by L. P. Dover
* * * *
Kyle’s Return
A Gloves Off Novel
Copyright © 2015 by L.P. Dover
Cover design by Regina Wamba of Mae I Design (http://www.maeidesign.com/)
Editing by Victoria Rae Schmitz, Crimson Tide Editorial
Formatting by JT Formatting (http://www.facebook.com/JTFormatting)
ISBN:
Smashwords Edition
All rights reserved.
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products, bands, and/or restaurants referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
***
Title Page
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Epilogue
Coming Soon
About the Author
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THIS THANK YOU goes out to all of you who have supported me and given my writing a chance. Without you, there would be no fighters for me. Which would be a shame because I love Ryley. :) Now that my series has come to a close, I would like to mention some people who I wouldn’t have been able to do it without.
My husband, for one, has been one of my top supporters. He hates it when I work all the time, but he knows I love doing it. Even though he wants me to kill off some of my favorite characters, I still love him.
My best friend in the whole world, Kim Walker, gets the Medal of Honor. She’s always there when I need her and goes through great lengths to help me out. Her worth can seriously not be measured.
The Dream Team—Victoria and Regina. One edits my books and makes them shine while the other beautifies the outside and brings them to life. The perfect combination.
I also want to thank my formatter, Julie Titus with JT Formatting, for making the inside of my books unique. I love the creative twist she puts in them.
Lastly, I want to mention someone who was a dear friend of mine and my husband’s. He was a fighter. Not literally an MMA fighter, but a fighter in heart and spirit. He fought against cancer and chose to be strong for those he loved. Sadly, the battle could only be fought for so long, but he made sure to live out every day to the fullest. Kerry Rushing was a good man and a loyal friend. He will always be loved and missed.
***
A CAR DOOR slammed in my driveway. Rushing down the stairs, I opened the door wide with a smile on my face. Unfortunately, it wasn’t who I was expecting. It was my ex-boyfriend, Alex.
He must have been released from prison today. And at that very moment, I regretted living in a house where my neighbors were over a half a mile away. He looked different from the last time I’d seen him. His light brown hair was shaggy and unkempt and his face wasn’t smooth like he’d always kept it. He looked rough and angry.
“You’re not supposed to be here. I have a restraining order.”
He held his arms out wide. “Does it look like I give a fuck?”
“Maybe you should,” I said, slamming the door. Heart racing, I locked the door before he barreled his body into it. I choked down my fear and rose above it. Ryley and Gabby had taught me self-defense . . . I wasn’t weak anymore. Repeating that over and over in my mind, I raced up the stairs to my room and grabbed my cell phone.
“Open the door you stupid cunt. Did you honestly think I’d leave you alone?” He beat against the door a couple more times, threatening to kill me, but then all too sudden everything was quiet. The silence was deafening.
I quickly dialed 911 and gave them the information they needed.
“Can you stay on the phone with me, Miss West?” the dispatcher asked. As soon as she asked it, a loud boom along with shattering glass made me yelp.
“I can’t. I’ll be dead if I do.” I hung up the phone and threw it onto my bed. More glass shattered down below and since I was upstairs, I had nowhere else to go.
“Where are you hiding this time?” he taunted. “You know I love the chase.”
The sound of his voice made me infuriatingly sick. To give me more time, I quietly shut my bedroom door and locked it. It wouldn’t keep him out, but it’d give me the seconds I needed. His footsteps thundered up the stairs and before he could get to my door, I already had the window open. It was a long drop, but I had no choice. I wasn’t afraid of a little pain. I’d felt enough of it over the last year.
Alex kicked the door open and when his eyes met mine, he was in for a surprise. The weak girl he once fucked over wasn’t there anymore.
“You want to chase me, fuckface? Come and get me.”
He lunged, but then I kicked my leg over the side and fell to the ground, rolling to take the pressure off my legs. I didn’t think he’d do the same thing, but he jumped out of the window, cutting off my escape. Instead of running away, I picked up a large branch that was lying on the ground and swung it at his face.
His head snapped to the side and blood spewed from his mouth. I tried to swing again, but he blocked it. “You wanna see blood, cunt? I’ll be happy to show you yours.”
Yanking the branch out of my hands, he tossed it across the yard. I already knew he was faster than me, so running wasn’t an option. I just had to survive until the police got there which was why I got into the crouching position Ryley taught me, ready for anything.
Alex chuckled darkly.
