UNDYING: A Bad Boy MMA Romance (Midwest Alphas) (Book 3) (19 page)

Tobias peels one of Rick’s fingers away from his neck and he forces it to bend back until it snaps. Rick howls in pain and releases him to inspect his broken finger, giving Tobias ample time to twist away from him and charge forward to tackle Rick against the ropes. He takes back the upper hand and pounds away at Rick’s toned flesh.

Even through the pain of a broken bone, Rick’s laughter fills the space between us. “Have I made you angry?” he quips through his beating. He adjusts his arms and manages to block every other hit. “Does it piss you off — thinking of her
riding me
— screaming my name instead of yours?”

Tobias latches onto Rick’s skull and presses the tips of his thumbs into his eyes. I turn away fast, looking towards the floor before the crowd cries out in horror. Pike’s grip increases on me, but he doesn’t even wince.

The Kings roar, forcing me to look back. Rick has pushed Tobias away from him and he stumbles on his toes, wiping the blood off his face as he leans against the corner for balance. Tobias rushes him and holds Rick still as he bashes his knee against his ribs repeatedly. He spins him around and tosses Rick to the floor with a loud grunt.

Rick shifts on his wobbling feet but can’t manage to push himself up before Tobias descends on him again with mighty fists, straddling his waist to pin him against the mat.

“Tobias…”
I whisper, knowing that he’ll never hear me. I push my thoughts away, remembering the promise I made. I promised not to see him his way. This isn’t him. This is just something he has to do to be the man he wants to be, but I can’t watch this and think for a moment that it won’t change him in the end.

I jerk my arm free of Pike’s grasp and step forward. Devlin blocks my path, but quickly backs down once he sees my eyes.

“Claire—”

I ignore Pike’s voice and push my way through the Alphas. They nudge each other’s shoulders and let me pass by without complaint towards the Kings’ side. I keep walking through them until I stand in front of my stepfather, Thomas.

“Is she really worth all this?” I ask him, drawing his eyes away from the ring. He stares down at me with a furrowed brow, his blue eyes reflecting hidden flashes of regret back at me. I grit my teeth, waiting for a response that never comes. “You’ll stand there and watch your son die? For what?! A woman that doesn’t love you?”

He blinks slowly with tight lips.

“She doesn’t want you,”
I seethe. “Your Double Ex Kings are
done
, especially once the truth comes out about who really killed Lillian — and I promise you it will, unless you stop this war
now
.” His expression twitches. I look back at the ring as Tobias wraps his fingers about Rick’s throat. “Make your choice, Thomas! End it or I will let him die!”

Thomas turns away, his eyes falling on his son’s blood-covered face. He turns soft and he stares at Rick the same way I’ve seen Charlie stare at Tobias. If there’s one thing in this world that Thomas Eastwood actually loves, it’s his only son.

“Call him off,” he says.

I spin around and sprint towards the ring. “Amy!” I call, darting straight for her.

She turns to me and gasps as I yank the whistle off her neck, snapping the chain in two. I grab the ropes and lift myself up into the ring with the whistle between my lips. The crowd surrenders, falling quiet as the deafening whistle pierces the air, but Tobias does nothing to loosen his grip on Rick’s throat.

I drop the whistle to the floor and fall to my knees next to them. “Tobias, stop!” I reach out and grab Tobias’ face, pulling his face up to meet his eyes.
“Stop!”
I cry.

There’s a sudden shift in his soul as his dark pupils shrink, overwhelmed by green. “Claire…” he whispers.

“Let him go,” I urge. “It’s over.” I lay my hands on his to guide them off of Rick’s throat. His fingers quake in mine, his knuckles still locked in a fierce grip, but he lets me hold them against my lips. “It’s over…”

He looks down at Rick’s blue and red face and shakes his head. “I—”

“Shh,” I whisper. “It’s time to go home now, Tobias.”

His eyes shake, fueled by the adrenaline firing through his system. I give him a sweet smile to lure him back to me, my heart pounding with fear. Finally, he nods and I pull him off of Rick.

Ryan and Amy climb into the ring and they help us to our feet.

“Tobiasss…”

I look down to see Rick crawling on his hands and knees, far too weak to stand up. He spits teeth and blood onto the mat and raises his broken face to look at us. “We had a deal!”

Thomas pulls himself up and he pauses near me. “You’ll never see us again,” he says.

“You’ll have to convince him of that,” I warn, staring up at him for a long moment. I wait, hoping for my sense of dread to disappear, but it never does.

He walks away and bends down to tend to his son.

“No—!”
Rick chokes.
“Tobias — get back here!”

We ignore his calls and Ryan helps Tobias down to the floor. My eyes fall to his bruised skin. There was a time when I found his battered body exhilarating, but that time has officially passed us by. I want nothing more than to hold him now and soothe his wounds; something I plan on doing every day for the rest of my life.

I step down from the ring to find Pike lingering there with his arms crossed about his chest. “I guess that makes us square then,” he says.

I nod. “Thank you for your help.”

He shrugs. “Can’t say I did much, to be honest. You seem to have a knack for taking care of things yourself.”

“Still…” I mutter, my eyes falling on Tobias as he trudges away with Ryan holding him up. Amy appears from the locker room with their clothes clenched in her hands. “Thank you.”

“Get him home,” he says, gesturing towards the door with a head nod. “The Alphas will take it from here.”

I say nothing more and follow them towards the exit.

Chapter 14

The Red Snow

I step out of the car and into the driveway. My feet sink into the thick snow and I inhale deep, taking in the familiar scent of the farm.

