Free Tapout (The Submission Fighter Book 3) by Sophia Hampton Page A

waited for the airline’s booking agent to book her tickets, she watched the large screen television from her spot in line.
     
    A familiar face caught her attention. He was covered in blood, mouthpiece dangling from his lips, and his eyes both bruised black and blue. Alice stepped towards the television struggling to figure out what had happened. The closed captioning was behind, as she struggled to put the typed words to the images the screen was showing.
     
    Finally, she read, “After three bloody and gruesome rounds, Micah Anderson was named victor via a majority decision. He will be back in the octagon in just two days’ time back here in Chicago. This time, he will have to take down former champion, Kelly O’Day. And if this match showed fans anything, it was that Micah Anderson is one to watch.”
     
    “Ma’am? Miss Cross?” Alice spun back around towards the desk, as the ticket agent handed her a printed ticket and pointed towards the security gate. She had only about thirty minutes to make it across the airport to board. It gave her little time to think about Micah, his victory, or the fact she was leaving him behind as she returned home.
     
    As she waited in line at security checkpoints, she continued to check her phone, hoping for something, anything to come through from Micah. The agony over not knowing if he knew where she was or that she even cared made her heart lurch in her chest. She longed to call him, but she knew that he would be distracted with the press conferences, the victory parties, and the media storm.
     
    Alice boarded the plane quickly. She avoided the eyes of her fellow passengers, as she sat in coach still decked out in her glittery gold gown and huge pieces of jewelry. It was not like she had time to change into a travel appropriate outfit. This would just have to do for now.
     
    Luckily, the flight was short, but sweet—a mere two hours from takeoff to landing. She quickly dialed Jeffrey’s number hoping he would be around to pick her up, but she knew that he most likely was with another client or perhaps taking the week off with his primary customer out of town. No answer—a cab it was.
     
    Weary and tired, Alice only had a short amount of time to catch the detective at the station as she quickly helped her driver navigate himself through Steubenville to her apartment. Expecting to run into Caroline, she slowly opened the wooden door and tiptoed into the space. The lights were off and no sound could be heard. No traces of Caroline in a few days—in fact. Alice tried not to pay any attention to her absence and instead raced to her room to grab a pair of jeans and a t-shirt to throw on.
     
    She quickly turned off the lights, hiding all evidence that she had been there, and again raced down the stairs to meet her driver. As she stepped back in the cab, barking orders at the driver, her phone rang, and she quickly grabbed it. The voice on the other line was covered up by shouts and joyful screams. The sound of champagne bottles popping and music blasting filled up the speaker.
     
    “Micah!” She shouted back, hoping he could hear her. She wanted nothing more than to hear his voice. “Micah! Are you there? Please be there?”
     
    “Alice? I can’t-- I can’t-- hear you. Are you --kay? Wh-- --- on?” His voice sounded off and distant, yet she could feel him wanting her as much as she wanted him—both with distance and people between them.
     
    She begged for him to get to a quieter spot, knowing that it was pretty much useless. She hung up and texted him a simple “I love you” and left it at that. She hoped he would call her back when all the celebrations were done. Right now, Alice had to focus on what was waiting for her at the police station.
     
    The same, irritable woman that was at the receptionist’s desk last time pointed her way back to the detective’s offices once again. When she spotted Crighton, he was leaning over another agent’s desk, pointing at