Kyle's Return Read online

  Tyler glared at her and she closed her mouth. “You’re not surprised by that are you?” he asked.

  I started filling out the paperwork. “No,” was all I could say. After our parents died, Kacey always told me I would be the one to give her away at her wedding. That wasn’t going to happen now.

  Once I finished the paperwork, I handed it to Megan and gave her my credit card. She ran it and entered in my information. “All right, Mr. Andrews, you’re all set. Good luck out there.”

  “Thanks,” I said, taking my card. I was going to need it.

  As I was putting my card back into my wallet, I couldn’t help but overhear Tyler and Megan’s conversation. “I’m trying to find someone to assist you in the self-defense classes. I have a couple of people interested. Do you mind working with someone else for a while?”

  “Yeah, that’s fine. I don’t mind doing it myself. The ladies are comfortable with me.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “All right, classes will begin again next week.”

  Once Tyler walked away, I leaned my elbows on the desk.

  Sighing, she kept her eyes on the computer. “Can I help you?”

  “I don’t know, but I was thinking I could help you.”

  “Dude, I don’t want or need anything from you. You’re a liar and a manipulator. Run along, please.”

  The girl definitely had fire.

  Accepting defeat, I walked out to my truck and grabbed my gym bag. Looking at the gym, I breathed deep and smiled. Kyle Andrews has returned.

  ***

  THE ASSHOLE WORKED out as if he was in his own world. Never once did he show anger when one of the guys would bump into him or call him names. I also noticed that his legs weren’t as strong as he wanted people to believe. For days now, he’d worked his arms, abs and chest, but neglected his legs. It was always when the gym began to clear out when he started on his leg exercises.

  “You sure are staring at him awfully hard,” Tyler made notice.

  I rolled my eyes and kept my voice down. “It’s not like that. I’m just watching the way he moves.”

  “Well make sure to watch from far away. If he messes with you, I’ll kick his ass.”

  “Thanks, boss,” I said, slapping his hand. I noticed he had already changed into a T-shirt and jeans. “Are you out for the night?”

  “Do you mind?” he asked, staring at me with pleading gray eyes.

  “No, silly, just go. I don’t mind being here. I actually enjoy it. Besides, you’re the one who gave me this job with more than enough pay. I owe you.”

  He grinned down at me. “You deserve it. Besides, we take care of our own here. Any friend of Ryley and Gabby’s is a friend of mine.”

  I watched him walk through the gym and stick to the shadows at the back, keeping his gaze on Kyle. He studied him for a few and then nodded at me before disappearing out the back door. Kyle was the only one left in the gym.

  “You need to work your legs more,” I called out.

  Kyle had his back to me and froze. “I am.”

  Rolling my eyes, I stalked toward him. “No, you’re not. They’re your weakest links right now. Go deeper with your squats.”

  He set down his weight. “Are you trying to provoke me?”

  For once, I wasn’t. “No, I was just noticing the way you were doing your squats. You’d have a much better turnout if you go deeper. I assume they aren’t as strong as they used to be.”

  “No shit,” he growled.

  “Don’t no shit me,” I snapped. “I’m trying to help. But if you want to feel sorry for yourself and half-ass your work out that’s on you. You’re not going to get back into the ring doing it like that.” I started to walk off, but he held out his arm, stopping me.

  “All right, I shouldn’t have bitched at you. And you’re right, I am half-assing it.”

  Picking up a twenty pound weight, I sat down into a squat, and then another. “I tell you what. Every time I do a squat, you do one. Surely you can keep up with me, right?”

  A sly smile spread across his face and he picked his weight back up. “Okay, love. Let’s see what you got.”

  For the next fifteen minutes, my legs were on fire. Sweat broke out over Kyle’s brow, yet he kept going, even when his legs started shaking. Before long, I collapsed onto the mat and so did he, both breathing hard.

  “Holy hell, my legs are on fire,” I laughed, looking over at him.

  He grimaced. “Mine are too.”

