UNBROKEN: A Bad Boy MMA Romance (Midwest Alphas) (Book 2) (9 page)

“Yes, ma’am,” he says as he grabs the door knob. It pains me to see him go, but if I’m going to make an impression on the Dames, like Amy warned I should, then I’ll have to show dominance.

I look back at the room and watch as their lips curl.

“Well…” Veronica smirks. “I see what he sees in
you
now.”

“Anything else?” Lillian repeats, amusement seeping out of her voice.

***

We step out into the hallway and I catch sight of Tobias leaning against the wall just outside the door. The other Dames take great pleasure in looking him up and down as they pass by him. Heather slides a finger across his bicep and I twitch with envy as he takes it without saying a word.

“You really are just a piece of meat to them, aren’t you?” I ask once they’re out of earshot.

“That’s the Alpha Dames for you,” he says. He looks down the hall and watches them leave until the door closes behind them, leaving us alone. “Did it work?” he asks, his lips forming a quick smile.

“I think it made an impression,” I answer.

“Good.”

“Sorry I snapped at you.”

“I kind of liked it.”

“Really?” I laugh.

He nods and pulls me closer. “You’ll pay for it later,” he whispers in my ear.

A warm chill attacks my nerves. “Good,” I chuckle. “But now, I have to get to work. They’re putting the new Dames on door duty.”

“Lead the way,” he says.

I step out into the arena to find a crowd has already gathered at the door. The other girls, along with Amy watching over their shoulders, take the entrance fees and stuff them into the glass jar in Amy’s arms. Tobias keeps a watchful eye over all of us as the crowd gets larger.

“Oh, man,” Amy grins. “It’s so nice not having to do all of this myself. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to wrangle a three-figure crowd on your own?”

I laugh and continue greeting the incoming patrons. Their faces begin to blend together, a mixture of new and old as they all pile inside to fill the arena. A few regulars notice Tobias near the door and excitedly ask him if he’s fighting tonight. He holds up his hands and tells them no. I laugh, realizing that
the Untouchable
has more fans than I once thought.

“Hello, Claire.”

I blink repeatedly as his face comes into view. For months, I’ve seen him here and there, but his likeness has always faded away into nothing. Not this time. He reaches out and places money in my hand with a smile on his face.

“Rick…” I say his name as my tongue swells in my mouth. “What…”

“You look nice,” he says, looking me up and down. “Being a Dame really suits you…”

My eyes fall over his shoulder towards Tobias by the door. “What are you doing here?” I ask him, stalling, willing for Tobias to notice.

Rick holds up his hands in surrender. “I’m not here to cause trouble,” he says, shaking his head. “I’m just here to fight.”

“To
fight
?” I repeat.

His eyebrows bounce as he walks away from me, aiming towards the back of the arena. I stand frozen in my shoes and watch as Lillian throws her arms around his shoulder and kisses his cheek.

“No…” I say out loud.

“Claire, what is it?” Tobias stands over my shoulder and follows my line of sight until he sees Rick with Lillian. “What the hell is he doing here?”

“He’s fighting in the tournament,” I mutter, still too stunned to move. “Amy—!” I call her name and she steps closer to us.

“What’s up?” she asks.

“Did you know about this?” I ask her.

“Know about what?” She looks in his direction and watches as Lillian leads him towards the locker room in the back hallway. “Is that…?”

“Rick, my stepbrother,” I say.

“I thought he was in Chicago…?” she questions.

“He’s supposed to be,” Tobias growls.

“He moved to St. Louis a few months ago,” I say, my tongue moving too fast for me to stop it.

“He what?” Tobias asks with flames in his eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I just found out a few days ago—”

“Why didn’t you tell me, Claire?”
he asks again.

“It didn’t seem important,” I say, stumbling over my words. “My mother told me he moved for a job, but I never thought it would be something like this…”

Tobias takes wide strides in Rick’s direction, quickly leaving us behind at the door. I push forward, but he moves too fast for me to reach him. Amy passes the jar off to the other girls, barking orders to keep it safe while she fights through the crowd to catch up with me. “Tobias!” I call his name, following far behind his quick movement.

He bursts into the locker room, where fighters from each district have gathered around Lillian, practically worshiping at her feet.

“Let’s have some good, clean fights, gentlemen,” she says. “Remember, we are not animals. Blood is not
encouraged
— although, it’s not frowned upon either.”

They chuckle at her joke. Tobias finds Rick in the back and grabs his arm.

“Tobias, stop—!” I shout.

He doesn’t listen. He forces Rick against the wall, pressing his forearm hard against his neck to hold him there. I step closer to stop him, but Amy stops me, her eyes falling on Lillian as her thick heels tap loudly against the hard linoleum floor.

“Tobias, I assume you have a good reason for pinning my fighter against a wall?” she says with a calm, but forceful, tone. She folds her arms across her round breasts and stares up at him.

Tobias’ eyes never leave Rick’s face. “He tried to kill me,” he says.

Lillian raises an eyebrow. “Is this true?” she asks Rick.

Rick smirks. “I have no idea what he’s talking about, ma’am.”

“Tobias, release him,” she says. He doesn’t budge.
“Release him.”

“Tobias…” I step forward and lay a cautious hand on his shoulder. He looks down at me and nods before taking a step back. Rick’s grin travels wider along his lips, his eyes peeking at me with thick amusement.

Lillian looks at the two of us. “My office. Now.” She opens the door and waits for us to leave. “You, as well, Amy,” she adds.

