Reese (14 page)

             
In fact I think it had made him happy that I was ready to face all of the ugliness head on, and that I wanted him with me when I did it.

             
At the Comerica Theatre we were shown straight to our seats
.
There had been three other fights tonight, but Kieran’s fight was the main event. The place was crowded, but some had taken bathroom, snack, or smoke breaks.
T
here
were two private VIP areas
,
one to the west of the octagon cage. We were shown to the east
. Two suit clad security person
ne
l, whom I realized were my grandfather’s personal security detail, kept away any who thought to intrude on the solitude
; such as the many photographers that were lined around the cage
.

             
It was still forty-five minutes until the fight started. I pulled the skirt of my dress down as I sat beside of Mel and took in the place. I had never been to the Comerica Theatre, formally known as the Dodge Theatre. But it was beautiful. I had wanted to go to a concert here the year before, one of my favorite orchestra’s had been in town, but tickets had sold out before I had even realized they were in the area.

             
“This is nice.” Mel murmured
, over the dull roar of the crowd
.

             
“Hey hotness.” Jake appeared almost out of thin air. “My boy wants to see you.”

             
I blinked up at him. He was wearing a tee shirt with the MMA logo on it and jeans. He looked bigger than usual and twice as scary. But I had found out quick that he would never hurt me.
I had found out quick that his promise of us being friends was true. It was odd, but I felt like we were getting pretty close.
“I don’t want to distract him.”

             
Jake shook his head. “You won’t.” He offered me his hand and I took it without even thinking. “I’ll bring her right back, Mel.” He promised with a wink.

             
“You better.” She called after us.

             
Jake
led
me through a side door then down a corridor to the dressing area.
Two security guys stood outside a door with ‘Stone’ marked across it. Jake ignored both as he pulled me inside a mad house. The rest of the crew
was
present, including Maddox. All were in MMA logo shirts with their names across the back like on a sports jersey. Mason
and Corbin
w
ere
taping up Kieran, who was sitting stiffly beside his father.

             
Without even thinking about it I went to him and crouched down in front of him. He blinked those incredible steel gray eyes of his, which he must have gotten from his mother, and pushed Mason
and Corbin
away to wrap his arms around me. “Hey.” He breathed against my lips as he devoured me with a kiss.

             
When I could breathe again I cupped his face in my hands. “Okay?”

             
“Of course. I just needed to see you.” A feather li
ght
kiss was brushed over the tip of my nose. “You look beautiful by the way.”
His intent gaze moved over my dress, another buy from the day before. It was black with spider web lace. It clung to my slender body and showcased my hips and boobs alluringly without coming off skank or slut.

             
He was dressed for the fight: Shorts that clung so that he didn’t get tangled up in them. They hung perfect on his hips. His feet were bare except for the tape already around his ankles for better control and support of the joints. He looked sexy as hell and I wished that I had ten minutes alone with him.

             
“How is it out there?” He asked. “Have you seen Daventry yet?”

             
I grimaced. “No. It’s just me and Mel in the private VIP area
right now
.”

             
“Good, okay.” He nodded. “The crew will be
close by
, so if you need anything do not
hesitate to tell them.” He spoke loud enough so that the entire room could hear. There were nods all around. “And Dad is going to be right there
with you
.”

             
Kyle gave me a
warm smile and reached for my hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

             
I returned his smile. “Thank you.” I murmured.

             
“I mean it, Reese.” Kieran’s jaw was clenched. “You need anything…”

             
My lips cut off his words. When I drew
back
I gave his cheek a firm pat. “Relax. Stop worrying about me and keep your head in the game. From the time you leave this room you
forget all about me. If I find you looking at me during the fight I will climb into that stupid steel cage and kick your ass myself. Understand?”

             
“Yes, ma’am.” He grinned and stole another kiss.

             
()

             
Kyle walked me back to the private VIP area with fifteen minutes
to go
until fight time. I was shaking with nerves for him while Kieran seemed cool as a cucumber. Kyle felt much the same as me
, a
nd he had been to each and every one of his youngest son’s fights
!
I was glad for his company.

             
When we got to our seats Greg Daventry
had already returned
with several other people. I saw Mel standing talking to Greg and she looked a little flushed. I guess she was still a little upset about her outburst from their dinner date the week before. But she spotted me walking in her direction and a smile touched her lips.

             
Seeing her smile, Greg turned to follow her gaze and seemed to freeze. I stopped so suddenly that Kyle nearly walked off without me. He turned and caught my hand. “You can do this. You are strong and confident, and I will not leave you for one second if that is what you want.”

             
Swallowing hard
,
I could do nothing but nod. He captured my hand and tugged me toward the group of people that were all watching me approach. I clung to Kyle’s hand, my grip only tightening with each step that took me closer to my grandfather.

