UNDYING: A Bad Boy MMA Romance (Midwest Alphas) (Book 3) (14 page)

Amy stands nearby with her hand clutched against her throat. Her face stares at me, pale and frightened, positively stunned into silence — a rare sight if there ever was one. “Are you okay?” she whispers at me.

“I’m fine,” I repeat as I grab my coat and slide it back on my shoulders.

“Where are you going?”

“Nowhere,” I say, lowering myself down onto a bench. “I’m just feeling a bit cold all of a sudden.”

“What an
asshole
.” She stares across the room at Pike. “I could have him banned again, you know.”

I shake my head, forcing a small laugh to brush it off. “Don’t worry about it.” I look up to find him glancing at me for the briefest of moments before he turns back to assist Ryan with his form.

Pike is a lot of things —
asshole
consistently rising to the top of that list — but I don’t blame him for his drastic style. My heart pounds in my chest, revisiting a fear I haven’t felt in ages. It’s a grim reminder of the life I escaped, the one I left behind and swore I’d never return to, but a welcome reminder as well. Blood fires through my veins, awakening every urge I have within me to win this battle. I look at Pike again, realizing that it was part of his plan from the start.

He’s not just training Tobias and Ryan for this fight.

He’s training me, too.

“Let’s go,” Pike announces. “There’s a lot to get done today and we’re taking tomorrow off.”

“Tomorrow?” I ask, looking at Amy for an explanation. She opens her mouth to answer, but Pike talks over her.

“Tomorrow we bury our friend.”

Chapter 11

Rest In Peace

Lillian Tombs touched many lives.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned so far today, it’s that. I find myself surrounded by people, most of whom I do not recognize, each one brought here because they knew Lillian and they loved her. It’s eye-opening, to say the least. The last few things I learned about her tainted my impression of her, but as I look around the abandoned nightclub now, it’s clear that there was far more good in her than bad.

“Hey, Claire.”

I look up to see a familiar face looming over me. “Devlin!” I smile.

He opens his strong arms to me and we exchange a quick hug. “It’s been too long,” he says, jerking his shaggy hair away from his eyes. “We thought you bailed on this place for good.”

“I almost did,” I admit.

“Well, I’m glad you’re back. We need you.”

We need you.
It’s a strange thought. I never considered myself essential to anybody before I met Tobias. “Thank you. And thanks for coming today. It means a lot.”

“I wouldn’t miss it,” he says. “I really liked her.”

I give a half-smile. “She was
interesting
.” I scan the room, taking note of all the fighters, chatting and laughing and sharing their own memories of Lillian Tombs. Sam, Mark, Burt, even
Trevor the Terror
is here. His dark eyes wander about in silent reflection, just barely making contact with mine before turning away again.

“How’s Pike doing?” Devlin asks, pulling my attentions back to him.

“Uhh…” I sigh, gently shrugging my shoulders. “He’s Pike, if that makes any sense.”

“It does,” he chuckles, but it quickly falls from his lips and he lowers his voice to just above a whisper. “Look, I heard about what’s been going on and I want you to know that I’ve got your back if you need it.”

“Thank you.”

“And that’s not just me—” he adds with a quick glance around us. “We’re pretty much all on board here.”

“Even Burt?” I chuckle.

He laughs. “Even Burt.”

“Well… hopefully it won’t come to that.”

“But if it does… just give us a when and where and we’ll be there. We won’t let the Alphas go down without a fight. Okay?”

I nod. “Okay.”

He lays a hand on my shoulder and gives it a firm squeeze. “It was good to see you, Claire.”

“You, too, Devlin.”

His hand drops from my arm and he wanders off to meet up with Sam across the room. As I watch him go, I catch sight of Tobias lingering next to the entrance, his attentions caught on the world outside. Even at a time like this, he won’t drop his guard for danger.

I push through the crowd of thick shoulders, drawing closer to him until I find myself blocked. I move left to walk around the dark figure, but he purposefully steps in my way again.

“Well, if it isn’t the
Alpha’s
bitch
.”

I lean back, stunned, and look up to find Trevor towering over me. “Excuse me—?”

He licks his thick lips, his hateful brown eyes bearing down on me. “You heard me.”

“Look—” I hold up my hands in surrender. “I don’t care what your problem is with me today, Trevor, but this is a really bad time.”

“Actually, it seems like the perfect time to point out that it should have been you in that box.”

I blink. “I’m sorry?”

“Fucking should be—” he spits. “This league was
fine
until your ass came around. Pretty clear to me whose fault all of this is—”

“It’s time for you to back down,” I say, losing every bit of patience I have.

“Says who?”

A hand grabs Trevor by the back of his neck and jerks him away from me. I jolt as I look up to find Pike holding him up, the edges of his nails digging into Trevor’s brown skin. “Says
me
,” he growls. “Now piss off before I get angry.” He shoves him away from me and Trevor stumbles down to his knees.

The group around me, which I now realize is made up of Alpha fighters that definitely weren’t there before, parts ways to lead him straight towards the exit. Trevor whips his head around to stare at me before he adjusts the collar of his jacket and marches down the hall to the door.

“Christ, Claire…” Pike says. “How many enemies do you have?”

“Grows more every day,” I mutter, keeping a close eye on Trevor to make sure he steps outside.

“Clearly.”

“Sorry about that.”

“Eh, might as well have some fun today. Always hated that guy.” He glances around me. “Where’s Tobias?”

“I don’t know,” I answer. “By the windows last I saw.”

“He should be here with you.”

I shake my head. “I can handle myself.”

