“I’m sorry, baby,” I told him.
He kissed my lips.
“I know. I’m sorry too…more than you’ll ever know.”
One of the officials of the tournament came over to get Lou and Mason, and they walked back to the cage. I was numb, and I couldn’t imagine what Mason was feeling right now. I know how close he was with Alex, and I knew how adamant he was about not wanting him to go. To know that Alex was dead, and he couldn’t prevent it had to be eating away at him.
The Mason that stepped into the cage was no longer the Mason that I woke up next to this morning. He wasn’t the Mason that made love to me with passion and determination. No, this Mason was filled with anger…and possibly with guilt. I thought this would be a long night. But instead, when that bell rang, Mason took out everything he was feeling on the man in front of him. His opponent, Shane the Butcher Wallace, was another fighter that Tim and his friends mentioned, and he was definitely good.
He gave Mason two rounds of hell. But at the end of round two, Mason did an unbelievable move that I had seen him do to Trip. He stepped up on the cage and punched the hell out of the Butcher. Then, as the Butcher was thrown back from the force of his punch, Mason grabbed him and threw him over his shoulder, coming down with him to land a vicious blow to his face that knocked the Butcher out.
When Mason got up, he wasn’t even breathing heavy. It was as if he didn’t waste even one ounce of energy. The place erupted in shouts and applause. I knew Mason didn’t hear any of it. He just left the cage and took his seat, while he waited for his next fight.
I watched the man I fell in love with slowly close himself off from everyone around him. This wasn’t good, but I didn’t know what to do about it. Lou talked to him quietly, and he responded with nods and even a few words if necessary. Who he spoke to longer was Roland. I wanted to know what they were talking about, and I moved closer to the two. But the look that Mason gave me stopped me in my tracks.
Mason’s next fight was a blur for everyone in the building. He walked in the cage, heard the bell, and started pounding on the man in front of him. He was relentless and methodical. His opponent didn’t stand a chance. To be honest, it didn’t matter who was in the ring with him. He decimated his quarry with either a knock-out or submission.
He made it to the championship. He fought the Executioner and made the fight one of the most interesting and brutal fights in history. The two men went at each other blow for blow, kick for kick. But Mason was fueled by deadly rage that was too much for his opponent. I watched in amazement as Mason brought the big man down and moved his body to complete one of the most deadly and difficult choke holds—the Peruvian necktie that made his opponent tap out—to gain the title.
Mason grinned and looked at me when they named him champion. I smiled, hoping that the smile he gave me wouldn’t be the last one I would see on his handsome face.
I waited next to Lou while he did some interviews, posed for photos, and even signed some autographs. Tim, Lock, and Jared found Mason, and he gave them extra attention and time while his other fans just watched in awe. I thought that was the sweetest thing I had ever seen. So when we finally got back to the room and away from the public, I was shocked as hell to see the anger dripping from his body.
Roland was sitting on the couch as was I, and we both watched Mason pace back and forth in front of us. Roland told Mason what happened on the trip. They were entering the area identified as the kidnapping site when someone started shooting at them.
“Ro, help me understand how a sniper picked off five of your guys, including Alex, when this was supposed to be a recon type of mission with little to no danger,” he yelled.
“I don’t know, Reap. Man, we’ve made this trip to this area a dozen times, and we never had an issue. I’ve got my guys looking into to what happened, and I’m waiting for them to get back to me.”
Mason looked at him and took a deep breath.
“The moment you get the intel, you let me know. Is that understood?”
Roland stood and looked at me, then back at Mason. He nodded.
“Copy that.”
He walked out of the room and, after I heard the door close, I looked at Mason.
“Baby, from what you’ve told me about the guys you served with, this can’t be Roland’s fault.”
“I know it’s not, Maxine,” he said sharply.
I frowned.
“It’s not yours either.”
Mason glared at me for a minute. Then his face softened but only slightly. He slumped down in the chair next to him and closed his eyes.
When he seemed to be calm, he looked at me.