Tyler's Undoing (3 page)

Incredulously, I gasped and slapped him on the back. “Please, I have a little more restraint than that, old man.”

“Whatever you say, son,” he chuckled. “Call me if you need me.”

Opening the door, he looked back once and smiled before the door slammed shut. Immediately, I went to the list he left on the bar and searched down each line. Halfway down the list there was his name . . . Paxton Emerson
.
No wonder Jake told me I couldn’t fight.

I promised Gabriella I wouldn’t go after him, and if he didn’t stop, there was no way in hell I was going to keep my mouth shut. She might not be mine, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to be his.

Reluctantly, I put my big boy pants on, and matched Paxton up against another fighter, even though I really wanted to put my name beside it. I’d kicked his ass a few months ago when he was fighting in the Heavyweight division. Sadly, he moved down a division this season, which meant he’d no longer be fighting against me.

It didn’t matter though. I was going to make sure he left Gabriella alone. If I happened to throw a few punches here and there to get it through his head . . . it wouldn’t be that bad. I could control myself.

The club was packed to the brim, with even more people waiting in line outside. Friday and Saturday nights were always busy at the club, but Fridays were the best. In just a couple of weeks, the last half of the UFC season would start and I’d be one step closer to putting my nemesis out of commission and earning the title.
It’s a shame Kyle’s not in town this weekend.

“Did you put me down to fight tonight?” a voice behind me called out.

Without turning around, I chuckled and kept my gaze on the newbie fighters warming up. “Actually, I did,” I replied. “You’re up against, Beckett Miller.”

Ryley stepped in front of me, blocking my line of sight. His hair was still dyed dark brown, after coloring it so no one would get him and his twin mixed up. Of course, his usual smirk was still in place.

“And who the hell is that? I’ve never heard of him,” he retorted. He was already in his blue and white fighting shorts and blue gloves, itching to fight.

His opponent, Beck, was a local guy who started training at my gym. He wasn’t even in the UFC, but he was one hell of a fighter. Tonight was his first fight and I would rather see him go against one of my friends than one of the other douche bags in the crowd.

“That’s because he’s never fought before,” I told him. “He’ll be a good opponent. Just go easy on him, it’s his first time.”

Ryley’s twin, Camden, came up to my side all dressed in his signature red and black fighting gear. “Did you put me down tonight too?” he asked.

Smiling, I pointed over at one of the top upcoming Middleweight fighters in his division. He was about six foot tall, shaved brown hair and a hundred and eighty-five pounds—the ideal weight and height for his class. Never once had I seen the guy smile.

“Landon Baker. From what I hear, he’s going to give you and your brother hell this season.”

Camden barked out a laugh. “We’ll see about that. Have you even talked to the guy? He’s like a fucking mute.”

“Yeah, when I told him he’s fighting you. He just nodded, that’s it. All I know is that he’s relentless in the ring.”

Tilting his neck to both sides, his bones cracked as he stretched. “Not like me,” Camden gloated. “I’ll take him down.”

Before heading over to the ring, he fist-bumped Ryley and watched Landon from across the room—sizing him up. I had no doubt Camden would win, but Landon had the determination. He had the same look in his eyes I had when I first started.

“So I guess you’re not fighting tonight?” Ryley asked.

About that time, Paxton walked into the arena. He was by himself, which shocked me, considering he was always surrounded by Kyle’s groupies. I hated the fucknut.

“No,” I growled, “I’m not.”

When Ryley realized who I was looking at, he bumped me in the shoulder. “I take it Gabriella told you about him?”

I nodded.

“I wouldn’t worry about it, man. She has Bradley protecting her. I offered to help her out, but she said no. I swear that girl attracts every single cocksucker in a thousand mile radius.”

Yes, I know.

“Have you talked to her recently?” I asked.

He shrugged. “Yeah, she told me about you and her calling it quits. Honestly, it’s probably for the best. She’s left to go visit you know who in Aspen. I’m surprised her brother let her go with the kind of schedule he put her on. I think she trains more than I do.”

With a coach like Matt, it didn’t surprise me. “What about Ashleigh? Have you talked to her?”

His jaw tensed for a split second, and then he shook his head. “No, and I don’t plan on it. She’s probably off planning a fucking wedding with her lame ass boyfriend.”

If only he knew the truth.

