Takedown (17 page)

Chapter 22

“I’m going to New Orleans,” Meg told Alec who was sitting across her at the table. She had invited him over at this coffee shop so she could tell him about her real condition. She thought he deserved to know so he would not be expecting anything from her.

Alec peered at her face as if to make sure she was serious. “Why?”

“I just want to get away.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Is it true?”

“What?”

“The tabloid?”

She massaged her forehead. That tabloid gossip had been plaguing her for two days now.

“Is it really Travis Rockwood?” he asked.

She shook her head. “No.”

“Then it’s not true?”

She didn’t answer.

“Would you like to talk about it?”

She looked into his eyes. He was waiting for an explanation, and she felt he deserved to be enlightened of these mysteries.

“A month and a half ago, I…” She sighed. Fuck, this was embarrassing. “I spent a week with this man. It was over after that, but I didn’t expect…”

He nodded. “Who is he?”

She sighed again. “Blaze Rockwood.”

His jaw dropped. “So it’s the brother?”

She nodded, and the more that his jaw dropped in surprise.

He laughed, at first unsure of what to say. “Does he know?”

She shook her head.

“Why don’t you tell him?”

“I don’t want him to know.”

“Why not?”

“Because he might take the baby from me.”

He stroked his forehead. “Eventually, he’d learn about it.”

“He won’t. I’m leaving next week.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“I have no choice.” Her voice cracked as she tried to hold back her tears. “I have to leave before things become even more complicated.”

“The tabloid says Travis is the father. You don’t have to run away from Blaze now.”

“It’s not just Blaze that I want to run away from. I’m more concerned with Bryan’s family. They were probably shocked to learn that I had an affair with the man who killed my boyfriend.”

He sighed and reached across the table to hold her hand. “Don’t leave, Meg. I have a proposition for you. Maybe we can fix this.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“…I can tell the press the child is mine.”

“What?!” she gasped. “And ruin you?”

“You won’t. We’re both single. There’s nothing wrong about that. And most of all, I’m not at all acquainted with your ex-boyfriend. His family won’t have anything to say about that.”

For a long moment, she was silent, pondering about his suggestion.

He had a point. If she claimed that he was the father of her child, then all of this would die down.

“It’s not fair for you, Alec. You don’t have to do this.”

He gently squeezed her hand. “I want to. I’ll marry you if you want. I will treat the baby as my own. Blaze will never have to know the truth.”

Tears welled in her eyes as he stared at his face. Why was everyone proposing to marry her for the child?

Alec seemed really serious, but what about the condition between Travis and Blaze?

Oh, fuck. She had opened up to Alec hoping he’d help her ease her worries. Now, he’d made things even more complicated.

*****

“Mister Rockwood!” the receptionist exclaimed as Blaze walked into the building. “What can I do for you?”

He stood before the young woman, trying hard to conceal his anger. His heart was still pounding viciously after Chuck told him about the rumor that Travis was not the father of Megan’s child, and that a certain man named Alec McGuire had publicly claimed the child as his.

He shouldn’t give a damn about her, but he couldn’t help it. She’d better give him a good explanation or he’d wring her neck until she squealed out the truth.

“I need to see Megan Riley right away. It’s urgent.”

“Meg’s at the second floor. Should I call her over?”

“No, I’ll go see her myself,” he said and headed for the stairs.

He walked along the corridor. The walls were made of glass so it was easy to see who was inside. Eventually, he spotted her standing beside a photocopy machine. He barged in and grabbed her arm.

She screamed as he whirled her around. She was about to hit him with the pile of papers in her hand when she suddenly recognized him. “What are you doing here?” she barked, and everyone in the room turned to look at them.

“We have to talk,” he gnarled the words out.

“I’m working.”

He grabbed the papers in her hand and threw it away. “Right now,” he said and pulled her out of the room.

He found the next room empty. It looked like a stockroom. Several boxes were piled up in the corner.

He pushed her inside and shut the door closed.

“Who the hell is Alec McGuire?” he asked.

She was literally gasping, cowering against the boxes. A proof of her guilt.

“Answer me!” he snarled.

