UNDYING: A Bad Boy MMA Romance (Midwest Alphas) (Book 3) Read online

  I step forward, drawn to race over to him, but Devlin plants himself in front of me. “Move.”

  “I can’t, Claire,” he says, flexing his jaw. “Tobias told me not to let you near the ring—”

  “Devlin, move,” I beg.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispers. “No matter what happens, you’re to stay here. It’s what he wants.”

  I grip my throat, feeling the thick rock settle in my neck. “Tobias…” I wheeze.

  He stands in the far corner of the ring, stiff as a board, and watches as Rick climbs in after him. Rick wears his token smirk and I curse myself for ever falling for it. I see it for everything it is now. Hateful. Deceitful. Cowardly. Weak. He paces in his own corner in black shorts, ones that look just like Tobias’. It’s obvious just how much of himself he’s stolen from his superior cousin, and if that doesn’t prove who the better man is in all of this, nothing will.

  Rick cranes his neck to find me staring at him. His lips curl, as they always do, but if he knew what I was thinking, I doubt he’d be so fucking happy about it. My fingers form fists and I feel the pain of my nails digging into my palms, reopening the wounds I’d long forgotten about.

  This isn’t just any fight.

  It’s a death match.

  It’s the only thing that makes sense. Last night, Tobias was broken. His life has become unrecognizable to him. His father no longer trusts him. He was one mistake away from losing me all over again. What better way to end Rick’s threat to our lives than to end him completely? It’s the only way Rick would have ever agreed to give up Amy and let my mother go without a second thought.

  A fight to the death. Winner takes everything, including the loser’s life.

  Amy steps into the center of the ring with her fingers lightly holding on to the metal whistle around her neck. She looks back and forth between them with shimmering eyes. “One last fight, between our standing Alpha, Tobias the Untouchable, and Rick Eastwood of the Kings,” she says, dropping Rick’s former moniker. “The Alphas and the Kings each have one point. The winner of this match takes the tournament.”

  I force my eyes to abandon Rick’s and I turn to look at Tobias. His gaze finds mine, those shining tunnels of green, and a smile climbs to my lips.

  Tobias. My strength.

  My lover. My friend. My family.

  My Alpha, in every single way.

  And above all, my future.

  I lick my dry lips and nod at him. To my surprise, a smile strikes his mouth, curling ever so slightly on the edges of his lips. His stoic nature crumbles around him. It’s almost jarring to see Tobias the Untouchable grinning in his tight, black shorts, but I easily hold our gaze.

  I cast a pitiful glance at Rick and I notice the anger in his squinting eyes. They dart back and forth between us. The image of Tobias and me — so obviously in love with each other — turns him to stone. It’s always made him angry, but now, in the final moments before their last fight, it makes him more furious than ever. He knows that even if he wins, he loses.

  He cannot compete with the Alpha and his Dame.

  Tobias winks at me and finally turns back to his opponent with a firm expression. He raises his fists to block his face, easing into that perfect stance, and waits for Amy to give him the go ahead to finish this.

  Amy steps back and exits the ring, making sure she’s at a safe enough distance away before wrapping her red lips around the end of the whistle. I take a deep breath, allowing for the air to travel the entire length of me before slowly letting it out again.

  Finally, Amy blows the whistle and the entire room falls into a deadly silence.

  Rick throws himself forward with a grunt of rage as he lunges for Tobias with extended fists. Tobias slides to the right, easily dodging the sloppy, emotion-fueled, attack, and shoves Rick back into his corner. Rick rights himself fast and bounces up and down on his toes.

  I study his moves, noticing a stark change from the fighter he was six months ago. Before, he was far more focused — not easily as rattled as he is now.

  He darts forward again, this time pulling back to throw a fast punch at Tobias’ face, but Tobias catches it with his palm and slams his head forward to connect with Rick’s nose. Both sides wince as Rick stumbles back and blood pours from his nostrils. He lets out a deep bellow before throwing another punch at Tobias, missing him by several inches. Tobias swings around and hits Rick in the stomach, slamming multiple, hard punches against his ribs until Rick finally topples to his knees.

