Authors: L.P. Dover
Tags: #love, #coming of age, #series, #second chances, #mixed martial arts, #sports romance, #sagas, #new adult
Jake sighed and shook his head. “I’m sorry you have
to go through this again. Just know that he’ll never be allowed
back in here.”
“Thanks,” she murmured.
His attention swayed to me. “Why don’t you wash up
quickly in my office? You don’t want to go to the station covered
in blood.”
Nodding, I grabbed Megan’s hand. “Come with me.” I
didn’t want to let her out of my sight.
***
AS LONG AS I lived, I knew I would never get the
vision out of my mind of watching Kyle charge after Alex. It was
terrifying, almost as if Kyle was someone else. Nicole followed us
in my car so I could ride with him to the police station.
“You’re quiet,” I whispered. The whole time he spent
washing up in Jake’s bathroom, he was silent. Now we were on our
way to the police station and I wanted him to talk to me.
He grabbed my hand and brought it up to his split lip
and kissed it. “There’s just a lot on my mind right now.”
I nodded. “I know.”
We pulled into the parking lot of the police station
and he shut off his truck, but made no move to get out. Nicole
parked beside us and waited. “I’m sorry you had to see me like
that,” he murmured.
I turned my body to face him. “Like what?”
His head was down, but then he sighed and faced me.
“In a rage. The last thing I want is for you to be afraid of
me.”
“Kyle, that’s never going to happen. Just because you
went after Alex doesn’t make me think you’ll hurt me. On the
contrary, it lets me know that you’ll do anything to keep me safe.
It makes me love you more.”
He breathed a sigh of relief. “I do love you. It
scares the fuck out of me, but I do.”
I snickered, which brought a small smile to his face.
“I’m glad to know that
something
scares the big, bad Kyle
Andrews.”
Chuckling, he opened up his door. “Just don’t go
telling people.”
“Your secret’s safe with me.”
We joined up with Nicole. “How about we get this over
with and go home and eat ice cream?” she suggested.
“Sounds like a plan to me.”
Once inside the station, we were directed to Ryan’s
office, who finished up his call and motioned us in. “Good, you’re
here. I just got off the phone with Mason and told him everything
that happened tonight.”
“So what do you need from us?” I asked.
Sighing, he leaned over on his desk, clasping his
hands. “We have a problem. I can’t find any connections Alex has to
anyone here, and by the description of the car that tried to run
you over, I can’t pin it on him without evidence.”
“What about the restraining order? The phone
calls?”
“The order is still in effect,” he added. “However,
Mr. Brady swears up and down that he didn’t know you were in Vegas.
Now that he
knows
, he has no choice but to adhere to the
order.”
Kyle tensed beside me, growling. “That’s bullshit and
you know it.”
Ryan nodded. “It is, but if he gets near Megan again
in any way, charges will be filed and he’ll go back to jail. If he
so much as leaves another flower on your doorstep, I’ll haul his
ass in myself.”
“What are you going to do with him tonight?” I
questioned.
He stood and headed for the door. “I’m going to talk
to him. I thought you’d want to watch. He won’t be able to see
you.”
Kyle and Nic both lifted their brows, waiting on my
reply. Taking a deep breath, I stood and they followed suit. “Let’s
go.”
We followed Ryan down a long hallway and he opened a
door to a room with a line of chairs. The window was off to the
left and through it, we could see Alex sitting casually at a table.
His face was black and blue, but he had a smirk like nothing was
wrong.
I sat down in one of the chairs while Kyle and Nic
took a seat to either side. Kyle held my hand as we waited for Ryan
to enter. When he did, I moved to the edge of my seat. There was a
camera in the top corner of the room, but he shut it off and the
red light disappeared.
Alex stood up straighter, narrowing his cold, dark
eyes. “You can’t keep me in here, officer,” he challenged.
Ryan chuckled. “Actually, I can and I will, at least
for a few days. It looks like you’ve been busy since you came into
town. I guess you must really miss being ass raped.”
“What the fuck ever,” Alex spat.
“Hey, I know what goes on. You know what happens if
you violate your restraining order, you go back there to being
someone’s bitch.”
“Look, I didn’t know she was in Vegas.”
“You expect me to believe that? Just like you expect
me to believe that it wasn’t you who tried to run her and Mr.
Andrews over?”
Alex tilted his head to the side with that same evil
smirk on his face. “You can’t prove shit. I don’t have a car that
fits the description.”
