UNBROKEN: A Bad Boy MMA Romance (Midwest Alphas) (Book 2) (25 page)

“I’m sorry…” she whispers. “He made me tell him what we were going to do to him—”

“How long?”
Lillian asks her again, her voice coarse and firm.

“A few months,” Heather whimpers. Veronica takes a quick step away from her, as if Heather were infected by deadly, contagious disease. “Just after they took Joplin, they came to me. They threatened my family, Lillian…”

Lillian steps forward, her feet closing the long gap between them with just a few strides. “I could have helped you and you know it,” she says.

“I’m so sorry—” Tears stream down her cheeks.

“You’re done,” Lillian says. “You’ve made your choice.” She pivots on her feet to give Heather room to move. “Get out.”

“Lillian,
please
—”

Pike steps forward and wraps his long fingers around her elbow. “You heard her,” he says, tugging her towards the door.

“You don’t understand!” Heather shouts. “They’ll come for me. They’ll come for my family!”

I cringe, too scared to listen to her words. Tobias wraps his arm around my shoulder. I fall into his warm touch, but it does little to stop the fear taking over my body.

Pike opens the door and pushes her out into the street.

“Anyone else have something they’d like to tell me?” Lillian asks, her teeth pressed together.

“I didn’t know!” Kimi claims, slinking even farther into the corner. “I swear, I didn’t know!”

Lillian glances at Pike and he shakes his head. “She’s clean,” he says. He looks at Ryan. “Not too sure about
you
though…”

Ryan holds up his hands in surrender. “I am an open book,” he says. “Ask me whatever you want.”

“He’s fine,” Lillian says with narrow eyes, still seething. “Mr. Weiss and I have a previous arrangement.”

Amy looks at him with shocked eyes and he winks back at her, a smile teasing his playful lips. Her cheeks turn red as relief passes through her eyes.

“And what about you?” Tobias asks Pike. “You haven’t exactly been a team player lately.”

Pike grins, his lips casting shadows over his white teeth. “Oh, I think Claire will fill you in,” he says. “For now though, I recommend you two run along. Heather will no doubt alert
you-know-who
of Claire’s location…”

“He’s right,” Lillian says. “You should all go. Find somewhere safe.”

Amy steps forward. “What about you?” she asks.

Lillian’s eyes fall on Pike. “I’ll be all right.” She takes a deep breath, her eyelids heavy. The dark circles beneath her eyes have turned a far deeper shade of gray since the night began, exposing her well-hidden age. “I’ll contact you all soon. Until then, keep your heads down and your eyes open.”

Tobias wastes no time and reaches down to grasp my hand in the dark. He says nothing as he pulls me towards the door with Ryan and Amy following close behind us.

“Claire,” Pike says as we pass by. He lays a soft hand on my shoulder, forcing a touch of rage into Tobias’ eyes. He opens his lips to speak, but he goes quiet instead to speak volumes with his eyes.

“I know,” I say. I hear Pike’s voice in my head, urging me to remember the deal we made.

Get your
Alpha
to play nice…

He drops his hand from my shoulder and steps back to let us leave.

Tobias pulls me along with him with a grip so tight and unyielding, my fingertips turn numb.

Epilogue

I will not live my life in fear.

Not again.

It’s been days since we’ve heard from Amy or Lillian. At this point, even a call from Pike would soothe my senses. I lie awake every night, stirring at every possible sound. A sudden gust of wind or the quiet settling of the house is enough to make me bolt upright. Even when I’m all alone, that cold paranoia comes back and I feel Rick’s eyes on me. I can’t remember the last moment when I couldn’t feel my heart thumping in my chest. I pray for a moment of peace inside Tobias’ arms.

But he will have none of me. Not after the deal I made.

I stare out the barn window and watch as the sun slowly inches above the horizon. It’s the last sunrise on Charlie’s farm I’ll see for awhile. I didn’t want to miss it. I’d hoped it would instill a sense of calm, even if only for a fraction of a second, but now I sit in disappointment, listening to my blood pound furiously in my ears.

I jolt as the front door opens and Charlie steps outside onto the front porch. He holds my suitcase in one hand, carrying it towards his red truck in the driveway.

Bright and early
, he told me.

Part of me is thrilled, eager to hit the road so I can see my mother again, but the cost is far too great.

It’s better this way.
I remind myself of this over and over again, but I’m still not sure if I believe it. Rick is still out there. He disappeared after the tournament, much to Pike’s annoyance, but it won’t last. He’ll resurface again and when he does, he’ll be stronger. He’ll learn from his mistakes and he’ll come back for me. He’ll go through anyone that stands in his way in order to do it: Pike, Charlie, Tobias —
especially
Tobias.

“Ready when you are.”

I look down from the loft to see Charlie lingering in the doorway. I nod at him, saying nothing as I stand up from the prickly hay bale and he turns back towards the house. My eyes drift outside again, this time aiming for Tobias’ window. The curtains swish in the frame, but I tell myself it’s just my imagination. I’ve barely heard his voice in days. I can’t get my hopes up now, thinking that he’ll somehow change his mind and forgive me.

