Uncrushable (Forehead Kisses #3) (6 page)

But that wouldn’t happen.

Once I got to my car, I put the pizza box in the passenger seat then shut the door.

Then I froze.

That guy hit on me, trying to make a pass at me. He cornered me, moving close to me. He even extended his hand toward me quickly.

And I didn’t flinch.

I wasn’t scared.

I didn’t cower away and run.

I stayed. I held my ground and stayed.

I stood still, staring at nothing in particular. The revelation hit me hard. It was the first time I felt safe by myself, that I didn’t need Liam or Scotty to come to my rescue. I didn’t panic and scream.

I was okay.

I moved to my driver’s door then opened it. A flash of movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention, but when I looked, no one was there. I sat down then pulled the door shut. Once I was locked inside, I looked in the rearview mirror. A large shadow walked back inside the bar. I couldn’t distinguish a face or even a shirt, but I had a strong suspicion who it was.

Liam.

On Saturday, Scotty came to the kitchen table at noon.

I eyed him while I worked on my computer. “Up late last night?”

He downed his coffee then blinked the sleep from his eyes. “She just couldn’t get enough.”

I rolled my eyes and turned back to my computer. “You doing it again tonight?”

“I’m not sure. It depends on who’s at the fight.”

Fight?
“Liam’s?”

He looked uncomfortable. “Yeah…”

This must be his first one. He hadn’t mentioned it to me, but we weren’t talking lately. I hadn’t seen him in a few days. “Where is it?”

“At the shack in the gaslight.”

“What time?”

He eyed me. “Are you going?”

“I think so.”

“Really?” He seemed surprise.

“What’s the big deal? Just because we aren’t together anymore doesn’t mean I can’t support him.”

“But you hate that kind of stuff.”

I shrugged. “Like you said, it’s a sport.”

He didn’t seem convinced. “I thought you didn’t feel comfortable with Liam doing that?”

“Just because he’s like that in the ring doesn’t mean he’s like that all the time. I know he wouldn’t hurt me, or anyone else for that matter.”

He looked at me with new eyes. “Should I tell him you’re coming?”

“No,” I said. “He’ll probably see me. And if he doesn’t, he’ll just see me at the next one.”

Scotty stared at me for a long time, a new look in his eyes. Then he sipped his coffee, holding back whatever he was thinking.

Chapter Five

Liam

I had my space. Keira gave it to me.

But I didn’t want it.

I missed her. I wanted her back. But every time I found the strength to call her, I quickly changed my mind. Nothing had changed. She still didn’t trust me. There was no guarantee she wouldn’t hurt me.

My first fight was coming up and I trained hard for it. I forced protein down my throat and lifted weights for two hours a day. I ran in the evenings, doing six miles in less than an hour.

My body was back to its peak. Hard muscles lined my body and my core was strong. I was bigger than I used to be, but I still didn’t rival my opponents in size. I kept my frame lean on purpose. What was the point of having so much muscle if it slowed you down?

My mind was focused on the task, but my thoughts lingered on Keira. When I saw that guy talking to her at the bar, my body naturally tensed in defense. I was protective of her, would always be, but she wasn’t my girl anymore so I couldn’t intervene. If she wanted to talk to him, I wouldn’t stick my nose in her business. If she was respecting my privacy, shouldn’t I respect hers?

I watched her body, not seeing any signs of distress or fear. She appeared calm, almost bored. She wasn’t scared, and that surprised me. Anytime she was alone with a man, she was on alert.

That didn’t seem to be the case anymore.

But I couldn’t deny the jealousy I felt. Even if we weren’t together, we still were. That’s how I felt, at least. I had several opportunities to hook up with random girls, but none of them interested me. The only woman who had rolled around in my sheets was Keira, at least for the past year. How could I tarnish something so beautiful with something that meant absolutely nothing to me? I just wanted Keira, to feel the unrealistically perfect relationship we had.

But it was gone.

She threw me away.

My first fight had arrived. I wasn’t nervous, and I certainly wasn’t scared. If I won the fight, a large check would be handed it to me. If I lost, the check would be substantially smaller. But I wasn’t worried about the outcome.

I always won.

I sat in the locker room and stared at my shoes. My gloves sat beside me, ready to be put on. I was shirtless because I preferred to wear as few clothes as possible. The size of my body was an excellent way to intimidate my opponent. Size and strength dwindled in importance compared to mentality. My mind was stronger than anything else.

Bran patted me on the shoulder. “Nervous?”

“If you ask me that again, I’ll rip your head off.”

He laughed then sat beside me. “I always know how to get a rise out of you.” He handed me the water bottle. “You need anything?”

“No.” I kept staring at my shoes.

“Everything alright?” Bran asked.

I hadn’t told Keira about the fight. I knew what her response would be, and it would break my heart. It would just remind me that she would never trust me—at least not as much as she said she did. “Yeah.”

Johnny dropped a towel over my shoulders. “Your opponent is puny. We got this.”

“Size has nothing to do with it.”

He smirked at me. “Are you saying you can’t take him?”

“No, that’s not what I’m saying at all,” I said.

Johnny walked away. “You’re on in five.”

I stayed in my spot.

Small hands moved up my back and to my shoulders, massaging me.

For just a fleeting moment, I pretended it was Keira, there to comfort me. The hallucinations of her only tortured me more. When I realized who the culprit was, my muscles tensed in annoyance.

I stood up and glared at her. “Don’t. Touch. Me.”

Adrianna smirked at me, clearly unafraid of me. Why couldn’t Keira be that way? And this woman actually had something to be scared of.