Ryan’s smile faded. “You’re right, you don’t. But
someone you know does.” He walked around the table and stopped
behind Alex. “You want to know what I think you should do?”
Alex scoffed. “Not really.”
Ryan smashed his hands on the desk. “I think you
should leave town and get as far away from here as possible. If you
so much as get
near
Megan again, I’m going to make sure you
get beaten and ass fucked every goddamned day for the rest of your
life. You got that?”
“You can’t threaten me.”
Clenching his jaw, Ryan pursed his lips and stopped
behind Alex again. What happened next made me gasp. In one swift
move, Ryan grabbed Alex by the throat and slammed him down onto the
floor. I jumped to my feet and watched as Alex’s face turned blue.
He tried to fight back but he was handcuffed.
“The thing is, shitdick, I can threaten you if I want
to.
You
can’t prove shit. How does it feel to be helpless?
You are one sick bastard and you’re going to pay for everything
you’ve done. Now take my advice and leave town. I see men like you
disappear all the time. I can guarantee no one will miss you.”
Alex gasped for air as soon as Ryan let him go and
walked out of the room. We watched as two of Ryan’s men came in and
tossed Alex and his chair in an upright position. He looked a
little wary of the men on either side of him. Maybe Ryan had
rattled his cage?
The chief came into our room and I turned to him.
“What do we do now?” I asked.
“We wait, I guess. I’ll have a tail on him for a
while to make sure he leaves town. If you suspect he’s come back at
any point, I want you to contact me directly.”
“I will.”
He nodded and left the room, leaving the door open
behind him.
Nicole hugged me tight. “Do you think this is the
end?”
I looked up at Kyle and sighed. “I don’t know, but I
truly hope so.”
***
Two Months Later
“SOME OF THEM are pretty hot aren’t they?” I
said, bumping Nic’s arm. We were in our seats at the MGM Grand,
waiting for Zane’s first official UFC fight.
“You got that right.”
“What about Zane? He’s a good looking guy too, don’t
you think?”
She turned her narrowed gaze to me and pursed her
lips. “Are you trying to set me up with him?”
“No, why?” I asked innocently.
“Yeah, yeah, you expect me to believe that. You’ve
been talking about him a lot around me. I started getting
suspicious about a month ago.”
I shrugged. “Can you blame me? He’s a good guy and
you’re both single. I thought it could work.” Besides, she needed
to get over Greg. It’d been over a month since she last heard from
him. The fucker broke up with her through a text. My goal now was
to get her cheered up and back in the game.
“What does he say about it?”
“He doesn’t need to say anything. I can tell by the
way he looks at you. Watch,” I said, pointing to the curtain.
Zane’s fight song blared over the speakers and he
marched out with Kyle right behind him. I whistled and shouted and
so did Kacey, beaming as her brother proudly walked down as not the
fighter, but the coach.
This was the first time Kyle would be acknowledged as
a coach. He was nervous on how the crowd would take his return, but
that was why he had his friends and family there to watch. Kacey
sat beside me with Tyler on the other side of her while Nic sat to
my right.
When Zane got up into the ring, he waved at the crowd
and took off the red robe Kyle had given him. It was actually the
robe Kyle used to wear. Zane strutted to the middle of the ring to
wait for his opponent and just as I expected, his gaze landed on
Nic.
She gasped. “Oh my God, he looked straight at
me.”
“Yep, just like he does every day at the gym. Maybe
you should hang out with him tonight at the party. I think you’ll
really like him.” Kacey and Tyler would be having a celebration
party for Zane and Kyle at their house tonight. We were all going
to celebrate his first UFC fight, win or lose.
She bumped me in the shoulder. “I think I just
might.”
His opponent was finally announced and he entered the
ring. Once the bell rang, the fight was on. I wanted to watch the
fight, but I enjoyed watching Kyle more. The way he watched Zane’s
every move and shouted encouragements and advice, made my stomach
flutter. He worked hard with Zane and I could see Kyle’s own style
in his fighting.
The first round ended quickly, but once the second
began, Zane went on full attack. He knocked his opponent out in the
first thirty seconds. We jumped out of our seats and cheered for
him as his hand was lifted triumphantly in the air. And then we
cheered even harder when Zane grabbed Kyle’s wrist and lifted his
arm in the air as well.
“He looks good up there,” Kacey gushed, staring at
Kyle.
He glanced down at me and winked. “That he does, and
it’s only the beginning.”