“What do you want?” I ask.
“I already told you,” he says, shadows moving across his face in the dark. “I want back in the Alphas.”
“Then why join the Double Ex Kings?” I ask.
“I didn’t really join the Kings,” he says. “I’d rather drop dead than do that.”
“Then why did you train Rick?”
Pike drops the light to his side. “Rick came to me after the last tournament,” he says. “His offer was intriguing; Train him to win the tournament and we split his winnings sixty-forty in favor of moi, but it smelled a little fishy. Didn’t take long for me to figure out who his father was.”
“Thomas,” I nod.
“The original King himself.” Pike clicks his tongue. “I confronted Rick myself about that and he admitted everything to me. Caved like a wimp, but he’s an Eastwood, so I wasn’t at all surprised.” I glare at him and he grins at the oh-so-clever stab at Tobias’ kin. “He thought I’d be looking for revenge after Lillian blacklisted me — and hell, I may have even thought about it a few times, but…” He shakes his head. “Lillian did what she thought she had to do to protect her Alphas and her image and I respect that.”
“Still doesn’t explain why you stabbed Tobias in the first place,” I point out.
“Ahh…” he nods. “That brings us to Mary Eastwood.”
“Mary?” I ask. “What about her?”
“Mary’s a mistake I’ll live with for the rest of my life. I’m not proud of it,” he says with dark eyes, “but that’s not good enough for Tobias. He wants me put away—”
“You deserve it.”
“That may be true,” he says. “However, there are certain people that think otherwise.”
“Like who?” I ask.
“Didn’t it ever seem odd to him that the police gave up so soon?” he asks. “Did it never occur to him that maybe someone really powerful went to great lengths to cover up what happened to Mary?”
“You’re lying,” I whisper.
“No, Claire. I’m not. You see… loyalty is a real bitch. In order to prove it, sometimes you have to do some real fucked up things — things you might not have even considered you were ever capable of…”
“What did she do?” I ask, the answer dangling right in front of me.
“Well…” Pike clears his throat. “It was either let her star fighter go to jail and put the entire Midwest Alpha league in jeopardy… or—”
“She wouldn’t have…”
“Claire, you know nothing about Lillian Tombs,” he says. “Yes, she would have. And she did.”
“No,” I shake my head. “Lillian would never do that to Charlie’s daughter. She went to him for help — he saved her life. She owes him.”
“Oh, there’s no doubt in my mind the decision won’t haunt her to the grave,” he says, “but that’s how it went down. After what happened to Mary, I went to Lillian, and she took care of it for me.”
I fight my tears from spilling over. “Why are you telling me this?”
“After that, I was indebted to her — even more so than I already was,” he continues. “Everything would have gone back to normal but… then Tobias started sticking his nose in places it didn’t belong. He was asking questions, digging for clues. He even joined the Alphas himself. He got pretty close to figuring it out — too close — until…” He grins. “Until a little brown-haired girl moved in across the hall and he got a little distracted.”
I flash back to the night Tobias and I met, recalling his intense eyes staring at me in the dark. There was so much to him I didn’t understand back then. I just had to know more about him, even when every instinct told me to stay away.
“We thought it was over,” Pike continues. “He had a damsel to distress over and eventually, he’d forget all about it, but then… then Mary died and Lillian panicked.”
“What do you mean, she panicked?” I ask.
The lights flicker on above us, sending a jolt down my spine as my eyes quickly readjust to the bright lights. Pike shuts his phone down and slides it back into his pocket. “Well,” he says, “let’s just say that your boy Rick isn’t the only one that wanted Tobias put down that night.”
I let a tear fall down my cold cheek. Everything inside of me wants to deny his words, to call him a liar, but the word weighs heavy on my tongue.
“We should get out of here,” he says, gesturing towards the door. I hesitate and press my back even harder against the wall. “Claire, either you leave with me right now, or they find you. Choose the lesser of two evils here…”
“Where are we going?” I ask.
