Meant for Me (A Second Chance standalone) (14 page)

Lifting my brows, I crossed my arms over my chest, daring
him to contradict me. I wasn’t going to back down from sticking up for him.
Wade was my friend and I knew he was a good person.
People can change,
a
nagging voice in my head said. Whatever was going on, I had to believe Wade was
still the same person I knew all those years ago.

Still glaring at Mason, I watched him clench his teeth and
mumble something under his breath before lifting his hands in the air … giving
in. “Okay,” he grumbled. “We will go to the party tomorrow night and I’ll play
nice with your friend. I just don’t want to see you get hurt by people you
think you can trust. This isn’t a game, Claire, and you’ve seen firsthand what
desperation and greed can make a person do.”

I nodded. “I know, but I always try to see the good in
people.”

Mason scoffed and put the truck in gear, pulling out of The
Labyrinth parking lot. “See that’s what makes us different,” he uttered,
glancing over at me before looking back at the road. “I only get to see the
bad.”

When we were almost to the hotel, Mason drove past it and
kept going. “Where are we going?” I asked. It was closing in on two in the
morning and I was exhausted.

Mason ran a hand through his hair and pointed to the
hospital that slowly came into view. “We’re going to the hospital,” he remarked
warily.

“Umm … why?”

“You know that phone call I got while at the club? Well, it
happened to be the Chief of Police. He told me they found Summer.”

Gasping, I cupped a hand over my mouth and cried, “Oh my
God, is she okay? What did he tell you?”

Mason found us a parking place and shut off the truck. “They
found her in an alley off the main strip. She’s not talking and Ryan was hoping
that if she saw someone she knows then she’d snap out of it. I guess we will
see.”

Mason opened the door and got out so I followed suit and did
the same. I was still in my costume from the club, but I didn’t care. Summer
was alive. That was all that mattered.

By the time we got off the elevator, a man I could only
assume was Ryan Griffin charged toward us with a scowl on his face. He was
around six foot tall, average build, with red hair and gray, beady eyes that
looked too close together.

“It’s about time you got here,” Ryan snapped, looking down
at his watch. “I called you over two hours ago.” When he spotted Claire
following behind me, dressed in her little toga, he turned those too close eyes
to me and glared.

“Well, I see now what the hell you’ve been doing,” he
hissed, instantly making my hackles rise. He pulled out his wallet and took out
a wad of money, thrusting it at Claire. “Look, I’m sorry he brought you here,
but you need to leave. The money I gave you should get you a cab ride home or
to wherever you need to go.”

The way he looked at me and her with disdain pissed me the
fuck off. Before I could say or do something that would probably land me in
jail myself, Claire beat me to it. The look in her furious gaze along with the
firm set of her lips, I could definitely say I’d felt the wrath of that look
before. She was enraged, but nothing would ever take away the priceless vision
of the surprised look on his face when she threw the money back at him.

“Excuse me, Mr. Griffin, but I’m not going anywhere. If it
wasn’t for me you wouldn’t know half the shit Mason has been telling you. You
need to show a little respect, especially when you’re speaking to a woman. I’m
trying to help
you
,” she warned. I had to give it to her, she had balls.

“What is she talking about?” Ryan hissed, glaring at us
both.

“Claire used to work at The Labyrinth and got us in there.
She’s been introducing me to people and while we were there I found the guy
with the dragon tattoo,” I informed him through clenched teeth.

Ryan sighed and shook his head. “Mason, you should know
better than to get someone else involved with this. It’s not a good idea no
matter how good her connections are.” He turned to Claire and asked, “What’s
your full name? Who are you and what do you do?”

Claire crossed her arms over her chest with a smug
expression on her face. “My name is Claire O’Briene and I’m from Sonoma County,
California. I own the O’Briene Vineyards and Winery. I’m here to help Mason and
I think I’ve done a pretty damn good job of it, too.”

“All right, enough questions to Claire,” I cut in, glaring
at Ryan. “She’s not some hooker I picked off the street as you can see now.
Let’s get on to more important things.”

Ryan blew out a frustrated breath and closed his eyes.
“Fine, tell me about the man with the tattoo. Do you have his name … anything?”

“No, I didn’t get his name, but I did get a tidbit of other
information.” Ryan lifted an impatient brow and beckoned for me to continue
with a wave of his hand. I was going to break that hand if he waved it in my
face one more time. “It looks like the guy we’re looking for is an agent for a
well-known company who sponsors MMA fighters.”

“Interesting,” Ryan responded curiously. “Well, I guess we
need to start looking into that. You probably know of—”

“There’s no need,” I cut in dryly. “I already know who he’s
with … because it happens to be the same sponsor I had when I fought.”

