beth. She has this effect on so many people; big and small alike cower to her.

  I-I-I’d have to-to-to ask.” I glare back at Beth for scaring the poor kid. She doesn’t even look apologetic with her hip popped out and her arms crossed.

  Forcing a sweet smile, I turn back to the kid. “We only want to use the kiddie pool; we don’t want any slides or anything else.” Beth snorts as he sprints off—more like flees—to get his manager. “Did you have to be so mean?” Beth is fixing one of Marissa’s long blond braids when I turn back to her.

  Marissa is only three and a half, and her hair is almost as long as mine is. We get the split ends trimmed all the time, but it just keeps growing. Something I know she got from Chamberlain. His hair grew fast too.

  Beth stands back up and waves around us. “Well, who could possibly rent out the whole flipping park?”

  “Mommy, swim?” I look down at my little girl, and her eyes are starting to tear up with the realization that we may not be able to swim here today. She had her little heart set on
it.

  I’m about to answer her with the kid comes back with his manager. “Ma’am?” The manager nods to me. “I’m sorry, but the whole park is booked today for a private party.”

  “Even the kiddie pool?” That pool is in a different part of the park; it’s back away from all the slides, wave pool, and deeper pools to keep younger kids safe. “Please, it’s a warm, beautiful day, and my daughter was really looking forward to swimming today,” I plead with the man.

  “Well …” He quickly leans forward out of the little hut and looks around. After he doesn’t find anyone around us, he turns his attention back to me. “Is it only the three of you?”

  “Yes,” I answer quickly. “It is just my daughter, our friend, and myself.”

  “Very well then. If you stay at the kiddie pool and don’t go swimming anywhere else, you can come on in. That pool isn’t being used by the party anyway.”

  A bright smile flashes on my face along with a sigh of relief. I didn’t want tears running down my little princess’s face just because she couldn’t swim on the day she was really looking forward to it. “Thank you so much.” I hand the boy our money, and we walk in around the corner to the kiddie pool area fenced off from the rest of the water park.

  Since the pool is more of a wading pool, only coming up to my ankles, Beth and I decide we would sunbathe while Marissa plays in the water. Before we left the house, I had already put sunscreen on her, so after we get our towels laid out, I pull off her little sundress and help her into her water wings.

  Normally, when we come here to swim, I stay with her because of the large number of kids running around, so it’s nice that for once I can sit back and relax while keeping a close eye on her.

  I remove my own cover and lay out on my towel, flipping my long hair over my shoulder while Marissa wades out into the water. “Only till the water hits your knees, baby doll,” I remind her.

  She looks up at me with her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth and then smiles a crooked, dimpled smile that reminds me so much of her daddy. She looks like a little copy of me except for her deep blue eyes, her smile, and some of her mannerisms. That’s when Chamberlain comes out.

  “Yes, Mommy.”

  Smiling, I lay back on my stomach and watch her in the pool, playing on and around all the things they have for the kids. Beth does the same, but when she settles, she snorts.

  Here we go.

  “How did you get so lucky to have a well-mannered three-year-old?”

  “Lots of hard work and it helps to have a live-in babysitter like Karmin. She’s wonderful with Marissa.” Marissa loves her aunts as much as I do. I would be lost without the support the two of them have given me since moving here. I never realized how a normal family functioned until I got into the groove with Karmin and Aunt Jackie. They have been a blessing.

  “That’s for sure. I’ve never seen a three-year-old as well-mannered, and well, everything like Marissa is. She talks better than most kids her age who I’ve been around, and she is always happy.” Beth reaches over and pats my hand. “And all of it is because of her great mommy.”

  A blush starts at my neck and crawls up and across my face. Aunt Jackie, Karmin, Beth, and many others always comment how good the two of us are. Aside from the three closest to me, no one knows the struggles I had back in Boston.

  I had vowed to Marissa, right after I knew about her, that I would love her and give her everything that was never given to me. I’ve kept that word. I love seeing her face light up with joy, and I kiss the tears away as soon as they start to fall.

  “Your aunt is amazing!”

  Karmin is amazing. She may not be blood or recognized by the Cunningham family as a member, but I love her just the same. She is wonderful with my aunt; the yin to Jackie’s yang.

  I told Beth more about my parents and sister this morning while we made breakfast for everyone well before Marissa got up. Marissa is still too little to understand it.

  It truly surprises Beth that I turned out the way I did. The only person I have to thank for that is Fiona.

  I pout when I think of her. I haven’t been able to locate her at all, but given my very limited resources, there isn’t much looking to be done. Like me, Fiona had a phone through my parents. Not that she ever used it, but it was the only contact I ever had with her when I wasn’t at home. I saw her daily, so calling and emailing was out of the question. I would just run downstairs and talk to her if I needed to. All I have left of her is the afghan I had taken from her apartment before my parents ambushed me in my bedroom.