She sauntered closer to me. “Come on, Liam. You need some support since you’re old girlfriend never gave you any of it. I’ll always be on the sidelines, there to support you for every match. It’s what you need.”

Knowing the lies she fed Keira ripped us apart, made me shake in anger. “Bran.”

“What?” He stood up.

“Get her out of here before I strangle her.” The cord in my neck were straining against the skin.

Adrianna still didn’t flinch. “Liam, I know what you’ve been through. I can—”

“Shut the fuck up.” The last thing I needed was for everyone to know about my sister. I didn’t want anyone to pity me, to look at me differently.

She closed her mouth.

“Bran, throw her out.” I turned away so I wouldn’t look at her. She was the reason I was missing Keira every night.

“Don’t hate me for what happened with Keira,” she snapped. “All I did was test your relationship. It’s not my fault she failed.”

“Bran,” I warned.

“Come on.” Bran grabbed her and dragged her out.

“You should be with me! I can give you what you need. She never could—” Her voice disappeared after she left the locker room. The silence returned, calming me.

I couldn’t beat her into pieces, but I wish Keira could. That bitch needed to be taught a lesson.

When the match was set to begin, I took another deep breath then walked out. Johnny waited by the doors. He patted me on the back then walked with me down the aisle.

“You ready, kid?”

“I’m ready to rip someone’s head off.”

“Excellent.”

People were lined on either side of us, shouting and screaming. Once we reached the ring, I climbed through the rope then tossed my towel aside. The room was packed with people, all shouting and rooting for their team. My opponent took a drink from his water then stretched his arms. He was smaller than me, but he had a crazed look in his eye.

“You got this,” Johnny said to me.

“I know.”

Bran stood on the floor near my corner. Tony was with him. “Kick some ass!”

I didn’t react, my heart suddenly slowing down. My adrenaline always faded before a fight. I was eerily calm, practically ready to go to sleep. When I was in the ring, ready to rip someone apart, it was where I belonged. It dimmed the rage inside me, made me release it in the only acceptable way I could. Every day spent in the real world didn’t help me. I couldn’t stay sane sitting in a classroom learning about economics. My past had breed me into a killing machine. And that’s what I was.

A killer.

The ref came onto the mat then raised his arm. Then he blew the whistle.

With my fists pulled to my chest, I moved on the balls of my feet and eyed Congo, the opponent who was looking at me like I was a piece of meat ready to be carved. He was studying me, looking for my weakness. I was doing the same to him.

Then he charged me, aiming for my abdomen.

I dodged out of the way then used his momentum to yank his head toward the floor, getting a good grip on his neck. With a savage kick in his quads, I jerked him back, making him lay on his back.

All the screaming and shouting stopped. All I thought about was Derek, the man who killed my sister. She screamed and begged for her life, but she received no mercy. Her head was crashed in, her body was broken. The blood left her body, giving her heart nothing to pump.

I saw fucking red.

Even though he was down, I dragged him back to his feet because I wanted to beat him down to a pulp. He staggered back then aimed his elbow for my nose. It collided then released blood. Unaffected by pain or agony, I kept going then smashed my fist hard into his face, fracturing his cheekbone. I felt the faint crack against my knuckles.

A quiet groan escaped his lips but he kept going. He twisted my arm then head-butted me, hitting me in the side of the head. Vertigo hit me for a second, but my fist pounded his face again, smashing with force.

I snapped.

My hand hit him in the face over and over, drawing blood from his eyes and his mouth. He fell to the ground then covered his head with his hands, trying to protect himself from my savage blows.

The ref blew the whistle, telling me to stop.

I kept going.

“Liam!” Johnny shouted. “Knock it off.”

His voice brought reality back. I stepped back, letting my hands rest at my sides. There was blood on my gloves, and I was breathing hard, feeling the sweat on my chest and forehead.

“Liam Hayes is the winner,” the ref announced over the intercom.

The victory didn’t mean as much when it was preordained. I always won because my rage took over my body. No one else ever had a chance. I moved to my corner and wiped my face with a towel. The assistant squirted water into my mouth then pulled my gloves off.

“You kicked ass,” Bran said from the ground.

“You’re like the Hulk,” Tony said.

I climbed through the ropes then joined them on the ground.

“You’re like a machine,” Bran said. “I’m pretty sure you broke that guy’s nose.”

“It can be fixed.” I didn’t have anything more to say.
I won. Big deal.

“You were awesome!” Theresa came to my side and hugged me.

I didn’t even know she was going to be there. I mentioned it to her when we were working on our project but I never expected her to show up. When her arms wrapped around me, I felt sick. I didn’t want her to hug me. She’d always kept her space from me, not hinting at something more than friendship. That was why I tolerated her.

I grabbed her shoulder and pushed her back, rudely. “Don’t hug me.”

“Um…okay.” She was disappointed for a moment but then her perkiness returned. “You did a great job. Its like you were bred for this.”

It was obvious she only saw me as a friend by the way she looked at me. I could see it in her eyes. That hug was obviously platonic and I probably shouldn’t have been such a jerk about it. But what was done was done.

Scotty came over to me, eyeing me and Theresa. Judging the pissed look on his face, I knew he thought something was going on between us. But I shouldn’t have to defend myself.

“Good match,” Scotty said. He didn’t seem enthused.

“Thanks,” I said quietly.

“Keira wanted me to tell you congratulations.”

She must have told him before he left the house. “Thanks.”

“Are you guys not talking at all anymore?” Bran asked.