“You going to be okay, Toby?” Amy asks as she pokes her head out of the driver’s side window. “We could swing by the hospital—”

“Don’t bother trying. He’s
fine,
” I mock, rolling my eyes at him.

Tobias shakes his head. “I’ll be all right, Amy,” he says to her. “Thanks though.”

She looks him up and down with a raised brow. “Okay…” she says, biting her lip. “You did well tonight. It was a good fight. I’d hate for it to be the last one I see out of you...”

“Sorry,” he says, holding his side as he steps closer to me. “But I think you know what I’ll say to that, Amy.”

She sighs. “I know… but that won’t stop me from trying.”

“I’d expect nothing less.”

“Anyway… it’s freezing and I have some very dirty things in mind for Ryan tonight, so I’m going to get going.”

I laugh and the warmth of it spreads through my toes. “Goodnight, Amy.”

“Goodnight, you guys.” She rolls her window back up and wastes no time flooring it down the driveway.

Tobias looks at me with soft eyes, his battered limbs gently shaking in the cold. He steps forward and plants a soft kiss on my brow.

“Is that all you got for me?” I tease.

“Maybe tonight,” he says, pulling me into his arms. I take a deep breath, filling my lungs with him. It mixes with the farm’s perfect aroma and for the first time in so long, happiness swells inside. It relaxes me, calming every muscle until I’m sure I’m about to fall down.

“It’s over,” I say aloud.

His lips brush against my forehead. “Yeah,” he whispers.

“I’m not dreaming, right?”

“No, Claire. You’re not dreaming.”

I hold him tighter and he tenses up. “Oh—! Sorry…” I loosen my grip on him.

“It’s okay,” he says. “It doesn’t hurt much.”

I pull back to look up into his stunning green eyes, entirely visible in the dark. “What do we do now?”

Tobias licks his lip and brushes a hair off my cheek. “We figure it out
tomorrow
.” His finger pushes beneath my chin, holding my face up to his.

“Tomorrow sounds good,” I say before I feel his kiss on my lips.

“Come on,” he says, squeezing my hand. “Let’s get you warm.”

He leads me inside the house and up to his room. We keep it quiet on the stairs, recalling that special path to keep the old, wooden stairs from creaking too loudly and waking Charlie up.

It reminds me of the old days. Back when I had no idea who Tobias was. Back when I was just a messed-up city girl with no shortage of problems. I suppose that last part is still true, but after tonight, things should get a whole lot simpler.

We enter his room and silently kick off our shoes. I collapse onto his bed, feeling the entire weight of the last six months melt off me. He follows me down and lies behind, draping one arm across my body to hold me tight against him.

I breathe a thick sigh and exhale it completely, settling into place. “I love you, Tobias.”

He plants a sweet kiss on my neck. “I love you, Claire,” he whispers back.

I let my heavy eyelids overwhelm me and sleep takes us.

***

I try to run faster, but the snow is far too thick. My feet get trapped in it, sinking deeper with each step like quicksand. I scream and claw at the ground, refusing to give up and turn back. I can feel it behind me, inching closer and closer to me. That red and orange light.

“Tobias!” I scream, searching for his face in the darkness.

I take another breath to shout for him again, but silver smoke fills my lungs. The thick, deadly smell forces me down onto the frozen ground. I cough it out, hoping my next breath will be clearer, but I can’t get the stench out of my nose.

I feel it now. The light has found me.

I turn around and the fire burns my face.

***

“Claire!”

My eyes fly open and I feel the thick smoke in my chest. I cough, trying to force it out. It’s clinging to my lungs, refusing to let me go beneath its crushing weight.

“Tobias!”
My eyes burn, completely watered-over, obscuring my vision.

I feel his hands on me as he pulls me off the bed. “We have to go!”

I see the bright light in the hallway; a red and orange flickering that can only mean one thing.

Tobias leads me out of his room and we rush down the hallway together, passing by the flames covering the walls. I look down the stairs, seeing the straight path from here to the front door, not yet engulfed by fire.

“Run, Claire!”

I pause and look up at him. “What—” My lungs force the tainted wind out of me. I can barely speak.

“Claire, go!”
he shouts over the roaring flame behind him and pushes me towards the stairs.

I grab the railing to keep from tumbling down, turning back around just as he kicks Charlie’s door open. My body lurches, begging me for fresh air. I maneuver down the stairs, constantly checking over my shoulder for Tobias, hoping to see him come out with Charlie, but as I reach the bottom, he still has not returned.

“Tobias!” I scream as loud as I can, but the flame screams louder.

I rush across the living room to the front door, cracking it open to feel the cold, winter air on my cheeks. My lungs force me to take a breath and I fall to my knees in the doorway, too scared to venture outside alone.

“Tobi—”

The ceiling cracks above me, breaking in two as the flame eats away at it. I roll out of the way, dodging debris that crashes down into the living room. My instincts push me out onto the porch, but I turn back to keep watch on the front door. My toes squish into the frozen snow with each step back I take.

“Charlie!”
I cry out, my voice getting lost in the roar of nature.

I fall to my knees, too confused to act, as I watch my whole world burn in front of me.

“Claire.”

Oh, god…

Please, no.

He grabs me by the hair before I even turn around. His nails dig into my scalp and he pulls me back with all his strength. I see him above me, his battered, red features taking shape behind my veil of tears.

“Rick, no—!”

He slaps a wet cloth against my face and holds it there, pressing it hard against my nose and mouth. I gasp against it, inhaling the smell and taste of chemicals. I jerk away, punching and kicking at him, and his fingers rip locks of hair from my scalp. He releases me and I claw through the snow towards the burning porch as the wet snow bleeds through my jeans.