Chapter Eight

 

Parker stood on her mark and surveyed the obstacles again. She’d been studying them since she’d arrived and watched as fellow contestants took to the course when the show began. This obstacle run would determine if she’d be going to the finals. There were five slots left to fill, and she was pretty sure she had a good chance of advancing. Melissa had run the course a few minutes ago and had qualified. It appeared Jax and two others would be going as well. All Parker had to do was perform well and she’d be taking the fifth slot.

She would’ve preferred going earlier, but by now she was familiar with the show’s tactics. Having her run last was good for ratings, but it did little for her nerves. The family had come out in full force to support her donning their Team Bruiser T-shirts. Riley’s teammates and their families had come out to support her too. Her combined fan club had taken up a good chunk of the spectator seats.

She scanned the crowd and found Riley front and center. She locked eyes with him, and he gave her the thumbs-up signal. She smiled, thinking about the pep talk he’d given her a half hour ago. He believed in her. He’d told her she had it in her to win because she was just as strong and intelligent as she was beautiful.

Byron started his introduction. “Next up is Parker Carson, who has blown everyone away with a stellar performance this season. If she can get through the labyrinth tonight, she’s on her way to the finals. A big feat for a first-time walk-on. She and Melissa Renner are UC legends in the making and an inspiration to women everywhere. Just listen to the crowd screaming her name! There’s a large group of people wearing Team Bruiser shirts. In addition to her boyfriend, quarterback Riley Sloane and his teammates from the Tomcats on the sidelines, she also has some pretty famous family members here too.”

She was only half-listening to the words. She was focusing her concentration on the first few obstacles, controlling her breathing and trying to keep herself loose and ready.

The horn sounded, and she was off. The crowd went wild as she blazed past the first obstacle and nailed the landing to set up for the second, which resembled a wall-climbing rock but with a few extra twists in it. She scaled the wall, mindful of not to use her arms too much and rely on her strong leg muscles. Once she reached the end mark, she did a small somersault onto the landing. Next up were a series of hanging ropes. She quickly assessed her plan of attack, then jumped on the trampoline that propelled her upward. Each rope got progressively shorter, so she used both timing and strength to advance. As she grabbed at the third rope, she heard a bristling sound and looked up. She could see into the hole where the rope was attached. The rope was frayed and broke as she grabbed it. She felt herself falling, so she quickly recovered by grasping for the next rope in line. When the rope fell into the net below, the net collapsed. There were safety mats below the nets on the ground but hitting the net created a bounce effect that softened a hard fall directly onto the mats.

“Uh-oh! The rope gave way! But she made a quick recovery!” one of the commentators shouted. “This is a true athlete. She didn’t let it throw her off her game, and she’s on to the next phase!”

“Come on, Bruiser! You can do it!” Riley screamed and clapped. “Focus and breathe.”

Parker took a deep breath as she looked at the next target. She had to run a short distance and propel herself up in a pole vault-like fashion and land on her feet to avoid splashing into a pool of water. She picked up the pole and sprinted down the short runway. Once she reached the end, she planted the pole, and with all her might, she thrust her body weight up over the crossbar enough to go over without disturbing it. She landed on her back on the large foam mat, but she had no time to waste. She tumbled off the mat and continued. Now all she had to do was climb the lattice rope and ding the bell. She took a minute to assess how not to get her foot caught up in the nets as she moved. The way to handle it was to keep a fast but even speed as she moved upward.

There was no time to dawdle, but this was one of the roughest challenges. She’d seen the first ten people before her struggle, and they’d bitched about it backstage. She ran forward and then jettisoned off the platform onto the rope lattice. She lightly put her hands and feet on the material but was mindful not to put all her weight on it. Just like the rock wall in the beginning, it was all about maneuvering quickly and not looking down. She reached the top rung and hoisted herself up to the platform. She stood and claimed the flag. The celebration cannon sounded, and the crowd went wild.

She jumped down onto the stacked, padded mats on the back of the obstacle until she reached the bottom.

Byron was waiting for her. “Parker, you did it and in record time. How do you feel?”

“Tired,” she panted. “But happy to complete the course.”

“I know how you feel. I’ve been there. It’s a pressure-cooker situation.” Byron smiled. “What happened on the rope lair? Did you lose your grip on that third hanging rope?”

