UNBROKEN: A Bad Boy MMA Romance (Midwest Alphas) (Book 2) (7 page)

Amy glances over her shoulder. “No, he is not.”

“But aren’t you the
Alpha
?” Another one speaks up — short, but bulky with tan skin and a pierced eyebrow — shooting his question towards Tobias.

“He’s retired,” she explains, the words instantly met with a series of groans from a few of the veteran fighters. “I know, I know…” She waves her hand to silence them. “We’re all
very
disappointed.”

“I was hoping for a rematch, Tobias,” Mike adds. “I can finally breathe through my nose again.”

I crane my neck to look behind me at Tobias just in time to see his lips curl on one side.

“I barely recognized you without that wheezing sound, Mike,” he quips.

The men chuckle softly and Amy clears her throat to regain their attentions. “
Anyway…
I’m going to turn you all over to my apprentice, Claire. She’s our newest Alpha Dame, but I expect each of you to treat her with the same respect you show me.”

A crippling stage freight clutches my skin as I hear my name rush through her lips. Over a dozen pairs of eyes fall on me and I suddenly forget how to speak.

“Newest Dame?” The man on the far right calls out. I recall his name easily, Devlin, because it showed up in one of Mary’s sappy romance novels I read recently. “Since when?”

“Since now,” Amy spits, feeling no further need to explain more than that. “Claire, they’re all yours.”

I step forward, seemingly driven by a force I clearly have no direct power over. Raw energy flows through my limbs. My ears pop. I suddenly feel an itch on the end of my nose, but I can’t bring myself to scratch it. “Hi,” I say, my voice soft and cuddly as a newborn kitten.

Channel it towards your strengths.

I think of Tobias, feeling his eyes on the back of my head. I don’t dare turn around to look at him. Doing so could be perceived as weakness. These men are not my enemies, but I take his words to heart. I’ll never earn their respect by showing weakness. I take a deep breath and roll my shoulders back to stand a little taller.

“We don’t have a whole lot of time here tonight, gentlemen, so we’ll dive on in.” I hold up the clipboard. “Our first fight will be between—”

“Amy, I don’t like this.”

The interruption comes from the far left, a voice so deep I can feel it rumble in my chest.

“Excuse me?” I ask.

A man steps forward, the bright whites of his eyes standing out against his black skin. “I said, I don’t like this,” he says, glancing right past me to look at Amy.

“Be more specific, Trevor,” Amy says.

“She doesn’t have any right to be here,” he says.

“That’s not up to you,” she fires back at him.

His eyes finally flick in my direction. “I recognize you…” he says with a repulsive sneer. “You’re that chick that started showing up last season, following Tobias around like a bitch in heat.”

“That’s enough, Trevor,” Amy bites.

“You earned your place in the Dames, Amy. I’ll fight for you until the day I die,” he adds. “What the hell as she done other than be the
Alpha’s
willing pet?”

I feel Tobias rush passed my shoulder, but I quickly hold out my arm to force him back. “No—” I say, holding him in place. “Let the man speak his mind.” I step forward with a steady stride, pausing only when I reach him. “I mean, he’s not wrong, right?”

“Damn straight,” he says, his brown eyes boring down on me.

I look at my clipboard. “Trevor, correct?” I ask.

“That’s me,” he confirms.
“Trevor the Terror.”

I grin. “So, you’ve competed before?”

“Yes, I have. This’ll be my third tournament.”

“I like the name,” I say, throwing every bit of caution into the wind. “It’s…
cute
.”

He flexes his jaw, unamused by my comment and angered by the quick snickers coming from his fellow men. “Look,
lady
,” he seethes. “I don’t have to stand here and—”

“I’m gonna stop you right there,” I say, my heart racing in my chest, fueling my words with a warm fire. “Because, you see… you actually
do
have to stand here and listen to me because if you don’t, you don’t have a chance in hell of setting foot in the ring ever again — not that anyone would miss you since I’ve never even heard of you before despite your claim to fighting in
two
previous tournaments.” He opens his lips, just aching to speak up, but I quickly raise my voice to cut him off. “Tell me something,
Trev —
If you were in my shoes, would you waste your time on a fighter that’s already failed to make an impression? I mean, you’ve been eliminated from this tournament
twice
by your own admission. Are you a
third times the charm
kind of guy? Give me
one good reason
why I should expect a different outcome from you this time.”

Hot air fumes through his nose. “You’ve got some brass balls, lady,” he mutters, amusement crossing his eyes.

“Two brass balls, zero patience, and a ballpoint pen,” I add, clicking the pen with my thumb. “I can mark you off right now. Just say the word.” I lay the pen point against his name on the paper and let the threat linger in thick air between us. My entire body screams with agonizing anticipation. I will my nerves to chill, forcing every bit of fear I have into them to keep me frozen solid beneath him. It’s a confidence I’ve never in my life experienced before, even if it’s just a clever ruse to display what little dominance I have inside of me.

Finally, Trevor’s eyes break away from mine and he takes a step back. “I’m sorry, ma’am,” he says. “I was out of line.”

I smile, holding back my sigh of relief. “Thank you,” I say. I glance at the other men, making sure to make eye contact with each of them as I scan the line. “If anyone else has a problem with me, the door is right behind us. If not, I think we’ve wasted enough time.” I turn away and walk back to my place beside Amy. “Trevor here has volunteered to go first. Mike, you’ll be joining him.”

The two of them step towards the arena and I turn around to hide my face from them. I squeeze my eyes shut and fill my lungs with stale, can-scented air. Blood and adrenaline rush through my body, charging every system to the next level. I’m pumped, wild, and incredibly turned on.

