Tyler's Undoing (Gloves Off #1)(64)

Jaw clenching, he looked away and stayed silent. I jumped when Matt slammed open the back door and started sliding on his gloves. He busied himself with other things, pretending not to notice us, but the awkward silence was deafening.

“Say something,” I whispered.

Tyler glanced over at Matt and never once looked down at me. “I have nothing to say.”

The tears flowed freely now that my heart had shattered into a million pieces. I wanted Tyler to look at me, to touch me, but he didn’t. He turned away from me and started punching the bag again, harder with each jab. I was too embarrassed to look at Matt, so I kept my head held high until I got to the door. I could see Tyler’s reflection in the windows, and he never wavered. He was done with me. As soon as I opened the door and the fresh air blew across my face, I broke down and ran, hoping I could get as far away as fast as I could.

However, when I turned the corner, I ran straight into Paxton’s arms, burying my head in his chest. “Get me out of here, Pax,” I cried.

Keeping his arm around my waist, he led me over to his Hummer and opened the door. I slid in while he grabbed my suitcase and purse out of my rental and set them in the back seat. “We’ll come get the car tomorrow. You can stay at my place tonight.”

I laid my head against the window and closed my eyes. There were too many tears, I couldn’t see anything. “I thought he loved me, Pax. Instead, he was cold . . . detached. I’ve never seen him like that.”

Pulling out, Pax huffed and squealed his tires as he sped out of the parking lot. “I told you it wouldn’t be good, but you didn’t listen, Kacey. Things are really screwed up right now. You picked a bad time to come out here.”

When I looked in the side view mirror, Tyler burst out of the gym, and slammed his arms into the brick wall when he saw Pax’s vehicle speeding away. More tears flowed from my eyes, obscuring my view of him as we slipped further and further away. I couldn’t breathe, my chest ached, and the harder I tried to breathe the more lightheaded I got. “From the way he looked at me, I don’t think there was ever a good time, Pax. I just want to go home and forget all of this ever happened.”

Closing my eyes, I could feel my lungs tightening up with each breath. In my lifetime, I’d only had a handful of panic attacks, my worst one being when my father died. This one, however, felt like I was going to die.

“Kacey! What the f*ck? Hold on, we’re almost there.”

The whole world felt like it was closing in on me, strangling me, taking away every precious breath. I had lost everything. Before passing out to my sweet surrender, I saw Paxton’s face above my own, his green eyes terrified.

“Breathe,” he commanded, his voice sounding so far away.

Closing my eyes, I heard frantic voices all around me, and hands touching my skin.

“Breathe, beautiful. I need you to come back to me.”

Tyler.

His voice echoed in my ear and I knew it was my own hallucinations imagining he was with me. It was most likely the last time I would ever hear his voice. “I want to hear it again,” I rasped. “Say it one more time.”

My vision was cloudy, but I felt something warm close over my lips, calming me. “I need you to come back to me, beautiful.”

Too exhausted, I closed my eyes and slowly fell into the darkness. “No,” I replied. “It’s too late.”





Head throbbing, I scrunched my eyes and could already tell they were swollen, and most likely red. When I tried to stretch, I couldn’t move my body because a set of arms held me tight and I was wrapped up in a gazillion blankets. “What the hell, Pax? I’m not a burrito.”

“Sorry to disappoint, but I’m not Paxton. If it were him, he’d be losing his limbs right about now.”

Wide-eyed, I rolled out of his arms and fell onto the floor, groaning when I knocked my knee on the bed frame. “What are you doing here?” I snapped angrily, glaring up at Tyler. “You have no right to touch me.”

He held his hands up in defeat. “I know, but you need to let me explain.”

Stalking around the bed, I flipped him off and slammed open the door to find Paxton waiting just outside. “I don’t need to let you explain shit,” I challenged, glaring back at Tyler. Then to Paxton, I crossed my arms over my chest defiantly. “Tell me what’s going on, Pax.”

Tyler slipped out of bed and slid on his jeans and a wrinkled white T-shirt. “You had a panic attack last night, Kacey. After you left, I couldn’t let you go, so I got in my car and followed you guys. Paxton pulled over when you started struggling for air.”

“Like you care,” I hissed, glaring at him.

“I do care and I’m so, so sorry. You have no idea how hard it’s been.”

What was he talking about? Glaring at both guys, they both looked sheepish. “Okay, what in the holy f*ck is going on here? What are you talking about? And since when did you two become friends?”

They both glanced at each other and then Tyler grumbled, “We’re not friends. We have a mutual understanding. When he saw I was in town, he warned me your brother was keeping tabs on us. I kind of figured he would.” He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me in tight to his chest. His scent engulfed me and I breathed him in, relaxing in his hold without thinking about it. “I’m sorry for doing what I did, but I had no choice. This whole week has been a ploy to keep your brother in the dark.”