“To find Tobias,” he says. “Considering the circumstances, it’s the least I can do. I suppose I do owe you one. You did keep him from slitting my throat last year.”
“Then what?” I tremble. “I’m assuming you told me all of this because you want something in return, right?”
Pike rolls his shoulders back. “It’s simple,” he answers. “You get Tobias to abandon the Mary investigation — for good — and I’ll deal with your Rick problem.”
“That’s not simple—”
“Make it simple, Claire,” he growls. “Make it happen and I’ll even sweeten the deal by promising you that Lillian will never try and off any more of your extended family. You have my word on that.”
“If all of this is true, then Lillian can’t just let you back into the Alphas,” I point out. “It’ll look suspicious if she reinstates you. You were publicly banned.”
“And for good reason,” he agrees. “But I just spent the last six months hanging out with the Double Ex Kings. I know where they are, what they’re planning, and most importantly, who they are — including which members of the Alphas turned their coats, of which there are many. Should be more than enough to justify her decision to bring me back, but it’s only going to stick if you play your part.” He takes a short step forward to tower over me. “Get your Alpha to play nice and we all walk away from this happy as clams.”
“Believe me,” I say, “nothing about this will make Tobias happy.”
He smirks. “I think you’ll come up with something to keep him satisfied.” I slink away from him, cowering from his warm breath. “Shall we?” he asks, gesturing again towards the door.
I step off the wall. “What about Rick?” I ask him. “What are you going to do to him?”
“You let me worry about that,” he sighs, his voice full of impatience. “Clock is ticking, girlfriend. You in or out?”
I don’t have enough time to think this through. My head tells me not to trust him. Pike is not a good man. He’s responsible for a lot of heartache in Tobias’ life — either directly or indirectly. He’s even threatened me in the past. There’s no way I can trust him. For all I know, he’s leading me into a trap, but my guts tell me otherwise. Someone’s hands will be coated in blood before all of this is over. I’d rather it be Pike’s hands than Tobias’, assuming he hasn’t killed Rick already.
“Lead the way,” I say.
“Stay close to me,” he says. “Keep your voice down. No real reason or anything, I just don’t like the sound of it.”
I roll my eyes and follow him to the door. We step into the quiet, deserted hallway and Pike signals me to stand back as he pushes the door to the arena open to peek inside. I step up onto my toes to look around him and I catch sight of the fresh blood splattered on the white floor of the empty, octagonal cage.
“What happened out there tonight?” I whisper.
He flexes his jaw with annoyance and closes the door. “Rick planned a fail safe,” he says. “Win or lose — he was taking you home with him tonight.” He looks back at me and smiles. “Trip the power, cause a panic, snatch you up, and deliver you to him. That was my job. I was supposed to wait until the fight was over, but…” he shrugs, “that fight got boring.”
“Is that where we’re going right now?” I ask, my heart racing. “You going to deliver me?”
“No — hav
e you not been paying attention?” he snips at me. “I mean — Yeah, if you rejected my offer, sure…”
“Where are the other Dames?”
“I don’t know.”
“Ryan was gathering us up during the fight,” I say. “Said Lillian told him to take us someplace safe.”
He pauses. “Ryan— Ryan Weiss?”
“Yeah…” I say, watching his reaction closely. “Why?”
He stares at me as if I were an idiot child. “A Double Ex King waltzes up to you, claims he’s working with Lillian, and you just believe him?”
“He and Amy have been… secretly dating,” I explain. “She seemed to trust him.”
“Amy…” he sighs and scratches the back of his head. “Can’t say I’m surprised… Well, let’s hope he was telling the truth then — or else you might be the last Dame alive and if that’s the case, then we’re both screwed.”
The words send shivers down my spine. “You don’t think they’d really kill the Alpha Dames, do you?”
“Maybe.” He looks back into the arena. “I think Rick’s a crazy son-of-a-bitch, spawned from an even crazier son-of-a-bitch…”
“That coming from you?” I point out.
