Meant for Me (A Second Chance standalone) (2 page)

Four
Months Later

“How are things going with Cooper?” Melissa asked, lifting a
curious brow when I peered over at her through the vines.

Her wavy, auburn hair was pulled back off her face showing
off the glow to her cheeks. She rubbed her swollen belly soothingly, which in a
couple of months would be a set of twin boys. She had on her favorite yellow
maternity sundress which only added to her motherly glow.

Every day, first thing in the morning, we walked together
through the main vineyard to inspect the grapes. It was always so peaceful to
hear the birds sing and smell the richness of the land. When I needed to think
or get away from life, this was where I retreated to. I always had, even when I
was a little girl.

Melissa used to be the wife of my older brother, Daniel, and
also a high school biology teacher. Now she was my business partner and friend.
Even though mine and Daniel’s family were in California, he moved to North
Carolina to go to college and decided he wanted to stay there, pursuing his
career as a financial advisor to the elite of Charlotte. They were married for
two years until Melissa caught him cheating on her. Soon after that they got
divorced, and then things went completely downhill.

When my mother died about a year and a half ago, she left
the whole estate and the vineyards to me, but also left Melissa the little
Tuscan villa we had on the other side of our land along with the vineyards on
that property. Needless to say, my brother didn’t like that and thought he
deserved the inheritance, especially, since Melissa wasn’t family. He failed to
realize that she was more family to us than him. Long story short, he made some
bad business decisions and tried to steal the vineyards out from under me. When
he got caught, he went off the deep end and kidnapped Melissa in a desperate
attempt to get her back. He almost had her over the border to Canada when her
cousin Mason, who happened to be a Detective Chief Inspector and also an
ex-lover of mine, had tracked them down.

Mason ...

Just thinking about him made me angry all over again. I
honestly thought he would come to his senses and show up on my doorstep one
day, but he never did. Not that I was God’s gift to men or anything, but after
the night we shared I felt a connection to him and I knew he did, too. What I
didn’t expect was for him to completely disappear out of my life. In fact, I
haven’t spoken to him since I dropped him off at the airport. The closest I had
come to hearing his voice was when he called Melissa a couple of months ago to
tell her Daniel was out of prison, and a free man.

He had hardly spent any time behind bars for what he did to
Melissa and to the clients he stole money from. I guess that was the way the
world worked these days. It seemed like anyone could get away with anything and
not have to be punished for it. My brother tried to contact me soon after I
found out he was out of prison, but I told him I no longer had a brother. It
was harsh, but I honestly doubted he even cared. Melissa was my family now, not
him.

“Claire?” Melissa asked, waving a hand in front of my face.
“Are you all right? You blanked out on me there for a second.”

Rubbing my eyes with the palm of my hands, I shook my head
and sighed. “Yeah, of course I am. I was just thinking about some things. So
much has happened in the past year. It’s hard to believe that so many bad and
terrible things could happen in so short a time.”

“You got that right,” Melissa agreed with a smile. “However,
you never answered my question. How are you and Cooper doing? You seem to be
doing well.”

Cooper Davis was an old friend of mine from high school who
had just moved back to California after being traded from the Dallas Cowboys to
be a running back for the Oakland Raiders. He was two years older than me and
also the guy I gave my virginity to. I missed him when he went off to college,
but I never regretted the time we spent together.

We had a couple of flings over the years when he would come
home to visit his family, and when he showed up at my door three months ago
telling me he was moving back I knew he was just what I needed to get over
Mason. We’d been seeing each other ever since and we’d even talked about moving
in together, except I wasn’t so sure on that just yet. I loved Cooper, and the
sex was amazing with him, but in my heart I knew something was missing. I just
hoped I figured out what it was before things got too serious, which I had a
feeling they were about to.

Melissa narrowed her gaze, picking up on my hesitation by
the concerned look in her eyes, but I smiled over at her and quickly answered,
“Actually, Cooper and I are doing really well as a matter of fact. He wanted me
to go with him to Texas to watch him play against his old team, but I told him
I didn’t want to leave you here to manage everything on your own. I’ll watch
the game on TV tomorrow night.”

Melissa scoffed and rolled her eyes. “What am I … fragile? I
know how to take care of the vineyards, Claire, and besides, Brett is always
here with me. I think you’re making up excuses. What’s the real reason you
didn’t want to go?”

We’d finally arrived back to the main house and I took a
seat on the wooden bench inside the gazebo, gazing out at the mountains and the
long rows of grapes in the distance. Melissa sat down beside me and waved her
hand impatiently in front of my face, waiting on my answer. I blew out a shaky
breath and blurted out, “I think Cooper is going to propose to me.”

Melissa beamed and clapped her hands excitedly. “Oh, Claire,
that’s great news. Cooper is a wonderful man and we all love him, especially
Brett. I think he’s Cooper’s biggest fan. You two will make a great match. Not
to mention he’s hot as hell.”

Nodding quickly, I bit my lip and averted my gaze. I didn’t
want her to see my hesitation. Cooper was all I could ever want. He was tall
with dark brown hair and the most majestic blue eyes I’d ever seen on anyone.
With him being an athlete, his body was well chiseled and basically a haven of
perfection. However, there was a part of me that couldn’t let go of the past I
shared with someone else.

“Claire? That is great news, right?” Melissa asked
uncertainly.

When my gaze lifted to hers, her smile vanished completely
and was replaced with understanding and sympathy. She knew what was holding me
back. Sighing deeply, she wrapped her arms around my neck and held me as close
as humanly possible with her protruding belly in the middle of us.

She murmured softly in my ear, “I thought you were over him,
Claire. As much as I think you and Mason would’ve been perfect for each other,
I can’t help but think that maybe Cooper came into your life at the right
moment. Mason has a stubborn head on his shoulders, but if it’s meant to be he
will come back for you. Just don’t miss out on life because he was too stupid
to realize what he had in front of him.”

After hearing Melissa’s words of encouragement, it finally
became clear. I had been holding back and letting happiness slip by me.
Not
anymore.

“You know what, Mel, you’re right,” I claimed
wholeheartedly. I pulled back out of her arms so I could look at her. I was not
the type of girl to wallow in despair over a man, and I couldn’t let Mason hold
me back anymore. It was time I started living my life.

With a renewed sense of determination, I looked at Melissa
and smiled one last time before rushing out of the gazebo. “Where are you going
in such a hurry?” she called, getting slowly to her feet.

Laughing, I looked over my shoulder and shouted, “I’m going
to Texas, baby. There’s a sexy football player there who needs me. Besides, I
think a little spontaneity will do me some good.”

It was way past time to move on.

Two
Days Later

“Are you sure you want to look at that tonight, man?” Jason
asked, standing in the doorway and looking concerned. Except, it was hard to
take his concern seriously with him standing there in jeans, a plaid button
down shirt, boots, and a large brown cowboy hat. He took trying to be a cowboy
seriously and all the guys at the station gave him hell about it.

“Some of the guys are going to Coyote Joe’s if you want to
come,” he offered. “You’ve been staring at that folder for hours. I think you
could use a drink … or twelve.”

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.