Chapter 2 #2
I hadn’t planned on sticking around long, but then Shelton drew me into his world of underground fighting, and the allure of stepping back into the cage proved too powerful.
But I had no intention of dragging Alex into this scene. It was time to move on, especially now that Zach was free.
“You wanted to see me?” I asked.
Shelton didn’t acknowledge my presence until I was practically breathing down his thick neck.
His mouth thinned into a line, and his fetch boy must have taken that as a cue to leave because the little shit was already halfway to the staircase.
Shelton’s shrewd gaze lingered on the people huddled in drunken groups around the cage.
He scratched his nose for a moment. “Still set on leaving all this?”
“I’ve got other priorities.”
“I’m gonna wager Zachariah De Luca has something to do with these sudden priorities.”
“You know something I don’t?” I asked, wearing my best neutral expression.
“My guys found him sneaking onto the property during the fight. That’s what I know.”
It was amazing how a single sentence had the power to ice my blood. I spun on my heel, ready to bolt down the stairs, but Shelton grabbed my shoulder.
I shrugged him off. “Alex is alone—”
“She’s fine, right where you left her. My guys made sure of it.” He stepped back and let out a breath.
I stared at him, slack-jawed. I didn’t want to know how he knew that, but he seemed intent on telling me anyway.
“De Luca junior had some interesting things to say, I’ll give him that, but I always check shit out. Got a shock when I searched your boat. What are you doing with that girl?”
“Protecting her from him.”
He raised a brow. “Looks like you’ve got a problem then.”
I looked around, feeling as if we were being overheard, but everyone was below, lost to the adrenaline left over from the fight. Not to mention the booze and drugs.
“Where’s he at now?” There was no point pussy-footing around this. Too much was on the line, mainly, Alex’s life.
He cocked his head. “A place where he can’t cause trouble.” Shelton paused. “I think we can help each other out.”
“How so?” A foreboding disquiet festered in my gut.
He turned his back to the crowd, and we moved further into the shadows. “Abbott and I have history. Let’s just say we don’t get along. He was a fucking power-hungry shark in the biz.” Shelton shook his head. “Shoulda been a goddamn bottom feeder.”
I let out an obvious sigh. Everyone knew Shelton liked to string people along with his talk, but I didn’t have time for his bullshit.
He planted a hand on my shoulder and leaned in. “We got a good thing going here, but the deep pockets are getting antsy. They want something different, something more exciting than you winning every damn match. Since you’re wanting to bow out, I need you to do it with a bang.”
“Get to the point, Shelton.”
“I’ll make sure you get your hands on De Luca junior before your buddy sends him packing to Mexico again.”
Damn Jax. Six months ago, he’d gotten to Zach before I could. Weeks later, when he returned—a total mess over not finding any leads on his sister—I hadn’t had it in me to give him shit for interfering.
I shook off Shelton’s hand. “What the fuck do you want?”
He grinned. “It’s not what I want. It’s what you want. People talk, Mason. I heard you wanted that sonofabitch dead.”
“That’s my business.”
“As long as you’re living on my land, fighting in my cage, what you do is my business.” He paused, and the weight of that long beat roiled in my gut. “A match between two longtime rivals,” he said, raising a brow, “now that’s a fight. Personally, I think it’s the least you can do.”
I didn’t like owing people but owe him, I did.
If not for him, I wouldn’t have a place to dock my boat, a cage to unleash my rage in, anonymity to hide behind.
The network knew who I was—kind of hard to hide while fighting before their eyes.
But the world at large thought I was missing, and before tonight, Alex had believed I was dead.
But Shelton was asking too much. The only cage Zach deserved to step into was the kind that locked from the outside. “What if I say no deal?”
He swiveled his head from side to side, making his neck pop. “I know you don’t want him getting his hands on your girl because of a little thing like pride. If you back out, he wins by default, and the prize for him is freedom.”
I jerked forward, barely keeping myself in check. “Do you have any clue what he’s capable of?”
“I know what you’re capable of. You want a shot at him, well here’s your chance.” He lowered his voice. “No ref will stop you this time. Not in this match.”
I wasn’t a killer by nature. At least, I didn’t like to think I was.