“What the hell is this shit? You don’t think you’re actually going to fight me do you?”
“I’ll do what I have to do.”
He lunged and I jumped out of his way, slamming a punch to the right side of his face. He growled and backhanded me across the cheek, throwing me off balance. The blow stung and my eyes watered; he was quicker than I thought. The breath whooshed out of my lungs as he tackled me to the ground and punched me. I could feel the blood oozing out of my nose.
“Ah, now that’s what I like to see.” He swiped the blood with his thumb. “But unfortunately, it’s not where I want you to bleed.”
I gave in and let him touch me, making him think I was backing down. If I ever got the chance, I’d make sure to cut off his hands so he couldn’t hit anyone else ever again. The grass felt like razors against my skin and his grip was rough as he squeezed my breast. My face throbbed and my left eye was swollen, but my anger fed off of that pain. I hated him with every fiber of my being.
“Don’t worry, I’ll make it quick.”
“So will I,” I spat. It was as if everything inside me just snapped. As hard as I could, I hit him in the balls with my knee and gave him an uppercut to the face. When he didn’t falter, I elbowed him again and again, his blood spurting all over my face. Finally, he fell to the ground and I was able to get out from under him.
The old Megan would have cried and ran away, but I wasn’t that girl anymore. Alex groaned and started to get to his feet, but I wanted to see him suffer. I kicked him in the gut and then to the face. It was as if I wasn’t in control of my body anymore. I wanted to kill him for making my life a living hell.
The sirens blared just down my street and I knew they were close. Every thought in my mind kept pushing me to kill him, to end it once and for all. The branch he took away from me was just a few feet away, so I picked it up and stood over his still form. The police were getting closer, leaving me just a few seconds to act.
Raising the branch high, I had it ready to smash his skull in. Taking a deep breath, I blew it out slowly and gripped the branch tight. “It’s over for you, Alex.”
“Megan, no.”
I stopped in mid swing. It was Officer Darryl Jenkins, the same cop who broke up the fight between Ryley and Alex at the club, and the one I confided in when I issued the restraining order. “You don’t understand,” I shouted with tears streaming down my cheeks. “If I don’t, I’ll never be free of him.”
He approached slowly with his hands in the air. “He’s not going to hurt you anymore, Megan. I’m going to make sure of that. Now put down the branch.” I looked down at Alex and almost finished him off, but now my yard was crawling with cops. It was too late. Tossing the branch to the ground, I stepped back and closed my eyes, knowing I was making a huge mistake.
Coming to my side, Darryl put his arm around my shoulder. “You did the right thing.”
“Did I?” I asked, watching two of the other officers handcuff Alex. They left him on the ground, still unconscious. “You better hope he doesn’t come after me again. Because next time I’m not going to let anyone stop me.” That was a promise.
***
Two Years Later
THE SECURITY DOOR buzzed open and in walked my former agent, Liam Harris, shackled with his hands behind his back wearing an orange jumpsuit. No more high-dollar suits for him. “Are you fucking kidding me?” he growled. He tried to back up, but the guards pushed him toward the table where I sat. “I don’t want to see him. Get me out of here.”
“Sorry, shitdick, but you don’t have a choice,” one of the guards spat.
They slammed him down in the seat across from me, but he was too chicken shit to look me in my face. “So what?” I began. “You too afraid to look at me?” Lifting his chin in the air, he turned his face and ignored me like I wasn’t even there. “All right, I see how you want to play. This could’ve gone a lot smoother.”
His eyes went wide and before the guards could stop me, I punched him so hard I felt the bones in his face crack. He sailed back head first into the floor with blood pouring from his mouth and nose. The guards hauled me up by my arms and I willingly let them pull me to the door. “You better be glad you’re in here, cocksucker, because if you weren’t I’d rip off your dick and shove it down your goddamned throat.”
“Ouch,” one of the guards chuckled. As soon as I was outside the door, they let me go but with warning stares.
“I know I shouldn’t have done that. But he deserved it.”
The tall, burly one with the brown beard nodded his head. “We understand, but there are policies in place. I’m afraid you won’t be able to come back once we put in our reports.”
I glanced back into the room at Liam still lying on the floor. “That’s fine. I think I got my point across.”
“I’d say so,” the younger officer chuckled. He walked me through the guarded door and stopped me before I could leave. “Just so you know, he gets what he deserves in here. I’ll leave the rest to your imagination.”
