Mason:Inked Reapers MC(87)

       
           



       



"What's the brand called?"



"Sorry?" He turned in annoyance, frowning, to face her.



"The brand," Kait repeated. "That makes the sports drink."



"You wouldn't know them," Carl waved a dismissive hand at her.



"Try me."



"That's it!" Jasper stood up with an exasperated sigh. "All this talk about drinks is making me need to pee."



He headed off in the direction of the bathroom, leaving Kait alone with Carl.



"You ask a lot of questions," he told her flatly.



"I'm inquisitive."



"So it would seem."



"Mind if I try some of your miracle sports drink?" Kait gestured to the plastic bottles.



"Look," Carl narrowed his gaze on her, his nostrils flaring. "I'm not  entirely sure what your angle is, but all I care about is getting Jasper  to win his next fight. He risks losing everything if he can't claim  back his title."



"I know that."



"So maybe stop giving me the third degree over a damn drink and actually  support him, since that's apparently what you're here to do."



Kait could feel her cheeks burning. She'd only ever been supportive of Jasper, hadn't she?



"Hey," Jasper smiled as he strode back towards them. "What did I miss?"





Chapter 88



That night, Jasper slept deeply. The moment his head hit the pillow, it  was lights out. Kait sat up beside him, her iPad in her hands. Something  was bothering her about her encounter with Carl at the gym. The guy was  creepy for sure, but there was something else. With swift moves of her  fingertips she entered Carl's full name  –  Carl Santino.



The search pulled up a load of web pages. It seemed Carl had enjoyed a  prolific career with his clients. Kait leaned back against the soft  pillows and began to browse through the numerous entries. She wasn't  even sure what she was looking for; she just wanted to have a  well-informed image of Carl in her mind.



It was around one in the morning when Kait came to the conclusion that  Carl's career followed a similar pattern. He took on new, upcoming  fighters, guided them to the pinnacle of their discipline, and then  their careers took a nose dive. There were countless losses. And when  they were at their lowest, Carl walked away. Time and again, this had  happened. He didn't have a single client who remained at the top of  their game. The more Kait looked, the more she wondered if this was just  some weird fluke or if something more sinister was going on. Beside  her, Jasper slept peacefully, oblivious to her mounting concerns.  Whatever Carl's deal was, Kait was certain that he wasn't to be trusted.  She just needed to make Jasper see that.





Chapter 89



"Babe, you're being paranoid," Jasper dismissed Kait's findings the next morning as they sat eating an omelet together.



"But I'm not," she insisted, shoving her iPad in his face. "All of his clients go on a downward spiral, and none recover!"



"You're just looking for reasons to dislike him," Jasper noted as he  shoved a forkful of cooked egg into his mouth. "When really you just  don't get on with him and that's fine. Carl is definitely an acquired  taste."



"Jasper, please, I think that there is something more going on here. Something we need to be worried about."



"Kait," he sighed wearily as he said her name. "Maybe you're right,  maybe something strange is going on with Carl, but I can't think about  that right now. My next big fight is tomorrow night, and I have to win.  That's all I can focus on right now, understand?"



"Yeah," Kait nodded and drew her iPad back to her chest. "I know how important this next fight is."



"Good. And you'll be there, right?"



"Of course," Kait smiled.



"No sitting up in the nose bleed section, I want you right at the front!"



Kait tensed, but managed to grin widely at her boyfriend. The thought of  being close enough to smell the blood that was shed turned her stomach,  but she wasn't about to admit that to him. She'd sit on the front row  and perfectly play the part of the adoring girlfriend because that's  what Jasper needed.



"And I'm going to win!" Jasper enthused. "I'm feeling strong!" He flexed  an impressively large bicep to prove his point. "Just you wait! You'll  be cheering for me so hard you'll lose your voice!"



Jasper seemed fired up and full of excited energy. Kait liked seeing him  like that. There was something charming about his confidence. Kait  wanted nothing more than to see him triumph at his next match. All he  needed was a win to get back on top, and then he could start thinking  about pulling away from the sport which was slowly starting to cripple  his body.                       
       
           



       



"I can't wait to see you win," Kait smiled lovingly at him.



"Thanks, babe," Jasper was still grinning as he reached over and  squeezed her hand. "And I'm sorry you don't like Carl, but he's really  not so bad once you get to know him."



"Mmm," Kait made a non-committal noise. She was certain that the more  she got to know Carl Santino the less she'd like him. The guy had only  ever been rude to her, and now she couldn't shake the feeling that,  despite protests to the contrary, he didn't actually have Jasper's best  interests at all  –  that he actually might have a hand in orchestrating  his downfall.





Chapter 90



Kait ignored the ache behind her eyes and continued to stare at the  screen of the laptop which was resting upon her knees. She was back in  her own apartment with just hours to go before Jasper's big fight. She'd  told him she wanted to head home to change, but really she wanted a  chance to search for more information about Carl Santino and the strange  energy drink he kept feeding to Jasper.



She researched tasteless energy drinks and found nothing conclusive.  Then she researched banned energy drinks and struggling to find anything  that fit the description of what Carl was giving Jasper. It looked and  tasted like water, but then why was Carl so against Jasper actually  consuming plain old H2O? It made no sense and left Kait feeling baffled.



Her head started to throb from the onslaught of information she was  presenting it with. She felt like she was trying to put together a  jigsaw with half of the pieces missing. If only she had enough to just  get a glimpse of the whole picture, she'd know what to do.



The sound of her phone ringing made her jump. Pulling her gaze away from the brightly lit laptop screen, Kait answered the call.



"Hey."



"Hey, babe," Jasper sounded achingly close on the other end of the line.



"Hey, handsome. How are you holding up?"



"I'm feeling good." She could hear the enthusiasm and determination in  Jasper's voice. He was a man on a mission. She almost pitied the guy  who'd be stepping into the ring with him later.



"Are you nearly finished at your place?" Jasper asked hopefully. "I was  kind of thinking we could head over to the venue together."



Smiling Kait stood up, all thoughts of investigating Carl and his  mysterious drink now abandoned. Jasper's words made her feel special. He  wanted her there with him, wanted her ringside cheering him on. She was  finally in the coveted position of girlfriend, and she loved it. It  almost felt like a shame to taint it with all her suspicions about  Jasper's agent.



"I just need to wriggle in to some clean jeans, and I'll be right over."



"Mmm," Jasper murmured on the other end of the line.



"What?"



"Just picturing you wriggling in to your jeans, that's all!"



"Jasper!" Kait was blushing profusely.



"Hey, it's a good mental image," Jasper defended himself with a light laugh.



"I'm not sure it is," Kait countered, "but I'll be at your place soon."





Chapter 91



"Feeling ready, champ?" Carl asked, leaning against the kitchen counter as Jasper hung up the phone.



"You bet," Jasper was brimming with energy. He had to bounce on the spot just to stop himself from climbing the walls.



"Shall we get going then?" Carl suggested, straightening.



"We're just waiting on Kait."



Carl checked his watch and released a sharp intake of breath.



"We're cutting it pretty fine."



"We've got hours yet," Jasper waved a dismissive hand in his agent's direction.



"If you say so," Carl narrowed his lips in to a tight line.



"Yeah. I want her to head over with us," Jasper insisted with a nod.



"Well, you're the boss," Carl noted with a twinge of sarcasm. "While we  wait, help me load some of your energy drinks in to the car."