Ryan’s eyes grew wide. “Are you serious? Do you have any
connections with them still?”

Warily, I shook my head and explained, “I don’t. My agent
died a couple of years ago. He was the last tie I had to them. I’ll look on
their website and see if there are any pictures of the listed agents. Anyway,
Claire and I are going to a party tomorrow night and there’s a pretty good
chance our man will be there. I’ll figure it all out when the time comes, but
right now I came here to see Summer. We can discuss things in detail later when
I know more.”

Ryan nodded and pointed to the room across the hall. “I
understand. Her room is right there. We’ll talk about everything later.”

Turning away from Ryan, I faced the closed door to Summer’s
room. Taking a deep breath, I reached for the handle and opened it slowly,
quietly. Claire came up beside and whispered, “Do you want me to go in there
with you?”

Not knowing what happened to Summer or what she looked like,
I didn’t want Claire to have to see it. Instead, I gazed down at her and said
softly, “As much as I want you with me, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Okay,” she murmured gently. Squeezing my hand, she nodded
sadly and took a seat out in the hallway.

The room was dim, the only light coming from a small lamp in
the corner of the room, and silent other than the light beeping sounds of the
machines Summer was hooked up to. The second she came into view I could barely
recognize her. Her skin was ghostly pale and there were tubes going in and out
of her body everywhere. She was sound asleep, so I lifted her chart out of the
bin and took a seat in the chair beside her bed. She didn’t appear to have been
physically beaten or abused which was definitely a good thing. However, it
looked like she hadn’t eaten anything in the past two weeks she’d been missing.
Her once full face, which was always so glowing and bright, was now sunken in
and skeletal.

What the hell happened to her?

Opening up her chart, I glanced through all the different
findings and according to her condition when she came in she was dehydrated,
malnourished, and suffering from severe emotional distress. No one had been
able to get her to talk and even though she hadn’t seen me in a while I hoped
she would at least recognize me. I needed to know what happened.

Lightly, I laid my hand on top of hers; it was cold and dry.
Her fingers jerked and slowly she pulled her hand out from under mine and
placed hers on top, weakly trying to squeeze.

Leaning over the bed, I watched her eyes flutter a few times
before she slowly opened them. “Summer,” I murmured, “it’s me, Mason.”

Confused, she blinked and narrowed her gaze at me, scared.
She let go of my hand and pulled it away, staring at me like I was a complete
stranger. “Summer, can you talk to me? Do you recognize me at all?” I asked
her. “I was one of your friends, remember?”

Tears fell down her cheeks, but she kept her gaze on me and
never once opened her mouth to speak. Ryan caught my eye in the doorway, but I
shook my head so he’d know I hadn’t made any progress. I had no clue what to do
to get her to talk to me. Whatever she went through when Austin died completely
messed her up. Her once bright blue eyes even looked dull and devoid of life.

“Please snap out of this soon, Summer. I hate seeing you
like this,” I whispered.
Austin would hate to see you like this
, I
wanted to say. “I’m going to be here until you get better, you hear me? I know
you remember me, Summer, and I can promise you this … whatever happened to you
I’m going to make sure the people who did it are found. You can count on that.”

I waited for a couple of extra minutes, hoping she would
speak, but when it was obvious she wasn’t going to I put her chart back and
walked out the door. I had a promise to keep.

When the sun came up the next morning, Mason and I had only
been in bed for about three hours. As soon as we got back from the hospital we
both laid on the bed and immediately fell asleep. I was still wearing my
costume, which wasn’t exactly comfortable to sleep in, but I did it anyway.
Mason was still asleep when I got out of the shower so I decided to get dressed
and grab some breakfast from one of the restaurants downstairs.

After putting my hair up in a messy ponytail, I threw on a
pair of yoga pants and a teal tank top with my sneakers so I could work out in
the gym after I ate. Mason needed his rest and the last thing I wanted to do
was make noise and wake him up. I wrote him a quick letter to tell him where I
was going, placed it on the pillow beside him, and walked quietly out the door.

When I stayed at the Bellagio years ago, I always ate
breakfast by myself so it didn’t bother me to sit alone in the restaurants.
After being seated at a table, the waitress took my order, which was a gourmet
egg and cheese omelet with freshly squeezed orange juice … my favorite. While I
waited on my food to come out, I flipped through the pictures on my phone to
pass the time. There were many of them with me and Melissa goofing off, and
then several of me and Cooper over the past few months. I hadn’t spoken to him
since I left, but I hoped we could find a way to still be friends. We had too
much of a history just to let it go.

