Meant for Me (A Second Chance standalone) (7 page)

Mason was still asleep beside me with his arm draped over my
stomach when I woke up. My muscles were sore from our many trysts the night
before, but at least it was a good sore. Slipping out of bed, I snuck off to
the ‘her’ bathroom since the suite we got had a his and her bathroom. I washed
up and did my usual morning routine before walking back into the suite,
thinking that since an hour had gone by Mason would be up … but he wasn’t. He
was still sound asleep.

Hmm … interesting.

It wasn’t until I saw the note on the desk that I realized
why he was still passed out on the bed; he had gone out last night. Deep down I
knew he was itching to get started, and I didn’t blame him. He had a job to do,
but he was also trying to find out who killed his friend and the other men. I
was going to help him whether he liked it or not, even if he wanted me to
leave.

Also, on the desk was a file that I didn’t remember seeing
last night. It had to be the file for the case.
Would it be illegal to look
at it since I am a civilian?
I wondered. Mason hadn’t talked to me about
the specifics yet of where he was supposed to look or who to look out for.
Surely,
he wouldn’t care if I read through it, would he?

Opening the file, the first thing I came to was a picture of
Mason’s deceased friend and his wife who was currently missing. I never thought
the bad shit you saw in movies or on the news would ever happen to me, at least
until my brother went over the deep end with Melissa and kidnapped her.
Anything could happen to anyone; it was all real, and Mason had to deal with it
every day. I flipped past the many pictures of the deceased fighters who had
been killed, not recognizing any of their names, and moved on to the list of
places and acquaintances of the deceased.

None of the acquaintances names sounded familiar, except
when I got to the places of interest my eyes went wide in shock and I gasped. I
knew them all, some of them I knew really well, and most of them I had been to
when I lived in Vegas. One of them, however, I knew very well. It was a place I
used to work at, a place where I could live my life and do whatever the hell I
wanted. However, that wasn’t what had my heart pounding out of control. It was
the fact that the place I considered to be a safe haven was the number one
suspect place on Mason’s list.

Holy shit, what’s going on? Why would it be the number
one suspect spot?

I didn’t realize I had said the question out loud until I heard
Mason’s gravelly voice call out behind me, making me jump in the seat. “I see
you got curious and decided to go snooping.”

Quickly, I closed the file and turned to face him. “I wanted
to see if there was anything I could do to help you and to see what you were up
against here. Besides, you left the file out anyway so if you didn’t want me
looking at it then you should have put it back with your stuff.”

Mason rubbed his eyes, and then ran his fingers through his
hair with a smirk on his face. “I wanted you to look at it. I was going to see
if you knew any of the people or places in there. I know it’s been years since
you’ve been here and you weren’t here that long, but it’s a shot at least.”

He got out of bed and dug through his bag until he found a
pair of blue and white Adidas running shorts and a white tank top. He stretched
a few times, flexing those massive muscles of his, and of course I had to watch
him before he joined me at the desk. He had seriously put on an amazing amount
of muscle mass over the past few months we’d been apart. I handed him the
letter he wrote to me last night and lifted an amused brow, wondering if he
would tell me where he went. I already knew he couldn’t have gotten into the
club I worked at, at least not without me.

He rolled his eyes and threw the letter in the trash. “Last
night was a clusterfuck,” he growled, leaning his elbows on the desk. “I
couldn’t find anyone’s descriptions matching the people on the list, and the
one place I really had a hunch to find answers ended up being a place I’m not
going to be able to get into without some kind of special connection. It’s all
a bunch of bullshit.”

He reached for the file and slid it to him so he could look
at it. “You know, when I caught you looking at the list here, your eyes went
wide when you noticed something. What was it? Do you know someone on the list?”

“Not exactly,” I confessed sheepishly, “more like the
places.”

Here I go …

If telling him about my time in the Sin City was the price
to pay for answers then I would certainly do it, but in doing so it would
involve cooperation on his part if I were to lead him into the lion’s den.
Mason lifted a brow, waiting on me to continue, so I took a deep breath and
began, “Okay, so you know how you couldn’t get into the one club you
desperately wanted to get into? Well, what would you say if I could get us in?”

Narrowing his eyes, I could tell he was waiting on me to
drop a bomb on him by the way he looked uncomfortable sitting in his chair.
Sighing, he said, “I would think that’s great, but how do you plan on doing
that?”

I paused, hesitating for only a moment before I explained,
“Well, it’s actually a long story, but what it all boils down to is this … I
used to work at that club. The Labyrinth was like a second home.”

Mason’s eyes grew wide, burning with a new flame of hope.
“Tell me everything,” he demanded.

So I did … almost everything.

Twelve hours later, after waiting for the prime time of the
night, Mason and I took a cab to the place I hadn’t been to in years; six to be
exact. The club was like a different world, but also one where not everything
was legal. It was easy to carry drugs in there and never get noticed, and there
was really nothing you could do to avoid that. You could get lost in there if
you weren’t careful. It was the size of a large mansion with many different
rooms to venture in and out of. There were rooms where the music pounded and
all you would see were people drinking and basically dry humping all over the
floor. However, there were some hidden alcoves where you could partake in a
little nightly fun. I, myself, had snuck off to them before.