             
But less than a yard away I got my first real look at Greg. He looked gray under his normal light tan complexion. His blue eyes were over bright and I was worried that maybe he was going to cry when I saw his strong, stubborn chin slightly quiver. Without stopping to question my actions I released Kyle’s hand and threw myself into Greg Daventry’s waiting arms.

             
“Grandfather!” I hugged him hard and his arms wrapped me close to him.

             
“Becky.” His voice was full of choked emotion.

             
He just stood there, ignoring the crowd around us and I let him. We needed this, and I felt so much better.
I let most of my anger toward him go, realizing that it hadn’t been his fault that Stephen Thorne had come into my life. He hadn’t known about what was happening to me, and would have stopped it if he had…

             
Finally Greg took half a step back. “You are all grown up, sweetheart. And so beautiful. I’ve missed you so much, Becky.”

             
“Reese.” I corrected him softly. “My name is Reese now.”
I had had it legally changed a year ago.

             
“You will always be my Becky…But Reese it is.” He dropped a light kiss on top of my head. “Thank you for coming tonight…Later I would like to talk with you. But for now I want you to enjoy the show. Your friend Mel, she told me how much you like MMA.”

             
“I do.” I glanced at Mel who had moved to stand close by. She winked at me and offered me a
supportive
smile.

             
“I want to introduce you to a few people, Beck…Reese.” With his arm still around my shoulders he turned me toward the others. “You have met Kieran Stone I believe when he delivered your paperwork
?
This is his brother, Kevin Stone who is the VP of our legal team back in New York.”

             
I was shocked speechless when I came face to face with Kieran’s brother. It seemed that Kyle was surprised too, because he had already moved to embrace his eldest child. Kevin was not nearly as widely built as his father or younger brother, but he was an inch or so taller. His hair was a soft auburn,
most likely from his mother. H
is eyes were the same steel gray
, y
et were Kieran’s were always warm and soft on me, letting me know just how much I was cared about and wanted
;
Kevin’s were cool and a little hard.

             
He stepped forward and shook my hand.
His grip was firm and impersonal. “Hello, Reese.” He greeted. “Your grandfather has told me so much about you.”

             
I blinked at that information. Why would my grandfather be talking to this man about me
?
Of course he was from the legal department…
I
t just seemed a little
too
personal for me. But I filed that away for another time as I was introduced to several others.

             
At exactly
nine o’clock
the lights were dimmed and we were asked to take our seats from a deep, smoky voiced announcer. I took a seat as close to the cage as I could get. K
evin
set down right beside me, where I was expecting Mel to sit. With Kyle on my right, Mel took the seat beside of Greg, sending me an odd look. I shrugged.

             
Lights around the cage came on, showcasing the announcer and ref inside. Behind them, on the west side of the cage I noticed the sponsors and family members of the other opponent. The man that Kieran was facing tonight was from Brazil. I had seen a few of his other fights and knew that the guy had mad skills. But I also had complete faith in Kieran.

             
The Brazilian came out first. The crowd
cheered and welcomed him whole
heartedly. But he was arrogant and barely even acknowledged them. Such an attitude so early in his career was not a good thing. Fans would grow to dislike him in a few years and no one would want to work with such a fighter.

             
The crowd had made some noise when the Brazilian had come out, but they nearly brought the house down with the way they welcomed Kieran. He was a favorite of everyone.
They all
wanted to touch him.
He stopped and signed a few shirts as he made his way toward the cage, always surrounded by the crew. Maddox, I saw
was almost shell-shocked he was so overcome with excitement
.

             
As they
drew
closer Kieran stopped at the ropes that separated the VIP area from the cage. Greg went over and shook his hand, patted him on the back. Kieran waved at me, sent me a sexy wink then continued on into the ring. I had had to stop myself from going over to give him one last kiss for good luck, but hadn’t wanted to distract him.

             
The announcer began speaking to the crowd about each man’s accomplishments. Kieran’s took considerable longer than the Brazilians, but each were impressive. As the ref took his time talking to them about
rules to remember
, I watched the crew closely. Mason was grinning at the spar twins. Simon said something that made Gage
and Corbin
shake
their
head
s
in amusement
. Jake elbowed them both in the ribs.

             
Finally the ref made everyone but Kieran and the Brazilian exit the cage. I reached for Kyle’s hand. I was getting worse and worse as the seconds ticked by. And when the fight began all I wanted to do was throw up.

             
“So you like mixed martial arts?” Kevin asked from beside of me. He was close so that I could hear him over the crowd. I would have been upset by how close he was if he was anyone but Kieran’s brother. The knowledge that this man was liable to be my brother-in-law one day kept my panic at bay.

             
“Normally I love it.” I told him with a smile.

             
“What’s different about this match?” He asked, not really paying attention to the fight his brother was currently participating in. “You got money on the other guy or something?”

             
“Or something.” I laughed.