Maybe This Time(27)

“No way. Goodnight, both of you. You have some explaining to do when I get back.” I kiss them both on the cheek and then open the door. Lyle stands there, in dark denim jeans and a tight white top. I guess I’m a little overdressed.

“Hey, Lyle,” I say smiling. He returns my smile, but then it suddenly drops. I glance behind me to see dad standing there, an intimidating aura surrounding him.

“I’m Jack Kane, you heard of me, boy?” he asks Lyle. Lyle swallows and nods twice. “Right. Take care of my girl.”

“Yes, sir,” Lyle says, swallowing so hard I can actually see the bob of his Adam’s apple.

“Good,” dad says, the tension clearing. We walk to Lyle’s car, and I frown when he doesn’t even bother to open the door for me.

“Where are we going?” I ask him once we both get in.

“I was gonna take you out to dinner. But I got an invite for an event, so you’re coming with,” he says, glancing over at me like I should be happy.

“Okay.”

“After meeting your father, I know you’re gonna like it. Fuck, I can’t believe I’m rocking up with Jack Kane’s daughter,” he says, sounding almost giddy.

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“What? Oh, nothing.”

“Explain,” I demand.

“It’s a surprise,” he says, turning up the music so I can’t talk.

Douchelord.

We stop at one of Lyle’s friends’ houses, where he makes me sit in the car for fifteen minutes. This is the worst date ever. I didn’t even have dinner. Lyle finally returns and we drive to a dodgy looking warehouse.

“What is this place?” I ask, my eyes darting around. We walk inside and I see a large crowd of people. Lyle hands the door guy two tickets, and my skin crawls when he puts his arm around me.

“Tickets are normally two hundred dollars each,” he brags.

“Good for you,” I mutter under my breath. Lyle leads me to a different section, and when I look up I freeze.

There's a caged octagon, similar to the one we have at dad’s gym, and right in the middle is Reid.

“Reid?” I whisper, my lips forming the word but no sound coming out. I watch as he faces off with another guy, who seems to be a tiny bit bigger than him.

“What is this?” I ask Lyle, who flashes me a confused expression. The fight begins and I close my eyes, leaning back onto a wall. I hear cheering, and yelling, so I take a peak, just in time to see Reid punch his opponent right in the face. I grin, but it only lasts a few seconds, because then Reid takes a hit to his stomach.

I close my eyes shut again.

I can’t watch this. Can I?

When I open my eyes, Lyle is lost, swept away with the crowd. He just left me. Fucking asshole.

I watch as they circle each other, bouncing on their heels. Reid suddenly lifts his leg in a kick, pulls back, then comes at full force with another punch. He gets his opponent up against the cage with his arms around him, punching at the back of his head. The crowd goes wild, and I turn my head to look for Lyle once more, but can’t see him anywhere. I glance back towards the cage, where Reid is the victor. He has blood dripping from his nose, but besides that, he looks untouched. The other guy, however, looks completely battered.

Why does Reid do this?

And why keep it a secret? Is this why he won’t be with me?

A growl escapes my mouth when I see no other than Xander, Ryan, Dash and my dad standing around Reid.

I see red. I don’t think I’ve ever been so mad and hurt in my entire life. And when the blonde chick steps up next to Reid, I lose it.

It takes me a good ten minutes to walk over to them, the crowd bumping me and I can’t walk as fast as I wish in these four inch heels. I’m tempted to take them off, but looking at the floor I would probably need a tetanus shot. When I finally near them, Reid's gone missing. Cursing under my breath, I walk up to the group of men that have become my life.

“Fancy meeting you all here,” I say dryly, containing my emotions.

Four pairs of eyes glance at me, with emotions ranging from shock to guilt.

“What are you doing here?” My father growls, looking angry. He’s angry?

“This is where my date brought me,” I say, sneering the word date.

“What the fuck?” Xander roars, looking me over.

“I’m fine,” I assure him, throwing accusing glances at each of them. My dad and Xander look angry, Ryan looks apologetic and Dash is smiling at me, looking like he’s relieved I finally know.

“Where is he?” I ask, not needing to explain who I’m talking about. When they don’t answer, I raise my voice. “Where the fuck is he?”