I wanted to tell him, but I respected Gabriella’s wishes and kept my mouth shut. “All right, I need to make my rounds. I’ll catch up with you after the fights are over.”

Ryley shook my outstretched hand and nodded. “Sounds good. Just do yourself a favor and try not to kick Paxton’s ass. The last thing you want to do is cause problems for Gabriella.”

“Trust me, I don’t plan on it. That’s what I have Tex for.”

Paxton’s opponent for the evening was Tex Montross, a Texan who spent his time fighting and raising cattle on his farm. His real name was Blaine, but only a handful of people knew.

Tex was about six foot two with curly, blond hair he always kept covered with a cowboy hat. I met him about a year ago when I was in Texas for a fight. Needless to say, it wasn’t exactly a warm greeting. It was early in the morning and I was in the hotel gym working out when he noticed me, smirking the entire time. It pissed me off. He then proceeded to challenge me and I was more than willing to kick his ass.

We made a bet. He told me I wouldn’t be able to handle his workout regime and I bet him that I could. Several of the other fighters in the hotel went along with us to Tex’s barn to see if they could handle it too. Luckily, I won the bet–and his money–but even to this day, I considered his makeshift gym to be one of the hardest workouts I’d ever done.

Tex was off in the corner wrapping his hands and putting on his gloves.

“It’s not exactly the prairie here is it? Miss your cows?” I teased.

“Ya’ll can keep your fancy lights, city boy,” Tex jested. “Ya’ll don’t know what you’re missing.”

I slapped him on the back and laughed. “Actually, I do and you’re more than welcome to keep the cow shit. Hey, listen, I need you to do a favor for me.”

Tex’s brown eyes lit up. “Oh? And what exactly would that be?”

Moving a little closer, I smiled and nodded over at Paxton. “The guy you’re fighting is Paxton Emerson. Since I’m not allowed to fight tonight, I need you to send him a message.”

Devilishly, he smiled. “You mean like a physical type of message?”

I nodded. “He seems to have a problem with listening. I need to make sure he stays away from this girl I know.”

“She your lady friend?”

“No, but we’re good friends,” I said, keeping my eyes locked on Paxton. “The last thing she needs is to get involved with him.”

“Don’t worry, city. I’m fixin’ to make sure he gets the message loud and clear.”

“Good, but I think it’ll be fun to give him the message myself. Just get him ready for me.”

Tex guffawed. “With pleasure.”

Once the club closed, I was free. I could do whatever the hell I wanted.

WORD OF MY afterhours fight with Paxton got back to Gabriella pretty quickly. I woke up the next morning to a slew of text messages, and let’s just say the ignore button was my friend. Why bring it up, if she didn’t want me to fix the problem?

My plan had worked. First, he was pissed because of Tex’s message, which provoked him to come after me. When he came up to me, he said he wasn’t going to leave Gabriella alone—that she would ‘give in’ to him eventually. Well, the moment those words left his mouth, I reacted instantly. There were no rules, just full on street fighting out in the parking lot. I think more people enjoyed that than the actual fights inside.

“Do you want to talk about last night?” my father asked. “You know Jake is going to be pissed as hell.”

Huffing, I pounded my fists into the bag, sweat dripping down my face and into my eyes. “I didn’t do anything wrong,” I snapped. “It was after hours.”

“On
his
property, son. What if Paxton pressed charges? You could lose your spot in the UFC.”

“That’s not going to happen. If you knew the real story, you’d know he was the one who started it all . . . I just happened to finish it.”

My father glared at me, his jaw tense. “Either way, you should compose yourself like a normal human being. You may fight for a living, but that doesn’t mean you handle real life situations like you’re in the ring. I expect better from you.”

“Oh, Steven, give the boy a break,” my mother chided as she walked into the gym. “I heard what happened and the other guy deserved it. Lighten up on him, sweetheart.”

My mother knew what she was doing because my father finally got off my back and started in on her, following her to the front desk. “That’s not the point, Mary,” I heard him hiss. “The boy needs to learn to control his temper.”

“I wonder where he gets it from?” she teased, winking slyly at me over her shoulder.

Since our receptionist left for nursing school, my mother had been taking the day shift answering the phones. She seemed to enjoy it, but it was actually my job to find a replacement. Unfortunately, I hadn’t found anyone I liked.

Now that my father’s attention was diverted, it was time to put in my hours of training. I had a Heavyweight title to work for.