Fighter Daddy: A Bad Boy Secret Baby MMA Sports Romance (18 page)

I
can't believe it
.

He did it. Lee won. He beat Sam Unbroken.

I've been praying since the beginning of the match. I haven't done this since I was a child. I barely remember how. All I was able to do was cover my eyes and whisper to myself, willing Lee to not give in. And he didn't.

I was wrong, in the end. Going to the match, I thought I wouldn't be able to watch anything that's going on in the cage, but in reality, I couldn't look away. It was too terrible, but I found my eyes fixed on Lee the whole time.

When Sam finally caught him, choking the life from his body, I thought he was a goner. Everyone around me was screaming, cheering. All but Ricky, who was watching with a satisfied smile and Dr. Morris, who winced at every blow. I wonder what it's like for a doctor to watch things like this, when they know how the punches affect the fighters.

I
'm not honestly
sure what I've been doing for the past twenty minutes or so. I think I've screamed, because my voice is hoarse. The crowd is buzzing loudly. They're welcoming Lee as the champion. He doesn't look like it. To see him barely able to stand is horrible, but it's over, right? We won.

Ricky grabs my hand painfully and begins to push through the audience. None of them are in their seats anymore. Even during the fight, I felt the back rows pushing in, trying to get closer to ringside. It was the first time in my life when I've been grateful for Victor's presence. He didn't let anyone near me, standing behind me like a wall.

Now he's pushing us through a corridor of people. Ricky's hand is like a vise around my arm.

"
Let go
," I tell Ricky when his hand is seriously starting to hurt me. "Let me go. Lee won. You have to let me go."

He laughs, a bitter sound from his lips.

"Why would you think that?" he snarls, giving me a look that makes me struggle anew.

"I.. Lee said you—" I begin, but he cuts me off.

"Giving you up was never the deal," he says. "He can clear your debt, but you're mine, and there is nothing he can do about that, as I told him weeks ago."

I remember that, yes. I can still hardly believe Lee would accept a deal like that, and would agree to abandon me. But I have to trust that Lee had a plan that Ricky doesn't know about.

I simply let him drag me on, terrified of this going horribly wrong. Lee sounded so certain when he promised me it would be all right. I can't believe that was a lie. I refuse to believe that.

We are finally in the corridors around the arena, where there are less people. Ricky picks up the pace even more, dragging me along despite the pain in my sides. Dr. Morris is urging him to be mindful of my injuries, but I don't think he cares anymore.

"This was a mistake," I hear Ricky grumble to me. "That bastard has filled your mind with nonsense. I hoped seeing him lose would make you see he's just a man, but he somehow tricked Sam. Foul play. I don't know what he did, but if I ever find out—"

"
Tricked
," says a voice from behind us.

We turn to see Lee. It seems like the victory has made him even taller. His eyes are blazing with fire, his face covered in blood. When he slowly walks toward us, I feel my heartbeat quicken. I never noticed how much bigger he was than Ricky. He towers over him. But Victor is here too and there is a gun in his hand. I struggle against Ricky's grasp, almost throwing myself in the way of another bullet.

"You think I tricked Sam," Lee repeats with deadly calm.

He doesn't look afraid. I don't know if he's even noticed the gun in Victor's hand. Lee stalks closer, paying him no mind. When a man has beaten Sam Unbroken, I guess he is bound not to know fear for a while.

"I think you had help, Mr. Mason," Ricky almost spits at him.

"It was all me," Lee is saying with the same eerie calm. "And now I want what you promised."

I see Ricky grin, pulling me closer against him. I try to push him away, but he doesn't let me go. It's symbolic. Ricky will
never
let me go.

"If you're talking about Miss Feston's debt," Ricky says. "I'm willing to accept the payment from your victory fund."

"And Susan?" Lee asks.

My heart skips a beat. Susan, he still has Aunt Susan. I can't describe the wave of relief that washes over me when Ricky shrugs.

"If you can keep her quiet, I'll release her. But Miss Feston was not a part of our deal."

I stare into Lee's eyes and know that it's true. Ricky never promised to let me go, as he told me before. Has this all been a ruse? A way to cheer me up before I'm locked away forever? How did Lee plan to free me?

Lee grins. Like a spell, it relaxes me. It's all right. There is something else at play here, but I don't know what.

"She is now," Lee says.

Ricky snorts, backing away with me still in his arms, pulling me along.

"Sam must have given you a good hit against the head, boy," he growls at Lee. "If you think you can take her away from me like this."

Lee steps forward, but suddenly his face drops and he lurches to a halt. The next second, I feel a gun pressed against my temple. Ricky is armed too and I can hear the obsession in his voice again.

"Not another step, Mr. Mason," he snarls. "Or I'll blow her brains out. Don't think I won't. I will not be made a fool. I'd rather see her dead than with someone else. You understand. This is business."

