UNDYING: A Bad Boy MMA Romance (Midwest Alphas) (Book 3) by Tabatha Kiss

pokes his head inside.
    I look up at him from my bed, pulling my eyes away from the window for a split second to give him a quick nod before looking back at the driveway again.
    It’s been several hours since Thomas left. The sun has set. The world is dark and cold. I keep expecting to see headlights charging back up to the house. Any second now, he’ll be back to claim me.
    “Claire.”
    I keep my eyes on the window. “What?”
    “Look at me.” He lowers himself to the bed next to me. “Claire—”
    “He’s coming back.”
    “Not tonight.”
    “How do you know?”
    Tobias lays a hand on my cheek and draws me to face him. “Because I do,” he answers. “And even if he does, Dad and I are ready for him.”
    Tears sting my eyes, but I force them down. “Hear anything about Veronica yet?” I ask.
    He lowers his hands. “No, but common sense tells me that only a few people knew you were back in town and Thomas had to hear it from somebody…”
    “I don’t blame her for wanting to save her own skin.” My eyes fall back to the window. “There’s no such thing as loyalty anymore, is there?”
    “I wouldn’t say that… You can always count on me.”
    “And Pike , apparently…” I joke. “Never thought that’d be a thing.”
    “Me neither.” He chuckles and leans in closer. “Don’t give up just yet, Claire. There’s still plenty to fight for.”
    Fight.
    Of course. If there’s anything the Midwest Alphas and the Double Ex Kings have in common, it’s that they’re both made up of fighters. They train their bodies and build their muscles for one purpose: to climb into the ring and claim victory over their opponents. Conflicts and rivalries aren’t settled in the shadows. They’re settled in one place and one place only.
    “My son tells me you’re quite the fighter. Good. You’ll need to be.”
    I ignore the window and look at Tobias. “We need to call another meeting.”
    He stares back at me in confusion. “Why?”
    “Because I think I know how to end this.”

Chapter 6
    All Or Nothing
     
    The room falls into a silence. I scan their faces, planted around Amy’s apartment, for some kind of reaction. Amy, Pike, Tobias, Ryan. They give me nothing.
    “Well?” I ask, my voice wobbling. It’s torment, watching and waiting for somebody to break the ice. Whomever does so first will surely set the tone for everyone else’s response. “Look,” I sigh. “I’ll be the first to admit that I haven’t thought this through all the way—”
    “I think you’re insane,” Pike says, leaning against the kitchen counter with his arms crossed.
    I pause. “Okay…”
    “But…” His eyebrows bounce. “I actually kind of like that in a woman, so I’m in.”
    “I think it’s a start,” Amy adds from across the couch. “But it won’t work unless the Kings agree to it, too.”
    “They will,” I say. “Out of everyone here, I trust you to be the most persuasive.”
    “Me?” she asks, her eyes wide. “But this is your idea—”
    “You’re head Dame, Amy,” I point out. “This should come from you.”
    “She’s right,” Pike says, looking at Amy with a strong smirk. “They won’t take you seriously as a leader unless you act like one. No one will.”
    “But…” Amy’s voice falls flat and her chest deflates. “Fine.”
    I look at Ryan lingering above her shoulder. “How about you?”
    “What about me?” he asks.
    “We’re going to need our best fighters in on this.”
    He looks at me for a long moment before he finally chuckles. “You want me to fight for the Alphas?”
    “Yes.”
    “I’m a deserter , Claire…”
    “All the more reason to fight for us,” I argue. “You know better than anyone what they’re like.”
    “Yes,” he agrees. “But it also puts a giant target on my head. I go into the ring against one of them, I might not come back out again. The Kings have pretty strict guidelines and I basically lit them on fire when I walked away.”
    Amy