Follow Me (Caged Hearts Book 3) (7 page)

Chapter 24

Jasper could feel the adrenaline running through his veins. He was pumped up and on fire. As the announcer called his name and the crowd roared, he knew he could do this; he knew that he could win. He couldn’t even feel his bad knee which was wrapped with a supportive brace.

Knocking his hands together, Jasper was ready. He bounced from foot to foot, unable to keep still. The hum of the excited audience further fuelled his energy. This was his moment to reclaim his status, to prove to the world that he wasn’t done yet, that Jasper Duboix still had something left to give.

“Fight!”

The first bell rung, and Jasper leapt at his opponent like a wild cat, throwing punches which landed with deadly accuracy. All the other fighter could do was try and remain standing while he took the blows. Jasper clamped his teeth against his mouth guard and kept punching. His arms felt like powerful springs which just kept releasing. He felt like he could go all night.

Another bell rung. The first round was over, and Jasper was ahead on points, but the way he was performing, his opponent would be knocked out before too long.

“That was amazing, Jasper, just brilliant,” Carl approached his corner of the ring as Jasper dropped on to a waiting stool and used a towel to try and dry up some of the sweat which was running down him in rivers.

“Thanks,” Jasper replied breathlessly.

“I knew you could do it,” Carl was patting him on the way as though he’d already won. “He’s basically all yours for the taking now.”

Carl passed a plastic sports bottle up in to the ring. Jasper raised it to his mouth and drank heavily, too dehydrated to even glimpse at it. Once he was in a fight, he ran on auto-pilot. All of his behaviors were learned and tactical.

“That’s it,” Carl commended him, “you’ll need all your energy to finish this guy off.”

Chapter 25

“Jasper, no!” Kait was screaming to be heard over the roar of the crowd. Jasper was on the other side of the ring, drinking down the sports drink Carl had given him. Kait felt the knot in her stomach tighten with each sip he took. She kept screaming and waving at him, but it did no good; it was like he was completely spaced out and unaware of his surroundings.

“Dammit,” Kait eventually had to admit as she sagged back down in her chair and the announcer declared the start of the second round. As she watched Jasper stand back up and approach the center of the ring, banging his fists together in an intimidating way, she felt sick. She sensed that something terrible was about to happen and there was nothing she could do to stop it; all she could do was watch.

Chapter 26

With each step he took, Jasper felt the energy seep out of his body like water down a drain. He suddenly felt exhausted. Gone was the excitement, the adrenaline. In its place was never ending fatigue. Jasper felt like he’d looked down a well and the limitless darkness he saw had somehow invaded his body.

“Come on,” he urged himself with a brisk shake of the head. Was one round really all he had in him? He’d been training harder than ever. Surely he could last longer than this?

But as a punch connected with his chest, knocking the air out of his lungs, Jasper realized that one round was truly all he had to give. He did his best to avoid his opponent’s punches and kicks but his own movements were slow and sluggish. Each time he saw a punch coming, he was unable to move out of the way in time. He heard his own bones crack as powerful blows connected with his cheeks, shoulders, and ribs. He was utterly powerless to do anything other than take a beating. Soon, even remaining standing was an effort.

“Just don’t drop,” Jasper thought to himself. Because if he dropped in the second round it really was all over. He’d go from being a has-been to a joke.

Gritting his teeth, Jasper weathered more blows, but his body was beginning to crumble beneath him, like a cake that hadn’t been cooked long enough. His opponent delivered a sharp right hook, and Jasper went down. First he staggered back, noticing his own blood splattered across the mat. And then he dropped. His knees buckled, and he fell to the mat like a defeated giant. Before he closed his eyes, he saw the crowd on their feet, yelling and jeering. Were they happy or mad? He couldn’t tell. As he slid into darkness, the arena became still and silent.

Chapter 27

“Jasper! Oh God, no!” Kait was crying, one hand hovering over her mouth in horror. Jasper lay on the mat of the ring, his eyes closed.

“I’ve never seen someone go down that hard,” the person behind her noted sadly to their companion.

“Jasper!” Kait had to get to him. She pushed towards the burly security guard, and instead of holding her back, his stern face crinkled with pity. He let her pass and hurry towards Jasper’s corner of the ring where Carl was already poised to help escort him back to the dressing room.

“What the hell happened to him?” Kait demanded shrilly.

“He lost, that’s what happened,” Carl replied tersely. He was on his phone and seemed distracted.

“It was that drink!” Kait reached for his shoulder and spun him around to face her.

“You’re hysterical,” Carl told her, his eyes narrowing.

“He’s unconscious!” Kait gestured madly towards the ring where paramedics were now bent over Jasper.

“He’ll be fine,” Carl shrugged. “Fights get knocked out all the time. We’ll give him a precautionary MRI, one night in hospital and he will be right as rain.”

“You’re a monster!” Kait spat through gritted teeth.

“How about you go and tend to your boyfriend instead of arguing with me?” Carl suggested in a sickly sweet voice. Kait wanted to tell him to go to hell and to slap the smug smile off his face, but she needed to be with Jasper. With a terse sigh, she left Carl and went to check on the man she loved.

