Kyle's Return (4 page)

“Then you shouldn’t have been stupid enough to do
what you did. Those are my terms. Take it or leave it.”

Releasing a heavy sigh, I ran a hand through my hair.
What the hell was I going to do? “So that’s it, isn’t it? You’re
basically making this impossible for me.”

Her gaze softened. “No, that’s not the point. You
just have to be willing to go the extra distance. I do wish you
luck though. I’d like to imagine I could have my brother back, the
one who used to run through the woods with me and help me up when I
fell down. I miss that person.” More cars started pulling into the
parking lot and she sighed. “I have to go. Take care of yourself,
okay?”

She waited for a reply and all I could do was nod.
Turning, she walked away from me again. Now all I had to do was
figure out a way to get her trust back without getting myself
killed.

My muscles were still on fire from doing the squat
challenge with Megan, but it was a good feeling. For so long, I
never thought I’d feel anything below my waist ever again. But ever
so slowly over the years, it all started coming back. Hell, the
first time I jacked off again, the release was fucking heaven. Then
I did it a hundred times more just to make sure I wasn’t
dreaming.

Megan sat behind the desk, making sure to completely
ignore me as I moved around the gym. I wished it wasn’t her
ignoring me, and instead the group of asshats who felt the need to
fuck with me.

“Hey, dickwad,” one of the guys yelled.

Huffing, I wiped the sweat off my brow with my towel
and turned to look at them. “I assume you’re talking to me?”

The tall one with the shaved brown hair snarled his
lip and took a step forward. “Yeah, I’m talking to you. You might
want to watch your back. Accidents happen you know.”

I nodded and let out a sigh. “Let me guess, I fucked
your wife or your sister.”

He sneered. “Nah, you did something much worse than
that, fuckhead. Do you remember Nate Jacobson?”

The moment he said the name, I put it all together. I
could name off every single person I fucked over and Nate was
definitely one of them. “Yes, I remember him.”

“Well then, I guess you’ll be happy to know that he’s
fighting again. No thanks to you. What you did fucked his career
all to hell.”

“You must be one of his friends,” I said.

His glare grew harder. “I’m Dean, his brother.”

I nodded, seeing the resemblance. “I can’t take back
what I did.”

“No, you can’t,” he spat. “But you can listen to the
repercussions of what you did. Did you know he tried to kill
himself? When he couldn’t fight, he felt like his world was over.
You took away his way of life.”

I took a deep breath and let it out slow. I never
thought about the consequences of my actions, especially to those I
hurt. “And I’m sorry about that, truly. What do you want from
me?”

Before he could reply, Tyler waltzed into the room
and threw me a pair of gloves. “How about you settle it in the
ring?” I stared at the gloves in my hand and smiled. It’d been so
long since I’d held a pair.

“I haven’t fought since the accident,” I replied.

Tyler chuckled and Dean’s eyes lit up. “Don’t tell me
the great Kyle Andrews is a pussy.”

I glanced over at the octagon. Tyler and I had fought
against each other in it a few years ago. “Fine, I’ll do it.”

Dean hopped up into the ring and smacked his fists
together, his venomous glare staring at nothing but me. “This is
for Nate, asshole.”

Taking a deep breath, I entered the ring and
stretched. Once Tyler got the nod from both me and Dean, he shouted
for us to start. Dean was a muscular guy, but he’d be in the Light
Heavyweight division instead of a Heavyweight like I used to be. He
was still focused and determined to kick my ass.

I knew what I had to do.

***

OH MY GOD, Kyle was in the ring. I’d
intentionally not paid attention to him the past two days, but the
second he stepped into the ring, the whole atmosphere of the gym
changed. The tension was so high, the hair on my arms stood up.
Dean Jacobson was a great fighter and if anyone in the gym had
animosity toward Kyle it was him. I couldn’t believe Tyler was
actually putting them in the ring together. Dean was good, but I’d
watched Kyle fight; he was better. The last thing we needed was for
Kyle to kick his ass and cause more problems.

People who were working out all stopped what they
were doing to watch the fight. Dean made the first move and pelted
Kyle on the side of the head. His head snapped to the side, but he
clenched his jaw and shook it off. The old Kyle would’ve went on a
rampage. Hitting Dean in return, I could tell there wasn’t much
power to it. What the hell was he doing?

I left my desk to join Tyler at ring side. He was
watching with a small smirk on his face. “Am I missing something?
We all know Kyle doesn’t fight this bad,” I whispered. The crowd
cheered for Dean as he pummeled Kyle, over and over. Kyle would
fight back, but with feeble attempts.

Tyler looked over at me and smiled, his gray eyes
beaming. “He’s doing what I’d hoped he’d do . . . letting Dean
win.”

“Why would he do that? What’s the story there?”

“About four years ago, Kyle spiked Dean’s brother’s
drink and he failed the drug test before a big fight. He was
suspended for two years. Last I heard, he moved away to the east
coast and started fighting again. It sucks he couldn’t be here to
fight Kyle, but Dean will do.”

