Doomsday Love: An MMA & Second Chance Romance (35 page)

“Does it look like I give a shit about any of that?” I wrap my hand around the back of her neck and reel her in so close we are nearly nose-to-nose. She looks up at me with those big brown eyes, and it’s now that I realize she is shaking. I tilt my head back. “Are you scared of him?”

She shakes her head.

“Then why are you shaking? What are you afraid of?”

“I’m afraid of what you’ll do to him, Drake. I’m afraid of you ruining your life over something you had no control over.”

I watch her eyes, how desperate they are. She’s not trying to save him. She’s trying to save me. Well, it’s too fucking late.

“Jenny, look at me,” I order when she shuts her eyes. She opens them right back up and they are glistening. “I don’t care what happens to me. I can get out of it if I want to. He put his hands on you in the wrong way. He hurt the woman I love. He has fucking
damaged
you, and here I was thinking that I cut you so deep that you were ruined. If you think for a second that I will let that motherfucker leave Vegas without so much as an ass beating from me, you have me completely fucked up.”

“Drake, no,” she whimpers. “Please.”

“How long has he been hurting you?”

“Please,” she begs. “Don’t go. Just stay. Please!”

“Tell me, Jenny. Now! I need to know! How long?!”

“I—I don’t know. It started last year sometime, but—”

“There is no fucking
but
.”

A year. He was hurting my Jenny for an entire fucking year?

I pull away from her and storm for the stairs. She can’t catch me, though she tries. I’m too quick, and I’m down them before I know it.

He hurt my girl—my anchor, for a year. A whole fucking year!

I guess I have no choice but to give him a year’s worth of ass beatings.

He’s fucked with the wrong woman.

This is just like Flex and Mom all over again. He hurt my mother. Belittled her, made her resort to drugs. For Jenny it is alcohol, but I won’t tolerate that shit.

I will not allow her to turn her life into shambles. She will not spiral because of a fucked-in-the-head pussy like him.

Jenny was my golden girl. She was, and still is, my fucking life.

He’s not getting away with this shit. I don’t care if it’s over my dead body, he will fucking pay for what he did to her.

“
P
reach
!” I shout as I run back down the hallway. “We need to go after him!”

Preach frowns with a swift shake of his head. “I don’t think that’s smart, Jenny. Once that kid has his mind set, there is no changing it.”

“No—that’s where you’re wrong. I can change it! He will listen to me. I just have to stay in his ear.”

Preach looks me over, and then he exhales. Marching for the elevator, he grumbles, “Come on,” and I follow suit.

When we step into the cart, he says, “He’s probably halfway there by now.”

“We have time. He doesn’t know the room number. He won’t find him.” I pull out my cellphone, but Preach swipes it out of my hand. “Hey—what the hell are you doing?!”

“You better not be calling that fucker—your boyfriend.”

I snatch my phone back out of his hand and scowl at him. “For your information I was calling Oscar. He’s good at calming Drake down too. And Shane is
not
my fucking boyfriend.”

Preach nods. “Oh… Good.”

I side-eye him as I call Oscar. Oscar doesn’t answer his phone after the second try so I call Kylie. To my luck, she answers.

“Jenny!” she sings.

“Kylie—let me speak to Oscar please!”

“Okay, one sec, baby love. We’re at the hotel. He’s in the bathroom.”

I fidget, my nerves on end.

The phone rustles a bit, and I hear Oscar ask, “Who is it?” in the background.

Then his voice is louder.

“Jenny? What’s up?”

“Hey, Oscar. I know you are trying to spend your time with Kylie right now, and I’m so sorry for interrupting it, but there are bigger, more important matters at hand that I think need your attention.”

“What are you talking about?” He sounds agitated.

“Um…” I release a shaky breath. “Drake went to find Shane.”

“He did
WHAT?!
Why would he be doing that?”

My throat thickens. “He… saw a bruise on my thigh. I almost forgot it was there until—” I clamp my mouth shut.

“Fuck,” he hisses. “Shit, I knew it. I fucking knew I wasn’t hearing shit. All right. What hotel is the piece of shit staying at?”

“The Aria.”

“I’ll meet you there.” He hangs up in an instant, and knowing Oscar he will be there in a flash. If there is one person that doesn’t want to see Drake fuck up his life the most, it’s Oscar. Oscar has always been somewhat protective of Drake.

I look up at Preach and he’s chomping on his gum. His demeanor is so nonchalant that it sort of pisses me off.

