Mason_ Inked Reapers MC(2)(13)
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.