Page 51 of Finding Redemption

“Nope.There’s a new champ.Oscar got knocked out cold in the second round.”

“Yes!”Bella pumped a fist in the air as she skipped into the living room, already looking for the remote.Given the craptastic night and morning, I decided I wasn’t going to stop her from enjoying a little mind-rot.“I told Uncle Luck that Baset would get the title.He owes me a hundred bucks.”

I slapped my hands on my hips, frowning down at her.“Oh, he does, does he?”

“Uh-oh,” she mumbled, looking sheepish.

“Busted,” Sariah laughed, walking to the fridge to get a bottle of water.

“Jedi should not be gambling,” I chided.“No more betting for you, Bella-Rey.”

“Can I at least collect on this one?Please, please, please?”She batted her lashes at me, pouting her bottom lip.“I have something special I want to buy with the money.”

“Fine, but just this once.”

ChapterThirty-One

Paxton

A sharp knockjerked me awake just as Luck barged into the room.“Get your ass up, man.Pilot is already fueling up.”

“Fuck off.”Grabbing a pillow, I covered my face, blocking out the glare of the sun coming through the window.

“You can be grumpy on the plane.Get up.The girls are ready to go.”I flipped him off, but he just slammed the door behind him.

He was lucky I hadn’t already murdered him.After seeing him with Sariah, realizing how blind I’d been for who the fuck knew how long, I felt like the bastard had stabbed me in the back.He knew how important she was to me.

Groaning, I slowly sat up.I wasn’t sure what time it had been when I’d come in last night after the fight was over.Discovering Brooke wasn’t in our bed had only pissed me off more until I found her cuddled with Bella.Seeing the two of them holding on to each other while the city lights spilled across them through the window had given me a sense of peace.

I’d kicked off my shoes and crawled into bed behind Brooke without taking the time to shower.Surprisingly, sleep had come quickly with the scent of her hair in my nose and the comforting feel of her body pressed against my own.

“Daddy!”Bella called from the other side of the door but didn’t open it.“Please hurry.I wanna go home!”

Something in her voice hit me weird.Not a wobble or a stumble.But it definitely had a note in there that was off.Scrubbing a hand over my face, I got out of bed.My shit was in the other room, the previous night’s clothes feeling too tight and scratchy on my skin.Opening the door, I frowned down at my kid, looking for signs of what had upset her.

Brooke had brought her back to the suite without a word to me the night before.Henry had said Bella was upset but not why.Given the chaos that had followed Sariah’s little scene with Powel’s spoiled daughter, I was glad they had both been out of the line of fire.

Marcella had basically eviscerated the bitch.And then Jon had been sent packing.He was banned from future events.Not because of Chloe’s behavior, but because he’d allegedly been paying the lower-ranking fighters to throw fights and getting his business partners to bet on the matches.

Dirty bastard.

But other than witnessing Sariah’s hissy fit over whatever grudge she had against Chloe Powel, I didn’t understand what Bella had been upset about.She’d seen plenty of MMA matches that had gotten bloody, and she always seemed to enjoy watching the sport.Sariah had barely pulled the blonde’s hair the night before.Child’s play compared to the beating Marcella had unleashed only a few minutes later.

A wariness that hadn’t been in Bella’s eyes before stared back at me.I pressed my thumb into my eye, rubbing away the remains of sleep, but when I looked down at her again, nothing had changed.

“Are you feeling okay, Bella-Boo?”

“I wanna go home,” she repeated and turned to walk away.

From the kitchen, I heard Luck asking if we had everything.

“I just need to grab my bag,” Brooke answered, sounding tired.“Bella is already packed.”

“Siren?”

I clenched my jaw.After his first slip the night before, he hadn’t even attempted to call Sariah anything but the nickname he’d apparently given her.

Goddamn it, when had their relationship started?

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