When Maddie runs from Parker out of fear for Lily’s safety, Parker must choose between the fighting life he loves, and the family he is desperate to bring back together.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews, fan-made graphics, and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons , living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

JJ Knight

www.jjknight.com

Chapter 1: Maddie

The blinking lights on the tip of the airplane wing are mesmerizing in their steady pulse, like a red heartbeat in the dark.

Around me, other people sleep, or chat, or listen to headphones. I stare at my ghostly reflection in the window and wait to land.

I’ve had plenty of time in the long flight from Flagstaff to think about all the ways my identity and relationship with Parker could have been discovered. The people who attacked us and kidnapped me know who I am now. They can come for me again. Or Lily. If I was important enough to capture for revenge on Parker, what would they do to his little girl?

It’s terrifying to know our efforts at privacy were useless. We tried so hard to keep me a secret. At the big fighting match, I stayed away from Parker when we were in public so no camera would catch us together.

But of course we walked around Vegas holding hands. We stood right in front of a wedding chapel, our intention obvious. For all I know, our picture is splashed on tons of gossip sites. I never look at those things.

The seat-belt light dings. Thank God. It should mean we’re starting our descent. I can see lights below now, a city approaching. I’ve disliked being cut off from messages while in flight. I hope Delores has safely arrived in Newark. Lily should be sleeping, although the novelty of staying in a hotel room might keep her up.

I’ve kept my phone in my hand despite knowing it is useless while we’re in the air. I wonder if there will be a flood of threats when I take it out of airplane mode, more messages from this mysterious person who knows who I am.

I’m torn between reading them and blocking the number. I fool around with the phone a little, still not totally sure how it works. The contacts are still empty. Those didn’t port over when Parker bought me this new plan.

The only messages are the ones I got this afternoon, all from Delores, Parker, and the mystery person. I make a contact for each one. As I scroll down to fill in the information, I see a field that I didn’t have on my old phone.

Block this Caller.

Is it that easy?

I touch my finger to the words and a confirmation box pops up. I won’t receive calls or messages from this contact. I press Block Contact.

The bottom option switches over to Unblock Contact. I press it and just like that, the contact isn’t blocked anymore.

How easy.

I block the mystery number again. That way messages won’t come through until I’m ready to see them. At least I assume that. Maybe they bounce back and I’ll never know about them at all. Should I risk that? I’m not sure what to do. Block or unblock?

I switch to Parker’s contact page. My finger hovers over the block option. I don’t think I can handle his continuing pleas. Or should I listen to what he has to say?

But I know the answer.

Nothing matters until I see Lily. Not until I feel safe and secure. Then I can let the messages come again. Maybe I can read them with someone who can help. A trusted friend who can let me sort through the threat.

But who in my life could I count on for something like this? Not Delores. She would freak out completely.

No one at work. I run through the list of moms I know. Nobody there, really. Maybe Amanda’s dad, Barry. Didn’t Parker say their son was taking kickboxing?

But if he overreacts, same problem as Delores. Police. Panic. A mess.

I’m not up for dealing with this. I quickly hit “Block this Caller” on Parker and confirm it. Then I stick the phone in my pocket.

The pilot tells us we’re a few minutes from Newark and instructs the flight attendants to prepare for landing. I tighten my seat belt and get ready myself.

* * *

The hotel door opens with a quiet click. Inside, the room is dim and flickering from the television turned down low. Delores is propped on the bed. Lily is tucked next to her, sleeping. She wears the pink boxing gloves that Parker gave her.

I tiptoe across the room and set my purse on the table.

“She almost made it,” Delores whispers. “Just conked out an hour ago.”

I nod and sit next to them. Lily’s hair has fallen across her face, and I push it back. She sleeps with such innocence, such ease. I don’t know if I can ever sleep that way again.

“Where are your bags?” Delores asks.

I freeze for a second, realizing all my things, including gifts for Lily, are back in Vegas. “Lost,” I say. “I got rerouted and the bags didn’t make it.”

Delores shakes her head. “I swear, these airlines are so incompetent these days.”

Exhaustion begins to take over. I have more aches than I realized before, pain across my shoulders, a throbbing headache.

“You going to explain why you wanted us to come to Newark?” Delores asks.

“Tomorrow,” I say and head to the second bed. Hopefully by then I will have figured out what to tell her.

“I know it has something to do with that fighter,” she says.

She’s a sharp woman. I’m going to have to do some serious tap dancing to avoid her knowing everything.

I kick off my shoes. “He won the fight,” I say.

“I saw that,” Delores says. “And I saw those skimpy little girls dressed like trollops holding up those signs between rounds.”

I shrug. “Part of it.”

“No wonder you’re all upset, if he’s hanging around people like that.”

She has no idea. But this seems as good a thing as any to let her believe.

“Girls crawl all over him,” I say.

“It’ll be worse now that he’s doing those big fights in Vegas,” she says. “I hope you’re not going to get mixed up in all that.”

