Tyler's Undoing

1 PROLOGUE TYLER For once in my life, I was untouchable. No more was I the guy who settled for fourth place and moved on. I was determined to be the one everyone screamed for, the one women eagerly fell on their knees for. In the past year, so much had changed. I was finally living the life I’d always dreamt about. I had an agent, an undefeated record, and the women did fall eagerly to their knees in front of me . . . literally. All I ever wanted was to be the best, and now I was here, I didn’t want to go back. No one wanted to be the guy who always got close, but could never quite reach the top. Seeing the disappointment on my father’s face made me feel worthless. It also didn’t help that he had no faith in me whatsoever. He was my coach, and he took his job seriously. Sometimes, I think he forgot he was actually my father as well. “This is insane,” Todd exclaimed, slowly spinning around, beaming at the amount of people sitting in the arena. “They all want you, Tyler. Breathe it in, soak it up. It’s only going to get better from here.” You’re damn right. Always the enthusiast, Todd Winfield—with his slicked back, midnight-black hair and expensive gray suit. He was thirty five years old, a born opportunist, and my agent. Thankfully, I was lucky enough to have been found by him after my epic battle last year at the Golden State tour. I had been grappling with UFC’s infamous bad boy and Heavyweight champion, Matt Reynolds. He’d kicked my a*s, but I sure as hell didn’t make it easy for him. Fast forward one year, and we now found ourselves in Dallas, Texas, at the American Airlines Center. There had to be twenty thousand people sitting around the arena, chanting my name. The sound of the crowd screaming for me as I walked down to the ring, echoed in my ears. Knowing they’d come to see me, was the ultimate high. Pumped for the fight, I sauntered down the aisle, keeping my gaze on my opponent. Countless women raked their nails down my skin, screaming their need for me—what they’d do to my body. My agent and father warded them off, but I f*****g loved it. All of it. It was my time and I was going to live it. Before I could get into the ring and kick my opponent’s a*s, my father halted me with a hand on my shoulder. “Concentrate, son,” he growled low in my ear. “Cockiness will not win you the fight. It’ll only make you sloppy.” Glancing up into the ring, I chuckled. I had nothing to worry about, my opponent was a hard striker, but I was quicker on my feet. “I’m not cocky,” I snapped. “I’m confident. This guy’s going down.” My father narrowed his eyes and huffed. I’d been training with some of the best MMA fighters in the league and I didn’t only believe I could win this fight, I knew it. Taking off my black and neon green robe, I handed it to my father and jumped into the ring, ignoring the disgusted look on his face. “When did you get like this?” he argued impatiently, folding my robe over his arm. “I didn’t raise you to be an arrogant, self-centered jackass.” Before the announcer made his way to the center of the ring, I leaned over the edge and peered down at my father. His annoyed glare was starting to become permanently etched. Most people agreed we looked alike—he was just an older version of me and also a retired fighter. “No,” I brushed him off, “you raised me to be a winner, and I finally am. Try not to be too overjoyed with the concept.” Without waiting for a reply, I strolled to the center of the ring just in time for the announcer to call out my name. “And fighting in the black shorts tonight, is the one you’ve all been waiting for! Ladies and gentleman, I give you Tyler . . . the Terror . . . Ruuussshiiiing!” Lifting my arms, I circled around the ring, feeding off of the sound of my name coming across thousands of lips. My opponent—with his navy blue shorts, pale skin, and bright red hair—had a leer on his face the entire time. The combination made him look like a defective American flag. Justin Somers. What a douche. I guess it was Memorial Day weekend, maybe he took the red, white, and blue seriously, except he didn’t look to be in a festive mood. “So were you and Pops arguing over how you were going to lose tonight?” the talking flag sneered. Scoffing, I planted my feet on the mat and got into stance, clenching my fists tight. I knew the bell was about to ring, and I was going to be ready. “Actually,” I began, “we were just discussing how long it would take to knock that smirk off your face. He said two minutes . . . I disagreed.” Justin opened his mouth, but before he could get one word