But I protected what was mine, and Alex was mine.
I thought of all the hell we’d been through, all the fighting just to fucking survive, and how it all tied back to Zach.
I could start another war, make another enemy, or I could do what Shelton wanted and gain an ally against Zach—do what I should have done six fucking months ago.
Terminate an obsession that would never stop coming.
“He’s fucking psychotic. I can’t risk him coming after Alex in the meantime.”
“I’ve got the situation contained.”
I fisted my hands. “I wanna see him.”
“You’ll see him in the cage soon enough.”
“No,” I said, giving an indomitable shake of my head. “Until I see the bastard for myself, we don’t have a deal.”
He ran both hands through his graying hair. If not for that revealing sign, no one would believe he was a day over thirty-five. “Fine. Swing by here tomorrow around noon. I’ll have him here.”
I pulled in a deep breath to calm my anger. “I thought you were above this shit. This is blackmail, Shelton.”
“This is business. So do we got a deal?”
The type of match he had in mind wouldn’t be another watered-down fight in the barn. Maybe, if things went my way for once in my fucking life, I could keep Jax from finding out about our arrangement. Zach couldn’t be whisked away to a Mexican prison if I killed him first.
With an impatient sigh, Shelton stuck his hand out. “What do you say?”
“Yeah, we’ve got a fucking deal.” I ignored his offer to shake on it. Nothing was set in stone, especially when it came to Zach fucking De Luca.
Shelton’s lips curved upward. Anyone not on hyper-alert wouldn’t notice that twitch, but it was there. “Thought you’d see things my way. Until tomorrow then.”
I took the stairs two at a time, my fear for Alex’s safety heightened.
I nearly launched myself through the door, but Jax caught up to me as I pulled it open.
A draft of chilly air rushed inside, carrying the scent of the ocean.
We were several miles inland, but that distinctive part salt, part fish smell infused the air.
“What’d Shelton want?” Jax asked.
I stepped outside and hastened my stride. He followed on my heels, mere paces behind me. I threw a glance over my shoulder. “Nothing to worry about.”
We crossed the field toward the dock, our sneakers sinking into land soggy from the downpour of last week.
Fog drifted low on the ground, and the constant mist that was more annoying than rain clung to our clothes.
I burrowed into my hoodie as the urgency to get to Alex spurred me on. I nearly broke into a run.
“Hey, slow down, man. Where’s the fucking fire?”
We approached the dock, and a small niggle of relief tore through me.
The boat appeared untouched. I moved down the wooden planks, my feet skidding over the slick surface, and stepped aboard.
Preparing for the sway, I let the craft settle under my sneakers before descending the stairs into the cabin, through the galley, past the living area, straight to the bedroom.
To her.
I curled my fingers around the knob and turned, my breath stalling in my lungs. A second passed with an ominous preamble, and a million what-ifs nagged me.
What if she was gone? What if Zach had already gotten to her? What if she’d awakened sooner than anticipated and had somehow broken free of the restraints?
What if she fucking hated me?
The door creaked open, and all my fears escaped in an exhale that encapsulated the very meaning of the word relief. Right where I’d left her, indeed. I drank up the sight of her like a man dying of thirst. Quiet footfalls sounded behind me.
“Why are you so jumpy?” Jax asked, his voice low as if he sensed the need to whisper. “There’s no way Zach found this place so fast.”
But he had. How, I didn’t know.
Backing away slowly so I wouldn’t wake her, I followed him into the galley and went straight for the beer. Jax was always up for a good brew. Shit, after the day I’d had, maybe I was too. I grabbed two bottles from the fridge and handed him one.
“So what’s up with Shelton?” he asked, popping the cap.
I did the same with my beer and took a drink before answering him. “He wants to do something different for the next fight.” That much was true. “I don’t know all the details yet.” Also true…sort of.
If I wasn’t going completely fucked-up insane, Shelton was hinting that only one of us would walk out of there alive.
Jax drew on the longneck, eyeing me, assessing how much bullshit I was spewing. I wouldn’t fool him for long, but hopefully he’d buy it long enough for me to battle Zach in the last match the piece of shit would ever fight.