I stick my legs beneath the covers. “I doubt it,” I say. “This is my home.”

Delores nods with approval. “Get some sleep. We’ll get back tomorrow.”

Despite my annoyance with her, she did come to the hotel, and I’m grateful. I keep my eyes on Lily until I’m too sleepy to keep them open anymore.

Chapter 2: Parker

It’s three in the morning before I land in New York. I have no choice but to take a cab all the way to Queens and Maddie’s house. Thankfully, since winning that fight in Vegas, I know I can afford it.

I thumb through all the messages that piled up on the flight. Colt made it to LA hours ago and is asking around about Lani. We’re pretty sure she’s the one who knows who Maddie is and might be threatening her enough to make her run.

Jo is keeping watch on our hotel rooms, although we don’t think Maddie is in Vegas anymore.

Maddie hasn’t replied to anything. This doesn’t surprise me.

I’ve done a lot of thinking on the plane. I feel like Lani must have talked to her brother and gotten some twisted version of what happened in Vegas. Then she got Maddie’s number, maybe from some old friend who still knows her. Lani and Maddie were never really friends, but we all ran with a similar crowd four years ago. That’s how I met Maddie to begin with.

If Lani sent some sort of threat, Maddie would have understandably freaked. Lani surely knew Maddie was pregnant back in the day. It wouldn’t take much to scare her if she brought up Lily.

We were naive to think we could keep Maddie out of all this. MMA is just too big, too popular. And I’ve made too many enemies.

I know as soon as we pull up to the house that nobody’s going to be there. Delores’s car is not in the drive. Even though I would expect all the lights to be off, the house feels abandoned.

“Can you wait here a minute?” I ask.

The taxi driver frowns. I hand him enough cash to more than cover the fare, in case he thinks I’m stiffing him.

“Just wait a second,” I say.

I go up to the house. I don’t know what I’m going to do exactly. I don’t have a key. I try the door. It’s locked. I walk around to the side where Maddie’s room is. I tap on the window. Nothing. I can’t see inside.

Hell. What do I do now?

I could get a hotel room, I guess.

But I don’t. I walk back around and lean into the taxi to grab my bag. “You can go. Thanks.”

“You sure?” Now he seems concerned about leaving me.

“Yeah. I forgot my key and didn’t want to wake anybody up. I found the spare hidden on the side of the house.” I hold up the key to my apartment in LA. The driver won’t know.

He nods and shifts the car back into gear.

I pull away and close the door. When he’s driven off, I leave my suitcase by the front door and walk around the house. I check under the flowerpots and rocks using my phone as a light, but I don’t find a spare. Figures.

All the windows are locked tight. Delores is thorough. I don’t want to scare anyone if I’m wrong and they are here. But I figure Maddie’s made everyone go somewhere. Whatever message she got really spooked her.

I head back around to the garage door. I know the garage is full and can’t hold a car. I also know the door is old and Delores probably doesn’t know how easy they can be to open. I glance up and down the street. Times like this it’s good to come from the wrong side of the tracks.

I don’t have a clothes hanger, but Delores has her long-dead tomato plants wired to little stakes. I pull out one of the thin metal poles. It’s just flexible enough. The weather stripping at the top of the door is dry and crumbling, so I don’t even have to pull it back. The metal goes in easily. After a bit of fumbling, I manage to hook the emergency latch. With a sharp pop, I release it. Then the door rolls right up.

I’m in.

Of course, that means anybody else could get in too. I’ll zip-tie the latch before I leave so no one else can use that trick.

I lower the door back down. The streetlight through the garage-door windows helps me navigate my way through the boxes and discarded furniture. I pause for a moment by a white crib. I never got to place Lily in it. I missed all those years.

The door to the house is unlocked, as I expected. The kitchen is quiet. There are dishes in the sink, however, and that isn’t like Delores. They must have left more quickly than she anticipated or she would have washed them first.

I pause in the hallway, listening. The house is utterly quiet except for the ticking of a clock. The door to Lily’s room is open, another sign no one is there. I walk toward it with careful light steps and peer in.

Her bed is made, stuffed animals lined up on her pillow.

A quick check confirms that both Delores’s and Maddie’s rooms are empty. They’ve gone.

I head to the front door and pull my suitcase in the house. I don’t know if I should wait here or if that will scare them when they return.

If they return.

I go back to the kitchen. Delores made spaghetti. Looks like they ate it. I think back to when Maddie might have called. She left us midafternoon in Vegas. Right at dinnertime here. Delores was probably cooking, or they were eating, when Maddie told them to leave. Still seems pretty dramatic to go like that. Damn it, who is getting to her?

I go back to Lily’s room and open the dresser drawers. Still lots of clothes. They didn’t pack much. So they didn’t plan to be gone long.

Or didn’t have time.

I try to stuff down my panic. Nobody could have gotten here much faster than me.

Although Striker could have friends in New York.

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