“It’s not about that.”

“I thought I was too much of a distraction for him…”

“It’s called a
day off
for a reason, Claire,” he says, turning to wander towards the back offices. “Go find him. No one deserves to be alone today.”

I pause, completely losing my words as I watch him walk away. Every day,
Pike the Punisher
finds new ways to surprise me. Tobias is nowhere in sight, but I find Charlie nearby, chatting with a woman I’ve never seen before. As I draw near, he glances up at me and gestures me closer.

“Claire—”

“This
is Claire?” the woman asks quickly, her eyes falling on me. I place her somewhere in her mid-forties, with thinning brown hair and vibrant matching eyes. She immediately extends her hand to me. “So you’re the latest one of Charlie’s angels?”

“I’m what?” I chuckle, shaking her enthusiastic hand.

Charlie laughs. “Of all the ways I can describe you, Miley,
angelic
isn’t exactly the first word that comes to mind.”

She slaps his arm with playful fingers. “Oh— stop it. It’s just what I like to call us — the ones Charlie brought back to life.”

I smile and look at him. “Really?”

Miley lowers her voice. “I got into a bit of trouble about ten years back…
nothing major
—”

“Oh, that’s not how I remember it—” he chuckles.

“The details are not important…” she urges with a sly grin. “But a mutual friend — may she rest in peace — sent me to Charlie and life has been… well,
life
ever since.”

“I had nothing to do with that,” he says. “You saved yourself. I was just there.”

Miley looks at me with a smirk. “There he goes again. He never gives himself enough credit, does he?”

I look at him with pride. “No, he doesn’t.”

He stays silent, refusing to admit it and I know he never will. Charlie has always been a big believer in that change comes from within. He’s told me plenty of times that he had nothing to do with me changing my life, but it’s quite the opposite. I don’t even want to imagine where I’d be if I were never dumped at his door — a strange thought considering the nightmare my life has become in recent days, but as I’ve learned, it can always get worse. Rock bottom is a myth.

“You did a great job with this today, Charlie,” I say, looking around.

He gives me the slightest of smiles but he keeps his eyes low. “Well, I guess I’ve gotten a little too good these things.”

I inhale sharply realizing the mistake I made. Luckily, Miley breaks the awkward silence with what I assume is her trademark cackle. “Oh, Charlie—” she says. “Do you remember…”

My eyes drift over Charlie’s shoulder as Tobias comes into view again. “Excuse me,” I say. “It was nice to meet you, Miley.”

“You, too, sweetie—”

Her high-pitched voice carries on behind me as I navigate through the small crowd, inching towards Tobias more with each step. He locks eyes with me before I reach him and I see him inhale a deep breath. “Hey…”

He opens his mouth to speak, but suddenly stops as his eyes drift above my head. His expression changes quickly from one of pensive sadness to immediate panic. “Claire,” he says, “get behind me.”

“What?” I ask, turning to look over my shoulder.

“Get behind me.”

I shift quickly, spinning around to conceal myself behind Tobias’ back, but it’s too late. He’s already caught me; the one man I never expected to show up here today.

Thomas Eastwood walks in through the club’s front door, wearing a jet black suit jacket and slacks — possibly the nicest outfit I’ve ever seen him in, and that includes what he wore the day he married my mother. He steps through the crowd at a determined pace, his eyes locked on mine as I peek out from behind Tobias.

“That’s far enough,” Tobias says, extending an arm.

“I ain’t here to fight with you, kid,” Thomas mutters, his eyes shifting quickly between the two of us. “Where’s my brother?”

“Thomas,” Charlie says, drawing his attention.

Without a second glance at us, Thomas moves away and walks over to Charlie. Tobias latches onto my arm and pulls me back around to face him. “This is bad…” he says.

“He’s surrounded by Alphas, Tobias,” I point out. “I don’t think he’ll start anything.”

“Still—” He keeps his grip on me. “I’d feel much better if he wasn’t in the same room with you.”

“I’m inclined to agree,” I say, recalling Thomas’ threats against me.

An eye for an eye, brother.

I follow close behind Tobias, shifting my hand down to his to entwine our fingers. We move towards the back hallway and Tobias flags Devlin down on the way towards the door. “Keep an eye on Thomas,” he orders. “If he leaves, you let me know.”

Devlin nods and pats Tobias’ shoulder to signal he understands before following the trail back to Charlie.

“Tobias, we shouldn’t leave him—”

“He’ll be all right,” he says, throwing open the hallway door.

I gasp, frozen solid in the doorway, blinking several times to ensure that it’s not some wicked mirage plaguing my vision. Rick stands in the hallway, leaning casually against Lillian’s office door with his hands in his pockets, sporting a shirt and tie. When he sees us, he pushes off the wall and grins. “Oh, is the party over?”

I feel the rage in Tobias’ grip. “Get out of here,” he growls.

“No,” Rick replies.

“Why are you even here?” I ask.

“I came to pay my respects to the dead, Claire,” he says. “It’s what civilized people do.”

“You don’t exactly qualify—”

“Claire,”
Tobias interrupts me, along with Rick’s low, guttural laughter. “Go back inside.”

“I’m not leaving you two—”

“Oh, it’s
fine
, Claire,” Rick grins. “Go back inside like the man says. I wouldn’t want you to miss the big surprise.”

A chill rolls down my spine. “What big surprise?”

His lips curl.

Tobias turns towards me and lays his hands on my shoulders. “Go find Amy,” he whispers. “Have Ryan get you two out of here.”

“What about you?”