Engaging (Alluring Book 2) (32 page)

Mase and Gage arrived at what looked like an abandoned building, about a half hour before the fights were scheduled to start. 

After dropping Scott at Allure, they'd had a few hours to kill, so they stopped for a late lunch at a small Chinese restaurant.  Mase knew the owner, so they ate in the kitchen out of the view of prying eyes.

While waiting for their meal, Gage called Laurie, and she informed him that Logan had arrived home safely and that Cassie was asleep, yet again, after taking another dose of painkillers.

"We probably should've stopped at my house, to change my shirt.  I kind of stand out in my jersey." 

They were in the Escalade, parked in the nearly empty parking lot, waiting for people to arrive for the fight.  Gage wasn't sure what to expect and pondered how they would get in if it were an invitation only event.  His only hope was that their notoriety would get them through. 

He shared his thoughts with Mase.  "It might come in handy, getting us through the door."

Mase nodded his head.  "True, didn't think of that.  Not exactly sure what we're planning on doing once we get in there, though."

Gage shrugged.  "Don't really have much of a plan.  Just thought we'd hang out until the cops show up to arrest everyone, then sit back and enjoy the show.  The only reason I'm here is to make sure the dogs get taken somewhere safe and that Cassie is notified when they're ready to be released.  This whole thing started because she wanted to save the dogs, so I'm finishing it by saving those damn dogs."

They watched the parking lot fill, and people disappear into the building.  Mase turned to Gage.  "Shall we get this show on the road?"

Gage opened the car door.  "Let's do it."

Chapter Twenty-six

It turned out to be surprisingly easy to gain entrance.  All they had to do was give the bouncer at the door a hundred bucks each, and they were in.  They wandered around a bit, taking in the sights.  Gage eyed the ring in the center of the room.  It was like a typical boxing ring, only low to the ground and it had chains attached to the four corner poles.  Gage could hear dogs barking distantly in the background that confirmed one-hundred percent, they were in the right place. 

They bought beers to look less conspicuous and strolled around the perimeter of the room.  Mase got stopped a few times by fans to chat about the upcoming season, and Gage was fawned over by a few groupies.

Gage heard the screech of a microphone and looked to where he had seen a podium set up a few feet from the boxing ring.  Standing behind the microphone, dressed in a suit and tie, was a shortish guy who looked to be in his mid-thirties.  The suit looked cheap and ill-fitting, like it wasn't his usual attire and unfortunately for him, his yellow tie clashed horribly with his purple shirt.

He raised his arms to get everyone's attention (as if the purple shirt and yellow tie didn't already do that) and spoke into the microphone.  "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome.  We'll be starting shortly, so if you haven't already done so, please see Mike," he pointed to a guy sitting at a desk at the side of the room, "and place your wagers."

The crowd cheered, and he made a down motion with his hands for silence.  "But first, to whet your appetite, we have a real treat for you."  The crowd started cheering again and with a huge smile on his face, purple-shirt guy let this go on for a few minutes before again putting a stop to it.  "Our little Miss Roxy is in heat."

Gage watched as a bikini-clad blond walked with a pit bull (presumably Roxy) to the ring.  Roxy had a muzzle over her snout and tugged so hard on her leash, she made bikini girl stagger on her red, high-heeled shoes. 

The MC waited for bikini girl to clip Roxy to one of the chains in the ring before he continued speaking.  "And to fight over her are Roscoe and Chaos.  Bring them out boys."

Two tall, muscular guys in jeans and matching black T-shirts that had
Fight Night
printed across the front came out, each holding the leash of an agitated pit bull.  They entered the ring at separate corners, clipping their dogs to chains, and removing the leashes.

Gage hadn't known much about dog fighting before Cassie, but after having several informative conversations with her over the last few weeks, he, unfortunately, knew what would happen next.

