Chapter 76: Lexa

Once we are both ready, I walk with Clarke to meet her mom and the doctors in the lobby. Again, I have a strange feeling that we are being watched, but I can't see anyone that stands out. I'm beginning to feel really uneasy about letting Clarke out of my sight, but I don't want to alarm her by saying anything. We load up in the van, and Ali drops me off at the arena before taking the group to dinner.

This fan fest is pretty much like the last one, except there are more fighters here. It apparently isn't just for those of us fighting on Saturday, but also a good number of UFC fighters are here to promote the UFC. Dana is trying to get Yas Island to become what he wants to promote as Fight Island, meaning he would hold a set number of fights here per year.

When I get there, I'm greeted by Raquel and Tecia. I say, "I didn't know that you two were going to be here. Are either of you fighting?"

Raquel replies, "Nope, just here to sign some autographs and watch you fight. Where's the rest of your group?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure. Clarke is having dinner with her mom and a couple of doctors she's recruiting to work on a research project. Ash and Callie will be bringing Asher by later and as far as everyone else, who knows. I guess I should get to my table before they open the doors. I will see you later, though."

I walk down the line of tables until I find my name. Jewel is already seated next to another woman whose nametag reads Cyborg. I say hello to Jewel taking a seat. She looks over at me and says, "Where's that pretty girlfriend of yours?"

"She's having dinner with her mom."

"That's too bad. Stryker this is Chris Cyborg. Cyborg this is Stryker."

I extend my hand and say, "Nice to meet you."

Cyborg looks from my face to my hand before taking it, saying, "So you're the one everyone has been talking about. You don't look like much to me."

Jewel looks from her to me, "Just ignore her. She's not really a people person."

"Whatever, I'm just here for the fans. I don't really care what anyone thinks of me."

It isn't long before the line forms with fans waiting to get their autographs and pictures. I settle into a groove, signing autographs and taking the occasional photo. About an hour into the event, Callie, Ash, and Asher come by. Asher is vibrating with excitement and talking about everyone that is here tonight. He comes around the table and jumps in my lap, giving me a massive hug before saying, "Xa, where's Larke? I thought she would be here with you. You look awful lonely. Want me stay?"

I look at him and, "Clarke had dinner with Abby and the doctors tonight. Don't you want to get all your autographs?"

"Yeah, but I stay with you, so you not lonely."

"I appreciate that, buddy, but why don't you go have fun. Don't worry about me. I'm alright."

He gives me a big hug and kiss before rejoining Callie and Ash. I look at Ash and say, "Thanks for bringing him by. He always knows how to cheer me up."

She laughs, "Like I had a choice. He wouldn't miss this for anything in the world."

They continue down the line, Asher stopping to talk to each fighter. After about another hour or so, I'm exhausted. I've pretty much stopped looking up from what I'm signing unless I'm taking a picture. I sign a poster, and then the person says, "Will you take a picture with me?"

My automatic response is, "Sure, come on around the table." I stand up, and before I get a good look at the person, I feel lips crashing onto mine. I immediately know that it isn't Clarke because there isn't the electricity I feel when she kisses me. I pull back instantly, saying, "What the hell?" Instead, what I see is Allie standing before me, looking as beautiful as ever.

"Hey, my Stryker, how have you been?"

"Hey princess, what are you doing here?"

"The LPGA tour I'm on has an event here next week, and I came early when I found out you were fighting. So I thought maybe we could get a late dinner or drink when you finish up here."

"Um…sure. I guess a drink wouldn't hurt. I should finish up in about a half-hour or so. Why don't you meet me at the hotel bar?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll meet you there."

I give her the name of my hotel before she walks away. I have to admit she looks great. I always liked watching her walk away. I hear someone clearing their throat, and when I look up, Jewel is staring at me, watching Allie walk away. She smirks, "That doesn't look like your girlfriend, but she kissed you like she was, and now you are watching her like a hawk."

"What? Oh, that…that was Allie. She's just a friend."

Cyborg says, "I wish my friends looked and kissed me like that."

The rest of the event went without incident, although that Cyborg chick really gets under my skin. She talked shit all night about how she couldn't be beaten and that I didn't deserve to be in the UFC. According to her, I was a promotional stunt by Dana to keep Jewel happy, and I got lucky with my win. While I wait on Ali to pick me up, I send Clarke a text.

Me: Finally finished.

Clarke: We ended up back at Dalia and Ariel's to discuss the procedure in more detail. Hopeful, we can wrap it up soon. See you back at the hotel. Love you.

Me: Ok, is everything going alright?

Clarke: Yes, Ariel thinks she has figured out a way to target Finn's DNA.

Me: Great! See you soon. I love you.

