UNDYING: A Bad Boy MMA Romance (Midwest Alphas) (Book 3) Page 7

  “Go inside, Claire,” he urges. “Get warm.”

  I step forward and lower myself to my knees in front of him. “I think I’d rather just sit with you for a while.”

  He sighs, but doesn’t fight me on it.

  I look up at the open window as a gust of air sends the falling snow inside, covering my perfect getaway spot. It saddens me for a moment as I realize I won’t be able to read a book out here until spring comes back again. I actually miss reading about Mary’s romance heroes and their dramatic women. It’s a gentle escape from my own troubled existence.

  “I almost gave up.”

  My eyes fall from the loft. “On what?”

  “I woke up that morning — the one before you came back home — and I thought, I’m done.” He stares at the ground between us. “I looked around at my life and I didn’t recognize it anymore.”

  “Tobias…” I say with comfort.

  “This is all I was,” he continues. “I was a fighter — when all I ever really wanted to be was your man, but I couldn’t be. Every morning, I’d wake up and the drive would be there to find Rick and bring you back home to me.” He bites his inner cheek. “But that morning, for the first time, I started to lean the other way. I almost gave up on us and that…” His voice fades.

  My eyes sting behind my lashes. “I woke up screaming that night.”

  His eyes jump to me. “What?”

  I wipe a falling tear off my cheek and pull my glove off my hand. “I kept dreaming about you and Rick, fighting...” I present my palm to him and he takes it, his eyes instantly finding the fresh scabs left behind. I close my fist, showing him with my nails how the marks got there, feeling the painful pressure against my broken skin. “Every dream ended the same way… with Rick covered in your blood.” I look up at him and he stares back at me with soft eyes. “Believe me, Tobias, I know a little something about wanting to give up. My mother contacted Charlie and he came all the way out there to ensure me that you were still okay, but I didn’t believe him. I couldn’t. Not when every sense inside of me told me otherwise. I wanted to come back to you every single day, even before I ever had a good reason to”

  He lets my hand slip from his fingers and I pull the glove back onto my freezing knuckles. “This life… is exhausting, Claire,” he whispers. “No matter what I do to try and get away from it, it keeps pulling me back in and I don’t…”

  “Don’t what?”

  He rubs his dry lips. “I don’t think I can beat him this time.”

  “I do.” I lean in closer. “You’re a better man, Tobias. You always have been.”

  “That won’t matter if he’s the better fighter.”

  “You are the better fighter.”

  “Your dreams think otherwise…”

  “My dreams were lies; I know that now. I mean… I thought they meant he was more powerful, but now I see that it meant what I already knew and that’s that we are stronger together than we are apart.” Tobias pauses, listening closely to me. I reach out and force my fingers around his. “I looked into his eyes today and I saw who he really is… He cannot beat you, Tobias. He’s been running from you for six months because he knows that. I think the fact that he felt he had to frame you for murder proves it even more...”

  “And if he wins?” His fingers twitch in mine. “You’ll leave with him?”

  “He won’t.”

  “But if he does…”

  “Then…” I take a breath. “Then the Alphas will be gone and you won’t have to be so exhausted anymore.”

  “I can’t let him take you. That’s not okay.”

  “I’ll be fine.” My chest trembles. “I refuse to picture a scenario here that doesn’t end with me finding my way back to you and this place.” He finds my eyes again. “This is my home, Tobias, and I will fight to keep it. All I ask is that you do the same.”

  A short smile touches his lips. “I will. Of course I will.”

  “And when you win… you and I will continue that conversation from the motel yesterday morning.”

  He smiles even more. “I thought you’d forgotten about that.”

  “Never.” I squeeze his fingers. “We both want the same things, Tobias. Don’t let him take that from us. Not when we’re so close to finally getting the life we deserve…”

  He pulls me closer and I turn to lay back against his chest. His body heat blends with mine, warming me all the way to the core. “I will beat him.” His breath tickles my lobes.

  “Promise me...”

  His cold lips touch my cheek. “I promise.”

  “Promise me again.”