I kept scrolling until I got to the one picture I secretly
stored in my phone. It was of me and Mason at Brett and Melissa’s wedding, with
him in his tux and me in my bridesmaid’s dress. After he left me, and even
though I hated him, I didn’t have the heart to delete the picture. We were both
a little tipsy, and I could still remember the way my heart pounded in my chest
when he pulled me close, putting his arm around my shoulders. It was the night
that changed everything.

Too busy looking at my phone, I didn’t notice that someone
had taken a seat across from me until I heard them speak, “You know, I’ve
always appreciated the way a female looks in the mornings. You have a natural
beauty to you, Claire.”

Fumbling with my phone, I glanced up quickly to find none
other than Wade’s agent and the man Mason desperately wanted to see again
leering at me. Instead of wearing the expensive clothes he wore at the club, he
now wore a Cincinnati Reds baseball cap, a simple black T-shirt and running
shorts as if he just got through working out along.
Was he staying in the
same hotel?

“Um … thanks, I guess,” I answered dryly.

With a wolfish grin on his face, he extended his hand and
introduced himself, “I just wanted to say I’m sorry for being in such a rush
last night and taking Wade away from you. I know I must’ve seemed rude. I’m
Erick Young by the way.”

Snorting, I shook his hand quickly and let go. “Yeah, you
were a little rude,” I blurted out honestly, “but it’s okay. I’m used to being
around assholes.”

Tilting his head back, he bellowed out a laugh. “Wow, I can
see why Wade likes you so much. I have to say it’s refreshing to hear a woman
speak her mind. You know, Wade talked about you almost the entire night. Claire
this and Claire that.”

What the hell was he up to?
I wondered, narrowing my
gaze.

Being around the guy made my skin crawl, and my instincts
screamed at me to run as far away as possible. The one day I decided to go out
on my own, away from Mason, was the one day I had to run into this man alone.

“Wade is a good friend,” I said matter-of-factly. “I’ve
known him a long time.”

“Hmm … well, what I heard was a different story. I heard you
two were a lot more than just good friends.”

“That was a long time ago. Things have changed in the years
I’ve been gone,” I stated adamantly.

“I see. So are you coming to the party tonight?” he asked,
leaning over on his elbows with a gleam in his eyes.

The waitress finally came and set down my omelet and orange
juice. Was it bad that I’d already lost my appetite? “Thank you,” I said,
smiling up at her.

She glanced over at Erick, setting down a menu, and politely
asked, “Is there anything I can get for you this morning while you look over
the menu?”

Please say no, please say no,
I repeated over and
over in my mind. While he looked over the menu, I quickly texted Mason, hoping
he was awake, or at least hoping my text would wake him up.

Me:
Please get down here to the restaurant now!
Erick, the guy with the dragon tattoo, is down here and sitting across from me.
HURRY!

Even though I wanted to fly my fingers over the letters, I
did it calmly so Erick wouldn’t think I was panicking. He handed the menu back
to the waitress and said, “Actually, I think I’ll just have a cup of coffee.
I’m not going to be here long.”

When she left to get his coffee, he glanced back at me and
repeated his earlier question, “So you never answered … are you going to the
party tonight?”

Taking a bite of my omelet, I drank a sip of my orange
juice, forcing it down. “Yes, I’m going. Wade is supposed to text me later to
give me his address.”

The waitress came back with Erick’s coffee and set it down
along with some cream and sugar. Picking up his cup, he blew off the steam and
lifted a curious brow. “So, will your friend be joining you to the party? I
know Wade will be sorely disappointed.”

Clearing my throat, I took another sip of my juice and
studied him. “Who exactly are you talking about? I do have more than one
friend.”

He guffawed and set his cup down. “There’s no need to play
coy, Ms. O’Briene. I saw you come in last night with Mason Bradley. When I saw
him at the club I knew I recognized him from somewhere.”

“Well, not that it’s any of your business, but yes, Mason
will be coming with me. How did you know his name?”

Erick drank the rest of his coffee and pushed his cup to the
side. “He used to be one of MMA Pride’s best fighters,” he pointed out. “You do
know he used to fight professionally, right?”

“Yes, I know,” I remarked coolly. “He’s a good fighter. I
watched him for the first time the other night.”

Erick’s eyes went wide in delight. “Is he fighting again?
When did he start that?”

As much as I hated that Mason needed to get involved with
him, I knew that the only way was to get him on the inside, and to get on the
inside he needed to fight. Nodding my head, I replied, “He just started back as
a matter of fact. I think he wants to get back into it, though. He has a fight
against some guy named Matt Reynolds next Friday night.”