An hour later, I walk through the hotel lobby past the bar to the elevator when I hear someone call out, "Stryker!" When I turn, I see Allie standing there holding two margaritas. "Did you forget about having a drink with me?"

"Uh, sorry. It has been a really long day." I walk over to her taking one of the drinks, and then sit at a high-top table by the bar. "So, how is your golf tour going?"

"Pretty good, actually. I have won four out of the six events. If I win the last one here, I will earn a spot in the championship tournament. How have you been? I saw you won your last UFC fight."

"Things are good. This fight is a rematch with Jewel, and I fought once more for Mickey and won."

"I'm glad you are doing well. Um…so, rumor has it that you and Clarke are getting pretty serious. Is that true?"

"Yes, things between us are good."

"Does that mean that I missed my chance with you? I thought you didn't want anything serious?"

"I'm sorry, Allie. I didn't think that I did, but…well, Clarke, she took me by surprise, and I love her. I wasn't looking for a serious relationship…but she made me want one."

"No hard feelings, Stryker. I'm glad you found what you needed. I just wish that we had a chance to see if we could have worked, you know?"

I get up and say, "I'm sorry, but I did have a great time with you. I hope that we can still be friends. I'm going to go; I have a bad feeling, and I need to find Clarke. It was really nice seeing you, and thanks for the drink." She gets up, walks over to me, and gives me a hug and kiss on the cheek.

As I walk to the elevators, I send a group text to my team and O telling them I am headed to the room. Hopefully, Clarke is already back, and we can get this out of the way. All I really want to do right now is curl up in bed with my baby momma and get some rest. The elevator door opens, and I walk in. Suddenly, I get a strange feeling that something is wrong. When I get to the entrance of our room, the door is open. I go inside and can see there was a struggle. I start yelling for Clarke but don't get an answer. I run through the entire suite, and there's no sign of Clarke. This can't be happening! I should've said something about the strange feelings.

I hear Ash calling out from downstairs and go to the top of the stairwell. "Please tell me Clarke is with one of you!"

Ash looks around the room, "What happened here?"

"I don't know! I just got here, and the door was open. When I got inside, this is what I found. I need to text Abby. Hopefully, Clarke is still with her."

Me: Is Clarke still with you?

Abby: No, she went up to her room. I'm having a drink at the bar in the lobby. Why?

Me: How long ago did she leave you?

Abby: IDK for sure, probably 20 min. Why?

Me: She's not here, and the room is trashed!

Abby: I'm coming up!

I look at Ash and the group, "Abby says she headed up here about twenty minutes ago. I'm going to try calling her phone again." I dial Clarke's phone, and it rings five times before I get an answer. As soon as I hear the phone pick up, I say, "Clarke babe, where are you? Are you okay?"

The voice that answers isn't Clarke's, "Hello, is this Lexa?"

"Yes, who is this? Why do you have Clarke's phone?"

"Don't worry about who I am. Just know that I work for Finn Collins. I'll be taking good care of Clarke until he arrives. He told me to give you a message though, he said, 'If you want to see your precious Clarke again, you are to come alone to the coordinates he will text to your phone shortly.' Until then, have a nice night." Then click, he hung up.

I drop my phone, and tears stream down my cheeks. Ash wraps me in a hug and says, "Lex, what is it?"

Abby bursts in the door, "What the hell is going on?"

I relay the conversation to them. As I do, I get the text with the coordinates and a time. I have thirty minutes to get there, and I have to go alone. When I look them up on google maps, it looks to be a warehouse district. It isn't far from the airport, which is good because I have my suit that Kane has been working on, on the plane along with my swords and more knives.

I look over at the group and say, "I'm going to get her. I have my equipment on the plane. I will stop by there and suit up before going to the warehouse."

Ash says, "I'm going with you!"

"No, he said to come alone."

"I'm not letting you go in by yourself. Look here…" She pulls up the warehouse location. "While you go in, I will set up outside with my sniper rifle here." She points to a spot on the map. "It looks like the warehouse is in disrepair, and I should be able to position myself on this tower and somewhat see into the warehouse. Reed, Bellamy, and Jose will set up here in this warehouse down the street, ready to come in as backup if I call for them."

"Ash, I won't risk Clarke's life. I am going alone!"

"Technically, you will be alone. We'll just be close by watching in case you need us. Finn will never see us. He is a stupid rich kid that thinks he is invincible because his dad is the mayor. He doesn't have a clue as to what he is doing or what to look for."

"True, but we don't know anything about how many others he has with him or who they are."

"Don't worry about that. You go to the plane and get your gear. I will look at the security cameras in the hotel and run facial recognition software on anyone I see with Clarke. I'll also call a cleanup crew to make sure you can't be linked to whatever happens. Call me right before you get to the warehouse so I can tell you what I find."

"Fine, do what you can. But, I have to go!"