Camden's Redemption (Gloves Off #4)(65)

Before I could process what was happening, my brother came through the curtain, wearing his blue robe and a mischievous smirk on his face. Danny, my old coach, followed along behind him. “It was your brother’s idea,” Mason confessed. “I don’t know what he’s up to.”

I sure as hell would like to know the answer to that. Apparently, Gabby didn’t know by the look of surprise on her face. Brooklyn, on the other hand, appeared scared as hell. She looked at me and I nodded, winking to reassure her. That seemed to appease her somewhat.

Ryley sauntered down the aisle and handed Danny his blue robe before coming into the ring. “Surprised to see me, brother?”

“Were you afraid I wouldn’t accept the fight if I knew it was you?”

He smiled and shrugged his shoulders. “I wasn’t sure. Would you have?”

“I guess you’ll never know.”

By the gleam in his eyes, I could tell he was up to something. I just had no clue as to what it was. Time stood still as I waited on the bell to ring. When it did, everything moved in slow motion. The time had come to fight my brother, but in my mind, it wasn’t to win; it was to show the world I was just as good of a fighter as he was. We were brothers . . . we were equal.

Ryley swung first and I dodged, but counteracted with a punch to his gut. The breath whooshed out of his lungs and he coughed. “That’s new.”

“You can thank Pax for that.”

Once he righted himself, he psyched me out and when I averted to the right it was exactly the direction he attacked, knocking me hard on the side of the head. We battled back and forth, neither one of us going on full attack.

Ding, ding, ding. Round one was over. Ryley smiled and we strolled to our respective corners. “What is he up to? He’s not fighting like he usually does.”

“And neither are you,” Paxton noted. “He must be waiting on you to bring the heat.”

I looked to Mason for guidance. “What should I do? You know why I don’t attack.”

He nodded and moved closer, his voice low and fast. I didn’t have much longer before the bell. “Forget you’re here. Pretend you’re back at the gym, sparring like old times. You might have beat the shit out of each other, but you had fun doing it. Block everyone out and just have fun.”

Ding, ding, ding. Circling the ring, I met his smile and everything moved swiftly after that. We charged each other and both ended up on the mat, grappling to get a hold on the other. He wasn’t making a move to end it, so I tested him by rolling around behind him and wrapping an arm around his neck in a rear naked choke.

“It’s about damn time,” he grumbled, his voice raspy from the hold.

“Why aren’t you fighting me? You can do better than this.”

“So can you.”

Then it hit me. I knew what he was doing. “Ryley, so help me God, if you don’t get up and fight me for real, I’m seriously going to kick your ass.”

“I can’t. You have me in a choke.”

“Then I’m letting you out.” As I started to let him go, his hand came down on my arm and he tapped out, ending the fight. “I am so going to kill you for this.” I tightened my hold on him again.

He laughed the entire time, even when the referee came over and made me let him go. We both got to our feet and he rolled his neck. “Well done, brother.”

“You let me win, jackass.”

He shrugged his shoulders and came to my side while the announcer went to my other. The crowd went wild, chanting my name as both the announcer and my brother grabbed onto my wrists.

“And the new Middleweight Title Champion is Camden ‘The Bone Crusher’ Jaaammmeeesssooonnn.” They lifted my arms in victory while everyone in the crowd stood and cheered. It was hard to enjoy it when I knew I didn’t earn it.

“You are so going to pay for this, f*cknut,” I said through my clenched teeth as I smiled at the people.

“I’m sure we’ll be fighting against each other again, dear brother. Just don’t let anyone else take it from you in the meantime.”

Once my arms were lowered, I grabbed him by the shoulders and hugged him as tight as I could. “Thank you. And next time, you better fight me for real.”

Chuckling, he clapped me on the back and let go. “You bet your ass I will.” Then he nodded at something over my shoulder. “You have a good life now. Don’t blow it.”

I turned my head and Brooklyn was right there, waiting for me. “Don’t worry, I won’t.”





Kyle’s Return

—The last novel in the Gloves Off series—

(Releasing April 2015)





About the Author





NEW YORK TIMES and USA Today Bestselling author, L.P. Dover, is a southern belle residing in North Carolina along with her husband and two beautiful girls. Before she even began her literary journey she worked in Periodontics enjoying the wonderment of dental surgeries.

Not only does she love to write, but she loves to play tennis, go on mountain hikes, white water rafting, and you can't forget the passion for singing. Her two number one fans expect a concert each and every night before bedtime and those songs usually consist of Christmas carols.

Aside from being a wife and mother, L.P. Dover has written over nine novels including her Forever Fae series, the Second Chances series, and her standalone novel, Love, Lies, and Deception. Her favorite genre to read is romantic suspense and she also loves writing it. However, if she had to choose a setting to live in it would have to be with her faeries in the Land of the Fae.