  He twitches with laughter. “I promise, Claire.” He wraps his arms even tighter around me. “I will win this fight and we will start over.”

  I crane my neck to look at him, admiring his perfect features before I close my eyes and he blesses my lips with his.

  Chapter 8

  Justice For Mary

  I stare out the window of Pike’s gym. The street outside is far worse off than it was six months ago when I was last here. Crumpled up garbage lines the street corners and sewer grates, and I’m fairly certain the sticky, blackish stain in the parking lot is blood. Rick was right. The cops haven’t come around here in quite some time and the locals know it.

  Even the inside of Pike’s gym, The Bulging Bicep, looks different. A thin layer of dust coats the black television screens. The air is stale and cold and there’s a sign on the window, hanging by a single piece of old tape: Closed until further notice.

  I take a step away from the window as the winter air bleeds inside to touch my arms. I rub my hands together, but the chill doesn’t go away.

  This is the last place I saw Lillian Tombs alive.

  Tobias and Ryan stand outside the boxing ring near the back, warming up with a few swings at the thick punching bags in the corner, while Amy sits on a bench nearby. She taps her fingers against her phone’s screen, gliding through texts and news feeds, desperately trying not to make it too obvious she’s watching Ryan.

  The drive up to St. Louis this morning was far more awkward than the drive home yesterday. It’s pretty clear that she and Ryan didn’t make up last night, but I won’t get a chance to talk to her about it until later.

  Pike walks into the main room from the manager’s office and reaches out to flick on a second light switch, illuminating another row of ceiling lights to fill the dark spaces of the room. He carries a roll of white hand wrap with him that he carefully rolls around his knuckles in preparation.

  “When did you shut down?” I ask him as I run a finger across a dusty wrack of free weights.

  “Few months ago,” he answers. “Didn’t really have time to focus on the business once all this started happening.”

  “What about your other business?”

  His eyes peek down at me. “The little, plastic baggy business?”

  “Yeah, that one.”

  “I gave that up a long time ago.”

  “Really?”

  He scoffs. “Your boy Rick was just as disappointed.”

  “I’m not disappointed,” I say. “Just surprised.”

  “Yeah, well…” He tosses the rest of the roll onto a shelf nearby. “Going legit means dropping lots of bad habits.”

  I chuckle. “I know what you mean…”

  “So I’ve heard,” he quips, pausing a moment. He juts to the side, ready to wander over to the others, but turns back to me instead. “Look, Claire… I’m sorry about that day at the gas station. Being a professional asshole was kind of my thing back then.”

  I blink, repeating his words over in my head in case I misheard. There’s a lot I’ve grown to expect from Pike the Punisher. Empathy and remorse don’t exactly make the list. “It’s okay…” I clear my throat. “Thank you.”

  He turns without another word and walks to the back of the gym. I look out the window again, feeling even more uneasy than I did before. Wind brushes wild passed the windows, whistling by, drawing another
batch of snowflakes to the ground below. I turn away as voices pull me towards the boxing ring where Amy and Ryan pass words back and forth.

  “So, you guys will have to dig into them until they tap out,” she says, shrugging her shoulders.

  “Kings don’t tap out,” he replies, almost out of reflex. “No, we’ll have to knock them out completely.”

  “Really?” I ask.

  “The option is there, of course, but we’re trained to ignore it,” he explains. “Any King that does tap out is basically ostracized for it and never sees the inside of a ring again. For them, every fight is a blood duel.”

  I look down, my eyes falling to the tattoo on his right hand. A King only receives that tattoo if he wins a fight. It’s hard to imagine, as suave as Ryan is, that he’s capable of that much brutality.

  “Jeez…” Amy rolls her eyes. “So much for a gentleman’s club.”

  “We don’t have cutesy nicknames either,” he bites back. “You’re not going to find any Untouchables or Punishers among us.”

  She narrows her gaze at him. “You’re really comfortable saying we.”

  He stares back and crosses his arms. “Yeah, I guess I am.”