  Even before I became pregnant, I made a vow to myself and my future that I would never raise a child like my parents did with me. My children would know what love was through every single act I did for them. So as my first act of love for Marissa, I protected her from the vile deeds of my parents by not letting them take her from me. My baby was my chance at the true happiness I only ever dreamed of having while growing up.

  When I came here, I spent the first three months adjusting to all the changes that came with my exile and my broken heart. I would cry myself to sleep every night thinking of Chamberlain and how much I thought we meant to one another. I started classes and soon pulled myself out of my depression and aching heart. I wasn’t going to let it get me down anymore. I had a life to live and a child to prepare for.

  Even pregnant, men had still found me attractive, and a few even tried to get me to go out with them, but my heart was never in it. How could I give a piece of myself to a man when I never got it back from the first person I gave it to? Yes, Chamberlain broke my heart, but as much as I hate myself for it, he still owns my heart.

  It was easier when Beth came along. She saw that I didn’t want to date, especially with a new baby. She helped by scaring them away with tales of how big and scary my man was. At the time, she knew nothing about Chamberlain, and strangely, every time she described a man to scare another away, she was close to a vision of Chamberlain.

  The day I learned I was carrying a little girl, there was no doubt in my mind what her name would be. Chamberlain’s mom’s name was beautiful. It was a calming name that I found lovely. I named my little girl Marissa after the grandma who watches over her and would have loved her beyond the stars. For her middle name, it took me a while to find something that went well with the rest of her name. I finally settled on the first one I had picked, Fiona. Marissa Fiona was named after two women who cared and loved big. Just like I do with her.

  And even though it brought me more heartache, I chose to give her her father’s last name. Even if it meant that someday Chamberlain would get married and give that name to another woman’s daughter, I had to give it to her. It was another piece of him that I wanted to keep with me, along with the bracelet hidden in my jewelry box, the hoodie that now hangs in the back of my closet, and the stuffed panda that my little girl can’t sleep without. By giving Marissa Chamberlain’s last name, I also protected her from my parents.

  The day I gave birth to Marissa, I gained not one, but two new people who quickly became important to me. I was in the grocery store getting last-minute ingredients when my water broke. I had no clue what to do and no idea if I could even drive myself to the hospital. Thankfully, a bustling little redhead rounded the corner right as a contraction slammed into me, which caused me to clench my stomach and double over.

  Seeing the pool of liquid on the floor, she dropped her cart and ran to me while grabbing my purse out of it and guiding me from the store. She had gotten me to my car after I puffed out short, breathy directions and drove me to the hospital as quickly as she could. Never once did she let go of my hand, and she helped me through every contraction. In haste, she introduced herself as Beth Martin, a sports medicine student. She stayed by my side throughout my labor and delivery. And even when my aunts showed up, she never left. We have been inseparable since.

  “I’m not sure if things are going to work out with Bobby.” Beth snaps me out of my wandering thoughts. I
first glance up to make sure Marissa is okay, which she is, and then I turn my attention to Beth.

  “Why?” I try and fail to contain my excitement. I really hope she is willing to give dating guys our age another try. Not all of them out there are jerks. When she turned to her first ‘sugar daddy,’ Paul, a year and a half ago, I was skeptical and nervous for her. He was much older than she was, by thirty years, and had an air that screamed jerk. It didn’t last long, especially when he decided that, along with her companionship, he wanted her in his bed as well.

  Beth declined, and that ended their relationship. She was tired of men just seeing her as something sexual when she wanted the companionship that went with being in a relationship. Then she met Bob four months ago. He was light and fun and always up for an adventure with her.

  “He wants more, and you know that isn’t cool with me.” For someone who used to love sex, Beth really surprised me when she decided this change in her life. She had just finished her degree in sports medicine when I finished my teaching degree, and she is really trying to focus on her career.

  “So break it off.”

  “You make it sound so easy,” she whines.

  “That’s because it is.” I roll onto my back after checking on Marissa again and smile at her little giggles as the buckets of water dump on her. “You have a B.O.B. that fulfills you anyway.”

  That’s another change in me—I talk about sex openly now. Four years ago, the thought of uttering the term B.O.B. scared me, but now, with the help of Beth, I’m fine with it and even cuss on occasion.

  “I really wish I could find a job.” She groans.

  “Still nothing?”

  “I’ve tried the big-time teams around here, the minor ones, and even the schools, but no one is interested. It would make it easier to leave Bob …”

  “What?” I sit up on my elbows and draw my sunglasses up to look at her. “If you had a job?”