I open my eyes and look at Tobias to see his own super-charged passions filling his eyes. He smiles at me, holding himself back as the rest of them circle the arena.

“Okay,” I say, gripping the metal whistle around my neck and bringing it to my lips. “Let’s get started.”

***

“So, what do you think?” Amy asks with her arms cross about her chest. We break away from the crowd and let the fighters chat among themselves while we ponder our options.

“Well, I know he’s your friend, but I think Trevor’s out,” I say.

Amy rolls her eyes. “I know. I never would have given him a second chance last time if I didn’t have Tobias to fall back on for the district.”

“Noticeable lack of Tobias’ out there,” I point out.

“Yeah, I miss Tobias,” she whines.

“I’m standing right here,” he says, lingering over our shoulders.

“Are you rejoining the tournament?”

“No.”

“Then you’re dead to me,” she snaps.

He sighs and takes a step back. I smile at him with an apologetic glance, but I think he knows he walked into that one. Tobias was truly a one of a kind fighter, someone that’s not easily replaceable.

I scan the group again, my eyes falling on their faces, nearly each one freshly bruised, but smiling. “Devlin has a mean hook,” I state, recalling the way it whacked Greg’s face. “And the way he dodged that kick was impressive…”

“Not hard on the eyes either…” Amy says with a raised brow, her tongue spreading across her lips for a brief second.

“Excuse me… Tobias?”

We look over to find see one of them wandering over to Tobias. I quickly glance at my notes on the clipboard to recall his name. Short, dirty blond hair. Red shirt. Must be Kris.

“I’m sorry to bother you, sir,” he continues, clearing his throat, “but would you do me honor of punching me in the face?”

“What?” Tobias asks, his face contorted with confusion.

“You’re the
Alpha
,” Kris says, his voice full of wonder. “It would just make my day.”

I grin, fighting to hold back my laughter as Tobias’ eyes look around. “You want me to hit you…” he says slowly.

“Yes, sir.”

Tobias sighs, but I notice the fingers of his fist curling in. I bite my lip as that rush of warmth attacks between my thighs. It’s been so long since I’ve seen him hit anything other than a quick demonstration at the punching bag. “You sure?” he asks Kris, shifting his feet into a fighting stance.

“Absolutely!”

His enthusiasm draws the eyes of everyone else in the room. Tobias glances around, his eyes sweeping towards mine, before he finally chuckles. “Okay…”

Kris bounces on his toes and shakes out his body, preparing for the hit with a long grin on his lips. “Yes, yes…” he says. “I’m ready.”

Tobias shakes his head as he settles into his classic fighting pose. He raises his hands up to protect his face, an old habit I don’t think he’ll ever break. Kris leans forward, exposing his mug to him, and closes his eyes as Tobias draws back his right fist.

I draw in a breath, refusing to blink and miss it. My mouth waters, my toes tingle. I wait for that satisfying smack of knuckles against skin, my body quivering with delight.

His fist connects with Kris’ eye and he snaps it back into place before Kris’ knees buckle and he tumbles to the floor below them. The other guys wince, each one of them feeling the blow for themselves in their heads, before issuing a short round of applause. Kris writhes on the dirty floor with his hand hovering over his right eye, his moans of pain morphing into a pleasing bit of laughter.

“You all right?” Tobias asks, stepping forward with his hand extended out.

“That… was…
awesome
,” Kris says. He takes Tobias’ hand and he easily lifts him off the floor. I see his eye beneath the flickering lights above. A brand new bruise is forming, leaving his skin pink and red. “Thank you!”

Tobias pats the kid’s shoulder. “No problem…” he mutters with an awkward voice. I chuckle softly, drawing his eyes in my direction. I don’t think Tobias ever imagined he’d become so popular. He never fought for the underground fame and glory that’s promised when you join the Midwest Alphas. He had other, more important, reasons for throwing those punches, but no one else knew that. To them, he’s
Tobias the Untouchable
— the man that took a shiv to the side and still won.

“So…” Amy says, stepping into my eye line to block my view of Tobias. “Who else?”

“Umm…” I pause, unable to remember what I was doing. My attentions are stuck, trapped on Tobias as he fields more questions from the enamored Kris. A few more of them gather around them to listen in. “I, uhh—”

“Oh, for god’s sake, you can hump him later,” Amy scolds me and snaps her fingers three times in front of my face. “I need names.”

I close my eyes to concentrate my focus. “Right…” I mutter. “Devlin seems like a good choice.”

She nods. “I agree.”

“And I’d like to see more of Levi…”

Amy hums to herself, her own eyes scanning the group. “I’d go with Sam over Levi.”

“Really?” I ask.

“He did really well in the last tournament before Pike destroyed him,” she says. “You remember? He tapped out your first night.”

“That was him?” I ask. I look him up and down from across the room. “He looks…”

“Leaner and meaner,” she finishes. “I think he’s worth giving a second shot.”

“Let’s do it,” I nod.

“One more.”

I look up and find Tobias in the crowd again. I’d love so much to say his name, to bring him back into the fray as Lillian wants me to, but he’s made up his mind. I chew on my lip. “Well, the rest of them seem awfully inexperienced…”

“So was Tobias,” she reminds me.

“What about Mike?” I ask.

She glances over her shoulder. “Every time I look at him, I picture his face slamming against the floor after Tobias punched him,” she chuckles.

“But tonight…” I say, “he held his own.”

“Yeah, against
Trevor
,” she says. “Not that difficult a task.”

“I have a good feeling about him.”

“A rookie mistake,” she smiles, “but everybody gets one. Devlin, Sam, and Mike it is then.”

“Not a bad line-up,” I say. “I wish we knew who the other districts are bringing in…”