Chapter 19
Ryker, angrier than hell, races to the gym, slams out of his truck, and storms into the building. Leaving me behind. I dig my fingers into my forehead, begging my tears to slow to a stop. Being an only child, that was intense to witness. I never had my family argue with me like that. Sure, my parents fussed at me for certain child-like things, but the level of anger never escalated to that.
His phone rings, lighting up Jackson’s name.
“Hello?” I answer.
“Where’s Ryker?” he snaps.
“In the gym,” I say, trying to control the shake in my voice.
“Tell him I’m on my damn way,” he barks and then hangs up on me.
My legs feel like rubber as I climb the stairs and step into the gym. Fear courses through my veins, threatening me with the tears I’ve finally gotten to stop flowing.
He’s beating the hell out of the punching bag across from the ring. It’s his “out” for his anger.
“Jackson called and said he’s on his way,” I tell him with a quivering voice.
He doesn’t acknowledge me, continuing to slam his glove-covered knuckles against the leather.
I’m surprised he grabbed his gloves in his fit of rage.
I sit on the bench by his office, waiting with bated breath for Jackson to show. And I don’t have to wait very long when I see headlights pull into the parking lot.
Jackson pulls open the door, anger flaring from his eyes as he storms in. It’s the same look I’ve seen on Ryker. It’s a scary sight, but that’s not the most frightening thing in this very moment. Kyce directly behind Jackson has my pulse screaming into my fingertips.
“What in the fuck is he doing here?” Ryker snarls.
Jackson strides right up to Ryker and shoves him so hard Ryker stumbles back. “Get your stupid fucking ass in the ring.”
Ryker’s chuckle is full of malice. The evilness it carries sends a shiver to my bones. I watch in sheer panic as Ryker meets Jackson in the center of the ring with his chest puffed out, gloved fists at his sides and murder in his vision.
Jackson turns to Kyce and hands him a pair of gloves.
“What are you doing?” I yell, panicking for Kyce.
Immediately, the glower I get from Jackson shuts me up and sits me down.
“I’ve listened to the both of you bitch. You two want to beat the fuck out of each other for whatever the reason, then shut the fuck up and do it. But you’ll do it here, protected. Now go right the fuck ahead.”
Ryker’s nostrils are flaring, scowling at Kyce as Jackson talks. The moment Jackson spreads his arms and says go ahead, Ryker wastes no time and fires off a solid punch into Kyce’s face.
Kyce stumbles backward but then rushes Ryker. He wraps his arms around his waist, but Ryker shoves him off, hitting down into his face.
My mouth hangs open in horror with my hands covering it. Tears are pouring down my cheeks.
They trade punches with so much anger I can feel it cascading around us. Grunts, exhales, and solid thuds echo through the room and over my heart into my ears.
Kyce slams Ryker in the face with a left and directly behind it a right and then wraps around Ryker again. Ryker twists, slamming his brother to the mat. It’s a mess of arms, legs, and punches. Kyce shifts, sliding out from under Ryker and springs back to his feet. Ryker moves to stand and Kyce sends a punch into Ryker’s face.
Ryker snaps. Looking more like a MMA fighter than someone fighting his brother. His eyes are glazed over with hostility. He’s angry…no, beyond angry. He’s absolutely enraged.
He lunges forward and nails Kyce in the face again. This one sends Kyce staggering backward with blood trickling from just above his eye, but Ryker doesn’t stop. He doesn’t hesitate and steps in, jamming his knuckles into Kyce’s ribs and then returning with an evil right hook across his face that knocks the wind out of Kyce.
Ryker grabs Kyce by the back of the neck, holding him where he wants him, and viciously slams his fist into his brother’s bloodied face. Unlike Ryker’s trained and calculated punches, Kyce is winded, throwing sloppy punches and flailing his arms to try and block some of the hits. With Kyce’s head still in his hand, Ryker strikes again, and this time Kyce’s arms drop to his side.
Ryker shoves him away. “Get the fuck out of my sight,” he grumbles.
Kyce is slow to straighten his battered body, but when he does, he shakes his head no. It’s met with another solid strike to his face. He stumbles again and swings, missing his mark.
“I’m fucking sorry, dammit!” Kyce roars, out of breath. He fires off another punch, missing Ryker.
Ryker growls, unloading on him, jerking his head each direction.