“Why aren’t you concerned?” I ask angrily. “If he goes to jail you’ll be out of a job!”

“Oh, I’m concerned,” he corrects me. “Very. But I know Drake. His anger blinds him. His emotions. He won’t find that kid before we do. He’ll try, but he won’t. And if he does, well let’s just pray he kills the kid so he can’t press charges. He obviously fucking deserves it.”

Preach looks me over. “Shouldn’t have let him see the bruise, kid. I know you couldn’t help it, but Drake is a fucking wild animal and right now he is on the prowl. He won’t stop until he’s face-to-face with that kid—especially after what I know about his parents. When we find him, I can’t go against his word. If he tells me to find that kid and drag his ass to him, I will have no choice because that’s my job. To work for and protect him.”

I nod. “Just—just promise me you won’t let him hurt Shane. I hate him, trust me I do, but I also know him well. He will
ruin
Drake’s whole life if Drake ends up laying a single finger on him.”

Preach chuckles. “I won’t let him hurt him, but who’s to say he won’t just ask me to beat his ass for him?”

I scoff. “Drake likes to do his own dirty work. The last thing he’ll do is ask someone to fight for him.”

“If you know him so well, prepare yourself for the worst then, Jenny. He’s not going to give up with just talking. Doom won’t be satisfied until he sees blood. You know this. I know this. Even Oscar knows this. We can try and stop it, but we may not even be enough to do so.”

* * *

I
rush
into the hotel and am so relieved to see Oscar standing in the middle of the lobby, searching the area.

Beside him is Kylie, and she’s helping him search too. I rush up to them and when Oscar spots me, his face turns hard and he squares his shoulders.

“We have to split up,” Oscar orders. “I’ll search around the elevators. Knowing him, he’ll be waiting by them to see if he recognizes the guy. Preach can keep watching outside for him and you two check the casino and anywhere else he could be.”

I nod, and Kylie steps up to my side. “What if we find him?” she asks. “We aren’t strong enough to drag him with us or stop him, you know?”

“If you find him, call me and let me know. Stall as much as you can.” Oscar looks at me, and I can see the sincerity running deep in his eyes. He doesn’t blame me. He understands.

Gripping my shoulders, he says, “If you see him first, talk some sense into him. Calm him down. He loves you. Let him know you’re here. He still has doubts.”

I nod, swiping at my watery eyes. “Okay.”

Oscar pulls away and then dashes off, heading for the elevators. We watch Preach walk back outside to scope the area, and then we march towards the casino, pushing through the thick crowd.

“This place is huge,” Kylie groans. “I don’t think we’re going to find him.”

“We will,” I assure her. “We have to.”

“I mean—what if he already has Shane, Jen? What if he’s beating him up as we speak?”

I shake my head. “No… I don’t think so.” I press my lips and look around, from the slot machines, to the poker tables, and even at the bar. “I know what I have to do, but I didn’t want to do it around Preach or Oscar.”

I unlock my phone and dial the last person I want to talk to. I put the phone to my ear and it rings, and with each one my heart is thundering.

Kylie watches me with wide, worried eyes, rubbing her hands together with hope.

And then he answers.

His voice is deep. “Jenny? It’s about fucking time you called. Where the hell are you?”

“Shane, where are you?”

“Where the hell do you think I am? In the fucking hotel room, waiting for you to come the fuck back. You know we leave tomorrow morning. If you’re fucking late, I’m not waiting.”

I look down at the floor and then hang up. “Shane’s in the hotel room,” I say to Kylie.

“Great, that means Drake hasn’t gotten to him yet.”

“And he probably won’t,” I murmur as we start to walk around the casino again. “Shane leaves tomorrow morning. If we find Drake before then, we should be fine.”

“Yeah,” Kylie murmurs. “Let’s hope we can.”

* * *

I
t’s almost
five in the morning and no one has seen Drake. We stopped hunting around an hour and a half go. Searching for a grown man in Las Vegas is a hopeless feat.

I am now sitting at the bar of the Aria with Kylie and Oscar. Oscar has his face in his hands, his head moving side to side with frustration. Kylie is swirling a finger around the rim of her empty shot glass and I’m scanning the area, in hopes that Drake will magically appear.

“God, where the hell is he?” I snap. “Where could he have possibly gone?” I turn on my stool to look at Oscar. “Oscar, what the hell did you tell him before we left that club?”

