Page 92 of Reckless

He was strong, but I was faster. I caught him with a left hook followed by a right uppercut and he went down, only to get back up a few seconds later.

Sweat poured down my face as my muscles burned with each movement, but I pushed through. He landed a hard blow to my ribs, and I doubled over in pain, but I couldn’t give up. I had to stay on my feet and fight through the pain.

He lunged forward, exposing himself, and I took advantage. I threw an uppercut with all my weight behind it, and I felt it connect with his chin. He crumpled to the ground and the referee, one of Hayes’ men, counted him out.

The crowd erupted in cheers. I went to help my opponent and by the time his friends dragged him off the ring, one of my old bouncers waited for me with a bag full of ice.

“Is he here?” I asked.

“No, he never showed.”

I couldn’t wrap my head around it. Kieran hadn’t missed a Friday night ever since our arrangement started. He always collected their cut immediately after everyone left.

“There is a chick waiting for you,” my bouncer said. “I talked with her before the fight.”

“What chick?” I asked pressing the ice to my cheek.

“A hot blond one,” he said and I froze. “She’s still there. With Chloe. In the back.”

I reluctantly lifted my head up, my eyes scanning the room. A second later they landed on her face. Her mascara ran down her cheeks. The moment our eyes met she released a sob I couldn’t hear, but I saw how her chest caved in on itself.

She turned her back on me and bolted up the stairs leading to the bar. I dumped the ice on the ring and ran after her. My muscles protested with the effort of sprinting up a staircase just minutes after I had a fight, but I couldn’t let her leave. Not without trying to explain.

“Stop,” I hissed both from pain and anger when my body collided with hers. I groaned in pain and before I could apologize for hurting her, she whirled around and slapped me across the face.

“You son of a bitch,” she gasped out through sobs. “I can’t believe you hid that from me.”

“I can explain.”

“No,” she shook her head violently and took another step up the stairs. I followed her.

“I had no choice.” She didn’t bother to look back at me, let alone answer me. “Go to my office. Give me twenty minutes. I will come up and I will explain everything.”

“Tyler,” Chloe’s voice echoed in the narrow space. “You have to come back down.”

“Give me a second,” I shouted back. I grabbed Hannah’s wrist and pinned her to the spot. “Hannah, please. Wait for me upstairs.”

“Like hell I will,” she said, her eyes narrowed into slits. “Don’t call me. Don’t come near me. Or I will call the police and tell them everything I saw in here.”

“We both know you won’t do that,” I said with a quiet tone and rubbed the soft skin on her wrist with my thumb. That seemed to set her off. She shook my hand off.

“I won’t do it now. Because of Clem and the baby. But if you don’t leave me alone, I will.”

“Tyler!” Chloe yelled a second before people started screaming in the basement. That had never happened before. I had no idea what was going on, but I knew I didn’t want Hannah here when I found out.

“Fine,” I said and took a step back. “Leave then.”

Hannah didn’t hesitate even for a second. She bolted up the last few steps and I ran back down. Some of Patrick Hayes’s men pushed the clients out the back door. Four of them had cornered two of my own bouncers and counted the cash we had. Another held Chloe by the elbow. I walked over to him and punched him in the face.

Seconds later I was on the floor, kicks coming at me from every direction. The last sound I heard was a scream I was sure came from Chloe. The aches I felt after the fight were nothing compared to that excruciating pain. The only thought that came to my mind in that moment was that I finally got what I deserved.

And I closed my eyes, surrendering to it.

***

When I opened my eyes, I was in my office. I tried to push myself up from the couch I was lying on but couldn’t. I could barely breathe in. Every time I tried there was a pain in my torso, like someone was stabbing me from the inside out. I dropped back down to the couch, hoping to pass out again, when I heard Kieran’s voice.

“Stay down, you idiot.”

---