“So, this is his way of finding redemption?” I
asked.

“Looks like it.”

“Do you think he’s honestly trying to change?”

He kept his focus on Kyle. “I’m not sure. Letting
someone kick his ass is a big deal for Kyle though.”

The beating Kyle took made my whole body ache. I
wanted it to be over, but he stood there and took it. By now, the
crowd had figured out what was going on. Instead of cheers, there
was a somber ambience as everyone watched Kyle take his punishment.
Even Dean realized what was going on and had tears in his eyes as
he fought for his brother. As he reared back for the last hit, Kyle
turned my way and by the look on his face I could tell he had found
a semblance of peace. As Dean finished him off, he fell to the
mat.

“I think there may be hope for him yet,” I said to
Tyler.

He glanced up at Kyle’s still form. “For Kacey’s
sake, I hope so. But he still has a long way to go.” With those
final words, he turned on his heel and disappeared to the back.

Dean jumped out of the ring and his friends all
congratulated him. No one even bothered to check on Kyle, so I
hopped up into the ring and looked down at him. He was breathing
hard and definitely still awake, but his eyes were closed.

“I think you can open your eyes now. They’re
gone.”

He opened one eye and then the other. “I’m sure
everyone’s disappointed I’m not dead.”

“Yeah, maybe a couple,” I laughed.

His lips pulled back into a smile which only split
his lip further. “Are you?”

“Nope, because as soon as you’ve recovered,
you
are going to clean the blood up off of this mat.” I held
out my hand and he grabbed it so I could help him up. He didn’t
even need my help, but he held onto it anyway.

He looked down at the blood and cringed. “Fuck,
that’s a lot of blood. How bad do I look?”

I bit my lip and assessed the damage. “Like you just
went through the windshield. I do think it was good of you for what
you did.” We both jumped down from the mat and I handed him a towel
and a bottle of water.

He wiped the blood off his face and gently touched
his lip, hissing. “What do you mean?”

“I know that you let him beat you on purpose. I’ve
watched you fight plenty of times to know that you aren’t that
horrible.”

His green eyes twinkled. “You’ve watched me
fight?”

I threw another towel at him and it smacked him in
the face. “Only to watch you lose, jackass. Now get cleaned up so
you can wash off that mat before the stains set in.” Turning on my
heel, I started for my desk and stopped when he spoke.

“And what do I get in return?”

I glanced over my shoulder. “My gratitude. That
should be enough for now.”

After about two hours, the mat was clean and the gym
was almost vacant. There were still a couple people left, including
Kyle who kept sneaking glances my way. He looked better now that
his face wasn’t covered in blood. Everyone couldn’t stop talking
about the fight. My only concern was that if other fighters wanted
to fight Kyle, they’d get a sore awakening. He wasn’t going to go
easy on everyone.

“Meg, I can close tonight if you want to leave,”
Tyler offered.

I shook my head. “No, go home. I still have to work
out. I don’t mind staying. It’s only another hour.”

“You sure?”

“Yes, now go before I change my mind.”

He winked at me and smiled before disappearing to the
back. I’d already changed into my sports bra and shorts so I could
work out with Jared and Patrick. They liked for me to sit on them
while they did their pushups and to ride on their backs when they
did their squats.

“You ready, sexy?” Jared asked.

Out of the corner of my eye, Kyle’s head turned
abruptly to watch us. Jealousy flashed in his eyes when I climbed
onto Jared’s back.
Interesting.
“Do you have any idea how
many women ask about you two? I hate having to break their hearts
when I say you have different tastes.”

Patrick lifted his weights and laughed. “We don’t
always go one way, sweetheart. Some nights we make exceptions.”

“What?” I squealed, smacking Jared on the ass. “Why
haven’t you told me this? There are women in here who would kill to
have a night with you both.”

Jared dropped down onto the floor and rolled so that
I fell off his back. He towered over me and then lifted me up.
“What about you?”

Eyes wide, I stared at them both. “You’re joking,
right?”

He shook his head and grinned. “It’s something we’ve
wanted to ask you for a while now. Would you possibly be
interested?”

Holy hell, I didn’t know what to say. The thought was
intriguing, but . . .

“Megan?”

Kyle’s voice brought me out of my stupor. Pulling my
hand out of Jared’s hold, I straightened my shorts and cleared my
throat. “Yes?”

He nodded toward the ring. “Can you look at something
for me?”

“Sure.”

I started toward him, but Patrick stopped me and
leaned in close. “You’d enjoy it. Just think it over.” By now, Kyle
was fuming.

All I could do was nod in reply and try my best to
keep a straight face while I approached Kyle. I joined him, but he
glared over my head at them, clenching his jaw.

“What do you want me to look at?” I asked. When he
didn’t acknowledge me, I snapped my fingers in his face. “Hello,
are you in there?”