  “What was it like not being able to feel them? I can’t imagine how scary that must’ve been.”

  He slowly got to his feet and wiped his brow with a towel, snorting. “If I knew you were really interested, I’d tell you. The last thing I want is your pity.”

  “Is that what you think this is?” I asked incredulously.

  He shrugged. “Fuck if I know. That’s all I’ve gotten for the past two years. For all I know you’re probably just screwing around with me as a joke.”

  “Yeah, because I want to sit here and help you after hours when I could be at home,” I scoffed, getting up and marching away. “I guess I know not to waste my time ever again.” Grabbing my phone and bag off the desk, I turned and pointed to the door.

  “Megan, I . . .”

  “Save it. The gym’s closed. Please see yourself out so I can go home.”

  Nodding, he picked up his bag and slowly made his way to the door. “Thank you for helping me tonight.”

  I turned my head away. “Mmm-hmm.”

  As soon as the door shut, I rushed over and locked it. If anyone was trying to play a joke, it had to be him. Someone as evil as Kyle Andrews couldn’t come back from the shit he’d done and be fully changed. It just wasn’t possible.

  ***

  I HAD COME to the realization I wasn’t going to belong in Vegas. So far Megan was the only one who actually talked to me like I was a real person. Why? I have no fucking clue. Tyler ignored me for the most part, which was actually a good sign.

  Maybe there was hope for Kacey and me to mend our relationship. If not, I was packing my shit up and moving across the country. Without Kacey’s forgiveness, there was nothing for me in Sin City. Even my own mother disowned me when I stopped supplying her with funds. I often wondered if Kacey would’ve helped me if she knew I was alone. I was about to find out.

  Some would call it stalkerish, but I liked to think of it as determination. I’d been in the parking lot of her restaurant for three hours, not knowing when or if she’d show up. I didn’t want to confront her with Tyler around. Thankfully, she showed up right at ten o’ clock, most likely to get ready for the lunch crowd. As soon as she got out of her car, I made my move.

  “Kacey,” I called.

  With her back to me, she froze in place for a second before twisting around. Eyes wide, she dropped her purse and put a hand over her mouth. “Kyle? How in the . . . how is this possible? I thought you’d never be able to walk again.”

  “It was touch and go for quite a while, but I told myself I’d come out here as soon as I could make the trip on my own. I take it Tyler didn’t tell you I was here.”

  She closed her eyes and her jaw clenched. “Nope, he must’ve forgotten to give me that little bit of information.”

  “He’s just protecting you. Anyway, I figured it would be harder to ignore me when I’m standing right in front of you.”

  She nodded and looked down at the ground. “I see. So are you here to gloat?”

  “No,” I said quickly. “I’m here to see you, to make things right between us. You’re all I have left.”

  She snorted. “I find that hard to believe. Where are all your friends? What about our mother?”

  “I don’t give a shit about my old friends or our mother. She left me high and dry the moment she found out I wouldn’t be able to walk again.”

  Tears pooled in her eyes. “Oh my God. So you made a comeback all on your own? If I’d have known . . .”


  “Then you would’ve felt bad and helped me out of pity. That’s the last thing I wanted.”

  “So what exactly are you hoping to gain by coming to see me? You want forgiveness for everything you’ve done?”

  “It’s a start. Or at least give me the hope that you can, someday in the future.”

  She took a step forward, her saddened green gaze regarding me wearily. “There are so many other people you hurt, Kyle. A few of them happen to be my friends. If you want my forgiveness you need to get theirs too.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” I shouted. “You must seriously want me dead.”

  “Then you shouldn’t have been stupid enough to do what you did. Those are my terms. Take it or leave it.”

  Releasing a heavy sigh, I ran a hand through my hair. What the hell was I going to do? “So that’s it, isn’t it? You’re basically making this impossible for me.”

  Her gaze softened. “No, that’s not the point. You just have to be willing to go the extra distance. I do wish you luck though. I’d like to imagine I could have my brother back, the one who used to run through the woods with me and help me up when I fell down. I miss that person.” More cars started pulling into the parking lot and she sighed. “I have to go. Take care of yourself, okay?”