Pike cranes his neck, peeking back at me with a smirk. “Everyone’s got their demons, Claire. Even you and especially Tobias.”
I pause, struck by a sudden clarity. “Hang on a second.” I walk back down the hall to Lillian’s office and push open the door.
The office sits deserted. I move quickly and snatch my phone out of my purse hanging off the arm of the sofa. It instantly vibrates in my hand, the most recent of at least a dozen missed calls.
“It’s Amy,” I say, reading the screen.
“Find out where she is,” Pike says, lingering in the doorway.
I hold the phone to my ear. “Amy?” I answer.
“Holy fucking Christ,” Amy sighs loudly. “Where the hell are you, Claire?”
“I’m in Lillian’s office.” There’s a scuffle of voices as her phone exchanges hands.
“Claire?”
“Tobias?” My heart lurches in my chest. I close my eyes to savor the sound of his voice. “Thank god…” I mutter.
“Where are you? Are you okay?” he asks.
“I’m fine,” I say, quickly glancing up at Pike leaning against the door frame. “Sort of…”
“Stay where you are—”
Pike reaches out and snatches the phone from my hand to hold against his ear. “Hello, Tobias,” he greets, a smile teasing his lips. “What? No, she’s fine. She just said she’s fine.” He rolls his eyes at me. “Yes, you are a very scary man,” he bites with sarcasm. “Then meet us at my gym and make sure Lillian’s with you. Think you can handle that, or do I need to repeat it slowly so you can write it down?” He pauses, listening for a response. “Good. See you soon.”
I take my phone back from him. “Was that really necessary?”
“No, just fun,” he says. “He says Rick’s boys have populated the lot out front. Luckily, I parked in the back —” he glances down my body with piercing eyes, “— as usual.”
My nose curls. “Really?”
“Sorry. Bad habit,” he says. He points to the exit down the hall passed the locker rooms. “Let’s go.”
***
I sit on the edge of a weight bench, keeping my eyes on Pike as he paces around the dark room of his gym. He shifts his attentions about, casting glances from me to the front windows and back again. Each passing minute feels longer than the last, anxiously waiting for the moment when I’ll see Tobias again.
I bounce my heel impatiently. “You seem nervous…” I note, staring at Pike.
“A little,” he says, his eyes dropping to watch my foot pop up and down. “Just hoping your boy gets here before they do.”
“They?” I ask.
“I was supposed to rendezvous with Rick after the match to hand you over,” he explains. “Obviously, I missed it.”
I stand up to look out the window. “You think he’ll come here?”
“Eventually.” Movement pulls our eyes to the street as a homeless man passes by. Pike exhales slowly. “Counting on it, actually. It’ll make hunting him down a whole lot easier…”
I pause, biting my lip. “What are you going to do when he does show up?” I ask slowly.
“The less you know the better, Claire.” He glances at me and pivots in my direction. “A little advice… If I were you, I’d get out of town for a while. Separate yourself from all of this.”
“Why?” I ask. “Once Rick’s gone, what do I have to worry about?”
“Well, that’s the thing about Kings, Claire,” he says. “You cut his head off… and the next one in line steps up.” His eyebrows bounce. “Finally…”
I look out the window and see Amy’s car pulling into the parking lot with two other cars following close behind. A sigh of relief wrecks my bones as I watch Tobias climb out of the car, clad in jeans and a shirt soaked through with his sweat.
“Claire…” Pike mutters my name and I look back at him. “I told you some pretty sensitive things tonight,” he warns. “I trust you’ll use that information wisely.”
I nod, feeling the full weight of his words on my chest.
The door flies open and Tobias steps inside. “Claire…” he breathes as he lays eyes on me. He races forward and throws his arms around me. I return his embrace, finding comfort in his warmth. My mind turns blank and I forget everything for one blissful moment with him. I open my eyes and see Pike’s face. It all comes flooding back.