  “Guys, come on,” Tobias sighs and runs his fingers through his hair. “We need to focus. Ryan, is there anything else we should know?”

  Ryan shifts his attention away from Amy and chews on his lip. “They aren’t big on theatrics. Entertaining the crowd isn’t exactly their top priority.”

  “What do you mean?” I ask.

  “A King is trained to end a fight in as few moves as possible. You hit hard, you hit fast, and you take them down. They don’t play cat and mouse like Alphas do to win over an audience. It’s their motto. Show no mercy.”

  I look at Tobias as a rush of fear tingles my toes.

  “Okay then,” Pike says, cracking his taped knuckles. “Let’s get started.”

  ***

  “Again!”

  Tobias grits his teeth and settles back into his fighting stance across from Ryan. He keeps his eyes forward, although I can clearly see him pushing against the urge to glare at Pike as he barks orders at them from outside the ring.

  They’ve been sparing for hours now, taking whatever instruction Pike throws at them. While I’m full of sympathy for them, they haven’t heard a peep from me the entire time, nor from Amy, as we sit back and watch our boys glistening with body sweat.

  Tobias holds up a hand, signaling for a break and Ryan nods with enthusiasm.

  “Tobias!” Pike shouts. “Let’s go.”

  “We’re just taking a minute,” he fires back.

  “You can take a minute next week.” Pike rubs the short hairs on his head, scratching at his scalp.

  Tobias spins around to look at him, dripping beads of sweat to the mat as he moves. “I don’t see you throwing any punches up here…”

  “I’m not the one going up against my nemesis in four days. Believe me when I tell you Rick isn’t sitting around on his ass right now drinking mimosas. Again!”

  Tobias clenches his jaw and rests his hands on his hips. His eyes suddenly shift towards me and the intensity of his stare fires an electric bolt up my spine, tingling my cold fingers and toes.

  “Tobias…” Pike finally pulls himself up to the ring and climbs inside. “There will be plenty of time to make puppy eyes at girls later.”

  I sigh, sending a quick glance at Amy next to me. She looks back with concern, no doubt just as nervous as I am that one of them is about to get punched for real.

  “You know…” she says, throwing her voice. “Maybe we should take a little break…”

  “No,” Pike snaps. He stops in front of Tobias, looking down from the few short inches he has on him. “We’re not done yet.”

  I cringe. The last time they faced each other like this in the ring, Pike stabbed Tobias. My eyes fall to the scar on his left side, lingering just above the elastic of his black shorts.

  “Pike…” she warns.

  He ignores her and keeps his eyes locked on Tobias. “You angry?”

  “Getting there,” Tobias answers.

  “Good. Keep going. You’ll need it to fight Rick.”

  “I don’t need any fancy tricks to get myself angry at Rick.”

  “Tobias, he already knows your fighting style—”

  “No thanks to you,” Tobias interrupts.

  Pike takes a deep breath. “He knows your fighting style and he knows, better than anyone here, your worst fear. If you’re going to beat him, you’ll have to focus on something other than Claire. For once.”

  “Pike!” I shout, feeling my own anger in my chest. I stand up from the bench and step closer to the ring as Amy does the same.

  “Leave her alone,” Tobias says.

  “Look, I get it,” Pike says, shaking his head. “You’re young, confident, cocky, and hell, you’ve earned it, but so has he. Sorry, kid, but the honeymoon period is over. You’re not winning this one because of a bout of the warm and fuzzies.”

  Tobias steps closer to him, their chests barely touching. “I said, leave her alone.”

  “I’m only looking at you, Tobias,” Pike says, his eyes unmoving. “You keep your hands up and your eyes forward at all times — it’s how you used to be, isn’t that right, Tobias the Untouchable?” Tobias’ chest rises and falls as fury builds inside of him. “Think about that. Think about the fighter that joined the Alphas in the first place. I want that guy in this ring. He was focused and solid. He didn’t have some cute cheerleader moaning his name, distracting him from who he needed to be.”

  Tobias turns around. “I’m taking a break,” he mutters, stepping towards the ropes.

