Tyler's Undoing (31 page)

Tired of looking at his back, I grabbed his arm and pulled as hard as I could, but he turned around willingly. My lips trembled and I dug my nails into my palms to block out the pain in my chest. For a split second he looked sad. Then, I blinked and it was back to stone.

“Tyler, I accept the fact you don’t understand why I kept my family history a secret, and why would you? You come from a perfect home, where your parents love you. I come from one of greed and malice. I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting a functional family until yours. It made me realize happiness is possible. I even started believing I could have that someday.

“My brother is a dick and when I had the chance to move away from home, I did. I left and never looked back. I never anticipated falling in love with you. Hell, I wanted to stay away from you and the fighting world.”

I paused and closed my eyes, the burn welling up behind my lids. “My one regret,” I began, my breath hitching, “is that I was selfish. I didn’t want to let you go, but I can promise you . . . I was myself the entire time we were together. I need someone who can love me for who I am, not hate me because of where I come from.”

Jaw clenching, he looked away and stayed silent. I jumped when Matt slammed open the back door and started sliding on his gloves. He busied himself with other things, pretending not to notice us, but the awkward silence was deafening.

“Say something,” I whispered.

Tyler glanced over at Matt and never once looked down at me. “I have nothing to say.”

The tears flowed freely now that my heart had shattered into a million pieces. I wanted Tyler to look at me, to touch me, but he didn’t. He turned away from me and started punching the bag again, harder with each jab. I was too embarrassed to look at Matt, so I kept my head held high until I got to the door. I could see Tyler’s reflection in the windows, and he never wavered. He was done with me. As soon as I opened the door and the fresh air blew across my face, I broke down and ran, hoping I could get as far away as fast as I could.

However, when I turned the corner, I ran straight into Paxton’s arms, burying my head in his chest. “Get me out of here, Pax,” I cried.

Keeping his arm around my waist, he led me over to his Hummer and opened the door. I slid in while he grabbed my suitcase and purse out of my rental and set them in the back seat. “We’ll come get the car tomorrow. You can stay at my place tonight.”

I laid my head against the window and closed my eyes. There were too many tears, I couldn’t see anything. “I thought he loved me, Pax. Instead, he was cold . . . detached. I’ve never seen him like that.”

Pulling out, Pax huffed and squealed his tires as he sped out of the parking lot. “I told you it wouldn’t be good, but you didn’t listen, Kacey. Things are really screwed up right now. You picked a bad time to come out here.”

When I looked in the side view mirror, Tyler burst out of the gym, and slammed his arms into the brick wall when he saw Pax’s vehicle speeding away. More tears flowed from my eyes, obscuring my view of him as we slipped further and further away. I couldn’t breathe, my chest ached, and the harder I tried to breathe the more lightheaded I got. “From the way he looked at me, I don’t think there was ever a good time, Pax. I just want to go home and forget all of this ever happened.”

Closing my eyes, I could feel my lungs tightening up with each breath. In my lifetime, I’d only had a handful of panic attacks, my worst one being when my father died. This one, however, felt like I was going to die.

“Kacey! What the fuck? Hold on, we’re almost there.”

The whole world felt like it was closing in on me, strangling me, taking away every precious breath. I had lost everything. Before passing out to my sweet surrender, I saw Paxton’s face above my own, his green eyes terrified.

“Breathe,” he commanded, his voice sounding so far away.

Closing my eyes, I heard frantic voices all around me, and hands touching my skin.

“Breathe, beautiful. I need you to come back to me.”

Tyler.

His voice echoed in my ear and I knew it was my own hallucinations imagining he was with me. It was most likely the last time I would ever hear his voice. “I want to hear it again,” I rasped. “Say it one more time.”

My vision was cloudy, but I felt something warm close over my lips, calming me. “I need you to come back to me, beautiful.”

Too exhausted, I closed my eyes and slowly fell into the darkness. “No,” I replied. “It’s too late.”

Head throbbing, I scrunched my eyes and could already tell they were swollen, and most likely red. When I tried to stretch, I couldn’t move my body because a set of arms held me tight and I was wrapped up in a gazillion blankets. “What the hell, Pax? I’m not a burrito.”

“Sorry to disappoint, but I’m not Paxton. If it were him, he’d be losing his limbs right about now.”

Wide-eyed, I rolled out of his arms and fell onto the floor, groaning when I knocked my knee on the bed frame. “What are you doing here?” I snapped angrily, glaring up at Tyler. “You have no right to touch me.”

He held his hands up in defeat. “I know, but you need to let me explain.”

Stalking around the bed, I flipped him off and slammed open the door to find Paxton waiting just outside. “I don’t need to let you explain shit,” I challenged, glaring back at Tyler. Then to Paxton, I crossed my arms over my chest defiantly. “Tell me what’s going on, Pax.”

Tyler slipped out of bed and slid on his jeans and a wrinkled white T-shirt. “You had a panic attack last night, Kacey. After you left, I couldn’t let you go, so I got in my car and followed you guys. Paxton pulled over when you started struggling for air.”