The MC counted down from three, the handlers let go of the chains, and the dogs lunged at each other.  Gage dropped his head to stare at his feet not wanting to see the events unfold.  The noises were bad enough.  He heard Mase swear under his breath, letting out a hiss and mumbling something about motherfuckers.

Then all hell broke loose.  Cops swarmed the building.  People scattered, jostling him in the process, nearly knocking him off his feet.  Gage looked around.  The place was in pandemonium.  People raced to the back exit, shoving each other aside, trying to squeeze through. 

The dogs were left unattended.  Gage leaned over and yelled in Mase's ear.  "You grab one chain, I'll grab the other.  Let's get those dogs separated."

Mase nodded his understanding before running around the ring and picking up the chain.  Gage ran to the opposite corner and did the same.  They each pulled on the chains until Roscoe and Chaos (he wasn't sure which he had) were separated and in their own opposite corners.

Gage looked to the third corner.  Roxy, the bait dog, laid on her side, panting heavily.  At first he didn't see anything wrong with her, but then he noticed a small pool of blood forming under her abdomen.

Gage wrapped the chain he held several times around the pole, shortening it enough to hold his dog back before whipping his T-shirt over his head and heading to Roxy.  He ripped his T-shirt down the front, lengthening the material, hoping it was long enough to tie around Roxy's belly.

Mase, seeing his intent, wrapped the excess chain around his pole, then went over to help Gage lift the injured dog. 

"We need to get out of here and find her some help," Gage said, lifting Roxy into his arms.  "Get on the phone and find a local 24-hour emergency vet."

They reached the main doors, and several cops blocked their exit.  Gage looked around, trying to spot Officer Cruz. 

One of the cops grabbed Mase's arm.  "Hey, now," Mase said, trying to take a step back.

"Yo buddy, you're under arrest."  The cop gave Mase a disgusted look.  "And it pisses me off that a national figure like you would condone something like this."  The cop gave a nod of his head to the room at large.

Mase held up his free arm.  "Woo, woo, woo, you've got it all wrong, man."

"That's what they all say."  The cop gave Mase's arm another tug.

Before things could get out of control, Gage turned to the officer standing by him.  "Officer Cruz knows why we're here.  Can you find him?"  The cop gave him a suspicious look.  "Listen, we don't have much time to waste.  She's in bad shape."  Gage tilted his head to Roxy.  "Please go find Officer Cruz to straighten this mess out."  Gage hoped by playing nice things would get done faster.

His calmness was rewarded when the cop looked down at Roxy, nodded, then took off, presumably to look for Cruz.  Gage turned his attention to Mase.  "Chill, man, this will get straightened out in a minute."

He watched Mase relax, and in turn, the cop at his side relaxed a little as well.  The cop also didn't look quite as aggressive as he did a minute ago.  Hopefully, he realized they weren't the bad guys.

"You've got a lot of nerve, asking for me Hunter," Gage heard Cruz say, from behind him.

The cop beside Mase stood up straighter and it also looked as though his hold on Mase grew tighter.  This was confirmed when he heard Mase say, "Lighten up, man, I'm not going anywhere."

"Our friend, Beckett, had to be taken to the hospital.  What do I do if he wants to press charges?"

"I don't give a fuck what you do so long as that asshole ends up behind bars for what he did to Cassie."

Cruz shook his head then nodded to Roxy.  "What have you got there?"

"She was injured during the fight.  I'm taking her to a vet."

"Okay, go."  Cruz gave the cop holding Mase a nod, and the cop let go of Mase's arm.

Gage started to leave, then stopped.  He had one last question.  He turned back to Cruz.  "You called someone to have all the dogs picked up?"

"Yeah, called Animal Control, they should be here soon."

Gage gave Cruz a nod of acknowledgment before heading out the door.  He'd call Animal Control in the morning, but for now he needed to get the girl in his arms some help.

Gage pulled up in front of the ranch house.  The sun was just starting to come up, and he was bone tired.  He turned toward the passenger seat and the curled-up, sleeping Roxy.  Thank goodness her injuries weren't as bad as they seemed.  She had been bit low on the abdomen resulting in two punctures and a small laceration that only required a few stitches.  She would be okay.