  A darkness settles in my gut. Rick has never been this twitchy before. Either the last several months have pushed him so close to the edge that he’s lost all control of himself, or…

  He’s faking it.

  “Tobias…” I mutter nervously. He has to see it, too. I look around the room, watching the faces of the other Alphas, each one of them just as confused as the last. The Kings don’t hold the same expression. They stand at attention, breathing calmly as ever.

  “Devlin,” I say, keeping my voice low. “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?”

  “I hope not,” he mutters back. “Because I see a King taking a beating and his men don’t seem to care.”

  “Or they expected it.” I look back to the ring and watch as Rick fumbles on his knees, seemingly desperate to pull himself onto his toes, but he slips back to the floor. His moves are stiff, planned. Almost comical, like a slap-stick stage play.

  Tobias steps back and watches Rick squirm.

  “Looks like we aren’t the only ones who’ve noticed,” Devlin says.

  “What the hell is he doing?” I whisper.

  “Biding his time, maybe?”

  “For what?”

  “Claire—” I turn around to find Pike standing over my shoulder. His left eye has swollen closed and he holds a blood-soaked cloth against his nose. “I don’t mean to alarm you, but it seems—”

  “That Rick is completely faking it up there right now?” I ask. “Way ahead of you.”

  “That,” he says, “and Thomas just walked in.”

  I spin back to find him standing near the ring. “What is he doing here?” I fall silent as Rick’s laughter reaches my ears. He stays on his hands and knees, obviously baiting Tobias to attack him, but Tobias stays back.

  “Come on!” Rick shouts, chuckling even louder. “Don’t stop now!”

  Tobias shakes his head and waits for him to stand up.

  Rick growls and hops up onto his feet. “Stop pretending to be so righteous, Tobias.” He straightens up. “You’re not fooling anybody.”

  “I’m not the one pretending,” Tobias replies.

  Rick laughs even more and wipes the blood off his nose. “You caught that, huh? Well…” He shrugs. “I was planning on tiring you out to make this easier, but that trick just isn’t going to work on you today, is it?”

  Fear strikes me cold as Rick stands up taller and raises his fists. Tobias mirrors it, settling back onto the balls of his feet, lying in wait for Rick to strike at him first.

  Rick twitches his biceps with glee. “You know what I’ll do to her first, Tobias?” He lunges forward to deliver his first real punch. I bite my cheek, startled by his speed. His fist slams hard against Tobias’ face. The blow nearly sends him to his knees, but Tobias shakes it off and manages to block Rick’s second punch before it collides with his nose. “I’m going to make her confess what the three of us have known all along.”

  Tears burn my eyes, blurring their forms as they trade several blows against each other’s ribs. I blink them away in time to see Rick sweep Tobias’ foot out from under him, tripping him down to his knees.

  Rick stands behind him and wraps his arms around Tobias’ throat. He looks forward, his eyes easily zeroing in on mine. “She loves me,” he says, flexing hard enough to choke Tobias. “I’m gonna make her say it. It won’t take much convincing either, remember? Get her buzzed enough and I’ll have her purring my name. Isn’t that right, Claire?”

  I shake my head in disg
ust, parting my lips to condemn him, but Pike wraps his fingers around my arm. “Don’t,” he says to me. “Let him talk.”

  Tobias struggles in Rick’s grip, rage bleeding out of his eyes. He must know it’s all a lie, but that doesn’t stop the anger from growing inside of him.

  I glance backward to meet Pike’s bloodshot eye. A heavy rock settles in my chest, fearing what will happen if Tobias loses all control. “I don’t want this…” I whisper, shaking my head.

  “Neither did I,” he says, his dark past flashing behind his eyes.

  Tobias peels one of Rick’s fingers away from his neck and he forces it to bend back until it snaps. Rick howls in pain and releases him to inspect his broken finger, giving Tobias ample time to twist away from him and charge forward to tackle Rick against the ropes. He takes back the upper hand and pounds away at Rick’s toned flesh.

  Even through the pain of a broken bone, Rick’s laughter fills the space between us. “Have I made you angry?” he quips through his beating. He adjusts his arms and manages to block every other hit. “Does it piss you off — thinking of her riding me — screaming my name instead of yours?”

