Meant for Me (A Second Chance standalone) (17 page)

Or maybe that panicky feeling came from the voice that spoke
in my ear, making the sickening stench of beer, bad breath, and liquor waft
across my nose. Cringing, I tried to move away, but his arms came around my
chair and locked me into place.

“Well, aren’t you a pretty thing,” he sputtered, slurring
his words. “I can tell you aren’t from around here.” I immediately recognized
his voice along with the tattoos decorating his whole left arm. It was Chase
Benfield … Mason’s number one rival.

Holy shit, this isn’t going to be good. What the hell am
I going to do?

He leaned in closer, putting his nose in my hair and taking
a deep breath. “Damn, you smell so fucking good, too … so sweet. Mason always
got the good ones. I think it’s about time he shares, don’t you? After all, he
did fuck my wife behind my back.”

“Get away from me, Chase,” I hissed through clenched teeth.
“It’s not his fault your wife chose to screw around behind your back. Just get
over yourself already and leave me alone.”

There was one girl in the room who actually noticed my
uneasiness and ran out of the kitchen. I could only hope she was getting someone
to help.

“Or what?” Chase retorted. “What are you going to do, get
Mason to kick my ass? He’s probably off somewhere in this house fucking another
bitch while you sit here alone. Let’s say we go find him, huh?”

He grabbed my wrist and pulled me out of the chair. That was
his first and last mistake.

Watching Claire with Wade was fucking torture. It took every
ounce of strength to keep to myself and let her get as much information out of
him as possible without me hindering her. I wanted to rip his fingers off one
by one each time he touched her and put his arms around her. There was no way a
guy and girl could be friends with each other, especially after they’ve already
had a past of hooking up. It just wasn’t humanly possible, and anyone who said
otherwise were fooling themselves.

During my session of trying to rein in my self-control, I
was approached by Erick who pushed my buttons even more. I didn’t want to leave
Claire, but he insisted that we talk in private. However, seeing the look on Wade’s
face as I talked to Erick was priceless. He was about to shit his pants and I
knew why.

I followed Erick out of the kitchen, through the foyer, and
up one side of the double staircase. There was an office off to the right with
its doors wide open so he motioned for me to go in and sit. Shutting the door
behind him, he strolled over and took a seat at the leather topped mahogany
desk that probably cost at least a couple grand.

“So what’s so important you had to talk to me in private?” I
inquired, taking in the room. It was almost completely bare except for the
desk, which would make sense since Wade just recently moved in.

Erick steepled his fingers beneath his chin and grinned. “I
heard you’re fighting Matt Reynolds this Friday night. You know he’s one of the
best UFC fighters in the circuit, don’t you?”

I nodded. “Yes, I do. I’ve watched him fight many times.”

“And you’re not nervous?” he wondered.

“Not really,” I admitted honestly with a shrug of my
shoulders. “He’s just a guy, right?”

I wasn’t exactly nervous per se, but fighting against
someone who could seriously kick my ass was a little daunting. Any time you
fight, you face the chance of getting beat, but it’s the risk you take. I never
got the chance to fight against the best for a title so this fight was going to
be my one chance of closure, to feel as if I actually made it to the top.

Erick guffawed and shook his head. “Either you are seriously
fearless or severely delusional. I like that about you. Have you thought about
fighting professionally again?”

I thought about it every day since the time I left it all
behind, but I didn’t want him knowing that. In a noncommittal way, I said,
“Yeah, I’ve thought about it, I guess, but I’ve been away from it for so long
that I thought it would be nearly impossible to get started again.”

Erick scoffed. “You’ve got to be shitting me. You’ve been
here all of one week and look how far you’ve come. I didn’t get to watch you
fight Chase Benfield, but I sure saw the damage to his face tonight when he
showed up. You stuck it to him hard.”

Yes, I did, and it felt fucking amazing.

He leaned forward in his chair and rested his arms across
the desk, a sly smile spreading across his face. “So with that being said what
would you say if I told you I could get you a sponsorship with MMA Pride? Would
you be interested?”

“What about Wade? I thought you took him on,” I inquired,
narrowing my gaze.

“Oh, I did, but it’s not set in stone just yet,” he noted.
“I thought I had made my decision until you came strolling in. Where are you
living at now? What do you do?”

I had a strange feeling he had already tried to find out
that information, and since my life had been temporarily erased he wouldn’t
find much. Theoretically, I was actually living in Las Vegas at the moment
until the case was solved, and then after that I was going to move to
California. I’d stayed in one place for so long—leading the same life—that it
seemed almost surreal to be doing something else … something I loved doing and
finally finding someone to share it with. I never thought it would be possible.