He finally admits I'm nothing more than a symbol of his power, but I can't take any joy from it. I feel the coldness of the metal against my skin, the weapon pressed to my head.

We've lost, despite everything. Lee won the match and I was
so
certain it would end with that. Now I know Ricky will drag me out of here, hide me away where Lee can never find me.

All of this for nothing.

"You're right," says a voice behind me. "This is business and yours is bad."

Ricky turns around, backing against the corridor wall to see the newcomer. I'm forced to turn with him. There is a man standing behind us with a bunch of guys looking as threatening as Victor. For a long second I expect Victor to shoot, but for some reason he's lowered his gun. And looking at Ricky, I see naked surprise playing on his face.

What the hell is going on here?"

"
Jack
," Ricky growls. "This is between me and them."

"Not anymore," says the other guy, the one he calls Jack.

He doesn't appear afraid of Ricky, not one bit. It also doesn't seem to move him that Ricky has a gun to my head. He stands at ease, as if nothing weird is going on at all. I don't know why, but I immediately take him for a guy who's been held at gunpoint before and who is no longer impressed.

I wish I had that confidence. I'm not used to being in such danger. I think every second is going to be my last and even Ricky's smallest movement makes me wince. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Lee stare at Ricky with fury I didn't once see on his face during the match.

"This is a complicated situation," Ricky snaps at the new guy. "One that includes the woman I love."

"I'm aware of the situation," the man says coldly. "Lee explained it. And the woman you love... interesting way to show your affection, holding her at gunpoint. I understand she wants to leave you."

I can hear Ricky growl. I can
feel
his finger twitching on the trigger.

He's going to do it
, flashes through my head.
Rather than let me go, rather than be made a fool, he's taking me down with him.

"She's not going to," Ricky growls.

I don't know which he means. That I don't want to, or that he won't let me. Doesn't matter in the end, I suppose. But the other guy is not moved by his assurance.

"Mr. Mason has been beneficial to me today," says Jack. "You see, he made a deal with me too. He wagered everything on his victory and I won a considerable sum today, given the odds of the match. I might do business with him again. He promised me that, and a solution to
you
. In return, I gave him my word he'd get the girl."

Ricky pulls himself up straight and the gun presses more tightly against my head, hurting me. I sob. Lee edges closer, but Jack holds up his hand. His eyes are cold and when he speaks. His voice has dropped several degrees to icy.

"Not that I need him to deal with you," he snarls. "Kidnapping, murder... it's drawing attention to our operations. I will not have it. The way I see it, your deal with Mr. Mason is valid. He pays her debt and you release the hostage. Mr. Mason has assured me that she will not talk and we can only hope your
stupidity
doesn't cost us too much. You will give up the girl and not pursue either of them further. This is over, Ricky. Am I making myself clear?"

This
is the friend, I realize. This was Lee's plan. I don't know who this guy is, but judging by the way Ricky still hasn't shot me, I'm guessing he has some power over him.

But it's still Ricky. Not only is he made into a fool now, but he's publicly humiliated. I feel him
shake
with rage, the gun digging painfully into my temple. I whimper, struggling against his hold, but Ricky...

Ricky is not letting me go.

"She's mine," he growls at Jack, and I hear the refusal in his voice.

Then Lee is there, standing right before us, staring Ricky down.

"You willing to die for her?" he asks, snarling. "Because that is what will happen if you pull that trigger right now. I will kill you with my bare hands, you fucking piece of shit."

The look in Lee's eyes is outright murderous. I don't doubt him. I don't think Ricky doubts him either. Jack isn't saying anything, but his silence is confirmation enough. He's siding with Lee on this one.

It is the longest moment of my life. I wait, everyone waits, as Ricky weighs me against his own life. Then he pushes me away, straight into Lee's arms. I cling to him, burying my face into the crook of his neck. His strong arms close around me, shielding me from the world.

"If I hear another word of this fucking joke, I know where to find you," Jack tells Ricky, and leaves.

I keep hearing phantom gunshots, keep feeling ghostly bullets fly through us, but nothing happens. Lee puts his arm around my shoulders and we leave Ricky behind.

We avoid the fans, the press, and the agents. Everyone. Lee keeps walking, and no one wants to stop the man who beat Sam. We walk out of there, into the fresh, clean air outside. Free.

I
hate it
, walking away from Ricky at that moment.

I feel his loathing gaze as we go, with my hand around Raina's shoulders. The way she still trembles with delayed shock makes me want to turn back and rip Ricky's heart out, but I resist.

Jack Brandon is a hard man and he drives hard bargains. Unlike Ricky, he's not a thug. Ricky's the mutt that bites everyone, but Jack's the man who holds the leashes. He treats people like he would treat dogs. If they do what he wants, he doesn't go back on his word.