No. As a matter of fact she hadn’t. Someone had manipulated that rope.

“I’m not really sure what happened, but I focused on the recovery. Any athlete knows you just have to do a quick work around when the plan changes on you.”

“Is that advice you got from Riley?”

Good grief. What the hell. She’d throw them a bone.

“Yes, of course. He’s my well of motivational wisdom.” She smiled. That was true. He’d coached her into a mindset that helped her remain focused and thinking quickly on her feet.

“Well, you did and in awesome, record time! You made it to the finals! You will be going to paradise to compete for one million dollars! And look! Here comes Riley Sloane, and he brought backup with him!”

She turned to see Riley sprinting over with the kids. They swarmed her with hugs and grabs at her knees.

“Parker, you have quite a posse.” Byron moved out of the way so the kids could get to her.

“This is my entourage. I never go anywhere without them,” she said as she gave Mackenzie a high five. Riley was barely able to get to in there. When he did, he picked her up and swung her around in his arms, careful not to knock anyone over.

“It looks like Riley is very happy about the win,” Byron added. “Any words?”

“I am so proud of her. She’s worked hard to get here and I look forward to seeing her win the final competition.” Riley kissed her.

Parker’s eyes widened. She loved his enthusiasm, but he’d just said without hesitation that she’d win.

“Here we go. If the Super Bowl champ says it, then shall it be. Our favorite quarterback has the utmost faith in his girlfriend.”

The crowd cheered.

“And we have another special announcement. We’re making the final even more special this year. They’ll be held in two weeks on the Ambrosian Islands in the Caribbean.”

She didn’t see that coming.

She started down the lane with Riley. She received high fives from some of the team members and their families. Someone reached out and touched her arm. She looked over to see Jax, Sunny, and the rest of their elitist in-crowd. It didn’t matter that Sunny and two of the others hadn’t made it this far. They still attended anyway for the publicity. Jax motioned for her to come over and when she did, she was pulled into a selfie with the group.

“One sec!” She held up a finger before they could snap the shot, then dashed and grabbed Melissa, who was standing with Todd and her family on the sidelines, and returned for the pic. She could tell Sunny wasn’t thrilled about Melissa being with them. But Parker didn’t care since Sunny always seemed to be looking for the next photo op, determined to create the illusion she had some kind of friendship with Parker. Not to mention the way Sunny looked at Riley. Parker wanted to wipe that phony smile off Sunny’s face. After the photo was taken, Parker gave Melissa another congratulatory hug, and she kept moving toward the family.

They were all cheering so loudly they drowned out the rest of the spectators. Everyone was there, and it felt great to see them. Front and center were her mom and Sam. She was surprised when her mom leaned in and gave her one of those big, comforting hugs she remembered from her childhood.

“Great job, P.J.!” Her mom kissed her on the cheek.

“Thanks!”

Sam hugged her too. “Yeah, Half-Pint. You did it.”

J.J., who was holding up Deacon so he could see, gave her a peck on the cheek too. “I knew you’d blow through that course.”

“Congrats!” Avery joined the group. “How soon can you leave? We have reservations at a restaurant so we can start celebrating!”

“Cool.” She paused. “Do you mind if I invite Melissa and her family?”

“Sure,” Avery replied. “The more, the merrier.”

“Parker! Look over here!” Bridgette yelled with her cell phone in her hand.

They all huddled together for another photo.

“Just give me a couple of minutes, and I’ll be ready to go.” She felt a tug on her hand. It was Mackenzie.

“You were amazing, Parker.”

“Thank you, Little Bruiser.” Parker knelt down to Mackenzie’s eye-level.

Mackenzie smiled. “Mom says you’re smart, strong, and have a lot of spunk. I want to be just like you and Avery.” Mackenzie smiled.

“You know you’re an inspiration to me too. You already have a lot of spunk and so much more.” Parker tapped her nose. “I think spunk runs in our family.”

“I love you, Parker.” Mackenzie lunged at her.

“I love you too, kiddo.” Parker held back the tears and embraced her. “Want to split a brownie sundae after dinner?”

“Yay!” Mackenzie went back behind the barrier to her mom. Parker looked at Morgan and put her hands over her heart.