“He’s the man you saw me with.”

Instantly, he remembered that man who once dropped her in front of her house—her ex-boyfriend.

“Is he the father?”

She did not answer, which only heightened his anger.

“Just exactly how many are we in your life, Meg?” he growled. “Is there a fourth one? Are you even certain who the father of your child is?”

She looked away. The more that she kept her silence, the angrier he got.

Suddenly, he grabbed her arms and shook her hard, forcing her to look back at him. “Tell me the truth,” he growled. “Are you sure it’s Travis?”

She tried to wriggle free, but he tightened his grip on her arms. “It’s none of your business,” she shrieked.

“It is my goddamn business. That baby could be mine.”

“If I had any doubts as to who the father is, you’re the least likely to be.”

It felt like a boulder came crashing down on him. For another time, his heart was breaking, so badly he wanted to rip her chest open with his bare hands and squeeze her heart out so she’d know exactly how much she had hurt him.

“Of all the bitches in the world, you’re the worst,” he rasped and dropped his hands. “I feel sorry for Bryan. He was better off dead than married to someone like you.”

With that, he walked out of the room. He never looked back. That should be the last of her in his life. He never wanted to see even a glimpse of her face ever again.

Chapter 23

“He called me a bitch.” Megan lowered herself on the floor and buried her face in between her bent knees. She hated to cry, but she couldn’t stop her tears from flowing.

Right after Blaze left the room, Candace came over to find out what happened.

“I’ve called you a bitch a lot of times before,” Candace said, stroking her back. “You didn’t mind.”

“It’s not the same coming from him,” Megan replied, sobbing.

“Meg, get over it. He just doesn’t understand. After the fight, you can tell him everything.”

“I don’t want to tell him anything. Not after he called me a bitch.”

“Oh, God. Don’t you think you’re overreacting?”

Megan quickly lifted her head. She knew her friend thought it was a minor thing, but if she only knew the emotional damage it cost her. “You don’t understand, because your boyfriend never called you a bitch.”

“Well, Blaze’s not your boyfriend. He never was.”

Her lips trembled. That was fucking true. Blaze was never her boyfriend. The realization that he was never hers hurt her even more.

She heard footsteps on the porch. When she looked up, Ryder was standing by the door, glaring at her.

She froze. That kind of look on his face was one thing she never wanted to see. The last time he was that mad, his loud roars filled the whole building.

“Get out,” he told Candace.

Candace hesitated and glanced at Megan, but eventually left the room.

Megan rose to her feet and wiped her tears. This man was as frightening as Blaze. His nostrils were literally flaring.

Ryder stepped closer to her. “All I asked you to do was to keep your mouth shut,” he scolded.

She sucked in a breath to clear her airways. This man had used her enough to get his way. It was time she defended herself. “Why should I keep my mouth shut while you’ve completely ruined me?”

“I did nothing to ruin you.”

“You used me. You used my brother. You’ve got what you wanted. Now, leave us alone.”

“Do you know what happened?!” he roared so loud Candace peered in the door to check on her. “Blaze just withdrew from the fight.”

She gasped, stunned by what he said.

“So what are you going to do about that, huh?” Ryder bent lower to peer at her face. “I invested millions for this fucking fight to take place. It took me months to convince him to come back, and in once second, you ruined it.”

She shrank back, but the boxes behind her left her no place to run. “That’s not my fault.”

“Not your fault?” he bellowed. “You just caused him to withdraw.”

“I just told him he’s not the father of my baby. So what’s that have to do with it?”

“Fuck, you just don’t get it, do you?” He clasped his fists, as if he was trying very hard to keep himself from strangling her. “Miss Riley, I want you to fix this. If you can’t bring Blaze to the fight, I guarantee you, I’ll ruin your life like how you’ve ruined mine,” he said and turned away.

Ruin her life? He’d already done that. And it’s not like his life was ruined by the loss of a few millions.

“Fuck you,” she screamed as Ryder stepped out of the door. “I’m leaving this company right now and I’m never coming back.”

He ignored her and continued forward.

*****

“Just a second,” Meg said as she ran down the stairs to answer the door. It was ten in the evening, so that must be one of Josh’s friends.

