Tyler's Undoing (36 page)

MATT TAPED UP my hands and Ryley shoved a pair of ear buds in my ears, playing nothing but Breaking Benjamin songs, to keep my mind off of Kyle when it was his turn to walk past. Needless to say, I would have to go through three MMA fighters to get to him. I could do it, but Matt, Ryley, and Cole didn’t deserve to feel my wrath. Nope, that was all for Kyle.

Ryley fumbled with the volume on the iPod and smiled, mouthing the words to the song playing. His right eye was bruised from his fight and he was still in his blue and white fighting shorts, along with a black T-shirt that had
Team Gabriella
on it—he must have lost a bet. His fight tonight wasn’t for a title, but in just a few short weeks, he was probably going to be fighting his own twin brother for it.

“All right, the cocksucker’s gone,” Ryley assured me, taking out the ear buds.

“Thank fucking God, I’m surprised I can still hear,” I grumbled, shaking my head.

“Well, it’s a good thing I did, or you would’ve heard him taunting you when he walked by. It took all
I
had not to go after him.”

“Same here,” Matt and Cole agreed simultaneously.

Matt handed me my black gloves and I slid them on my hands, fastening them tight. Taking me by the shoulders, he looked into my eyes and nodded his head. “You’ve got this. I wish your dad could be here to see it, but we all have faith in you. This is your time and you’ve proved that you earned it.”

He slapped me on the back and nodded again before waltzing up to the black curtain waiting for the announcer to call my name. Cole joined him.

“I can’t believe everything that’s happened,” Ryley stated incredulously. “It literally blows my mind how so many people can just be fucked up beyond repair.”

Thoughts of Kacey lying tied up on her bed while Liam touched her, flashed in my mind. “You have no idea how enraged I was when I barged in on Liam trying to force himself onto Kacey. The only thing that stopped me from killing him was her. I had to think of what it would do to her.”

“Yeah, I can’t imagine it either,” Ryley replied. “If someone were to do that to—” Abruptly, he stopped and clenched his jaw. I caught his hesitation, but he laughed it off. “All I know is, that someone would be on the brink of death,” he finished.

“Uh huh. Why don’t you finish what you were going to say, Ryley? If someone were to do that to who? Ashleigh? You can be honest with me, you know.”

Ryley huffed and dropped his gaze to the iPod in his hands. “Ashleigh’s long gone by now. I’ve moved on and so has she.”

Gabriella was going to be furious with me, but I didn’t care. He needed to know the truth. “What would you say if things weren’t what they seemed? It appears that women have a knack for hiding the truth to protect us. Why the fuck they do that, I don’t know.”

Ryley furrowed his brows. “Dude, I have no clue what you’re talking about.”

Sighing, I placed my hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “I’m talking about Ashleigh. She’s not with Colin anymore, man. After the whole baby scare, she left him as soon as they got back to California. From what I understand, she called it quits because she still had feelings for you.”

Ryley’s face paled, but I could see the anger flash in his eyes. “How do you know all of this? Did Gabriella tell you?”

I nodded. “She told me about a week after it happened. For some reason, Ashleigh doesn’t want you to know. Gabriella was just honoring her friend’s decision. I guess Ashleigh knew it wouldn’t work out since you went right back to your usual self.”

Furiously, Ryley ran his hands through his dark hair. “That happened a month ago, Tyler. I can’t believe she left him and no one told me! What the fuck am I going to do now?”

“Would it have mattered?” I asked. “Would you have taken her back after what she did?” When he didn’t answer, I knew it was because he was afraid to admit he fell for a girl who broke his heart. “Ryley, whatever’s going on with her, you might want to take the time to find out. Yes, it’s been a month, but there’s a reason she’s staying away from you. Take a lesson from my book if you need . . . Kacey kept me in the dark because of her brother. Ashleigh’s probably doing the same thing, but has her own reasons. I would find them out before it really is too late.”

“Since when did you become all philosophical?” he teased, except the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.

The music blared overhead and the announcer’s voice boomed through the microphone. It was time—my time. I slapped Ryley on the shoulder and smiled. “Since Kacey. I can’t help it, she brings it out in me.”

Ryley rolled his eyes and we both laughed as we walked up to Matt and Cole. Matt held out my robe and I slipped my arms inside, pulling the hood over my head. Kyle was being announced first and if Kacey was already out there in her seat, I wish I could see the look on his face.

“Remember, Tyler,” Matt began, “Kyle will go for the legs. He’ll try to take you down to the mat.”

“And that’ll be his downfall. Too bad for him, I’ve been trained by the best floor gamer in the UFC,” I replied with a wink.

“You got that right. Now let’s tear this shit up.”

Over the speakers,
Had Enough
by Breaking Benjamin exploded into the crowd and they went wild, cheering and screaming my name. It was my turn.

“And the next fighter competing for the Heavyweight title is none other than your local bad boy,
Tyler ‘The Terror’ Russhhiiinngg!
This is sure to be one hell of a fight tonight.”

The sounds surrounding me felt like thunder booming overhead, the whole arena vibrating in anticipation. It spiked my adrenaline, pushing it through my veins. Cole and Ryley separated the black curtain and I marched out, keeping my head down as I walked toward the ring. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the seats where the girls should be sitting were vacant.