Chapter 28

When Jasper opened his eyes, all he saw was blinding light. He squinted against it and tried to get his bearings. As he moved, he felt the sting of something restrictive in his arm. The more he looked, the more he recognized the white tiles on the ceiling and the beeping which provided an annoying soundtrack to his thoughts. He was in hospital. Which could mean only one thing – he’d lost. Regret powered through him like a blade. How could he have lost? He was primed to win. He went out hard and fast in the first round. Had he given too much too soon?

His head ached with all his questions, and the machines beeped shrilly in disapproval.

“Argh,” he groaned. “Dammit.”

“Jasper?” Kait’s voice was welcome and sweet beside him. He felt her touch upon his hand before he was able to turn on his pillow and look at her.

“Kait,” he coughed her name. His throat was so sore, as though he’d been swallowing razor blades all afternoon.

“I’m so glad you’re awake,” Kait told him, squeezing his hand harder.

“What?” Jasper swallowed nervously, not sure he truly wanted to know. “What happened?”

He saw the pained look on Kait’s face which said it all.

“I lost, didn’t I?”

She nodded, confirming his initial fears.

“Dammit!” he slumped back angrily against his pillows.

“But I think I know why,” Kait moved closer to the bed, her voice low.

“Because I’m past it,” Jasper replied bitterly. “Because I’ve had my time and now I’m going to go out as a loser. I’ll never be back on top.”

“No!” Kait’s tone was insistent. “It’s because Carl has been drugging you.”

“What?” Jasper titled his head to gaze at her. She sounded crazy.

“It’s those drinks,” Kait continued, talking quickly. “Those damn drinks that Carl insists you drink. There must be something in them, something that sedates you and forces you to lose. You need to stop drinking the drinks, Jasper!”

“Kait,” Jasper gave her a sad smile. She was sweet to try and make him feel better, but what he needed to be doing was addressing the facts. He was past his prime and needed to finally accept that. Kait’s crazed theories weren’t going to make anything better.

“I know you’re just trying to make me feel better.”

“I’m not!” Kait declared sharply. “I’m trying to make you see sense.”

Jasper tensed, and his jaw clenched.

“Carl is a crook,” Kait continued fervently, “he screws over all his clients like this and leaves them with nothing, yet he always comes up smelling of roses!”

“The only person to blame for my performance tonight is me,” Jasper announced bitterly. “Look, Kait, I know you don’t like Carl, but the least you can do is stop talking shit about him.”

The machines were beeping furiously as Jasper’s heart rate began to rise in anger.

“Jasper, you need to calm down,” Kait glanced fearfully at the backlit monitors around his bed.

“Then you need to stop trying to come between me and Carl!” Jasper roared, ignoring the soreness of his throat. “He’s always been there for me, Kait. How could you even suggest that he’d try and harm me? Do you know how fucked up that sounds? How it makes you look to even think that?”

“Jasper, please, if you’d just hear me out - ”

“Go,” Jasper gave the order as a nurse hurried over to his bed to check his machines.

Chapter 29

Kait wanted to stay. She lingered at Jasper’s bedside for a few moments hoping the nurse would leave, but she didn’t, and Jasper refused to make further eye contact. Reluctantly, she stood up, reached for her handbag, and began making her way out of the ward. She was still shaken over having seen Jasper get knocked out, but now she was even more troubled by his complete unwillingness to see what Carl was doing to him.

“Ah, Kait.” She almost collided with Carl in the main corridor. He was wearing a clean shirt but the same sickly smile. Seeing him there made her think of a quote her mother always used to say –

“Think of the devil, and he shall come.”

“Carl,” Kait greeted him flatly. She was in no mood for any kind of pleasantries, if there even were any to be had between them. He now knew that she was on to him and would surely be doing his utmost to remove her from Jasper’s life once and for all.

“How is he?” Carl almost sounded concerned when he asked, but he failed to convince Kait. She saw straight through his flimsy act.

“How do you think?” she demanded briskly. “He entered a boxing ring sedated! How would you feel?”

“Now, now,” Carl raised his hands defensively. “I don’t want to fight. I’m just here to check on my friend and client.”

“Right now you’re not treating him like either of those things,” Kait snapped angrily. “You’re a fraud and a monster, and I’m going to expose you.”

“Big threats for a little girl,” Carl remarked, still smiling smugly. Kait bunched her hands in to fists, wishing she could go two rounds with him in the ring. She’d scratch him to pieces. She didn’t think she’d ever hated someone so much.

“He trusts me, Kait,” the smug smile widened. “He trusts me , always has, always will. We’ve been through a lot together. There’s years between us. So who do you think he’ll believe? You or me?”

Kait ground her teeth together and said nothing.

“Because let’s face it,” Carl continued, “you two were never going to last. He could have any woman he wants, why would he settle for you?”

Kait was incensed, but she knew that Carl was just trying to goad her, and she refused to play so easily in to his hands.

“It was nice to see you,” she nodded curtly at him and then pushed her shoulders back, tipped her head high, and walked away. She could feel his eyes tracing her every step as she moved. It was true that Carl Santino had been with Jasper for years, that Jasper trusted him. But Kait loved Jasper, and love could conquer anything. She wasn’t about to let Carl ruin Jasper the way he had done to so many so unassuming clients before.