“Thanks, I needed to hear that.”
After washing off Liam’s blood from my hands, my knuckles were torn and split open. I didn’t want Kacey to see me with my hands like that, but once I told her what I did, hopefully she’d find some semblance of forgiveness. The gym was packed which was good because I knew Tyler wouldn’t want to kill me with so many people there. I parked my truck and took a deep breath before entering the lion’s den.
The girl working at the front looked up from some paperwork and her eyes did a double take. “Holy shit. What the hell are you doing here?”
“I can see you know who I am.” I let out a humorless laugh.
“Are you kidding me? Everyone around here knows who you are. You look the same from before, but I know your eyes aren’t just green. Wearing contacts to not freak people out?”
Actually, I was. For years I liked my two-tone eyes because they scared people. They made me different. But I didn’t want that anymore. “As a matter of fact, yes.”
“Can’t argue with you there.” She then glanced down at my legs. “Last I heard you couldn’t walk. You’re not here to cause trouble are you? Because if you are you came at the wrong time, buddy.”
Holding my hands in the air, I took a step closer, but then stopped when she backed away. I looked at her name tag. “I’m not looking for trouble, Megan. I just want to find Kacey.”
With narrowed eyes, her jaw clenched. “If she wanted to be found she would’ve called.”
Sighing, I looked around the gym at the octagon sitting off in the corner. I missed fighting. I’d do anything to get back into it. “I just want to talk to her, tell her I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, well, I think that time is long past. Get out before I call Tyler to come beat your sorry ass.”
“Go ahead, be my guest. My goal is to get his attention.”
She shook her head as she measured my seriousness and then shrugged and turned to call to her boss.
Way at the other end of the gym, Tyler spun around and his eyes went wide in disbelief. Even from this distance, I could sense the anger flowing off him. There was so much tension in the air, I could barely fucking breathe. It was suffocating and it was all directed at me.
Tyler stormed toward me. “What the fuck is going on?” he growled, his arms crossed at the chest.
“All I want is to talk to you and my sister and make things right,” I said to him, hands held in the air.
“Forgive me if I think you’re full of shit, Andrews. You’ve got to be insane to think I’d let you hurt Kacey again.”
Sighing, I dropped my hands. “I don’t want to hurt her. I want to work things out. She’s the only family I have left.”
He studied me for a minute and then glanced down at my legs. “Since when did you start walking again?”
“A few months ago. With Kacey ignoring my calls, I told myself as soon as I got up and walked I was going to come out here and see her.”
This time he looked d
own at my hands and shook his head. “It looks like that’s not the only thing you came out here to do. Getting into fights again?”
Lifting my hands, I rubbed a finger over my sores and smiled. “It wasn’t exactly the fight I imagined it would be. I was hoping to get a few more hits in. But I’m sure you’ll be happy to know that Liam is worse off now.”
His eyes went wide. “You attacked him in prison? Are you fucking stupid?”
“Apparently. I’m not allowed to go back after what I did. I’ve been dying to get my hands on him after everything happened. I just wasn’t able to until now. I have you to thank for that.”
He stiffened. “So are you looking for an apology? Is that what you want from me? I’m not sorry for what happened to you, but I am sorry for the pain it caused Kacey.”
I shook my head. “I don’t want an apology. All I want is to talk to her, to show her I’m getting better and it’s all because of her. I’ve been in hell for two years. I’m ready to make amends,” I glanced around his gym, “and to get my life back on track. I miss fighting.”
Megan was the one who burst out in laughter. “Oh my God, you’re not seriously wanting to work out here are you? Have you seen the looks those guys are giving you right now?” she asked, flourishing her hand toward a group of men.
Tyler looked at her and then out at the others in his gym. His eyes lit up and he turned a mischievous gaze my way. “Actually, I don’t think it’s a bad idea. As far as Kacey is concerned, she’ll talk to you when she’s ready. But if you want to deal with the guys here, then be my guest.”
Megan threw her hands in the air. “I am so going to need a raise after this. I’ll be cleaning up blood every effing day.”
“And you can blame it on him,” Tyler mentioned smugly, nodding at me. “Oh, and get him the paperwork, Megan. He may be my brother-in-law soon, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to work out for free.”
“You’re getting married?” I asked, knowing very well that one day it would come to that.
“Were you expecting an invitation?” Megan cut in incredulously, handing me the paperwork.