Tobias pulls back, but keeps me close. Fresh bruises show in the darkness, clouding the skin just below his bottom lip. “What happened?” he asks, holding my face in his hands.
I glance at Pike again and Tobias follows my gaze. A dark rock settles in the pit of my stomach, telling me to keep quiet. If I tell him now, Tobias may never look at me again. “It’s a long story,” I say.
“And you’ll have plenty of time to tell it later,” Pike says, closing the door behind the others and locking it tight. Tobias reacts out of instinct and stands between us with a hand hovering next to mine.
Amy rushes towards me and throws her arms around my neck, knocking the both of us off balance, but we keep upright. I catch sight of Ryan over her shoulder, his eyes just as sincere as hers to see me alive and kicking.
I look around the room at the others, each one looking more confused than the next, especially Kimi and Lisa. They huddle together in the corner, their wide eyes watching Heather and Veronica, learning everything they can from them. I’m sure when they signed up to become Dames, they never thought anything like this would happen. I sure as hell didn’t.
Pike walks over to Lillian. “We need to talk,” he tells her.
“I suppose we do…” she nods.
He leans in closer to whisper in her ear, keeping his voice low to shield to words from the rest of us. Lillian’s eyes scan the room and quickly fall on Heather’s face. Pike steps away as Lillian’s blank stare turns from confusion into stone.
“Heather…” she mutters. “How long?”
All eyes turn to Heather as she shakes her head. “How long what?” she asks.
“Don’t play dumb,” Pike says, crossing his arms across his chest. “You know what.”
Heather’s eyes shake in their sockets. I look to the floor. Knowing what I know now, it makes perfect sense. The Kings would have put as many agents in play as possible and not just among the fighters.
“I’m sorry…” she whispers. “He made me tell him what we were going to do to him—”
“How long?” Lillian asks her again, her voice coarse and firm.
“A few months,” Heather whimpers. Veronica takes a quick step away from her, as if Heather were infected by deadly, contagious disease. “Just after they took Joplin, they came to me. They threatened my family, Lillian…”
Lillian steps forward, her feet closing the long gap between them with just a few st
rides. “I could have helped you and you know it,” she says.
“I’m so sorry—” Tears stream down her cheeks.
“You’re done,” Lillian says. “You’ve made your choice.” She pivots on her feet to give Heather room to move. “Get out.”
“Lillian, please—”
Pike steps forward and wraps his long fingers around her elbow. “You heard her,” he says, tugging her towards the door.
“You don’t understand!” Heather shouts. “They’ll come for me. They’ll come for my family!”
I cringe, too scared to listen to her words. Tobias wraps his arm around my shoulder. I fall into his warm touch, but it does little to stop the fear taking over my body.
Pike opens the door and pushes her out into the street.
“Anyone else have something they’d like to tell me?” Lillian asks, her teeth pressed together.
“I didn’t know!” Kimi claims, slinking even farther into the corner. “I swear, I didn’t know!”
Lillian glances at Pike and he shakes his head. “She’s clean,” he says. He looks at Ryan. “Not too sure about you though…”
Ryan holds up his hands in surrender. “I am an open book,” he says. “Ask me whatever you want.”
“He’s fine,” Lillian says with narrow eyes, still seething. “Mr. Weiss and I have a previous arrangement.”
Amy looks at him with shocked eyes and he winks back at her, a smile teasing his playful lips. Her cheeks turn red as relief passes through her eyes.
“And what about you?” Tobias asks Pike. “You haven’t exactly been a team player lately.”
Pike grins, his lips casting shadows over his white teeth. “Oh, I think Claire will fill you in,” he says. “For now though, I recommend you two run along. Heather will no doubt alert you-know-who of Claire’s location…”
“He’s right,” Lillian says. “You should all go. Find somewhere safe.”
UNBROKEN: A Bad Boy MMA Romance (Midwest Alphas) (Book 2) Page 17