Tap Out (26 page)

Slowly, she moved back to the table and carefully placed the mug next to her equipment. She dabbed the moisture from her cheeks, then reached to turn off her camcorder. No time like the present—she had to find Caden.

She frowned, noticing Jaysin’s ugly mug filling the screen. Somehow she must have hit Rewind.

Sophie reached forward to hit Play, then quickly paused. She shifted the camera closer and tilted it up so the natural light in the room fully revealed the image paused there.

Jaysin. With his back to the group and a water bottle in his hand.

His other hand was raised, with something pinched between his fingers and almost to his mouth.

Something green.

Chapter Twenty

BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU: A kind of juice served at Girl Scout camp

Shit on a brick
, Caden thought, grimacing at the scene playing out inside the posh MGM locker room. For a fighter groomed in the streets, he was used to the sight, feel,
taste
of blood. Yet what that asshat Jaysin was doing made Caden’s stomach roll.

Two syringes sat emptied on the bench. Jaysin hadn’t winced once as the long needles pierced a vein in his arm. A heroin addict would have been proud of how easily he’d completed the act.

First the performance-enhancing pills, then illegal blood transfusions. Last night, Bracken confirmed that methamphetamines had hit the streets, and that there was some kind of connection to Tetnus. That he’d be nearby out following his lead. To call him if anything came up.

What was up was Jaysin and company. His blood was fully loaded with fresh, rich red blood cells. No wonder the guy was suddenly ripped. No wonder his arrogance knew no boundaries.

Caden had been watching the asshole for days, trying to catch him red-handed dealing pills. He’d bulked up fast and, from what Caden had observed, with very little work involved. What he’d witnessed Jaysin doing was just the lead he’d had been looking for. Caught him literally red-handed, with his finger pressing against the hole left behind by the needle. It was both too disgusting for words and confirmation of exactly what was going down.

The problem was worse than he’d suspected. Caden clenched a fist. It made him sick, and sicker still knowing that after Jaysin’s bullshit hit the fan, the sport of MMA and all the honest fighters training their asses off for a clean shot at Tetnus, would be considered guilty as well.

That Caden might not have a shot at the title.

That there might not even be a Tetnus if the police closed the place down.

The press was going to have a field day.

Jaysin straightened, dropped the tainted syringes into a duffel bag, and left. The locker room door slammed on his way out.

“You’re gonna pay, you fuckin’ deceitful asshole,” Caden muttered, stepping out of the shower. He plucked the baseball cap off his head and pitched it onto a cleaner, untainted bench. The sight he’d witnessed made his stomach curl.

Tugging his sweaty T-shirt over his head and kicking off his sneakers, Caden considered his next move. He’d contact Bracken and fill him in on the sick twist of events. Hope his brother found some hard evidence, because as things stood now, it’d be Caden’s word against Jaysin’s. Sure, there were tests for this kind of steroid abuse, if you knew to test for it. Red cell counts within the blood had to be under forty-nine percent. No way had Jaysin been monitoring his intake, not with the way he’d packed the syringes loose like that, in those cheap duffel bags. Never suspected he’d be caught. Was it enough to lock him up, though?

A shame he hadn’t caught Jaysin in action on his iPhone, having come into the locker room sweating like a dog from today’s grueling workout, his cell left behind in his hotel room. The timing sucked, any which way he looked at it.

Man, he was tired. Physically, emotionally, and fuckin’ psychologically, a whole goddamned plague of problems. That asshole’s long-overdue drug bust. The memories of his father’s fists and the insecurities that accompanied them, feelings of weakness and neglect. The overwhelming need to prove himself, once and for all.

Then, there was Sophie. Her falling-for-you bomb, and then now, worse, her distrust. For a moment, he’d thought fate was going to shift in his favor—someone to love and who loved him unconditionally. Hell, the reporter was the last person he’d imagined falling for. Hard.

He should count his lucky stars it ended before it had even begun.

He yanked off his sweatpants and his own brand of moisture-wicking briefs. By the time his shower ended, he hoped to have his shit together, and a clearer idea what to do.

Stalking over to the shower, he grabbed the curtain. Something caused him to pause...a noise? His gaze shifted to the next stall, lowered to the bottom of the curtain, and to the gap separating the curtain from the tile floor. To the red polished toenails peeking out between open-toed pumps.

Jesus.

He shifted the curtain aside.