out, the bell rang and I swung. My fist connected with his jaw so hard, his head snapped to the side, and he flipped backward onto the mat. Total knockout. I leaned over his limp figure and added, “My mistake, I told Pops it would only take fifteen seconds.” I glanced up at the monitor on the wall and smirked. “It was actually under three. Well, thanks for the great fight. I learned a lot.” “Ladies and gentleman, winning by TKO is your champion for the night. . .” When the announcer held my hand up in the air, I didn’t hear anything else. I was too hyped up, endorphins pounded through my veins. This is what it’s all about. This is what being a winner feels like. It was a d**g and I was on the best f*****g high of my life. * * * “Please tell me we’re going out tonight, Ty?” Todd asked, rubbing his hands together. “I think I’m in the mood for a blonde with huge f*****g t**s, a tight a*s, and a strong, Texan accent. Maybe she can show me how she does it cowgirl style.” We were back at the hotel so I could shower and change clothes. Unfortunately for him, I already had my night planned out, and it didn’t include Todd reversing his cowboy. “Sorry, but I can’t go tonight,” I replied, pouring me a shot of Patron. I tossed it back and poured another one; it went back so smooth. Todd’s eyes went wide. “Why not? Come on, these Texas girls are so f*****g hot.” “Not as hot as what I have coming to me,” I gloated. Groaning, he ran his hands through his hair and straightened up his gray suit jacket. He knew who I was referring to. “Fine, I’ll go see if the twins want to hit the town tonight. Have fun with Gabriella.” Oh, I intend to. Drinking the last of his whiskey sour, he set the glass down and headed for the door. “I’ll see you in the morning, bright and early. Our plane leaves at ten so be ready.” “Got it,” I replied. It was a good thing I could sleep on the plane—there wasn’t going to be any sleeping tonight. After Todd left, I fetched my phone out of my gym bag and noticed two missed text messages. Gabriella: Just landed. Gabriella: I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. What room number? It had only been one week since she left the note on my pillow saying goodbye. I didn’t know if she’d actually come back to me, but when she called two days ago saying she wanted to see me again, I couldn’t pass up the chance. I just hoped she wasn’t getting attached to me. I didn’t need that. Her brother, Matt Reynolds – former Heavyweight Champion and my best friend – has always tried to keep her from dating fighters. If he ever found out I was f*****g her behind his back, he’d kill me. As his friend, he trusted me to watch over her. Regrettably, I couldn’t be trusted with her heart. I texted her back and told her the room number, so she could come right up. I had enough time to pour myself a double shot of Tequila before a gentle knock sounded on the door. When I opened it, Gabriella stood there dressed in a skin tight navy dress, her midnight colored hair falling just past her shoulders, with a small smile on her face. Now that she’d been training to be an MMA fighter, her arms were toned to perfection and her body was hard as a rock. Yet she still had the perfect amount of curves to get me hard in a f*****g instant. “What’s wrong?” I asked, pulling her inside. Setting down her bag on the couch, she then turned and wrapped her arms around my neck, her eyes troubled. “Tyler,” she began hesitantly, releasing a heavy sigh. “As much as I wanted to believe this could work, I don’t think we’re going to be able to do it anymore.” She tried to look away, but I grabbed her chin and pulled her back. “Why, what happened? In your letter you made it sound like this was what you wanted.” “And I do,” she replied, shrugging her shoulders. “But I don’t see how I’m going to keep it up with my schedule. Matt’s strict with my coming and going, and if I don’t do as he says, he’ll start asking questions. The last thing I want is for him to be angry with you.” Narrowing my gaze, I stepped back and crossed my arms over my chest. “You weren’t too worried about that before. What else is on your mind, Gabriella? Is it because I still f**k other women?” Halfheartedly, she chuckled and rolled her eyes. “No, jackass. I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to all of this. Honestly, I think it’ll be best for us both to keep the other weekend as a wonderful memory. I have too many guy problems right now as it is.” She sat down on the brown leather couch and the pressure she was under came out in her sigh. I never understood why Gabriella