Kyle's Return (25 page)

“Where to now?” Nicole asked, her gaze narrowed as
she looked out the window. We were going in the opposite direction
from the movie theater.

“There’s somewhere I want to go. I didn’t tell you
because you’d fight me on it.”

Eyes wide, she glared at me. “You can’t be serious.
Are we actually going to the club?”

“Since when do you have problems with dancing and
having a good time?”

“Uh, when a stalker who tried to kill you might be
there. Not to mention, Kyle’s going to flip the fuck out. Are you
sure this is a good idea?”

We made it to the club and I parked, my hands shook
as I pulled out the keys. I wasn’t scared of Alex, but more afraid
of what was going to happen if I saw him. “Sitting around and
waiting for that prick to make another move isn’t a good idea. If
you don’t want to do this, I can take you home. Either way I’m
going inside.”

Blowing out a breath, she rested her head against the
seat. “Don’t take me home. If you’re so hell bent on doing this,
I’m not going to let you do it alone.”

“Thanks, Nic.”

The line wrapped around the building, but Zane was
the one working the front. I hated skipping lines, but I had no
choice. He saw us approach and his eyes lit up. “What the hell are
you doing here? Andrews didn’t say you were coming.”

“That’s because he doesn’t know,” I replied.

“Why not?”

Nicole huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Because her psychotic ex who tried to kill her is out of jail and
most likely in there right now.”

Clenching my jaw, I rolled my eyes and groaned. Zane
laughed at first, but then stopped when he saw we were serious.
“Shit, you’re not kidding.”

“I wish we were. Zane, I’d like you to meet Nicole.
Nicole, this is Zane.”

“Nice to meet you,” he said, shaking her hand. He
motioned for another bouncer to take his place and pulled us aside.
“Does Andrews know about this?”

“Yes, but we’re not certain it’s my ex. I’m almost
positive it is, but I won’t know unless I see him for myself.”

Zane’s jaw clenched and his gaze grew hard. “Well,
you’re not going to do it alone. I’ll walk you in there and take
you where you need to go. Andrews will kill me if anything happens
to you.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it. I won’t let Kyle kick your
ass for letting us come inside.”

“You better not.” He started toward the door with us
in tow. “All right, girls, right through here.”

There were people everywhere and we had to squeeze
through. Taking Nicole’s hand, I held on tight and pulled her with
me. “Where’s Kyle at?” I asked.

“He’s in the back room with the other fighters.” He
looked down at his watch. “His fight is supposed to start in three
minutes. Do you see your ex anywhere?”

I glanced around the room but there were too many
people. “Not yet. It’s hard to tell with this many people.” The
crowd buzzed with excitement and I could hear Kyle’s name being
spoken through the various conversations as we passed. Zane pushed
us through and found us three seats so we could sit down and watch
the fight. “Do you think Kyle will see us here?”

He shook his head. “I doubt he’ll be looking that
closely; especially since he doesn’t know you’re going to be
here.”

The announcer walked up into the ring and addressed
the crowd. When he called out Kyle’s name, the people shouted and
clapped. The way Kyle smiled walking down to the ring made my
insides flutter. He jumped into the ring and circled around with
his hand in the air.

“Maybe Alex isn’t here,” Nic whispered in my ear.

I shrugged. “Maybe, but we just got here. I’ll keep
looking.” The announcer called out the next fighter’s name, but I
kept searching the crowd. Nicole elbowed me in the side. “What?”
She had her finger pointed at something and I followed her line of
sight. I gasped and grabbed her knee in a tight squeeze.

His hair was dyed a deep brown and his eyes were
still as dark as night. Instead of being medium sized, he had
beefed up to be just as huge as Kyle, all muscular and cut. I guess
he had nothing else to do in prison but work out. There was no way
I could fight him and get away like I did before. Grabbing Zane’s
arm, I squeezed it hard. “What the fuck is Alex doing in the
ring?”

As we looked on, Kyle shook Alex’s hand and talked to
him like they were friends. Zane looked at me like I’d lost my
mind. “In the ring? That’s Grady Danvers. He’s been fighting here
for two months. He and Kyle are friends.”

Friends? Two months? Holy fuck.

Alex had changed so much, even if you saw a picture
of him before, you’d question if it was him now. But no amount of
muscles or changing the color of his hair could disguise him from
me. What made it even more real was the tattoo on his arm. Because
intertwined in his tattoos was my name.

The fight had started and I felt so sick I could
barely stand.

Zane helped steady me as I sat down in the chair.
“You’re serious aren’t you? Kyle has no fucking clue he’s been
chatting it up with your ex. I need to tell Jake.”

I swallowed hard. “Yes, you do, but more importantly,
I need to call Detective Griffin. He’s been trying to find
Alex.”

“There’s also something more important than that,”
Nic cut in. She peered up into the ring where both Kyle and Alex
pummeled each other before Kyle knocked him down to the mat. The
first round was almost over. “Someone needs to tell Kyle.”

***

IT WAS THE end of round one. Chuckling, I helped
Grady to his feet. “Have you thought about competing in the UFC? I
don’t think I’ve seen your name before.”

“You haven’t,” he replied with a smirk. “Maybe one
day I’ll think about it. Right now it’s not what I’m interested
in.” He strolled over to his corner and I went to mine. Zane rushed
up to the cage and waved me over with impatience.

“What’s your problem?” I asked with a chuckle.