Gage had also checked in with Cruz while he waited at the vet.  Animal Control had come and picked up all the dogs.  There had been twenty-two in total, so Cassie hadn't been too far off the mark.  They also arrested three of the five known ringleaders of the operation with hopes of picking up the last two, soon.  From the amount of information they had received from the ones already in custody, Cruz said, their hopes were high.  He also promised to keep Gage posted on any new developments, including his own pending arrest.  Gage had chuckled but wasn't entirely sure by Cruz's tone if he'd been kidding or not.

Gage opened the car door, waking Roxy.  She picked up her head, looking at him.  He reached over and scratched her behind the ear.  "You ready to go meet your new mamma?"  

Roxy shakily got to her feet and gingerly crossed the center console, ending her journey in Gage's lap. 

"I've got you, baby girl," Gage muttered into Roxy's ear as he jumped from the SUV and slammed the door with his foot.  Roxy licked him on the side of the face next to his ear.

Gage reached in his front pocket and pulled out the house keys while keeping his hold on Roxy, being careful of her stitches.  The house was silent when he walked in.  Even Logan wasn't awake yet.  He quietly made his way to Cassie's room and silently shut the bedroom door before advancing to the bed.  He set Roxy down at its foot, and she did a turning in a circle move before settling down and going back to sleep.

He looked down at Cassie.  She appeared to be sleeping peacefully, lying on her back with her casted arm up over her head.  Some of the swelling on her face had gone down, but the bruising was now more pronounced.  It had turned a deeper shade of purple.

He stripped off his clothes and headed to the bathroom to take a shower.  It had been a long night, and he was exhausted.  He chuckled to himself thinking back on his younger years, playing shows then staying up until the wee hours and doing that night after night.  Now, he couldn't wait to crawl into bed every night, just to hold Cassie in his arms. 

He sighed as the hot spray penetrated to his scalp and thought about his future.  He'd never wanted to think about his future before.  Cassie had always been a part of that dream, and not having her made the thought of his future bleak.  But now that she was his, a future was finally something he could look forward to. 

Gage stopped short as he exited the bathroom.  Cassie sat, back resting against the headboard of the bed, Roxy curled in her lap.  He adjusted the towel at his waist as he took a step closer to the bed.

"Who's this?" She asked, softly stroking Roxy's head.

"How are you feeling?"  He sat at her feet, laying a hand on her leg.

"I'm okay.  The painkillers seem to help."

"Do you need some more?"

"Not yet.  Who's this?"  She asked, again.

Gage rubbed her leg.  "That's Roxy."

Cassie nodded then said, "Why don't you tell me a story about Roxy and what you did last night."

And so he did.  He told her everything and by the end she was a teary mess.  "Thank you," she said, a sob escaping before she could stop it.  "Thank you for saving the dogs."

Gage leaned forward, wiping the tears off the good side of her face with his thumb.  "Ah, Sunshine, don't you get it?  I'd do anything to make you happy."

* * * * *

Cassie felt her heart swell, almost to bursting, with love for the man sitting in front of her.  She knew he went after Jeremy Beckett because he wanted to, but he had saved all the dogs for
her
. 

She didn't know how to express all that she was feeling for him, other than to say, "I love you so very, very much."

She watched as Gage closed his eyes and slowly lowered his head.  His hair fell forward, shielding his face.  He gave her leg a tight squeeze before picking his head back up and opening his eyes to look at her.  "Feels like I've waited a lifetime to hear you say those words and mean them.  I love you too, Sunshine, so very, very much."

* * * * *

By the end of the weekend, Gage noticed Cassie moving around a bit better.  The swelling was gone from her face, but the bruising looked worse and had spread to new areas.  The whole right side of her body was purple and every time Gage saw it, he wanted to beat the shit out of Beckett all over again.