Inside, I smiled. I was going to get my wish, to see Kyle’s face when he saw his sister in
my
corner. Looking up into the ring, Kyle grinned wide and bounced in place as I made my way up onto the mat. I kept my face blank, psyching him out. His cockiness would be his downfall.

Sliding out of my robe, I handed it to Matt and smiled at him, Cole, and Ryley. They were all in my corner tonight.

“Was your dad too ashamed to come?” Kyle sneered behind my back.

Turning around, I met him in the center of the ring and got into position. I wasn’t going to let him make me lose focus. “No, he’s been a little busy taking out the trash.”

Kyle scoffed, but then I purposely tore my attention away to the empty seats in his section, furrowing my brows. I wanted to make him think I was looking for Kacey.

Smirking, Kyle looked down at his seats then back to me. “Looking for my sister? It’s a shame you’re still hard up for her. Especially now that she’s fucking someone else.”

“You’re lying,” I snapped. “Where is she?”

“Not here with you, that’s for damn sure. She said it made her sick when you touched her.” Kyle leered at me, taunting me. “How does it feel to know we played you?”

You’ll find out.

The announcer stepped in between us pushing us apart. “That’s enough, gentlemen. Save it for the fight.”

“With pleasure,” Kyle sneered, taking a step back.

Ding, ding, ding.

The announcer quickly stepped out of the way and it was time. Just as I expected, Kyle charged first and tried to psych me out with a left hook, but ended up going for my middle. Darting out of the way, I lowered my body and swept my leg across the mat, tripping him. He recovered by rolling and getting right back to his feet.

“I’m impressed, Rushing. You’re quick on your feet today.”

“Yeah, well, a lot’s changed in the past month.”

Ever since I’d met Kacey, she made me better—more focused on my goals. I had what it took to win. I glanced down and noticed Bree and Gabriella walking to their seats, followed by Kacey and Paxton. Kacey pointed to her tank top and smiled up at me.

Kyle hadn’t seen her yet. He did, however, land a hard kick to my shin, which I immediately reciprocated with a right hook to his face. His head snapped to the side and blood spewed over the mat from his broken nose; I felt the bones crunch when I hit him.

“You’re so fucking dead,” he growled, swiping the blood away with his hand. It was then I could see in his eyes that he realized I wasn’t broken like he’d planned. If I hadn’t gotten to Kacey in time, I would’ve been . . . but thankfully, I did.

Beaming, I grinned wide and beckoned him closer. “Bring it on, cocksucker.”

Charging again, Kyle grabbed a hold of my waist and took me down to the mat. He punched me one good time in the jaw and the pain exploded through my skull. Then, I tasted blood. In return, I elbowed him in the side and shoved him away with my foot.

Ding, ding, ding.

We both got to our feet and Kyle spat on the mat, glaring at me. “Round two, it’s all going to be over.”

He went to his corner and I backed up to mine, only to have someone there I wasn’t expecting. “What are you doing here?”

My father smiled and opened up a bottle of water, handing it to me. “Believe me, I didn’t think I’d make it, but the detective knew this was a big night for you, and he didn’t want me to miss it. I just have to go to the station afterward.”

“What about Liam? What’s going to happen to that fucker?”

My father looked down at Kacey then back to me. “He’s going to be charged for attempted rape and kidnapping, among other things. I’m not going to let him get away with what he did to Kacey.” Neither was I.

Ding, ding, ding.
It was time for round two . . . the end.

“Go get him, son. You can do this.”

Not wasting any more time, I let my smile fade and went straight on the offensive, jabbing left and right, not stopping. My muscles burned like fire but I kept going, ignoring the pain exploding through every inch of my body as my fists connected with Kyle’s body. All of the hate, all of the anger, I let it pour out of me and didn’t hold anything back. I felt blood splatter on my face and my chest, but I didn’t let it stop me.

The next thing I knew, I was on the mat with Kyle’s arm locked in an arm bar. I wanted to keep pulling, to break it in two before he could tap out . . . but he was too stubborn to do it.

“Tap out,” I growled.

Kyle snarled and continued to fight me off with no effect because I had him locked down. “Fuck you.”

I gripped his arm tighter and he hissed, sweat breaking out over his skin. It was time he knew the truth. “You want me to break your arm? Fine, I honestly don’t give a fuck. However, first, I want you to take a look at my seats. Who do you see over there?”

Loosening up my hold, I gave Kyle the mobility he needed to see. His eyes went wide when he saw Kacey, getting to her feet with the bandages clearly visible on her wrists. “What the fuck?” he hissed, grimacing in pain.

“I went and got her, asshole. You see those bandages on her wrists? Those are from Liam, when he tried to rape her. Now give me one good reason why I shouldn’t rip your fucking arms out. Because, believe me, if it wasn’t for her, I’d have already done it.”

“You lie!” he shouted. “You’re just trying to distract me.”

Letting him go, I pushed him away and kicked him in the face. I could’ve broken his arm and ended the fight, but I wasn’t like him. “I don’t have to distract you, Kyle. It’s the truth. You’re headed nowhere fast and you know it.”

His features darkening, Kyle rushed me, anger and desperation consuming him. He moved fast and I reacted, but it was like our bodies moved in slow motion before slamming down on the mat. It all happened so quickly. I heard the crack and the screams that followed right after.

It was over.