He glared over at Grady, his expression dark. “I
don’t have the problem, you do. You’re not fighting who you think
you are, Andrews.”

What the hell was he talking about? “Oh yeah? Who am
I fighting?” My gaze caught someone in the crowd as Zane answered
and by the look in her honey eyes, everything fell into place.

“It’s Alex, Megan’s ex.”

Hearing his name made me snap. Anger boiled in my
veins and even more so that Megan was there without my knowledge.
However, if she wasn’t, I’d have never known what her bastard of an
ex was up to.

Ding, ding, ding.
Round two. Without so much
as a second thought, I stormed over to Alex, not caring about
technique or rules. I punched him on the side of the head and then
countered with an elbow to the nose. I wanted blood and I sure as
hell was going to get it. The crowd roared in excitement but it
only fueled my rage. Before I could get a hold of his neck, he
slipped away, laughing. He swiped the blood away from his nose, but
more gushed out.

“Damn, you’re a sneaky son of a bitch, aren’t you?”
he taunted.

We circled around the ring and I snarled. “Fuck you,
Alex.
Game over.”

He broke out in a smile. “Ah, so you know who I am.
My girl must be here.” He looked around for her and I went on the
attack.

I rammed into his legs and took him down to the mat.
He countered by elbowing me in the side. I felt a rib crack. The
pain was nothing compared to the rage I felt. “So help me if you
ever get near her again, I’ll break your fucking neck,” I
hissed.

We grappled on the mat and I was close to getting his
neck in my grasp, but the fucker played dirty. “You gonna kill me,
cocksucker? Take your best shot.” Elbowing me again in the same
spot, I growled and let him go. Now he was back up on his feet and
his eyes lit up when he found Megan in the crowd. “She’s a
beautiful thing, isn’t she? Sorry to tell you, one way or another,
I’ll have that sweet pussy wrapped around my cock again soon.”

Something clicked the moment I heard those words come
out of his mouth. The thought of him touching and violating her
kicked me over the edge. I wanted him to suffer like he’d done to
her for years.

Alex flexed his arms and rubbed a hand over his arm,
right where Megan’s name was clearly visible. “One way or another,”
he repeated.

Ding, ding, ding.
The bell rang, ending the
round, but I didn’t give a fuck. I barreled toward him and slammed
him against the cage. He pounded his fist against the back of my
head but I countered with deadly force. Blood sprayed everywhere
and I knew it was mine mixed with his. Shouts and screams from the
crowd echoed in my ear, but I couldn’t stop
.
I didn’t want
to.

“Andrews,
stop,
” a voice yelled above the
others.

Hands wrapped around my chest, pulling me away.
Still, I punched and kicked. Alex was a bloody mess, but he laughed
the entire time. I couldn’t look away from him until Megan stepped
in my line of sight with tears streaming down her cheeks.

Her hands clasped my face, drawing me toward her.
“Kyle, it’s me, calm down.” I tried to look over at Alex, but she
gripped me harder. “Don’t focus on him. Look at me.” Clenching my
teeth, I closed my eyes for only a second and then opened them back
up.

Nicole pointed toward the ring. Jake had two of his
bouncers apprehend Alex and drag him toward the back room. “They’ve
got him. When did the detective say he would be here?”

“Soon,” Megan answered, then focused on me. “I called
Ryan Griffin, the detective Mason put on my case. When we saw Alex
enter the ring, I called him. He’s coming to take Alex away for
questioning.”

“He wants you back,” I growled.

Swallowing hard, she nodded. “I know, babe. He can
try, but this time he won’t make it out alive.”

That was for damn sure. “Zane, let me go,” I
commanded.

He snorted and held on tighter. “Are you going to
behave and not go on a killing spree?”

“Keep holding me back and you’ll be my first victim.”
He let me go and stepped back.

Megan jumped in my arms as soon as I was free,
clutching me desperately. “Please don’t be mad at me.”

I wanted to be angry with her for putting herself in
danger, but if she hadn’t . . . Wrapping my arms around her waist,
I held her tight and breathed her in. “I was pissed, but if you
didn’t come, I wouldn’t have known who Grady was.”

“You guys, I think the police are here,” Nicole
informed us.

Megan pulled away and we watched as three police
officers waltzed into the back room and emerged with Alex in their
grasp. Holding Megan close, I glared at him as they walked past.
His dark, soulless eyes watched her as if she was prey. She didn’t
balk, but stood her ground and glared back at him. As soon as he
was gone, she let out her breath.

Jake trudged up with one of the officers beside him.
The officer was a couple inches shorter than me with red hair and
beady eyes. “Megan, this is the Chief of Police, Ryan Griffin.”

Ryan stepped forward and held out his hand to her.
“It’s nice to finally meet you, Ms. West.” He glanced at me and
Nicole, then back to Megan. “If you don’t mind, I’d like for you
all to come to the station.”

“Of course,” Megan agreed. “We’ll be right
there.”

Ryan stalked off and Jake pulled us to the side.
“Megan, are you okay?”

She nodded. “I’m fine.”

“So what’s going on?” he asked us all.

I huffed and was about to answer, but Megan jumped
in. “My ex, who was in jail for trying to kill me, is back and
harassing me. I’m pretty sure he’s the one who tried to run me and
Kyle over. I guess he doesn’t like seeing me with another man.”

“So basically he wants Kyle out of the way.”

“And me,” she said wearily. “He would rather see me
dead than with anyone else.”