She tightened the waistband of her robe to hide her skimpy night dress underneath it before she pulled the door open. She found a visitor she had not expected to see again.

She gasped. “B-blaze?” She could only utter his name.

He smiled, even if it was only a faint one, something that she had not expected. This was the exact opposite of what he looked like the last time he confronted her. The demon that had possessed him that time had left his body.

“Is your brother there?” he asked in a low, soft voice.

Her heart skipped. He looked so gorgeous standing at her door. Like a prince who had come to rescue her.

Even in a black sweatshirt and faded jeans, he still looked stunning. She missed him. If she could, she’d throw her arms around his neck and kiss him. But things weren’t how it was before. There was a gap between them that neither one of them should cross.

“Yes,” she nodded. “You want to come in?”

She moved aside and he stepped in.

“I won’t stay long,” he said. “I just dropped by to bring Josh some good news.”

“Oh.” She forced out a smile. “I’ll go get him.”

“Hey, babe?”

She stopped at the foot of the stairs. Who was that?

She looked up and found Travis coming down the stairs, wearing one of Josh’s night robe.

Holy shit! What is he doing?

“What’s taking you so long?” Travis asked. “I’m getting really hard over here—Oops.” He stopped when he spotted Blaze.

With eyes wide open, she turned to look at Blaze. He didn’t look shocked as she was, but he was glaring at Travis.

Her knees shook, afraid that Blaze would blow up and tear everything and everyone in the house.

What was Travis thinking? How did he even come into her house without her knowledge?

“I see you’ve got a visitor,” Travis, oblivious of the tension between her and Blaze, said and turned back up the stairs. “I’ll wait for you in bed.”

She wished she could say something. She wanted to yell at the son of a bitch, but she was too shocked to speak.

“B-blaze,” she finally uttered. She wanted to explain, needed to, but his smoldering gray eyes had frightened her off her wits.

He stayed right where he was, as if waiting for her to say something. When she didn’t say a word, he stepped back. “Tell Josh Chuck wants to meet him tomorrow,” he said and walked away.

Holding back the tears in her eyes, she watched him leave.

“He gone?” Travis asked, peeking from above the stairs.

She clenched her knuckles and stormed up the stairs. “Asshole!” She pounded his chest, but he just rolled his eyes as if he felt nothing.

“Could you do that on my back? It’s good for a massage.”

Growling in anger, she pushed him away. “What did you do that for?”

“Getting him back to fight me, what else?”

“You made me look like a slut.”

“As if you aren’t already.”

“Fuck you!” she bellowed. “How the hell did you get in here?”

“Long before you came.”

She spotted Josh who was standing outside his room. “Did you both plan this?” she accused.

“No,” Josh promptly denied.

“You knew all along that Blaze was coming here tonight, do you? And you set me up?”

“I didn’t know what Travis was up to.”

“Then why did you not say a word?”

“You never said a word either, Meg,” Josh replied. “If you did, I would have come out to your defense.”

Meg was speechless. Blaze had given her the opportunity to explain. He had waited for a few seconds, but she kept quiet. Why?

Cussing, she stormed into her room and slammed the door closed.

“Are you not going to thank me?” Travis said loudly at her door. “I just solved your problem.”

“Leave me alone,” she yelled and kicked the door, and then she remembered what Blaze had told her.

She pulled the door open and found the two men still standing there. She looked at her brother. “Blaze told me Chuck wants to meet you tomorrow.”

Josh’s eyes widened in surprise. “Really? Why?”

“I don’t know.”

Travis grabbed Josh’s arm. “Black Clan’s taking you in.”

“Woah?” Josh grinned and high-fived Travis.

As the two celebrated, she slammed the door closed. She should be happy if that was the case, but she was too upset to feel any of that.

She threw herself on the bed and sobbed.

Why didn’t she say anything to Blaze? Why did she just let him leave without saying a word?

She rolled to her back and wiped her tears. So what if she tried to explain? Would that change anything? Would she take him back in her life and live happily ever after with him? Would he take her back?

No. Such was a fantasy that can only happen in her dream.