I climb down from the loft and follow Charlie’s trail back towards the house. The porch creeks beneath my feet as I walk on the old wood. I remember the first time I stepped foot here with my face covered in sweat and Thomas’ hand squeezed tight around my arm. I was so scared, so confused. So painfully naive. Not much has changed, I guess. But it feels very different.

“Claire—” He stands at the top of the stairs.

Tobias.
My lover, my friend. My
Alpha
.
The
Midwest Alpha, as he was declared the official winner of the tournament after Rick’s true alliance was revealed — not that he cares about that anymore.

He stares back at me through strands of his black hair, fallen carelessly over his eyes. It’s easy to see that he’s slept about as much as I have.

For one short, pure moment, my heart stands still. “Hey,” I say.

Tobias walks towards me, his shoes thumping quietly down the stairs. “I, uh…” he mutters, licking his dry lips. His voice falls away in hesitation.

“Come with me,” I say, spinning back around to walk outside. A new blood pumps through my veins, forcing the fear and terror away to replace it with the warm passion I’ve always felt for him. I feel his walk behind mine as he follows me across the driveway, back into the barn. He closes the door behind us then quickly pulls me in with trembling fingers. They rise to my face and he draws me closer to kiss me.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers to me.

“Not as much as I am.” I fill my lungs with his scent, memorizing every piece of him while I still can. “You should come with me,” I beg, clinging to him.

He pauses for a moment, but shakes his head. “I can’t,” he says. “The less I know about where you are, the safer you’ll be.”

I force the heavy rock back down my throat. “It doesn’t feel right,” I say. “Leaving like this.”

“We will see each other again, Claire,” he says. He presses his forehead against mine and stares into my eyes. “I promise.”

“When?” I ask. I let a tear fall down my cheek and he brushes it away with his thumb.

“I don’t know,” he answers with pain in his words. “Once this is finished, I will come find you. I put some money in your bag—”

“Tobias, I can’t take that—”

“Yes, you can. I want you to have it. It’s yours.”

I fall forward and bury my face in his chest. “I shouldn’t have made that deal…”

Tobias sighs, his warm breath tickling my scalp. “It kept you safe,” he whispers. “As much as I hate to admit it… I would have done the same.”

I pull away to look at him. “But Mary—”

“Mary is gone,” he says with tight lips. “I can’t save her, but I can still save you. If helping Pike track down Rick is what it takes, then I’ll do it.” It’s a cruel comfort, but it’s all I have left to cling to. His fingers slide up the back of my neck and he holds me close to him as his lips graze my head.

“Promise me again,” I whimper as my tears fall.

“I promise, Claire,” he repeats. “We will see each other again.” His lips tremble with fear, but he quickly tries to keep them steady as he kisses me again.

“I’m not going to say goodbye to you…” I say, filling my voice with whatever bravery I have left.

He smiles down at me with laughter on his lips. “You’ll never have to,” he says. “You’re always going to be my girl, Claire.” His fingers brush against my cheeks, once again wiping my tears away.

I stand up taller to meet his eyes. A surge of wild emotion charges down my spine, igniting every nerve throughout my body. I’ve almost forgotten this feeling, this burst of confidence I feel when he looks at me like this. Tobias believes in me, probably as much as I believe in him — maybe even more so.

I am his strength. He is mine.

The Alpha and his Dame.

END OF BOOK TWO

UNTOUCHED

MIDWEST ALPHAS | BOOK 1

October 2015

**

UNBROKEN

MIDWEST ALPHAS | BOOK 2

November 2015

**

UNDYING

MIDWEST ALPHAS | BOOK 3

December 2015

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RIDE ME:

A Stepbrother Romance

Piper & Kai | Book 2

PIPER

Sex.

It used to be all I thought about.

Until Kai Casablancas, my stepbrother, happened. After that, things got really complicated.

I had a plan to start a new life. It was a good plan. There were charts and graphs. Every detail was in the bag. But then… Kai had to go and ruin that. Feelings came up, feelings I never even knew I had for him. Unfortunately, they weren’t part of the plan and I had to do what was necessary to get back on track.

Now, I can barely even look at myself in the mirror.

Six months have passed. I can’t live like this anymore.

It’s time to return home and settle things with Kai once and for all.

KAI

Sex.

It used to be all I thought about.

Until Piper Lynch, my stepsister, happened. After that, things got a whole lot simpler.

I used to think I’d meet a nice girl and settle down. It was a good plan. Countless generations before me had accomplished the exact same thing, so surely I could as well. But then… Piper had to go and ruin that. I confessed my love to her and for one blissful week, I thought I had everything all figured out. Unfortunately, my feelings were a little bit one-sided and I was tossed out like yesterday’s garbage after she got what she wanted out of me.

Now, I can barely even close my eyes without seeing her face.