  She waited for a reply and all I could do was nod. Turning, she walked away from me again. Now all I had to do was figure out a way to get her trust back without getting myself killed.

  My muscles were still on fire from doing the squat challenge with Megan, but it was a good feeling. For so long, I never thought I’d feel anything below my waist ever again. But ever so slowly over the years, it all started coming back. Hell, the first time I jacked off again, the release was fucking heaven. Then I did it a hundred times more just to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.

  Megan sat behind the desk, making sure to completely ignore me as I moved around the gym. I wished it wasn’t her ignoring me, and instead the group of asshats who felt the need to fuck with me.

  “Hey, dickwad,” one of the guys yelled.

  Huffing, I wiped the sweat off my brow with my towel and turned to look at them. “I assume you’re talking to me?”

  The tall one with the shaved brown hair snarled his lip and took a step forward. “Yeah, I’m talking to you. You might want to watch your back. Accidents happen you know.”

  I nodded and let out a sigh. “Let me guess, I fucked your wife or your sister.”

  He sneered. “Nah, you did something much worse than that, fuckhead. Do you remember Nate Jacobson?”

  The moment he said the name, I put it all together. I could name off every single person I fucked over and Nate was definitely one of them. “Yes, I remember him.”

  “Well then, I guess you’ll be happy to know that he’s fighting again. No thanks to you. What you did fucked his career all to hell.”

  “You must be one of his friends,” I said.

  His glare grew harder. “I’m Dean, his brother.”

  I nodded, seeing the resemblance. “I can’t take back what I did.”

  “No, you can’t,” he spat. “But you can listen to the repercussions of what you did. Did you know he tried to kill himself? When he couldn’t fight, he felt like his world was over. You took away his way of life.”

  I took a deep breath and let it out slow. I never thought about the consequences of my actions, especially to those I hurt. “And I’m sorry about that, truly. What do you want from me?”

  Before he could reply, Tyler waltzed into the room and threw me a pair of gloves. “How about you settle it in the ring?” I stared at the gloves in my hand and smiled. It’d been so long since I’d held a pair.

  “I haven’t fought since the accident,” I replied.

  Tyler chuckled and Dean’s eyes lit up. “Don’t tell me the great Kyle Andrews is a pussy.”

  I glanced over at the octagon. Tyler and I had fought against each other in it a few years ago. “Fine, I’ll do it.”

  Dean hopped up into the ring and smacked his fists together, his venomous glare staring at nothing but me. “This is for Nate, asshole.”

  Taking a deep breath, I entered the ring and stretched. Once Tyler got the nod from both me and Dean, he shouted for us to start. Dean was a muscular guy, but he’d be in the Light Heavyweight division instead of a Heavyweight like I used to be. He was still focused and determined to kick my ass.

  I knew what I had to do.

  ***

  OH MY GOD, Kyle was in the ring. I’d intentionally not paid attention to him the past two days, but the second he stepped into the ring, the whole atmosphere of the gym changed. The tension was so high, the hair on my arms stood up. Dean Jacobson was a great fighter and if anyone in the gym had animosity toward Kyle it was him. I couldn’t believe Tyler was actually putting them in the ring together. Dean was good, but I’d watched Kyle fight; he was better. The last thing we needed was for Kyle to kick his ass and cause more problems.

  People who were working out all stopped what they were doing to watch the fight. Dean made the first move and pelted Kyle on the side of the head. His head snapped to the side, but he clenched his jaw and shook it off. The old Kyle would’ve went on a rampage. Hitting Dean in return, I could tell there wasn’t much power to it. What the hell was he doing?

  I left my desk to join Tyler at ring side. He was watching with a small smirk on his face. “Am I missing something? We all know Kyle doesn’t fight this bad,” I whispered. The crowd cheered for Dean as he pummeled Kyle, over and over. Kyle would fight back, but with feeble attempts.