  Tobias latches onto Rick’s skull and presses the tips of his thumbs into his eyes. I turn away fast, looking towards the floor before the crowd cries out in horror. Pike’s grip increases on me, but he doesn’t even wince.

  The Kings roar, forcing me to look back. Rick has pushed Tobias away from him and he stumbles on his toes, wiping the blood off his face as he leans against the corner for balance. Tobias rushes him and holds Rick still as he bashes his knee against his ribs repeatedly. He spins him around and tosses Rick to the floor with a loud grunt.

  Rick shifts on his wobbling feet but can’t manage to push himself up before Tobias descends on him again with mighty fists, straddling his waist to pin him against the mat.

  “Tobias…” I whisper, knowing that he’ll never hear me. I push my thoughts away, remembering the promise I made. I promised not to see him his way. This isn’t him. This is just something he has to do to be the man he wants to be, but I can’t watch this and think for a moment that it won’t change him in the end.

  I jerk my arm free of Pike’s grasp and step forward. Devlin blocks my path, but quickly backs down once he sees my eyes.

  “Claire—”

  I ignore Pike’s voice and push my way through the Alphas. They nudge each other’s shoulders and let me pass by without complaint towards the Kings’ side. I keep walking through them until I stand in front of my stepfather, Thomas.

  “Is she really worth all this?” I ask him, drawing his eyes away from the ring. He stares down at me with a furrowed brow, his blue eyes reflecting hidden flashes of regret back at me. I grit my teeth, waiting for a response that never comes. “You’ll stand there and watch your son die? For what?! A woman that doesn’t love you?”

  He blinks slowly with tight lips.

  “She doesn’t want you,” I seethe. “Your Double Ex Kings are done, especially once the truth comes out about who really killed Lillian — and I promise you it will, unless you stop this war now.” His expression twitches. I look back at the ring as Tobias wraps his fingers about Rick’s throat. “Make your choice, Thomas! End it or I will let him die!”

  Thomas turns away, his eyes falling on his son’s blood-covered face. He turns soft and he stares at Rick the same way I’ve seen Charlie stare at Tobias. If there’s one thing in this world that Thomas Eastwood actually loves, it’s his only son.

  “Call him off,” he says.

  I spin around and sprint towards the ring. “Amy!” I call, darting straight for her.

  She turns to me and gasps as I yank the whistle off her neck, snapping the chain in two. I grab the ropes and lift myself up into the ring with the whistle between my lips. The crowd surrenders, falling quiet as the deafening whistle pierces the air, but Tobias does nothing to loosen his grip on Rick’s throat.

  I drop the whistle to the floor and fall to my knees next to them. “Tobias, stop!” I reach out and grab Tobias’ face, pulling his face up to meet his eyes. “Stop!” I cry.

  There’s a sudden shift in his soul as his dark pupils shrink, overwhelmed by green. “Claire…” he whispers.

  “Let him go,” I urge. “It’s over.” I lay my hands on his to guide them off of Rick’s throat. His fingers quake in mine, his knuckles still locked in a fierce grip, but he lets me hold them against my lips. “It’s over…”

  He looks down at Rick’s blue and red face and shakes his head. “I—”

  “Shh,” I whisper. “It’s time to go home now, Tobias.”

  His eyes shake, fueled by the adrenaline firing through his system. I give him a sweet smile to lure him back to me, my heart pounding with fear. Finally, he nods and I pull him off of Rick.

  Ryan and Amy climb into the ring and they help us to our feet.

  “Tobiasss…”

  I look down to see Rick crawling on his hands and knees, far too weak to stand up. He spits teeth and blood onto the mat and raises his broken face to look at us. “We had a deal!”

  Thomas pulls himself up and he pauses near me. “You’ll never see us again,” he says.

  “You’ll have to convince him of that,” I warn, staring up at him for a long moment. I wait, hoping for my sense of dread to disappear, but it never does.

  He walks away and bends down to tend to his son.

  “No—!” Rick chokes. “Tobias — get back here!”

