Mason:Inked Reapers MC(88)

With a reluctant sigh, Jasper agreed, and Carl opened up the fridge to  pull out the cooled beverages, all in plain plastic sports bottle, the  liquid clear.



"Where are these from exactly?" Jasper turned over one of the bottles in his hand, scrutinizing its contents.



"You don't need to worry about that," Carl brushed off the question as he walked past him towards the front door.



"Just answer the question," Jasper said tightly, remaining by the refrigerator and not following Carl.                       
       
           



       



"Jasper, you trust me, don't you?" Carl's gaze was level.



"Of course."



"These drinks are the best money can buy. They keep you hydrated and energized. What more could you want?"



"Kait just seemed suspicious of them; that's all," Jasper explained quietly.



"How long have you known her?" Carl asked. "Six months?"



Jasper shrugged. It was around that, but he didn't want to give Carl the  satisfaction of being right. Carl loved being right. It was one of his  less admirable qualities of which there were admittedly many.



"And how long have you known me? Over ten years."



Jasper could only nod in silent agreement.



"Trust me, Jasper," Carl insisted. "I've led you this far and have never steered you astray, have I?"



"I trust you," Jasper walked towards the door, clapping Carl on the back as he passed him by.





Chapter 92



The drive over to the venue had been tense. Kait hadn't expected Carl to  be there, but he'd suddenly become Jasper's shadow. Whenever Jasper  went, Carl followed. It was starting to get more than a little bit  irritating. Kait would have liked to have been alone with Jasper before  his big fight, but it didn't look like that was going to happen.



The car slid in to the already busy car park of the venue. At the far  end, a huge poster had both opponents giving steely stares out towards  the spectators as they walked in. Jasper's muscles glistened and bulged  on the poster as he stood with his arms folded. He looked like a Greek  God rather than a mere man.



"Urgh, I hate those promotional posters," Jasper protested as he looked up and clocked his own image staring down at him.



"They bring in the money though," Carl countered. "Sponsors love a winner, especially if he's photogenic."



And Jasper was definitely photogenic. Kait felt a surge of pride as she  looked up at the poster and realized that it was her boyfriend staring  down at her. How many women would come to the fight and admire him,  wishing he was theirs?



"I can't believe how busy it is," Jasper commented as the car passed  across the car park and headed around the back of the building, away  from the gathering masses of fans.



"People are keen to see you get back on top," Carl explained with a  smile. He was almost rubbing his hands together. Kait was starting to  see how Carl only saw Jasper as a commodity - a way to make money.



"Is your knee feeling better?" Kait asked Jasper with concern.



"Of course it is," Carl quickly answered for him. "He's Jasper Duboix,  he's more machine than man, and he's going to own it tonight!"



With the car parked, Jasper and Kait climbed out and headed straight for  the dressing room, leaving Carl to collect up items from the car.



"Is your knee really okay?" Kait whispered anxiously as they walked hand in hand, finally having a moment alone.



"Yeah," Jasper nodded. "It's feeling much better."



"Good," Kait gave his hand a squeeze. "All I care about is that you're okay, remember that?"



"I know, sweetheart," Jasper softly kissed her lips as they reached his  dressing room door. A laminated piece of card bearing his name had been  crudely tacked to the door.



Jasper was busy stretching when Carl walked in, laden down by numerous  bottles of his infamous sports drink. Kait leapt off the sofa and  hurried over to him.



"I bought Jasper some water," she gestured to the branded bottles lined  up on the side which she'd discreetly shoved in to her handbag before  leaving her apartment. "He doesn't need the sports drink."



"Of course he needs the sports drink," Carl said tersely as he pushed past her.



"But I read online that the electrolytes can interfere with his pain  medication," Kait stated factually. It was a lie, but Carl hopefully  wouldn't know that. He frowned as he placed down the sports drinks.



"Is that true?" Jasper ceased stretching and looked up expectantly at  his agent. "I don't want to take anything that could interfere with my  pain meds."



"It's not true."



"It is," Kait quickly insisted, grabbing a bottle of water and passing  it to Jasper. "You should only drink water with the medication you're  on. It said so online."



Satisfied with this response, Jasper popped the top of the bottle and began drinking from it.



"I've never heard that," Carl scoffed.                       
       
           



       



"Better to be safe than sorry though, right?" Kait gave him a sickly sweet smile as he glared at her hatefully.





Chapter 93



Kait's seat for the big fight was on the front row but on the opposite  side of the ring of Jasper's corner. Around her, people were already  taking their seats. The air buzzed with excited energy.



The parting kiss Jasper had given her still tingled on Kait's lips. Her  heart hammered nervously in her chest as she thought about him preparing  for the fight just a few feet away from her and the gathering crowd.  With the lights still up, she could take in how large the venue truly  was. Normally she was up in the higher seats, away from the action. Here  on the front row, she risked being splashed by any sweat and blood that  was spilled.



Looking around, she spotted a nervous looking woman who was presumably  the girlfriend of Jasper's opponent placed on the other side of the  ring. She had dyed blonde hair and kept glancing around anxiously. She  appeared to be just as worried as Kait was. The thought of potentially  seeing your other half get beaten up was a most unsettling one. Kait  doubted she'd ever get used to it.



As she sat waiting for the fight to start, she glanced at the flyer she  was now holding which had been on her chair. It was a smaller image of  the poster outside. She smiled at it briefly before tucking it inside  her handbag. It was something she knew she'd ultimately cherish. She was  proud of Jasper. He worked so hard to be on top. His enthusiasm was  definitely contagious. Kait wanted him to win his fight more than  anything  –  she knew how important it was to him. She'd never had a clear  dream like Jasper had. She wanted to do well, own a nice home, and have  a strong career, but those were aspirations, not dreams. Jasper's was a  dream, and he'd had the strength and conviction to go after it. In  Kait's eyes, that already made him a winner, no matter what happened out  there in the ring that night.



Almost all of the seats were filled when the distant doors to the  backstage area opened and Carl came out, wearing his crisp white shirt  and suit trousers. But he was holding something neon colored. Kait felt  her stomach sink when she realized he was gripping the sports bottles  containing his mystery drink. He headed straight for Jasper's corner of  the ring and removed the waiting bottles of water that were there and  replaced them with the sports drinks. No one questioned what he was  doing. Of course they wouldn't  –  he was Jasper's agent. But Kait wanted  to question him. She got on her feet and shouted out his name. But her  voice was drowned out by the drone of noise all around her.



Kait shouted as loudly as she could. "Carl! Stop! What are you doing?"  But her efforts were in vain. She thought of running around to the other  side, but the burly guards placed at the four corners of the ring made  her realize that it wouldn't be so easy. With her lungs burning, she sat  down and quickly fumbled for her phone. She'd have to call Jasper.  There was clearly something about those drinks, something she couldn't  trust. Carl was willing to risk challenging Kait's claim over the damage  they could cause when mixed with Jasper's pain meds  –  but why? Why was  it so imperative that Jasper drank them?



Jasper's phone rang out and eventually went to his voice machine.



"Damn it!" Kait grumbled in anger. She was too late; he was probably  already heading for the ring. As if to confirm her fears the lights in  the arena dimmed and the crowd roared with excitement.



"Ladies and gentlemen," a loud voice boomed over the loudspeaker, but  Kait couldn't focus on what they were saying. She could only think of  the sports bottles and what they might contain. What pained her was that  she could see no feasible way of getting to them before Jasper did.  Might he also suspect something and refuse to drink them? She could only  hope so.