“I’m kind of floating around at the moment. I plan on moving
to California as soon as my time here is up,” I told him.

“Ah, isn’t Claire from California?” Erick asked, grinning
mischievously. “Are you two moving in together?”

“I don’t think that’s any of your business. How about we
stick to the topic at hand,” I suggested dryly. The last thing I wanted was for
Claire to end up on his radar. I feared it was already too late, but he had no
business knowing anything about our personal lives, especially hers.

Erick lifted his hands in surrender and chuckled. “Okay,
sorry. I won’t talk anymore about Claire. I don’t think she likes me too much
anyway from the way she acted toward me this morning. So, again, back to the
topic. I’m looking for the best and you are one of the best. I just need to
know how much you want it.”

Here we go, we’re finally getting somewhere.
It was
time to play the game.

“What exactly do you mean by that? Of course, I would want
to fight again. I’d give my left nut to get back in the cage professionally.
What do I have to do?”

Lowering his voice, he leaned closer and smiled. “First off,
do you think you stand a chance at winning against Matt Reynolds?”

Shrugging a shoulder, I said, “I think it’s a fifty-fifty
chance. The guy’s solid, but as far as strength I would say we handle about the
same. Why?”

“Well, like I said, I want the best. If you can beat Matt
Reynolds like you did Chase Benfield then I think you deserve the chance to
try
for the sponsorship,” he replied with a leer.

Try for the sponsorship?

I scoffed incredulously, “So you’re not going to give me the
sponsorship if I beat Matt? What else would I have to do to prove that I want
it? I think that’s proving a shit ton if I can beat him.”

“Oh it does, but this decision isn’t completely up to just
me. There are others that play a part in the decision as well. I’m just the
main one who scouts out the talent. Okay, so this is what I’m going to do. On
Friday night, I’m going to come to the fight and watch you. If you win I’ll
find you afterwards and tell you what your next step is. If you don’t, then I
wish you luck in your endeavors.”

Standing from his chair, he extended his hand as he came
around the desk. “Do we have a deal?”

Without hesitation, I took his hand and shook it, sealing my
fate. His grasp was hard and firm, but mine was harder. “I don’t remember there
being a next step when I was a part of the Pride. Is that something new?”

Releasing my hand, he chuckled and waved me off. “Trust me,
you’ll be able to handle it. Besides, just think of all we could do for you.
You never got the chance to make it to the top and I can get you there. If you
desire fame, it’s yours … money, it’s yours. All you have to do is show me that
you’re worth it. Can you do that?”

“You’re damn right I can,” I promised. “I accept the
challenge.”

I had to give it to the man, he was a smooth talker. Any
rookie fighter would fall hard for it, but not me. I grinned, even though what
I really wanted to do was punch the motherfucker in the face, but restraint was
necessary.

“Good, I’m glad …” he started to say, but then stopped when
his phone rang. He answered the call and I could hear a frantic voice shouting
on the other end. Erick’s smile immediately faded, and as soon as he ended the
call he rushed past me toward the door.

What the hell is going on?

“We have a problem downstairs,” he exclaimed.

“What kind of problem?” I asked, following him out of the
office toward the staircase.

“It’s Claire … something’s happened.”

The moment her name slipped out of his mouth I almost lost
every single ounce of sanity I had left in my body. Deep down I knew I
shouldn’t have left her alone. Even to get closer to figuring out the case I
knew it was a mistake. I ran down the steps as fast as I could, following
behind Erick who headed through the kitchen to the back door.

I didn’t like the feeling that crept over my skin, nor did I
like the fact that everyone was crowded around in a circle out on the back
lawn. There were angry shouts coming from everywhere, but I couldn’t
concentrate on what they were saying. All I wanted was to find Claire before
the panic that crept up my spine turned into full mode panic.

Not caring who I trampled over to get to her, I pushed
through the people and shouted, “Get out of the fucking way!” When I finally
got through and saw what had transpired, I knew one thing and one thing only …
someone was going to die.

Everything moved so fast and it was kind of like I was in a
dream. I never expected Chase to grab my arm like he did, nor try to pull me
out the back door into the dark. He was drunk and obviously high on something,
and thankfully, I didn’t give him the chance to do whatever he was going to do.
Hence, the reason he was being held back by two of his friends with tiny shards
of glass stuck in his head. The broken bottle neck in my hand was evidence as
to what I did.

One thing that really pissed me off was when Chase pulled me
out the door, I was clearly struggling, but
no one
tried to stop him. It
was like they were too afraid to mess with him.
Well, I wasn’t.
Mason
was nowhere to be seen and neither was Wade. Chase was a scary looking guy, and
for a moment the fear clouded my judgment and I couldn’t think of anything else
other than what was about to happen to me. The farther he led me away from
everyone, my survival instincts kicked into overdrive and I reacted, not caring
about the consequences.