  We ignore his calls and Ryan helps Tobias down to the floor. My eyes fall to his bruised skin. There was a time when I found his battered body exhilarating, but that time has officially passed us by. I want nothing more than to hold him now and soothe his wounds; something I plan on doing every day for the rest of my life.

  I step down from the ring to find Pike lingering there with his arms crossed about his chest. “I guess that makes us square then,” he says.

  I nod. “Thank you for your help.”

  He shrugs. “Can’t say I did much, to be honest. You seem to have a knack for taking care of things yourself.”

  “Still…” I mutter, my eyes falling on Tobias as he trudges away with Ryan holding him up. Amy appears from the locker room with their clothes clenched in her hands. “Thank you.”

  “Get him home,” he says, gesturing towards the door with a head nod. “The Alphas will take it from here.”

  I say nothing more and follow them towards the exit.

  Chapter 14

  The Red Snow

  I step out of the car and into the driveway. My feet sink into the thick snow and I inhale deep, taking in the familiar scent of the farm.

  “You going to be okay, Toby?” Amy asks as she pokes her head out of the driver’s side window. “We could swing by the hospital—”

  “Don’t bother trying. He’s fine,” I mock, rolling my eyes at him.

  Tobias shakes his head. “I’ll be all right, Amy,” he says to her. “Thanks though.”

  She looks him up and down with a raised brow. “Okay…” she says, biting her lip. “You did well tonight. It was a good fight. I’d hate for it to be the last one I see out of you...”

  “Sorry,” he says, holding his side as he steps closer to me. “But I think you know what I’ll say to that, Amy.”

  She sighs. “I know… but that won’t stop me from trying.”

  “I’d expect nothing less.”

  “Anyway… it’s freezing and I have some very dirty things in mind for Ryan tonight, so I’m going to get going.”

  I laugh and the warmth of it spreads through my toes. “Goodnight, Amy.”

  “Goodnight, you guys.” She rolls her window back up and wastes no time flooring it down the driveway.

  Tobias looks at me with soft eyes, his battered limbs gently shaking in the cold. He steps forward and plants a soft kiss on my brow.

  “Is that all you got for me?” I tease.

  “Maybe tonight,” he says, pulling me into his arms. I take a
deep breath, filling my lungs with him. It mixes with the farm’s perfect aroma and for the first time in so long, happiness swells inside. It relaxes me, calming every muscle until I’m sure I’m about to fall down.

  “It’s over,” I say aloud.

  His lips brush against my forehead. “Yeah,” he whispers.

  “I’m not dreaming, right?”

  “No, Claire. You’re not dreaming.”

  I hold him tighter and he tenses up. “Oh—! Sorry…” I loosen my grip on him.

  “It’s okay,” he says. “It doesn’t hurt much.”

  I pull back to look up into his stunning green eyes, entirely visible in the dark. “What do we do now?”

  Tobias licks his lip and brushes a hair off my cheek. “We figure it out tomorrow.” His finger pushes beneath my chin, holding my face up to his.

  “Tomorrow sounds good,” I say before I feel his kiss on my lips.

  “Come on,” he says, squeezing my hand. “Let’s get you warm.”

  He leads me inside the house and up to his room. We keep it quiet on the stairs, recalling that special path to keep the old, wooden stairs from creaking too loudly and waking Charlie up.

  It reminds me of the old days. Back when I had no idea who Tobias was. Back when I was just a messed-up city girl with no shortage of problems. I suppose that last part is still true, but after tonight, things should get a whole lot simpler.

  We enter his room and silently kick off our shoes. I collapse onto his bed, feeling the entire weight of the last six months melt off me. He follows me down and lies behind, draping one arm across my body to hold me tight against him.

  I breathe a thick sigh and exhale it completely, settling into place. “I love you, Tobias.”

  He plants a sweet kiss on my neck. “I love you, Claire,” he whispers back.

  I let my heavy eyelids overwhelm me and sleep takes us.

  ***

  I try to run faster, but the snow is far too thick. My feet get trapped in it, sinking deeper with each step like quicksand. I scream and claw at the ground, refusing to give up and turn back. I can feel it behind me, inching closer and closer to me. That red and orange light.