We move fast down the hall and step into her office. Lillian and Amy follow us closely and she kicks the door closed behind them. “Start from the beginning, please,” she says to me.

“You saw what happened at the last tournament,” I say.

“Yes,” she says. “I saw
Pike
stab Tobias in the ring. He’s been dealt with. What does this have to do with Rick?”

“It was Rick’s idea to attack Tobias.”

She scoffs. “Why?”

I hesitate, finding the whole situation embarrassing to say aloud. “He wanted Tobias out of the way to get to me, ma’am.”

“Hmm, yes,” she says, pushing a fallen hair back into her perfect hairdo. “He mentioned your rather taboo affair to me in passing.”

“It wasn’t an affair—”

“Whatever it was,” she interrupts, “it’s no concern of mine.”

“Ma’am, if I may…” Amy steps forward. “I’d like to point out that Rick attacked Claire at that tournament as well.”

“Yes, I saw that burst of self-defense on Claire’s part. As impressive as it was, it does nothing to link these two incidents.” She looks at me. “For all I know, it was a lover’s quarrel and you just want your ex out of the tournament for personal reasons.”

“He conspired with Pike to murder Tobias during the tournament,” I say again with even more desperation.

“Do you have any proof?” Lillian asks. I press my lips together. “I can’t disqualify a fighter based on the uncorroborated accusations of a freshman Dame. I’m sorry, but Rick stays in the tournament until he’s knocked out the old-fashioned way.”

Tobias steps forward. “I want a blood duel,” he says, his voice firm.

Lillian flinches. I watch in suspense, feeling more like an outsider than ever before. “Amy…” Her big eyes never leave Tobias’ face. “Do you witness this challenge?”

I look at Amy and hesitation crosses her face. “Yes, ma’am,” she finally says.

“Very well,” Lillian says. “Tobias, you have five minutes.” She steps around us and walks out of the room.

I look between Amy and Tobias, waiting for one of them to explain, but neither of them speak. Blood pumps louder in my ears, eating away at me until I can’t take the silence anymore. “What is a blood duel?” I ask them.

“A really,
really
bad idea,” Amy answers, shaking her head at Tobias.

“Tobias, what are you doing?” I ask. He takes off his suit jacket and tosses it onto a nearby chair.
“Tobias—”
I turn back to Amy, frustrated at his refusal to answer me. “Amy, what’s going on?”

Amy licks her lips and swallows. “A standing
Alpha
can challenge any fighter at any time to try and remove them from the tournament.”

“Why would they do that?” I ask.

“Theoretically, to remove more skilled fighters from other districts, giving
your
district a better chance at maintaining
Alpha
,” she says, her voice stiff and cold. “But in practice, it left two fighters in the hospital and nearly exposed the entire league. It’s been taboo ever since.”

I spin back around to Tobias. “You’re
challenging
Rick?”

“I can beat him,” he mutters as he kicks off his shoes.

“But if he
doesn’t
,” Amy says, “then Rick steals his
Alpha
position and Tobias has to stay in the tournament to win it back.”

I move myself in front of his eyes. “Tobias, you can’t do this.” He pulls his undershirt up and over his head.

“It’s too late, Claire,” Amy says, her shaking eyes locked on Tobias. “He challenged Rick out loud with his Dame as witness. It’s already been done.”

“Tobias!” I shout his name, hoping that he’ll look up at me, but he keeps his brow low. “You haven’t trained in
months
—”

“I can beat him,” he says again.

“But what if you
can’t
?”

“Claire…” He pauses and stares down at me. “I can handle him.”

My entire body shakes with fear as I look him up and down. I’m struck by a crippling nostalgia. Tobias and his tight, black shorts. His tattooed skin is perfectly clear, free of red and purple bruises. But not for long.
“Tobias…”
I whisper.

Amy grabs my arm. “We have to go, Claire,” she says. “They’re starting.”

I hold back my tears and follow her out of the office. She leads me towards the arena, towards the screams and shouts of those inside, hungry for violence and carnage.

They have no idea what’s coming, but then again, neither do I.

Chapter 6

The Blood Duel

“Ladies and gentlemen…” Lillian says with her arms raises high above her head. “I have… the most delicious of surprises for you all tonight!”

The crowd screams for her, heaving up and down with blind excitement. I stare at them from my spot near the door. Amy takes my hand and she looks at me with sympathy. The act worries me. She isn’t exactly the type to show physical affection of any kind.

Lillian grins. “One of St. Louis’ newest and most promising fighters has been challenged by the
Alpha.
” I close my eyes as the wild roar of the crowd pierces my eardrums. “You’re about to see Midwest Alpha history being made tonight. In the fifteen years I’ve run this tournament, I have never seen anything quite like this before.” She holds up her right hand and I cringe to watch Rick climb into the ring. I hear the ladies swoon for him and for a second, I don’t blame them. Rick has always been attractive, but as I look him up and down, I get a little more scared. He’s always been strong, but his body is far more tight and toned than it ever was. He’s trained for this.

“This is Rick…” Lillian introduces him, “and tonight, he will earn himself a name.” Applause erupts from the crowd and Lillian raises a finger to her lips to silence them all. “His challenger is a man whose name we all already know…
Tobias the Untouchable
!”

The crowd screams, echoing over her words before the name even falls off her tongue. Tobias climbs into the ring and stands still as their voices dominate the room with his name. They point to his scars, swooning and nodding with great lust at his body. Even our own fighters from back home, Mike, Devlin, and Sam, stare up at the ring with wide eyes.

I stand back as a familiar wave of nausea overwhelms me. “This is my fault…” I mutter.