wanted someone like me when she could have anyone she wanted, someone who wanted to be with her and only her. I wasn’t that guy. I cared about her, but love wasn’t what I wanted. “Who’s giving you problems?” I asked, sitting down beside her. “Well, let’s see,” she began, “I wouldn’t exactly call this a problem, but Bradley wants to see me again. He’s actually going with me to Aspen to see Ashleigh. Apparently, things got a little crazy when I arrived home from Vegas that fateful morning.” Bradley was the guy she dated before me. I knew eventually things would change between us, and she would want something more than what I could give her. Hopefully, he could do that for her. She needed something real. As long as she wasn’t with another fighter, all would be good. “What happened when you got home?” I questioned. Closing her eyes, she tilted her head back and rested it on the couch. “I honestly don’t know the details, Ashleigh wouldn’t tell me everything. When I got back to my apartment she wouldn’t come out of her room. I called Colin to come help me get her out, but he said he couldn’t because she’d broken up with him. “She said she made a mistake. After that whole baby scare in Vegas, it really messed her up. I think she’s in love with Ryley but too afraid to admit it.” She finally opened her eyes and looked over at me. “Colin’s her safe place, he’s someone who won’t hurt her. Ryley, on the other hand, is the wild card, the one who ignites the fire deep inside.” I shook my head. “Then why doesn’t she just get in touch with Ryley and talk it out? It’s obvious they’re both miserable.” “You would think, but Ashleigh told me not to say anything to him about her and Colin breaking up. Believe me, it’s hard as s**t keeping a secret, especially one that huge, from Ryley. Ashleigh said she wanted to be alone for a while. That’s why she left for Aspen.” “So basically you don’t want me to say anything, is that it?” I confirmed. Nodding, she looked down at her clasped hands. “Yes, please. I don’t know what’s going to happen between the two of them, but I figured it’s best to stay out of it. Hopefully, she’ll tell me what’s going on when I get out there.” “And Bradley is going with you,” I stated. Biting her lip, she peered up at me and nodded again. “I guess you can say he’s my safe place. He keeps a certain someone away from me . . . kind of.” Now that she was training, I knew she was around a lot of the other fighters. The only other one I knew who was trying to get her was Paxton Emerson. “Please tell me it’s not Paxton,” I warned. “You need to stay the f**k away from him. Being with me is one thing, but guys like him are a completely different story.” When Gabriella was in Vegas, my fight had been against Paxton. With the way he looked at her, I knew something was going on. I told him then to stay away from her but obviously he didn’t understand what I meant. It looked like I needed to change that. Gabriella smiled and moved closer, biting her lip provocatively. “Oh, I think I’ve done pretty well in that arena, don’t you think? Plus, he’s friends with Kyle. That immediately puts him on my s**t list.” Kyle Andrews was my enemy. Now that Gabriella’s brother retired, his Heavyweight title was up for grabs, which meant Kyle and I would most likely be fighting for it at the end of the season. That fucker was going down. “What is he doing to bother you?” I asked through clenched teeth. Tentatively, she shrugged her shoulders. “He keeps asking me out. But don’t worry, I tell him to f**k off every time. It’s like he enjoys tormenting me. The part that really pisses me off is that he comes to me when he knows my brother isn’t around. I’m pretty sure it’s Kyle’s way of getting under my skin.” “Do you want me to handle it?” Mischievously, Gabriella smiled and climbed onto my lap, straddling my waist. “Actually, my body is the only thing I need you to man handle.” She squeezed her legs and released, relaxing into my lap. “If this is the last time we’re going to be together, I want to make it good. Pax will eventually get a clue and leave me alone. If not, you are more than welcome to kick his as—if I don’t do it first.” I planned on doing it anyway. Lifting her dress above her thighs, Gabriella rocked her hips against mine. My d**k got hard as I watched her lick her lips. She was going to f*****g kill me. As much as I hated the fact this was our last time together, it was actually for the best. She knew it, and I knew it. Gripping her neck, I pulled her down to me and bit her lip. “Making it good is something I can promise you.”