If you wanted a mellower scene, there were VIP rooms that
were mainly occupied by the social elite like famous actors, singers, athletes,
and so forth. It was exciting when I first started working at the club, I got
high on it, but after a while I got used to it and actually became friends with
several of the regulars.

Mason nudged me in the side as we trudged down the road in
the cab. “Are you nervous?” he asked, placing a hand on mine to keep me from
fidgeting.

I shrugged. “Not nervous as in going into the club, but kind
of nervous with you getting a glimpse into my past. I don’t want you to get the
wrong impression of me. Also, I haven’t really kept in touch with the people I
knew from there. After Mom died, I had ignored so many people’s calls and just
never returned them.” I turned away to gaze out the window, but Mason gently
took my chin and turned me back to face him.

“Trust me, Claire. I’m sure your friends will understand why
you broke away. Anyway, I’m not happy about my past either, and mine is
probably much darker than yours. I had a huge head back when I was fighting and
I didn’t give a fuck about what I was doing. You have nothing to worry about.”

He lifted my hand to his lips and kept his heated gaze on
mine as he kissed my knuckles softly. His hair was gelled in messy blond
spikes, and he looked so unlike himself in a nice white button down shirt and a
pair of dark denim jeans. Mason was the typical T-shirt and holey jeans type of
man with his favorite New York Yankees baseball cap. I liked that about him,
though.

Mason lowered his gaze to my lips, and then slowly down my
body, sighing. “If there was a way I could keep you out of this I would, especially
with you wearing that sexy ass dress. I’m going to be spending all my time here
fighting to keep the dicks away from you tonight.”

Bursting out in laughter, I squeezed his hand to reassure
him. “No you won’t. I’ll be by your side all night. I even wore my hair down
for you so it would cover my bare shoulders. I couldn’t exactly go in there
with jeans and a T-shirt on now could I?”

I put on a strapless red dress that hugged every single
curve just right and stopped a little above mid-thigh. Not to mention I had
five inch red stiletto heels on as well. The heels made me almost the exact
same height as Mason.

When we pulled up to the club, Mason handed the driver his
money while I stared at the building in front of me. Nothing had changed as far
as appearance; it was still a huge, impressive stone building that was made to
resemble Roman architecture. The massive white, stone columns in front had to
be at least thirty feet tall and were also hand carved. The owner, Jake
Montgomery, who I had gotten to know pretty well, was fascinated with Roman
culture and had made everything inside the club fit the part as well, including
the people who worked there.

“Was it this crowded last night when you came here?” I asked
curiously as Mason put his arm around my waist. It was always crowded at The
Labyrinth, but it was never
this
crowded.
I guess the business grew
since the last time I was here.

Mason nodded and answered, “Yeah, but it looks like it’s
more crowded tonight.”

“Hmm … interesting. I’m curious to know what’s changed since
the last time I was here,” I muttered as we walked toward the crowd.

From the distance we were at, I couldn’t tell who was
working the door, so I decided to take a chance and find out. I didn’t want to
have to wait in that long line if I didn’t have to. “All right, Mason. We’re
about to piss off a bunch of people, but if Wade or Tyler are working the door
then we’re set. If not, then we’ll have to wait in line and do this the hard
way.”

As Mason and I strutted past the impatient crowd on the way
to the door, we heard several disgruntled comments and angry words spewed our
way. Mason had a smirk on his face the whole time and it took all I had not to
laugh, but those people looked ravenous. I definitely didn’t want a fight on my
hands just yet.

Up ahead, the door finally came into view along with the two
mammoth sized men guarding it. Wade wasn’t there, but Tyler was, sporting the
usual tight black Labyrinth T-shirt and platinum blond shoulder length hair.
The nights when Jake made him work inside wearing a toga were very interesting.
The women loved it. Both Wade and Tyler, who were the usual guys who worked the
front, were my closest friends when I lived here. They had asked me out when I
started working at the club, but it was against Jake’s rules and they knew it.
However, it didn’t stop me and Wade from stealing a few moments here and there
for fun. We were the infamous trio at The Labyrinth.

The moment Tyler looked my way he didn’t register it was me
at first, but then quickly glanced toward me again. He whispered something to
the other guy, whom I didn’t know, and then came bounding out of the doorway
toward me with the biggest grin on his face.

Mason let me go at the same time Tyler scooped me up in his
arms and twirled me around in a circle, hollering, “Holy fucking shit, look at
what the cat dragged in. You know, I should be pissed at you for not returning
my calls for the past year, but being the friend that I am I understood you had
a lot going on. We’ve missed you, kitten! How long has it been … six years?”

Kitten was my nickname among everyone, since at the time I
was the youngest of The Labyrinth’s employees. I was the youngest, but I was
the smartest. That was why Jake hired me to begin with.

When I caught my breath from laughing so hard, I swiped the
hair out of my face and responded, “Wow, I’m surprised you remembered it’s been
that long, Ty. I’m sorry I let time slip away. I feel bad for losing touch with
you and everyone else from here. Anyway, you know I had to finish college and
move back home. My time to run wild had come to a close.”