He made me promise that if Ricky gave up Raina, I wouldn't stir up trouble at the arena. No fights after the one with Sam.

Every inch of me aches, but I could still kick Ricky's teeth in if I wanted to. Instead, I lead Raina away from her nightmare at last. I have other plans for Ricky. Right now it's important that Raina and the child are safe.

The night passes by with no further incidents. We go to my place, ignore the messages beeping on my phone, and sleep. Sometime in the night, Raina receives a text from her Aunt Susan, saying she's back home too. I respond in her place, telling Susan to do
nothing
until I've spoken to her.

We sleep well into the next day. My fans are probably going nuts around the city, drinking themselves blind, but I don't give a fuck. I took everything I wanted and the approval of drunks don't matter shit to me. The only man who I needed to be happy with my performance came through. That's all I care about.

I wake first. Through closed curtains, I see it's a bright day outside. Everything is peaceful around me. I didn't think I'd ever want something like this. Domestic bliss doesn't sound like my thing, but here I am. Waking up in my own bed, Raina's hot body pressed against me in her sleep. Her arm is curled around me, her long brown hair billowing out behind her on the sheets. I pull her closer and she cuddles nearer, moaning happily.

I never feared Sam. Fear is for men who aren't prepared to lay everything on the line. I knew what I was fighting for and it was everything I had. Ricky gave himself a pat on the back for dragging me into it, but I make my own destiny in spite of fucks like him. If I didn't want to fight Sam, I would have found a way not to.

No, Sam didn't scare me. I was only afraid for a second yesterday, and that was when Ricky held a gun to Raina's head. Jack had warned me, but I still struggled to keep myself still. The desire to attack, to knock the weapon from his hands, was all-encompassing. I imagined myself jamming the muzzle of the gun down Ricky's throat, watching his eyes go wide with horror before I pulled the trigger.

But Jack was right.

I truly have it all now. My victory over Sam Unbroken means my agent won't have to bother looking for new challenges for me. He has to pick up a phone and say yes to any of the offers I know are coming even now. Soon he'll start pestering me with them, but it's his fucking job to deal with that bullshit. I'll show up and win. That's what I do.

I think I have a new sponsor too. Jack hinted that he was pleased with my performance after the show. I can imagine what checks he cashed in from yesterday. The odds were heavily in Sam's favor. He probably took home more money than I did, but I'll make up for it. By the time I call up the agent, I imagine I'm booked for two years.

Most importantly, I have Raina. No doubt Ricky is plotting his revenge, but I don't fear him either.

She wakes, slowly blinking her eyes. As soon as she registers where she is, a big smile lights up her face. I enjoy it while it lasts. Soon there will be things to deal with. We need to go to an actual hospital and learn what we need to do to make sure she heals properly and that the baby is alright. Right now, I risk pulling her against me, kissing her sweet lips, savoring the feel of her like this.

I can
taste
her happiness. That fucker poisoned everything about her, made her bitter and sad, but now she's free. Her gorgeous pink mouth is smiling against mine, planting small kisses on my lips playfully. Her fingers are already sneaking their way into my boxers and I push everything else aside to make her come screaming again and again.

W
e deal
with the worst first. I take Raina to Susan's house. It looks different somehow without my dad. Where life has returned to Raina, it has left Susan. We find her sitting behind a kitchen table. I expect her to be crying, but the look in her eyes is defiant.

"Are we all right now?" is all she asks.

Raina looks at me and I nod.

"Yes," I say. "But I need you to not fuck this up."

"
Lee
," Raina shushes me, shocked, but Susan shakes her head.

"It's all right, sweetheart. I understand we're still in danger."

"We are not," I correct her. "But it ended yesterday, and we can't drag it back into the daylight again. That's the deal. That's what keeps us safe."

The girls listen as I explain as vaguely as I can. I don't name Jack Brandon. Raina guesses, of course. I see a look of understanding dawning on her face and she nods.

I tell them Ricky's hand was forced, that he fucked up, and that our protection now depends on
us
not fucking up the same thing.

Then I give them the only good news I can offer Susan. That the guys who shot Dad are dead. Both of them stare at me, wide-eyed, as I assure them I didn't arrange the murders. Jack Brandon did that, but he let me know. The man hates loose ends almost as much as he hates incompetence.

Raina looks taken aback, but the look in Susan's eyes tells me all I need to know. She doesn't say it out loud. No promises, no thanks, no other real reaction but a nod. But I know the look. She is satisfied with the revenge.

I had been worried I might have to be tough with her, but I see there's no reason for it. The way Susan looks at Raina, the way she looks at
me
when I give her my word Philip's murderers are taken care of... she understands. I believe her.

We spend an unpleasant, sad afternoon coming up with a story for Dad's death. We bury it under layers of bureaucracy. An accident in Italy, a very tragic fall. A local cremation. I enlist Martin to help us with the official documents.