Erick cleared his throat, surprise clearly written on his
face. “Holy shit, that’s going to be an interesting fight, there’s no way I’m
going to miss that.” His phone started to buzz, so he glanced down at it and
got to his feet. “Claire, it’s been a pleasure, but I must be on my way. I’ll
see you and Mason at the party tonight.”

After laying down a couple of twenties on the table, he
answered his phone and strolled away. As soon as he walked out the doors to the
restaurant, I left my half eaten omelet and stalked after him. Once I made sure
he was out of the hotel, I ran straight to the elevators to rush back up to
Mason. He was probably going to be so pissed that he wasn’t down here with me.

Impatiently, I pounded on the button, waiting on the doors
to open. “Hurry up,” I hissed under my breath. As soon as I heard the elevator
settle into place and the dinging sound of the door, I rushed in and ran
straight into Mason. He caught me in his arms, his chest heaving up and down in
anger. “Where is he?” he growled, moving us back out of the elevator. He
examined the room, raking his gaze here and there, and when he couldn’t spot
Erick he blew out a frustrated breath.

“He’s not here, Mason. I watched him walk out of the front
doors just a couple of minutes ago,” I told him.

“From now on don’t ever come down here without me. Is he
staying here in the hotel?”

I shrugged. “I would think so. He told me he saw me and you
come in last night together.”

“What else did he say?” he asked. Taking my hand, he led us
back to the elevator. Since we were the only ones in there, I went ahead and
filled him in.

“He knows who you are, Mason. He said he recognized you at
the club and that you used to be one of MMA Pride’s best fighters. He’s also
going to be at the party tonight and asked if I was going to bring you. His
name is Erick Young.”

“What did you tell him?”

The doors to the elevator opened, and as we walked down the
hall to our room I kept my voice quiet when I spoke, “I told him yes that I was
bringing you to the party. I also told him about your fight next Friday. He
seemed very interested about it and said he wasn’t going to miss it.”

Mason froze as he was about to put the key in the door, and
looked over at me with a look of contemplation on his face. “Hmm … I wonder if
he’s going to say something to me tonight,” he murmured. “I wish I knew what
the hell he was up to.”

“I don’t know, Mason. All I know is that I didn’t get a good
feeling from him. Whatever happens tonight at the party, or if he talks to you,
just please be careful. I didn’t want to tell him a thing about you, but I know
I needed to.”

Sighing, he bent down to kiss me on the lips. “It’s okay,
baby. I’m just glad you’re all right. The whole time I was racing to get down
to you, thoughts of Summer came to mind and I didn’t want to imagine anything
happening to you. By the time I woke up alone and saw the text I almost went
out of my fucking mind. I need to call Ryan and give him Erick’s name and see
what he can dig up.”

He opened the door, and when I walked in, the room was a
complete disaster. There were clothes strewn all over the bed and the floor.
“See, I told you … out of my fucking mind. I threw my bag on the bed and ripped
it apart just to get to my clothes. Don’t worry, I’ll clean it all up, but I
was just in a hurry to get to you,” he uttered sheepishly.

“Mason, I’ll straighten up the clothes while you call Ryan
and give him Erick’s name. That’s more important right now. So go,” I
commanded, shooing him off.

He dialed Ryan’s number and opened up his laptop, pounding
away as he waited for Ryan to pick up. Once he got on the phone, Mason gave him
the name and that was about it. He typed away on the computer a little more,
and by the time I finished straightening his clothes he was done.

“So what did you find out? Anything?” I asked, coming up
behind him. He was looking at the MMA Pride website, but then he closed his
laptop and sighed.

“Ryan’s going to search for information on all the Erick
Young’s in the system. I looked on the website, but I couldn’t find anything on
him there. I don’t know when they updated the website last, but from their
current agent list there wasn’t an Erick Young on there.”

“What if Erick isn’t even his real name,” I remarked
incredulously. “How are you going to find out who he really is?”

Mason shrugged. “A lot of searching, I guess. I’m sure Ryan
will figure it out. They reopened a case of this same thing happening a few
years ago in Ohio. Maybe they will find a link.”

Oh, wow.
I had no clue this sort of thing had
happened before.

With Mason’s clothes all folded on the bed, I stacked them
neatly into piles. We still had a while before the party and I wanted to spend
some time with him … just him. I didn’t want to have to worry about anything
else. Being in Vegas had brought our pasts back, but I wanted Mason to spend
time with who I was at the moment and vice versa. We played our roles and I
hated not knowing who to trust or what to believe. All I knew was that Mason
was real, he was mine, and I wanted to know all of him, right down to his
deepest and darkest fears.

Mason was stuffing his clothes back in his bag, and when I
cleared my throat he lifted his green gaze to mine, lifting his brows.
“Something you need to say?” he asked.