A Fighting Man Read Online Free Page B

actually happy? Three years ago. I sighed and dropped my head on the desk.
    By five I was on my way home. As the cab rounded the corner, I spotted a large group of people out front of the building. I paid the cabby and got out. As soon as I began walking, a man pointed at me and the woman next to him smiled.
    “Oh hell,” I muttered. “Now what?”
    Music flowed from the van sitting at the curb and my eyes widened as the woman began walking toward me singing. She handed me a wrapped package and I stared at her blankly.
    “Open it!” someone shouted from the crowd.
    I blushed as more and more people began to gather around. I tore off the wrapping and stared at a copy of Casper on DVD.
    “Oh, shit.”
    I turned to look at the van and that’s when I saw it: A life-sized picture of Slater, smiling and holding the same DVD.
    “You have got to be shitting me.”
    I realized people were smiling at me and clapping. The woman was still singing and I couldn’t believe I’d walked right into another Slater Cassidy ambush. I gave the woman a weary smile.
    “How much to make you stop?”
    “He said you’d ask that,” a man said, standing off to the side.
    “Excuse me?” I said.
    “Mr. Cassidy specifically paid us to keep going until the song was over.” He handed me a card. “Just in case you want to look it up on YouTube. It’s Jordan Hill’s ‘Remember Me This Way’.”
    “Oh yes, I’ll get right on that,” I drawled.
    The song finally ended and the crowd whistled and clapped. I kept my head down as I ran into my building, only to find people clapping in there as well. In fact, every damn window on every damn floor that faced the road was filled with people clapping.
    “Oh God, please just let me get to my apartment,” I muttered.
    “That man must care an awful lot!”
    I smiled and waved my hand. “Thanks, Mrs. Strovino!”
    “You are one lucky man, Casper!”
    Oh yay, lucky me!
    More people stood by my unit as I made my way up. I smiled and waved at them as the clapping continued. I finally got the door open and shut it behind me.
    What the hell was Slater thinking? I grabbed my laptop and fired it up as I paced back and forth, cursing the man. Just wait until I got him online! My messenger came up and I checked to see if Slater was online. His green dot was grey. I slumped down at the table and rubbed my face with my hands.
    The DVD sat on the table, mocking me. I sighed and trudged to my room, putting it in. I’d never actually seen the movie, so what the hell? A cute little ghost was on the cover smiling.
    Why did I have to be named Casper?
    I reclined against the pillows and watched. It was actually kind of adorable. I frowned.
    Stupid Slater.
    I flipped through pictures of overseas models as I watched. Too muscular, too tattooed, too blond. Ugh. I flipped the next picture over and my breath caught.
    Juan-Carlos stared back at me.
    Dark hair and dark eyes, with a rugged face and just enough tattoos. This was the guy. I called Blaine immediately and told him I’d bring in the picture in the morning. I had a good feeling about his one. My eyes strayed back to the movie and my throat tightened. The father in the movie was speaking to his deceased wife. God, to have one more chance to talk to Mason.
    The more I watched, the more engrossed I became in the movie. I actually found myself tearing up. I felt so bad for the little ghost. I rolled on my side as the music played and I listened to the words.
    “It was kind of cute,” I muttered.
    Not that I would be telling Slater that. I’d be kicking his ass all over New York the second I saw him again. My stomach rolled over and goose bumps rose on my arms. Just the thought of seeing Slater again made me nervous. I closed my eyes and sighed softly, thinking about Mason.
    “I miss you,” I whispered to the dark.
    * * * *
    The day had finally arrived and my nervous stomach was in knots. Blaine looked exactly like I did.
    We’d finally found a model the