  Tyler looked over at me and smiled, his gray eyes beaming. “He’s doing what I’d hoped he’d do . . . letting Dean win.”

  “Why would he do that? What’s the story there?”

  “About four years ago, Kyle spiked Dean’s brother’s drink and he failed the drug test before a big fight. He was suspended for two years. Last I heard, he moved away to the east coast and started fighting again. It sucks he couldn’t be here to fight Kyle, but Dean will do.”

  “So, this is his way of finding redemption?” I asked.

  “Looks like it.”

  “Do you think he’s honestly trying to change?”

  He kept his focus on Kyle. “I’m not sure. Letting someone kick his ass is a big deal for Kyle though.”

  The beating Kyle took made my whole body ache. I wanted it to be over, but he stood there and took it. By now, the crowd had figured out what was going on. Instead of cheers, there was a somber ambience as everyone watched Kyle take his punishment. Even Dean realized what was going on and had tears in his eyes as he fought for his brother. As he reared back for the last hit, Kyle turned my way and by the look on his face I could tell he had found a semblance of peace. As Dean finished him off, he fell to the mat.

  “I think there may be hope for him yet,” I said to Tyler.

  He glanced up at Kyle’s still form. “For Kacey’s sake, I hope so. But he still has a long way to go.” With those final words, he turned on his heel and disappeared to the back.

  Dean jumped out of the ring and his friends all congratulated him. No one even bothered to check on Kyle, so I hopped up into the ring and looked down at him. He was breathing hard and definitely still awake, but his eyes were closed.

  “I think you can open your eyes now. They’re gone.”

  He opened one eye and then the other. “I’m sure everyone’s disappointed I’m not dead.”

  “Yeah, maybe a couple,” I laughed.

  His lips pulled back into a smile which only split his lip further. “Are you?”

  “Nope, because as soon as you’ve recovered, you are going to clean the blood up off of this mat.” I held out my hand and he grabbed it so I could help him up. He didn’t even need my help, but he held onto it anyway.

  He looked down at the blood and cringed. “Fuck, that’s a lot of blood. How bad do I look?”

  I bit my lip and assessed the damage. “Like you just went through the windshield
. I do think it was good of you for what you did.” We both jumped down from the mat and I handed him a towel and a bottle of water.

  He wiped the blood off his face and gently touched his lip, hissing. “What do you mean?”

  “I know that you let him beat you on purpose. I’ve watched you fight plenty of times to know that you aren’t that horrible.”

  His green eyes twinkled. “You’ve watched me fight?”

  I threw another towel at him and it smacked him in the face. “Only to watch you lose, jackass. Now get cleaned up so you can wash off that mat before the stains set in.” Turning on my heel, I started for my desk and stopped when he spoke.

  “And what do I get in return?”

  I glanced over my shoulder. “My gratitude. That should be enough for now.”

  After about two hours, the mat was clean and the gym was almost vacant. There were still a couple people left, including Kyle who kept sneaking glances my way. He looked better now that his face wasn’t covered in blood. Everyone couldn’t stop talking about the fight. My only concern was that if other fighters wanted to fight Kyle, they’d get a sore awakening. He wasn’t going to go easy on everyone.

  “Meg, I can close tonight if you want to leave,” Tyler offered.

  I shook my head. “No, go home. I still have to work out. I don’t mind staying. It’s only another hour.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yes, now go before I change my mind.”

  He winked at me and smiled before disappearing to the back. I’d already changed into my sports bra and shorts so I could work out with Jared and Patrick. They liked for me to sit on them while they did their pushups and to ride on their backs when they did their squats.

  “You ready, sexy?” Jared asked.

  Out of the corner of my eye, Kyle’s head turned abruptly to watch us. Jealousy flashed in his eyes when I climbed onto Jared’s back. Interesting. “Do you have any idea how many women ask about you two? I hate having to break their hearts when I say you have different tastes.”

  Patrick lifted his weights and laughed. “We don’t always go one way, sweetheart. Some nights we make exceptions.”