He and Rex had never had a serious discussion about his mother, but he knew his father also felt responsible for her death. In his father’s case, he believed he should have gotten her out of the troubled high school. However, his mother had been incredibly strong willed and wouldn’t leave. She’d loved the students too much and believed she was at that particular school for a reason. It was the one thing they had in common—the overwhelming guilt over his mother’s death.
When Nick got out of his car and went inside, Rex was working with some of the younger fighters, yelling at one of them to move faster.
Rex turned when he heard the door open and lost his smile when he saw Nick.
“Keep working,” he said to the fighters as he walked toward Nick.
“What happened to your face?” his father questioned him.
“Ty got carried away when we were sparring,” Nick lied.
“You need to be more careful when you’re training a rookie. Are you ready to get back to work?”
“Yes. I’m going to start training for heavyweight,” Nick replied, wondering how his father would respond.
“That’s a good idea. You’ve fought everyone worth fighting; it’s time to prove to everyone that you can take it all.”
“Glad you agree,” Nick said as he walked to the locker room to change.
It would be a challenge for both of them. Nick was used to being the biggest guy in his weight class. Now, he would be on the low end of the weight range for the heavyweight class.
His phone buzzed, and he looked down at it. Ria had sent him a picture of her breasts.
“Damn.” He knew he should have gone to see her before coming to the gym.
Chapter 21
Ria had been sitting in her car across the street from Kataya’s house for the last few hours. It appeared as if someone was still occupying it, so Ria couldn’t go in during the day. She was growing restless waiting, but planned to sit there until whoever was inside left.
Her hopes finally came true when she watched a car pull into the driveway. Ria knew it wouldn’t be Kataya, but hoped whoever it was would lead Ria to her. It was a young woman, most likely Kataya’s younger sister from the resemblance. She watched her check the mail and enter the house.
After another half hour, the girl finally came out and locked the door talking to someone on the cell phone. As she got into her car and pulled out of the driveway, Ria quickly started her car to follow.
The girl turned her car onto the interstate as Ria followed from a distance. Damn, she was going to have to cancel with Nicholas if the girl drove very far.
After driving for about an hour, the girl finally pulled onto one of the exit ramps. It was one of those exits with just a couple of gas stations and one fast food restaurant. Ria made a mental note of the exit number and the name of the road, and then reset her odometer to zero to keep track of how many miles they drove down the road.
The girl turned down a two lane road and drove for about thirty more minutes before taking a sharp turn toward a gravel driveway. Ria couldn’t follow her up the driveway—it would be too obvious. She quickly scanned the area as she drove by and saw a small house at the end of the drive. Ria traveled a little farther until she saw a graveled area on the side of the road, most likely for cops or a turnaround spot. There was a big tree adjacent to it.
Ria pulled her car in then maneuvered the vehicle to where it was facing the highway and would be able to pull out when necessary. She had also pulled it next to the tree in case she needed to climb for a better view.
Ria reached into her bag and pulled out the binoculars she had purchased before she had searched for John, thinking they would be helpful. Proud of herself for thinking ahead, she stepped out of the car and stood behind the tree, out of sight of any drivers passing by, and looked toward the house. She could see lights, but no people. She scanned the windows and could make out movement, but not any faces.
Ria checked the time. It was already after five, but she couldn’t afford to leave now; she had come this far. She texted Nicholas to tell him she was running an errand and couldn’t be there until later. Technically, she wasn’t lying to him, although she felt a twinge of guilt at the deception.
She continued to watch the doors and windows of the house, anxious to lay eyes on Kataya. After another hour, she saw the girl walk outside, followed by another woman. Ria quickly focused the binoculars. It was Kataya.
Ria fumbled to pull her phone out her back pocket and quickly called Mitchell.
“Exit ramp 53, turn right. Thirty-five miles down, there’s a gravel driveway with a small white house. She’s there,” Ria said hurriedly.