Oscar looks up at me with tired, red eyes. He inhales a sluggish breath before releasing it through parted lips. “This is probably my fault. I mean—fuck, I know how Drake is. But I also know him well enough to know that he won’t do anything stupid before consulting me about it.”

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“Drake may be a hothead but he’s not an idiot. Whether he’s here or not, he’s making sure that we can’t find him for a reason. Something tells me he’s sitting around somewhere, trying to figure out a way to beat your friend’s ass while also keeping his career intact and you by his side.”

“But I’m not going anywhere,” I state blatantly, but then I realize I shouldn’t have confessed that. As soon as the words slip out, both Kylie and Oscar look right at me, their faces softer. Their eyes are wide, and I’m not sure if they are glad to hear that or not.

They don’t speak on it though. Instead Oscar continues with what we were talking about before. “I know that guy hurt you, Jenny.” He glances at Kylie, but Kylie avoids his eyes.

I frown at him before looking at my best friend. She’s tapping her fingers on the counter now.

“Kylie… you told him?”

She picks at her nails and fidgets in her seat.

“Kylie,” I demand.

“Jen, I was worried!” she exclaims. “It just slipped out that night. I was freaking drunk and you just came up in one of our discussions and I couldn’t help myself. Jenny, you thought you could hide that bruise on your arm with makeup that weekend I stayed, but it didn’t help. I saw it.

“I kept trying to tell you to get rid of him but you seemed so stuck on him—like he was the only one that would love you. You were changing so much and I didn’t know how the hell to get through to you, so when I heard that Oscar was coming to Vegas for a fight that Drake was in, I wanted this to happen. I wanted you to run into Drake. So he could take you out of that shitty situation. He’s the only person I knew you’d actually stop and listen to, despite the past. Shane doesn’t deserve you. He’s a piece of shit.”

I look away. My eyes are hot and watery, but I focus on the counter, hoping it will clear my blurred vision. It doesn’t. I know Kylie saw. Deep down I figured she always knew, but Kylie is a good friend.

She tried to be subtle about it, but I needed Shane. He had the money I needed at the time. He was just there, and I used him, but in return I became his punching bag.

“And you think Drake is better?” I look up at her and Oscar. “We have no fucking idea where he is right now—what he’s doing—but you think he’s better?”

“Drake would never hurt you,” Kylie whispers, her voice cracking. Her face is so serious. “Even I know that.”

I drop my head, breathing shakily as I stare at my fingernails. “I know,” I whisper. Damn it. There’s nothing that can justify what Shane did to me. Nothing at all. He’s an asshole and he always will be.

I hear metal scrape across the floor and before I know it, Oscar is by my side. He wraps a hand over my shoulder and helps me down. “Let’s get you back to the hotel. You should rest. We’ll keep looking for Drake. Once we find him, we’ll bring him back to the hotel too.”

“I should keep looking with you guys,” I state quickly.

“Nah. It’s cool. Kylie is going to go back to the hotel with you. Preach and me will continue looking. I’m sure that dumbass twin of mine isn’t asleep yet so I’ll give him a call.”

“Okay.” I nod, but only because I really am tired. So tired that I can hardly think straight.

We walk through the casino and towards the exit. There are a few people with cameras outside. Knowing who I am, they snap pictures of all of us. Oscar holds up a hand to shield his face and Kylie clings to my side.

Oscar calls for a cab and when it comes, he lets us in. I slide across the seat and Kylie does the same. When we are settled, Oscar ducks down to look at us.

“You have a key to the room right, Jenny?”

I nod. “Yes.”

“Good.” He looks at Kylie and she presses her lips.

“You’ll find him. Drake is way too big to hide. I’m sure you’ll hear something from someone soon.”

“I guess.” He rubs his hands together. “All right.” He glances at the cab driver before focusing on us again. “Go straight to the hotel. No stops. Get there and relax. Try not to worry too much.” Oscar steps back, but not before giving Kylie a swift kiss.

When the door is shut, he tells the driver to take us straight to the Bellagio and then hands him a wad of money. Oscar dashes off without a second thought, whipping out his cellphone.

“I can’t believe all the craziness that has happened here.” Kylie rests the back of her head on the headrest.

“I know.” I sit back, looking out of the window. As each hotel passes by, I wonder more and more where Drake is. This city is huge. He could be anywhere now.

We’ve looked high and low in the Aria and we know in our guts that he isn’t there. So where could he be? I’m hoping he’s back at the hotel. That would save everyone a lot of trouble.