Sophie’s eyes widened in alarm, until recognition dawned. She lifted her chin slightly, letting him know she meant business, despite of placing herself in such a freakin’ dangerous position.

If she’d been discovered...”Man alive. Do you have some kind of death wish? If Jaysin saw you—”

“He didn’t. Besides, you were hiding in the shower next to me. I know things are strained between us, but you wouldn’t have let him hurt me.”

Caden opened, then closed his mouth. His head pounded, but it was the way his heart had wedged into his throat that caused him to choke on any coherent words. Didn’t she realize how dangerous Jaysin was? If he’d spotted her hiding in the shower, watching him shooting up blood, he’d think nothing about hurting her.
Fuck.

“I caught it all on tape.”

His gaze fell on the camcorder she held clenched in her hand.

“The most disgusting, repulsive, creepy thing I’ve witnessed. Was that his own blood he was injecting? And, you know what? I’ve been filming him all week, selling pills, counting money, all kinds of deviant activities. The blood...that was unexpected, I have to admit.”

“Give me the SD card.” He held out his hand, palm up.

It was Sophie’s turn to open her mouth, then snap it shut. Unfortunately, it opened again. “No. All of my footage is on this card. I’m editing...”

“Sophie, listen. You don’t know how deep this shit is. I need to get that SD card to my brother, so he can use it as evidence.”

“My documentary—”

“Don’t you have another SD card?”

“Of course I do. A blank one. This one is loaded; I’m at the end of filming. There’s a lot of editing and review required before and after Tetnus. The documentary needs to hit the air while things are fresh and current. Two, three months from now max, with a lot of work in the interim. Plus, I need to show the networks a rough cut to sell it. How about I make you a copy?”

“Not negotiable. Hand it over. This is way more important than your documentary.”

She pulled herself up straighter in her heels. Her head reached his chin. “You know how important this documentary is to me, just as I know how much you want to get to the bottom of things. Find out the extent of
Jaysin
dealing drugs...”

He narrowed his eyes. “How much do you know about that?”

“For the record, I believe you. I wanted to tell you, but...”

He dropped his hand as if she’d smacked it down. “There’s a hell of a lot more riding on this than me cleaning up my shit.”

“You dodged my question in the elevator, but you’re not going anywhere without answering it. How did Jaysin’s duffel bag get into the trunk of your rental? I
do
believe you, really. But this one fact has me puzzled.”

“Hell. Why do you think I’d been grilling you for information since leaving Wichita? I thought you could explain it to me.”

“So, you have no idea how the bag got there?”

“Do you?”

She shook her head.

He ran a hand through his hair, his abdominals barking from the stretch. After completing an insane amount of sit-ups, weight training, and cardio-blasts, his muscles were tight. Yet the muscle between his legs jolted to life as her gaze fell on his body. Her cheeks flushed a familiar pink. He thought he heard her sigh.

Terrific. Seemed his timing today sucked dirt.

Sophie’s, it seemed, was spot on.

Surprise. Surprise. Sophie had caught it all on film. Everything Bracken needed for a bust seemed to be on that SD card. Everything Caden needed to put behind him, so he could go on and win Tetnus. Earn Sophie’s...Man, oh man. What the hell was he going to do now?

The clang of the locker room door smashing against the wall forced Caden into action. Gently, he pulled her away from the curtain and deeper into the shower. She gasped, and he placed a finger to his mouth, signaling her to be quiet.

“How much for a dozen?” someone asked. The soft tread of footsteps sounded on the industrial carpeting.

“What do you think, I’m selling eggs? One thousand for a bag of ten. If you want something that’ll pass the drug test tomorrow...goddamn it, someone’s in here.”

Caden flicked the showerhead on and a cascade of cold water hailed down on them. Sophie shifted, tucking her camera under her shirt as she faced the back wall, trying to protect her equipment from water damage. Good girl.

“Who’s in the shower?” Sophie jumped, clearly recognizing Jaysin’s voice.

Damn.

Counting to three, then careful not to move the curtain too far and give Jaysin an eyeful of the reporter who had had her nose way too far into his business, Caden stepped out. He intentionally widened his eyes on the three men. Two fighters from another organization, and Jaysin. They must have pocketed the pills, though. Only the duffel bag was in sight, there on the bench. He could easily handle one of them. Three, especially given his fatigued body, would be brutal.

He shrugged his shoulders and stalked over to his clothing. “Forgot the damn shampoo.”

His words had their desired effect, and all three relaxed.