Kyce is barely hanging on by a thread, trying to slug more punches at Ryker. Ryker shifts away. “You’re so fucking—”
Kyce’s sentence is stopped by a jab into the ribs that jolts him off his feet.
“Stop!” I scream on the top of my lungs. “Stop it!” Tears stream my cheeks. I’m hit with a wave of courage, leaping into the ring.
Ryker rotates toward me. Kyce drops to his knees.
“This is ridiculous. Look at you two.” I lock a murderous glare on Ryker. “I was just as defiant as he was, but I don’t see you disowning me. This is so stupid.” I stomp my foot in anger. “For months he’s called every week. For months he’s gone by Candice’s to make sure I’m okay.”
“I told you to stay the fuck away from us,” Ryker snarls, stepping around me, but I shove him away, placing myself in front Kyce.
“He calls for you too, but you’re so fucking stubborn. Dammit, Ryker.”
Jackson grabs my shoulders and moves me out of the way, sizing himself up to Ryker. “It’s not just about what happened to Whitney, is it?”
Ryker’s eyes narrow.
Jackson puffs a pissed laugh. “What? You want to hit me too? Try me.” He threatens. “I won’t be as easy and you fucking know it.”
I watch Ryker take the shakiest breath I’ve ever seen him take. “I can grasp losing everything I worked so fucking hard for. My dreams went up in smoke. My goals disappeared. They’re all gone. I can accept it. But I can’t fucking stomach what happened to her. This is my world,” he slams his fist to his chest. “A world we all know about. It should’ve been you,” he grits pointing to the battered brother on his knees gasping for air.
“It’s me now,” Kyce states, rolling his head backward toward the ceiling with a bloody and broken smile. “Look at me. Done in by my own brother’s hands.” He takes a breath and stumbles to his feet. “If I could rewind and do it all over again. I would. But I can’t. I fucking can’t. You think you’re mad at me? Ryker, I let my sister get hurt. I fucking despise myself.”
Ryker snaps again, advancing forward but Jackson shoves him. “I wasn’t there to protect her. It fucking haunts me. She got the fuck beat out of her because of me and I couldn’t fucking protect her,” he roars.
“And there’s the truth,” Jackson states simply.
They share a stare. Ryker’s mind is working. I can see it in his eyes.
When I grab a towel hanging on the side of the ring, I’m shaking so badly my legs feel like they’ll fail me. I hand it to Kyce. “Are you okay?”
His eyes are defeated. “I deserve this.”
I shake my head disagreeing. “No, you don’t.”
Ryker storms off and slams the door to his office.
Jackson puts a hand on my shoulder. “Let me take you home. He’ll be a while.”
I don’t tell Ryker I’m leaving. I’m too mad to care. I slide into Jackson’s black sports car, and Kyce drops into the back, lying across the seat.
“Don’t think this is their first or last fight,” Jackson says, keeping his eyes on the road. “They’re so much alike they’re always bound to combust at some point.”
“That was appalling,” I admit, sniffling.
“But needed. Brothers fight,” he says, peering at me. “Sometimes with so much anger they want to kill each other. But they always stop mere inches from it.”
“Have you?”
He laughs as does Kyce. “When I was younger, all the time. I dragged Ryker through the fucking ringers at times. Beat the shit out of him more than I can count and sometimes just because I was in a bad mood. But that’s us. No one else is allowed to kill us. Only us. It’s a Hayes thing.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose, begging the hot tears threatening my eyes to stay at bay.
“Whitney, whether he’ll admit it or not, he’s got a lot on his shoulders from that night. He doesn’t mind forfeiting. He minds the reason. He witnessed you, the woman he loves, with the same wounds he intended his opponent to have after he was done. It’s a helplessness he’s never felt before. It’s juvenile for him to think it’s only Kyce’s fault, but he has no one else to lash out at. He trusted his brother and was let down so immensely. He’ll never be mad at you for it, either. Picture how terrified and unsure he was wondering what was happening with his bride-to-be. Imagine him finding out his worst rival saved your life. Not him. Envision him seeing all that while knowing he just threw away all his aspirations. Ryker had to swallow many spikey pills that night.”
“I wish I never went that night,” I hear myself say.
“I wish to fuck I didn’t leave your side,” Kyce murmurs. “I wish to fuck I didn’t take shit for granted.”
“I’m glad you did. Whether you two see it or not, he’s got one hell of an opportunity that’s opening so many doors.” Jackson smiles at me. “Sometimes the things we want the most come from corners we didn’t know existed.”