He balks at first, but his sympathy is stronger than his need to do everything by the book. We even explain Raina's absence as her being wracked with grief. She takes a few phone calls from closer friends to calm them down.

Her boss Ed remains an open missing person file. Martin knows the truth and is willing to let it sink to the bottom of a mountain of similar cases.

After we've put everything else to order, Raina and I return to Ricky's.

She protests the idea at first. I see the terror that takes ahold of her body instantly. It's how people with phobias react. They tense up so fast they call forth a lesser paralysis. I tell her it's the last time we'll ever go to that place. I even offer to go alone, but she doesn't want to let me out of her sight, so she reluctantly comes along.

I assure her Jack Brandon has been in touch and that his protection still holds. That calms Raina down a bit.

We choose a calmer evening to pay a visit. Not too many people, but not empty either. It's better if Ricky doesn't get ideas, and I don't want to get crowded by a new wave of fans. The agent tells me my popularity is at an all-time high.

No shit.

Before, I mostly did underground fights. Guys who knew me were die-hard fans. Now I'm a rising star in the MMA world. I still have moment when I don't fully believe I beat Sam. They say he's furious. Wouldn't want to be his
next
opponent.

This time Raina doesn't object when I put my arm around her in the club. I see a smirk playing on her lips, driving me wild. The doctors say I need to be extra careful, because of the wound and the pregnancy as well.

Raina thinks it's fucking funny how much it pisses me off. Gentleness isn't in my nature, but I won't hurt her. Until she's better, we have to come up with a whole lot of other ideas how to fuck without breaking her. With the ideas she comes up with, it's a wonder we get out of my apartment at all.

We sit by the bar and wait. I didn't even bother having someone call him. Ricky knows we're here and he'll be here too.

I see him coming and so does Raina. She tenses up, but doesn't burrow into the nook of my arm this time. She stares him down like she should. Facing your fears is the only way to overcome it.

"You must have a death wish," Ricky says instead of a greeting.

"We're here to say goodbye," I tell him, seeing Raina grin.

It's a dangerous game, poking a guy like Ricky, but I can't help it. I need to hurt this prick for everything he's done. Jack Brandon has made it
very
fucking clear he doesn't want more corpses out of this mess, but Ricky doesn't know that.

The look in his eyes says it all. He wants me dead as badly as I want to kill him. But we're all friends now, this fucker and me. Peace, brokered by Jack.

"If you think I'll let a boy like you threaten me in my own—" Ricky begins, but I shake my head.

"Stop right there," I say. "I know when a man is full of shit."

The club is dancing around us, but I see Ricky's guys bristle at the insult. And as I figured, he stares at me, helpless to do anything.

"You lost," I tell him, seeing the way his eyes flicker to Raina and fill with another surge of fury. "You lost everything and I want you to know that. The fight, Raina, all gone. Now Jack has his own threats and I have mine. Don't think that because I'm all nice now that I've forgotten.

“I don't forget anything. I wanted you to know I'm going to get you one day. It won't be tomorrow or the next week, but I will make you pay. Trust me on this.
I don't make empty promises
. We came to say goodbye. The next time we meet, you're dead."

Before he gets the chance to respond, Raina and I turn around and leave him behind. Raina's a bit surprised, I bet, but the smile that keeps prying the corners of her lips up says enough.

A
s these things
take time to plan, Ricky lives for a while more. I keep my word to him and send him reminders. The rumors say he's been tense like a guitar string, jumping at every bang, seeing killers everywhere. Like I planned. Fear is for weaker men and he is weak.

Jack Brandon made me promise no more corpses, but I am no one's bitch, and not his either. For all he's done for me and all that he will do in the future, I won't let him order me around with this one. Ricky killed my father. He is going to pay.

After all, in the end it isn't me that breaks the word to Jack. Police take a sudden interest in Ricky's business after he makes so much noise. Jack can't blame me for that. Nor for the fact Ricky's nerves aren't what they used to be. With my threat and now cops banging on his doors, he's a little jumpy.

Then the night comes when he sees me. I'm just standing there, doing nothing threatening, but Ricky is beyond himself. It's a semi-public place too, close to his club. He's on his way there. All the threats, the whole business with Raina... there is nothing left of the Ricky that thought things through. He pulls out a gun, but Martin is quicker. Everyone testifies that it was a clear-cut situation.

Martin and I walk over to stand over Ricky's dead body, looking at the man who finally got what was coming to him. Even if we guessed he'd react like that to seeing me, who could ever be sure? Jack is not too mad. Ricky was a loose cannon and I'm sure he won't have a problem replacing him.

It feels like I pulled the gun on him myself. It feels
good
.

When I tell Raina later, she doesn't say anything for a long moment. Then she breathes out and when she looks at me, she's all herself again.