Fight for Her#3 by JJ Knight

much.”
    “How would he find her?” I ask. “We’ve been very careful about who knows about her. She’s been out of the press. Nobody knows I have a daughter or that Maddie lives in New York.”
    “Did Maddie put you on the birth certificate?” Colt asks.
    “Well, sure. I pay child support.”
    “Then there’s public records.”
    We push through the crowd at the water fountains in front of the hotel. They are all so happy, taking pictures, having an easy day. I want to shove them all around, make them realize that shit is going down. That Maddie is threatened.
    The elevator up is so slow I almost wish we’d taken the stairs, despite being on the tenth floor. I could stand to work out the soreness of so many fights last night. The real one, then Striker and his pals, then the two dolts he sent. Plus that last group outside the broom closet.
    Striker has a good-sized network for an outcast. Assholes flock together. But how could he know about Maddie? Nobody knows. I don’t buy for a second that his delinquent crew went through public records.
    We race down the hall to the rooms. I want to smash the door open, and when the stupid door key won’t swipe correctly, I’m about to crash through it when Jo takes the card from me.
    With a gentle push, the light turns green and we’re inside.
    Nothing has been moved. Maddie’s clothes and suitcase are still right where we left them. I slam my hands into the wall. “Where the hell did she go?”
    “Did you put a tracker on her phone?” Colt asks.
    Jo whirls around to him. “Did you put one on mine?”
    Colt holds up his hands. “I wouldn’t dare. You’d kick my ass.”
    She turns back to me. “You better not have either.”
    “It’s not on my account,” I say. “Even if it had one, I wouldn’t have access to the data.”
    “She’s got to be headed to the airport,” Jo says. “That’s the only thing that makes sense.”
    “She can’t get on a flight right away,” Colt says. “Everything is always booked out of Vegas. She’ll be in a line somewhere, trying to fly standby.”
    Jo slips her arm through mine. “Let’s go find her,” she says. “Once we know what’s going on with her, we’ll be able to help.”
    “But she didn’t come to me in the first place,” I say. “In her mind, I must be part of the problem.”
    “You think she’ll fly home?” Colt asks. “Are you certain enough to get on a plane?”
    I’m not. I pull away from Jo and sit on the bed. Maddie has always been impulsive, like a flash fire. She’ll do something drastic, then she’ll realize her mistake and pull back.
    But she felt she couldn’t turn to me. Whatever was going on, she needed to move fast and act without me.
    Then suddenly, I start to see the bigger picture. Striker couldn’t know who Maddie was. But someone else might.
    I look up at Colt. “If you were Striker, who would be pretty much the only person you’d be willing to admit to what happened last night?”
    He leans back against the wall. “Not my parents.” He glances at Jo. “His girl already knows.”
    I forgot that Colt is an only child.
    “I know what you’re saying,” Jo says. “I have a brother.” Her eyes are already going dark with anger. “I see where this is going.”
    Colt stands up. “How long have you been friends with that family?”
    “Since we were kids. Striker wasn’t around. He got sent to military school. That’s where he took up boxing.” I hesitate. “But not his sister, Lani. We hung around each other all our lives.”
    Jo’s body has gone completely tense. Lani befriended her before that betrayal, the one that ended with Colt and Jo shot in an alley. “So Lani knows Maddie,” Jo says.
    “She’ll remember those days. I bet Striker called Lani after the van prank. And when Striker described Maddie, Lani knew exactly who she was.”
    “Should we call Lani or just go?” Colt asks.
    “Back to LA?” Jo asks. “What if Maddie is still here?”
    “You stay