Ryley's Revenge (Gloves Off #2)(48)

My heart constricted and it took all the strength I had to swallow my eggs. I could only imagine what day that was. But what was even crazier was I used to do the same thing in Aspen. I would sit on the back deck and stare off into the distance, letting my mind wander. Even when it rained, I could imagine I was back here, making love outside. Sometimes I could even feel him touching me.

“Trust me, Mamaw. It was hard on me too. I should’ve never left him.”

“Well, child, you can’t worry about that now. You’re here and that’s all that matters. My concern now is making sure Ryley doesn’t kill his brother. I don’t want him doing something he’ll regret later. I can see it eating away at him and it’s not good. If he keeps his anger bottled up, he’s going to blow.”

“It’s a good thing he’ll get to release it at the title fight. What can I do until then?”

Before she could answer, Ryley marched into the house, breathing hard and sweaty. The conversation was over, but it only took one look to know he was a ticking time bomb. The energy around him crackled like fire and it made my skin prickle. He kept it together pretty well in the hospital, but now everything had changed. He had a new focus . . . revenge.





For the rest of the day, I watched him from the back deck as he pummeled his punching bag and worked his body to exhaustion. Even then, he didn’t stop. I didn’t know if I should try to talk to him or leave him be. I was about to go down when the sound of car doors slamming shut echoed in the air. Ryley obviously couldn’t hear from the incessant pounding of the bag.

By the time I made it inside, I looked out one of the windows and saw it was Danny, along with a woman. Almost instantly, I knew who she was. The bright blue eyes and blonde hair gave her away.

Before they came up the steps, I opened the door wide. “Hey, Danny. I didn’t know you were coming.”

He got up the stairs first and folded me in a hug. “Ryley’s going to need me this week. Where’s he at?”

When he let me go, my smile faltered. “He’s out back, absolutely murdering the punching bag. He hasn’t stopped all day.”

Danny groaned and hung his head. “All right, I’ll go out there. I hate it when he gets like that.” Reaching behind him, he took the woman’s elbow and helped her up the last couple of steps. The way he looked at her was a little more than friendly. Ryley never mentioned Danny and his mother were seeing each other.

“Ashleigh, this is Ryley’s mother, Terry. Terry, this is Ashleigh. I’m going to leave you two to get acquainted while I deal with Mr. Rage.”

Terry lifted her brows and crossed her arms. “Now don’t be too hard on him, Danny. He’s going through a lot right now. I can’t imagine what he must be feeling.”

“He’ll be fine,” he retorted. “He’s just angry.”

Once Danny left, I stepped aside so Terry could enter. Her eyes grew misty when she looked around. “You’ll have to excuse the waterworks, it’s just been so long since I’ve been here. I had hoped Ryley would move up here one day. We all miss him.” She glanced back at me and smiled.

“I wondered the same thing when he first brought me here. It’s so much better than Los Angeles. I guess with Danny and his brother being back there, he felt like that was where he needed to be.”

I wanted to go back outside and she followed me to the porch, taking a seat beside me. “I know it was because of Camden,” she confessed. “After their father died, they were inseparable. Now with things being cross between them I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

“Neither do I,” I murmured regretfully. From where we sat, we had a good view of Danny and Ryley inside the garage, as the double doors were open.

“I’m glad I finally got to meet you, Ashleigh. I wish it was under better circumstances. Although, I am happy to hear I’m going to be a grandmother and that my little grandbabies are okay.”

Instinctively, I ran my hand over my stomach and grinned. “If they’re anything like their father, they’ll be okay. He’s strong.”

Terry giggled. “Well, so are you, darling. If you can put up with one of my boys, I’d say you’re a saint.” Her gaze landed on Danny and she smiled, but not before catching me looking at her.

“Does Ryley know about you and Danny?” I asked boldly.

Sighing, she looked down at her hands and shook her head. “Is it that obvious?”

“To me it is, but I look for that kind of stuff. I don’t think men are that perceptive. Do you not want Ryley to know?”

“It’s not that exactly,” she said, meeting my stare. “It’s just, Danny was their father’s best friend. I wouldn’t want them to think ill of me for being with someone other than their father. Danny’s been there for me and the boys. He loves them. It tore him apart when Camden let him go.”

“Yeah, well, Camden has a knack for hurting people,” I grumbled.

“Maybe once the fight is over, I’ll tell Ryley what’s going on. Right now he needs to concentrate on his fight and winning the title. And I do hope Ryley teaches Camden a lesson. It’s unforgiveable what he did to you both.”

We watched Ryley for another hour before his mother had to get up and walk away. She didn’t have to worry about Ryley teaching Camden a lesson. There would be no mercy shown.