“Like you care,” I hissed, glaring at him.

“I
do
care and I’m so, so sorry. You have no idea how hard it’s been.”

What was he talking about? Glaring at both guys, they both looked sheepish. “Okay, what in the holy fuck is going on here? What are you talking about? And since when did you two become friends?”

They both glanced at each other and then Tyler grumbled, “We’re not friends. We have a mutual understanding. When he saw I was in town, he warned me your brother was keeping tabs on us. I kind of figured he would.” He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me in tight to his chest. His scent engulfed me and I breathed him in, relaxing in his hold without thinking about it. “I’m sorry for doing what I did, but I had no choice. This whole week has been a ploy to keep your brother in the dark.”

Stepping away, I turned around and faced him. “A ploy? What are you talking about?”

This time it was Paxton who stepped forward and spoke, “Like we said . . . your brother’s been keeping tabs on him. I’m sure you found that out when you saw the video.”

How could I forget? But was it really just a hoax? “Yes, I saw it,” I snapped, turning my glare to Tyler. “So are you saying it was fake? That you didn’t go out and sleep with the nearest whores you could find?”

When I tried to walk away, Tyler grabbed my arms and held me firm. “Goddammit, Kacey,
no
. It was a scam . . . all of it. That video was intended for you and Kyle both to see it. I didn’t go out that night and fuck a bunch of women. Kyle needed to see me fighting like shit and he needed to see you upset. I wanted it to be believable.”

Paxton nodded his head when I looked over at him. “It’s true, Kacey. I’m the one who took the video and sent it to your brother.”

“What? But I thought you weren’t speaking to him anymore?” I asked skeptically.

“I wasn’t, until he called me. When word got back to him that we were seen together in Phoenix, he called and told me about what happened between you and Tyler. I played along and told him I wanted you back and would help him. That’s why I sent him the video and told him to show it to you.”

“So what happens now? Did you tell him I’m here in California?”

Tyler’s jaw clenched and Paxton sighed. “Yes, he knows you’re here. Thankfully, none of his friends saw you go to the gym last night and break down. Your brother thinks you’re here with me . . . and that we’re back together.”

“Oh my God,” I grumbled. Paxton bit his lip and stared at me, his expression troubled. Tyler, on the other hand, was tense and angry. “Why do you both look like that? Is there something else going on I should know about?”

Tyler took my hands and pulled me to him. “Your brother wants Paxton to show you off at the fight in hopes of distracting me.”

That didn’t surprise me. “Yeah, he mentioned something about me sitting in his corner. What’s so bad about that? You know it’s not like that anymore between me and him.”

“That’s not the point, Kacey. To be convincing, you can’t just sit beside each other and everything be good. He’s going to need to touch you and make it look real. I can’t stomach the thought of his hands on you, or worse . . . seeing you enjoy it.”

“Also,” Paxton said, cutting in, “I’m fighting for my own title Saturday night, so I’ll need you with me. I’ll be in Vegas on Friday and I know Kyle expects us to be together. I figured you could either stay with me in a hotel room, or I could stay at your house. Which do you prefer?”

“Neither,” Tyler mumbled.

“You can stay at my house,” I told him. “I have a spare bedroom you can sleep in.”

Tyler’s jaw tensed. “And so help me God, you better stay in that room, Emerson.”

Paxton chuckled and picked up my suitcase and purse. “I’ll think about it,” he taunted wickedly. “Now get out of here. I told Kyle that Kacey would be heading back to Vegas later tonight. So you have the day to yourselves.” He handed Tyler my things.

Before walking into the hallway, I lifted up on my tiptoes and hugged him tightly around the neck. “Thank you, Pax,” I whispered. “I’m sorry you’re getting drug back into my brother’s mess.”

Rubbing his hands down my back I could hear the smile in his voice. “I’m not worried about it, Kace. I’d do anything for you, you know that.”

“I know.”

For once, I actually felt whole again. It almost seemed surreal. Tyler was mine, but it was only for the day. If there was a way to freeze time, this would be the day.

BEFORE LEAVING PAXTON’S house, I washed up in the bathroom, changed into an olive green tank top and jeans, and brushed my teeth. While waiting, Tyler called Matt and told him what happened and that he wouldn’t be at the gym. I didn’t want him to lose valuable training time, but I also wanted to be selfish and have him all to myself.

“Are you sure you don’t need to train today?” I asked, tying my hair up into a ponytail. Tyler reached for my hand and brought it to his lips. “No, I’ll train tonight. All I want to do is spend today with you. I know we have a lot to talk about.” That was an understatement.

“Where have you been staying since you’ve been here?”

“At a hotel. I’m going to take us to another one just in case he has someone watching.” He looked over at me, lifting his brows. “Why?”

“I don’t know,” I mumbled, shrugging my shoulders. I turned my head and looked out the window. “I guess I figured you’d go running back to Gabriella after what happened.”

“Kacey, no,” he thundered. “I haven’t even spoken to her since I’ve been in town. I’ve stayed true to my word and kept my distance because I love you.”