“Claire!”

Out of all the roaring and screaming, I heard his voice …
Mason’s voice. When he pushed his way through the crowd and saw me with the
bloody bottle in my hand, his face turned into a mask of confusion. However,
when he saw Chase being held back by a couple of other men his confusion turned
into rage.

Fuming, he stalked toward me, took the broken bottle away,
and flung it across the yard. His warm hands grasped my face, holding tight, to
keep my gaze on his. “What the hell happened?” he demanded, shaking in anger.

The girl standing behind me had been in the kitchen and saw
everything. She was the one who got someone to help me, eventually. Hesitantly,
she came up to me and Mason, and when he acknowledged her, she muttered
nervously, “Um … Chase had gotten a little rough with her, and I watched him
pull her out of the house to out here. I don’t know where he was planning on
taking her. Anyway, she hit him over the head with a bottle that was sitting on
one of the patio tables. He completely deserved it, especially since everyone
was too scared of him to help her. My boyfriend was somewhere in the house so I
texted him and he came to help.”

The moment she said that I knew it was over. Slowly, he
turned his head to me, his green gaze turning as black as night. “Claire, is
that true? Did he try to hurt you?”

Knowing I had no other option, and regretting what was about
to happen, I closed my eyes and nodded once. That nod was all it took before
his hands left my face and I felt the rush of air from his immediate absence. I
didn’t want to open my eyes, but I did. Mason charged toward Chase and as he
did everyone backed out of his way, even Chase’s friends who were holding him
back from me. His fists flew once, twice, over and over with the sickening
sound of flesh hitting flesh. Bones were broken because I could hear the
crunching sound echo in the night air as Mason pounded against Chase’s face.

Wanting him to stop, I yelled out his name, but nothing came
out. I was frozen in time while everyone else moved in slow motion. It wasn’t
until Wade finally made his appearance and put an end to the brutal beating. He
grabbed Mason around the waist and jerked him away, off of Chase. Breathing
hard, Mason pushed him off and backed away toward me, keeping his gaze on Wade
as he approached. Slowly, Chase got his feet with an evil sneer, which showed
off his bloody teeth.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Wade shouted,
glaring at Mason. “Get out!
Now
!”

“Oh, I plan on it,” Mason hissed, spitting on the ground
toward Chase. “I was teaching your friend a lesson. He better be glad I didn’t
rip out his goddamned arms. If my knowledge is correct, he could be charged
with assault and attempted rape from what I hear.”

Wade’s eyes grew wide, panicked. “You have got to be kidding
me! Where’s the girl? Is she all right?”

Mason stepped out of the way and glanced at me over his
shoulder before replying back to Wade, “Why don’t you ask her yourself since
she happens to be one of your closest friends.”

Wade’s confusion only lasted for a second before his gaze
landed on me. Shaking his head back and forth, he fisted his hands in his hair
and rushed over to me. “No, no, no … Claire, please tell me you’re okay,” he
pleaded, placing his hands on my arms.

Wriggling out of his grasp, I said, “I’ll be fine. It’s just
a couple of bruises. Besides, I shattered a really large bottle of beer over
his head.”

Angrily, Wade growled and immediately stalked over to Chase,
grabbing him by the shirt and hitting him straight in the nose. Chase’s head
snapped back and a new wave of blood started flowing out of his nose. Keeping a
firm hold on Chase’s shirt, and even though the two were almost the same size,
Wade threw him around as if he were nothing.

Chase landed on the ground, gasping for air, except that
didn’t stop Wade from delivering a swift kick to his ribs. Bending down, Wade
lifted Chase by his shirt and hissed in his face, “That girl over there that
you tried to mess with happens to be one of my closest friends, asshole. What’s
worse is that you brought her out here, alone, to do who knows what with her
and I can only imagine what that could’ve been. If anything would’ve happened
to her you’d be dead right now.”

Letting him go, Wade turned away from him and started to
come toward me, but stopped when Chase’s words froze him in place. “I was only
doing what you told me to do,” he hissed. “You told me to fuck with Mason any
way I knew how, and I did. I went after his bitch. I wasn’t going to do
anything to her.”

I gasped while Mason tensed beside me, ready to fight again
if need be. How could Wade do something like that? What was the point?

Glaring back and forth from me to Chase, Wade settled on
Chase and snapped, “Wait … what? She’s not with him, dumb ass.”

Chase spat a mouth full of blood onto the ground and
coughed. “Why don’t you ask her then?”