Tyler scoffed and a mischievous smirk tilted up his lips.
“Somehow I don’t believe that,” he teased lightly. “I’m sure you got into
plenty of trouble once you went home.”

“Whatever, Tyler Rushing,” I grumbled playfully. I peered
over his shoulder to the door where his partner for the night stood checking
ID’s. “So where’s Wade?” I asked. “I was hoping to see him tonight, too.”

I wanted to see Wade, but there were some circumstances
there that might not bode too well for Mason. Wade and I were friends, or I
guess you could say friends with benefits. Before I left Vegas, he told me he
had actual feelings for me, but since I was leaving, we never acted on them.
Plus, I was twenty-one years old and I didn’t want a long term relationship at
that point in my life. Wade was a great guy, though, and I had fun with him
while it lasted.

“Oh, he’ll probably be around later this week. He’s been in
the Bahamas for the past week or so. I’m sure he’ll come running here once he
finds out you’re in town. I know he’s missed you.”

He winked at me, and then his gaze finally landed on Mason
who stood by watching our reunion all calm and collected. However, deep down I
knew he was anything but calm.

“Who’s your friend?” Tyler asked, looking straight at Mason.

Mason extended a hand out to him. “I’m Mason Bradley,” he
told him.

Tyler narrowed his eyes and took Mason’s hand, shaking
firmly. “Why does your name sound familiar? For some reason I know I’ve heard
it before.”

Mason shrugged. “Don’t know, man. I guess it could have been
from anywhere.”

Tyler pondered for another few seconds and then said, “Yeah,
I guess you’re right. Well, anyway, any friend of Claire’s is a friend of mine.
Come on, brother, let’s get you a drink. I know Jake is going to be thrilled by
this visit.”

The moment we stepped inside it was like a maze where each
different path would lead you on a journey of ecstasy. There were bars set up
in each section of the club where you could order whatever your heart desired,
but the section right in the middle of the club was where the magic happened
for me. The stage called to me like it did all those years ago when I would
dance. It was a time when I could express my feelings not by words, but by the
movement of my body. It was like another language for me.

Mason came up behind me, placing his hands on my waist, and
whispered in my ear, “Are you okay, baby? You faded away there for a moment.”

“I think she misses the stage,” Tyler cut in humorously. “I
could tell by that dreamy look in her eyes. She had that same look when she
worked here, and let me tell you, she was a fucking goddess up on that stage.”

At hearing Tyler’s words, Mason clenched his fingers into my
hip and replied, “I bet.”

I could feel the anger pouring off of him, and I was
thankful I couldn’t see his face. When I explained to him about my time at the
club, I left out that I danced at the club also, except little did he know what
kind of dancing I did. Judging by his level of intensity he most likely thought
I stripped, but it was far from it. I was going to have some explaining to do
later.

Tyler led us past everyone to the hidden staircase I knew
would be behind a thick, medieval rug hanging from the ceiling. “All right,
kitten, you know where to go. I’ll let Jake know you’re on your way up,” Tyler
said, winking one of his stormy gray eyes. He smirked at Mason before going
back to his post at the front door.

We started up the winding staircase and once we were out of
ear shot, that was when Mason exploded, “Please tell me you and Tyler didn’t …”

“Oh no,” I said quickly, stopping him on the stairs. “Tyler
is just my friend. He likes to flirt a lot, but that’s just his personality. He
flirts with everyone.”

I did, however, have something with Wade. Under normal
circumstances I wouldn’t have a reason to tell Mason about him because it
wouldn’t matter. However, if we ran into Wade and something was said about our
past, I didn’t want Mason to think I was keeping something from him.
Should
I tell him?
I wondered.

“What’s that look for?” he asked. “Is there something you’re
not telling me? Because most of the time when I see that look it means there’s
bad news. Just tell me and get it over with. Did you date the bartender or
something?”

I shook my head and sighed. “No, he wasn’t the bartender. I
know you heard me mention his name to Tyler. His name’s Wade, and we were
really good friends. We weren’t exclusive or anything, so it wasn’t like that.
I know you’re probably going to meet him at some point and I know how you guys
get when the testosterone starts flowing.”

“I’m sure I can handle it, Claire,” Mason assured me. “I’m
not really worried about the guys you dated. What I am concerned about is the
fact you failed to mention to me that you were a goddamned stripper.”

We had reached the top of the steps and Jake’s office was
just a couple of doors down. I didn’t want him to hear us so I hissed quietly,
“Look, Mason, it’s not what you think. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the
dancing part, but I’ll explain everything later, okay? So calm down.”

Grabbing my hips, he pushed me against the wall and caged me
in with his hands beside both sides of my head. He leaned in close, pressing
his hard body flush with mine while ravishing my lips in a punishing kiss. It
was all tongue, heat, and passion. I could feel the tension melting off of him
so I breathed a sigh of relief.
If he keeps this up we might have to visit
one of those private alcoves and release the rest of the tension.