Ryley's Revenge (Gloves Off #2)(66)

“Angel, are you okay?”

“Yes,” I answered quickly, handing him the clothes. “It was just a bad dream. Regrettably, I have a feeling there’s going to be a bunch of them in my future.”

“Where did Gabby and Pax go?” Taking my hand, he helped me to my feet and then slid the T-shirt over his head. His skin was covered in dried up blood and bandages, but at least there weren’t exposed wounds anymore. I didn’t realize how many cuts he actually had.

“I told them to leave,” I said. “I thought it would be best. I should probably call a cab, huh?”

Once the cab was called, we walked outside and waited. We were finally alone. Lowering his bloody shorts to the ground, Ryley quickly put on the pair of khaki shorts Paxton left for him and threw his fighting shorts in the trash.

“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked.

Sighing, he gently took my hand and held it in his lap, clasping his fingers with mine. “Not really. It’s over and there’s nothing we can do about it now. The only thing that worries me is the way you looked at me when I was in the ring. You were scared of me, weren’t you?”

I didn’t want to admit it, but I knew I couldn’t lie. I’d been terrified. I had never seen him so full of hate and violence. “Yes,” I whispered honestly. “It was like you weren’t even there.”

“I wasn’t,” he answered sadly. “Deep down, all I could feel was a bottomless pit of anger. I don’t want to imagine what I would’ve done if I didn’t stop. If you weren’t there . . . things could’ve ended up differently.”

Lifting my other hand, I gently stroked his hair. “It’s a good thing we don’t have to worry about that. Everything is going to be fine now.”

“So we’re good? You forgive me?” he asked. The cab finally pulled up and he helped me to my feet.

“Yes, we’re fine, I promise. We’re going to make mistakes and do stupid shit, but now we have more than just ourselves to think about. Things are about to change and we need to be ready.”

Nodding, he put his hand on my stomach and closed his eyes. “You’re right. When we get home, a lot is going to change. I just hope you’re ready for it.”

Lifting up on my tiptoes, I gently kissed his lips. “I’m ready for anything, as long as I have you.”





Three Days Later




As soon as we got back home, Ryley couldn’t rest until we were out of Los Angeles. I guess there were too many bad memories there. For the past three days, with the help of family and friends, our belongings were packed up and already at our cabin in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Today was the last day we would be in the city for a very long time.

Ryley was ready for a new beginning and so was I. His cuts were healing nicely, but every time he would do something strenuous they’d ooze. Needless to say, I was dying to make love to him again, but I wanted him to heal more. Besides, we’d been too busy moving into our new home.

“I can’t believe you guys are leaving already,” Gabriella cried, flinging her arms around me. “I’m going to miss you.”

I held her tight and squeezed my eyes shut. “I’m going to miss you too. But hey, we’ll see each other soon. You’re coming up for Thanksgiving, right? It’s only a couple of months away. Maybe Paxton could come with you?”

She laughed. “Yeah, right. We’d kill each other.”

“Have you two talked since this weekend? I’m curious to know what his terms are. You guys were acting kind of strange when you were helping us move our things.” Paxton’s repentance was basically to help us move. He felt like he owed it to Ryley for breaking the guy code. It basically all boiled down to that it was mine and Gabriella’s fault, which it was.

“No, we haven’t talked about it yet. He decided to wait until next weekend. He knew I was upset about you leaving.” Her phone buzzed with an incoming text so she pulled it out and looked at it, frowning. “Where’s Ryley at?” she asked.

“He said he wanted to make his rounds and say goodbye. Why? What’s going on?”

Sheepishly, she walked backward to the door, biting her lip. “Because there’s someone who wants to see you before you go. I thought it best he do that with Ryley not around. I think we all need closure in our lives and you need it with him.

“Face it, Ash, you two have history. Yes, he made a mistake, but he loves you, and remember . . . he came clean in the end. He’s leaving California and I know after today you guys probably won’t ever see each other again. You’ll regret not doing this if you don’t.” By the time she opened the front door, he was walking up the front steps. “I’ll just be outside.”

Colin joined me at the door, but didn’t make a move to come inside until I stepped out of the way. He had his usual green baseball cap hanging low over his eyes, wearing a USC T-shirt and jeans. From the looks of his skin, he had already healed from his fight at the Dark Side.

“I know you probably don’t want to talk to me, but I wanted to see you. Gabby told me about Vegas and what went down.”

“Yeah.”

Taking off his hat, he ran his hands through his blond, spiky hair and looked up at me, his expression full of trepidation. “I heard you’re having twins too. Congratulations.”