Jaysin went so far as to puff out his chest. “Gonna be nice and clean for tomorrow so I can roll you around on the dirty mat, huh?”

He felt the challenge in Jaysin’s glare but ignored him.
Tomorrow
,
asshat
, he silently promised the man. And frowned. Maybe there was a way to get Jaysin out of the locker room and ensure Sophie made a clean exit.

Hell.

“You’ll be rolling around with me, alright, fuckhead. Just before you tap out.” He slid into his briefs and sweatpants without drying off. As he bent to put his sneakers on, he watched Jaysin out of the corner of his eye.

“That right? Maybe you won’t make it to Tetnus? Maybe you’ll be too beaten to fight?”

Caden stood and nodded at the door. “Let’s do it then. Or are you afraid to go at it with me in the cage without your babysitters?” He grunted. “Just what I figured—those muscles of yours are for show, right?”

Jaysin’s entire body shook with rage. He snatched the duffel bag off the bench and with a silent glare toward his cronies, headed for the door. The two fighters paused for a second, grinning like kids invited to an ice-cream party. Then, they followed Jaysin out to the cage.

Caden waited, long enough to know they’d gone.

“Go back to your room and stay there. Got it?” He hesitated, then added, “And Sophie, for God’s sake, keep out of trouble on the way.”

He heard her muffled voice through the water. “You’re soaking wet. Where are
you
going?”

“To do something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time. Feed Jaysin the mat.”

* * *

The asshat should have seen it coming. Caden went in for a double leg takedown, sweeping Jaysin off his legs and taking him down hard. A hail of punches followed, brutal and fight-ending. But his opponent was either too stupid or so pumped up on steroids his brain was rot because he refused to tap out.

Just as well. The cheating drug pimp had it coming to him.

Trapping him in a butterfly guard, Caden flipped him over his head and pinned him face down to the mat. He grabbed Jaysin’s arm and angled it into a V behind his back.

“Tap out, you piece of steroid-dealing shithead, or I’ll break it. Good luck defending yourself in jail.”

Jaysin must have been high on something else, as well. “That lying bitch. I’m gonna kill her for nosing into my business. She can’t prove anything—I’ll deny it all. I’ll...”

Caden didn’t hear what followed. He didn’t say a word. He let his skill as an MMA fighter do the talking.

Using his full weight, he pressed Jaysin’s arm into his back, and was rewarded with a snapping sound.

Jaysin howled, and tapped the mat.

Tonight, his kind of justice had been served—with fist and kicks, and a firm hold on his self-control, all inside the Octagon cage. He’d stopped and called his brother en route to the cage, and was thankful to spot his leather-clad figure just before the fight began. Now it was time for Bracken to take matters into hand.

Caden stood. The street moves had paid off, and for the first time in a long time, Caden felt solid. A worthy fighter. Someone to be admired, accepted. Not a thug, or an angry kid nobody wanted.

This wasn’t just about nailing the steroid pimp in a drug bust. It was more. This was Caden’s own private tap out—on his past.

In the time it took Caden to get an icepack for his cheek, Jaysin was taken out on a stretcher, to the hospital, then with the hard evidence from Sophie’s SD card, off to jail.

“That was quick.”

“I could say the same about you, bro,” Bracken replied. “Nice work. You broke the bastard’s arm.”

They chuckled in unison.

“Let’s finish this.”

* * *

“Tell me once more before we illegally enter her room. She’s got it all on film? The pills? The blood injections? All of it?” Bracken’s tone was cynical, full of doubt. But, he didn’t know Sophie like Caden did. Her gumption. Her determination to get her story. Her desire to succeed with the freakin’ documentary in spite of the danger involved. And then some.

Caden grinned. Damn, he was proud of her. Seemed that documentary of hers wasn’t the sole focus of her filming—or so she’d told him. The truth was on that SD card. And, man alive, he didn’t want to be around when she’d realized it had disappeared.

He was about to pull one shithead of a move.

They stopped at her door, and with Caden’s silent approval, Bracken rapped on the door. His lips pressed tightly together, as they listened for no answer.

They’d waited for her to give up her search for Caden, had gotten lucky when she’d headed down to the casino. They’d told Sal to stick to her like glue, to keep her occupied and out of trouble. Five minutes, that’s all they needed. He hoped the information that Sal had provided them when he’d returned was correct—that Sophie was at the craps table with “her chips piled so high, she’d probably outearn Jerry here in Vegas.”