Tyler's Undoing (Gloves Off #1)(63)
“I’m here to see Tyler. He’s not speaking to me right now.”
“Yeah, I know. News travels fast in the UFC world, especially, when it involves someone like Tyler and your brother. Are you okay?”
I shook my head, closing my eyes to hold back the tears. “Not really, Pax. Kyle made Tyler believe that it was all a setup, that I made him fall for me so we could mess him up before the fight. I know he’s out here somewhere and I don’t know how to find him.”
Sighing, Paxton bit his lip, his eyes guarded. “I know where he’s at, but I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to see him right now.”
“Why not?” I exclaimed. “Is he with Gabriella? I’m not leaving here until I see him.” I didn’t want to imagine him with her, but he had to hear me out, even if he ended up slamming the door in my face.
Starting toward the car, Paxton followed and grabbed my arm. “What are you doing, Kacey? I’m not going to let you drive around all night.”
With my other hand, I flung open the door and snapped, “Watch me.”
“Dammit,” he snarled. “Fine, I’ll tell you where he is, but you’re making a mistake. It’s not the right time.”
“It’ll never be the right time, Pax. I need to get everything out in the open.”
Hanging his head, Paxton groaned and took off his hat, running his hands through his dark hair. “Fine. He’s at the gym.”
“No, he’s not. I just drove by there an hour and a half ago and it was vacant.”
“Trust me, he’s there, Kace. I’m going to follow you over there and wait for you in the parking lot. You’re going to need me.”
Furrowing my brows, I gazed up at him nervously. “Why do you say that?”
“Because,” he murmured, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear, “you’re going to get hurt and I don’t want you running off by yourself.” Sadly, he smiled and turned on his heel. “I’ll meet you there.”
I was already hurt, so it didn’t matter if I got hurt even more. My nerves, however, were shot by the time I pulled into the parking lot at the gym. Paxton was right—Tyler’s truck was there. Pulling into the space beside me in his yellow Hummer, Paxton nodded toward the door and waved me on.
Swallowing hard, I took a deep breath and opened the door, clenching my hands into tight fists to keep them from shaking. Before reaching the front door to the gym, I looked back at Paxton one more time for any hope of reassurance, but all he provided was a sad smile.
I can’t be a coward. Be strong.
Stopping at the door, I repeated those words over and over, until I saw Tyler in the ring with Matt Reynolds. He was fighting perfectly, like nothing was wrong. He didn’t even look like the same guy I saw in the video. In fact, he was doing amazing. Licking my lips, I held onto the handle and slowly opened the door as to not draw any attention to myself—it didn’t work.
Tyler stiffened at the noise, his tattooed muscles clenching tight as he slowly turned his head, his eyes going wide in surprise when he saw me. He wore his signature green and black fighting shorts and his platinum blond hair was spiky from being drenched in sweat. My God, I missed him, but I was furious with him too. We stared at each other for only a fraction of a moment before it all changed and he got back into position, turning his attention to Matt.
Matt, on the other hand, acknowledged me with a nod and took off his gloves. “Take a break,” he announced, “I’ll be back in five.”
He disappeared to the back, leaving me alone with Tyler. The tension in the room was so palpable I could cut it with a knife. I was afraid my voice wouldn’t work, so I took a deep breath and shouted, “Are you not going to say anything?”
Not looking at me, Tyler hopped out of the ring and went straight for the punching bag. “What do you want me to say, Kacey?”
Circling around the ring, I came up behind him and stopped while he pounded on the bag. “I want you to listen to what I have to say. Stop running from me.”
“I’m not running. I just choose to be here, away from you and your jackass brother.”
“So that’s it, huh? You automatically assume I’m like him, so you run off and start f*cking the first girl you can find.” Immediately, he stopped, his chest rising and falling with his ragged breaths. “Yeah, my brother was all too happy to show me a video of you talking shit.”
Tired of looking at his back, I grabbed his arm and pulled as hard as I could, but he turned around willingly. My lips trembled and I dug my nails into my palms to block out the pain in my chest. For a split second he looked sad. Then, I blinked and it was back to stone.
“Tyler, I accept the fact you don’t understand why I kept my family history a secret, and why would you? You come from a perfect home, where your parents love you. I come from one of greed and malice. I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting a functional family until yours. It made me realize happiness is possible. I even started believing I could have that someday.
“My brother is a dick and when I had the chance to move away from home, I did. I left and never looked back. I never anticipated falling in love with you. Hell, I wanted to stay away from you and the fighting world.”
I paused and closed my eyes, the burn welling up behind my lids. “My one regret,” I began, my breath hitching, “is that I was selfish. I didn’t want to let you go, but I can promise you . . . I was myself the entire time we were together. I need someone who can love me for who I am, not hate me because of where I come from.”