She leaned into Riley when she felt his strong arm around her shoulders. “Winning this contest doesn’t mean squat anymore,” she told him. “Mackenzie just said she wants to be just like me.”

“She has good taste.” He kissed her on the top of her head. “You ready to go?”

“Not yet. I want to talk to Jen and Wes. Someone cut on that rope.”

“Yeah.” Riley’s jaw ticked. “Let’s go have a chat with Jen and Wes.”

“Sam, I have to talk to one of the producers. We’ll meet everyone at the restaurant.”

“OK. I’ll spread the word.”

Parker and Riley gave Melissa the address to the restaurant, then roved the back lot looking for Jen and Wes. The crew was already beginning to wrap up their equipment and break down the obstacle sets.

“She’s usually flitting around here all night. I haven’t seen her for at least an hour,” Parker grumbled. She stopped a member of the setup staff. “Hey, Max. Have you seen Jen or Wes?”

“She was in the command center trailer next to the obstacles reviewing the tapes. We’ve implemented a double sign off system after every part has been inspected to avoid those accidents.”

“It didn’t work. Someone tampered with one of the hanging ropes.”

“Are you sure?” Max pulled out his cell phone and opened his text app. “We got the all-clear text just before the show started.”

Parker looked at the screen. It was a text from Jen saying she’d inspected everything and for them to finish up. “Where is the command center trailer?”

“Just keep following this path, and you can’t miss it.”

Riley tapped on the door.

“Come in!”

“Jen.”

“Parker! You were great out there. Congrats on advancing. My money’s on you.”

“Thanks,” Parker said. “We still have a problem.”

“What’s up?” Jen asked.

“The rope that fell during my performance was frayed on purpose, and the safety net collapsed. If I’d fallen, I would’ve taken a hard thud on the mats without the net acting as a spring to soften the blow.” Parker folded her arms across her chest.

“Damn it.” Jen sank down on a stool next to the console. “I was still hoping this was just a run of bad luck.”

“Someone wants just enough to happen to shut down this production,” Parker said. “I don’t know if I was the intended target, but a less agile athlete would have certainly hit those mats and probably cracked a rib or broke a limb.”

Riley seethed. “This is beyond staged accidents. You have an enemy of this show who’s unraveling.”

“I don’t know.” Jen shook her head as she dialed Wes. “Wes, it’s Jen. Get over to the command center. That rope during Parker’s run was rigged. I think it’s time we called the police too.”

“Call the detective who took the report at the banquet,” Parker asserted. “It’s not his jurisdiction, but he can inform whoever arrives on this scene that the cases may be connected.”

Within a half hour, the rest of the staff and the police were on the scene. After giving their statements, Parker and Riley headed to the restaurant. Too distracted to drive, she let him driver her Corvette. She barely noticed when they’d arrived and parked.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m just wondering what this person has cooked up for the finale,” she replied.

“I don’t want to think about it.” He gripped the steering wheel. “I want you to leave the show. Things are getting too dangerous. My gut tells me this isn’t over.”

She caressed his hand. “But you know I can’t.”

“Damn it, Parker.” He squeezed her hand. “This is ratcheting up. At the very least you would have cracked a few ribs if you’d plopped on the mat without the spring-back from the tension in the net. Need I go on? Why do you have to solve this?”

“Because I don’t appreciate someone trying to cause me bodily harm, and I’m a little pissed about being one step behind this creep. And, I don’t know, maybe this is a tactic to scare off the top contenders. The only reason it’s been escalating is because the show’s turned a blind eye to it probably for insurance and TV ratings reasons. It’s not a good look when your stars are getting hurt. I’ll be fine. Because I know you’ll have my back.” She caressed his cheek. “Remember that time we got drunk and pinky swore we’d back each other up no matter what?”

“I do. But it was right after my stalker, and I never thought anything dangerous would happen again.”

“Sweetie. You know my family. We attract crap like this.” She giggled. “I promise after this I won’t go looking for trouble.”

“I’d like to believe that.” He kissed her hand. “What am I going to do with you?”

“Love me and exercise a lot of patience.” She smiled.

Riley rounded the car and opened the door for Parker. Her mood lightened when they entered the restaurant and everyone began clapping for her. She’d put the mystery out of her mind for a couple of hours. Right now she wanted to celebrate with her family and friends.