Ryley's Revenge (Gloves Off #2)(55)

I lowered my head in anguish once I saw who was on the other side. It wasn’t Camden, but by the look in the dark eyes gleaming at Ryley, I feared it was time. The man was tall and bulky, probably in his early thirties, with jagged scars on both arms—almost like damage from a knife fight. The stench of malevolence poured off of him, and when he noticed me staring, he winked. Disgusting pig.

Ryley noticed the exchange and stepped in his line of sight. “What the f*ck do you want?”

“I’m here for you,” he barked with a sneer. “Unless you’re too much of a *.”

The tension soared and I half expected Ryley to punch the shit out of him, but instead, he walked over to the table and grabbed his bag. With his back to everyone else, he quickly glanced over at me and mouthed the words ‘I love you’ before turning around and heading through the door, disappearing down the hall. The guy smirked at us and slammed the door.

“Ryley,” I shouted, rushing toward the door. Before I could get there and chase after him, Tyler blocked my path and put his arms around me, holding me in place. I pushed against him and fought, punching his chest. I had to get to Ryley.

“Ashleigh, stop,” he ordered as I continued to thrash. “You can’t go after him. It’s too dangerous.”

After pummeling him for God knows how long, I got tired and just let him hold me, my tears soaking the front of his shirt. “I don’t know what to do,” I cried. “I feel so helpless. What if something happens to him?”

Gabriella came up behind me and Tyler let me go so I could hold onto her. “Ryley’s strong, Ash. You have to look at this from his point of view. His own brother deceived you. He was going to have the f*cking baby results changed for Christ’s sake. I hope Ryley beats the shit out of him.”

“Wait, what?” Tyler interrupted. “What did Camden do?”

I laid my head on Gabriella’s shoulder while she explained what’d happened over the past few weeks.

Kacey gasped and Tyler grunted. “No wonder he wants to kill his f*cking brother.”

“If you don’t mind me butting in,” Kacey began, “I actually know who that guy was.”

Lifting my head, I turned around quickly, wiping away my tears. “How?”

She bit her lip and sighed. “As Kyle’s sister, I’ve heard and seen a lot of things. That guy goes by the name of Scar, and he runs an underground fighting ring. I saw my brother and Pax with him a few times. There were nights when Kyle would come back cut up and bruised, but he was always happy, like he enjoyed what he did. I was never allowed to go though. Kyle wouldn’t let me.”

“Paxton went too?” Gabriella asked incredulously.

Kacey nodded and then her eyes narrowed. “Yeah, but I don’t think he was involved with it as much as my brother. If you haven’t noticed, Pax is different. He’s a good guy.”

Gabriella stiffened for a brief moment and then put her arm around my shoulders. “All right, I think I’m going to get Ashleigh back to the hotel. She needs to get some rest.”

Tyler moved forward, pursing his lips. “You take her back and stay with her, that’s it—no detours. If anyone gives you trouble, I want you to call me, okay?”

“I will. I have experience with kicking ass, so I think we’ll be all right. Besides, no one’s going to mess with me.”

He stood staring at us, like he was trying to figure something out. When all Gabriella did was smile, he rolled his eyes and took Kacey’s hand. “Just be careful and go straight back to the hotel. The last thing Ryley needs is for something to happen to you two, not to mention your brother would have all our asses.”

“I agree,” Danny cut in. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

Gabriella snorted. “Who, me? Never.”

Smirking, Tyler opened the door. “Tell that shit to someone who believes it. Now let’s go. I’ll walk you guys to the car and make sure you get to the hotel safely.”

With her arm around me, she led me out the door and we started on our way to the car. “What are we going to do, Gabby?” I asked quietly. “I don’t think I can sit at the hotel, not knowing what’s happening to Ryley.”

“Just be quiet,” she warned. “I have a plan, but I’ll tell you in the car. I hope it works.”





ASHLEIGH’S SCREAMS ECHOED in my head as I walked away. Not once did I look back, I kept on walking, even when Mr. Fuckhead behind me chuckled. “It looks like your bitch is scared for you. Maybe it’s because she knows you’re going to get your ass handed to you tonight.”

Gritting my teeth, I kept my mouth shut. I had to save every ounce of energy and loathing for my brother. The more he taunted, the angrier I got. And the angrier I got, the worse it would be for my brother. When we got outside, I was led to a black SUV with dark tinted windows and black rims.

“Get in,” he barked.

“Where are we going?”

The guy laughed and shook his head. “You don’t get to ask questions. By coming with me, you agree to what I say. If not, you’ll pay the consequences. Get in.”

Throwing my bag in the back seat, I huffed and slid in. Once the other guy got in the driver’s seat we were on our way.

“All right, let’s see,” he said, fumbling around for something in the seat. “Oh yeah, here we go.” He threw something over his shoulder and it landed in my lap. “Put that on. Also, you can call me Scar.”