The whole crowd around us watched like vultures, their eyes
wide in amusement and anticipation waiting on the next part of the show. That
clearly made Wade angrier and you could not only hear it, but feel it when he
shouted, “I want everyone to back up,
now
! The show’s over, so either go
inside or leave before I make you look like him.” He pointed to Chase to
emphasize his request.

The people in the crowd slowly dispersed, except a couple of
guys Wade must’ve known and of course, Erick. Whatever he and Mason talked
about in private it had better be something good to at least make up for the
night being a complete disaster. Once everyone was gone, Wade settled his gaze
on me, and lifted an angry finger toward Mason. “You’re actually
with
this guy, Claire? Are you serious? Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked
venomously.

Was he actually getting angry with me after everything
that just happened?
His friend attacked me and his only concern was why I
didn’t tell him I was dating Mason? Whatever it was, either the sound of my
teeth clenching together or the blood rushing to my face, Mason could see that
I was about to explode and grabbed my hand to keep me in place by his side. I
really wanted to break another bottle over someone’s head and this time it was
going to be Wade’s.

Mason spoke softly in my ear, “Claire, let’s just go. You’ve
already been through enough, and if I stay here any longer I’m liable to beat
the shit out of your friend and I’d rather not hurt you that way.”

“No, not yet,” I argued, shaking my head, “I need to say
this first.”

Mason nodded, letting go of my hand, and stepped back a pace
to give me room.

Taking a deep breath, I glared at Wade and went off, “Let’s
get something clear, who I’m with or who I’m seeing is none of your damn
business. Second, I don’t know why you have a problem with Mason when I know he
hasn’t done anything to you, maybe its jealousy, I don’t know, but getting your
little crony to do your bidding is just sad. It’s wrong and completely immoral.
I never thought you would stoop so low.”

Desperately, he tried to reach for me, but I jerked away. He
let his hand fall, and for a moment I could see the trepidation in his eyes,
but then they hardened just as quickly. “It’s not like that, Claire. You don’t
understand,” he argued.

“It doesn’t matter,” I spat. “I’m done here, and I’m done
with you. Good-bye, Wade.”

I turned to Mason, who kept his complete attention on me,
not even acknowledging Wade, and put his arm around my shoulders. “Let’s go,”
he murmured.

I didn’t want Mason to have to go into our hotel with bloody
hands, so before leaving the house he quickly washed up and we left it all
behind. By the time we got to the truck, I was a nervous wreck. Everything came
crashing down and I let myself go, bursting into tears. Mason reached over and
held my hand as we began the fifteen minute drive back to the hotel in complete
silence; the silence was deafening.

It wasn’t until we pulled into the parking lot at the hotel
that he finally spoke, “I can’t believe I wasn’t there to protect you. I wanted
to kill him, Claire. Just the thought of what he could’ve done to you set my
blood on fire. I don’t think I could handle it if anything were to happen to
you, not when this is my fight. You shouldn’t have to suffer because of me.
Which is why …”

He stopped mid-sentence and turned to stare at me with his
somber gaze. I knew what he was going to say because his eyes said it all.
Little did he know that I still had some fight in me. I wasn’t going to let him
win and I wasn’t going to let him send me home, but it didn’t stop me from
asking, “You want to send me home, don’t you?”

He sighed and nodded his head, his voice rough with
conflicting emotions. “I’m sorry, Claire, but it’s for the best. It’s too
dangerous for you to be involved. I need to know that you’re safe and away from
here … away from me, and the best place for that is back in California.”

Defeated, I leaned my head against the seat and stared at
him, a lone tear escaping the corner of my eye. “I don’t think I can do that,”
I cried. “Not when everything is coming together and you’re so close. From what
I understand, Friday night is going to be an important fight for you and I
don’t want to miss it. You may not need me there, but I need to be. I can’t
miss it, Mason.” He still hadn’t even told me what Erick said in their little
talk.

Groaning, Mason reached over and twirled a lock of my hair
through his fingers. “I had a feeling you would say something like that.
There’s only one other option.”

“What would that be?” I wondered.

“It’s simple,” he explained. “We need to compromise and I
need you to be reasonable. Can you do that?”

Narrowing my gaze, I crossed my arms over my chest and
breathed out a heavy sigh. “I think I’m a very reasonable person,” I noted
halfheartedly.

Mason scoffed, his facial expression claiming otherwise.
“Okay, fine, I’m a little hard to reason with, but I do know how to compromise.
However, before I do that I need you to tell me something first.”

“Anything,” he replied. “What do you want to know?”

“I want you to tell me what you and Erick talked about, and
if you think Wade is a part of it.” Almost hesitantly, he stared at me for a
moment as if contemplating his next words. “I want the truth, Mason. I need to
know if you’re going to be okay.”

Please tell me you’re going to be okay.