  Pike’s lips curl. “Would you like to know what your little sister’s last words were, Tobias?”

  “Pike!” Amy screams. “That is enough!”

  My jaw drops as Tobias’ hands roll back into fists. “Tobias—!” I shout, losing my voice mid-name.

  He spins back around and lunges at Pike, throwing the entirety of his weight against him. Pike falls backward into the corner, tossed by the extreme force of Tobias’ shoulders.

  Ryan attempts to step between them, but Tobias lashes out with a quick jab, connecting with Ryan’s cheek and shoving him out of the way.

  “Tobias!” I scream for him again, jumping into the ring.

  He pins Pike to the corner and attacks him with a hurricane of punches, far faster than I’ve ever seen him throw before. Each one hits so loud, I think my ears are popping as I push myself forward into harm’s way. I reach out to Tobias, but my fingers slip from his sweaty arm as it moves in front of me with a blur. “Stop!”

  Tobias grabs Pike by his shirt and pulls him from the corner. With a powerful charge, he flips Pike over his shoulder and slams his back against the mat. He stumbles on his feet, giving me barely a second to intervene.

  I throw myself in front of Tobias, blocking him from finishing Pike off. “Tobias, stop!” He grabs my arms; his grip sharp as nails against me. I look into his eyes and darkness stares back at me, ready to push me away. I can feel it in his fingers, that urge to toss me to the side, but something holds him back. My entire body shakes in fear of him. The moment grinds to a halt, blurring in slow motion until the green returns to his eyes.

  “Claire…” His voice sounds as quiet and soft as a lone raindrop. He releases me, lowering his hands to his sides before taking a long step back.

  “There it is…”

  I turn around and look to the mat. Pike sits at its center, propped up on one elbow, his other hand massaging his jaw while blood seeps from his nose.

  “That’s it, Tobias,” he says, sliding to his knees.

  Tobias stares down at him, saying nothing in return. He walks out of the ring and disappears into the back hallway, veering left towards the men’s locker room.

  I look for Ryan and find him leaning against the far corner with Amy attached to his arm. His cheek is red, connected to a split and swollen bot
tom lip. “I’m sorry,” I say to him.

  Ryan nods, but gives a nonchalant wave to show he holds no grudge.

  I turn back to Pike and stare up into his eyes with a white-hot fury. “I need to have a word with you,” I say, refusing to even blink. I step out of the ring without bothering to wait for his response and charge towards the back hallway. His feet follow me until we pass into the abandoned women’s locker room. It sits in the exact same condition as it was the last time I saw it six months ago; pristine, pink, and unused.

  I cross my arms about my chest as Pike walks over to the sink in the corner and wets a paper towel to dab against his bleeding nose. “What the hell were you thinking? Did you think that was funny?!”

  “Of course not,” he says before hocking his red spit down the drain.

  “Pike, I promised you he’d play nice. I promised that he’d stop trying to get justice for Mary — which for the record, you absolutely deserve to be locked up for — but I can’t keep that promise if you keep poking him like a damn lab rat every time you want to get a rise out of him.”

  “Claire…” He smashes the towel in his palm before tossing it to the floor. “If he’s really going to beat Rick, then he’s going to have to go to a very dark place. Rick has already proven he’s willing to kill to take back what he wants and we have to make sure Tobias is just as willing to do the same.”

  “Tobias is willing to kill.”

  “No, he’s not.”

  “He almost slit your throat last year, Pike. Or have you forgotten about that?”

  “Exactly, Claire…” He pushes in close, so close I feel his breath on my forehead. “Almost, but you stopped him.” I counter with a step back, but he just closes the distance between us with a quick stride. “If we really want Tobias to be ready for this, then he has to be pushed farther than even you are capable of pulling him back from.”

  I pause as my heart lurches in my chest. “I can’t lose him again, Pike…” The words fly through my lips, passing every filter before I can stop them. “I don’t want him to become you.”

  “Well, I’m sorry, Claire,” he whispers. “But when all of this is finished, he may not be the same man you know now.” He turns around and moves towards the door.